FanHouse JerryHairston

NEW YORK -- Of course it would end this way, in such classic, expected fashion. What, you didn't have Jerry Hairston Jr. scoring the winning run for the Yankees in the bottom of the 13th inning, after the Angel infield completely lost its heads? Join the club with millions of other baseball fans who watched Saturday's American League Championship Series melt into Sunday morning, and still aren't sure how and why this astonishing Game 2 concluded as it did.

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From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday. It appears Saturday because of the A-Rod and Manny Ramirez news.

Heading into Saturday's action, the Cincinnati Reds have played pretty good baseball. They've taken some lumps, but overall it's been a good start for a team that finished 14 games under .500 in 2008. They've gotten good pitching, but their offense leaves something to be desired. Only the Diamondbacks and Giants have scored less runs in the NL.

Boy, they could really use Adam Dunn.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Cincinnati Reds.

Once one of the most admired franchises in professional sports, the Reds have now suffered through nearly a decade of futility. The last time they finished above .500 was in 2000, when they won 85 games. The last trip to the postseason was in 1995. Even their gorgeous ballpark is barren for much of the summer, as the Reds finished 23rd in attendance last season. It's safe to say that the days of the Big Red Machine are a distant memory.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Team who definitely won't be clogging up the bases. That joke never gets old, but, seriously, this is a team who has the potential to make some noise. Their lineup and rotation are both good, and there are several solid fantasy players here. If you want stars, though, keep on moving. There are lots of really good players here, just no great ones.

The Seattle Mariners have a bit of a rebuilding project in front of them, and the new administration knows that. General Manager Jack Zduriencik could be in search of signing a few veteran free agents, though, just to stay at least somewhat competitive for the next few years while they attempt to rebuild their farm system -- after former GM Bill Bavasi mortgaged it for Erik Bedard.

Today they tried to snag one early in the Hot Stove season, making an offer to, uh, I don't know. I can tell you who it's not, does that help?

He wouldn't name the player, but it isn't Ken Griffey Jr. Ok, so that really narrows it down.

Zduriencik also let us in on the fact that it was a position player, not a pitcher, and that he hopes to know within the next couple days.

So that's what we know. Let's just play a game here and try to guess who it was. We'll narrow the list by eliminating very high-priced talent. As Jacob told us in the Mariners' footprints, they need an offensive player. Raul Ibanez is departing from the outfield, and I think replacing him is their most pressing need.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

After clinging to contender-ship for the past few years, it seems as though last season was a wake-up call to San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers. Trevor Hoffman will not be the closer this year, Khalil Greene is likely to be traded, and Jake Peavy is definitely going to be traded. Let's examine what triggered this.

The Padres can't hit, and they are not in position to develop an offense any time soon. They had been able to survive with little offense the previous three seasons because their pitching and defense -- teamed with their home-field advantage in spacious Petco Park -- was able to churn out those 3-2 and 2-1 victories enough times to stay competitive. That all went by the wayside in 2008, as significant time was missed by Peavy and Chris Young atop the rotation (they made only 45 combined starts after making 64 in 2007) and the rest of the starters were shaky all season. In turn, the team ERA ballooned from 3.70 to 4.41.

No one inspires more absolutely horrible, extemporaneous-letter, fantasy writing jokes than Jhonny Peralta. This makes zero sense, because the "H" is the only bizarre letter in his name, and there are only one of them. Yet, somehow I am able to fight through that fact and persevere with my putrid humor. Point being that Peralta tops the list of players you should consider adding this week.

Jhonny Peralta
7 day stats -- .333/.385/.708, 2HR, 3RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Peralta is the eternal fantasy tease after his monster season a few years back. He is streak, just like most free agent options, but he's white hot now and the Indians get four games at Texas followed by three games at Detroit, so you should expect to see him continue raking.

Mark Reynolds
7 day stats -- .359/.450/.941, 3HR, 3RBI, 3BB, 0SB
You may remember Reynolds from such hits as "Early April Fraud" and "Chris Shelton, Part Deux". Reynolds appears to have gotten sloppy with all the attention he got and fell off the radar. Then Chad Tracy came back and the dood started raking again. Snatch him up this week and start him while he's hot.

Jerry Hairston
7 day stats -- .458/.464/.652, 0HR, 4RBI, 4BB, 3SB
Guy just won't go away will he? Hairston continues to start, steal bases and have MI eligibility. That makes him start worthy in a large number of fantasy leagues. He's not a great player but you can't kill speed.

Cliff Floyd
7 day starts -- .357/.500/1.00, 3HR, 5RBI, 4BB, 0SB
You know what you're getting with ole' Cliff -- some taterjacks, some strikeouts and possibly limited AB's, in this case. Still, he's certainly a nice deeper end pickup and he's streaking now so that makes him a pretty nice option.

Akinori Iwamura, 2B/3B, TB
7 day stats -- .406/.441/.594, 1HR, 3RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Iwamura isn't going to set the world on fire with his power, but he gets hits (13) and he should score in the Rays lineup. Also, he's second base eligible. Not to mention the Rays have a nice set of matchups this week with Oakland and Baltimore on tap. A very nice start.

Jeremy Hermida, OF, FLA
7 day stats -- .269/.321/.615, 3HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Hermida has been talent-laden for what seems like forever (it's actually not) and is finally starting to rake a little bit, even if his average numbers aren't especially appealing this week. Hermida is certainly a nice option in deeper leagues (only because of the Webb/Haren combo this week) and can help teams for the remainder of the season as well.

Blake DeWitt, 3B, LAD
7 day stats -- .467/.500/1.000, 2HR, 3RBI, 1BB, 0SB
Yes, he awkwardly has as many home runs in the past week as Andruw Jones does on the season. DeWitt probably got re-dropped in most medium sized leagues after getting hurt, but like the Cavs, he seemingly won't go away. Fortunately for him, he should continue to see playing time and is a nice option in most leagues as a CI.

Ryan Freel has become a bit player for the Reds, seeing most of his time as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter. Why is this? Apparently because of a conversation he allegedly had with Dusty Baker in which he said he wasn't comfortable playing every day. Trouble is, Freel doesn't recall ever having this conversation. From John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"It would have stunned a lot of people if they heard what was said about me. Apparently, I said I couldn't play every day to the manager. Apparently, I told him that this offseason. That would have never come out of mouth."

[...] "I talked to Wayne (Krivsky) to tell him I didn't say that," Freel said. "I would never in a million years say that. They gave me a two-year ($7 million) deal. I don't think it was to do this. It's frustrating. I can't explain it. There's a lot going on. It's a shame that I had to address it like this. I didn't want to get the media involved."

Fortunately somebody had the decency to remind Baker that Corey Patterson isn't very good at the game of baseball, but in the meantime Jerry Hairston has been recalled from the minors and taken a lot of the at-bats Freel would normally get, playing anywhere and everywhere on the field. Making matters worse (for Freel, not the Reds) is that Hairston is actually hitting right now (.364 heading into tonight's game), which means Freel will likely continue to be snubbed for the time being.