FanHouse JonGarland

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

You Oughta Know ...
Jon Garland couldn't beat them. So he joined them. And then he beat the old them.

Traded from the fourth-place Diamondbacks to the first-place Dodgers earlier in the week, Garland on Friday faced Arizona in his first start for Los Angeles.

"It was fun. I grew up coming to games here, and getting a chance to pitch for this team is definitely a dream come true," Garland said. "It's kind of awkward the way it happened -- but nevertheless, it did -- and I was able to throw a good one up. I didn't leave too many tickets. I cut the phone off and told people if they want to come, they can pay for it and support the team."

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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)

It's not a terribly glorious week for two-start pitchers in week six (Monday, May 11th - Sunday May 17th) of the fantasy baseball season. With the light day of action on Monday there are only 34 total this week, and most of this week's pitchers are risky picks.

You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET on Monday as the only four games are night starts

Must Start
Johan Santana, Mets - Monday vs ATL (D. Lowe) and Saturday at SF (R. Johnson)
Matt Cain , Giants - Tuesday vs WAS (J. Zimmermann) and Sunday vs NYM (M. Pelfrey)
Jered Weaver , Angels - Tuesday vs BOS (J. Masterson) and Sunday at TEX (S. Feldman)
Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - Tuesday vs NYY (A. Burnett) and Sunday vs CWS (G. Floyd)

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)

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks began 2008 white-hot and were considered a legitimate World Series contender, storming out to record 12 games over .500 on May 18. They then proceeded to slap together two straight sub-.500 months, managing a 22-33 record in May and June, scoring just 90 runs in the latter monht.

When the Dodgers finally acquired Manny Ramirez, well, things snowballed and Arizona suddenly found itself out of the playoffs altogether.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Chicago White Sox.

The expectations for the Chicago White Sox weren't very high in 2008. The team was coming off of a dismal 72-90 performance in 2007, following up two consecutive 90-win seasons and they'd lost perhaps their most consistent starter in Jon Garland in a trade for Orlando Cabrera. They also acquired Nick Swisher from the Oakland Athletics, hoping he would be the glue that held the team together.

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 ...
Still incredibly young Diamondbacks. It seems like when the Backs failed to keep the momentum going after an early season charge, people forgot this was still a very young team. The overwhelming majority of the roster is younger than 30, and most of the offense is younger than 27. This means we have a large group of guys who have the potential to throw up career-year type numbers at the drop of a hat. Be ready ...

After a long offseason searching for the right job offer, Jon Garland has finally signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Garland has agreed to a one-year contract with an option for 2010. Piecoro stated the deal is likely in the $6-$8 million range.

Garland made $12 million pitching for the Los Angeles Angels last season, and was offered arbitration. He surely would have gained at least a small raise during the process, but he declined.

It must be tough for these baseball players to accept the fact that the gravy train has screeched to a halt this winter. That's the only reason I can think of to explain why Jon Garland turned down an offer from the Diamondbacks.

Now the offer might have been pretty low, as Arizona is believed to have about $4 million left to spend, and Garland was hoping for an offer of about $10 million annually, but with the way teams are spending, he may have to lower his standards a bit, or risk not having a chair left to sit in when the music stops.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Believe it or not, Spring Training is just one month away. It's been a long, cold winter -- at least everywhere except Philadelphia (or Florida or Southern California) -- but if you listen closely, you can practically hear the sharp crack of the bat. Daydream long enough, and you can almost see that first session of pitcher's fielding practice.

But we aren't there yet. The slow free-agent market has left plenty of unfinished business as the clock counts down toward reporting date. So with that in mind, here are 12 big questions that figure to be answered before the moving trucks are loaded and sent on their way to Florida and Arizona.