MLB

A Phillies fan leafing through his Philadelphia Inquirer on May 23 would have seen his team sitting atop the NL East with a 26-16 record—the best in the NL. The Phillies had a fairly comfortable 3.5-game lead on the second-place Atlanta Braves, and that was only after the Tomahawks had amassed a five-game winning streak.

The Phillies were the all-but unanimous favorites to win the division, if not the pennant, for the third year in a row. Nothing had happened in the team's first 42 games to change that.

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

After dropping two of three at home to the Phillies, the Yankees are now just 21-20 against teams with winning records, compared to a staggering 20-5 mark versus losing clubs.

In fact, New York hasn't taken a series from a team with a current above .500 winning percentage, aside from the Twins, since beating the Red Sox on May 7 and 8.

The Bombers have a chance to reverse that trend in the Subway Series this weekend against the Mets, a team that has won seven straight and took two of three from the Yanks at Citi Field last month.

In the flavor of Father's Day this weekend, we take a look back some of the most important and productive fathers of big leaguers in baseball history. The 10 duos make up some of the most famous pairs in baseball history. In some cases the son outperformed the father, others the father was the standard-bearer in the family.

In this list, however, we take a look specifically at the dads. For these sons could never had their careers if not for their fathers paving the way.

In a farm system of pitching prospects that have been flopping for the most part, left-handed reliever Roy Merritt has stood tall. Merritt recently has been promoted to AAA Buffalo after a year and a half of solid pitching at AA Binghamton.

Merritt deserves such mentioning because he has demonstrated consistency out of the bullpen that many other Minor League Mets prospects have yet to achieve. 

Yesterday, my son wanted to go to the Dairy Queen. Since I’m trying to eat healthy, I inquired about the selections they had that didn’t resemble candy.

The girl offered me a chocolate covered banana.

I said, “That’s it? Don't you have a more phallic desert?”

Obviously not. So when she handed the treat my way, one thing crossed my mind:

The Mets are the hottest team in baseball right now, finishing their second consecutive sweep on the road. The Mets had been struggling for most of the season on the road, not even being able to win a series before sweeping through Baltimore and Cleveland.

The Mets have been doing everything right, getting great pitching, fielding, and hitting. They have been hustling, getting key hits, and adding on extra runs when needed.

Here we are, New York Mets fans. It's nearing the midway point of the season, and the team we love is a half-game out of first, and 10 games above .500.

Who would have thunk it? Certainly not me.

I went into this season with mixed feelings about this team.

I felt that if they could stay healthy, they could put up a fight, and maybe sneak into the playoffs via the Wild Card.

I felt the pitching staff would be a major issue. I felt the team still lacked the "chemistry" that seems to be important when making a run at a championship.

The Double G Sports Expert Panel has been polled once again to come up with our Major League Baseball Power Rankings for June. This is the third installment of our power rankings this season.

For last months rankings, click here .

The NBA FInals are always fantastic. A Lakers-Celtics Finals is all-the-better. A Lakers-Celtics Game Seven is a can't miss.

We understand that you were pre-occupied with basketball last night. That's why we provide this primer on the top 10 things you missed in baseball yesterday.

This is a must read, because some of what you missed was nothing short of historical.

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