Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Heading into the season, the signs were there that the Rockies' 25-year-old right-handed starter Ubaldo Jimenez was ready for a breakout campaign. The only question was his occasional lack of command, which reared its ugly head in April (he started the season 1-3 with a 7.58 ERA and 2.11 WHIP). Since then, though, Jimenez has actually been one of the best hurlers in baseball and he's been even hotter for the past month.
FORMER BASEBALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD -- There is a Subway Series this weekend.
There is one again in two weeks.
There will not be one in October.
Friday night's game at Yankee Stadium, which both teams deserved to lose, showed us that.
It will be remembered forever, at least in the five boroughs and surrounding areas, as the Luis Castillo game. The Mets second baseman dropped Alex Rodriguez's popup with two outs in the ninth, allowing two runs to score and the Yankees to win 9-8.
New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel announced that he's making some lineup changes for Thursday's game. The biggest deal is the fact that he plans to move David Wright down two slots to bat fifth, while moving Beltran up to bat third.
A move from batting third in the batting order to batting fifth doesn't seem like much, but batting order studies have shown that the fantasy devaluation that Wright could take might be dramatic. If the switch is long term Wright could miss out on about 5% of the plate appearances he'd see in the third slot. He would also be subject to a 5% drop in RBI and a 10% drop in home runs. The biggest hit, however, could be in stolen bases, where he could possibly see a 40% drop-off. Does anyone want to see David Wright with these kinds of drop-offs in production?
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 ... Chokers. Sorry, folks, but until they can actually close out a regular season, that's the label they're getting. Fortunately for us fantasy folks, we don't really care about total team performance in the regular season, provided it doesn't impend on individual players' abilities to post statistics. And in that sense, the New York Baseball Mets are quite the enjoyable team to watch. They have a slew of top-tier players on the squad and generally almost always provide a ton of fantasy value. Not much will change in terms of that this year, although you may be surprised as to where it will come from.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.
They have been almost inextricably linked for years now. The Mets' Jose Reyes and the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez are both shortstops, both 25 years old and both Dominican. Both play for NL East teams and both have taken the mantle at their position from the Jeter-A-Rod-Nomar troika that dominated the beginning of the decade.
The free agent market has been notoriously slow, but at least one player seems to be in high demand. Orlando Hudson informed the MLB Network Monday that no fewer than four teams are interested in him: the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Nationals.
Considering he's a Type A free agent who was offered arbitration, any team that signs him will owe the Diamondbacks a draft pick as compensation, which makes the cost of acquiring him a bit higher than his salary alone. But still, he's a three-time Gold Glove winner and one-time All-Star, and despite turning 31 years old in December, he's still in his prime.
From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.
Michael Young's time with the Texas Rangers has been punctuated by him making personal sacrifices to help better the team. After years as a good second baseman for the team with both the stick and the glove, he didn't have a problem when he was asked to move to shortstop in the wake of the Alex Rodriguez trade and the subsequent arrival of Alfonso Soriano. Sure, Young's offensive numbers didn't quite stand out at short quite like they did at second base, but it was about the team, not Michael Young
Since his move he's won a Gold Glove and has been named to the AL All-Star team five times. Well, now the Rangers would like him to make another sacrifice and move from shortstop to third base so they can make room for prospect Elvis Andrus. Only this time Young isn't down, and he's told the Rangers he's stood all he can stand and that he can't stand no more. He wants to be traded.
It seems yesterday's "Andruw Jones to the Mets!" rumor died as quickly as it was born. The Mets and Dodgers did in fact talk about bringing the overpaid and overweight center fielder back to the NL East, but talks fizzled once the Dodgers balked at taking back a bad contract in return.
According to Marty Noble of MLB.com, the Mets were hoping the Dodgers would take Luis Castillo, who has three years and $18 million left on a four-year deal he signed last winter. Considering Jones is still owed roughly half of the $36.2 million contract he signed last winter, it seems like an even deal, right?
Perhaps, but if the Dodgers are going to be tying up that much salary, they may as well get it over and done with in one year, especially with Rafael Furcal and Blake DeWitt occupying the middle infield for the foreseeable future.
Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.
While the baseball world watches and waits for Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia to make up their mind, or even just for a scrap from super-agent Scott Boras, closer Francisco Rodriguez has become the belle of the Winter Meetings ball.
Though the Mets have yet to publicly acknowledge that they have signed the record-setting reliever, it is widely believed that Rodriguez has agreed to a three-year deal with the club worth roughly $37 million and containing a vesting option for a fourth year that could push its value past $50 million.
Problem solved, right? Third straight September swoon averted, right? Hardly.
Look, there's no doubt that the Mets' biggest need heading into the offseason was to fix their wretched bullpen. And there's no doubt that Rodriguez is a big part of the puzzle in that regard. But they also play in the same division as the reigning world champions and a pair of clubs in the Marlins and Braves who are capable of winning 85-plus games if things break right.
After signing a four-year, $24 million contract last winter, Luis Castillo was a huge disappointment in his first full season with the Mets. He hit just .245, nearly 50 points below his career average, and spent large chunks of the season on the bench after losing his regular starting job to the likes of Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes.
Ordinarily you'd think the Mets would try to move Castillo, but they've decided to give him another chance, and not just because his contract makes him nearly untradeable. Soon after the season ended, Castillo had his agent arrange a face-to-face meeting with GM Omar Minaya and VP Tony Bernazard in which he took responsibility for his poor showing and pleaded for a chance to redeem himself. From the New York Post:
"He wanted to let the front office know that he was disappointed in how the year went, and promise to do everything he could to get in shape and be the kind of player he had been for 10 years," Minaya said.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
FORMER BASEBALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD -- There is a Subway Series this weekend.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
The 
The free agent market has been notoriously slow, but at least one player seems to be in high demand. 
It seems 
After signing a four-year, $24 million contract last winter, 
