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MLB Power Rankings: Week 2


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.


It's been a while since a week of baseball was this sad -- we saw the tragic passings of Nick Adenhart, Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. And without waxing too sentimentally, it's the loss of these men that remind us exactly just how little sports matter in the grand scheme of things. RIP, gentlemen. Power rankings (that feel just a tad inconsequential, to be honest) after the jump.

The Dugout: The Bird and the Angel


In 1976, Mark Fidrych pitched his rookie season in the major leagues. He threw 250.1 innings. He led the league in ERA at 2.34. He only struck out 97 batters, but he threw 24 complete games.

He was nicknamed "The Bird." He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Sesame Street's Big Bird. He would crouch down, as shown above, and perform the groundskeepers' job by covering over his own cleat marks. He held conversations with the baseball he held in his hand. He pitched his last game before I was born. He died yesterday.

This morning's Dugout is after the jump.

Did The Twins Know Matt Garza Was Damaged Goods Before Trading Him?

At first glance, Matt Garza of the Rays leaving Tuesday night's start with nerve issues in his right arm seemed like little more than the latest reminder that few things are as tenuous as the arm of a young pitcher. From Mark Fidrych to Francisco Liriano with many stops in the middle, it's a story we know all too well. After the game, though, Garza said something interesting about when the injury first surfaced.
Garza said it surfaced late last season, with him typically "pitching through it. This time it was just real bad. I knew something was up."

Late last season Garza pitched for the Twins before being dealt to the Rays for Delmon Young this winter. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire denied knowing anything at all about the problem.
"If he said he was hurt, I'm not going to call him a liar or anything like that. But he should have let us know that he might have had an injury. Normally, it's good when the team you are pitching for knows that. But I doubt that he had any injuries here."

The Twins and Garza had a somewhat stormy relationship, the remnants of which you can sense from Gardenhire's denial of any wrongdoing.

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