FanHouse Scott Baker

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 main drama happened on Heinz Field last night, there was plenty of drama to be found in Washington D.C. No, President Obama didn't sign a health plan into law. But the Phillies entered the ninth inning down six and ended up losing by one after having the tying run on third base with only one out. Let's see how we got there.

Joe Blanton has been fantastic this year, and he entered the game with a 3.80 ERA and a 136/43 K/BB ratio in 166 innings. That's why it was surprising to see him perform so terribly in Thursday's game, where he gave up eight runs in less than five innings of work. The big blow came in the fifth inning, when Blanton gave up two homers to hitters at very different points in their careers.

We're at the point in most fantasy baseball leagues where the trade deadline has passed, so to make any kind of roster moves you need to rely solely on the waiver wire. But, that's not a bad thing. There's still lots of talent to be had.

In Tuesday night's version of the Fantasy Baseball Cram Session, Tom Herrera and I talked about finding different categories in rotisserie-style scoring where you can gain ground on the teams ahead of you. We focus on saves, stolen bases, wins and home runs and give you a number of players on the waiver wire who could help your team make up some of the difference between you and the guy(s) ahead of you in the standings. Listen to the podcast after the jump.

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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.

Fifteen of the 43 two-start pitchers are "Solid Starts". Dan Haren has it rough facing Matt Cain and Wandy Rodriguez while Gil Meche faces two very beatable opposing pitchers in Jeremy Sowers and Ian Snell.

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.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
Jamie Moyer can still win games.

Moyer bristled when the Phillies demoted him to the bullpen in favor of Pedro Martinez, and when a rain delay Tuesday forced Martinez from his start against the Diamondbacks, Moyer took over when play resumed in the fourth inning for his first outing since the decision.

He went the rest of the way, allowing two hits and striking out five in six scoreless innings and earning his first relief win since May 15, 1996, for the Red Sox. (That day he worked two innings in relief of Tom Gordon.)

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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.

With the team's core players already pleading with general manager Bill Smith to make a deal before the trade deadline, the Twins just discovered a new hole they're going to have to plug. Kevin Slowey had wrist surgery that is going to end his year.

"Taterjack" is a term I like to employ for a "home run." I find it to be awesome. Nearly as awesome as I found Chris Davis, the power-swinging, Texas Rangers first basemen ... before the season. But news hit the proverbial fan yesterday that Davis had been demoted and that he would no longer be on the Rangers' big league team.

This is highly problematic for fantasy owners who wasted used a high pick (and, invariably, it was high) on Davis: because he doesn't seem likely to get a lot more opportunity in the Rangers lineup. This is true for a number of reasons. First, he stinks. Second, Justin Smoak is the minors and probably ahead of Davis on the "track to the bigs" now. Additionally, Hank Blalock is playing first base. And, finally, the Rangers need pitching.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

In yesterday's Rush, we mentioned that Gordon Beckham is heating up and that the power would come. As if right on cue, he posted a 4-2-3-2 line in the box score. That is 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI, for those box score challenged. One of the hits was a home run. Beckham went through some predictable growing pains when he was first called up the majors, but he's since raised his on-base percentage to .353. His OPS is 1.396 in his last five games. It's time to keep your eyes on him in all fantasy leagues. There's a reason he was in the majors less than a year after he was drafted.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

By the looks of his season stats, you wouldn't know that Jordan Zimmermann has actually been one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors over the past month. We're talking a 1.90 ERA and a .198 batting average against. On that same note, Minnesota's Scott Baker is holding opposing hitters to a .205 average over his last five starts. The turnaround of these pitchers teach fantasy owners an important lesson about staying patient and swooping in when the time is right.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

When you think of Chicago Cubs starting pitchers, you first think of Carlos Zambrano. Next is probably Rich Harden, especially in terms of sheer talent -- plus, the injury woes probably keep him fresh in your mind. After last season, Ryan Dempster should be hanging out in your baseball-knowledge-filled brain as well. The best Cubs' starter of 2009, though, has been Ted Lilly. After yet another quality start Sunday, the Cubs' left-hander is 7-4 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.