FanHouse Jason Hammel

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After an awful start to 2009, the Rockies fired Clint Hurdle, promoted Jim Tracy and proceeded to play like the best team in the National League for the rest of the regular season. They lost an exciting playoff series to the eventual NL champion Phillies, but there is no reason to think the Rockies are going away with all their young talent.

In fact, the Rockies are in position to make themselves a candidate to be a dynasty. Seriously. They can move forward with a starting lineup of Todd Helton, Clint Barmes and six proven guys who are 27 or younger. The pitching staff and minor-league talent are equally as impressive. Now it's simply a matter of cultivating their young talent while making sure they don't halt any momentum.

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Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

Man, you figured there was a good spot-start to be had somewhere yesterday, and there was. Wade Davis shook off a drubbing in his previous start to spin a complete-game shut out, striking out 10 Orioles along the way. My begrudgingly-made pick was Brandon Morrow, who pitched 5.2 innings and only allowed two runs, but walked six batters on the day. Those type of control problems are not a recipe for fantasy success.

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

We're back to rocking it on the Stream Team. After Vicente Padilla gave up just an unearned run in six innings for a Saturday win, Clay Buchholz went seven innings today while allowing one run in a no-decision. In 13 September starts, we now have 8 wins, a 3.81 ERA, and a 1.18 WHIP. We're also working on an eight-game quality-start streak. I was terrible at picking spot starters at the end of August, but I'm back, baby.

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

While the early part of August was a testament of what can happen when streaming goes right (13 wins in 20 days), this past week has been a reminder of what happens when the strategy goes terribly wrong. Horrible starts from Bud Norris and Clay Buchholz, coupled with poor starts from Kenshin Kawakami and Anibal Sanchez, have shot our ERA up to the mid-fours, which is where it sits on the season. Barry Zito was today's pick -- desperate times call for desperate measures, and he's been quite good lately.

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

For yesterday's spot-starter, I opted for a pitcher that should have been available in almost every league, picking Jason Hammel on the road. He did not disappoint, and with the help of some superb defensive plays by Ian Stewart, the Rockies pitcher threw seven innings of one-run ball en route to another Stream Team win. We're sporting an ERA of 3.69 and a WHIP of 1.21 in August. Hopefully Luke Hochevar, a pick I wasn't too happy making, can keep it going tonight.

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

Manny Parra was able to put up a quality start on Tuesday, but the win and the strikeouts didn't come, so we'll chalk that up as an unsuccessful pick. Tonight, we went with Jeff Niemann against the Orioles. Surprisingly, the 4-11 Jose Contreras would have been a great spot start today, as he struck out eight, walked one, and allowed only one run against the Royals in an afternoon game in Chicago.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
The New York Yankees started the season 0-8 against their despised rival Boston Red Sox. After a 5-0 win Saturday, the Yankees have now won three straight against Boston and six straight overall. They have built a commanding 5-1/2 game lead in the vaunted AL East. As much as the games count, the mental gain made this series for the Bronx Bombers has to be immense.

As for the Red Sox, talk about a role reversal. They went from owning the Yanks to not being able to score a run. In fact, they've now gone 24 innings without crossing the plate.

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There is no joy in watching a player get drilled in the head with a fastball. Other than the Indians, it is maybe the worst thing that can happen on a baseball diamond. Crashes are a selling point of NASCAR, fights are a loyalty-building exercise in the NHL, and limp-wristed sissy fights are top shelf NBA news. In baseball, everyone needs to be OK. They need to be on drugs, and totally OK.

Thank goodness that the Padres' Edgar Gonzalez is doing well after catching a heater to the ear flap during San Diego's Saturday night 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. At least, I think he's doing OK. I can't really remember.

Tonight's Dugout is after the jump. Somebody told you to read it, because it is good!

Things are obviously going pretty well for any team that wins 11 in a row, but the Rockies are giving baseball people reason to believe they might be legitimate.

Pitching has been the Rockies' issue when they've struggled, and a scout who saw the Rockies sweep the Mariners over the weekend said that they seem to have some quality arms these days.

"They're all pitching well right now," the scout said. "Jason Hammel had a really good game and good stuff the day I was there. Jason Marquis had his sinker working and he pitched well. And the big guy, Ubaldo Jimenez, has great stuff. He was 95-99 consistently, with a good breaking pitch and his changeup was working. It's all going to boil down to if those guys keep doing what they do best, which is sinker-slider for Hammel and Marquis, and Jimenez is a power pitcher who is going to win as long as he throws strikes."

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

When you think of Chicago Cubs starting pitchers, you first think of Carlos Zambrano. Next is probably Rich Harden, especially in terms of sheer talent -- plus, the injury woes probably keep him fresh in your mind. After last season, Ryan Dempster should be hanging out in your baseball-knowledge-filled brain as well. The best Cubs' starter of 2009, though, has been Ted Lilly. After yet another quality start Sunday, the Cubs' left-hander is 7-4 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.