Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
The man in charge of personnel may be new -- Alex Anthopoulos replaces his former boss J.P. Ricciardi as general manager -- but the two crucial questions for the franchise remain intact. How do you contend in a division stocked with the behemoths in Boston and New York as well as the young and talented Orioles and Rays? And, perhaps more pressing, what to do with Roy Halladay?
The answers to the two questions have some common ground. The only way the Jays will be able to compete with the Sox and Yankees over the long haul is to stock every level of their organization with talent, like the Rays did, and then use those pieces to build a consistent winner. When Halladay leaves, whether by free agency or trade, they need to maximize the return by either paying above slot for the top available draftees or acquiring high-quality players at positions where talent is scarce.
Easier said than done, to be sure, but so is competing in the AL East.
Editor's Note: FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher contributed to this report
CHICAGO -- The Reds' need to slash payroll, according to a major league source, could lead them to explore trading second baseman Brandon Phillips as well as right-handers Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang.
Cincinnati's 2009 payroll was about $71 million. General manager Walt Jocketty said during a break Tuesday at the GM Meetings that he "might" have to move some high-salaried players to meet the 2010 goal.
"We're going to probably have less to spend this year than we have in the past," Jocketty told FanHouse. "It just depends on how [ticket] sales go this offseason."
After the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series championship, highly respected general manager Pat Gillick decided to step down. A few days later, the reins of the franchise were handed to rookie general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., who had been serving as Gillick's right-hand man for the past three seasons.
Needless to say, Amaro wasn't exactly heading into an easy gig. He was taking over a team that had nowhere to go but down, he was succeeding someone considered one of the best in the business and he was doing it in the unforgiving city of Philadelphia. The deck was already stacked against him, but Amaro appeared to make matters worse when his first big move drew the skepticism of many: he signed Raul Ibanez instead of retaining the services of Pat Burrell.
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 Braves are all but done in the NL wild-card race, not that there was anything they could do about it. Atlanta, which had surged into contention over the last few weeks, ran into the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco Wednesday night.
Nolasco struck out 16, a Marlins record, including a stretch where he fanned nine in a row, one shy of the major league record of 10 straight held by Tom Seaver.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That when we told you a few weeks ago that the Braves were just about dead, we might have been a bit premature. Led by Javier Vazquez's third complete game of the season, the Braves beat the Nationals, 4-1, winning their fourth game in a row and 12th out of the past 14.
The Braves are still 3 1/2 behind the Rockies in the wild-card race (and mathematically alive in the NL East, believe it or not), but they do have at least one thing in their favor. They play the Nationals six more times in their final nine games, with the other three against Florida.
In Friday's game, Vazquez added another line to his under-appreciated resume. He is 10-2 since July 7. He has 15 victories this season. The only pitcher to win at least 10 games every year since 2000, Vazquez is second only to Randy Johnson in strikeouts in the decade.
Matsuzaka has a 2.38 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings in his return, further strengthening his case to be the fourth starter in Boston's playoff rotation when the postseason begins next month and showing how formidable the Red Sox can be when their pitching is rolling.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That it took a lot of work for the Rangers to climb within two games of the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race.
Texas swept a doubleheader at Cleveland, 11-9 and 10-5, and the games took a combined five hours, 59 minutes.
"It's pretty good to get back on track and win some ballgames," manager Ron Washington said. "We'll come back tomorrow, get greedy and see if we can get a [series] sweep."
Texas has played three regular (i.e., not day-night) doubleheaders this year, most in the majors, and has swept all three.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Roy Halladay stopped his his cold streak and the Yankees' hot streak in one night. The Blue Jays ace had not pitched well, losing three consecutive starts for only the third time in his career. On Friday night, though, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with the second one-hitter of his career.
"He's just a cut above a lot of other people," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said.
The Yankees came into the game having won seven in a row, but Halladay didn't give them much of a chance. Halladay improved to 17-6 against the Yankees. That is by far the most wins against the Yankees of any active pitcher. Pedro Martinez is next with 11.
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.
John Lackey threw eight innings on Sunday, striking out six and not surrendering an earned run. It was his 100th career victory. He should have been the man of the hour, right?
That would have been the case had Kendry Morales not jacked his 30th home run of the season and stolen the show. At least among fantasy circles, anyway.
Morales had twelve career home runs entering the 2009 season and big shoes to fill as the Angels handed him the keys to the kingdom at first base as Mark Teixeira left for the Yankees. He's handled the task admirably batting .311 and is fast approaching the 100-RBI mark. He's also leading the league in RBI since the all-star break with 45.
There is a pretty even distribution of talent this week as 43 pitchers will be two-start pitchers for the week.
Of the 11 "Must Start" options I really like Yovani Gallardo who gets the enviable task of facing the Nationals and the Pirates. Roy Halladay has it the worst of the bunch as not only does he have to face the Rays and the Red Sox, but he has to face two starting pitchers with sub-four ERA's.
The other 17 pitchers are "Risky Business". You should only be considering these guys if you're in super-deep leagues or just massively desperate for strikeouts. None of these are viable options.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.
Editor's Note: FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher contributed to this report
After the 
Starting Five
Starting Five
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Starting Five
Starting Five
