MLB

As fans, we see it every year. Players get off to hot starts, pleasing their fans and giving many a sportswriter a story to write about.

Of course, most of the time, the player reverts right back to the level of play we as fans expect, or worse. Maybe their overall statistics still look shiny, or maybe no one notices.

This season saw a large number of quick starters.

Mlbtraderumors. com reports that the Twins and Rangers are the two teams rumored to be most interested in acquiring Mike Lowell from the Red Sox.  Makes sense to me.

The current conventional wisdom is that the AL is the better of the two major leagues.  The Giants seem to be taking advantage of this fact.

Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Pat Burrell, and Santiago Casilla are all AL cast-offs who seem to have rediscovered their old glory coming (or returning) to the NL.  In the case of Burrell and Casilla, in particular, the sample sizes are too small to draw any firm conclusions.  However, even with them, the changes have been so dramatic that they’re worth commenting on.

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed veteran right-handed pitcher Kiko Calero to a minor league contracton Friday, but his call-up to the Major League roster can be expected, possibly in the next week.

Following being swept for the first time at Chavez Ravine by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, concerns are once again rising regarding Dodgers pitching. In the three games this weekend, the Dodgers' pitching staff surrendered 20 runs while the offense could only produce eight runs.

Just when you thought that you would never see him again after being traded to Philly this past offseason, Roy Halladay returns to clash with the Yankees in the Bronx.

Halladay is not the same as he was last year either, he's better.

Heading into tomorrow's game, his record stands at 8-4 to the tune of a 1.96 ERA, along with his 85 strikeouts and 14 walks.

And as many Yankee fans know, Halladay has done quite well to holding the Bombers down in the past, with an 18-6 record and 2.84 career ERA against the Yankees.

The Cincinnati Reds are seemingly caught up in their own hype.  Sure, they're currently in first place.  But they missed a huge opportunity to stab a midseason dagger right in the hearts of the St. Louis Cardinals and the rest of the NL Central last week.

The Cardiac Reds lead the NL Central by a game and a half. 

They also lead the league in come from behind wins, and victories in their last at bat—so "Cardiac Reds" is a perfect name for these guys—not a team for folks with weak tickers.

Ever since the Giants parted ways with Barry Bonds in 2008, wait check that, ever since the last couple seasons of Bonds's career, the San Francisco Giants simply couldn't score runs.

From 2006-2009, the Giants lived and died with their pitching staff. And prior to 2009, they did nothing but die with their pitching staff because in each of the previous four seasons, San Francisco finished under .500.

But then came 2009, and the Giants pitching staff put together one of the best seasons a staff has ever had.