Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
There I am. Bottom of the 10th inning. Promenade section of Citi Field.
With my hands swollen from furious applause throughout the night and my legs bobbing to stay warm, Fernando Martinez laced a hit to right field. We came alive once more, while the old man sitting next to me grumbled: "Another friggin single? Pelfrey's the only one who drove somethin'."
Sixteen hits and pitcher Mike Pelfrey was the Met with pop.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
You hear that, fantasy baseball owners? Josh Hamilton's sole purpose on this Earth is to mess with you. Really, there's no way to over-dramatize the crap he's put fantasy owners through. Initially, he would have been the crown jewel in a dynasty league with minor-leaguers. When those types finally gave up on him, he made the show for the Reds. Then, he started to catch on for the Reds, but couldn't stay healthy. So he goes to the Rangers and puts himself on a record RBI pace, only to significantly slow down in the second half. In 2009, the bona fide elite-level fantasy outfielder has only played 35 games. He's only hitting .240. And he's out until mid-July.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That things got weird, awfully weird, at Petco Park on Sunday. The Diamondbacks carried a five-run lead into the ninth inning against San Diego thanks to seven innings of one-run ball by Dan Haren and a scoreless inning of relief by Tony Pena.
Then the wheels really fell off.
Juan Gutierrez and Chad Qualls surrendered five runs in the ninth, the last three of which came on a game-tying home run by light-hitting David Eckstein. Eckstein has 20 career homers in nine professional seasons, and a career slugging average of .359. So if you're keeping score, one of the most punchless players in the majors went deep in the most cavernous park in baseball, and things were only starting to get interesting.
SEATTLE -- The Boston Red Sox moved on temporarily without their most productive and most popular player during their glory years, David Ortiz, but he will return Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, according to manager Terry Francona.
Big Papi has taken a back seat -- almost literally -- this weekend at Safeco Field, watching his teammates split the first two games of a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners. Francona said before Sunday's finale that Ortiz, batting a putrid .208 with no homers and 15 RBIs in 130 at-bats, will be in Tuesday's starting lineup against Toronto. His slugging percentage is .300, 74 points less than Jacoby Ellsbury. Ortiz sunk to perhaps a career low when he went 0-for-7 with 12 runners left on base in a 5-4, 12-inning loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
After having some problems his last two starts, Tuesday night Rick Porcello looked like the phenom the Tigers drafted. The 20 year-old upped his record to 2-3 after hurling 7 scoreless innings against the Twins. He allowed 7 baserunners in as many innings, struck out 3, and -- most importantly -- kept the ball in the yard. In his first four starts, Porcello allowed at least 1 home run per game, 6 total. Tuesday night, Porcellos allowed only three fly balls to the outfield.
No single baseball play has gotten more coverage this season than Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home against the Yankees in Fenway Park Sunday night -- and rightfully so, as stealing home is a really rare feat, especially these days. In the aftermath, it was particularly disgraceful to listen to Joe Morgan, on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, repeatedly try to blame the play on Jorge Posada, the Yankees' catcher, due to the fact that a left-handed hitter was at the plate.
As it turns out, Posada had actually warned Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' pitcher, that Ellsbury might try to swipe home.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It wasn't enough for Jacoby Ellsbury to win every U.S. citizen a free taco by swiping the first base of the 2007 World Series. No, Jacoby Ellsbury does more than feed the country. He's working to steal the hearts of all baseball fans. He took a step towards that goal Sunday night by stealing home during the final game of the Yankees/Red Sox series at Fenway Park.
This was the first straight-steal of home plate by a Red Sox player since Billy Hatcher did so in April of 1994. Jose Offerman stole home on the front-end of a double-steal in 1999.
It's not just that they were swept by the hated Red Sox in Fenway Park. It's that their all-world closer, Mariano Rivera, coughed up a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning en route a 5-4 11-inning loss Friday night. It's that $82.5 million free-agent addition A.J. Burnett was gifted a six-run lead Saturday afternoon and he blew it, only to be matched by the bullpen in a 16-11 loss. It's that to add insult to a number of injuries, Jacoby Ellsbury stole home -- on a straight steal no less -- against Andy Pettitte Sunday night to cap off the sweep.
In a town like New York where the pressure is always on, it's bad enough to get swept. It's much worse to have it happen because of blown saves, flat-out lousy pitching and a mental error by a veteran starting pitcher.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
SEATTLE -- The Boston Red Sox moved on temporarily without their most productive and most popular player during their glory years, 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
No single baseball play has gotten more coverage this season than 
It might be a tough Monday morning in Yankeeland.
