FanHouse DraytonMcLane

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.

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.

"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."

For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.

Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos isn't all bad?

A few years ago that notion would have seemed unfathomable. The Orioles have reeled off 11 straight losing seasons and appear headed for a 12th. Frustration grew so high among fans in the Charm City in 2006 that almost 1,000 fans walked out of Camden Yards in late September of that season.

Baltimore was once a proud baseball town. Earl Weaver. Brooks Robinson. Cal Ripken Jr. Jim Palmer. We all know the names. But that glory has faded over the last decade as the team has become an afterthought in the loaded AL East.

Given that his reign as Orioles owner has coincided with one of the darkest periods in the franchise's history on the field, it probably isn't much of a surprise that Sports Illustrated recently named him the worst owner in baseball.

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.

It's early. It's very early. By my estimation, the second Monday of the baseball season is far too early for any extreme emotion; be it panic, joy, or anything in between. There are still more than 150 games to be played in this young season, and even starting to draw conclusions is a dangerous game. That all being said, Zach Duke and the Houston Astros sure seemed to pass each other going in opposite directions this afternoon.

On an emotional afternoon in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates opened PNC Park up for 2009 by wearing Pittsburgh Bureau of Police caps to memorialize the three officers killed in a shooting ten days ago, Duke went out and turned in his second straight good start of 2009, shutting out the Astros on just four hits over a complete game. After winning just five games in all of 2008, Duke's won his first two starts of '09 and allowed just one earned run in his first 15 1/3 innings.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Houston Astros.

Every year, it seems like there's a team or two that really defies their Pythagorean record and finishes with a record either much better or worse than their run differential suggests. In 2006, the Indians finished 78-84 despite scoring nearly 100 runs more than they allowed. In 2007, they came one win away from the World Series. In that same 2007 season, the Diamondbacks won 90 games despite scoring about as many runs as they allowed. Last year, they only won 82 games.

With Pudge Rodriguez raking the ball for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, it seemed like only a matter of time until some major league team would finally cave and give him a job. In the league right now, there are two GMs that stand out as guys that love overpriced veterans way too much. Bengie Molina is firmly entrenched in San Francisco, so Brian Sabean's hands are tied on this one. That leaves Ed Wade.

The sun came up in the east for approximately the 1,657,100,000th time this morning. Now, ESPN is reporting that Pudge is signing a one-year deal with the Astros. At this point, I want to write a phrase starting with, "The only way this could be more predictable is ..." but I can't. Ed Wade signing an over-the-hill veteran for a position he has a decent young player at could not possibly be more predictable.

Not even two weeks ago, Drayton McLane announced that Roger Clemens wouldn't be invited back to Astros' camp this spring to work with the minor-leaguers as he was last year. If you're like me, you took that as a sign that even Clemens' old friend McLane was shying away from the Rocket after the news broke that he'd be the subject of a federal grand jury probe. That, apparently, was reading into things just a little bit too much.

Yesterday, McLane talked to reporters as the Astros opened a new youth baseball facility and talk strayed, of course, towards Clemens. McLane made it clear during the conversation that while Clemens wouldn't be back to work with minor-leaguers, he's certainly welcome to show up to watch his son Koby, a catcher in the Astros minor league system.

Earlier this week, it was announced that a federal grand jury was debating indicting Roger Clemens on perjury charges. That means that Thursday's announcement by Drayton McLane that Clemens won't be allowed to work with the minor league pitchers in Astros' camp this spring isn't exactly earth-shattering news. Clemens showed up and did the same last year and it was a pretty big distraction even without a federal grand jury probe involved.

While this isn't surprising, it is indicative of how far Clemens has fallen in the public eye over the 12 months.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Salary Cap. There's not a more controversial phrase in baseball economics. The prospect of one hung over the strike of 1994 and 1995 before the owners and players managed to settle without implementing a true cap. Since then, baseball has instituted a luxury tax that acts as a sort of soft cap, but it's set high enough that it only really affects the Yankees annually, and they regard it in the same manner that a rhinoceros regards a mosquito.

For the most part, a salary cap hasn't been part of the conversation in baseball for several years. The Yankees ridiculous spending spree this winter, however, has changed things. In the days and weeks since their signings of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and Astros owner Drayton McLane have once again begun to call for a salary cap. They're the only two owners to have spoken directly on this issue, but it's hard to think they're alone.

A salary cap in baseball is not a simple thing. In most sports, there's only one line in labor negotiations: the line between the players and the owners. In baseball, there's actually a three-way divide between the players, the "big-market" owners (for lack of a better term), and the "small-market" owners. The MLBPA isn't the only thing that stands in the way of a cap. Some of the owners (think John Henry, the Steinbrenners, naturally, the Wilpons, Frank McCourt, Arte Moreno) would likely be opposed to one as well. After the jump, we'll look at all the obstacles and problems with implementing a cap.