Opinion

Oh boy, the always panicked fan base of the Texas Rangers are all out of whack again...shocking I know.

One of the best quotes in the history of cinema was delivered by Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, and I think it fits perfectly with the life of a Rangers fan.

"Of course it's hard, if it wasn't everyone would do it...the hard is what makes it great."

Is it hard to be a Rangers fan?

Anyone that isn't has no idea how hard it is. Even Cubs fans have experienced some success in the playoffs.

With the All-Star game quickly approaching, the Detroit Tigers have to feel confident with their lead in the American League Central. The key for the Tigers this year has been their pitching and defense. Beyond the resurgence of Justin Verlander, Detroit has had all-star caliber contributions from Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello in the starting rotation.

Overall the Tigers are second in hits allowed, third in runs allowed, third in fielding percentage, and third in double plays turned. Clearly pitching and defense is the backbone.

After a memorable 2008 season that saw the Milwaukee Brewers make the Playoffs for the first time since 1982, expectations for the 2009 season were mixed.

Many people thought the Brewers wouldn't have enough pitching to make a return trip, while others thought their bats would carry them to the promised land for a second straight year.

The Brewers are about to begin a nine-game home stand that will see them try and regain first place after being overtaken by the St. Louis Cardinals.

When Ruben Amaro was appointed general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after the team’s 2008 World Series victory, he knew the only way his inaugural season would be considered a success was if the Phillies managed to make it back to the World Series. Not an enviable position to be in considering the difficulties involved in repeating, let alone making it back to the World Series two consecutive years in a row.

Growing up in Toronto during the heyday of the Blue Jays run to the back-to-back titles, I was blessed with being able to witness both the building of a championship team from scratch as well as the ability of a wealthy team and city paying big bucks to keep the team together.

While the Blue Jays payroll was at or near the top of the league in '92 and '93 when they won their titles, the differences from top to bottom were nothing like they are today.

In this past month, the New York Mets have turned into the New York Bets; people all around the world are betting on when the next Mets player will find himself with all the others on the bloated DL. Some even go a little bit farther and pick a player. 

Some of the biggest names on the Mets' disabled list are Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, JJ Putz, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and the newest player to join the club, Carlos Beltran. 

It's almost July. That means we have almost three months of MLB highlights, wins, losses, and data at our disposal. From this we can draw conclusions, project outcomes, and try to figure out the Rubik's Cube that is the 2009 baseball season.

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The Tampa Rays are positioned to take the American League East. 

They’ve been through their injuries. The Rays have played without BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett, Akinori Iwamura, Shawn Riggans, Pat Burrell, Troy Percival, Scott Kazmir, Chad Bradford, Jason Isringhausen, and Brian Shouse. 

Tampa Bay lost its replacement center fielder before the season even started, and they are only six games back.

Yesterday, I spent a while sitting in the car while driving to the Mets game, and I listened to Mike Francesa talk about how the Mets’ season is effectively over. He said, “Rather than the Mets trying to tread water, they are just trying to tread.”

While this may be an accurate statement, I am not going to be so quick to just give up on the team. That won’t solve any of our problems.

Remember what Tug McGraw said, "Ya gotta believe!"

Being already the 23rd of June in the year 2009, the current MLB season is over 40 percent complete.

This year's San Francisco Giants stand at 37-32, a record that few predicted for the orange and black, but more amazingly, they are doing it despite poor general managing and poor coaching.

First off, let it be clear that this is not a pessimistic article. In reality, it is an piece filled with optimism if you read between the lines.

But let's get to the issue at hand, shall we?