Opinion

For the New York Mets, this spring has been very eventful and it will only get more interesting. They will be under a strong microscope to show that they have put two consecutive September collapses/meltdowns behind them, and that Jerry Manuel is in control of a team who needed a radical changeup in attitude and approach.

Manuel has been preaching a "team first" message and does not want anyone to play the part of the hero, they must all do their part to get the job done, and that no one player is more or less responsible than any other teammate.

I had to edit this article all over again because editor John Mccurdy made me look like a fool and he made me look stupid. Thank you John. Do me a favor and stay away from my articles.

You can't win every game in spring training, and the Yankees didn't have their best players playing. They lost to the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 5-0.

Here are my individual player performance grades:

You can’t win every game in spring training and the Yankees didn’t have their best players playing. The Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 5-0.

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Looking into the bleachers of games in Toronto, Tokyo, Mexico City and around the world during this year’s World Baseball Classic, you see more empty seats than people.

For years Cubs expectations have been based on them being overdue to win a championship. We've all heard this phrase, "It's been 90+ years and the Cubs MUST win a championship this year." 

For the record, it's now a 100+ years but the Cubs are expected to play deep into October because they're one of the most talented teams in all of baseball.  The expectations have nothing to do with their World Series drought. 

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Back in 2001 the Mets had a pitcher named Steve Trachsel. Through his star-crossed career Trachsel had become what one would call an inconsistent pitcher; one who at times could look really, really good, and times where he could look really, really awful.

On one late April night against the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium, Trachsel got bombed by the Padres and had to be pulled out of the game by then manager Bobby Valentine. It appeared that the Mets had had enough of Trachsel, who was getting blistered every time he touched the mound.

Bleacher Report writers need to wake up to reality.

Question: Why didn't the Mets sign Manny Ramirez?

Answer: They couldn't afford him.

Really? The New York Mets?  I don't understand...

I do. The Wilpons got disemboweled by Bernard Madoff and now face the possibility of losing Citigroup as a main sponsor.

This has been discussed several times before during this offseason, including on this blog, and if you ask me this is a tough call. But let's look at what someone else had to say. Tyler Hissey over at Dugout Central posted this article today and he thinks the Yanks would be better off letting Jeter walk after his contract runs out in 2010.

Now that we're just two weeks away from Opening Day, I thought it would be a good time to do some updating to my rankings. With additional research, free agent signings, and injuries, some significant changes have occurred. Here are the top 20 outfielders as of today (to view the original rankings, click here):

If you're not watching the World Baseball Classic, you're missing what real baseball is like.

Where men become boys again, giving all they have to win the game because...they want to win.