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.
Depending on your perspective, the rebuilding plan general manager Billy Beane started after the 2007 season has either worked well or has stalled out. The A's have filled up their organization with young prospects, and they had the makings of a very good young pitching staff last year. However, they still managed to win only 75 games -- the exact same total as the year before -- because their everyday lineup is still in flux.
The only position player who has established himself as the long-term answer at his position is catcher Kurt Suzuki. Otherwise, players like Ryan Sweeney, Cliff Pennington and Rajai Davis have played just well enough to have jobs going into spring training, but not well enough to be considered established.
The good news is the A's gave their young pitchers plenty of opportunity to learn in 2009. They started a pitcher 25 or younger in 147 of their games, most in the majors, and just about all of them showed flashes (or more) of brilliance.
For a number of major league teams Mondays and Thursdays are travel days. Every Wednesday and Sunday, Fantasy Fill-Ins finds guys who should be widely available on the waiver wire and can step in for the day, helping you gain ground or hold off the pack.
There are nine games scheduled for Thursday. That means we may need to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find some solid fill-ins. Here are five of the best options.
Jack Cust, Athletics - Cust hasn't been the model of consistent hitting this season and as of late he's been less then stellar batting .221 over the last month. But, he has a pretty good track record against Scott Feldman (five hits and two home runs in 15 at-bats) so could fill-in nicely on Thursday. Cust is only owned in 16% of fantasy leagues.
OAKLAND -- Matt Holliday provided A's fans with a memorable evening on what may have been one of his final days with the team.
Holliday hit a seventh-inning grand slam, his second homer of the night, to help the A's overcome a 10-run deficit and beat the Twins 14-13 on Monday night at the Coliseum. It was the largest deficit overcome for a victory in Oakland history. The A's trailed 12-2 in the third and 13-7 in the seventh.
"I don't think I've seen a game as crazy as that one," said A's reliever Michael Wuertz, who recorded the final out of the game on an apparent blown call at the plate. "After that last out was made, I was thinking 'I don't know what just happened.'"
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It sure didn't take long for Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen to get used to the big leagues. Matt Wieters, on the other hand, needed 48 at-bats to respond to the hype.
Both top prospects hit their first home runs at the major-league level on Wednesday -- matching two-run jacks to left field -- but there's an acute difference in perceived fantasy value between them.
When you lose a star like Manny Ramirez in fantasy leagues, there is no "quick fix." You're either going to make a trade to fill the glaring hole, or you play mad scientist with waiver-wire options to tide your team over. I've always been a fan of the latter before resorting to the block. Luckily, there are seven players available who are capable of giving your team the needed power in mixed leagues. Not Manny-type power, obviously, but enough to mitigate the damage for a few months. And if that's not up your alley, we've got some trade targets, too.
MLB Power Rankings:Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.
HAVE YOU HEARD? YANKEE STADIUM HAS A WIND TUNNEL!!! Does it matter/is it real? Probably not. In fact, it might actually be on the other end of the spectrum of importance when compared to MLB Power Rankings. This week, we welcome another brand new No. 1 at the top of our rankings, although, all spoiler alerts aside, it's from the same division as last week! Debate the quality of your team, after the jump.
It's speckled with gray now, but the fact that Jason Giambi can go as long as he wants without shaving lets us all know how comfortable he is back in Oakland and away from the Yankees.
"I think it's good for him to be back," Athletics teammate Jack Cust said Monday, which was to be Giambi's return to the Bronx before rain interfered. "There's a lot less pressure. There's a lot less media. You go oh-fer a couple of games in New York, it's a bigger deal. It you're in Oakland, you can not answer any questions if you're having a tough week."
OAKLAND -- Terry Francona was having one of those mornings.
Not only was his team reeling from its worst eight-game start in 13 years, but he had just hours earlier milked 11 innings out of his bullpen and had to put Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list. The pitcher who was coming from Triple-A to take Matsuzaka's spot was traveling all the way from Rochester, with no chance of arriving in Oakland by the start of the game.
So the Red Sox manager was somewhat heartened when Tim Wakefield stopped by his office with a message.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the... Most average team in the league. It's weird, because there don't seem to be many real weaknesses on team -- but can you really find a bunch of strengths? I hate the term "very average," but this team is pretty close to the mean across the board. As you scroll through ADP charts, you'll find the A's aren't often towards the top of the lists, but they are definitely there. As I said, average.
Nomar Garciaparra isn't ready to hang up the spikes just yet. Multiple reports on Tuesday indicate that he'll sign a one-year contract with the Oakland A's, pending a physical, and join the team as a jack of all trades off the bench. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the deal will be announced on Friday.
Garciaparra battled injuries with the Dodgers last season and appeared in just 55 games for the NL West champions. He'd been contemplating retirement after hitting .264 with eight home runs and 28 RBI on the season, one year after he slumped to his worst big league season.
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.
For a number of major league teams Mondays and Thursdays are travel days. Every Wednesday and Sunday, 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
When you lose a star like 
NEW YORK -- The beard speaks volumes.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
