MLB

In a list of greatest players in the history of one of baseball’s most storied franchise, the names at the top of Boston’s list are Hall of Famers.

Williams. Yastrzemski. Rice. Doerr. Young.

So it is not every day that a player comes along with enough caliber to crack the top part of such a list.

One such player did emerge in the summer of 1997.

If Nate Robertson were a right-handed pitcher, he’d be as expendable as a finished bag of potato chips.

Robertson ought to thank the right-minded God who made him a lefty, because that’s what’s keeping him in the big leagues right now.

The Tigers say that, if worst comes to worst, they’d be happy to venture north with five righties in their starting rotation—if they are the five best, most capable starters.

That’s a bunch of bull excrement.

Before we get to Mr. Scruggs' comments during his "Newy and Richie" show on 105.3 FM in Dallas this morning, let me start by saying that I'm a big fan of Newy's and a loyal listener to his show.

That being said, I grew up as a San Diego Padre fan and lived in Southern California for almost eight years of my life. I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons at Petco Park watching the Padres and guys like Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy, and Adrian Gonzalez.

Many baseball lifers point to center field as the immortalized position in Yankee history—and potentially in all of Major League Baseball. Any list headed by Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle deserves such acclaim, but some may forget what is slipping in under the radar in a close second place.

The Yankees have celebrated a long lineage of world class backstops in their illustrious history.

Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' president, made an explosive revelation at the Wilberforce State University annual football dinner on Feb. 16, 1948.

In a candid and passionate speech to an audience of about 250 individuals, Mr. Rickey disclosed extremely damaging information about a document that allegedly was approved before Jackie Robinson became the major leagues' first black player.

Just hours after the news about Jose Reyes' pending stint on the DL filtered down to the players at Tradition Field, it was business as usual as spring training continued in earnest.

There wasn't too much of note coming out of the 8-2 defeat to the Boston Red Sox.  But here are a few pieces of information to consider when you're looking to whet your appetite now that today's game with the Twins has been rained out.

Starting Pitching

In Seattle Mariners' history, there have been dry spells (see 1980s) and hot streaks (see late 1990s and early 2000s). In most franchise-changing moments, the winning play can be traced to a single at-bat that changed the course of the game.

In this article, I have identified what I believe to be the five most important hits in Seattle Mariners history. Some of these are milestones accomplished by the franchise's most prestigious players. Others are single at-bats in which one man turned the fate of a series upside down.

The cleanup hitters. They are the backbone of a big league lineup. They are the home run hitters, the run producers and often the biggest weapon a team can put in the box. The 30 different cleanup hitters have varied success in their role, but they all serve the same purpose-to put runs on the board.

Often times the cleanup hitter is the team's best hitter, other times they are simply the guy who can change the complexion of a game with one swing. Here is a look at the best cleanup hitters in baseball.

Take yourself back to that fateful Thursday October night in 2006 when Flushing was the center of the baseball world, Shea Stadium was filled to capacity and the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals battled in the seventh and final game of the National League Championship Series.

The Boston Red Sox not only ended their 86-year drought of not winning a world title last decade, but they also tacked on another one three years later.

Can they add to their trophy case in 2010? You have to think they will be one of the favorites to do so.

Boston is one of the biggest-spending teams in the leagues, and while they do have to battle through the toughest division in baseball, fans can rest assured that the Red Sox will do whatever it takes to field a winner.

Now let's see how they are going to stack up in 2010.