FanHouse JohnnyDamon

World Series MVP Hideki Matsui was an absolute monster (Godzilla?) in the 2009 Fall Classic. In 13 at-bats, he pounded eight hits -- including a double and three home runs -- eight RBI and three runs scored. His OPS for the series was an obscene 2.027.

As he was accepting the MVP trophy, there were many items swirling around in my head (there always are, it's a burden, I tell ya!). He's a free agent, the Yankees likely can't justify bringing back both him and Johnny Damon if they want to shore up their starting pitching, etc. There were several more ... and then I arrived at this one: man, he's really gonna be overrated in fantasy baseball drafts next season.

You can look at Cliff Lee's pitching line from Wednesday night's Game 1 win against the Yankees and know that he pitched well. During the game, though, you didn't need to do anything more than catch a closeup of Lee's face to know that he was in a serious groove. All game he wore the look of the guy who knew that he had his best stuff working and that he wasn't afraid who knew it.

If the look on the face or the darts he was throwing didn't convince you, there was always this play:

NEW YORK -- Asked the question, Derek Jeter just threw his hands in the air as if to say, "You got me."

"Same as hitting second, man," he said about batting leadoff this season. "People pay too much attention to all that stuff, in my opinion.

"We haven't had problems scoring runs here, for years, really."

Well, that's Derek Jeter. The key to his remarkable consistency and ability to rise to the occasion lies with his almost stubborn refusal to change his approach whatever the inning, month, opponent -- or spot in the batting order.

But the reality is that the Yankees' decision to flip-flop Jeter and Johnny Damon has so far paid off, helping the Yankees lead the majors in scoring.

Federal authorities have asked seven Major League Baseball players -- Greg Maddux, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, J.D. Drew, Andruw Jones, Carlos Pena and Jay Bell -- to return millions of dollars that they received from investor R. Allen Stanford as part of a payout in his alleged Ponzi scheme, according to a report in the Washington Times.

The players -- all clients of Scott Boras -- did not commit any wrongdoing, but, as early investors in the Stanford Financial Group, are believed to have received dividends from Stanford financed by investors that came after.

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

You hear that, fantasy baseball owners? Josh Hamilton's sole purpose on this Earth is to mess with you. Really, there's no way to over-dramatize the crap he's put fantasy owners through. Initially, he would have been the crown jewel in a dynasty league with minor-leaguers. When those types finally gave up on him, he made the show for the Reds. Then, he started to catch on for the Reds, but couldn't stay healthy. So he goes to the Rangers and puts himself on a record RBI pace, only to significantly slow down in the second half. In 2009, the bona fide elite-level fantasy outfielder has only played 35 games. He's only hitting .240. And he's out until mid-July.

NEW YORK – Jimmy Rollins swears he isn't obsessed with teams from New York. He doesn't spend late nights worrying about whether the Mets might finally shake the choke collars from around their necks, doesn't wake up thinking the Yankees just might be built for October.

So why does it seem Rollins is forever talking about the Mets and the Yankees? Two seasons ago he made a remark that proved to be pretty prophetic, saying his Philadelphia Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East, and Mets fans reacted as if Rollins personally removed the frontal lobe from Jose Reyes' brain. Now from Rollins' crystal ball comes this enticing prediction: the Phillies will play the Yankees in the World Series this October.

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

With a starting rotation containing Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Matt Harrison, Scott Feldman and Brandon McCarthy, it's pretty safe to say many mixed leagues went through draft or auction day without mentioning a single starting Rangers pitcher -- unless it was in jest.

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.

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

You Oughta Know...
That rumors of Jake Peavy's demise have been exaggerated. When the San Diego Padres' ace got out of the chute with a 5.74 ERA in his first five starts, there were certainly a lot of folks wondering if he was going to suffer a second World Baseball Classic Hangover (see 2006).

Since then, though, he's been more like his normal self. Peavy pitched a four-hit complete game, beating the Reds, 3-1, on Sunday. Over his past four starts, Peavy has a 1.80 ERA.

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

I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.

Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GM's. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.

Over the past few weeks nobody has been driving in runners like Evan Longoria. His 28 RBI over the last 14 days is tops in Major League Baseball, and head and shoulders better then anyone else. But, he's not available in any fantasy leagues and you're not prying him away from the owner who drafted him for anywhere close to fair value.

Let's look elsewhere for some help if your rotisserie team needs some more RBI.