Not to ignore everything else that is happening in the world of baseball, but Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez are on the same team and you should be reading about it.
Part four of the quest to reunite the entirety of the 1997 Cleveland Indians on the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers takes us places we never dared go, to a post-apocalyptic wasteland where humanity is depraved and the skies are filled with ash.
Much has been made of the way the new dimensions and fence heights at Citi Field suppress home runs this season, but the Metsdon't have any plans to make their park more homer-friendly. That's probably not good news to David Wright, who has expressed some frustration about the way the new park is configured, but there's no reason why it should be bad news for the Mets.
Just because Citi is averse to home runs doesn't mean that it is averse to offense. HitTrackerOnline told the New York Daily News that Wright missed out on eight homers he would have had at Shea, but all eight of those balls wound up as hits which, as you surely know, are also offensive statistics.
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Wright sustained a concussion after being hit squarely in the helmet by a 94 mph fastball from Giants starter Matt Cain on Saturday, and the Mets third baseman was expected to spend the night in the hospital.
Wright was examined in the clubhouse before being taken by ambulance to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Wright had a CT scan, which was negative.
At this point, whatever remaining Mets players are healthy should be encased in bubble wrap.
A day after second baseman Luis Castillo sprained his left ankle on the dugout steps -- the Mets said he is day-to-day, and when they say that, they usually end up being wrong -- lefty Jonathon Niese left Wednesday's start in the second inning with a strained right hamstring.
"From what I understand right now we suspect it to be a tear," manager Jerry Manuel said.
As it turns out, it was a complete tear of the right hamstring from the bone, and the team announced Niese would have surgery and miss the rest of the season Wednesday night.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Ryan Ludwick scuffled early this season, which was a sign to many about how much of a fluke his huge 2008 season was. Through June 29, Ludwick was hitting just .227 with a .718 OPS. Last season, he hit .299 with a .966 OPS in his career year, with a whopping 37 home runs and 113 RBI. Many thought it was an outlier, but he had never gotten a chance to play everyday in the majors until then.
In July, he's heating up and showing that he is no fluke.
ST. LOUIS -- The last time the National League won an All-Star Game, Justin Upton was 8 years old, Barack Obama had never been elected to a public office and the Internet was barely more than the private toy of a few scientists.
Now Upton is an All-Star, Obama is the President and the Internet touches just about every part of daily life.
But the National League? Nothing has changed for it. The senior circuit is still looking for its first win since 1996.
"It's tough when you are facing closer after closer or No. 1 starter after No. 1 starter," NL third baseman David Wright said, "and everyone coming in for one ininng. We were fortunate to get that one inning we plated a couple. Then we're facing closer after closer and No. 1 after No. 1."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
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 only downside of the NBA playoffs is that I feel like I miss some baseball that I would normally get to see. But with the Lakers (sigh) crowned champs now, both Kobe Bryant and I -- he was at the stadium, I was pantsless in my apartment, natch -- got the chance to watch the Angels and Dodgers go to civil war on Sunday Night Baseball.
And what I was treated to was a very impressive showing from my current favorite mancrush, Clayton Kershaw. You might know him as the "next Sandy Koufax" if you're a real devote, but more than likely, you know him as the "inconsistent southpaw who has yet to really flourish in the Dodgers rotation."
Not to ignore everything else that is happening in the world of baseball, but Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez are on the same team and you should be reading about it.
Much has been made of the way the new dimensions and fence heights at Citi Field suppress home runs this season, but the Mets don't have any plans to make their park more homer-friendly. That's probably not good news to David Wright, who has expressed some frustration about the way the new park is configured, but there's no reason why it should be bad news for the Mets. 
NEW YORK (AP) -- David Wright sustained a concussion after being hit squarely in the helmet by a 94 mph fastball from Giants starter Matt Cain on Saturday, and the Mets third baseman was expected to spend the night in the hospital.
At this point, whatever remaining Mets players are healthy should be encased in bubble wrap.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
ST. LOUIS -- American League pitchers didn't just retire 18 straight batters in one stretch Tuesday.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
