Opinion

Coming into Friday’s opening game of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, New York was already struggling to find a clutch hit with runners on.

They were hitting just .232 as a team with runners in scoring position (RISP), and were currently standing at third-worst in the league as a result.

Team of the Week: Boston Red Sox (pictured above)

Upon overwhelming requests for a change in my rankings system, the rankings system now goes like this....

Last Season's Success......20%

Success this season.........50%

Current Streak...............25%

Intangibles......................5%

Anyway, however I rank them, here is the latest edition of Mark Jones' MLB Power Rankings: Week Four.

LW.....Last Week's Ranking

The Oakland Athletics have a young catcher by the name of Kurt Suzuki who is coming into this second full season as a starting catcher in the major leagues. He had the experience to take the starting job away from Jason Kendall in 2007 and played in 68 games.

Part of that 2007 season was spent learning from Kendall—meaning that Suzuki had a chance to learn the techniques that would make him a solid catcher in the big leagues. On the plus side, the A's were looking for a catcher who could also give them something more offensively.

After a heavy loss to Baltimore at Camden Park, the White Sox return to Chicago, licking their rotation wounds.

The top three guys are off to a superb start, Mark Buehrle looks as good as ever, starting the year 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00 in three starts, John Danks is lights-out at 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA and Gavin Floyd is looking solid at 2-1 4.74 ERA.

After 14 games, the Colorado Rockies' record sits at 5-9, and they're last in the NL West. The mark doesn't really surprise me, all things considered (I predicted them at 6-8 after their opening stretch), but how they have gotten there does.

Starting pitchers Aaron Cook and Ubaldo Jimenez, counted on to anchor the rotation, have ERAs of 10.22 and 6.00, respectively, through three starts apiece. Cook has lasted just 12.1 innings and allowed 22 hits and five homeruns; Jimenez has 16 strikeouts in his 15 innings, but also 13 walks.

I'm dreading the feedback from this article.

So before you get so angry that you'll feel compelled to call me an idiot, let me have my say.

Then, id you still think I'm an idiot, you are more than welcome to send your scornful comments my way,

Are we good? Alright, here comes the bombshell.

I believe Fenway Park is on borrowed time.

From a personal standpoint, I love Fenway. It is the most prestigious and beloved ballpark in all of baseball.

At the beginning of the Red Sox season David Ortiz expressed that he wanted another power bat in the line up. Here in Boston there were mixed emotions about Ortiz's comment.

With Manny Ramirez being in LA, Ortiz was concerned he didn't have a bat behind him to protect him.

There was one person on the Red Sox that took that comment in offense. That person is "The Greek God of Walks" himself, Kevin Youkilis.

The New York Yankees must join the rest of the sporting world and sell naming rights to their new stadium. If they can't do it today, because of the economy, they must take care of it as soon as they can. 

The Dallas Cowboys, the world's wealthiest sports franchise, is currently negotiating a naming rights deal, the Washington Redskins play in a stadium named "Fed Ex" and the storied Manchester United Soccer team plays in Old Tafford—not "Manchester United Stadium."

Alright, I know this sounds crazy. You were expecting the Halladay’s, the Sabathia’s, or even the Beckett’s to be mentioned here.

But no; if the season ended today, I would say Detroit’s Armando Galarraga has been the most dominant pitcher in the AL thus far.

Do you ever have the feeling life is passing you by at a speed that prohibits real examination? I’m afraid I’m guilty of this lifestyle misdemeanor at times.

But every once in a while, I apply some brake pressure as a sporting crosswalk approaches. I have to remind myself that it’s worthwhile to stop and smell the pine tar.

One such crosswalk involves the hushed voices and polite applause of golf. Whenever I have the opportunity to watch Tiger Woods play, I thank my lucky stars.