FanHouse AdamJones

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

We had to break the trend. Sure, the Dodgers might have a better record than everyone else -- but competition has to count for something, doesn't it? The Dodgers have mutilated the mediocre-at-best NL West to the tune of 26-9. This means they are 14-11 against everyone else. Is that a top-two team in baseball? Hardly, I'll take the heated-rivals: Yankees (who have overcome a slow start to go 19-7 since May 12) and Red Sox (18-8 against the best division in baseball) as the top two.

MLB Power Rankings: Where MLB FanHouse's editors, writers and bloggers team up to break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world.

Well, that took freaking forever ... but the Blue Jays finally started to stink the joint up. I swear to you, you can't stay long atop the MLB Power Rankings -- our failure by osmosis jinxing ability is just too strong, son. At any rate, it was a weird week for ranking baseball: the Cubs continued to skid, the Padres went on a tear and Toronto fell off the face of the planet. So, yeah, spiciness ensued, and you may take the jump to see how badly your team fared. Unless you're a Rangers or a Braves fan, in which case they couldn't have done that poorly.

NEW YORK – There's a story about Adam Jones, when he was in his first year of minor league ball. On his way back onto the field from the dugout – he was a shortstop then – Jones put his arm around his manager and exclaimed, "Hey coach, I've got to tell you, I [flipping] love this game."

The manager had to play the tough guy, snapping at Jones, "Don't put your arm around me, and don't call me 'coach.' " But he smiled inside at Jones' passion, and the story made the rounds in the Mariners organization, because it shows why Adam Jones is baseball's next big star.

"He's the type of player who, if he keeps his head on straight – and I always hear he's that kind of guy – there's no telling how high the ceiling is for him," Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett told FanHouse.

"It is kind of scary to see how he's put it that much together in that short a time."

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

Remember when Rickie Weeks was a hot new prospect whose quick bat drew comparisons to Gary Sheffield? Yeah, turns out that was four years ago.

Following season after season of frustration for hopeful fantasy owners, Weeks is finally coming through. The speed isn't there, but he's homered in three straight games to give him nine total in only 140 at-bats. By comparison, he only hit 14 in 475 at-bats last year. So has our man-crush of yesteryear suddenly transformed into the new Dan Uggla, or is this impressive power display just another tease?

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.

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

Every year in fantasy baseball there are a number of players whose hype exceeds reasonable expectations, because so many freaking people have them tagged as a "breakout." Peter Gammons may have been the first to tag Adam Jones with such a label, but it caught on quickly, and he was a popular fantasy draft selection. (Note that this also applies to my homie Chris Davis, who I think might hit 40 taters, but who was wickedly overvalued coming into drafts. More on this in a second.)

And the man that wants no part of being called "Pacman" -- for obvious reasons -- is suddenly flat-out destroying opposing pitching. Jones was always considered a "five-tool" prospect, with power and speed potential, not to mention just being a great baseball player.

Cornerback Pacman Jones still wants to play in the NFL.

Whether or not somebody wants him remains to be seen. The Jets have expressed interest, according to someone close to Jones, but are waiting things out.

Jones' agent Worrick Robinson said he hopes to get his client signed by training camp and wouldn't discuss which teams are interested.

When asked if the Cowboys, Jones' last employer, have requested a return engagement, Robinson said no.

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

He's only 21 years old. He's only 21 years old. Whenever you get frustrated that your future fantasy stud is struggling, it's important to take a breather and repeat those words. When I was 21, I think I spent my Wednesday nights playing Counter-Strike and eating bad pizza. Justin Upton, on the other hand, has to deal with expectations that he's the next Willie Mays. Whatever happened to the 27-year-old "breakout" rule? Suddenly it's six years younger?

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.

So, your fantasy baseball team isn't doing so well, huh? We've all been there. Either your hitters are all cold at the same time or your pitchers are getting shelled. Nothing seems to be going right.

Look at the bright side. It's only the end of April. There are five good, solid months left for your team to recover. And, one of the ways to try and make that recovery is to focus on rotisserie categories that you may be deficient in.

If you know that you're getting killed in runs scored but doing well in the other categories, then it may be time to find some run scorers without hurting your other stat categories. The same can be said for each of the stat categories your league uses.

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

The Washington Nationals will be looking for a new closer as Joel Hanrahan has been fired. He was given the opportunity to close out five games and blew saves in three of those. His ERA is an unhealthy 8.64. The team will look to use a closer by committee approach for a while, waiting to see if injured Joe Beimel can return and flourish.

Tuesday, one day after Hanrahan surrendered a game-losing grand slam, Manager Manny Acta said that his team would now finish games -- or at least try to finish them -- with a committee of relief pitchers that includes Julián Tavárez and Kip Wells, both signed in March to non-guaranteed minor league deals. Once Joe Beimel (left hip flexor) returns from the disabled list in the first week of May, he could either join the mix or claim the job for himself.