FanHouse KevinKouzmanoff

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.

Before the season started, I was rough on Derrek Lee. I named him the biggest bust on the Cubs for this coming season and included him on the list of "five guys to lose" your fantasy league. I even predicted Mike Fontenot would hit more home runs than Mr. Lee. Obviously, it sounds outlandish now, in hindsight, as Lee clubbed his 35th home run Tuesday night. In the process, he established a new career high in RBI with 109. His OPS is the second-highest it's ever been -- trailing only his insane 2005 season when he did an Albert Pujols impersonation.

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.

After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage.

First-year hitting coach, Jim Lefebvre -- the fourth in four seasons for the Fathers -- is willing to be accountable for the failures of the entire offense.

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

Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia owners eat your heart out. Relative unknowns -- and likely undrafted in nearly all mixed fantasy leagues -- Ricky Romero and Glen Perkins are straight dealing right now. And after three outings each, it's time to start wondering if the quick starts are not flukey.

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 ...
Worst team in baseball. Much like the 2008 incarnation, there are very few bright spots on the 2009 San Diego Padres. Jake Peavy is obviously awesome (although he does have a lot of mileage already), Adrian Gonzalez has been quite consistent the past few years, Chase Headley is dreamy if you're one of those folks that are obsessed with prospects (/raises hand), and Heath Bell might be able to save some games ... if the Pads can get him a lead.

Our MLB editor files dispatches from this year's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.

For better or worse, Las Vegas has been the center of the sports world for the last few days. From O.J. Simpson to Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao, Sin City has been a nerve center, and that will continue this week as the entire baseball world descends on the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel for Major League Baseball's annual Winter Meetings.

As always, there figures to be plenty of action on the Strip, but you won't have to go to a poker room or a roulette wheel to find it.

The Hot Stove League has moved at a glacial pace so far, only really beginning to pick up in the last half week and setting the stage for what could be one of the more fascinating Winter Meetings in recent memory. Rarely in the last decade has baseball seen a free-agent class this stocked with quality players or a more vibrant and active trade market.

With that in mind, here is a list of the 10 people to watch most intently over the next few days in Las Vegas.

Young third-baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff underwent a shoulder scope this past weekend and will likely be ready to return full-strength for spring training. The procedure was done to clean up some damage in the shoulder which had caused Kouzmanoff a great deal of pain in the later months of the 2008 season. It could have been much worse, according to Padres' general manager Kevin Towers:

"The rotator cuff and labrum looked fine," Towers said. "If they would have found damage to the rotator cuff, he could have been out four or five months and missed the first two or three months of the season. But he should be able to go full bore in spring training."

The real fallout of this situation is the affect on Kouzmanoff's trade value. It's no secret the Padres are pretty willing to blow up and start over with just a few remaining holdovers (Chris Young, Adrian Gonzalez, Brian Giles), and Kouzmanoff is one of the few Padres who holds trade value across the league.

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.

After clinging to contender-ship for the past few years, it seems as though last season was a wake-up call to San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers. Trevor Hoffman will not be the closer this year, Khalil Greene is likely to be traded, and Jake Peavy is definitely going to be traded. Let's examine what triggered this.

The Padres can't hit, and they are not in position to develop an offense any time soon. They had been able to survive with little offense the previous three seasons because their pitching and defense -- teamed with their home-field advantage in spacious Petco Park -- was able to churn out those 3-2 and 2-1 victories enough times to stay competitive. That all went by the wayside in 2008, as significant time was missed by Peavy and Chris Young atop the rotation (they made only 45 combined starts after making 64 in 2007) and the rest of the starters were shaky all season. In turn, the team ERA ballooned from 3.70 to 4.41.

If you're a baseball fan who likes surprises, then the 2008 season has been a special treat. The Rays are the most notable team that has exceeded expectations, but the Twins, White Sox and Marlins are also surprise contenders.

Of course, those pleasant surprises have come at the expense of several clubs expected to be much better this season. Whether because of a big free-agent signing last winter, a deep October run last season or the (hint, hint) crushing burden of a massive payroll, the baseball landscape is littered with flops as August comes to a close.

The following is a countdown of the seven most disappointing teams this season.

7. Padres: Mired in last place in the abysmal NL West, it's easy to forget that this team won 89 games last year and was a (phantom?) Matt Holliday slide away from a playoff spot. Even when they were winning division titles, the Padres operated on a thin margin. Injuries and underperformance are at the root of their struggles.

Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Brian Giles are the only offensive regulars who have played more than 100 games. Ace Jake Peavy spent a month on the disabled list, while No. 2 starter Chris Young has made only 13 starts. Veteran closer Trevor Hoffman has also been extremely shaky.