Opinion

The professional black baseball player is disappearing like the ozone layer, and there is much discussion about how to prevent Jason Heyward, Derrick Lee, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins from going the way of the dinosaur.

USA Today reported that the number of African-Americans on MLB rosters dropped to 9.5 percent, down from 10.2 percent in 2009. In 1975, that figure was 27 percent.

As an African-American lover of the sport do I wish more blacks would infiltrate the game in the same fashion as the NBA or NFL? Yes.

One of the biggest factors in bringing up young players from the minor leagues is when they have done all they can do down on the farm. 

A young player who dominates his minor league-level over a couple-month period should be promoted to the next level. A player who dominates Triple A over a long period should also be promoted. 

No matter who is in the major leagues in front of him.

No reason to keep a young pitcher in Triple-A "for more seasoning" when he has filled up every spice rack in the country. 

I'm sorry O's fans: it's the truth.

The Orioles might have made some good additions such as Kevin Millwood to lead the young pitching staff and Mike Gonzalez to close out games, but neither has paid out yet.

Gonzalez blew his first two saves but is now on the disabled list after having trouble with his shoulder. Millwood hasn't even picked up a win yet, due to the bullpen and weak offense.

Baltimore is also home to some talent in Matt Wieters, Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, and Nick Markakis. 

As this season warms up, the Blue Jays are slowly succumbing to the heat. That, temperature puns aside, was pretty much how this season was supposed to play out.

Low attendance numbers suggest that everyone and their pessimistic mothers knew that the Jays wouldn't compete (you bunch of know-it-alls).

Roy Halladay is weaving together his masterpieces in the City of Brotherly Love, and  Cito Gaston agreed to run the team only as an acknowledged placeholder. People are taking their cues from the attitude this team gives off.

The White Sox are awful.

There are a few other adjectives and nouns to describe the White Sox so far in the 2010 season, but those would be bleeped out.

The Sox have had terrible starting pitching mixed with a streaky offense that can't get on base, but has provided a lot of home runs.

The question marks on the Sox have actually been pretty good, whereas, the thought to be solid guys have been terrible.

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In one of the most anticipated roster moves of 2010, the Texas Rangers promoted highly-touted prospect Justin Smoak last Friday. In six games since being called up, the switch-hitting first baseman is 1-for-15 with two runs and one RBI. He does, however, have seven walks.

Despite Smoak’s rough start, fantasy owners should take notice of the 23-year-old’s promotion.

Continuing our 162-game journey, Fantasy Baseball Insiders Tonight got a close look at Nationals’ starter Luis Atilano on Wednesday.

" Who the heck is Luis Atilano," you ask? Let’s find out...

Game No. 19 —Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Tribe fans weigh in on the ups and downs of the Indians each week throughout the season.

This week, we wonder if being on the road is a legitimate excuse for losing, compare our fantasy baseball teams, and answer a question about Justin Masterson that has inspired no less than two Tribe Talk panelists to begin writing a manifesto on the topic.

When you think of recent Yankees teams, generally the first thing that comes to mind is the high-scoring offense.

With guys like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, and Derek Jeter leading your offense, the Yankees are never out of any games where they are behind.

But when you get right down to what the major strength of the current Yankees really is, you will see that it is the starting pitching.

The latest article by the Wall Street Journal puzzles me to say the least.

According to the report , the Cincinnati Reds are the third most hated team in baseball with a 1.5 ranking.

An Internet algorithm built by Nielsen Co . analyzes how people feel about certain things, and the nation apparently hates the Reds. The system uses various keywords to find out whether people have positive, negative or neutral reactions to different brands and products.