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.
There was reason for concern with Cliff Lee. After storming out of the proverbial gates upon his entrance to the so-called Senior Circuit, he stumbled. Lee's first five outings yielded a 5-0 record with a 0.68 ERA and a 39:6 K:BB in 40 innings. His next three? Ugly. He got a win (going 1-2), but his ERA in 15 innings was 9.60, after allowing 29 hits, 16 earned runs and 4 home runs.
Tuesday night, Lee re-announced his presence with authority.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday -- it's running Friday this week.
Earlier this week, Brad Lidge's nightmare 2009 season continued, when he allowed a walk-off homer to Andrew McCutchen. Ed Price covered the outing the following morning. The abysmal performance by the Phillies' closer underlines the only weakness of the defending World Series Champions.
Boston's Kevin Youkilis and Detroit's Rick Porcello were ejected in the second inning of Tuesday night's Red Sox-Tigers game after Youkilis charged the mound, threw his batting helmet at Porcello and tackled him.
The Red Sox infielder took exception when the 20-year-old Tigers right-hander hit him with a pitch. It was the second time in the last two nights a Detroit pitcher has plunked Youkilis.
"At some point you have to do something to protect yourself as a hitter," Youkilis told reporters (via WEEI.com). "It was something I have never done before, and never thought of ever doing but at some point ... I lost my control there and let my emotions get the best of me.
"Two days in a row and the way it was going I had enough of it. ... I felt like I had to do what I had to do"
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
As Major League Baseball launches into the second half of their season Thursday night, there is one playoff race that should intrigue and excite fans no matter where their allegiances may lie. The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays may just be the best three teams in the American League (for my money, they are). Yet, all three reside in the AL East, which means only two can make the playoffs.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
The most remarkable thing about this season as we hit the not-halfway halfway point of the All-Star break isn't Albert Pujols' RBI total. Or Zack Greinke's ERA. Or the PED suspension of one of the game's biggest stars.
It's the standings. And they not only reflect the season so far, they give us a clue as to the weeks head leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The Phillies and Dodgers are the only first-place team with a lead of more than 2 1/2 games. And 21 of the 30 teams are within 7 1/2 games of a playoff spot: nine of 14 in the AL and 12 of 16 in the NL.
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.
It's a funny thing, sometimes, to see how Power Rankings shape up over the course of the season. Just like when we started the year, there are a number of teams from one particular division sitting atop the rankings. Of course, there are plenty of surprises -- WHERE DID THE FREAKING GIANTS AND ROCKIES COME FROM?? -- and some other interesting stuff, like the fact that the Mets and Cubs just haven't been that good, which we discussed on the inaugural BaseCast recently.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
The Mets are beginning to look like the Patriots when it comes to injury information. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you to be worried about Jose Reyes' bum leg when we found out he had a "calf strain." Thursday night, the team confirmed Reyes has a torn right hamstring tendon and this is believed to be something new. Excuse me for being cynical, but this is the latest in a long line of sketchy diagnoses. Let's take a look at what else New York bungled, shall we ...
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?
Friday night, Kevin Youkilis got hit by a pitch from the hand of Mets' ace Johan Santana. After he was beaned, he stood in the box staring Santana down, and the incident nearly escalated into a brawl. There were two outs, nobody on base, and the count was 2-2. In fact, Youkilis had fouled off the previous two-strike pitch. Basically, there was no way the pitch was thrown intentionally. Here is Johan's take:
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.
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Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
