Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
A few weeks ago we discussed the possibility of the Padres promoting 21-year-old phenom Mat Latos. Well, he now has four major league starts under his belt, and, needless to say, he's doing just fine. After a solid outing Monday night, Latos is 3-1 with a 2.66 ERA and a sparkling 0.89 WHIP. He's struck out 16 while only walking 6 in 23 2/3 innings. He's also pitching in one of the best pitcher's parks in baseball.
So, he should be owned in all fantasy leagues, right?
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.
After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage.
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 drafted Ryan Theriot as your shortstop or middle infielder, you were doing so for average, runs and steals. You were planning on getting no power from him, and rightfully so. Entering 2009 he had only 7 career home runs in over 1,400 major league at-bats. He only hit 5 home runs in 2,048 career minor league at-bats. At 29 years old, why would he all of a sudden develop power?
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Washington Nationals will be looking for a new closer as Joel Hanrahan has been fired. He was given the opportunity to close out five games and blew saves in three of those. His ERA is an unhealthy 8.64. The team will look to use a closer by committee approach for a while, waiting to see if injured Joe Beimel can return and flourish.
Tuesday, one day after Hanrahan surrendered a game-losing grand slam, Manager Manny Acta said that his team would now finish games -- or at least try to finish them -- with a committee of relief pitchers that includes Julián Tavárez and Kip Wells, both signed in March to non-guaranteed minor league deals. Once Joe Beimel (left hip flexor) returns from the disabled list in the first week of May, he could either join the mix or claim the job for himself.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
New York Mets (30-31) at San Diego Padres (27-37) - 4:05 PM ET
The Padres did something over the last four games that nobody in the majors had ever done before. They won four straight games by the score of 2-1. Even for a team that can't score, that's an amazing stat considering the Padres have lost more of these games than they've won, and more amazing that not one of those games went 25 innings. Scott Hairston has been a big help over the last couple ... making a huge diving catch with the bases loaded on Friday, and hitting the walk-off home run on Saturday.
The Mets meanwhile have to live with the sting of losing three straight to a team that was 13 games under .500 coming into this series. How long before the turk starts knocking on Willie Randolph's door again?
Releasing veterans after a limited number of at-bats seems to be the new black in baseball. The Padres cutJim Edmonds loose this afternoon after just 101 plate appearances and ate the $4.75 million or so remaining on his contract. The move mimics the one made by Toronto when they parted ways with Frank Thomas.
Like Thomas, Edmonds wasn't producing up to his established level. A .178 average and 498 OPS is about as ugly as things get and, when you toss in the step Edmonds lost in center, he was hurting the team more than he was helping it. That said, what did the Padres expect? Unlike Thomas, Edmonds has been breaking down physically for years and was more than two years removed from his last healthy and productive season.
He'll be replaced by Jody Gerut and Scott Hairston but all seems lost for the Padres this season. Their lineup is lacking at every non-Adrian Gonzalez spot and Arizona and it seems that a housecleaning is in order down San Diego way.
As for Edmonds, he may get another look if a team finds itself shy an outfielder. He should probably think about hanging 'em up, though. His defensive decline is the most telling sign that he's given all he could in an excellent career.
"I think today's (moves) caught people off guard," Hoffman said. "There's a bit of scrambling around not knowing what happened or why. I'm a big believer in clubhouse chemistry. ... It's dangerous. There are only so many spots. Its musical chairs and you better get a chair."
Those complaints from Hoffman came only a week after he termed the trade of setup man Scott Linebrink "incomprehensible." While I'm not a member of the Padres clubhouse, I do have to say that team is better off with the moves they've made. Their bench is significantly stronger, just as GM Kevin Towers reasoned. Maybe they're losing not because of the lack of chemistry, but because there's only so long a pitching staff can dominate at the rate the Padres had been without having a good offense to pick them up. Had the Padres been playing better, I'm not so certain you'd be hearing the same complaints.
The Diamondbacks beat the Padres in 12 innings on Wednesday night 5-2. With two outs in the top of the 12th, Scott Hairston hit a double. That's when manager Bud Black made a move the proved quite costly. He intentionally walked Stephen Drew, only to bring up Eric Byrnes. Bad move. Byrnes cracked a single to right field which drove in the go-ahead run, and Orlando Hudson followed with a two-run double that put the game out of sight at 5-2. For the second time in the year, Eric Byrnes burned an opposing team that chose to intentionally walk the man in front of him, and he was not happy about the lack of respect:
"You're not human and probably not playing baseball at this level if you're not going to take that personally," Byrnes said. "I'm sure they have their reasons, but when I come in that situation, when they walk the guy in front of you, you're going to have a little extra focus in those at-bats. Obviously you're going to want to make him pay for that."
Memo to opposing managers: DO NOT INTENTIONALLY WALK SOMEONE TO GET TO ERIC BYRNES. He takes things personally and will beat you. Please take note. Thank you.
Yes, they certainly are. They've won six in a row, and they lead the NL West with a 7-2 record -- their seven wins being more than any team in baseball. They swept the Nats over the weekend in four games, and they've taken the first two from the Reds, including last night's extra-innings thriller Scott Hairston won with a two-out double. The hot start is certainly a welcome sign for D-Back fans, but manager Bob Melvin knows the winning must be taken in stride:
"We've gotten off to a good start here so far, but, I mean, it's a small sampling, so we've proved nothing," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "What we have to do is keep going out there and expecting to win every game and keep the energy and intensity up."
Orlando Hudson is hitting the ball exceptionally well, and Eric Byrnes isn't far behind. Chris B. Young has driven in nine runs, and despite nursing a groin injury, he appears to be the favorite for NL Rookie of the Year. Minus a horrendous outing by JD Durbin, the pitching has been pretty awesome too. Even if the competition hasn't been top-line early in the Diamondbacks' schedule, the performance has to be encouraging for Arizona fans. The D-Backs are also going for consecutive series sweeps when they play the Reds later tonight.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage. 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Releasing veterans after a limited number of at-bats seems to be the new black in baseball. 
Because of all the trading they've been doing lately. They got rid of a declining 
The Diamondbacks beat the Padres in 12 innings on Wednesday night 5-2. With two outs in the top of the 12th, Scott Hairston hit a double. That's when manager Bud Black made a move the proved quite costly. He intentionally walked Stephen Drew, only to bring up Eric Byrnes. Bad move. Byrnes cracked a single to right field which drove in the go-ahead run, and Orlando Hudson followed with a two-run double that put the game out of sight at 5-2. For the 
Yes, they certainly are. They've won six in a row, and they lead the NL West with a 7-2 record -- their seven wins being more than any team in baseball. They 
