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 Angels and Cubs -- two overwhelming favorites to win their division entering 2009 -- finally seem to have their mojo back.
A day after Chicago rallied from four down in the eighth inning to beat the White Sox, they climbed out of a 7-0 fourth-inning hole to beat the Indians, thanks in part to another dramatic home run from Derrek Lee -- a drive that came off of longtime Cub Kerry Wood no less.
Not to be outdone, the Angels' Juan Rivera snapped a 4-all tie in the eighth inning of the Freeway Series opener with a decisive solo home run. The Halos have now reeled off seven straight wins, and, despite all the hard luck (and tragedy) they've had to deal with so far this season, are a 1/2 game behind the division-leading Rangers in the AL West.
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. The Closer Report will give you that info. And if that wasn't good enough, we'll rank the closers from top to bottom.
As you'll see, Heath Bell has taken over the top spot on this edition of The Closer Report. A few big-name, top-of-the-charts closers from years past have fallen off quite a bit. How weird is it to see Brad Lidge near the bottom of the closer rankings and Joe Nathan stuck in the middle?
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Big Apple, we have a problem. And one that could be a major concern in fantasy baseball leagues, too.
Jose Reyes, undoubtedly a top-10 fantasy pick, left Wednesday's game against the Dodgers after aggravating a right calf injury while trying to leg out an infield single. Reyes had missed five straight starts with the injury, and it looks like a trip to the disabled list is a possibility at some point. The Mets can consider alternatives to watching Ramon Martinez twirl his toothpick bat -- like the versatile Mark DeRosa -- but the solution isn't so simple for fantasy owners relying on his speed.
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 baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That the Indians are trying to find rock bottom.
"It would be nice to win some of these games," pitcher Cliff Lee said. "I think a lot of them we could have won if we had done some things a little different."
Cleveland has lost four straight games to fall to 14-26, blowing leads in three of them, including a seven-run lead last Friday and a four-run lead Tuesday.
The latter included letting a three-run lead in the ninth inning at Kansas City evaporate, as closer Kerry Wood (right) allowed two homers and a triple in a four-run rally.
Through the first 36 games of the season, it's been quite the bumpy ride for the Cubs. They've gone through as much adversity as they faced during the entire 97-win campaign that was the 2008 regular season. There have been myriad injuries, a suspension, many players suffering through extended slumps, excessive booing by the fans, bullpen meltdowns, and a much, much tougher division.
And yet, Lou Piniella's troops are 21-15. You know what their record was after 36 games in 2008? An identical 21-15.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Some NL-Only owners last night got a nice little (understatement) boost in steals last night, assuming that's where Dexter Fowler is mostly owned. The fleet-footed 23 year-old rookie stole 5 bases in the first five innings against the Padres -- giving him a National League-best 9 on the season.
Unbelievably, as noted in this morning's Starting Five, Fowler didn't even set a team record and it hasn't even been a full year since a Rockies' player had 5 steals. That doesn't mean it's common, though. Only 17 players have done so since 1954.
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. Each week The Closer Report will give you that information. And if that wasn't good enough we'll rank the closers from top to bottom.
Here's an interesting statistic. Somewhere between 30 percent and 40 percent of the closers who are listed as the the team's official closer will not be in that role by the end of the season. It's the case every year. Whether a closer loses his job due to injury or just plain can't get the job done, you're going to learn that you can find saves on the waiver wire throughout the season. You just have to know where to look.
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.
Fresh off the surprising news that the Cubs will use Kevin Gregg as their closer this season instead of Carlos Marmol, Marmol expressed disappointment and frustration. He stated that he didn't think he was given a fair shot because Lou Piniella had his mind set that Gregg was going to win the job out of spring training no matter what. Personally, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Imagine getting passed over for a promotion at work that you thought you deserved and then having to answer questions about it immediately thereafter.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
It's always nice to know how secure a closer's job is and who's next in line if somebody loses their 9th inning job. Each week 
Fresh off 
