FanHouse Jose Guillen

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

You Oughta Know ...
The White Sox, Rays and Marlins aren't irrelevant yet.

All three teams faced near must-win games Wednesday, and all came through -- late.

Chicago, which would have fallen eight games out in the AL Central and 4 1/2 behind second-place Minnesota, rallied against Twins closer Joe Nathan with four runs in the ninth for a 4-2 victory.

"Hopefully we start playing better and have a little more fun, at least have a little more fun," [Sox manager Ozzie] Guillen said. "You think we're out [of post-season contention]. People think we're out, just go out there and enjoy it. Hopefully things turn around."

---

---

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

You Oughta Know ...
That not even a little (OK, a lot of) rain could get in the way of the emerging Yankees juggernaut. The Bronx Bombers sat through a two-hour, 43-minute rain delay (40 minutes longer than it took Mark Buehrle to throw his perfect game) and won their seventh straight, beating the A's 6-3 to open up their lead in the AL East over Boston to 2 1/2 games.

It was a nice night for the two big winter additions -- CC Sabathia won his 10th game and Mark Teixeira homered -- and an even nicer night for Phil Hughes, who picked up his first career save.

Hughes kept the game ball, joining one autographed by Rivera that now sits in a glass case in his locker. "I don't know what's more valuable, Mariano Rivera's 500th or my first," Hughes said. "It's certainly a long way since spring training."

---

---

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

Prospects' careers don't always progress the way we hoped they would. While players like Rick Porcello and Clayton Kershaw became fantasy-relevant before their 22nd birthdays, Nolan Reimold had to wait until he was 25 to get a legitimate shot. Travis Hafner wasn't a true force until he was 27, etc.. In any case, like the curious one of scorching outfielder Garrett Jones, it's important to keep that perspective in mind.

So what exactly do we know about "The Robber Baron"? (Other than the fact that he's drilled nine homers in his first 17 games with Pittsburgh)

Jose Guillen has been an albatross for the Kansas City Royals since the moment he signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the club in December 2007.

He's hit .257 with a .304 on-base percentage in a season and a half with the Royals, and, just for good measure, he was suspended for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy hours after passing a physical with his new team (a suspension that was later rescinded as part of the agreement that granted players named in the Mitchell Report amnesty).

But, hey, at least Guillen is honest about how bad he's been for Kansas City.

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

There I am. Bottom of the 10th inning. Promenade section of Citi Field.

With my hands swollen from furious applause throughout the night and my legs bobbing to stay warm, Fernando Martinez laced a hit to right field. We came alive once more, while the old man sitting next to me grumbled: "Another friggin single? Pelfrey's the only one who drove somethin'."

Sixteen hits and pitcher Mike Pelfrey was the Met with pop.

When you lose a star like Manny Ramirez in fantasy leagues, there is no "quick fix." You're either going to make a trade to fill the glaring hole, or you play mad scientist with waiver-wire options to tide your team over. I've always been a fan of the latter before resorting to the block. Luckily, there are seven players available who are capable of giving your team the needed power in mixed leagues. Not Manny-type power, obviously, but enough to mitigate the damage for a few months. And if that's not up your alley, we've got some trade targets, too.

Let's take a peek inside the barrel of pop ...

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 finished above the hype-machine Tigers last season. In fact, finishing only 12 games below .500 in a division that was expected to be very strong had to have exceeded expectations in the first year of Trey Hillman's managerial stint. After all, it was the first year since '03 the Royals didn't finish in last. They still have holes, but they also have a good group of young, talented players.

Next Big Thing is MLB FanHouse's look at emerging teams, trends and stars in 2009.

One of the most surprising free-agent signings in the winter before the 2008 season was Jose Guillen. The Royals laid out $36 million over three years for the outfielder, a big sum for a team operating on a small budget.

There wasn't much in Guillen's history to justify such a large outlay of cash and he didn't change any minds with a poor 2008 season that helped the Royals to another second division finish. It was a move that didn't make sense when it happened and looks no better upon further review.

Ah, the annual rites of spring. The snow starts melting, trees start finding themselves populated by leaves and singing birds, and Mark Teahen gets ready for a position change. I tell you, you can set your watch to it. In 2007 Teahen moved from third base to right field to make room for Alex Gordon before moving from right field to left field last season to accomodate Jose Guillen. Of course, now that the Royals have Coco Crisp in centerfield that probably means David DeJesus is going to start seeing more time in left field.

So if Teahen wants to keep getting at bats this season, that means he's probably going to have to change positions again, and he's planning on doing just that. Get ready to become acquainted with Mark Teahen, second baseman.

Dayton Moore's busy offseason continued on Wednesday as he made another trade, acquiring outfielder Coco Crisp from the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Ramon Ramirez.

Crisp had been on the trading block for awhile, ever since the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury in the Boston outfield. He's a career .280 hitter, who draws a decent amount of walks, doesn't have much power, and is a threat to run, with 20 or more stolen bases in each of the last three seasons. He had a brilliant year defensively in 2007, but was just in the years before and after; overall, it looks like he's a slightly above average center fielder.

Crisp goes from one crowded outfield to another, as the Royals already have Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, and Jose Guillen. This move, which comes three weeks after Kansas City picked up Mike Jacobs from the Marlins, suggests that Moore has yet another transaction in mind, and that Teahen, or even DeJesus, could be traded to free up an outfield spot.

The Red Sox dealt from a strength -- they still have an excellent starting outfield of Jason Bay, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew -- and received an asset you can really never have enough of, in a quality bullpen arm. The 28-year old Ramirez has an excellent season in 2008, with a 2.84 ERA in 71.2 innings. Some of that success won't continue though, as he allowed just two home runs despite allowing an average number of fly balls.

He was very good in other areas, notching 70 strikeouts, a rate of 8.8 per nine innings. Ramirez joins an increasingly strong Boston bullpen; Jonathan Papelbon is one of the best closers in baseball, and they now have four above average relievers to bridge the gap to him, with Ramirez, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, and Justin Masterson.