FanHouse Jerry Hairston Jr.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That in a game of runs -- the basketball, not baseball variety -- it was Adam Lind who stood out.

The Blue Jays jumped out to an 11-0 lead through five innings in Texas. Then the Rangers, fighting to hang with Boston in the AL wild-card race, answered with 10 runs of their own. And Toronto followed with seven insurance runs in the ninth inning to win a slugfest 18-10.

The main difference? Lind, who homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in eight runs

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It looks unlikely that Roy Halladay will be on the move, but the Blue Jays did shed payroll Friday afternoon, dealing third baseman Scott Rolen to the Reds for Edwin Encarnacion and two minor leaguers, a source tells FanHouse.

Cincinnati has rapidly fallen out of the NL Central race over the last few weeks, losing nine of its last 10 games to slide into fifth place in the division and draw the ire of manager Dusty Baker, who criticized his team for their lifeless play.

Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GM's. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.

It's true, you must score runs to win ball games.Instead of being the name of the game, in rotisserie leagues scoring runs is only one-fifth of the battle. It's still a stat category you must focus on. If you're deficient in the runs scored category, take a look at some of these waiver wire possibilities.

The Reds have been after a right-handed outfield bat all winter (Willy Taveras doesn't count), but the market seems to be drying up pretty quickly. Pat Burrell is gone, Milton Bradley is gone, Manny Ramirez is probably out of their price range, and no one seems to be moving quickly on Rocco Baldelli, which might mean there are still concerns about his stamina. So will the Reds find a right-handed bat this winter? Um, does Jerry Hairston Jr. count?

The Reds re-signed Hairston today to a one-year deal and with Alex Gonzalez out to start 2009, it seems likely he'll start the year at shortstop. But then, the Reds could always play Jeff Keppinger there and move Hairston to the outfield if a suitable bat isn't found. This isn't really a great option for Cincy and I doubt it's what Walt Jocketty really wants to move into the season with, but hey, Manny Ramirez is not walking through that door.

In all likelihood, this means that Willy Taveras and Hairston will occupy the top two slots in the Reds lineup next year. Neither has a career OBP of over .340, but hey, they both sure are speedy! There's a nice core of young players in Cincy, but if the Reds can't do better work than this upgrading the talent around them, I don't see how they're going to crack into the top three in the NL Central, much less make the playoffs.

Of course making the playoffs might not be the goal at all, if the front office doesn't think the young players are ready. Well, that or they think Hairston will hit .326/.384/.487 again. But I don't think anyone actually believes that.

Well, folks, we've got another one. Sports Illustrated has been all over this thing. (That helps when you have two reporters shadowing the raid of an Orlando compound pharmacy). And today, they throw Jerry Hairston Jr.'s name into the loop.

According to a law enforcement document we've reviewed, in May 2004, a doctor A. Almarashi of Queens prescribed Genotropin (human growth hormone) that was sent from Allied Pharmacy -- the compound pharmacy raided in Mobile, Ala., last fall -- to Rangers infielder Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Uh oh, Jerry. Now, the investigators in the SI interview are quick to point out this doesn't immediately peg Hairston as guilty.

It's a point worth stressing, though. To repeat: no one is alleging the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This investigation is about a distribution pipeline. With respect to the athlete-clients, the allegation is that drugs were sent to them through a DEA-raided compound pharmacy. In theory, anyone could go to one of these anti-aging Web sites, register falsely under the name of a prominent athlete, and get a prescription for a banned substance in that athlete's name -- that's how shadowy some of the anti-aging clinics and prescribing doctors appear to be.

That's a real interesting point. Presumably, anyone could go to the Web site, enter in any athlete's name and have drugs sent to them, and in the process free the random buyer in question of any guilt. HOWEVA, the interview does indicate that the addresses the HGH was sent to were traced to Hairston in both Maryland and Arizona residences.

So yeah, as of now, things aren't looking too good for Jerry.

Previously on the FanHouse:
Garry Matthews Was Mailed HGH in 2004
Garry Matthews Avoids the Steroid Question
Garry Matthews Allegedly Named in Steroid Bust