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.
The Florida Marlins finished second in the NL East, six games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and were in the thick of the wild-card race up until the final weeks of the season. When you think of the bright, young pitching staff in Florida anchored by Josh Johnson and featuring Ricky Nolasco and Chris Volstad, you reason that the Marlins finished well in 2009 because of their hurlers. That notion is actually a fallacy -- only Johnson finished with an ERA under 4.00 among the starters who compiled at least 25 starts. The Marlins stayed in the race because of their hitting, plain and simple. Three hitters -- Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez and Cody Ross -- bopped 24 or more home runs, and as a team the Marlins finished fifth in the National League in runs scored.
The landscape in Miami might change a lot this offseason. Florida has already shipped under-performing Jeremy Hermida to Boston and many expect Uggla to be exchanged soon for a multitude of cheap, young players.
L.A. is the last team in the majors to have a losing streak longer than two, and by not doing so until games 98-100, it set a franchise record.
And while the Dodgers' lead in the NL West is still eight games, there are causes for concern. In two losses at St. Louis, Los Angeles has had 20 hits -- but scored just one run. The Dodgers went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position in those games and had only three extra-base hits, all doubles.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
I learned how to play fantasy sports 10 years ago from my stepdad, who's been playing it since the days when rotisserie baseball didn't even exist. Back when he was a teenager, it was called Strat-O-Matic, a simulation board game that seemed more laborious than fun to me. Then again, they also had fun flipping baseball cards instead of preserving them.
One of the first things he ever taught me about veteran players was the basic tenet of: "Look on the back of the baseball card." Sure, there are outliers, but seeing career statistics is comforting, and can often tell you a lot about a batter's peak performance.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know... That instant replay has been in use in the majors for reviewing homers since last August, but there had not been a single home run taken away until Wednesday.
And then it happened twice.
First, Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche hit a first-inning drive that was initially ruled a three-run homer. After umpires checked the replay, they determined that the ball had not cleared the fence, and LaRoche instead had a two-run double.
A few hours later, in Milwaukee, Marlins pinch-hitter Ross Gload had a would-be solo homer reversed.
Now that the Yankees know they're going to be without Alex Rodriguez for at least six weeks thanks to hip surgery, they can focus on finding somebody to replace him at third base. Unfortunately for the Bombers, replacing somebody like A-Rod is a lot easier said than done, but there are some decent options out there.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.
The Nationals made it official Thursday, inking slugger Adam Dunn to a two-year, $20 million deal and introducing him in Washington. Dunn fills a glaring need for the Nats -- left-handed power -- but he also creates a roster crunch that general manager Jim Bowden will have to clear up before the team heads north for the start of the season.
Of course, Washington isn't the only club with a bit of a logjam heading into Spring Training. Here are a look at five rosters that will need to be un-cluttered in the coming six weeks, and how they might be.
Cheap Yard Work helps you pick out likely free agents in your league that have been raking over the past week.
Adam Lind, Jays, OF 7 day stats: .250/.304/.550, 2 HR, 5 RBI I've been high on Lind for a while. As a 22 year-old in 2006 he hit .330 with 24 bombs and 89 RBI in 125 minor league games. So that's why. He only hit .238 in 290 at-bats with the big club last year during his first extended big league stay, and he was atrocious earlier this season for a short stint before being promptly returned to the farm. Still, he's only 24 and has done nothing but mash in the minors. One of these times he's going to stick and be a productive major leaguer. For right now ... he didn't even have a huge week, but he still would have been helpful in most leagues with those stats. Plus, the Jays are going through a transition period with the new manager and all. They currently sit in last and I can't reasonably think they'll finish higher than fourth. Why not let him play into big league form at this age?
If you have the room to add him, you might as well try.
The Kansas City Royals have gotten off to a decent start this season, going 9-10 in their first 19 games, but any success they've had on the young season should be solely credited to their pitching staff. It's guys like Brian Bannister and Zack Greinke who have been solid as starters, and Joakim Soria, Jimmy Gobble, and Leo Nunez who've yet to give up a run working out of the pen (a combined 18.1 innings between them) that's responsible for any wins the team has gotten.
