NL Central

He just won't seem to go away.

Sammy Sosa said in an interview with Chicago Magazine his number should be retired in the Chicago Cubs organization.

"That number should be untouchable because of the things that I did for that organization," Sosa said. "That right there shows me that they don't care about me, and they don't want to have a good relationship with me."

For all of the doubters, take a look at where the Pirates' overall organizational depth is right now compared to where it was at this point three seasons ago.

While it doesn't currently show at the major league level, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and staff have done a tremendous job of loading up the organization with young talent.

Who is the best hitter in Major League Baseball?

Well, that depends on several factors:

Are you asking for the most skilled hitter, or the most valuable?

Do you want a guy who can winning batting titles, or home runs titles?

Should hitting be judged by ability, or by production?

All good questions, and depending on your answers, you might conclude that the best hitter in baseball is Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Ryan Howard, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, or Joey Votto.

Winning a Triple Crown is one of the rarest feats in all of baseball. Very rarely do we even see one player contending for the average, home run, and RBI titles.

And you're telling me that there are three contenders in the National League this year?

Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez, Cincinnati's Joey Votto, and St. Louis's Albert Pujols are all in the hunt for the Triple Crown. And if none of them wins the honor, it will be one of them that keeps another from winning.

All season long, these three have been hitting absurdly for average and power.

No major leaguer has won a triple crown since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in his World Series season of 1967 with 44 homers, 121 RBI, and .326 batting average.

The last National Leaguer to win the triple crown was another St. Louis Cardinal,  Joe "Ducky" Medwick, who batted .374 with 31 home runs and 154 RBI.

Both are Hall of Famers.

"A good ball club" - Yogi Berra, when asked about what makes a good manager.

Recent history has shown what a good baseball team can do to the perception of a manager.

Dusty Baker suddenly has his "magic" back now that the Reds have stocked up with great young talent, and veterans that still have the skills like Scott Rolen.

Joe Torre is suddenly just another guy now that the Dodgers consist of a mediocre roster.

Joe Girardi went from a failure in 2008 to a great manager again in 2009.

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella has seen enough of this season apparently and has decided to retire from it and his career after Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves. 

In mid-July, Piniella had announced that this would be his final season in the big leagues, after 18 seasons as a player and 22 as a manager.

Third base coach Mike Quade will serve manager the rest of the Cubs' season.

Assuming that everything that owner Tom Ricketts has told us is true, and Jim Hendry really will be leading the search for the next Cubs manager to replace the retiring (retired?) Lou Piniella, do not believe that former Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg is a lock to be the man.

In fact, if you read into the tea leaves, Hendry doesn't feel that Ryno is ready to be a major league manager and instead would prefer one with previous major league experience.

Aroldis Chapman needs to be playoff eligible. And before anyone starts an inner dialogue—yes, the Reds will be in the playoffs.

Secret weapon. Remember those?

Being a former secret weapon myself, as a cannon-armed quarterback for my flag football team in college, I am fully aware of their value. I remember being down late in a game. I was brought in to start a monumental comeback against the TKE fraternity's team.

I was 3-for-3 with two touchdown passes.

Just a day after the latest Diamondbacks bullpen implosion, the team was back on the field trying to avoid being swept by the red hot Cincinnati Reds.

With the Diamondbacks facing a left-handed pitcher, everyone expected changes to Arizona’s line-up.

Left-handed hitting catcher Miguel Montero was replaced by the right-handed hitting John Hester.