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 Yankees are still fired up despite their large lead in the AL East.
After two Yankees pitchers hit Blue Jays batters in Tuesday's game, Toronto's Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada in the bottom of the eighth.
Posada glared, benches briefly emptied, but there were no punches. Yet.
Instead of letting it end there, or charging the mound, Posada waited until he walked and then scored a run to give Carlson a shove after he crossed home plate.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly, extended look at some aspect of America's pastime.
As I look ahead to the MLB playoffs, I'm faced with the fact that my beloved Cubbies aren't going to be competing. Being a devout baseball fan, though, there's no way I'm not watching the postseason. Without a horse in the race, I'm forced to focus instead on individuals, and there are always plenty of reasons to watch certain players. Thus, I'm going to list 10 players I'm looking forward to watching and five players I wish I could come October.
Michael Young's superlative season has helped keep the Rangers in the thick of the playoff race, so this news out of Dallas on Wednesday afternoon must be greeted with gritted teeth. General manager Jon Daniels announced that Young will miss at least the next two weeks after an MRI revealed a left hamstring strain.
The news comes at a brutal moment for the Rangers. They enter Wednesday night's game 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race and 4 1/2 games behind the Angels after sweeping the Blue Jays in a Tuesday doubleheader. Making up the remaining distance without Young in the lineup, however, will be very tough.
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.
Before we get our heaping of box score browsing, let's look at a related subject: The fantasy baseball stretch run. With the annual ushering in of September baseball, we see roster changes galore. Not only are there call-ups with the legal expansion of rosters, but players with seemingly minor injuries are shut down on teams who have fallen out of the race. You also have younger players being given an audition for 2010, or being shut down so the team doesn't overwork them in their first season of increased workload. If you are in the thick of things in your fantasy baseball race, now is not the time to use a laissez-faire approach.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
Every Hot Stove season, each team reshapes its roster in an attempt to better themselves. After each transaction, whether a free agent acquisition, trade or something else, writers and bloggers everywhere provide knee-jerk reactions on each particular move. Though the majority of the analysis is educated, it's still just conjecture. Today, we'll take the long view and look back at some of the maneuvering this past offseason and see how it played out on the field.
ST. LOUIS -- Evan Longoria, scratched from the All-Star Game with an infected right ring finger, said he's "95 percent" certain to play Friday when the Rays resume the regular season.
"It would be a disservice to [the AL team] to go out and try to play and win a game when I'm not up to full health," Longoria said.
Longoria said his finger began feeling sore over the weekend, but he didn't speak up until Sunday. He was immediately put on antibiotics.
With the All-Star Game just hours away, there has been some shuffling on the American League squad. Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays, who was elected the AL starter at third base, will be forced to miss the game with an infected right ring finger. The result is a downgrade in power but a gain in speed for the AL. The openings created also likely provide a thrill for two players.
Michael Young, who was already a reserve on the team, will slide into Longoria's starting spot and hit seventh for the AL. As for the hole on the roster, Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels will fill the vacancy.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- At the start of this three-game series, there was a thought this would have been a good test for the up and coming Rangers, who lead the AL West.
It turned out to be a nice test -- and confirmation -- for the Dodgers, who own the best record in the game.
After three humid days and nights at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Los Angeles took two of three games here and will head back to Southern California happy.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
I think we can all agree that it's far too early to start voting upon who the best 2009 players are when it's only the middle of May. That being said, there are certainly some shining stars at this point who deserve some props. Plus, Major League Baseball recently released their All-Star ballots for our voting pleasure -- we vote on who will start the All-Star Game. If that's not important, I don't know what is. Let's take a gander.
The Tigers' 2006 AL Rookie of the Year and 18-game winner in 2007 slumped to 11-17 last year and begain this season 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. But now he seems to be straightened out.
Verlander on Friday shut out the Indians on two hits, his second straight start with 11 strikeouts. Over his past three outings, Verlander is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA, allowing 11 hits and striking out 31 in 23 innings.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
Michael Young's
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
ST. LOUIS -- 
With the 
ARLINGTON, Texas -- At the start of this three-game series, there was a thought this would have been a good test for the up and coming Rangers, who lead the AL West.
