Opinion

As you might have heard, we have a brand new Cy Young award winner that happens to pitch for the Kansas City Royals. His name is none other than Zack Greinke.

Greinke won the award last week after turning on one of the best pitching seasons that Royals fans have seen since the days of Brett Saberhagen and David Cone. With the award, he became just the third K.C. pitcher to win the prestigious award. The other two of course, being the aforementioned Saberhagen and Cone.

Jeff Bagwell is a name that resonates with the Houston Astros franchise.

Growing up in Houston and being branded a die-hard Astros fan since birth, I remember watching in awe as Bagwell smoked balls out of the ballpark.

I really think people tend to forget how good Bagwell really was.

Actually, Bagwell was the very first professional athlete I ever interviewed way back in the mid-90’s (I want to say it was 1994).

The hit song at the time was Sister Hazel’s “All For You” and Drayton McLane (at least to the best of my knowledge) already had gray hair.

In a showdown of American League's "best," it probably comes as a surprise to very few (living outside of New York) that Joe Mauer won the Most Valuable Player Award walking away. The only other first-place vote went to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.

Catchers seem to have a bone tossed their way on a regular basis, don't they?

What's that? You disagree, you say?

The Clay Buchholz rumors are flying again.

The Red Sox are interested in a big hitter, like Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers or Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres.

Trading for either Cabrera or Gonzalez would likely involve a huge package of young players, almost definitely including Clay Buchholz.

Buchholz has taken steps back from his no-hitter in September of 2007. But down the stretch in 2009, Buchholz was great, anchoring the Red Sox staff behind Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. 

Professionals in the game of baseball, managers perhaps more than players, will hate to admit this. But it was fantasy baseball that shaped a lot of how we now think about the actual sport. And while few, if any teams are as yet run by amateurs, it must be conceded that the amateurs to the game revolutionized the way the game is currently run.

Conducting his second television interview in as many days, Manny Acta sat on the set of All Bets Are Off with Bruce Drennan knowing full well he was about to drop a bombshell.

The idea was brought up in the past few weeks and was even denied by Mets general anager Omar Minaya. However, when push came to shove, the idea was about to become a reality much to the delight of the entire city of Cleveland.

Gary Sheffield was quoted in the Boston Globe over the weekend saying he could hit at least 25 home runs if a team gives him the chance to play every day.

He even went so far as to say that he could hit upwards of 40 home runs in the proper situation. 

I hate to say it, Gary, but it's time to hang it up. 

To put the current length of his career in perspective, Sheffield was drafted sixth overall in the amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers just four months after I was born in 1986. 

So much for staying together for the kids.

Now I know what it must feel like for those poor children on Jon & Kate Plus 8 watching their parents go through a bitter custody battle, because it appears the same thing is happening to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays organization - they're breaking up.

Over the past 10 days or so, rumors have encircled the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs, centered around the potential trade of current Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson to the Cubs. Chicago has made it a priority to find a center fielder with an above-average bat this winter, and with a career line of .272/.344/.484, Granderson certainly fits that bill.