FanHouse Livan Hernandez

NEW YORK -- The Mets may have put an end to one of the more unusual careers in recent memory when they released right-hander Livan Hernandez Thursday.

The 1997 World Series MVP, who in recent years had come to define the term "innings-eater," was 7-8 with a 5.47 ERA for the Mets.

"[I have the] utmost respect for Livan Hernandez," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel, who was a coach on the 1997 Marlins. "In 1997 he put a World Series ring on my finger.

"We as an organization and as a team felt it was time to move in a different direction."

Rookie Rick Porcello and Randy Wolf make surprise appearances in the "Must Start" category for the week nine version of two-start pitchers. But, that's not the craziest addition to the list. Am I seriously adding Livan Hernandez? Take a look at what he's done over the last month and you'll want to add him to your starting lineup as well.

In all there are 41 pitchers throwing twice next week. The good thing about Monday is that all of the games are night-time starts. You won't need to finalize your weekly rosters until 7:05 PM ET.

Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.

Who would have thought that Dexter Fowler's five stolen base game wouldn't even last a week as the high steals game in 2009. Carl Crawford did him one better Sunday, taking six in as many chances. Crawford is now 17-17 in stolen base attempts this season. Lost in the shuffle was that his 4-4 day at the plate caused his average to rise all the way up to .317.

There are a plethora of two-start pitchers hurling in week five (Monday, May 4th - Sunday May 10th) of the fantasy baseball season. There are 58 total this week and you late sleepers are luck that all of the Monday games are night games. You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET.

[Update: 7:48 AM ET] : Two games were rained out yesterday. The Mets and Phillies did not play and the Angels and Yankees were rained out as well. Here is the fallout from those two postponed games as it relates to two-start pitchers.

NEW YORK -- Friday night was a freebie for the Mets. Few things in baseball are a better bet than Johan Santana against the pitiful Nats, and so it was that a four-game losing streak went quietly by the wayside, giving the Mets a night to breathe and forget about that ugly three-game sweep in St. Louis.

But Saturday it all starts up again, with Mike Pelfrey set to go in the afternoon heat. Pelfrey is one of the Mets' starters other than Santana, which means he represents one-fourth of the biggest problem the Mets have had this young season.

Mets starters other than Santana are 3-5 with a 7.32 ERA this year, infecting the team's start so severely that the people running it have already started discussing a shakeup. Per Adam Rubin in the New York Daily News:

Heading into Spring Training, the most unknown fantasy baseball values come in the form of positional battles. Let's face it, the entire "sport" of fantasy baseball is unknown, because no one has a crystal ball. Still, predicting output from an individual player is much more difficult when you don't know what his role will be.

With that in mind, we're going to take a look at some of the pitchers who have recently either sewn up a spot in the starting rotation or are nearing that job. We won't be including those who were guaranteed a spot heading into camp.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Colorado Rockies.

The Colorado Rockies have long been one of the strangest paradigms of Major League Baseball. They seem to thrive on their home park of Coors Field, which provides Rockies hitters with seemingly supernatural power abilities. Of course, as always, that power comes with a price -- it's extremely rare to see a Colorado pitcher provide the team with any sort of successful season.

The Mets are currently holding a competition for the team's fifth starter spot in camp between guys like Livan Hernandez, Freddy Garcia, Tim Redding, and Jonathan Niese. There are some decent arms in there, sure, but none of them are exactly screaming "World Series here we come!" Which is why there are so many Mets fans out there who are wondering when the team is going to sign Pedro Martinez.

Well, those fans are going to be waiting for a while. More accurately forever, because according to ESPN's Buster Olney, there is "not a chance" that the Mets are going to bring Pedro back. They're happy with what they've got.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.

Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.

In case you haven't been paying attention lately, the Mets have been signing guys to compete for the fifth starter spot with Jon Niese. Veteran pitchers that the Mets have long had their eye on like Freddy Garcia and Livan Hernandez, who was signed yesterday, have come to New York on minor league deals.

With each veteran signing, the Mets move further and further away from Pedro Martinez, who is as responsible for the Mets returning to prominence as anybody, if not more so. In fact, you can make the argument that Citi Field, bailout money and all, is "The House That Pedro Built."