ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals are facing their most important game of the season, so it's good that they have Joel Pineiro to take the ball.
Who'd have guessed you'd read that sentence a couple years ago?
Pineiro was trying to overpower hitters with velocity that had long since left him as recently as last year, his fifth consecutive mediocre season. It took the insistence of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, the master of the fixer-upper, to get Pineiro to accept what he had become, and to get the most out of it. Starting in spring training, Duncan told Pineiro to just focus on the sinker instead of the four-seam fastball.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Adam LaRoche, he of the longest swing in the majors, is starting to heat up. In the last 9 games, he's hit .387 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI, 4 runs, 2 doubles, a .444 on-base percentage and 1.186 OPS. If his career history is any indicator, we can expect things to continue along this pace.
It's just that he's starting things up a bit early. In LaRoche's career, he's been two different players per season. Just look at his splits. He's a decent hitter with good power in through June. From July on, though, he's a good hitter with great power.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Max Scherzer, the 24-year-old fireballer for the Diamondbacks, has worlds of talent. He also takes a step back every time you think he's finally hitting his groove. This past week, he was a two-start pitcher in the fantasy baseball world. His first start was pure gold (that's gold, Jerry!). He threw 7 shutout innings and struck out 10 before getting chased in the eighth inning -- after allowing a few earned runs. He followed that up with an absolute catastrophe on Sunday. The light-hitting Braves touched him up for 10 hits and 8 earned runs in only 3 2/3 innings.
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)
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)
As we head into the third week of the fantasy baseball season we have 34 starting pitchers throwing twice. When setting your lineups, remember that tomorrow is Patriot's Day in Boston, so first pitch is at 11:05 AM Eastern Time.
Must Start Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - Tuesday vs TEX (B. McCarthy) and Sunday at CWS (J. Contreras) Derek Lowe, Braves - Monday at WAS (J. Zimmermann)and Saturday at CIN (B. Arroyo) C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Tuesday vs OAK (B. Anderson) and Sunday at BOS (J. Beckett) Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers - Tuesday at HOU (R. Ortiz) and Sunday at COL (J. Marquis)
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 ... Home of the best hitter in baseball. Yes, I'm proclaiming that Albert Pujols is the modern-day (and real-life) Roy Hobbs. Last year, people counted him as a huge injury-risk and he went out and won the NL MVP. I think we should have all learned by now that this man should never be drafted outside the top five overall picks.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Since the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs are the two teams in the NL Central making all the moves, most people have begun writing off the St. Louis Cardinals as division contenders. It's pretty hard to blame anyone for feeling this way. After all, in recent weeks the Brewers have added an ace to their starting rotation in CC Sabathia, and just yesterday they added some infield depth when they picked up Ray Durham from the Giants.
I don't expect the Durham trade to be Milwaukee's last play, either.
The Cardinals? Well, for the most part they're just crossing their fingers that Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright can return in August and provide a boost to the ballclub. The problem with this approach is that the Redbirds may very well find themselves out of the race by then if they sit on their hands. That's why every game right now is important for the Cardinals, and the four game set they're about to begin with the Brewers tonight is huge.
John Mozeliak may be the Cardinals interim GM, but that's not stopping him from making moves. According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mozeliak inked Joel Pineiro to a two-year deal on Monday. The total value of the contract is not yet known, but Strauss indicated that the average salary is thought to be higher than the $4 million Pineiro made last year.
Pineiro opened last year in Boston's bullpen, but he was largely ineffective in 31 relief outings, posting a 5.03 ERA over 34 innings. He returned to the rotation after being acquired by the Cardinals and ended up being a better-than-average starter, posting a 3.96 ERA (110 ERA+) in 11 starts.
It didn't look like a fluke, either; he struck out 40 with just 12 walks in 63 2/3 innings. It was just a few years ago that he was considered an up-and-coming pitcher with the Mariners -- after getting knocked around for a couple of years, it looks like he's regained the magic.
With Mark Mulder sidelined until at least May, the Cardinals were desperate to add a starting pitcher. As things stand now, Pineiro joins Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper as the only sure-things to be included in the team's starting five.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Pittsburgh Pirates (63-80) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (73-69)-7:05PM Est.
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers for finally learning one of the NL Central's deepest darkest secrets: You can play like crap and still win the division. That's right, despite all their struggles of late, the Brewers have reclaimed first place in the NL Central. Now they move on to Pittsburgh to take on a Pirates team that just knocked the Cubs out of first. Will the Brewers be subjected to the same fate? The key for the Brewers lately has been the return of the home run to their arsenal. The Brew Crew is knocking the crap out of the ball, much like they did at the beginning of the season, and they're hoping it continues this afternoon. Carlos Villanueva will make the start for the Brewers today, and he'll be looking to match his last start. Villanueva held the Astros to one run in a 5-3 Milwaukee victory last week. He'll be going against Tony Armas who has had success against Milwaukee in his career. In five starts, Armas is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals are facing their most important game of the season, so it's good that they have Joel Pineiro to take the ball.
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. 
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.
As we head into the third week of the fantasy baseball season we have 34 starting pitchers throwing twice. When setting your lineups, remember that tomorrow is Patriot's Day in Boston, so first pitch is at 11:05 AM Eastern Time.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
