Major League Baseball announced the winners of its prestigious awards this week; now, FanHouse is following suit. We voted on winners in five categories (MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Draft Day Bargain, Draft Day Bust), the results of which are revealed below. Remember, this awards show deals strictly in fantasy baseball. I'll also throw in a few awards I'm personally doling out for performances that made the 2009 season what it was.
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.
The Atlanta Braves were alive in the wild-card race late in the season due to a powerful pitching rotation that featured six viable starting candidates (at least there were six at the end of the season). The Braves ranked third in the National League in team ERA with a 3.57 mark and had two 15-game winners in Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez. They also ranked fourth in team batting average and sixth in runs scored even without a true cleanup hitter in the lineup.
If you examine their bullpen you'll also find two relievers who were in the top five in strikeouts among relief pitchers -- Mike Gonzalez with 90 and Rafael Soriano with 102. These relievers shared the closing duties for most of the season and each had ERA's below three to finish the year.
On the free-agent market, all the focus has been on John Lackey. On the trade market, the talk has been about Roy Halladay. The consolation prize for teams seeking a top-flight arm may come out of Atlanta.
The Braves have two of their top starters on the block, Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez, and there's little doubt that at least one of those two pitchers will be moved, according to multiple major league sources. With strong resumes for both, there should be teams lined up for their services.
One source said that the Braves intend to move one of the two pitchers, and who goes will depend on the offers they receive.
You probably want to be spared the cheesy "home is where the heart is" stuff, but to Tim Hudson that sentiment apparently carries a lot of weight. Hudson, who grew up about 100 miles away from Atlanta in Phenix City, Ala. has once again given the Atlanta Braves a hometown discount. It all comes down to two parties wanting to continue a mutually beneficial relationship.
"I wanted to be back and they (Braves) wanted me back", Hudson told local sports-talk radio station 680 the Fan this morning. "Sometimes you have to tell your agent that I'm happy here and you work for me."
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That when we told you a few weeks ago that the Braves were just about dead, we might have been a bit premature. Led by Javier Vazquez's third complete game of the season, the Braves beat the Nationals, 4-1, winning their fourth game in a row and 12th out of the past 14.
The Braves are still 3 1/2 behind the Rockies in the wild-card race (and mathematically alive in the NL East, believe it or not), but they do have at least one thing in their favor. They play the Nationals six more times in their final nine games, with the other three against Florida.
In Friday's game, Vazquez added another line to his under-appreciated resume. He is 10-2 since July 7. He has 15 victories this season. The only pitcher to win at least 10 games every year since 2000, Vazquez is second only to Randy Johnson in strikeouts in the decade.
As Tim Hudson continues to build up toward his pre-injury strength, the Braves can look to the offseason with a dilemma: Which of their six starting pitchers should be playing elsewhere in 2010. Hudson has a $12 million option, and in order for the Braves to afford to pay that, they'd likely have to trade one of the other starters. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens aren't going anywhere, and it's doubtful the Braves could convince someone to take on Derek Lowe's massive contract.
Thus, the likely candidates -- should the Braves decide they need to shed salary and keep Hudson -- would be Kenshin Kawakami and Javier Vazquez.
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
Not only has Pedro Martinez looked great in his early starts but he gets to face the Nationals and the Mets next week. He would be a great two-start add, and he's only owned in 33% of fantasy leagues.
There are 35 total two-start pitchers for week 23. Make sure you get your rosters set by 12:35 PM ET as the Cubs and Pirates play first on Monday.
The Atlanta Braves have too many good starting pitchers.
It's a problem that every major league team wishes they had. The Washington Nationals just signed the most hyped college baseball player in decades because their rotation is a laughingstock. Heck, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the best team ERA in baseball and they don't even have a clue who their fifth starter should be.
Tim Hudson, surgically repaired right elbow and all, has returned to the Braves rotation. On Tuesday he made his first appearance in over a year, and his five-strikeout performance was good enough to earn him the win and force serious questions on Bobby Cox about his starting rotation. Everyone wants to know what the Braves will do now that they have six quality starting pitchers.
NEW YORK -- Maybe Javier Vazquez has finally found a home.
Despite remarkable consistency, Vazquez has been traded four times in the past six years and has made 100 starts for just one of the five franchises for which he has played.
The latest is Atlanta, where Vazquez is having a strong but somewhat overlooked season.
"I love it here," Vazquez told FanHouse. "It was always a place that I saw myself playing one day. It never happened until this year, but I'm happy it did."
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
One of the most prized prospects in baseball is blossoming before our eyes. And his timing couldn't be better as the Colorado Rockies are in the thick of a Wild Card hunt.
Carlos Gonzalez did it all in the minor leagues. Before being called up he hit ten home runs and batted .339 in 48 games. He struggled a bit upon arriving in Denver, but now is really turning it on.
Over the last month, Gonzalez is batting .432 with a home run and three stolen bases. His 1.114 OPS shows that he's really creaming the ball and his eruption is fueling the Rockies' winning ways. On Sunday Gonzalez went 3-for-5 and brought his season batting average up to .283.
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.
On the free-agent market, all the focus has been on John Lackey. On the trade market, the talk has been about Roy Halladay. The consolation prize for teams seeking a top-flight arm may come out of Atlanta. 
You probably want to be spared the cheesy "home is where the heart is" stuff, but to Tim Hudson that sentiment apparently carries a lot of weight. Hudson, who grew up about 100 miles away from Atlanta in Phenix City, Ala. has once again given the Atlanta Braves a hometown discount. It all comes down to two parties wanting to continue a mutually beneficial relationship.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
As Tim Hudson continues to build up toward his pre-injury strength, the Braves can look to the offseason with a dilemma: Which of their six starting pitchers should be playing elsewhere in 2010. Hudson has a $12 million option, and in order for the Braves to afford to pay that, they'd likely have to trade one of the other starters. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens aren't going anywhere, and it's doubtful the Braves could convince someone to take on Derek Lowe's massive contract. 
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
The Atlanta Braves have too many good starting pitchers.
NEW YORK -- Maybe Javier Vazquez has finally found a 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.
