Year in and year out the Texas Rangers are one of the best offenses in baseball, routinely finishing among the league leaders in runs scored and home runs. While the players have come and gone through the door, the one constant has always been hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.
Jaramillo has spent the last 15 seasons with the Rangers and helped mold young players into batting champions and MVPs, but after a down season for the Rangers offensively, it seems both Jaramillo and the Rangers have decided to make a change. After receiving a one-year offer from the Rangers to return in 2010, Jaramillo has decided he's going to end his time in Arlington and test the open market.
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.
What a fantasy season it has been for Prince Fielder. Of course, we must thrown the "fantasy" before season, as I'm sure Fielder pictured himself squarely in the middle of a playoff race when looking ahead to September 21st earlier in the season, but his owners must be pleased by their second-round pick's production. Fielder launched his 40th homer of the season Sunday, making this year the second (2007) in which he's reached the 40-HR mark. His average is still trucking along near .300 (currently at .299), which is a pleasant surprise, and his 128 RBIs tie with Albert Pujols' total as the best mark in baseball.
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 Yankees are still fired up despite their large lead in the AL East.
After two Yankees pitchers hit Blue Jays batters in Tuesday's game, Toronto's Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada in the bottom of the eighth.
Posada glared, benches briefly emptied, but there were no punches. Yet.
Instead of letting it end there, or charging the mound, Posada waited until he walked and then scored a run to give Carlson a shove after he crossed home plate.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
As I look ahead to the MLB playoffs, I'm faced with the fact that my beloved Cubbies aren't going to be competing. Being a devout baseball fan, though, there's no way I'm not watching the postseason. Without a horse in the race, I'm forced to focus instead on individuals, and there are always plenty of reasons to watch certain players. Thus, I'm going to list 10 players I'm looking forward to watching and five players I wish I could come October.
It's been a busy week around Major League Baseball. We've seen the first round of call-ups as rosters have expanded. There has also been a recent rash of injuries to players like Huston Street, Mariano Rivera and Michael Young, and we're still unsure as to when or if Jake Peavy will return this season.
In our live fantasy baseball chat today we'll talk about all of these things. We can discuss a strong start Thursday night by Pedro Martinez and a lot of other topics that will benefit your fantasy team. Nothing fantasy baseball-related is off limits. So, stop by at 1:00 PM ET and join the party.
While injuries were the main topic, we spoke about other topics, too. We talked a little about a potential platoon situation for Lance Berkman in Houston and we threw out a handful of household names that most fantasy owners should be dumping at this point.
Michael Young's superlative season has helped keep the Rangers in the thick of the playoff race, so this news out of Dallas on Wednesday afternoon must be greeted with gritted teeth. General manager Jon Daniels announced that Young will miss at least the next two weeks after an MRI revealed a left hamstring strain.
The news comes at a brutal moment for the Rangers. They enter Wednesday night's game 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race and 4 1/2 games behind the Angels after sweeping the Blue Jays in a Tuesday doubleheader. Making up the remaining distance without Young in the lineup, however, will be very tough.
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 we get our heaping of box score browsing, let's look at a related subject: The fantasy baseball stretch run. With the annual ushering in of September baseball, we see roster changes galore. Not only are there call-ups with the legal expansion of rosters, but players with seemingly minor injuries are shut down on teams who have fallen out of the race. You also have younger players being given an audition for 2010, or being shut down so the team doesn't overwork them in their first season of increased workload. If you are in the thick of things in your fantasy baseball race, now is not the time to use a laissez-faire approach.
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.
ST. LOUIS -- Evan Longoria, scratched from the All-Star Game with an infected right ring finger, said he's "95 percent" certain to play Friday when the Rays resume the regular season.
"It would be a disservice to [the AL team] to go out and try to play and win a game when I'm not up to full health," Longoria said.
Longoria said his finger began feeling sore over the weekend, but he didn't speak up until Sunday. He was immediately put on antibiotics.
Year in and year out the Texas Rangers are one of the best offenses in baseball, routinely finishing among the league leaders in runs scored and home runs. While the players have come and gone through the door, the one constant has always been hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
It's been a busy week around Major League 
Michael Young's
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
ST. LOUIS -- 
