Best Slideshows - Team

In the world of sports, there are no absolutes. Especially in baseball, absolutes simply don't exist.

Home runs are ruled as ground rule doubles, perfect games are ruined by wrong calls, and strikes are called balls.

Leave the absolutes to the sciences (and vodka, I guess?).

But with baseball? Everything is open for evaluation and change.

Unfortunately, the San Francisco Giants have a personnel team that believes in absolute untouchables.

Or at least they will tell you that is what they believe in.

Listen to Sterberg's full press conference here (courtesy of 620am-WDAE Tampa Bay)

The Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg announced today that the Tampa Bay Rays are leaving downtown St. Petersburg. He urged community leaders to rise above municipal and provisional differences to find a location that best suits the entire community.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks sitting at 26-41 and 12.5 games out of 1st place in the NL West, it is obvious that they will be sellers when the trade deadline arrives. The Diamondbacks have already started trading players. They swapped Connor Jackson for minor league reliever Sam Demel on July 15th.

In what was thought to be a difficult signing season for Los Angeles Dodgers' draftees, the team made deals with second round pick Ralston Cash and third round selection Leon Landry on Wednesday.

The details of the contracts are unknown, as many of the deals are sometimes kept under tight wraps until the signing deadline passes on August 16.

According to the Gainsville Times, a newspaper in Georgia, Cash will complete his deal by the end of the week, and upon signing will immediately be dispatched to begin pitching in the Arizona rookie league.

Last week, I went to Trenton for my second trip to see the New York Yankees Double-A Minor League team, the Trenton Thunder.

It is always a pleasure to go to Trenton, as I get to talk baseball and strategy with the Thunder manager, Tony Franklin, one of the true good guys in the entire pro game. Interestingly, one player who Franklin played with in his second pro season was Yankee minor league pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras.

Well Mariners fans, lets face it, the 2010 season is a bust.

There will be no comeback, no 1995 style legendary run to the post season. No, I'm afraid the last exciting moment for the Mariners will be watching who they dump in the upcoming midseason fire sale.

Cliff Lee is a lock to be traded, and rumor has it that everybody not named Felix or Ichiro is up for grabs. I'd expect a lot of familiar names to be playing in different markets come August.

So, what does that mean for the 2011 squad? What does the future hold for Seattle baseball?

He was a Gold Glove center fielder, a four-time World Champion, a batting title winner, and a fan favorite for the biggest, most important baseball team in the history of baseball.

So, let’s ask: Is Bernie Williams a Hall of Famer?

Statistics: Career Ranking Amongst Center Fielders

Pirates prized prospect Pedro Alvarez had been called up by the team this week, and will probably replace Andy LaRoche.

Alvarez, 23, is a power hitting 3rd baseman, who can be a threat every at bat at the big league level but is very weak when it comes to defense.

He reminds us of a somewhat Adam Dunn, who is a power hitter, yet isn't the greatest fielder (I mean years ago, he has gotten better this year). Also, Dunn and Alvarez both strike out often. 

With Pittsburgh needing help at this point, they called up the young 3rd baseman.

One of the most interesting franchise histories in sports is that of the Colorado Rockies. Since 1993, when they joined the National League as an expansion franchise, Colorado has been known for its "Blake Street Bombers" attitude and for their horrifying home-road splits.

Playing in the thin air of Coors Field, good hitters such as Vinny Castilla were made to look like Hall of Famers. However, it may just be the thin air of Denver that keeps the black-and-purple out of Cooperstown.

The Case For

As we all know, 2010 is being called the "Year of the Pitchers." With names like Stephen Strasburg and Ubaldo Jimenez popping up all over the place, how are the Philadelphia Phillies pitchers stacking up?

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