Opinion

Let me preface this by saying that I have seen no linkage of any kind between the Atlanta Braves and Felipe Lopez.

Brett Gardner had 284 plate appearances last year, and during approximately 284 of them I was screaming at my TV begging him to bunt.

Maybe 284 sacrifices is a bit much for one season, but when you have as much speed as the Yankees' outfielder does, it makes sense to lay one down once in a while to see if you can beat the throw to first.

This is why I was pleased to learn today that the 26-year-old has practiced more bunting this offseason. Because, after all, it's hard to steal bases if you're not on base.

After the 2008 season, the Mariners fired GM Bill Bavasi and hired Jack Zduriencik.

Led by GM Jack Zduriencik, the Mariners made bold moves over the last couple of years to make them the favorite to win the AL West in 2010.

This is a look at the seven best moves JZ has orchestrated.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

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When I have a couple of things to write about at the same time and don't feel like making separate posts about each one, I combine them under a heading I like to call Quick Hops.

Every now and then, I get some information passed along to me. You can take the information for what it's worth to you. At this point, after all, I am just a fan of the team that enjoys sharing his thoughts about it.

So, with that disclaimer out of the way, let me pass along what I've been told.

With the New York Yankees making the move to (re)acquire Javier Vasquez they now have a solid four-man rotation in C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Vasquez.  Wang won't be returning—which is a shame because he did have a budding career, but the injury-bug plagued and staked its claim in his system. 

The Yankees were able to make their way through the playoffs with the three-man weave, but if another series were to come up, they may have been toast.

Work has kept me away from Bleacher Report for a couple weeks now, and I do apologize for that. But I am back with another topic for the Yankee section to talk about and discuss.

It was reported recently that Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was not going to talk contract extensions with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Joe Girardi before the season starts in 2010.

Relax, this is nothing new from the team. If anything, it's a good thing.

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams is known for saying, "He better stay out of Chicago White Sox business." That was a reference to Frank Thomas commenting on the team when he was no longer playing for them.

Perhaps Kenny should tell his hypocritical owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, to stay out of Chicago Cubs business.

How ironic: The Man of Many Positions for the Tigers may soon be the Man of None.

If the Tigers sign Johnny Damon, as has been widely speculated, and insert him in left field, there doesn’t seem to be any place for Carlos Guillen to play—at least, no position that involves putting on a mitt.

The month was January 2009. It was a simpler time, when unemployment was only in the single digits, Michael Jackson was still alive, and baseball awards were still predicated on RBI totals and Wins.

We can thank the latter of all that for the mistake that occurred: Jim Rice, in his last Hall of Fame ballot, was elected into the Hall of Fame.

He of magical, feared 128 OPS+ glory, like other feared players Ryan Klesko and Jimmy Wynn.

As the 2010 postseason comes to an end we here at Bronx Baseball Daily have been running through the Yankees roster and previewing each player. We take a look at their 2009 season and what their 2010 expectations will be.

This is a very strong team that compares favorably to the 2009 World Champions so let’s take a look a bit closer. They certainly should be able to defend their title as long as they stay healthy.

We’ve covered 15 players so far: