Opinion

It seems as though Carlos Beltran could have played his last baseball game, at least in the near future.

Beltran played in 81 games in 2009 because of knee bruises and the time off and rehab from surgery has not healed the bruises.

For this reason, he is not ready to resume baseball activities at this time, no timetable has been set on when its possible to return to the Mets.

This is why you keep your mouth shut, Napoli.

Just last week, Angels catcher Mike Napoli was the subject of trade rumors after he publicly ridiculed Manager Mike Scioscia for his lack of playing time.

"I don't like coming in here and not seeing my name in the lineup," said Napoli. "I'm a competitor. I want to be on the field. I don't feel like a player who should be in the lineup for only two of nine games. I feel like I should be a starter."

After last night's seven-inning, 10-strikeout performance against the Padres, Jonathan Sanchez has caught the attention of the baseball nation once again.

Not only is Sanchez ready to break out (as I hinted this offseason), he is already on his way to doing so.

The Chicago White Sox are having early season troubles. They sit at 5-9 and are already five games behind the Minnesota Twins and tied for last in the division.

After such high expectations, it's easy to wonder what the causes are for their early season struggles?

There's no leadoff hitter.

Juan Pierre: .192 avg, 5 R, 1 RBI, .263 OBP, 6 SB/1 CS
Scott Podsednik: .468 avg, 6 R, 6 RBI, .537 OBP, 7 SB/0 CS

It seems like the White Sox made a mistake.

Hello all! Wow, it has been a while since I've last written, so this may be quite long, because I have a lot to say!

The truth of why I'm writing today is to get my mind off the loss of my dog this morning. She was 10, and she will be deeply missed.

I'm seeking refuge in the New York Yankees, who have gotten off to a great start to the season here in 2010, picking up where they left off back in November. There is something about this team that just jumps out at you. Something that gives me the feeling of invincibility. It is a great feeling.

That's what the Pirates might be doing. But they aren't.

Only a few pieces ago, I opined that Dan McCutchen, the Pirates' latest fifth starter, could enjoy accelerated promotion because of injury, failure or trade, of higher ranking pitchers.

He in fact, did, as a result of Ross Ohlendorf's injury. Having been moved into Ohlendorf's spot, he is now effectively "second" starter, even though he isn't yet of that quality.

We realize the season is just two weeks old, but one can't help but imagine what kind of start the Indians would be off to if they had managed any hitting at all to this point.

The casual observer may realize the Tribe offense has been poor, but just how poor is pretty unbelievable.

As a team, the Indians are dead last in baseball, hitting a pathetic, embarrassing .214 on the year.

Mike Pelfrey dazzled the Cubs Tuesday night, allowing no runs on three hits and three walks in seven innings. He also struck out six en route to his third win in as many starts. The 26-year-old now has a 0.86 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with a 16:8 K:BB ratio through 21 innings.

The question all fantasy managers are asking now is: How good is Mike Pelfrey ?

The Pirates never had any hope of winning Tuesday night's game at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Was it because of the disparity in talent? Well, that's a part of it, but the Pirates record currently sits at 7-6, so they have evidently been finding ways to somehow win games. The main reason there was no hope is demonstrated in the picture above. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan barely had time to get settled on the bench before he had to walk to the mound and take the ball away from Charlie Morton in the first inning, which is unfortunately becoming a common sight.

The San Francisco Giants are stranded in one of those offensive deserts where the run-scoring oases are replaced by shimmering mirages of runners in scoring position that dissolve into nothing.

Hey, it was gonna happen sooner or later—this is not a team capable of winning 100 games.

Those kinds of clubs have exceptional hitting to complement the same kind of arms.

While these Giants have the pitching part of that equation, even the improved offense is still mediocre (and that's being charitable).