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.
The ugly pitching line from Monday night shouldn't have been a huge shock to Jarrod Washburn fantasy owners. He went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 9 hits, 8 earned runs, 3 walks and 2 home runs. He struck out just 2. While it was his worst outing for the Tigers, he's been flat-out awful in Motown since he was acquired at the trade deadline. Sure, there was an 8-inning gem where he didn't allow a run. He also mixed in a quality start last time out for his first win in Detroit. Other than that, it's been horrifying.
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 Phillies are going to have a tough decision on their hands. J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez, headed for a course to occupy the same spot in the Philadelphia rotation, both made strong statements on Wednesday night.
Happ pitched a four-hit shutout against the Rockies, while Martinez struck out 11 in six innings for the Phillies' Double-A team. The Phillies signed Martinez a few weeks ago and have had him working his way into big-league shape in the minors. Since the Phillies got Martinez, they also acquired Cliff Lee, leaving six pitchers -- including Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer -- fighting for five spots.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel wasn't ready to address a problem that's not a problem until Martinez is deemed ready for the bigs.
"Let me answer that later on," Manuel said. "I don't feel like getting into that."
ST. LOUIS -- The last time the National League won an All-Star Game, Justin Upton was 8 years old, Barack Obama had never been elected to a public office and the Internet was barely more than the private toy of a few scientists.
Now Upton is an All-Star, Obama is the President and the Internet touches just about every part of daily life.
But the National League? Nothing has changed for it. The senior circuit is still looking for its first win since 1996.
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."
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
I had no idea I had these kinds of powers. Just one day after I made Johnny Cueto one of the headliners for All-Star Game snubs, he took the ball against the Philadelphia Phillies. The result was an absolute massacre, the likes of which we rarely -- if ever -- see from a starting pitcher. This outing so was horrifying it scared the hell out of Ugly.
The line? 49 pitches, 5 hits, 3 walks, 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 9 earned runs ... all with just two recorded outs. Two.
New Studs on the Block takes a look at players ready to make the leap from "possibly productive fantasy player" to "must-have fantasy stud." This is not a "you've never heard of this dude, but ... " series -- these should be names you already know.
Sunday, Justin Upton was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time in his career. If you've been following this for even the slightest amount of time, you know this isn't going to be his only trip. In fact, he better get used to not having any vacation days during baseball season, because he's going to be a perennial selection.
We have to admit our highlighting him as a New Stud on the Block is a tad bit overdue, but, hey, better late than never, right?
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.
You hear that, fantasy baseball owners? Josh Hamilton's sole purpose on this Earth is to mess with you. Really, there's no way to over-dramatize the crap he's put fantasy owners through. Initially, he would have been the crown jewel in a dynasty league with minor-leaguers. When those types finally gave up on him, he made the show for the Reds. Then, he started to catch on for the Reds, but couldn't stay healthy. So he goes to the Rangers and puts himself on a record RBI pace, only to significantly slow down in the second half. In 2009, the bona fide elite-level fantasy outfielder has only played 35 games. He's only hitting .240. And he's out until mid-July.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Hahaha. Get it? The Who? Tommy? Yeah. Dated cultural references mixed into fantasy baseball news FTW, eh? Sorry. Anyway, Tommy Hanson made his debut yesterday for the Atlanta Braves -- and while he was perfect through two innings, yeah, notsomuch the rest of the way: Hanson ended up getting knocked around for six hits and six earned through six innings (sign?) while striking out five and giving up three gofer balls.
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.
Starting Five
ST. LOUIS – With organizations re-realizing the value of defense, it was appropriate that the MVP of Tuesday's 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
