Opinion

The Yankees and the Pirates played their first exhibition games of the season this afternoon at Legends Field. It looked like a mismatch on paper even for a spring training game.

Not only are the Yankees stacked right now, but their minor league system looks much better than the Pirates. That's what happens when a team has many resources to work with.

The Yankees began their 2010 Grapefruit schedule with three pitchers entwined in what the Yankees label a "competition" for the last spot in their rotation.

Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves each pitched two scoreless innings in their first game action of 2010. 

However, regardless of their performance over the next month, I have a hard time believing the Yankees will break camp with one of those three as their fifth starter.

For two seasons, the Washington Nationals have been the worst team in baseball and have come close to matching the 1962 Mets for baseball’s all-time futility.

Things began to change last spring when then general manager Jim Bowden was forced out and replaced by current GM Mike Rizzo. In July, manager Manny Acta was fired in favor of Jim Riggleman.

Adam Dunn became the team’s first quality free agent signing two winters ago.

Cincinnati Reds' manager Dusty Baker has announced that Aaron Harang will once again take the ball for the first game of the regular season in 2010.

He has been has starter the opener every year since 2006.  Harang's fifth consecutive Opening Day ties the team record set by Pete Donohue (1923-27) and Mario Soto (1982-87).

You really have to pitch well the previous year to receive this honor right? 

Wrong.

It's finally March.

Baseball is in the air as the 2010 season is looming.

Now, in the offseason, there were many discussions on the potential 2010-2011 free agent class because the 2009-2010 free agent class was such a disappointing one.

One of the top names of the list is the 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer, who is in the final year of his contract with the Twins.

The Mets have played their first spring training game and emerged victorious with a minor league team as the regulars were pulled due to the inclement weather yesterday.

Jerry Manuel, David Wright, John Maine, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, and others have been interviewed at great length, and it's apparent that they are excited for this year. 

They want to win, and they know they have a lot to prove to themselves, the management, and the fans. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are officially locking down their future in the signing of Justin Upton. The Diamondbacks and Upton agreed to a six-year $51.26 million contract extension yesterday.

The deal will carry him through the 2015 season, when he will be turning 29 years old.

Upton batted .300/.366/.532 with 26 homers, 86 RBI, and 20 stolen bases last season. He is expected to be well worth the money but only time will tell if he will really produce.

Any fan of sabermetrics or the Boston Red Sox knows that Jacoby Ellsbury was something of a defensive liability in 2009.

For those of you who aren’t hip to the latest statistical trends, Ultimate Zone Rating is currently the best available method of measuring fielding, providing an estimate of how many runs a player saved (or cost) his team with his glove.

Manny Corpas is a polarizing figure amongst Rockies fans.

Just two nights into his tenure as the host of KNBR 680 AM's Sports Phone 680, the evening show that airs at 7 p.m., former big leaguer F.P. Santangelo is proving to be an upgrade over the overly opinionated, sometimes under-informed Damon Bruce.