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.
Big ups to Prez for taking the PR reigns over while I was off last week. But we're back in the saddle, fresh out of the All-Star break and ready to incite you with our rankings. Also, I should point out that this is, relatively speaking, the "home stretch." Where even the most minuscule of mini-streaks can change a team's fate. Or something like that. Anyway, let's go to the list, where we'll find out if an attack on Jack Nicholson by the Phanatic and the addition of Petey was enough to vault the Phillies into the top spot of the Week 16 MLB Power Rankings. Cue drumroll.
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 ...
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.
"The Mets injury woes are becoming so comical that from now on I'm just going to imagine that Snoop and Chris Partlow are bringing starters one by one into vacant homes and shooting them in the head." - Matt W., on the Progressive Boink forums
The important thing to remember here is that now is when the Mets are supposed to be great. They don't start getting bad until the middle of September. If they can hurry up and be bad NOW, maybe they will be good at the END of the season. Or they will be so bad that Major League Baseball demotes them to AAA.
NEW YORK -- Assuming the rain holds off and they play baseball here at Citi Field Tuesday night, this could be a night for which Mets fans have been waiting excitedly for a while now -- the major league debut of outfield prospect Fernando Martinez.
In a slew of pregame moves, the Mets placed shortstop Jose Reyes and right fielder Ryan Church on the disabled list. They announced that the MRI on center fielder Carlos Beltran revealed a bone bruise on the tibia and that he would miss the remainder of the current series. They acquired shortstop Wilson Valdez from the Cleveland Indians for cash. And they called up Martinez from Triple-A Buffalo and put him in the starting lineup -- playing right field and batting sixth.
NEW YORK -- The Mets are either waiting for Major League Baseball to institute a five-day disabled list or they are just willing to play short-handed every night.
It has come to this for the Mets: pitchers Livan Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey on Monday night had "to have spikes on the whole game," as manager Jerry Manuel put it, meaning they were available to pinch hit or pinch run.
It's not just that the Mets are banged up, it's that so many of their injuries are of the good-old "day-to-day" variety.
And so the Mets are handcuffed. Or have handcuffed themselves by indecision.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ...
That changes might be in store for the White Sox.
The defending AL Central champs lost 3-2 to the Blue Jays, finishing off a four-game sweep by Toronto, and have lost 12 of 15.
"I don't think Kenny's going to sit on that very long," said an official from another team who has monitored the White Sox recently, referring to Chicago general manager Kenny Williams.
His track record shows that Williams would rather act than wait for things to change. The Sox offense is last in the AL in runs per game, and in the past 18 games, Mark Buehrle is the only starter with a win.
Everyone can have a good day every once in a while, right? I think the most repeated cliche to represent this is "Every dog has his day".
Well, let me give you another cliche, "A river begins with one drop of water". To slant that one into fantasy baseball speak I'll say that even though it's just one game, players who shined on day one of the Major League baseball season might just be starting a trend that will last a long time. Joe DiMaggio had to start his 56-game hitting streak with the first hit, right?
A lot of players shined yesterday in baseball's Opening Day. Here are ten players who are available in many of your fantasy leagues, ranked from highest percentage of ownership to lowest.
1. Hank Blalock, Rangers - Blalock went 2-4 yesterday with a home run and three RBI. Most people are waiting for some part of his body to fall off or spontaneously combust, which is why he's only owned in 52% of Yahoo leagues. Until that expected injury occurs, Blalock isn't a bad fantasy option. He does hit in the heart of a somewhat potent lineup in a great hitters park.
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.
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
MLB Power Rankings
"The Mets injury woes are becoming so comical that from now on I'm just going to imagine that Snoop and Chris Partlow are bringing starters one by one into vacant homes and shooting them in the head." - Matt W., on the 
NEW YORK -- Assuming the rain holds off and they play baseball here at Citi Field Tuesday night, this could be a night for which Mets fans have been waiting excitedly for a while now -- the major league debut of outfield prospect 
NEW YORK -- The Mets are either waiting for Major League Baseball to institute a five-day disabled list or they are just willing to play short-handed every night.
Starting Five
Poppin' out the box scores and right into your cubicle, the 
