David Ortiz is hitting .294 with 3 home runs, 7 RBI and a .986 OPS in his last 9 games. Is he back, or is this just an aberration. After a terrible start, Justin Verlander is 7-0 with a 1.10 ERA in his last 9 starts. During that span, he's struck out 81 while walking only 16 in 65 1/3 innings. Do you consider him the most dominant pitcher in baseball (we do)? Join Fantasy FanHouse for these topics and more, when we fire up the hour-long live chat machine at 2:00 PM Eastern.
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 Red Sox haven't had a streak like this against the Yankees in a long time. Nearly 100 years, actually. The Red Sox beat the Yankees, 6-5, on Wednesday night, their eighth consecutive victory against their rivals, dating back to last year. It is Boston's longest winning streak against New York since 1912.
That was before Babe Ruth played his first big -league game.
The Red Sox have hit .295 and they have a 3.66 ERA against the Yankees this season. They've outscored the Bombers, 51-28.
"We're moving guys over, we're getting big two-out hits, and when you do those little things like that and you're playing good baseball you're going to win ballgames -- regardless of it's the Yankees or anybody else," Jonathan Papelbon said. "We just happen to be playing good baseball against them right now and we've got to keep this momentum."
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.
We had to break the trend. Sure, the Dodgers might have a better record than everyone else -- but competition has to count for something, doesn't it? The Dodgers have mutilated the mediocre-at-best NL West to the tune of 26-9. This means they are 14-11 against everyone else. Is that a top-two team in baseball? Hardly, I'll take the heated-rivals: Yankees (who have overcome a slow start to go 19-7 since May 12) and Red Sox (18-8 against the best division in baseball) as the top two.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Remember 'Five Alive,' the juicy blend with five fruits that's fun for all the family? Well, Rick Porcello is a unique blend of rookie flavor who's reeled off five straight victories. You can hardly find that syrupy drink on the shelves anymore, but you can still find Porcello in about 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues. And that's not all there is to like about Porcello. After the jump, it's fun time for all fantasy owners! (sugar rush optional)
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, that took freaking forever ... but the Blue Jays finally started to stink the joint up. I swear to you, you can't stay long atop the MLB Power Rankings -- our failure by osmosis jinxing ability is just too strong, son. At any rate, it was a weird week for ranking baseball: the Cubs continued to skid, the Padres went on a tear and Toronto fell off the face of the planet. So, yeah, spiciness ensued, and you may take the jump to see how badly your team fared. Unless you're a Rangers or a Braves fan, in which case they couldn't have done that poorly.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Dare we say it? He's back. The man who won the 2005 Cy Young and finished third the following season is officially back in the Cardinals rotation. He made the Brewers -- one of the best hitting teams in the league -- look stupid for eight innings Monday, which means he's now thrown 23 innings of shutout ball this season. His staggering numbers thus far: 23 innings, 0 earned runs, 23 strikeouts, 10 hits, 4 walks.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That there were two particularly thrilling games Monday -- of totally different ilk.
The Cardinals and Brewers, who entered the game tied for first in the NL Central, played a classic pitchers' duel. St. Louis' Chris Carpenter (0.00 ERA in 23 innings this season) took a perfect game to the seventh, but Yovani Gallardo matched the zeros. Then Milwaukee scored a run off Kyle McClellan in the bottom of the 10th to win 1-0.
Later, the Indians rallied from a 10-run deficit against the Rays, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth for an 11-10 win. Cleveland benefited from five walks in the ninth inning, including three straight by Jason Isringhausen before Victor Martinez snapped a 0-for-18 slide with the game-winning, two-run single.
Maybe I'm being a bit hard on these guys, but almost 59 percent of the 41 pitchers who are starting twice this week are being placed in the "Risky Business" category.
There are a couple of touted rookies who make up the 59 percent like the Rays' David Price and Atlanta's Kris Medlen. There are also some big-named pitchers who should never be placed among the "Risky Business" pitchers who just are throwing well, or their teams aren't winning behind them. Jon Lester and Francisco Liriano come to mind immediately.
Like I said, in all there are 41 two-start pitchers this week. Make sure that you get your lineups locked early today as there are a bunch of afternoon games. The first is 1:10 PM ET when Houston plays Cincinnati.
Coming into 2009, the Detroit Tigers' rotation didn't exactly look like a strength. Every member of the staff had some serious question marks, which was a big reason that very few analysts picked the Tigers to emerge victorious from the AL Central. But now, as we approach June, a few Detroit starters have answered those concerns emphatically, making the Tigers the clear favorite to win the division.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
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.
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 Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Coming into 2009, the Detroit Tigers' rotation didn't exactly look like a strength. Every member of the staff had some serious question marks, which was a big reason that very few analysts picked the Tigers to emerge victorious from the AL Central. But now, as we approach June, a few Detroit starters have answered those concerns emphatically, making the Tigers the clear favorite to win the division.
