FanHouse Gary Sheffield

Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.

Well, that was ugly. After a promising first start three days ago, the Stream Team took a quick nosedive with my last two picks, including Felipe Paulino's horrendous start against the Giants last night. But since whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger, it's time to pick up the pieces and see if we can put together enough quality outings to alleviate the damage done to the Stream Team's ERA and WHIP. Vin Mazzaro takes the mound tonight, and I'll be on Twitter tracking his start -- you can follow me @rjwhite1.

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.

So it turns out Sammy Sosa was a steroid freak.

Who'da thunk it?

When it comes to surprises, last week's revelation was like finding out Iran's elections were juiced for the incumbent. If you want shocking news, however, you've come to the right place.

We are ready to reveal all the players who failed baseball's 2003 drug test. The results were supposed to be kept confidential, but Alex Rodriguez's name was leaked to Sports Illustrated and Sosa was outed last week in the New York Times.

There are 102 names to go. This drip-drip-drip could go on for years, but we're not going to let it.

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.

So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.

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

It sure didn't take long for Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen to get used to the big leagues. Matt Wieters, on the other hand, needed 48 at-bats to respond to the hype.

Both top prospects hit their first home runs at the major-league level on Wednesday -- matching two-run jacks to left field -- but there's an acute difference in perceived fantasy value between them.

It's time to correct that, people.

Categorically Speaking is designed specifically for Rotisserie GM's. The information is great for all fantasy baseball formats, but for those of you who could use some help bolstering a specific roto category, this is for you. We're going to pay close attention to players who might be readily available on your waiver wire or who you might target in non-blockbuster trade talks.

It's true, you must score runs to win ball games.Instead of being the name of the game, in rotisserie leagues scoring runs is only one-fifth of the battle. It's still a stat category you must focus on. If you're deficient in the runs scored category, take a look at some of these waiver wire possibilities.

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 Reds can see the top of the NL Central. And they can smell it.

Cincinnati trails St. Louis by 1 1/2 games and Milwaukee by a 1/2 game, and on Friday the Reds begin a trip to .... Milwaukee (three games) and St. Louis (four).

"We go on the road with some momentum," [Jay Bruce] said. "We plan on coming back in first place."

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I'd say the photo collection above accurately sums up David Ortiz's season so far. It hit rock bottom on Thursday as the Red Sox slugger (?) went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts, and left ... wait for it ... 12 men on base (Update: Ortiz was benched Friday night against the Mariners). On the Big Papi scale, this is a slump of appalling proportions. He's homer-less in his last 144 at-bats, one shy of his career-worst drought between 1998 and 2000. Is it time for fantasy owners to cut their losses with Ortiz?

Major League Baseball is in the early stages of investigating player agents who may be connected to the sport's steroid scandal.

"It's a whole new territory we're looking into," a person with direct knowledge of the investigation told FanHouse. "Our information has led us to believe there are some [agents] worth going after."

The 50-game suspension of Manny Ramirez last week proves MLB's intention to rid the game of performance-enhancing drugs is expansive in its scope and aggressive in its tactics.

Now that nearly 30 players have been suspended for using PEDs since the penalty phase of testing began in 2004, the natural progression, say people familiar with baseball's Department of Investigations, is to target the suppliers, as well as users.

New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel announced that he's making some lineup changes for Thursday's game. The biggest deal is the fact that he plans to move David Wright down two slots to bat fifth, while moving Beltran up to bat third.

A move from batting third in the batting order to batting fifth doesn't seem like much, but batting order studies have shown that the fantasy devaluation that Wright could take might be dramatic. If the switch is long term Wright could miss out on about 5% of the plate appearances he'd see in the third slot. He would also be subject to a 5% drop in RBI and a 10% drop in home runs. The biggest hit, however, could be in stolen bases, where he could possibly see a 40% drop-off. Does anyone want to see David Wright with these kinds of drop-offs in production?