FanHouse Burke Badenhop

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's probably going to take some time to sort out the NL wild-card race. The Rockies, 34-15 since the beginning of June, are two games up on a mass of teams, including the Giants, the team they beat Sunday and the team that was leading the race just a few weeks ago.

There are six teams within five games of the wild-card lead, the same number of clubs that are more than five out, and it's hard to ignore any of them. The Cardinals, trailing Colorado by 2 1/2 games, added Matt Holliday on Friday, for example. And the Braves, who made a big trade of their own in acquiring Nate McLouth from the Pirates, have won eight of 11 since the All-Star break.

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FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Florida Marlins.

The Florida Marlins could have been the feel-good story in baseball last year, except that they weren't even the feel-good story in their own state. It shouldn't take away from the fact that a team picked to finish dead last by some was in the NL East race until almost the very end. The question now is whether the Marlins have enough for an encore.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Cincinnati Reds (15-23) vs. Florida Marlins (23-14) 7:10PM Est.

Quick, without looking it up, who has the best record in baseball right now? Did you say the Diamondbacks? Close, you were right up until yesterday, but getting swept by the Cubs knocked them off the top of the mountain. The Red Sox? Good choice, they are the defending champs after all, but even though they have the best record in the American League, they aren't the best in baseball.

No, that honor somehow belongs to the Florida Marlins, who have managed to win their last 7 games and are currently an MLB-best 23-14.

Just what the hell is going on here?