Opinion

I will try to keep this as respectful as possible, because you are still my favorite Atlanta Braves player of all time.

I understand that you were upset after the Braves “disrespected” you back in January. I was quite upset as well.

Seriously man, you need to get over it soon. Your constant hostility and sour grapes are getting old.

One of the big questions when it comes to professional athletes in modern day society is whether or not they should be role models.

In fact, I wrote a huge piece on it for school. In that piece, I gave the athletes the benefit of the doubt and basically said that these men and women are not superhuman and they are going to make mistakes, whether it be Michael Phelps getting caught smoking marijuana or Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jiri Tlusty posting naked pictures of himself on the Internet.

Both of these kids aren't even old enough to drink. One is barely old enough to legally drive by himself.  Stephen Strasburg, 20, and Bryce Harper, 16, are baseball's future. Strasburg, a starting pitcher out of San Diego State University, and Harper, a catcher out of Las Vegas High School, have both been called baseball's saviors.

In this article, I'll get an in-depth analysis of each player's strengths, and then give my opinion of which player I'd rather build a franchise around.

Stephen Strasburg

The trade winds are blowing at full force, and it's only June 5.

In the eye of the storm, you'll find the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox apparently have been shopping around players such as Brad Penny, Daniel Bard, Julio Lugo, and pitching prospect Michael Bowden—all in hopes of acquiring a strong bat to make up for designated hitter David Ortiz's lack of production.

According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox have been talking about a Brad Penny-for-Jeff Francoeur deal. The Red Sox have been scouting Francoeur for awhile, and the Braves are looking for a new starter after the release of 305-game winner Tom Glavine.

Apparently, the Red Sox had the deal in place, but the Braves then backed out of the deal, seemingly no longer desiring Penny.

It would appear that the guys running things at the Major League Baseball Commissioner's office are bored or are simply looking for new ways to irritate teams, owners, and fans.

The most recent atrocity committed by Bud's gang was the six game suspension issued to New York Yankees' pitcher A.J. Burnett for "throwing at" Nelson Cruz of the Rangers. While the pitch was definitely up and in, Burnett never actually plunked Cruz, yet he still got the suspension and was fined an undisclosed amount of money.

The Mets last played the Nationals on May 25. The Mets had just taken two of three from the Red Sox and were fresh off a tough 12-5 loss. When the Nationals rolled into town, the New York did exactly what was needed by sweeping the series with ease.

Now it’s time for the Mets to do the same in hostile territory. It isn’t going to be easy with so many injuries piling up, but this is going to be a true test to see what the Mets are made of.

Yesterday, news broke that Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett would be fined and suspended for six games for throwing high and inside to Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz on Tuesday.

Riots instantly broke out within the Bronx. Upset fans overturned vehicles and set fire to local buildings, police were called in to keep the angry mobs of flaming bat-wielding people at bay, and general chaos ruled the streets.

Okay, so that didn't really happen.

I was going to spend some time today talking about the current situation with Bill Hall, but it seems as though there is much more to talk about than just Hall. I will get to his situation in a bit.

First off, Dave Bush is ALL man! I know he lost the game last night and gave up a Ruthian home run to Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson, but the toughness Bush showed after taking a line drive off his pitching arm was outstanding.

Bush continues to be a very important part of the Brewers' rotation and he continues to give the Brewers a chance to win every game he pitches.

The Sox Throw a Good Pick Six?

The old adage says you can never have too much pitching, but most teams don't have enough. Fifth starters are just disposable rotation fillers on most teams, which makes the Red Sox' current conundrum so odd: They've got too many good starters.  What to do?