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.
So, quick apology on my part: the Power Rankings were supposed to go live Wednesday, but things happened, I'm a jerkstore, excuses, etc., and here we are. It's not Wednesday! So please note that the records reflect Wednesday -- not Thursday, not Friday, not Saturday. Don't freak out in the comments and call me names. Please. I can't take that in my fragile emotional state right now. I might turn into Raul Ibanez, at which point I would yell at you and then strain my groin. And that wouldn't be good for anyone.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Angels general manager Tony Reagins said the answers for the Angels' uncharacteristic bullpen struggles are "in-house."
Unfortunately for the Angels, one of those answers, maybe the only one, just went on the disabled list.
Kelvim Escobar, who represents the Angels' best hope to settle their tattered bullpen, went on the disabled list on Monday with a recurrence of the shoulder problem that cost him the first two months of the season.
The Angels' company line is that Escobar had only a mild setback, similar to one he had in April, and he'll be ready to go in a week. Since he hasn't pitched since June 6, he's eligible to come off the DL next Monday. When he does, he'll try to get the Angels bullpen righted.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... The Rockies are 4 1/2 games out of the NL wild card after Thursday's 5-4 victory over the Brewers.
OK, so they're still four games under .500, and fourth in their division. But Colorado has won eight straight games – all on the road, no less – to climb toward respectability.
"It's hard to expect to win eight in a row, but we definitely are a team capable of doing it," [Ian] Stewart said. "Our pitching has been unbelievable these last eight days. Timely hitting with runners in scoring position, keeping innings alive. Everything has kind of been going our way. We know we can be this good, so we just have to continue to play this way."
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That journeyman Marco Scutaro is quietly making a bid for the All-Star Game. The Blue Jays shortstop had three more hits in a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Friday. It was Scutaro's eighth multi-hit game in his last 11 games, during which he's hitting .417.
For the season, Scutaro is hitting .302 with a league-leading 45 runs. Discounting Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett, who is injured, Scutaro is second only to Derek Jeter among AL shortstops in average, homers (five) and RBI (26). Scutaro, 33, is on pace for career highs in all three categories.
He has no chance of outpolling Jeter in fan balloting for the starting spot, so he ought to be campaigning with his fellow players. Players vote for most of the backups, with a few final spots on the teams filled out by the managers, and fans voting for the last spot.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the recent news that Mark DeRosa is on the trade block and the White Sox have possibly landed Jake Peavy, junkies of major league baseball trade rumors got an early glimpse at what promises to be a very interesting July. It's far to0 early to know exactly who will be in the market for what -- or who can afford to take on temporary payroll in this economy -- but it's certainly fun to speculate. Let's do it.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know... That instant replay has been in use in the majors for reviewing homers since last August, but there had not been a single home run taken away until Wednesday.
And then it happened twice.
First, Pittsburgh's Adam LaRoche hit a first-inning drive that was initially ruled a three-run homer. After umpires checked the replay, they determined that the ball had not cleared the fence, and LaRoche instead had a two-run double.
A few hours later, in Milwaukee, Marlins pinch-hitter Ross Gload had a would-be solo homer reversed.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know... That the Giants suddenly don't look so awful. They've won five in a row, tied with the Cardinals for the second longest active winnings streak in the majors. (Yes, the Red Sox have won nine in a row, but unless you somehow missed the endless highlights on SportsCenter, you know all about their 16-11 victory over the Yankees.)
Randy Johnson failed in his bid for win No. 297, leaving down 2-0 after just 3 1/3 innings, but the Giants bullpen gave up one run the rest of the way, while the offense put together a decent performance. The Giants are 8-8, having righted themselves quickly after going winless on their first six-game trip of the year.
Despite Johnson's rough outing -- and he's been just inconsistent enough that this quest for No. 300 could take a while -- the Giants have won with pitching. Their ERA during the winning streak is 1.37, including a pair of dominant games from Tim Lincecum.
MLB Power Rankings:Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.
HAVE YOU HEARD? YANKEE STADIUM HAS A WIND TUNNEL!!! Does it matter/is it real? Probably not. In fact, it might actually be on the other end of the spectrum of importance when compared to MLB Power Rankings. This week, we welcome another brand new No. 1 at the top of our rankings, although, all spoiler alerts aside, it's from the same division as last week! Debate the quality of your team, after the jump.
The Daily Jolt is a dose of baseball reality every weekday morning.
Jered Weaver gave the Angels a much-needed respite Tuesday night. Weaver, along with left-hander Joe Saunders, is one of the last men standing in a Los Angeles rotation ravaged by injuries and, of course, the tragic death of Nick Adenhart.
He pitched seven innings and allowed three runs as the Angels beat the Tigers, providing a quality start and taking some of the pressure off of a bullpen which entered the night with a major league-worst 8.31 ERA.
Unfortunately, it was only one night, and Los Angeles has many ahead.
The tragic death of 22-year-old starter Nick Adenhart is definitely going to be the low point of the Los Angeles Angels' season -- at least let's hope they don't have to deal with another death -- but much less significant problems are continuing to plague the defending AL West Champions. Specifically, they can't escape the injury bug.
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.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Angels general manager 
Starting Five
Starting Five
Starting Five
Starting Five
The tragic death of 22-year-old starter 
