From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Instead of handing our hardware to Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Zack Greinke and Chris Carpenter (yes, those would be my votes), I thought we'd mix it up a bit. Plus, being a Cubs fan, I'm plenty filled with negativity at this time of the year -- which, really, is normal. So these are the Bizarro World Awards. The Suck Awards, if you will. The envelopes, please ...
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.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.
Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.
"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'
"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."
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.
For some reason, I had it in my mind that Fausto Carmona was due for a big bounceback year. After a shaky 2008, I figured he would shake off the heavy workload that the Indians' run to the ALCS in 2007 created and use his power sinker to help take the Indians back to the top of the AL Central.
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 Mets are beginning to look like the Patriots when it comes to injury information. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you to be worried about Jose Reyes' bum leg when we found out he had a "calf strain." Thursday night, the team confirmed Reyes has a torn right hamstring tendon and this is believed to be something new. Excuse me for being cynical, but this is the latest in a long line of sketchy diagnoses. Let's take a look at what else New York bungled, shall we ...
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.
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.
For the second consecutive season, Fausto Carmona was supposed to be the No. 2 man in a solid 1-2 starting pitching punch for the Cleveland Indians. For the second consecutive year, he's pitching very poorly. Through 6 starts, Carmona boasts a 6.11 ERA (even worse than last year's dubious 5.35 mark) and has walked 17 batters in only 35 1/3 innings.
After his outing against the Blue Jays Monday, when Carmona took his ERA all the way down 0.17 points, the media basically ignored Carmona. Apparently, he's not mad. He's just decided to return the favor for the rest of the season.
There are a plethora of two-start pitchers hurling in week five (Monday, May 4th - Sunday May 10th) of the fantasy baseball season. There are 58 total this week and you late sleepers are luck that all of the Monday games are night games. You won't need to set you lineups until 7:05 PM ET.
[Update: 7:48 AM ET] : Two games were rained out yesterday. The Mets and Phillies did not play and the Angels and Yankees were rained out as well. Here is the fallout from those two postponed games as it relates to two-start pitchers.
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.
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
For some reason, I had it in my mind that Fausto Carmona was due for a big bounceback year. After a shaky 2008, I figured he would shake off the heavy workload that the Indians' run to the ALCS in 2007 created and use his power sinker to help take the Indians back to the top of the AL Central. 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
For the second consecutive season, Fausto Carmona was supposed to be the No. 2 man in a solid 1-2 starting pitching punch for the Cleveland Indians. For the second consecutive year, he's pitching very poorly. Through 6 starts, Carmona boasts a 6.11 ERA (even worse than last year's dubious 5.35 mark) and has walked 17 batters in only 35 1/3 innings. 
