Long considered one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball by those in sabermetric circles, Derek Jeter won the fourth Gold Glove of his career on Tuesday, proving that no matter what statistically-oriented folks think of Jeter's glovework, he enjoys a good defensive reputation among those within the game.
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.
While the majority of the American workforce got a day off on Labor Day, some major league hitters were getting their power stroke on in a big way. With only 11 games on the docket, four players left the yard twice in one game: Derrek Lee, Billy Butler, Mark Teixeira and Juan Uribe. The fantasy fallout isn't huge, save for one; Lee's having a resurgence, Butler a breakout campaign and Teixeira an MVP-caliber season. Uribe, though ... that's news.
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
Not only has Pedro Martinez looked great in his early starts but he gets to face the Nationals and the Mets next week. He would be a great two-start add, and he's only owned in 33% of fantasy leagues.
There are 35 total two-start pitchers for week 23. Make sure you get your rosters set by 12:35 PM ET as the Cubs and Pirates play first on Monday.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Matt Holliday is looking like the best midseason acquisition in history. Well, it's probably a little early to make that statement, but his first week-plus as a member of the Cardinals has been remarkable.
Holliday hit two homers among his three hits on Saturday, leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Astros. Since Holliday was traded by the A's to the Cardinals on July 24, he's 20-for-33 (.606). Those are high school baseball numbers. Holliday, who actually started heating up in his final few weeks in Oakland, is up to Holliday-like numbers for the season: .314 with 14 homers, a .404 on-base percentage and .507 slugging percentage.
An impending free agent, Holliday is making himself a lot of money these days.
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.
The second half of the season is in full swing and lo and behold if capitalism hasn't reared it's ugly head once again. Billy Beane was spun off Matt Holliday (as expected of course) and the eleventy billion dollar payroll machine that is the New York Yankees are in first place in the AL East. (Of course, that can't explain why the Mets are horrible but that's a whole other thing.)
Will the Yankees' surge be enough to propel them into the critically important No. 1 slot of the FanHouse MLB Power Rankings? Find out after the jump.
Fresh off a perfect game last week, Mark Buehrle made more history Tuesday night, setting down the first 17 batters he faced in Minnesota to set the major league record for consecutive hitters retired.
The White Sox left-hander tied the previous record of 41 straight -- held by current teammate Bobby Jenks and former Giants and Angels reliever Jim Barr -- on a strikeout of the Twins' Michael Cuddyer to open the bottom of the fifth inning. He then retired Joe Crede and Brendan Harris on back-to-back groundouts to run his record to 43 in a row.
Buehrle got the first two outs in the sixth inning -- a popup by Carlos Gomez and a groundout by Nick Punto -- before walking Alexi Casilla and surrendering a single to Denard Span, pushing the new mark all the way to 45 straight retired.
Kotsay was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Friday after only playing in 27 games this season -- hitting .257 with a homer and five RBI. Anderson recently lost his spot on the White Sox when Carlos Quentin returned from the disabled list, and after Dewayne Wise's memorable catch in Mark Buehrle's perfect game last Thursday, it's hard to think he'd have gotten back to Chicago anytime soon.
Reading the Top 10 on the Late Show with David Letterman is truly an honor, yada-yada-yada. Well, thing is, if you pull off something awesome in the sports world -- winning the British Open, throwing a perfect game -- you'll probably get to appear on television and read some Top 10 list related to your accomplishment. Mark Buehrle, fresh off a perfect game, did just that recently, with a pretty funny list (it made him laugh while reading it, so clearly he practiced) of "Things That Went Through Mark Buehrle's Mind During His Perfect Game."
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Sure, he gave up a home run to Joey Votto on Sunday, but that's about all the Cincinnati Reds got facing the Cubs' Rich Harden.
For Harden this was his third consecutive start where he showed the potential of being a front-line ace. He struck out eight in only six innings and that home run was the only hit and only run he allowed the Reds in route to earning his seventh win.
Over his last three starts Harden has struck out 21 while walking only two batters in 19 innings. His ERA over this time is 0.47 and he has two wins to show for great pitching.
This is the first time in 2009 Harden has put together this kind of run. He's been able, on a number of occasions, to put two good starts together, but never three as he seems to get shelled every time he's about to take that next step towards becoming the solid number one guy the Cubs desperately need him to be.
It's either feast or famine in week 17 of the fantasy baseball season. There are 14 must starts and 24 pitchers who are risky business. The guys in the middle aren't as numerous.
There are 50 pitchers who are starting twice this week. Make sure to get your lineups set by 7:05 PM ET on Monday night.
Must Start Jair Jurrjens, Braves - Tuesday at FLA (R. Nolasco) and Sunday vs LAD (C. Billingsley) Josh Beckett, Red Sox - Monday vs OAK (T. Cahill) and Saturday at BAL (J. Berken) Clay Buchholz, Red Sox - Tuesday vs OAK (V. Mazzaro) and Sunday at BAL (R. Hill) Carlos Zambrano, Cubs - Monday vs HOU (W. Rodriguez) and Saturday at FLA (A. Miller) Mark Buehrle, White Sox - Tuesday at MIN (S. Baker) and Sunday vs NYY (C. Sabathia) Ricky Nolasco, Marlins - Tuesday vs ATL (J. Jurrjens) and Sunday vs CHC (R. Dempster)
Long considered one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball by those in sabermetric circles, Derek Jeter won the fourth Gold Glove of his career on Tuesday, proving that no matter what statistically-oriented folks think of Jeter's glovework, he enjoys a good defensive reputation among those within the game.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
With the recent additions to major league ball teams due to the expansion of rosters there aren't that many two-start pitchers next week. And there are still a few situations up in the air. The landscape could change rather quickly as teams decide if they want to run with a six-man rotation or keep things normal with five starters.
MLB Power Rankings
Fresh off a perfect game last week, 
Well this isn't the blockbuster trade we're all still waiting for, but 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
