From the Windup is Matt Snyder's weekly look at some aspect of America's pastime.
Zack Greinke has been the best pitcher in the majors this season.
That statement wouldn't be disputed by anyone other than people who look only at won-loss record and nothing more. I'm not suggesting you throw that stat out the window, but you can take Greinke's 15-8 record, combine it with everything else, and still come to the conclusion that the best pitcher in 2009 plays for the Kansas City Royals.
With that in mind, I wanted to create a starting rotation from the past decade of pitchers who were similarly plagued by a less-than-stellar record, while also sporting filthy numbers elsewhere. It's the Zack Greinke Tribute Team.
Colorado downed Cincinnati 5-1 with a five-run third inning and six scoreless innings from its bullpen after starter Jose Contreras suffered a strained quadriceps running to first base.
The Astros' Roy Oswalt is frustrated by the lack of fire in his team's clubhouse, and who can blame him? Obviously, they're not going to be able to overcome a team OPS+ of 93, a team ERA+ of 94, and a 9.5-game deficit in the wild card standings, but you know what? With a little get-up-and go, they could conceive of, design, and build a rocket ship so that they could search the universe and join an alien baseball league full of teams that aren't as good.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Colorado has cycled back to the top of the NL wild-card standings.
Troy Tulowitzki hit for the cycle Tuesday as the Rockies bashed the Cubs, 11-5. By taking three of four in the series, Colorado moved a game ahead of San Francisco.
According to STATS LLC, Tulowitzki joined John Valentin as the only players ever to hit for the cycle and turn an unassisted triple play.
Tulowitzki ended up 5-for-5 with a career-best seven RBI, and he nearly had a two-homer cycle but replay upheld a foul ball ruling.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Justin Verlander and the Tigers are pretty tough.
They spotted the Orioles five runs Monday in the top of the first inning but somehow came back to win, 6-5, on Clete Thomas' ninth-inning home run.
"I've never hit a walk-off homer before - not at any level," he said. "When I was rounding first and realized it had gone out, I didn't know how to react. It feels better than you even think it will -- and that's something you always dream of doing."
L.A. is the last team in the majors to have a losing streak longer than two, and by not doing so until games 98-100, it set a franchise record.
And while the Dodgers' lead in the NL West is still eight games, there are causes for concern. In two losses at St. Louis, Los Angeles has had 20 hits -- but scored just one run. The Dodgers went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position in those games and had only three extra-base hits, all doubles.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
Heading into 2009, here's what we thought we knew about Rich Harden: Absolutely lights out stuff, but can't be counted on to stay healthy consistently. In 2008, he went 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 148 innings. Those are elite numbers on a per-start basis. The problem, of course, is that he only made 25 starts. In 2007, he had a 2.45 ERA, but only pitched 25 2/3 innings.
Until Monday night, 2009 had been quite surprising from the 27-year-old right-hander.
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.
Sorry for the delay, kiddos, on the Power Rankings. I'm sure you spent the entirety of Wednesday wondering "WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE THEY??? WITHOUT THEM I'LL HAVE NOTHING TO BANTER SENSELESSLY ABOUT TO MY CO-WORKERS!!!1" Or something like that. Either way, it's time to debate the worthlessness of your favorite baseball team in numerical form once again. Do enjoy.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It's no secret we here at Fantasy FanHouse were not a fan of Matt Holliday for your fantasy baseball team this season. We told you to avoid him several times in the draft kit, and still more in chats. This wasn't because we thought he was a terrible player or a bad guy. Quite the contrary, he's a good player and seems like a swell enough guy. It's just that he was so overvalued and we knew his numbers would take a hit departing Colorado for the Bay area.
Well, now is the fun part of fantasy baseball. Now we're telling you to trade for him.
Starting Five
Starting Five
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
MLB Power Rankings
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