It damn sure hasn't been the offense, which has managed to score a Major League worst 63 runs (they're actually tied with the Giants) this season, and hasn't managed to score more than 6 runs in a single game. So obviously, the Royals could use some help on offense, and there are a few options out there. So why not go after Frank Thomas?
Sure, Frank has some pretty enticing offers from other teams at the moment, but the Royals could be a nice fit for him as well. Since he's still going to be getting paid by the Blue Jays this season, he'd probably be willing to accept a deal in line with the $500,000 the Athletics paid him in 2006. Which would work well within the Royals limited budget. I'm not sure the same could be said if the Royals tried to go after Barry Bonds, not to mention the headache that accompanies Barry where ever he goes.
The only drawback I could see to the Royals signing Thomas would be the fact that Billy Butler would have to move to first base, but even though Billy Boy isn't exactly a defensive standout, he couldn't do that much damage at first. This would also allow Ross Gload to return to more of the utility role he's better suited for.
If I were Dayton Moore, I'd probably be giving the Big Hurt a call in the next few days.
Kids Are Alright will examine some hot minor league prospects and their potential to be fantasy relevant towards both seasonal and keeper leagues. If you'd like to read more of Will Brinson's minor-league rantings, check out Greensboro Grassbloggers, his Single-A blog.
I can almost guarantee you that next week, this space will get filled by Evan Longoria descriptions. I'm headed to see him in Durham on Friday, so if you're around the area, holler. In the meantime though, we're staring down a pile of small sample sizes with which to judge our minor leaguers. In doing some quick sorts, a few interesting names popped up. Bear in mind, again, it's early.
Dallas McPherson Once upon a not too long ago time, McPherson was considered a can't miss prospect at third base for the Halos, sure to team up with Brandon Wood and form a dominant left side of the infield for years to come. Obviously, that didn't pan out. A season's worth of DL time (back surgery) left him to float and the Marlins (or the Alburquerque Isotopes, if you will) to sign him. He's a Greensboro, NC, guy, so I gotta give him a little dap, although it's unlikely he'll be falling back to his hometown Grasshoppers with the way he's swinging the bat early.
Through three games and just 10 at bats (yes, I know, sample size), D has busted out with three homers and this line: .400/.455/1.300. Now yes, it's early. But it's the Marlins we're talking about. Jeremy Hermida is still DL-bound. Are Cody Ross and Luis Gonzalez so good to stop them from giving McPherson a run. And what if his back surgery fixed him up? Is he that horrible of a flier to try and backdoor in your really deep/NL-only league? I think not.
The Royals had to place Ross Gload on the disabled list with a sore quadriceps muscle, and in his place they have recalled the one, the only, Angel Berroa.
I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. Kansas City Royals baseball just hasn't seemed the same without getting to watch Berroa flail wildly at pitches, and throw balls away. You may remember how the Royals optioned Angel to Triple-A Omaha after trading for Tony Pena Jr in March.
Apparently he's performed well enough in the minors to warrant this call up. In thirty games with Omaha, Berroa is hitting .303 with 15 RBI, 17 strikeouts, and 4 walks. He's also committed five errors, which seems par for the course, but the Royals are hoping he can continue hitting.
Berroa will not be starting for the Royals, rather he'll just be backing up Pena and Alex Gordon at third base. I have to wonder if this move is nothing more than one last gasp by the Royals in hopes that Berroa will perform well enough that some other team will be dumb enough to trade for him.
Kansas City isn't exactly deep in the pockets, and paying a guy $8.5 million to play for their Triple-A team is not the kind of cost effective building Dayton Moore wants to do. If I'm Moore, I give up Berroa for just about anything and try to find a team that's willing to pay at least some of his salary.
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.
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
Now that the Yankees know they're going to be without 
The 
Cheap Yard Work helps you pick out likely free agents in your league that have been raking over the past week.
The Kansas City Royals have gotten off to a decent start this season, going 9-10 in their first 19 games, but any success they've had on the young season should be solely credited to their pitching staff. It's guys like 
Kids Are Alright will examine some hot minor league prospects and their potential to be fantasy relevant towards both seasonal and keeper leagues. If you'd like to read more of Will Brinson's minor-league rantings, check out 
The Royals had to place 
