FanHouse Chris Ianetta

When you run around in fantasy baseball circles long enough you hear terms thrown around too often. Words like "sleeper", "breakout" and "undervalued" are overused catchphrases comparable to Arnold Drummond's "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" or Donald Trump's "You're fired!" However, it's next to impossible to talk fantasy baseball for any length of time and not get caught up in this oft-used terminology. That being said, let me explain what I mean by undervalued.

In this article I'm going to take a look at Average Draft Position as calculated at Mock Draft Central. After looking at ADP and comparing that to projections for 2009 a few catchers will appear who I think will outperform (read: have better statistics) their current draft positions. I'm not predicting career years here or campaigning for these guys to be drafted higher than they currently are being taken. I'm merely stating that you'll get good value and maybe even be surprised with how well these three catchers perform compared to where you get them in your fantasy draft.

It's a shame, that right after Clint Hurdle's bench-him-to-spur-a-hot-streak move got Troy Tulowitzki's bat working a little bit, that it appears the second year shortstop appears likely to head to the disabled list with a strained quadriceps injury.

Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said Tulowitzki will fly to Denver on Wednesday morning, and the club hopes to arrange an MRI for him by the afternoon. He's likely to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

'He is in a lot of pain and discomfort, and a lot of spasm after the injury,' said Dugger, who refused to speculate on how much action Tulowitzki will miss.

Tulo being forced to leave early on Tuesday resulted in a crazy shift of the Rockies infield, with catcher Chris Iannetta playing third base, Clint Barmes playing shortstop and third baseman Garrett Atkins playing second (note that Jeff Baker's injury also caused this). Clearly, losing Tulowitzki affects the Rockies both offensively, and more importantly, defensively.

There should be some roster shifting -- MLB.com reports that Omar Quintanilla has been called up -- and clearly the Rockies are going to need someone to step up in order to try and keep pace with the Diamondbacks.

Fantasy Spin: If Atkins gains 2B eligibility in your league because of this, well, you need to pounce on him before his owner figures it out. Iannetta's third base eligibility would actually make him less useful, since he's a catcher anyway, but he's starting to come on pretty nicely. Tulo meanwhile, should be benched until further notice.

This is almost getting old and tiresome for the Rockies. Eight straight losses complimented by four consecutive blown saves from closer Brian Fuentes. According to ESPN researchers, it's the first time that a closer has blown four straight saves since Dave Righetti in 1988. Sure, Fuentes hasn't been his sharpest over the past week, but he's really getting a bad rap for the recent run of bad luck.

A week ago Friday, it was three runs scoring on a hit by John McDonald that accounted for the first blown save. The game-winner scored on an errant throw by catcher Chris Ianetta. Monday, it was a two-run single by Alfonso Soriano to win it. Both runs were unearned because Kaz Matsui booted what would have been the game-ending ground ball. Thursday, Carlos Lee hit a grand slam in the 11th to end it. Craig Biggio reached on a roller up the middle that went in between Troy Tulowitzki and Matsui, neither of whom could figure out who would make the play. The grounder would have ended the game.

Then came Friday night. After getting two outs, Fuentes walked Lee, and then allowed the game-winning walk-off home run to Mark Loretta. The recent string has manager Clint Hurdle worried. I'm not; most of those outings look worse because of the "blown save" title they have acquired. In reality, two of those games should have been saves. The bright side, at least Fuentes hasn't gone Armando Benitez yet. He elected not to speak with the media instead after Friday's 9-8 loss.

With the Rockies bringing up the rear in the NL West like usual, there has been widespread criticism that things in Denver need to change. Some fans have created a Monforts Must Sell website, demanding a change in ownership. But until the owners sell, they have the ability to create change by firing certain team officials. And even though manager Clint Hurdle received a contract extension in Spring Training, he feels there is a sense of urgency to win in order to keep his job.

"I guarantee and really believe with all my heart that if (ownership) felt I was not getting my job done that there would be an adjustment made. That's sports," Hurdle said Monday evening before the Rockies played Arizona. "I don't sit on my hands. There's no other focus for me other than what it's always been, to make this team better every day."

But if Hurdle's job is secure because of the extension, then it becomes possible that some of the coaches on his staff might get the axe.

The Rockies' bullpen ranks last in baseball. The offense remains a puzzling disappointment. So it comes as no surprise that pitching coach Bob Apodaca and hitting instructor Alan Cockrell have become targets for fans wanting change.

It really is a sad reality that less-significant coaches are the ones who receive the blame for the poor performance of the players. Is it really hitting coach Alan Cockrell's fault that rookies Chris Ianetta and Troy Tulowitzki aren't hitting well? Is it really pitching coach Bob Apodaca's fault that aside from closer Brian Fuentes and setup man Manny Corpas the bullpen is atrocious? I really think it's unfair to make the pitching and hitting coaches the scapegoats for the consistent losing in Colorado the last few years (no more than 76 wins in any of the last six seasons). Seems like greater changes are needed than just them. Either that, or maybe baseball isn't meant to be played in Denver.

Previously at FanHouse:
Rockies Extend Clint Hurdle and Dan O'Dowd

Nothing like a pair of rookies seriously having their mettle tested two days into the season. After the disgruntled Byung-Hyun Kim (who's still hoping for a trade) gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th to the Diamondbacks, the Rox came back to rally in the bottom half of the inning. First Todd Helton and Matt Holliday singled before Brad Hawpe grounded into a double-play, leaving Helton on third with two outs and two rookies coming up.

Troy Tulowitzki (pictured), he of 26 career big league hits (and one of the coolest names in baseball), sent a line drive to right field where Eric Byrnes misjudged his dive so badly that the ball bounced off the heal of his glove, resulting in a double (it was initially charged as an error). That was for a guy who struck out on three pitches against Jose Valverde in the loss the night before. Tulowitzki's double brought up Chris Ianetta to the plate, he of 22 career big league hits, with the game-winning run on second. Ianetta sent a sharp ground ball through the hole into left field, and the Rockies won it 4-3. How bout that for Colorado, four hits in an 11th inning rally, including the game-winners by rookies with two outs? Impressive.

Tuesday night's game is also a great reminder of how quickly you need to "turn the page" in baseball. On Opening Day, Eric Byrnes was the hero for Arizona. The next night, he was the goat, and probably cursed under his breath saying he should have caught the "frickin' ball."

Previously at FanHouse:
AM Leadoff: Renteria for MVP!
Byung-Hyun Kim's Whining on His Way to the Pen

Rather than going with the dreaded "vote of confidence" for the manager and general manager of the ball club, Rockies ownership indicated their optimism for the future of the organization on Opening Day by extending both manager Clint Hurdle and GM Dan O'Dowd for two more years, through 2009.

"We made a commitment to our organization and everyone in it a long time ago," Rockies president Keli McGregor said. "I met with ownership at the end of spring training and we believe this is the right decision at the right time."

When you look at the Rockies' winning percentage with each of them in charge -- .452 in seven season under O'Dowd and .447 in just under five seasons under Hurdle (pictured) -- you're initially quite underwhelmed. But things are different in Denver; they're building through the farm system with guys like Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins, Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, Chris Ianetta, Aaron Cook, and Jeff Francis amongst others. It's this type of architecture that gives the fans and organization a reason to believe things will improve.