FanHouse AramisRamirez

Earlier this week, I joined up with Andrew Johnson and Will Brinson on the inaugural BaseCast to discuss the Cubs' unbelievably disappointing start to the 2009 season. To conclude the segment, I was asked if the Cubs can get things straightened out and win the division. I said that was an easy answer because of the word choice. Of course they can. Had the question been "will they?" I would have said no.

Just two days later, there are plenty of reasons on the horizon to believe they can head into the All-Star break not only in thick of things in the NL Central, but atop it. Wouldn't that be a weird sight -- seeing the Cubs in first place after such a disastrous first half.

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.

It's a funny thing, sometimes, to see how Power Rankings shape up over the course of the season. Just like when we started the year, there are a number of teams from one particular division sitting atop the rankings. Of course, there are plenty of surprises -- WHERE DID THE FREAKING GIANTS AND ROCKIES COME FROM?? -- and some other interesting stuff, like the fact that the Mets and Cubs just haven't been that good, which we discussed on the inaugural BaseCast recently.

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

Heading into 2009, here's what we thought we knew about Rich Harden: Absolutely lights out stuff, but can't be counted on to stay healthy consistently. In 2008, he went 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 148 innings. Those are elite numbers on a per-start basis. The problem, of course, is that he only made 25 starts. In 2007, he had a 2.45 ERA, but only pitched 25 2/3 innings.

Until Monday night, 2009 had been quite surprising from the 27-year-old right-hander.

With July creeping closer and the Cubs still lingering behind the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central, Aramis Ramirez's absence gets more and more noticeable every day. Without him, Mike Fontenot and his pitiful .686 OPS have gotten most of the playing time at third base and Kosuke Fukudome has been the Cubs' second best hitter. Anyway you look at it, that's just not going to cut it.

The good news for Cubs fans is that the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Ramirez worked out today and is still planning on starting batting practice this weekend, which means that his original rehab is still approximately on schedule. The bad news is that Ramirez sounds awfully cautious when discussing the shoulder. Click after the jump for some of his words.

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

As Joey Votto heads out to a rehab assignment, the Reds are anxiously awaiting the return of their best hitter. Votto hasn't started a game since May 27 -- when the Reds stood at 26-20. Since then, they've gone 8-11. As a team, the Reds are hitting .244 and rank 11th in the National League in runs scored. Votto is hitting .357 with eight home runs and 33 RBI in only 38 games. Translation: The Reds really, really need him. They aren't the only team in baseball that will be missing a star player in the upcoming weeks. After the jump, we'll list the Top 10 most important injuries in baseball moving forward in 2009.

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.

Sorry for the delay, kiddos, on the Power Rankings. I'm sure you spent the entirety of Wednesday wondering "WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE THEY??? WITHOUT THEM I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO BANTER SENSELESSLY ABOUT TO MY CO-WORKERS!!!1" Or something like that. Either way, it's time to debate the worthlessness of your favorite baseball team in numerical form once again. Do enjoy.

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.

CHICAGO -- I'm actually a hopeful guy at heart, confident we'll one day have an economic recovery, peace on earth and better late-night TV from Jimmy Fallon. But my faith in humankind never has extended to the Cubs. Let me lay this out right here: They won't win another World Series in our lifetime or anyone's else, doomed like pork rinds, Vanilla Ice and the last U.S. president as irreversible national debacles.

On a cold, rainy Tuesday, it was Country Music Night at Wrigley Field, the perfect promotion for the saddest ongoing song in sports. Living here, I am sensing more than a smidgen of burnout in Cubdom, a world-weariness that suggests even the most loyal masochists in sports are sick of pledging their entire beings to a cursed cause -- only to be inevitably bludgeoned every autumn. The last two postseason crashes were particularly cruel, both ending in early three-game sweeps when there were legitimate dreams of breaking a championship rut that has reached 101 years and counting.

In light of the recent offensive woes of the entire team -- namely Mike Fontenot, though -- Cubs manager Lou Piniella admitted it's a possibility to move Alfonso Soriano to second base. He did say it was a "last resort," but possible. You might recall Soriano played the majority of his early career at second, however, he's only played there for two innings since his move to the National League in 2006.

Moving Soriano to second base would give a huge boost to the Cubs' offense -- which just scored a meek two runs in a three-game series at St. Louis -- by enabling Micah Hoffpauir everyday at-bats in left field. Fontenot, along with Bobby Scales and Aaron Miles, would still be able to accrue at-bats at third base until Aramis Ramirez is healed.

Earlier Wednesday in the power rankings I speculated -- off the cuff -- that Cleveland would start trading veterans. Well, it appears they will, because Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting the Indians have officially placed Mark DeRosa on the proverbial trading block.

The versatile DeRosa can play adequate defense anywhere on the diamond except shortstop, center field and the battery, which could make him an attractive trade piece for teams with a variety of different needs. One in particular everyone is hearing is the New York Mets.