FanHouse JoeMaddon

NEW YORK -- The quote of the day on the Rays' lineup card Tuesday, as picked by manager Joe Maddon, was from 19th century biologist Thomas Huxley:

"The only medicine for suffering, crime and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom."

Huxley was an early proponent of Darwin's theory of evolution, and 150 years later, Tampa Bay can also vouch for survival of the fittest in the AL East.

Since the Rays' playoff chances are virtually extinct.

Less than 51 weeks ago, Tampa Bay clinched its first-ever postseason trip, on the way to a pennant and a trip to the World Series.

Now the Rays are doing little more than playing out the string.

Tampa Bay Rays mananger Joe Maddon is still wearing those eyeglasses that make him look like Lizzie McGwuire's mom, but he has made an important change by dying his silver hair black. The change was made in preparation for a themed road trip, and because he totally hates his Mom. The story is being reported by MLB.com, ESPN, and the Associated Press because it is... news? Dusty Baker buys a sweatshirt, news at eleven!

Anyway, Maddon's hair is now as black as Tampa's chances to win the AL East and it becomes my job to report this in a way that does not involve any charming, Entertainment Weekly-quality human interest wordplay.

Joe Maddon is in favor of the change at the top of the Rays on-field leadership (d'oh!) in tonight's Dugout, after the jump.

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

About eight years ago, the hardest part of Lee Banks' job as coach of a youth travel team based in southeast Virginia was picking a shortstop.

"It was a lot of fun," Banks recalled to FanHouse last week. "You just sat back and let 'em play and try not to mess it up."

Back then, the team (now known as the Tidewater Orioles) had on its roster B.J. Upton, David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds.

ST. LOUIS – With organizations re-realizing the value of defense, it was appropriate that the MVP of Tuesday's All-Star Game was picked because of his play in the field.

Carl Crawford was awarded the Arch Ward Trophy for his leaping grab in the seventh inning, robbing Brad Hawpe of what would have been a tie-breaking homer to left.

"I don't think I've ever robbed a home run before," Crawford said, "so I picked a good time to do it tonight. It's definitely probably my best catch I've ever made."

ST. LOUIS -- American League pitchers didn't just retire 18 straight batters in one stretch Tuesday.

They retired 18 straight All-Stars.

On just 48 pitches.

"It's tough when you are facing closer after closer or No. 1 starter after No. 1 starter," NL third baseman David Wright said, "and everyone coming in for one ininng. We were fortunate to get that one inning we plated a couple. Then we're facing closer after closer and No. 1 after No. 1."

ST. LOUIS – In past All-Star Games, Roy Halladay would look around the clubhouse and wonder if he really belonged.

It's that same reluctance to be the center of attention that has made the past week so difficult.

Halladay, officially named the American League starter Monday, described it as a "coin flip" as to whether he'd still be with the Blue Jays after the July 31 trade deadline.

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.

As we all know, one of the biggest concerns with Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, now that it decides which league will have home-field advantage in the World Series, is the availability of pitching. Just ask Charlie Manuel, the Phillies skipper who will be managing the National League in next Tuesday's midsummer classic.

"Along with getting through the game without injuries," Manuel said, "Having enough pitching to cover the game is the most important thing."

With that in mind, I asked Manuel and Rays manager Joe Maddon -- the AL manager this year -- if they thought having a few alternate pitchers would be a good idea during a media conference call Tuesday.

The All-Star Game rosters were announced Sunday, and both the American League and National League rosters seem to be missing some names. Baseball fans unwittingly exhibited the follies of the democratic process when they failed to vote for guys like Adam Lind, Kevin Millwood, and Adam Dunn.

Of course, All-Star snubs are an annual ritual. All told, the rosters aren't bad. In today's Dugout, it's revealed that they could have been far, far worse. Read it after the jump.

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

Ben Zobrist has transformed from a run-of-the-mill slap hitter into one of the most powerful middle infielders in baseball. Right when you thought he might be cooling off, SMASH! -- a grand slam against Kansas City for his 10th home run of the year. He's slugging .659 with a 1.073 OPS for crying out loud. And he's somehow still available in over 35 percent of mixed leagues. So the question becomes: Is it time for you to believe in the man Joe Maddon nicknamed "Zorilla" or will his power eventually fade just like Marco Scutaro's did?