Opinion

A message to Rockies fans: One series loss does not mean the team is in a downward spiral!

Yes, I will admit the two losses in a row were a surprise to me, but not troubling. Two losses in a row does not mean a team is beginning to struggle.

It means that the Rockies are, after all, human.

However, that is not to take anything away from the success that the Rockies are finding on the diamond.

This team has shown the world that they should be included when the conversation turns to the top teams in baseball.

In the state of today's economy in relation to baseball, many teams cannot afford to spend the endless dollars that the Yankees and other teams continue to throw at players.

However, in this decade and actually this century the Yankees have only won one World Series, which was the actual year 2000.

Somewhere amid the ridiculous buzz surrounding super-prospect Matt Wieters, and the noise following Nolan Reimold, Jason Berken, Brad Bergesen, and David Hernandez, super utility guy Oscar Salazar got the call up to Baltimore.

It's not as if he didn't earn it. He along with Reimold and the injured Lou Montanez were all hitting above .370 at the time of their call up. He also had ten home runs and 43 RBI in 50 games at AAA Norfolk. The difference between Salazar and Reimold however, may be the very same reason why the former is a perfect fit for these O's.

I’m tired of hearing the name. As citizens and baseball loyalist, our minds should be weary of the one player whose worse than Donald Duck when tempers flare. The childish tantrums have been everywhere, this explains why Milton Bradley has played for seven different teams in his troubling nine seasons.

Thank you once again, Bud Selig. Twelve years ago, you gave baseball fans across the country, and especially in the New York/New Jersey market, something to watch every June and July: inter-league play.

So far this season, the Tampa Bay Rays' pitching staff has looked more like a M.A.S.H unit. Even though there are still pitchers on the disabled list, there are reasons for hope in St. Petersburg. Here are some reasons why the Rays' pitchers will help the Rays contend during the second half of the season:

1. Scott Kazmir's return from the D.L.

There was a welcome sight at US Cellular Field on Friday, and it wasn't just Lou standing up to Milton Bradley's temper. Aramis Ramirez was taking batting practice again. Lou described this as the final stretch in getting the motor of the Cubs offence back.

He will go out on a three or four game rehab assignment, and should be back a week before the all star game. So while that is fantastic news, that I'm sure will be covered in great detail here at BR by other writers, it got me thinking about another aspect of the Cubs line-up.

To say the least, Koji Uehara has had a very up-and-down rookie season with the Baltimore Orioles. In 12 starts, he is 2-4 with a 4.05 ERA, has walked just 12 in 66 and two thirds innings, and has yet to hit batter. While he's done a good job for a rookie, he's had his share of downs.

O's fans have come to notice he doesn't have much to work with after the fifth inning. He has pitched seven innings just once, an Apr. 19 start against the Boston Red Sox in which he allowed two runs in a loss.

$200-plus million is a lot of money. And yes, there is a point to this rather obvious statement.

The transfer fees agreed to by Real Madrid last week for Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka were stunners, even by the inflated standards of world football. 

Real's approach for much of the past decade has been the signing of veritable dream teams of world-renowned talents, known as "galacticos."  Names like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Raul, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, and now Kaka and Cristiano.

Circle the wagons, grab your money, buy the seats, because the Cleveland Indians we expected are ready to return. Travis Hafner shows signs of the player of years gone by and Grady Sizemore has returned. Asdrubal Cabrera should return to shortstop next week. Aaron Laffey is slated to return to the starting rotation.

Now its time for Wedge to make the Great Experiment: a set lineup.