MLB

Carter’s MLB Team Power Rankings:
NOTE: team W-L records and player statistics updated through Sunday morning, 11:00 AM

1. Tampa Bay Rays (34-16)
Despite being swept by the Red Sox, I still don’t think there’s much to worry about with this team. They still have great hitting, pitching, and continue to play well on the road.

2. New York Yankees (29-20)
As I’ve said before, I like teams with offense. That’s exactly what the Yankees have. A good offense.

3. Minnesota Twins (29-20)

I realize that A-Rod is a great player and has hit a ton of home runs over his career. Rodriguez strikes fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers.

But he is in his mid 30's now, possibly the twilight of his prime, and he just hasn't had the same power stroke this year.

Should someone else bat fourth in the Yankee lineup? I say yes.

The question is, who can do a better job than A-Rod? Not Teixeira with his struggles right now. Possibly Swisher. But Nick seems inconsistent year in and year out.

By most measures, Bryce Harper is the pick of the 2010 draft class. He is a multi-tool offensive player that is also believed to be able to play several positions. There is a chance the Pittsburgh Pirates will be able to draft him. There is a larger chance that they won't.

Based on their 2009 records, the Pirates have the second overall draft pick in 2010, with the Washington Nationals coming in first. Washington is believed to prefer Harper, just as it selected Steve Strasburg with last year's first pick.

It’s time to look at the potential two-start options for the upcoming fantasy week.  If I have someone rated as a three, four or five-star option, they are someone I would definitely use.  A two-star option is someone who is borderline, but I’d strongly lean against it unless I have no other options.  The one-star options are an absolutely not scenario.

So, with that said, let’s take a look at the players available to you this week:

With the Phoenix Suns now eliminated from the NBA Playoffs, the Phoenix Coyotes now focusing on a bleak future in Arizona, and a general declining interest for the Arizona Cardinals and Arizona State football in their upcoming seasons, the attention for many Phoenix and Arizona sports fans has shifted to the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks.

And boy, it isn't pretty.

Dodgertown is not in a Galaxy far, far away.  It is a place in the minds and hearts of Dodger fans everywhere.

Had I not seen it in a United States Marine Corps ad campaign, I would have thought the line was writen for us, "The Few, The Proud, the Residents of Dodgertown USA".

The baseball season is long and sometimes a little drawn out. But what if the 2010 campaign ended today?

What would the end result be? And who would win those fabulous awards we love to see our favorite players robbed of each year? Let's start with the playoff pictures.

American League East: Tampa Bay Rays

American League Central: Minnesota Twins

American League West: Oakland Athletics

American League Wildcard: New York Yankees

National League East: Philadelphia Phillies

National League Central: Cincinnati Reds

As if the MLB season wasn’t long enough already, fantasy baseball mock drafts in late January/early February allow us to enjoy America’s pastime a little bit longer.

That is, unless your roster is filled with busts when you finally draft the team that matters.

Unbelievable? 

Amazin?

No. Just Same Ole Mets.

Just when you thought the Mets were going to pull themselves out of the cellar, they prove us wrong once again. The 2010 Mets are the greatest mirage in baseball. One minute they look like world beaters, the next like chumps.

Let me ask Mets nation: Is Jerry Manuel back on the hot seat?

The New York Mets were hotter than a fire cracker after an inspiring three game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies—a 5-1 home stand that saw them beat both Philadelphia and the New York Yankees.

The New York Yankees announced they had acquired Columbia University star baseball player Lou Gehrig on June 12, 1923, although the signing had occurred a little more than a month before.

Henry Louis Gehrig had the reputation of being the "Babe Ruth of the colleges" because he hit the ball farther than any other college player.

Gehrig made his Yankees' debut on June 15, 1923 as a ninth inning defensive replacement for first baseman Wally Pipp. It would not be the only time that Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp.