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.
Take your hat off to the Angels for the way they weathered the dual gut punches of Nick Adenhart's death and a raft of early-season injuries to advance all the way to the ALCS this year. The biggest reason why was an offense that defied its reputation for playing small ball all the way to a franchise-record 883 runs. That, in turn, led to a much better than expected record and helped hide the fact that their pitching staff was fairly average.
That makes two straight years where the Angels wildly outperformed expectations, and general manager Tony Reagins will be hard-pressed to put together a team that does it a third time. Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey are all free agents who figure to have a lot of callers in a weak year for free talent, which means that the team will likely be dealing with at least one significant change to their core group.
With the Rangers on the rise, the AL West could be ripe for a changing of the guard in 2010.
During FanHouse's marathon live chat of the ALCS and NLCS yesterday, I couldn't help but notice Scott Boras directly behind home plate as the Angels took on the Yankees in Game 3. I was informed during the chat by our own Jeff Fletcher that Boras has season tickets behind home plate at both Angels and Dodger Stadium, and he likes to show up early so he's available to the media.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
It's easy to be pessimistic after a team suffers a crushing loss, mostly because fans and broadcasters alike like to zone in on intangibles like momentum and the players' psyche. But if you are a New York Yankees fan and looking for reasons to be worried, there are some perfectly logical and tangible ones to focus on.
From the performance of Joba Chamberlain, to many of the Yankee hitters' struggles against the breaking ball, to the decision most New York fans will be screaming about, the removal of David Robertson from the game in the 11th inning in favor of Alfredo Aceves, there are more than enough tangible reasons to be concerned about the Yankees. And from a scouting standpoint, there are certainly points of intrigue in New York's weaknesses.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mickey Hatcher has seen thatVladimir Guerrero, the one who you saw flailing away hopelessly in New York on Saturday night. He's seen him plenty of times.
Ironically, that's precisely why the Angels hitting coach isn't worried about his cleanup hitter.
"We've seen the same thing you guys saw, and you say 'Gosh is he hurting?'" Hatcher told FanHouse. "Then he comes out the next day and the Vlad horns stick up and he gets [ticked] and he finds a way to get some big hits for us."
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.
Few pitchers in baseball proudly carry the title of ace, but CC Sabathia is one of them. If there was any doubt about that fact, it was all put to rest on Friday night against the Angels. Between his absolute mastery of the Los Angeles lineup and the pace of the game that New York set in the early innings, this was the formula every team wants to avoid in order to hang with the Yankees.
With the Angels unable to get runners on base to start the engines of their running game and the Yankees doing what they do best by taking pitches, this was a Yankee-paced game. If the Yankees are allowed to dictate tempo, they will come out on top more often than not.
BOSTON -- Even in the afterglow of the finest postseason moment of his career, Vladimir Guerrero wasn't thinking only about himself.
If that wasn't obvious by his words, one could tell as soon as he stepped to the interview podium in Fenway Park Sunday afternoon wearing a Nick Adenhart T-shirt.
So when he was asked, specifically, how great it must have felt for him to not only interrupt his personal history of playoff disappearances but also the Los Angeles Angels' dismal record against Boston with his game- and American League Division Series-winning hit, Guerrero talked not about himself, but about the teammate killed in a car crash six months ago.
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.
The ugly pitching line from Monday night shouldn't have been a huge shock to Jarrod Washburn fantasy owners. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 walks and 2 home runs. He struck out just 2. While it was his worst outing for the Tigers, he's been flat-out awful in Motown since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Sure, there was an 8-inning gem where he didn't allow a run. He also mixed in a quality start last time out for his first win in Detroit. Other than that, it's been horrifying.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Vladimir Guerrero's had a rough 2009, with injury issues and his dwindling power (his .466 slugging percentage would easily be his career low if the season ended today) causing concern the 34-year-old was full-on in the middle of a career decline.
With two cracks of the bat Monday night, "Vlad the Impaler" reminded us that he's been swinging a hot stick of late. In fact, he's been the old Vlad for quite some time. He just needed to shake the Earth a little bit to ensure everyone took notice.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Colorado has cycled back to the top of the NL wild-card standings.
Troy Tulowitzki hit for the cycle Tuesday as the Rockies bashed the Cubs, 11-5. By taking three of four in the series, Colorado moved a game ahead of San Francisco.
According to STATS LLC, Tulowitzki joined John Valentin as the only players ever to hit for the cycle and turn an unassisted triple play.
Tulowitzki ended up 5-for-5 with a career-best seven RBI, and he nearly had a two-homer cycle but replay upheld a foul ball ruling.
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 Nationals of all teams are the hottest club in baseball. They've won five straight games, scoring no fewer than five runs in each of their six games in August. Mike MacDougal recorded saves in four of those five wins, but the real hero in Washington is Ryan Zimmerman.
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.
During FanHouse's marathon live chat of the ALCS and NLCS yesterday, I couldn't help but notice Scott Boras directly behind home plate as the 
In 
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mickey Hatcher has seen that 
In 
BOSTON -- Even in the afterglow of the finest postseason moment of his career, 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
