Opinion

As far as Royals fans go, I am one of the more optimistic.

I retained my family's season tickets while away at college so I wouldn't lose my childhood vantage point when the team finally returned to the postseason.

I attend upwards of 40 games a season since I moved back to the nation's bread basket in 2004.

I was so confident in General Manager Dayton Moore's abilities that I placed a bet with a buddy that Mike Jacobs would hit 30+ HR, and, given the spacious Kauffman Stadium outfield, Coco Crisp would have an OPS north of .790 with 30+ SB.*

During the 1950s, the Yankees had a major league farm team named the Kansas City Athletics.

Larry Levensen is a Giants' fan who resented the Yankees because he knew that it was almost impossible to beat both the Yankees and their Kansas City farm team.

"I Will Probably Die Waiting for a World Championship ."

I was only four years old when the Giants won the 1954 World Series.

The Yankees have sure made a splash this offseason, but not by buying every player on the market. Unlike the big spending spree last year, the Yankees did not sign the best pitcher on the market, Lackey, and are unlikely to sign Holliday or Bay.

Brian Cashman has made himself known through trades with exception of Nick Johnson. They have acquired Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez, and Boone Logan while losing Melky Cabrera, Phil Coke, Mike Dunne, Arodys Vizcaino, Ian Kennedy, and coveted prospect Austin Jackson.

Whether you agree with me or not, and no matter if you like my writing or you do not, I want to send a message to everyone in the Chicago Cubs community on Bleacher Report:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

And, if you happen to be Jewish, Happy Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah.

After all, we're all Cubs fans, right? We may not see eye to eye, but we do have the Cubs best interest at heart.

I happen to think that, so far, this has been another horrible offseason for Cubs GM Jim Hendry. I also happen to think that the Cubs glass for 2010 is half-empty.

Hey bleacher report, its been a long time since my last post.

I've been busy with many different things the last three of four months,so I haven't really had a chance to post anything on b/r. But now I'm back, at least for the next week or so to talk about whatever is going on in sports (except for Tiger Woods). So here's a little piece about yet another Yankee mistake.

Austin Jackson. A name that confuses most Yankee fans.

Just a few weeks or so ago, Jose Valverde rejected the Houston Astros' offer of salary arbitration and decided to become a free agent. The prospect of re-signing with Houston for one year and around $10 million just didn't appeal to Hay-Val.

And as we've seen, that move seems to have backfired.

By now, I figured he'd wind up in another uniform. Perhaps the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox or even something as crazy as the Yomiuri Giants or Chunichi Dragons.

Okay, I'm no stranger to criticism. Despite the fact that most of my articles are pretty vanilla and fact-based, on occasion, I like to chase a walnut out onto a limb.

This is one of those times.

Baseball is facing an upcoming constitutional crisis. In the words of Mr. T, "you can't deny, fool!" There's no way around it; when Bud Selig goes, we've got to have our, er, stuff together.

So who steps into the void?

As the first decade of the 2000s comes to a close, it seems like a fine time for a little reflection.

The Twins have arguably been one of baseball’s best franchises during the past decade.

Largely under the watch of underrated skipper, Ron Gardenhire, the Twins have won the American League Central five times.

Even more impressively, the club has maintained a high level of competitiveness all decade long, as Minnesota only finished lower than third one time, way back in 2000.

The success of the club as a whole has come as a result of numerous players over the last ten years.