Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the milestones keep coming for Albert Pujols. He went into the record book in grand fashion Friday night, belting his 31st home run of the season. The drive was his fourth grand slam of the season and 10th of his career, both Cardinals' franchise records. The latter mark nudges him past Stan Musial on the club list.
"He broke Stan Musial's career record?" manager Tony La Russa asked. "I'll go bow to his feet here in a second. That's a serious point to make."
Pujols is on pace to finish 2009 with 61 home runs. And just in case that's not enough for you, it came in the eighth inning with the Cardinals down 3-0 to the Reds. St. Louis went on to beat Cincinnati 7-4.
MLB Power Rankings:Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.
Let me put this simply: you want no part of being No. 1 in the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings. It just brings discord, losing and possibly suspensions to your baseball team. Such was the case with the white-hot Dodgers and Manny Ramirez, who now have to deal with a 50 game-ban of their star slugger. Who's doomed this week? Let's just say that no one would be too shocked if they weren't there again next Wednesday.
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)
Week two (April 13th - April 19th) of the fantasy baseball season features 38 pitchers who are making two starts. There isn't a clear cut lock for easiest schedule amongst them, but Jon Lester looks like a very good start this week against Braden in Oakland and Uehara and the Orioles at home.
Daniel Cabrera doesn't look to have a fun week in store as he has to face Jamie Moyer and the Phillies and then Josh Johnson and the Marlins. At least he gets to pitch at home both times.
Fanhouse's own Matt Snyder has already discussed Spring Training stats and when they matter. Today I want to talk about a few players who are tearing it up this spring. The big question remains; will they be able to keep up the pace once the season begins?
Derek Lowe, Braves - Lowe has been given the honor of starting in the season opener for the Braves. In fact, he'll start both that game and the home opener. A lot of that has to do with his seniority, but his 2-0 spring with a 3.27 ERA didn't hurt either. What's been really special about Lowe this spring is his strikeout to walk ratio. In 22 innings he's struck out 24 batters and only walked two. That's a phenomenal ratio. It's a certainty that he won't keep that rate up all season, but what this shows is that Lowe is dominating hitters this spring and has close to pinpoint accuracy (read: control). Lowe's Opening Day history isn't great (he's 0-3 with 8.44 ERA in Opening Day starts) but fantasy GM's can feel good about owning this ground ball specialist. He's not known (most ground ball pitchers aren't) for a high strikeout rate. If his spring numbers translate into more strikeouts per innings pitched and Lowe keeps the ground ball magic going, he could prove to have great value.
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...
Absolute best team in baseball that you've never heard of. The Twins don't spend a lot of money nor do they make a lot of headlines. What they are good at, however, is winning. The Twins won the American League Central Division every year from 2002 to 2004 and again in 2006. In 2007 they finished third in the division and in 2008 they lost a one-game playoff to just miss the post season. This team wins with a small-ball, almost National League feel or approach.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
Boston Red Sox (74-55) at Baltimore Orioles (67-62) 1:07 PM ET
Daisuke Matsuzaka is the very case study of new breed vs. old guard. The old guard will see Matsuzaka's 15-2 record and his 2.77 ERA and tell you that he's gotta be one of the best pitchers in baseball. The new breed of fan will tell you that his 1.37 WHIP and his 77 walks in 126+ innings tell the future of a man who's been lucky to get out of jams that he created for himself against mediocre teams. Which side are you on?
Today, Dice K goes up against the Blue Jays ... and while everybody is talking about the job that Jerry Manuel is doing for the Mets after taking over mid-season, there's been a similar, quieter turnaround in Toronto, where Cito Gaston is 32-23 this season after taking over for John Gibbons, who started the season 35-39.
Spot Jobs gambles by picking five spot starters for the week and five usual starters to avoid. The success rate is usually around 50%, but the risk level is always through the roof. Obviously, though, you always start Brandon Webb (when healthy) and sit Dave Bush.
Five Up
Josh Johnson, Marlins, @SD -- It's been a long time since Johnson pitched in the majors. He will again this week, though. Back in 2006 Johnson compiled a 3.10 ERA and 1.30 WHIP to go with his 12-7 record. He also punched out 133 hitters in 157 innings. This week he gets to re-join his Marlins teammates in the pitcher's paradise that is Dodger Stadium.
Justin Verlander, Tigers, vs. Tribe -- He's been a colossal disappointment this year, but he's starting to turn the corner just as the offense has awakened ... and the Indians can't hit.
Jeremy Guthrie, O's, @ Toronto -- He's maddeningly inconsistent, but is dazzling when he's on, which means you have to play matchups. The Jays are towards the bottom in most AL offensive categories, so this one fits the bill.
Jo-Jo Reyes, Braves, @ SD -- Talented, young pitcher looking for his way? Enter spacious Petco Park and the Padres putrid offense (Adrian Gozalez excepted, obviously).
Sean Marshall, Cubs, vs. Giants -- Cubs like to play at home. Giants hit .265 on the road. Marshall just dealt against the Cards on the road. All signs point to "yes" here.
Spot Jobs gambles by picking five spot starters for the week and five usual starters to avoid. The success rate is usually around 50%, but the risk level is always through the roof. Obviously, though, you always start Brandon Webb (when healthy) and sit Dave Bush.
Five Up
Joba Chamberlain, Yanks -- He's ready now. Plus, the Padres -- despite a recent upswing -- don't exactly have an inspiring offensive attack.
Kevin Slowey, Twins -- He's coming off an eight inning gem against the Brew Crew, but he's been very inconsistent and the previous outing was a three inning-10 earned run clunker. I do, however, like him to string out a second consecutive quality start and victory this week against the light-hitting Nats.
Bronson Arroyo, Reds -- His opponent (Dodgers) has been an incredibly inconsistent offensive team, especially on the road. Sure, people like to call Arroyo's home the Great American Smallpark (it's clever, I know), but he handcuffed the Cards in it last outing.
Jorge Campillo, Braves -- The Bravos love playing at home. The Mariners have scored 20 runs in their last eight games (2.5 per game, mathematically challenged). I'm only a tad bit fazed by Erik Bedard being opposite Campillo, but the Braves should still be able to manage 2 runs. That should be enough.
Scott Baker, Twins -- Facing the Big Unit (see "Five Down"), and the DBacks loooooove to strike out.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Week two (April 13th - April 19th) of the fantasy baseball season features 38 pitchers who are making two starts. There isn't a clear cut lock for easiest schedule amongst them, but Jon Lester looks like a very good start this week against Braden in Oakland and Uehara and the Orioles at home.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
Spot Jobs gambles by picking five spot starters for the week and five usual starters to avoid. The success rate is usually around 50%, but the risk level is always through the roof. Obviously, though, you always start 
Spot Jobs gambles by picking five spot starters for the week and five usual starters to avoid. The success rate is usually around 50%, but the risk level is always through the roof. Obviously, though, you always start 
