MLB

Not literally, but the Cincinnati Reds do need to do it figuratively.

Memorial Day weekend is just a few days away—marking the unofficial start to Summer—and for baseball, this weekend also marks the "real" start to the season.

In his first three Triple-A starts, Stephen Strasburg did not allow a run—earned or otherwise—while blowing away the more seasoned hitters in the highest minor league.

You may have heard some rumblings about this Stephen Strasburg guy. Allegedly, he's pretty good.

Check that: he must be good, as usually the only time a Washington National warrants media attention is in relation to a comedy of errors (cough, cough, Nyjer Morgan , cough, cough).

Last summer, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Henderson is one of the greatest players of all time, and an easy choice for voters.

Rice was a more difficult choice, making it after more than a decade on the ballot. But plenty of worthy candidates remain on the outside looking in.

In Bill James' book about the Hall of Fame, he suggests that fans often try to make cases for players they grew up watching, and liked.

We should focus more on the best players we can put in, rather than simply making a case for a player because we can.

The New York Mets have been perhaps the most volatile team so far this season.

They have shown flashes of World Series quality baseball, by winning eight games in a row in April, and have struggled miserably at other times, losing nine of 11 games in mid-may.

As much as the Mets season has been a roller coaster ride, the hype surrounding Jerry Manuel has been just as crazy.

When the team has been playing badly, Manuel has received a lot of criticism and a lot of Mets fans have been calling for his firing.

With the major league baseball draft about two weeks away, there are many teams still scrambling around trying to figure out what to do.

High School versus College? Power bat versus Pitcher? Immediate help or projection player?

High school or prep telent is looked upon as what is their ceiling. There is a lot or projectibility here, whereas college talent usually has almost all their tools in order. They basically need some refinement.

It wasn't too much of surprise when 33-year-old Roy Oswalt requested a trade from the Astros last week.

After all, the Astros and their awful offense aren't going anywhere in 2010 and the right-handed Mississippi native isn't getting any younger.

But, what was surprising was the list of teams Oswalt offered up for teams he'd wave his no-trade clause to go to.

St. Louis, Texas, and the Atlanta Braves.

Two pitching-rich franchises with polished arms in their rotations and an up-and-coming Rangers squad not necessarily in need of a big contract?

There is much hype surrounding the impending promotion of Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals to the big leagues. Deservedly so. If he wasn't hyped up enough before being drafted by Washington, he's proved his mettle in the minors this season, specifically with his spotless 0.00 ERA after 18 1/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse.

Every Baseball fan knows Milton Bradley for one thing and unfortunately it's not for his playing ability.

With his newest club Seattle, Bradley is batting .222 with 2 home runs and 12 RBI.

He is also getting paid $11 million.

Bradley has been with eight different teams throughout his ten years in the majors, and it just seems like he can't find a good fit.

Are these teams paying Bradley for his bat or for pure entertainment?

You decide!

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When a team musters just a single run in a three game series, it doesn't take a genius to figure out the offense is struggling.

Essentially, changes to the San Francisco Giants' lineup are a guarantee.

Even if their manager was napping in the clubhouse during the past three games, changes would be made after looking at the final box scores.

Once the manager wakes up after such a dreadful offensive series, he will see 20 straight zeros in the boxscore and will naturally be inclined to shake things up.