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.
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.
The joke is on us, because the Rangers starting rotation is pretty damn legit right now. After Sunday, the Rangers now sport the fifth-best starter's ERA (4.25) in the American League.
There are some pretty good two-start pitchers going in week seven of the fantasy baseball season. Chad Billingsley and Dan Haren lead the list of "Must Start" pitchers, while I'm not sure which option would be riskier between Dontrelle Willis and Tim Redding this week.
There are 47 two-start pitchers in all and you'll need to lock your lineup by 1:07 PM ET on Monday as that's first pitch between the White Sox and Blue Jays.
Must Start Dan Haren , Diamondbacks - Monday at FLA (R. Nolasco) and Saturday at OAK (J. Outman) Derek Lowe , Braves - Monday vs COL (J. Marquis) and Saturday vs TOR (S. Richmond) Jair Jurrjens , Braves - Tuesday vs COL (J. Hammel) and Sunday vs TOR (B. Tallet)
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Who would have thought that Dexter Fowler's five stolen base game wouldn't even last a week as the high steals game in 2009. Carl Crawford did him one better Sunday, taking six in as many chances. Crawford is now 17-17 in stolen base attempts this season. Lost in the shuffle was that his 4-4 day at the plate caused his average to rise all the way up to .317.
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Must Start Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Tuesday vs CHC (C. Zambrano) and Sunday at MLW (D. Bush) Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Tuesday at SF (B. Zito) and Sunday vs SD (J. Geer) James Shields, Rays - Tuesday at MIN (F. Liriano) and Sunday vs BOS (B. Penny) Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at MIN (S. Baker) Kyle Lohse, Cardinals - Tuesday at ATL (J. Reyes) and Sunday at WAS (J. Lannan) Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at ARZ (Y. Petit) and Saturday vs FLA (A. Sanchez)
It's not easy being a top prospect. Despite being only 23, many people probably recognize Franklin Morales' name because of his role in the Rockies' improbable run to the World Series in 2007. Last year, he bounced between Triple-A and the majors and mostly struggled at both levels. This was a bit disappointing to some, but given his age it wasn't all that discouraging.
He was all set to begin 2009 as part of the Colorado rotation and he had a decent spring when the Rockies traded for Jason Hammel right before the season started. That lead to an awkward situation Wednesday: he knew he was being demoted to Triple-A after an afternoon game against the Diamondbacks, so he went out and tossed six sparkling one-hit innings to pick up the win.
One of the most talked-about subplots this spring has been the competition to be the Rays' fifth starter. With both Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann out of options, the Rays have to either trade the pitcher that doesn't make the rotation or risk losing him on waivers in an attempt to return him to Triple-A.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
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.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
There are some pretty good two-start pitchers going in week seven of the fantasy baseball season. 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
It's not easy being a top prospect. Despite being only 23, many people probably recognize 
One of the most talked-about subplots this spring has been the competition to be the Rays' fifth starter. With both 
