FanHouse Paul Byrd

While we're not going to know who the New York Yankees will be facing until Tuesday night, we do know that the Boston Red Sox will be taking on the Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS. We also know who will be pitching for both teams as Angels manager Mike Scioscia announced on Sunday that his starting rotation will have John Lackey going in Game 1, to be followed by Jered Weaver in Game 2, Scott Kazmir in Game 3 and Joe Saunders in Game 4.

Terry Francona announced the Red Sox rotation for the series on Sunday as well. Jon Lester will take the ball in Game 1 to face Lackey, while Josh Beckett will start Game 2 followed by the young Clay Bucholz in Game 3. The question is, who will Boston's fourth starter be?

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

You Oughta Know ...
That it was a good day to state your Cy Young case.

There was Adam Wainwright picking up his major league best 16th win of the season over the Nationals. And Justin Verlander throwing 125 pitches over eight innings for his 15th victory. And Zack Greinke one-hitting the Mariners for his 13th win, third shutout and sixth complete game.

All three will certainly be in the hunt for the Cy over the final month of the season, but Wainwright's stunning run is worth looking at in more depth.

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The Red Sox must not feel very confident about the depth in their rotation. According to a report by FOXSports.com, Boston has signed Paul Byrd to a minor-league deal for the rest of the season.

Byrd, who the Red Sox acquired from Cleveland for the stretch run last season, has not pitched at all this year, and according to the report will need time to get back into game shape. It's unlikely he will be ready for the major leagues before September.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this signing is what it tells us about Boston's own view of its starting pitching.

While his recovery from a ruptured achilles tendon last August has been miraculous, Jose Contreras's performance on the pitching mound this season has been disastrous. Contreras wasn't expected to be back until the middle of the season, if at all, but somehow he worked his way into the White Sox starting rotation out of the spring.

Since then he's done nothing but work his way out of it, going 0-4 and posting an 8.31 ERA in five starts. Contreras had a very strong outing against the Blue Jays last week which provided a glimmer of hope that maybe he was getting his control back, but a shellacking in Dallas on Saturday put any of that optimism to rest. Now the Sox are saying they're concerned about Contreras, but they're not going to take him out of the rotation just yet.

The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.

Jered Weaver gave the Angels a much-needed respite Tuesday night. Weaver, along with left-hander Joe Saunders, is one of the last men standing in a Los Angeles rotation ravaged by injuries and, of course, the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.

He pitched seven innings and allowed three runs as the Angels beat the Tigers, providing a quality start and taking some of the pressure off of a bullpen which entered the night with a major league-worst 8.31 ERA.

Unfortunately, it was only one night, and Los Angeles has many ahead.

Veteran pitcher Paul Byrd is 38 years old and believes he still has a little left in his old right arm. He also hates spending so much time away from his family during baseball season.

He finished the 2008 season with the Red Sox as a serviceable option at the back-end of the rotation. A free agent, he claims there have been some nice offers, but that he's tired of being away from home for so long.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

While the Yankees throw big-time dollars and long term contracts at CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe mulls over lucrative long-term offers, some strapped-for-cash teams may be feeling a bit left out in the cold during this Hot Stove season. The small-market teams have a lower margin of error, and they can't afford to use their entire payroll on a risk like Burnett. If a team like the Brewers has a few holes in the rotation to plug, they should take the bargain route.

Obviously, taking a shot at a pitcher not many other teams want -- for various reasons -- doesn't necessarily mean you'll be successful.

I often think about how the Cubs signed Ryan Dempster a few years back for very little cost. He paid dividends this past season. On the flip side, the Cubs tried the same thing with Scott Williamson, and it didn't work out. With this in mind, here are 10 possible bargain starting pitchers. Obviously, the upsides of each guy vary based upon age, health, and ability.

All in all, 24 players were offered arbitration by last night's midnight deadline, including 15 Type A free agents and nine Type B. Players are classified using a rating system created by Elias Sports Bureau to determine the level of compensation a team receives if a player refuses arbitration and signs elsewhere.

Most of the time, Type A free agents are elite players who are all but certain to refuse the offer in anticipation of receiving multiyear offers on the open market. This year's Type A free agents to receive offers include: A.J. Burnett, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Cruz, Brian Fuentes, Orlando Hudson, Raul Ibanez, Derek Lowe, Darren Oliver, Oliver Perez, Manny Ramirez, Francisco Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Mark Teixeira and Jason Varitek.

If any of those players refuse arbitration to sign elsewhere, their new teams will have to cough up two draft picks as compensation. That said, most of them are so talented that the prospect of losing a draft pick or two won't intimidate interested suitors. In other words, if you're favorite team is committed to signing Manny, losing a measly draft pick or two won't stop it. But for older players who only have one or two productive seasons left (Oliver, Varitek: I'm looking at you), losing draft picks is something worth thinking twice about.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

The Red Sox may have fallen short of the Rays in the AL East and in the ALCS in 2008, but despite the frustrating end to their season, they actually proved something quite significant and positive. The team that was once known mostly for a championship drought that spanned eight decades is now known as the premier franchise in baseball.

Boston has won the World Series twice since 2004 and been to the ALCS in four of the last six seasons. Perhaps more importantly, GM Theo Epstein has proven deft at mixing in new talent -- at providing stability while also keeping the roster fresh and young. Indeed, the Red Sox have won two championships with two almost entirely different groups of players.

That's going to be more important than ever going forward. The AL East has become a cruel beast and Tampa Bay, not Boston, has suddenly become the young, deep power in the division. With the Yankees looming as well, Epstein is going to have to keep working his magic. Get younger, Theo. Get better. Oh, and be a perennial World Series contender while you're at it.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

When the Marlins dealt Miguel Cabrera last winter, it was assumed that they would battle the Nationals for the cellar in the National League East. That made their 84-77 record one of the most pleasant surprises of the season.

Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla led an offense that finished second in the NL in home runs, the preferred method of scoring for an offense that didn't get on base with much regularity. Chris Volstad looked like a future ace in 14 starts. Volstad, Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson and Andrew Miller are a very young rotation, but potentially a very good one if they're healthy and consistent in 2009.

Almost any team would envy the young, talented roster the Marlins possess, but building on their 2008 successes will be contingent on which players return next season. As always, the Marlins are dealing with monetary issues that often trump diamond ones. How they manage those two sides will decide how far they go next season.