ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Between the performances of Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and even Johnny Damon, it's easy to suggest that the Yankees are on the verge of an American League pennant purchased on the open market.
Even Mark Teixeira has had a significant impact on the series. Don't let his .111 average fool you.
While Teixeira's bat has apparently gone to Jell-O this postseason, his glove has shined, especially in the series against the Angels.
NEW YORK -- To truly become a star, Alex Rodriguez had to allow himself to be part of a constellation.
There used to be 8 million stories in the naked city, and now there is one. Everyone wants to know: How did A-Rod finally learn to come through in the postseason?
"He's not doing it for himself," Yankees hitting coach and A-Rod confidante Kevin Long told FanHouse on Friday after Rodriguez's two-run, game-tying homer in the ninth inning set up Mark Teixeira's walk-off homer in the 11th that beat the Twins 4-3.
"When you're up there doing it for yourself, you're going to have a lot more on your mind."
NEW YORK -- There had to be close to 50 bodies pressed together in the corner of the Yankees' clubhouse, cameras bumping heads and notebooks battling microphones. The team has a perfectly spacious interview room around the corner, a nice podium where an athlete can stretch and pontificate without a bunch of sweaty reporters pushing close enough to see his nose hairs.
But Alex Rodriguez was perfectly happy to make his way through the chaotic crush and face the media without a buffer. Someone fired a question and, from the back of the pack, all we could make out was, "Jetes ...CC ... they were the story." What about his two RBI singles that twice extended the Yankee lead? "Felt good ... team effort ... great pitching from CC." Was the postseason monkey off his back? "Not about me ... good to contribute ... hey, no need to shove each other."
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.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.
OAKLAND -- Less than five months into his $180 million contract, Mark Teixeira has shown the Yankees the full spectrum of his abilities.
He was awful in April, just as he expected.
He's been outstanding ever since, just as he expected.
Although all of those Yankee haters out there were enjoying the show early in the season, as the player with the biggest contract this side of Alex Rodriguez got booed during a slow start, the story has changed.
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.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the non-waiver trade deadline looming just eight days away, it seemed like the perfect time to warn teams about the dangers of a deadline deal. There are plenty of good trades on the books. Then again, it's the swaps that blow up in the face of a team that seem to stick with us. That's nothing new. We know the famous, ill-fated John Smoltz and Jeff Bagwell deals, but for now let's look at recent history by ranking the 10 worst deadline deals of the 2000s.
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.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Between the performances of Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and even Johnny Damon, it's easy to suggest that the Yankees are on the verge of an American League pennant purchased on the open market.
NEW YORK -- To truly become a star, Alex Rodriguez had to allow himself to be part of a constellation.
NEW YORK -- There had to be close to 50 bodies pressed together in the corner of the Yankees' clubhouse, cameras bumping heads and notebooks battling microphones. The team has a perfectly spacious interview room around the corner, a nice podium where an athlete can stretch and pontificate without a bunch of sweaty reporters pushing close enough to see his nose hairs. 
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.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
OAKLAND -- Less than five months into his $180 million contract, Mark Teixeira has shown the Yankees the full spectrum of his abilities.
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.
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.
