Boston

They say good starting pitching is contagious. After starting the year with a record of 2-5 and a cumulative ERA of 7.24 in the first 10 games, the members of the rotation have gone 6-2, with an extraordinary ERA of 1.65, in the last 10 games.

Their performance has been even more extraordinary over the last eight games, compiling a mark of 6-1, with a 1.01 ERA.

After an 0-6 start to the 2011 Major League Season, the Boston Red Sox have finally come around and are starting to play like the team most people thought they'd be: unstoppable.

Just 12 days ago, Daisuke Matsuzaka was booed off the mound by the hometown Boston crowd after allowing seven runs in just two innings of work, on Saturday night, Dice-K threw his second consecutive one hitter as the Red Sox blanked the Los Angeles Angeles 5-0.

Well, this certainly isn't the start anyone expected, right?

The Boston Red Sox now sit at 7-11, are in the cellar and are four games off the pace of the New York Yankees in the AL East race.

For the first week of the season, it was easy to be relaxed and beg those in "The Nation" to remain calm because it was still early. After the second week, even the optimistic became nervous.

Playoff expansion has its pros and cons.

I think it is obvious that including more teams (within reason) would be beneficial for the game. The more teams that make the playoffs, the more revenue there would be for teams and more baseball for fans.

But it's equally obvious that there are pitfalls, such as extending play deeper into the cold and rainy months of October and November.

A few weeks tardy, but here are my thoughts and analysis on the season that lies ahead. Thus far in the young season, there have been some big surprises. The Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals are a combined 23-11, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets trail their respective divisions. Okay, the Mets' early woes aren't much of a shock.

The Boston Red Sox had few fans nearly 50 years ago. Fewer admit being fans back in 1963 and 1964. Few fans of today were alive back then. Those seasons were the Dark Ages of Red Sox lore. 

It's a wonderful thing baseball is back.  After a long cold winter, we can finally get back to spring time, warmth, and baseball.

Now that we can enjoy our pastime again, we can get back to the traditions that we practice for every baseball game.  Sure different teams have different traditions, but these traditions bind us from one generation to the next.

Traditions are one of the most important parts of baseball.  Here is a list of the top 25 traditions in baseball stadiums:

Last week I told you about the #LegendofSamFuld hashtag that Tampa Bay Rays fans have been using on Twitter to glorify the extraordinary play of LF Sam Fuld in MLB Twitter Trends: The Legend of Sam Fuld, Tampa Bay's New Hero.

From Palm Springs to City of Palms, Red Sox Nation has sought professional help for their stressful inability to handle the agony of defeat.

As for ownership, they have applied from the city of Boston for a license to offer mixed drinks at Fenway to help fans cope with the most expensive, losing team in Sox history.

Major League Baseball formally released the draft order for this June’s draft this afternoon.