Albert Pujols underwent arthroscopic surgery in Dr. James Andrews' clinic in Birmingham, Ala. Wednesday and early reports seem to indicate that the surgery was successful. Pujols had the bone chips in his throwing elbow removed and Andrews said that further surgery, like a ligament replacement (more commonly known as Tommy John surgery), won't be necessary and he's unlikely to miss time in 2010.
It should go without saying that this is good news for the Cardinals, but even that underscores the importance of the announcement that further surgery is not necessary. Pujols' elbow has been bothering him since the end of the 2007 season. After that season rumors about Tommy John surgery swirled, but Pujols put the procedure off. Then, after the 2008 season, he had surgery to move an irritated nerve in the elbow.
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.
It truly was one of the more magical endings to a baseball playoff game we've ever seen, a game that can't be described any better than a Hollywood ending in which the hero miraculously manages to fight off an entire army with one gun and six bullets to save the girl.
In the movies, we never get to see the loser's epilogue. The NLDS between the Dodgers and Cardinals leaves its Hollywood atmosphere and shifts to St. Louis this weekend, where we'll find out if the Cards can bounce back from a game in which both Matt Holliday and the entire roster took a collective line drive to the groin.
In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down each of the playoff teams from a scouting perspective.
To put it lightly, it'd take a naïve team to believe that Games 1 and 2 against the Cardinals will be anything less than an all-out struggle. In Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, the St. Louis Cardinals own arguably the best 1-2 punch in baseball. Odds are that these two are not going to be knocked out of a game early and will need to be matched zero for zero.
But, what's the best way to scratch out some production against these two? We'll touch more on that later, but let's not sugarcoat it -- Carpenter and Wainwright are who they are for a reason and beating them will take a patient, intelligent approach.
"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."
So you know, Ron, how to get him out?
"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.
The Philadelphia Phillies will be heading back to the postseason to defend their title, but they're going to look a bit different than they did at this time last year. Pat Burrell has been replaced by Raul Ibanez, Pedro Martinez has taken the role of "Old Pitcher" from Jamie Moyer, and the "Albert Pujols Destroyed My Psyche" version of Brad Lidge has made a return to the mound to replace the "Nothing Fazes Me" Brad Lidge of 2008.
Still, the biggest difference in this team may not be with the roster, but in the waistband of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. Manuel has trimmed 50 pounds from his once abundant stomach this season and because of it, he's now the latest pitchman for the diet program Nutrisystem.
DENVER -- The way the Cardinals have bulldozed through the National League in the second half, it's easy to forget that they were locked in a see-saw battle with the Cubs, barely over .500, a few months ago.
By the time John Smoltz showed up in mid August, the Cardinals were a changed team.
"You get four guys like that, who add postseason experience and most of all a lot of depth to our lineup and our bench," Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick told FanHouse before Friday's potential division-clinching game in Colorado. "We just got better depth-wise. We've just been having a lot of fun. You start winning games and it becomes contagious and you get rolling."
The St. Louis Cardinals will be winning the NL Central this season and could end up with the best record in the National League, and a lot of their success has to do with Albert Pujols. They've made big moves like trading for Matt Holliday, not only for the purpose of chasing a World Series championship, but to show Pujols that they're committed to winning as an organization.
That's because they know Pujols' contract is up in two years and if they're going to keep him in St. Louis, they need to keep him happy. In a way, Pujols is the LeBron James of baseball. He's a cut above everybody else in the league, and he plays in a smaller Midwestern town that can't pay the big bucks of teams in New York, Los Angeles or Boston. So there's always that worry he's going to leave when his contract is up, which is exactly why the Cardinals have already approached him to talk about an extension.
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 Phillies weren't expecting much when they signed Pedro Martinez right around mid-season. Well, let me rephrase and say the Phillies weren't expecting this much.
On Sunday, Martinez pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven while walking two. But those aren't his most amazing numbers. When Martinez pitches the Phillies are a perfect 7-0. Think about that. Every time Pedro runs out there to take the mound the Phillies win.
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.
By now we all know of the greatness of San Francisco pitcher Tim Lincecum. He's the best pitcher in baseball this season, with a 2.34 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 233 strikeouts in 200 1/3 innings. But there's another hard-throwing young kid in the Giants organization that, like Lincecum, has a shot to be one of the league's best very quickly. He's a guy you want to burn that No. 1 waiver priority on, in case he sticks in the rotation for the rest of the season. He is Madison Bumgarner.
Albert Pujols underwent arthroscopic surgery in Dr. James Andrews' clinic in Birmingham, Ala. Wednesday and early reports seem to indicate that the surgery was successful. Pujols had the bone chips in his throwing elbow removed and Andrews said that further surgery, like a ligament replacement (more commonly known as Tommy John surgery), won't be necessary and he's unlikely to miss time 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 
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DENVER -- The way the Cardinals have bulldozed through the National League in the second half, it's easy to forget that they were locked in a see-saw battle with the Cubs, barely over .500, a few months ago.
The 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
