Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Mike Napoli is one of the best power hitters you've never heard of. Napoli, the Angels catcher, blasted his 10th homer, a tie-breaking 428-foot shot in the ninth inning to lead the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. Later in the day, when the Rangers lost, the Angels moved alone into first for the first time all season.
The last time the Angels played in Arizona, in 2006, Napoli hit a 470-foot homer that is the third longest ever hit at Chase Field. Napoli has 56 homers in 890 big league at-bats. His ratio of one homer per 15.9 at-bats in the highest in big league history for any catcher with at least 50 homers, according to Stats LLC.
"He's got sick pop. He's got the most pop on this team by far," Angels starter John Lackey said. "I was actually in the clubhouse, telling the people about the one [in 2006]. People were up there eating [in the restaurant where Napoli's ball landed]."
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
The NL Wild-Card Race
Team
W
L
GB
Brewers
37
32
-
Giants
37
32
-
Rockies
37
33
1/2
Cubs
34
32
1 1/2
Mets
35
33
1 1/2
You Oughta Know ... There are now five teams within 1 1/2 games of the NL wild-card lead.
San Francisco on Monday lost to Oakland for the first time in the past six Bay Bridge Series meetings to fall into a tie with idle Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, the Mets beat the Cardinals and the Rockies took advantage of six (!) wild pitches to beat the Angels, so both picked up a full game.
So Colorado is a 1/2 game back, and the Mets and Cubs are 1 1/2 out.
It bodes for a fun race. A year ago today, only three teams were within five games of the NL wild-card lead and Tampa Bay had a three-game lead on the AL side.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Dare we say it? He's back. The man who won the 2005 Cy Young and finished third the following season is officially back in the Cardinals rotation. He made the Brewers -- one of the best hitting teams in the league -- look stupid for eight innings Monday, which means he's now thrown 23 innings of shutout ball this season. His staggering numbers thus far: 23 innings, 0 earned runs, 23 strikeouts, 10 hits, 4 walks.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That there were two particularly thrilling games Monday -- of totally different ilk.
The Cardinals and Brewers, who entered the game tied for first in the NL Central, played a classic pitchers' duel. St. Louis' Chris Carpenter (0.00 ERA in 23 innings this season) took a perfect game to the seventh, but Yovani Gallardo matched the zeros. Then Milwaukee scored a run off Kyle McClellan in the bottom of the 10th to win 1-0.
Later, the Indians rallied from a 10-run deficit against the Rays, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth for an 11-10 win. Cleveland benefited from five walks in the ninth inning, including three straight by Jason Isringhausen before Victor Martinez snapped a 0-for-18 slide with the game-winning, two-run single.
Maybe I'm being a bit hard on these guys, but almost 59 percent of the 41 pitchers who are starting twice this week are being placed in the "Risky Business" category.
There are a couple of touted rookies who make up the 59 percent like the Rays' David Price and Atlanta's Kris Medlen. There are also some big-named pitchers who should never be placed among the "Risky Business" pitchers who just are throwing well, or their teams aren't winning behind them. Jon Lester and Francisco Liriano come to mind immediately.
Like I said, in all there are 41 two-start pitchers this week. Make sure that you get your lineups locked early today as there are a bunch of afternoon games. The first is 1:10 PM ET when Houston plays Cincinnati.
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 Padres aren't playing like a team ready to have a fire sale. They're just on fire. San Diego won its ninth consecutive game Sunday, a 7-2 defeat of the Cubs in which pitcher Chris Young drove in two runs. The Padres lost 19 of 23 before their current winning streak, which has gotten it all the way back to .500 at 22-22.
San Diego's hot play has it in second place in the NL West, though because of the Dodgers' blistering start it is 7 1/2 games back of the division lead.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the recent news that Mark DeRosa is on the trade block and the White Sox have possibly landed Jake Peavy, junkies of major league baseball trade rumors got an early glimpse at what promises to be a very interesting July. It's far to0 early to know exactly who will be in the market for what -- or who can afford to take on temporary payroll in this economy -- but it's certainly fun to speculate. Let's do it.
As we've now witnessed a touch over a month of minor league baseball, it's worth it in many fantasy leagues to look ahead at who may be making a visit to the majors sometime this season. Remember, Ryan Braun, for example, wasn't yet in the major leagues at this point in his rookie season. This isn't to say that all of these guys -- or any -- will have that sort of an impact in the majors this year.
We're just giving a quick, non-comprehensive list of players who are playing relatively well in the minors this year and/or who have a chance to make a fantasy impact at some point. We'll start with the big names, but it won't be limited to just them. Dynasty league players should be paying the most attention.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
As we've now witnessed a touch over a month of minor league baseball, it's worth it in many fantasy leagues to look ahead at who may be making a visit to the majors sometime this season. Remember, 
