Given the impact CC Sabathia had for the Milwaukee Brewers after they acquired him last July, and given the haul of prospects Cleveland got in return, it might make sense for the Toronto Blue Jays to shop their ace this summer. Toronto figures to be in the bottom two in the rough AL East, and Halladay makes $14.25 million this year.
One of the more heated position battles this spring, and a contest with huge fantasy implications, came to an end this morning as Giants manager Bruce Bochy informed Kevin Frandsen that he was being optioned to Triple-A Fresno.
Kevin Frandsen was called into Bruce Bochy's office this morning and left in street clothes. The Giants just gave the official word: he has been optioned and will begin the season at Triple-A Fresno. All signs pointed to this yesterday.
This opens the door for Manny Burris to be the every day second baseman. As a fantasy owner, this is the move you were hoping the Giants would make. With full-time at-bats, Burriss could make a run at stealing 25 bases this season.
Burriss has a .357 batting average with 25 hits this spring (second on the team) and has stolen four bases in 70 at-bats. Don't expect him to stay above the .300 mark this season, but you can see that his stolen base totals if projected out to 550 at-bats or so will provide a great source for cheap steals.
I have a stock answer for the question I get each and every year; "When do you want to hold the draft?". Here it is, and I think everybody should repeat after me. The fantasy draft should be as close to Opening Day as possible. Let me say that again, the fantasy draft should be as close to Opening Day as possible.
Don't agree with me? Why don't you ask anyone out there who has already had their fantasy draft and took Alex Rodriguez in the first round. I bet they would agree with me.
There are many reasons to wait as long as possible to hold your fantasy baseball draft...
From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.
Arizona Diamondbacks Chad Tracy missed a good chunk of the 2008 season due to knee surgery, which held him to only 273 at-bats. Tracy says he's been healthy since mid-way through the off-season and manager Bob Melvin expects big things from him in 2009 saying he can see it as Tracy drives the ball.
When I see him drive the ball to left-center field, for me, his legs are under him," Melvin said. "Those are the ones he was having a little trouble getting out there and extending on, probably trying to pull a little too much. And when he did he hit the ball the opposite way, it (was) not with the force he had before. Now it looks like to me he's hitting it hard the either way.
Tracy's average draft position right now is a very low 387.75. If he can return to 2005 form where he hit 27 home runs and batted .308 or anywhere close to that, he'll be a steal.
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 desperately needing a bat in the middle of the order. It's too bad money is so tight right now, because the Giants could certainly use a certain eccentric slugger in the middle of their order. They still aren't altogether out of the running for Manny Ramirez, but I believe he's staying put in Los Angeles. Too bad they wasted all that money on Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.
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.
The Giants were not a disappointment in 2008 as far as I'm concerned, because they only lost 90 games and did not finish in last place. Going into the season, in looking at the rosters, Giants fans had to expect 100 losses and a definite last place finish. Moving forward, there is hope for a quick franchise turnaround.
Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, and even the injury-prone Noah Lowry have the makings of a quality young starting rotation. They could be above average with offensive support and an improved defense. Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand can be helpful players on a good team, but they cannot be the centerpieces of the offense, as they were this past season. Randy Winn and Fred Lewis are viable starters for '09, but they need to be slotted at the end of the batting order.
The key to the approach for 2009 is to try and compete without foregoing the future. The rotation, closer Brian Wilson, and potential stars like Madison Bumgarner, Conor Gillespie, and Buster Posey are too valuable to deal in a trade just to land one player.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Giants have placed No. 5 starter Russ Ortiz on the 15-day DL with elbow neuritis. And you guessed it, none other than hot prospect Tim Lincecum is expected to take his place in the rotation on Sunday against the Phillies in a nationally televised game. The Giants have called up infielder Kevin Frandsen to replace Ortiz, but Frandsen could be sent back down in a matter of days.
A minimalist wrap of yesterday's spring training games...
It was quite the crowd.
In front of a record crowd of 12,903 attendees at HoHoKam Park, the White Sox bested the Cubs, 12-3. Paul Konerko went off for two homers and Jermaine Dye added a three-run job. The Devil Rays are extremely jealous of those attendance numbers.
So, there's this other Asian pitcher, I guess.
Masumi Kuwata, a 38-year-old pitcher who pitched for 21 season in Japan, pitched a perfect third inning in the Pirates 10-4 loss to the Reds. Dice-K who? At least it's not a VD.
While a chunk of their team stayed home to rest from the flu, the Giants with superior immune systems beat the Mariners 5-4. Kevin Frandsen drove in three runs for San Fransisco. He's Frand-tastic! No, it was not the Broncos versus the Cardinals.
In a rather football-esque score, the Rockies popped the Diamondbacks 14-7. Troy Tulowitzki went 3-4 and knocked in three runs for Colorado. If you want to go ahead and crown his a#s, then by all means, crown his a#s. He is who we thought he was, after all.
Every Sunday MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
One of the more heated position battles this spring, and a contest with huge fantasy implications, came to an end this morning as Giants manager Bruce Bochy informed Kevin Frandsen that he was being optioned to Triple-A Fresno.
From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.
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. 
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.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Giants have placed No. 5 starter Russ Ortiz on the 15-day DL with elbow neuritis. And you guessed it, none other than hot prospect Tim Lincecum is expected to take his place in the rotation on Sunday against the Phillies in a nationally televised game. The Giants have called up infielder Kevin Frandsen to replace Ortiz, but Frandsen could be sent back down in a matter of days.
A minimalist wrap of yesterday's spring training games...
