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 year, the Indians have given a playoff contender a huge boost. For the second consecutive year, they traded the previous season's AL Cy Young award winner. And for the second consecutive year, he's absolutely dealing in the National League.
Through five starts, Cliff Lee is 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 2 complete games and 39 strikeouts (with only 6 walks) in 40 innings. Sound familiar?
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
By all accounts, this has been a season to forget for Josh Hamilton. While it would have been hard to meet the expectations that come after a 32-HR, 130-RBI season (Hamilton's numbers in 2008), no one could have predicted a fall this precipitous.
After a .242, two-HR April, we called it a rough start. Hamilton followed that up with a .237 May and went on the shelf for a month. The struggling Texas outfielder entered the All-Star break hitting .243 with just six HRs on the season. By August 2, his average was down to .220.
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.
For the first two months of the season Royals pitcher Zack Greinke was a phenomenon. He seemed to be toying with hitters when he was on the mound, and as a result, he was getting a lot of attention for it. Of course when you start off your season with an 8-1 record and 0.84 ERA in ten starts, these things are going to happen.
Unfortunately for Greinke and the Royals, who are now mired in an eight-game losing streak and are 5-20 since May 8, he hasn't looked as immortal in his last couple of starts.
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.
Sorry for the delay, kiddos, on the Power Rankings. I'm sure you spent the entirety of Wednesday wondering "WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE THEY??? WITHOUT THEM I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO BANTER SENSELESSLY ABOUT TO MY CO-WORKERS!!!1" Or something like that. Either way, it's time to debate the worthlessness of your favorite baseball team in numerical form once again. Do enjoy.
The first thing that Randy Wells might want to do today is seek Carlos Zambrano out for guidance. Whether this advice be about punching teammates in the face or taking out aggression on innocent Gatorade machines in the dugout, Wells needs to ask how to properly express the way he feels about Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg.
Wells took a no-hitter into the seventh where Chipper Jones crashed the party. Upon leaving the game, Wells, while disappointed, had to take solace in the fact that he would at least get the victory. Enter Marmol, then Gregg to completely screw the pooch on that one.
Marmol gave up an earned run in the 8th and Gregg allowed a bottom of the ninth two-run blast from Jeff Francoeur to tie the ballgame. The Cubs eventually lost the game in the 12th when Chipper produced a walk-off single.
So far, The Dugout has established three relatively static "straight man" characters on the Royals: pitchers Zack Greinke, Brian Bannister, and Joakim Soria. This season, of course, they're joined by perennial Dugout man-children Kyle Farnsworth and Sidney Ponson. So we can say that the Royals have a Full House, Aces full of Jokers, and shovel this terrible poker-centric joke on top of the massive pile of poker-centric jokes that the Royals have had to suffer over the years.
An examination by California-based specialist Lewis Yocum found no structural damage in the shoulder of Royals closer Joakim Soria, agent Oscar Suarez told FanHouse.
"[Yocum and the Kansas City team doctor] both prescribed rest," Suarez said. "They both want him to do some strengthening exercises and give the inflammation time to calm down."
Suarez declined to speculate on a timetable for Soria's return from the disabled list, but it seems possible he comes back by June 1.
Soria, who went on the DL on Sunday, could be feeling the effects of a light spring workload, which was due to illness and playing for Mexico in the WBC.
Before the shoulder problems emerged late last month, Soria had been very good for the Royals. He has a 2.08 ERA in eight appearances, with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings and seven saves in seven chances.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
You couldn't have scripted all of the twists and turns the first 20% of the season has taken thus far. And if you could have, would anybody really watch?
Who had Frank Francisco and Ryan Franklin as two of the closers tied for the major league lead with nine saves at this point in the season? And we all knew Zack Greinke had talent and could blow up at any time. But, a 5-1 record with a 0.51 ERA and a league-leading 59 strikeouts. Seriously?
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 
For the first two months of the season Royals pitcher 
MLB Power Rankings
The first thing that 
So far, The Dugout has established three relatively static "straight man" characters on the 
An examination by California-based specialist 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
