Opinion

At the beginning of June, the Colorado Rockies were in the basement of the NL West, a comfortable place for them, sitting at 20 and 29, 13.5 games out of first.

At the end of June, the Rockies were only 7.5 games back of first, and only 1.5 games out of the NL wild card.

Many things were positive for the Rockies in the month, so let's take a look into some specific numbers that helped Colorado climb the mountain in the standings.

It’s funny how things have changed. A little over two months ago Mets skipper Jerry Manuel had all but officially denounced Ryan Church as an everyday player. There were rumblings that Church would eventually be traded. For the next month or so Church fell out of the limelight, rarely earning a start in right field.

The Mariners signed Guillermo Pimentel on Thursday, effectively stealing him from the Rangers.

It may have proved that the Mariners aren’t committed, at least not to the hell-or-high-water extent that the previous members of front office were committed to their own specialized recipe for success, to defense.

Actually, perhaps the proper characterization is that the team has actually acquired a philosophy and stopped hiding from the evolution of baseball scouting.

For a guy with a 22-17 career record, a 3.23 ERA, and twice as many strikeouts as walks, Zachary Britton sure doesn't get a lot of attention. 

A third-round pick who puts up the kind of numbers that Britton has usually is considered a top-level prospect. Yet somehow, Britton couldn't even crack the organization's top 10. Some bemoan his lack of strike-throwing ability, while others say he doesn't work deep enough into games.

But the facts speak clearer than any opinions. When Britton is on his game, he is one of the best that the Orioles have to offer.

A.J Hinch was the President of Player Developement, before he was hired as head coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bob Melvin lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to thier first divison title in five years when he was hired, before he was fired by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Many people were puzzled by why this happened, wondering why this would help the falling Arizona Diamondbacks record. Look at AJ Hinchs Record with the Diamondbacks compared to Bob Mevins this season.

Clutch: the word that is tattooed into every idiotic baseball fan's vocabulary, and into the ears of every intelligent baseball fan during an argument regarding a player's talent. 

Why is it that we assign more value to performances in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings as opposed to the previous six innings? 

Why is it Joe Crede can strike out three times, leaving nine men on base, but if he hits a solo home run in the ninth inning to send the fans home, he is glorified for his performance?

As the San Francisco Giants try to determine whether they are going to buy or sell at the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, right fielder Nate Schierholtz is beginning to prove that he is a legitimate major leaguer.

We always heard that Schierholtz could play, but because of a variety of things—reliance on older players or the lack of regular playing time in the majors—he hasn't seen any real opportunity to show he could hang with the big boys.

The 2009 season for the Chicago Cubs has not gone exactly as planned. Injuries, power outages, suspensions, "lack of fire"—you name it, it's gone wrong for the Cubs so far this year.

One bright spot for the team this season has been midseason call-up Jake Fox. In 23 games over his two stints with the big league club this season, Fox has hit .317 with three HR and 12 RBI. Prior to his call-up, he was lighting up AAA Iowa, with obscene stats of .409 BA, 17 HR, and 53 RBI in just 45 games. 

George Steinbrenner is one of the most controversial people in baseball.

Since purchasing the Yankees in 1973, the Yanks have won six World Series and 10 pennants.

He's brought many great players to the Yankees, and they're usually overpriced.

He instituted the Yankees' famous grooming policy. 

He paid a gambler to find “dirt” on Dave Winfield, one of his own players!

Since the beginning of the season, I've been watching the Washington Nationals play a very unique brand of baseball. Most of us wrote off last year's 59-102 debacle as a perfect storm, a confluence of off-years, green pitching and bad luck.

I mean, there is no way that the Nationals would repeat last year's .366 winning percent in 2009, right?

Right.