FanHouse CarlosBeltran

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.

Mets fans, you can breathe a huge sigh of relief. Monday night, we passed along the information that Carlos Beltran was visiting a specialist -- and outlined the worst-possible-scenario: Beltran missing the rest of the season. Instead, he's been diagnosed with just a bone bruise, as the team originally believed.

Beltran's choice of doctor raised eyebrows, considering he visited a well-known micro-fracture surgeon, Dr. Richard Steadman. Still, Steadman examined Beltran and determined he just needs to stay off his feet. He did push back the timetable for Beltran's return to after the All-Star break.

As if the Mets needed to deal with more bad news this season Carlos Beltran is now going to visit a specialist. Beltran was in the midst of an All-Star season when he injured his right knee. Right now, all we know is that Beltran has a bone bruise under his knee.

The possibly worrisome news is the fact that Beltran is visiting Dr. Richard Steadman, who performs micro-fracture surgeries. If Beltran does, in fact, have or develop a micro-fracture in the knee area, that's even bigger trouble than his current DL stint. Judging from what we've seen in baseball and other sports, and the fact that we're almost in July, micro-fracture surgery would probably end Beltran's season. We can't get ahead of ourselves just yet, though.

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

Troy Tulowitzki was the runner-up for the 2007 Rookie of the Year, but he followed it up with a rough 2008. And a rough beginning to 2009. All of a sudden, though, the kid has caught fire. Not coincidentally, the Rockies have as well.

After trouncing the Angels Monday night, the Rockies have now won 15 of their last 16 games. After going 0-2 in the first game of the streak, Tulowitzki has gone 20-for-48 (.417) with 5 home runs, 11 RBI, 15 runs, 4 doubles and 5 stolen bases. Again, that's in 15 games.

NEW YORK – Now batting cleanup for the Mets: faith. Hitting fifth: hope. But how many runs can they drive in?

"You have to believe that somebody is going to catch fire and hopefully pick up some slack," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after the team placed center fielder Carlos Beltran on the disabled list.

"There is no doubt that this is going to be very challenging for us."

To recap: the Mets are without Beltran (fourth in the NL with a .336 average), first baseman Carlos Delgado and shortstop Jose Reyes.

That's three of the top five hitters from the Opening Day lineup and three guys who combined to score more than 40 percent of the team's runs in 2008.

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

You Oughta Know ...
That the Nationals may have just needed the spark of their manager's impending firing to get rolling. They have now won a season-high four games in a row, including Saturday's 5-3, 12-inning victory over the Blue Jays. What's more, the Nats have taken those four from the Blue Jays and Yankees, two teams with winning records in the American League.

"We really feel like we can win every game," Nationals outfielder Willie Harris said. "When you're losing ballgames, you get a gut feeling you're going to lose a game somehow. Things are going well for us now."

Harris was first supposed to bunt with the score tied in the 12th, but he failed. Then he was going to hit-and-run, but he failed at that, too. Finally he swung away, and hit a game-winning homer. After the game, Nationals president Stan Kasten pulled Acta aside and said something to him. Acta then told a reporter:

"I'm not getting fired."

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

There I am. Bottom of the 10th inning. Promenade section of Citi Field.

With my hands swollen from furious applause throughout the night and my legs bobbing to stay warm, Fernando Martinez laced a hit to right field. We came alive once more, while the old man sitting next to me grumbled: "Another friggin single? Pelfrey's the only one who drove somethin'."

Sixteen hits and pitcher Mike Pelfrey was the Met with pop.

There are two sides to every coin. When Carlos Beltran ripped into the Mets on Thursday after their sweep at the hands of the lowly Pirates, many Mets fans were happy to see their team leader step up and call for some accountability from his slumping teammates. Every team needs a fire lit underneath them every once in a while.

On the flip side, though, Beltran really couldn't have expected his remark that he was "embarrassed" to be swept by the Pirates to go over well in the Pirates clubhouse. It certainly wasn't well-received by Adam LaRoche, who's done his share of talking this week, and the Pirates first baseman had some pretty harsh words for Beltran, which you can find after the jump.

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.

Thursday afternoon, the Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, completing a three-game sweep at the hands of a team who has already waved the white flag on 2009 by trading Nate McLouth, their best offensive player. Carlos Beltran -- who is hitting .356 with seven home runs, 32 RBI, 32 runs and seven stolen bases in addition to playing superb defense -- is apparently tired of not getting much help from his New York teammates.

The 32-year-old center fielder, often maligned by some in the media for not taking enough of a leadership role with the team (I'm looking right at you, Steve Phillips), was a tad bit angry after Thursday's 11-6 defeat. In fact, the soft-spoken Beltran got pretty vocal about his team.