From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.
That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.
With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.
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 White Sox may be out of the playoff race, but Jake Peavy still gave them something to get excited about. Peavy made his much-anticipated White Sox debut, pitching five effective innings to beat the Royals.
Peavy gave up three runs and his command was shaky, but he consistently threw his fastball in the low 90s. He threw 73 pitches, only 20 in his last two innings.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
There was reason for concern with Cliff Lee. After storming out of the proverbial gates upon his entrance to the so-called Senior Circuit, he stumbled. Lee's first five outings yielded a 5-0 record with a 0.68 ERA and a 39:6 K:BB in 40 innings. His next three? Ugly. He got a win (going 1-2), but his ERA in 15 innings was 9.60, after allowing 29 hits, 16 earned runs and 4 home runs.
Tuesday night, Lee re-announced his presence with authority.
When White Sox general manager Kenny Williams pulled off a late shocker minutes before the MLB trade deadline back on July 31 to land injured starter Jake Peavy, he had two motives in mind. One was that adding Peavy, who is signed through 2012 with a club option for 2013, to his team's rotation leaves the White Sox set to contend in the AL Central for years to come. The other was that should Peavy be able to return from his ankle injury quick enough, he might be able to help the White Sox reach the playoffs this season.
Well, seeing as how it's the middle of September and the White Sox are 5 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, it's probably too late for Peavy to make a playoff push. Still, the team isn't giving up and White Sox fans can get a sneak peak at the team's future this Saturday in Chicago when Peavy makes his White Sox debut.
This season has been one of immense disappointment for the Chicago Cubs. They were expected to cruise to their third consecutive division title in what was perceived as a weak NL Central in 2009, but with a few weeks remaining in the season, they instead find themselves 9 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and 6 1/2 games out of the wild card.
Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano has had his part in failing to meet expectations, as he's spent two stints on the disabled list and been suspended for six games this year. When he has been on the mound, he hasn't been the ace the Cubs need either, going 8-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 24 starts. He could also be one of the changes the Cubs decide to make this offseason as there's word out of Chicago that the Cubs will listen to offers on Zambrano this winter.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
For about five months of the season, Diamondbacks outfielder Chris Young was a draft disaster. Those who picked him in fantasy leagues suffered through the nausea of a sub-.200 batting average and anemic power numbers. Where was the dude who hit 32 homers in 2007 and 22 in 2008? Absolutely nonexistent ... at least until the last four games.
It's been a busy week around Major League Baseball. We've seen the first round of call-ups as rosters have expanded. There has also been a recent rash of injuries to players like Huston Street, Mariano Rivera and Michael Young, and we're still unsure as to when or if Jake Peavy will return this season.
In our live fantasy baseball chat today we'll talk about all of these things. We can discuss a strong start Thursday night by Pedro Martinez and a lot of other topics that will benefit your fantasy team. Nothing fantasy baseball-related is off limits. So, stop by at 1:00 PM ET and join the party.
While injuries were the main topic, we spoke about other topics, too. We talked a little about a potential platoon situation for Lance Berkman in Houston and we threw out a handful of household names that most fantasy owners should be dumping at this point.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
John Lackey threw eight innings on Sunday, striking out six and not surrendering an earned run. It was his 100th career victory. He should have been the man of the hour, right?
That would have been the case had Kendry Morales not jacked his 30th home run of the season and stolen the show. At least among fantasy circles, anyway.
Morales had twelve career home runs entering the 2009 season and big shoes to fill as the Angels handed him the keys to the kingdom at first base as Mark Teixeira left for the Yankees. He's handled the task admirably batting .311 and is fast approaching the 100-RBI mark. He's also leading the league in RBI since the all-star break with 45.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
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This season has been one of immense disappointment for the Chicago Cubs. They were expected to cruise to their third consecutive division title in what was perceived as a weak NL Central in 2009, but with a few weeks remaining in the season, they instead find themselves 9 1/2 games behind the Cardinals and 6 1/2 games out of the wild card.
It's been a busy week around Major League 
Every Sunday, 
