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, I'll tell you one thing: baseball ain't boring, folks. At least if you're in the middle class anyway; the upper crust is (somewhat) starting to establish itself across MLB's ranks and the bottom portion of the league is certainly holding steady. But in the middle, well, goodness. We have a lot of would-be title contenders. How's your semi-crappy team faring in the all-important MLB FanHouse Power Rankings this week? Find out after the jump.
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 Phillies calmed a lot of nerves this weekend. The reigning world champs haven't looked quite like themselves for most of the season, but they had plenty of reason to be optimistic after completing a three-game sweep of the Mets Sunday.
Philadelphia entered the series with a 13-22 record at Citizens Bank Park, but won three straight at home against a hated rival. That wasn't the only positive sign. Jimmy Rollins, who has been slumping all season, belted a leadoff homer against New York ace Johan Santana in the 2-0 sweep-clinching win and Brad Lidge, who has blown six saves this year, struck out the side to lock up the victory.
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.
Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.
"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'
"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Everyone knows the No. 1 prospect in Tuesday's draft (and if you don't, read this). But after Washington selects Stephen Strasburg, things get less precise.
"Anybody from [No.] 2 to 15 could be just as good as the other guy," an executive from an NL team with a high pick told FanHouse. "It's really a strange year because it is in the eye of the beholder."
For example, Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake has been discussed as high as No. 3 overall, to the Padres. But he's more likely to go in the middle of the first round, no lower than Arizona's picks at 16 and 17.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That journeyman Marco Scutaro is quietly making a bid for the All-Star Game. The Blue Jays shortstop had three more hits in a 9-3 victory over the Royals on Friday. It was Scutaro's eighth multi-hit game in his last 11 games, during which he's hitting .417.
For the season, Scutaro is hitting .302 with a league-leading 45 runs. Discounting Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett, who is injured, Scutaro is second only to Derek Jeter among AL shortstops in average, homers (five) and RBI (26). Scutaro, 33, is on pace for career highs in all three categories.
He has no chance of outpolling Jeter in fan balloting for the starting spot, so he ought to be campaigning with his fellow players. Players vote for most of the backups, with a few final spots on the teams filled out by the managers, and fans voting for the last spot.
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 ...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Even though Randy Johnson was the one who was pitching, catcher Dave Valle still woke up the next day with a sore left shoulder.
Valle, the Mariners' primary catcher in the early '90s, was the man who had to handle Johnson when he was more Wild Thing than Big Unit.
"The fastball would soar up and away (to righties) and if you'd catch it at the wrong angle, it would feel like your arm is going to be pulled out of the socket," Valle told FanHouse. "Then he'd throw that slider down at the back foot. So that was a lot of territory to cover for a catcher ...
"He was a rough day at the office for a catcher. He was throwing 100 mph and didn't have a real good idea where it was going."
I covered Randy Johnson as a beat writer for eight seasons: 1999-2004 with the Diamondbacks and then 2005-06 with the Yankees. (We both moved East the same winter, by coincidence.)
So I figure I saw about 230 of Johnson's starts – hey, I deserved a day off once in a while – and more than 100 of his 300 wins. Off the top of my head, here are the top 10 Randy Johnson moments I witnessed in those eight years:
1. Perfection (May 18, 2004) Twenty-seven up, 27 down at Atlanta. And after this game, Johnson even smiled. His 117th and final pitch, a called strike to Eddie Perez, was 98 mph. His 14 strikeouts were second-most ever in a perfect game, and at 40, he was the oldest ever to be perfect. "I don't think my stuff has been any better than it was today," Johnson said.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Chris Carpenter is all the way back. The 2006 NL Cy Young winner has missed almost all of the past two seasons, and a chunk of this one, with injuries, but now he seems to be pitching as well as ever. The Cardinals righty tossed a three-hitter, his first complete game since Sept. 11, 2006, to beat the Reds 3-1 Thursday night.
Carpenter is 4-0 with an 0.71 ERA and a WHIP of 0.63 in six starts so far this year. Afterward, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Carpenter should be considered among the game's best.
"I don't think anybody pitching today is better. He's right up there with [Roy] Halladay and the best ones out there. Carp's right there."
Rookie Randy Wells, right, held the Braves hitless for 6 2/3 innings and took a 5-0 lead into the eighth inning.
It got a little dicey after that, but with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Chicago was up 5-3 with no one on base. Then Kevin Gregg (5.24 ERA) struck out Garret Anderson -- except the third strike got past catcher Geovany Soto and to the backstop, so Anderson reached first. And two batters later, Jeff Francoeur hit his first homer since May 1 to tie the game.
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.
Starting Five
NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
I covered 
Starting Five
Starting Five
