From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the non-waiver trade deadline looming just eight days away, it seemed like the perfect time to warn teams about the dangers of a deadline deal. There are plenty of good trades on the books. Then again, it's the swaps that blow up in the face of a team that seem to stick with us. That's nothing new. We know the famous, ill-fated John Smoltz and Jeff Bagwell deals, but for now let's look at recent history by ranking the 10 worst deadline deals of the 2000s.
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.
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.
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.
The joke is on us, because the Rangers starting rotation is pretty damn legit right now. After Sunday, the Rangers now sport the fifth-best starter's ERA (4.25) in the American League.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Joe Mauer has done everything he can to singlehandedly kill spring training as we know it.
Everyone else needs seven or eight weeks to get ready. But this guy gets 15 at-bats in minor-league camp, another 15 in Class A, and then shows up in the majors and hits .500 his first 10 games.
"Everyone keeps asking me what's going on," Mauer told FanHouse. "I really don't have any answer for that."
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, theRoto Rushis your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Every year in fantasy baseball there are a number of players whose hype exceeds reasonable expectations, because so many freaking people have them tagged as a "breakout." Peter Gammons may have been the first to tag Adam Jones with such a label, but it caught on quickly, and he was a popular fantasy draft selection. (Note that this also applies to my homie Chris Davis, who I think might hit 40 taters, but who was wickedly overvalued coming into drafts. More on this in a second.)
And the man that wants no part of being called "Pacman" -- for obvious reasons -- is suddenly flat-out destroying opposing pitching. Jones was always considered a "five-tool" prospect, with power and speed potential, not to mention just being a great baseball player.
BALTIMORE – The Texas Rangers are changing. The arrival of 22-year-old left-handed pitcher Derek Holland in the majors is merely one of the first signs.
You wouldn't know changes are afoot on a steamy Monday night as Texas wraps up a four-game series against the Orioles. It is hot – game-time temperature at Camden Yards is 89 degrees – but not especially humid. In other words, it is only a small taste of what awaits Rangers pitchers this summer in Arlington, where the heat on the field for a day game often hits triple digits.
The Rangers are already pitching like it is the middle of summer. They are surrendering home runs at a breakneck pace, and Monday night's starter Matt Harrison allows four runs in the first two innings before the Texas lineup, as it has proven so capable of doing, hits him out of trouble.
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Must Start Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Tuesday vs CHC (C. Zambrano) and Sunday at MLW (D. Bush) Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Tuesday at SF (B. Zito) and Sunday vs SD (J. Geer) James Shields, Rays - Tuesday at MIN (F. Liriano) and Sunday vs BOS (B. Penny) Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at MIN (S. Baker) Kyle Lohse, Cardinals - Tuesday at ATL (J. Reyes) and Sunday at WAS (J. Lannan) Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at ARZ (Y. Petit) and Saturday vs FLA (A. Sanchez)
Three games into the season the Texas Rangers are a perfect 3-0 as they spent their first series knocking around the starting pitching of the Cleveland Indians to the tune of 29 runs. I know this because for the last few days Brinson and Snyder have gone out of their way to remind all of us here at FanHouse how they predicted this would happen.
While we've just smiled and patted them on the head letting them think they're the team's inspiration, the rest of us know what's really going on here. Generally when you're scoring nearly ten runs a game, you're going to win a lot. Besides, the reason the Rangers are playing well has nothing to do with those two. Everybody knows it's their lucky scorpion.
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the
BALTIMORE – The Texas Rangers are changing. The arrival of 22-year-old left-handed pitcher 
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Three games into the season the Texas Rangers are a perfect 3-0 as they spent their first series knocking around the starting pitching of the Cleveland Indians to the tune of 29 runs. I know this because for the last few days 
