MLB

While the Nationals are off to a hot start, some question their ability to maintain their current level of success. Offensively, however, the club only has one batter who is clearly over-achieving and who will likely see a sharp decline in the near future: Ivan Rodriguez.

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week, we wonder if being on the road is a legitimate excuse for losing, compare our fantasy baseball teams, and answer a question about Justin Masterson that has inspired no less than two Tribe Talk panelists to begin writing a manifesto on the topic.

When you think of recent Yankees teams, generally the first thing that comes to mind is the high-scoring offense.

With guys like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Derek Jeter leading your offense, the Yankees are never out of any games where they are behind.

But when you get right down to what the major strength of the current Yankees really is, you will see that it is the starting pitching.

The latest article by the Wall Street Journal puzzles me to say the least.

According to the report , the Cincinnati Reds are the third most hated team in baseball with a 1.5 ranking.

An Internet algorithm built by Nielsen Co . analyzes how people feel about certain things, and the nation apparently hates the Reds. The system uses various keywords to find out whether people have positive, negative or neutral reactions to different brands and products.

When at his best, AJ Burnett is one of the best pitchers in baseball.

When Burnett is at his best, he is dominant.

When he is at his best is the key.

Every other time, he seems downright terrible.

The last World Series was a prime example.

Burnett started Game Two. He was brilliant, giving up one lonely run and scattered four hits in seven innings of work. The victory jump-started the Yankees in the World Series who, at the time, had a one-game deficit to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Boston Red Sox got another outstanding performance from their starting pitcher. Clay Buchholz pitched eight strong innings on Tuesday. Jon Lester followed with a masterpiece of his own on Wednesday night as the Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 at Rogers Center.

The victory gives Boston a clean sweep over Toronto.

Lester certainly had his best performance of the season. The left handed southpaw pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, walked two and struck out 11 while throwing a total of 119 pitches, 75 of them for strikes.

"What kind of baseball do you play?" That question was addressed to George Castle by Cub manager Lou Piniella yesterday when Castle questioned his strategy in the eighth inning of a Cubs loss to the Washington Nationals.

The question asked was why with a man on second and nobody out and Mike Fontenot at the plate and the Cubs trailing by a run that Piniella didn't have him bunt him over to third.

On Aug. 16, 1969, New York's most beloved team, the New York Mets, beat the victory-challenged expansion San Diego Padres in the first game of a 10-game home stand.

At the time, the third-place Mets trailed the division-leading Chicago Cubs by nine games.

On Aug. 24, the Mets completed the home stand by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was New York's ninth victory in the 10 games.

Earlier this week, the Phillies gave first baseman Ryan Howard a contract extension through the year 2016.

This contract makes him the second highest-paid player in baseball and seems to ensure that he will be a member of the Philadelphia Phillies for the foreseeable future.

They locked up one of the franchise’s greatest players for years to come. This should be a good thing, right?

Not if you believe the statheads.

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was hit in the knee with a pitch from Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie in the second inning yesterday and had to come out of the game after he felt numbness while running the bases. There is no long-term damage done to Posada, but he will probably have to sit at least a day according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.