MLB

The Yankees have whittled their magic number down to 20 as they go for their eighth win in a row this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Here are some notes:

After the acquisition of closer Matt Capps, the Minnesota Twins had a consistent bullpen. Every reliever knew what his job was going to be. Every reliever had his inning.

It was organized. Peaceful.

Flash forward a month.

The Twins acquired two more relievers: Randy Flores off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies and Brian Fuentes via trade from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States in North America.

CHICAGO— It's that time of year in Major League Baseball. Teams who are no longer in the race get a good look at what their future holds. For the Mets, it's no different.

Alive only mathematically in the NL playoff race, they will start a young pitcher for the first time in his career. 20-year-old Jenrry Mejia will get the call this afternoon, after impressing during his past three Minor League starts.

Can the 2010 season for the Colorado Rockies get any more strange?

Nyjer Morgan's latest suspension for charging Marlins P Chris Volstad for throwing behind him drew a ludicrous eight game suspension from Bud Selig, in addition to his previous seven game suspension currently under appeal.

Volstad allegedly threw behind Morgan in retaliation for a heinous crime: Stealing two bases in a row when his team was down by 10 runs.

Oh no. He's lucky he doesn't get suspended for that, too.

What else is there to say about the starting pitching and, more specifically, Cole Hamels?

The guy has been lights out for most of the season, and appears to be more focused than he's ever been during his time in Philly. The immature side-issues seem all but gone, he appears to have grown up, and he seems to really be hitting his stride as a consistent pitcher.

Josh Hamilton left Friday's game versus the Twins with back stiffness.

The injury doesn't appear to be too serious after hearing Hamilton's comments, but the Rangers were already worried about his achy knee that has flared up again. If you looked at the Texas slugger's performance lately, you couldn't tell he's been banged up.

To me, the Mets being irrelevant in August is no laughing matter. Being an afterthought while the Yankees are thriving across town isn't a joke. Being laughed at by Phillies fans instead of respected and hated isn't a knee slapping good time for me, or any Mets fan that I know who cares about the team.

Even when the Mets’ bats finally wake up, they still lose. This afternoon against the Cubs, the team scored six runs, something they hadn’t done since August 24, but still could not earn the victory.

The Mets jumped out to an early lead with a David Wright two RBI double in the top of the first off Randy Wells. They added another run on a botched double play off the bat of Joaquin Arias to take a 3-0 lead.

The year 2010 has been the year of the pitcher in Major League Baseball. It is filled with no-hitters and perfect games, from very different pitchers all throughout the league. 

Last year, Zack Greinke surprised us all by having a 3 under ERA, and earning 15 wins even with low run support. 

This year, only two pitching candidates are veterans, and one is only 24 years old (guess who it is)!

This has certainly been a surprising and exciting season thus far, and this discussion gives us another reason to love baseball.