In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Pitch selection, execution of those pitches, and the situation those pitches are thrown in is never more scrutinized than it is in the playoffs. Time and time again, one pitch in a given situation drastically swung the momentum of Game 2 between the Yankees and Twins Friday night in the Bronx. The game may have ended with home run heroics, but the tone was set by the pitchers throughout, whether it was in a positive or negative fashion.
First, there were the two starters who in their own ways came up big. Nick Blackburn took a strategy to the mound that has proved again and again to be the most successful against the New York lineup.
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.
On the day Milton Bradley began serving a team-mandated, season-ending suspension, former Cubs fan favorite Mark DeRosa suited up for the Cubs rival. He's been doing so since coming over in a trade from Cleveland. This past offseason, the Cubs moved DeRosa to the Indians as part of a concerted effort to free up payroll. The target: Bradley.
Thus, it was only fitting the chain of decisions were further cemented as awful when DeRosa hit two home runs and drove in four runs Monday night.
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 Twins are still surging.
Minnesota shook off a loss to the Tigers Sunday that pushed it three games back in the AL Central and routed the White Sox 7-0 to cut Detroit's edge in the division to 2 1/2 games.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
A solid string of successes was abruptly halted by Nick Blackburn last night. Failing to make it out of the second inning, Blackburn allowed six runs (four earned) and put eight runners on base. This knocked the Team's post-All Star Break ERA up 20 points, although our numbers are still very good on the whole. Today, we'll be looking for a great start from Tommy Hunter.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
The Stream Team is now up to six wins in nine August starts, posting a sub-1.00 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in the process. Furthermore, we have 10 wins and 120 strikeouts in our starts since the break, compiling a 3.35 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 147.2 innings. Essentially, we've taken the 2008 season of Shaun Marcum and compressed it down into 25 days of great stats. Our season stats aren't bad either -- we've come close to matching last year's Gavin Floyd performance in under six weeks. I throw that out there to show you how beneficial streaming can be if your league rules allow for it.
The Twins made an addition to their rotation for the stretch run on Friday, picking up Carl Pavano from the Indians for a player to be named later. With Kevin Slowey out for the rest of the season, the Twins needed another arm if they wanted to stay in the conversation with the Tigers and White Sox. Pavano's got an arm, which shockingly has worked without injury interruption this season.
You'll probably look at Pavano's 5.37 ERA and 1.36 homers allowed per nine innings and say the Twins didn't get anything that will help them. Digging a little deeper, though, there's reason to like the deal for Minnesota, even if most of it has to do with the lackluster cast of characters they're trotting out since Slowey's injury.
The Minnesota Twins returned home on Monday night after a 4-6 road trip in which they lost four of their last five, and the return home paid off with a 4-3 win over the White Sox. Still, while the win was nice, odds are that the Twins clubhouse wasn't in the greatest mood afterward.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
No one said recovering from a torn pectoral muscle would be easy. And for Vladimir Guerrero's fantasy owners, many of his 130-plus at-bats were pretty painful to watch. But on Wednesday night, Vlad came back to life in a big way.
Manny Ramirez is in Albuquerque, Jimmy Rollins isn't stealing bases, and Alex Rodriguez's batting average resembles 2008 Craig Counsell. Top picks have disappointed and the fantasy baseball world has been turned upside down by injuries (Thanks, Dice-K!). Knox Bardeen and I try to sort through the madness in this week's cram session. Check out the podcast after the jump.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
The Twins 
The Minnesota Twins returned home on Monday night after a 4-6 road trip in which they lost four of their last five, and the return home paid off with a 4-3 win over the White Sox. Still, while the win was nice, odds are that the Twins clubhouse wasn't in the greatest mood afterward.
