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.
Yet after missing two months with tendinitis in his right knee, Perez was in midseason form.
That is, missing the strike zone with regularity.
Somehow, though, the Mets beat the Dodgers 5-4 and snapped a four-game losing streak to get to 40-42, which in the tepid NL East is good for 4 1/2 games out of first place.
NEW YORK - Mets right-hander John Maine, who was supposed to continue a minor-league rehabilitation assignment Saturday, instead will not pick up a ball for a week because of recurring discomfort in his shoulder.
Maine (5-4 with a 4.52 ERA) called his injury "a little bit of a pinched nerve" and conceded he will be out at least through the All-Star break.
Without Maine, the Mets can continue to use Fernando Nieve in the rotation. Nieve, claimed from the Astros on waivers in March, is 3-0 with a 1.31 ERA since being called up.
Oliver Perez, out since early May, is scheuled to pitch Sunday for Class A Brooklyn on his rehab assignment.
Maine, who went on the disabled list June 12, said he was fine throwing a bullpen session Wednesday but had his shoulder act up Thursday while playing catch.
"I had to say something," he said. "I thought I could get through it and I just couldn't.
"I threw about 10 [times] and it hurt, so I just stopped."
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.
Because Ibañez worries only about the perception of him by his family and peers, he has had no trouble fitting in with the Phillies. And while he says he will never try to justify his new three-year, $31.5 million deal – perhaps the most criticized signing of the offseason – he has thus far done just that.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
He's only 21 years old. He's only 21 years old. Whenever you get frustrated that your future fantasy stud is struggling, it's important to take a breather and repeat those words. When I was 21, I think I spent my Wednesday nights playing Counter-Strike and eating bad pizza. Justin Upton, on the other hand, has to deal with expectations that he's the next Willie Mays. Whatever happened to the 27-year-old "breakout" rule? Suddenly it's six years younger?
After a few days of speculation, the Mets have finally made a decision on Oliver Perez. Omar Minaya announced to the press last night that Perez would go on the 15-day DL with "patella tendinitis," which I'm fairly sure is just code for, "We have no idea what's wrong with this dude, but he can make some rehab starts if we do this." In his place, Jonathan Niese has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo and will start on Friday.
I'm not entirely certain the Mets have any idea what to do with Perez. They had talked about sending him to the bullpen for some extra work, but it's not a stretch to think that they probably didn't want a guy that's averaging a walk an inning this year working out of the bullpen in any situation. Thus, we have the surprising DL visit, the safe haven for struggling pitchers for as long as the disabled list has existed, I suspect.
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.
What a zany week for a pair of pitchers with amazing stories: Zack Greinke is America's favorite story right now, somehow managing to be hotter than Twitter. (And if Oprah starts doing him too, I'm just quitting. And I mean everything.) Meanwhile, Rick Ankiel (you may hear word of this "podcast" we're doing about him, but that's because I'm shameless like that), a former star on the mound as well, nearly decapitates himself running into an outfield wall. And yet, life goes on. Just like our Power Rankings.
Who conned the Mets worse, Bernie Madoff or Oliver Perez?
Well, Madoff – so far. Mets ownership may have lost a nine-figure sum in the infamous Ponzi scheme, so the $36 million the Wilpon family has dropped in the Perez scheme seems like just a little lagniappe.
The Mets today announced that Perez will go from the rotation to the bullpen, replaced by 40-year-old Japanese rookie Ken Takahashi.
Perez sealed his fate Saturday in Philadelphia. He had usually risen to the occasion when facing the Phillies, but this time he walked six in 2 1/3 innings.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Who would have thought that Dexter Fowler's five stolen base game wouldn't even last a week as the high steals game in 2009. Carl Crawford did him one better Sunday, taking six in as many chances. Crawford is now 17-17 in stolen base attempts this season. Lost in the shuffle was that his 4-4 day at the plate caused his average to rise all the way up to .317.
NEW YORK – The Mets needed a win in the worst way.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
After a few days of speculation, the Mets have finally made a decision on 
Who conned the Mets worse, Bernie Madoff or 
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
