Opinion

Week Two of the season proved to be less than a happy week as a Rangers fan. It started out pretty well but quickly spiraled downhill and ended with a big thud.

Game Recaps

Apr. 12 @ Cleveland Indians W, 4-2

Rich Harden proved to be far more effective than in his first start as a Ranger, going six innings and allowing only two runs on five hits. 

A great start can do wonders for a player.

For some, it is the fulfillment of hard work, whether it be a new workout regiment, a changed approach at the plate, or new found work ethic in the field.

For others, it is merely a flash in the pan, a one or two week hot streak where the player goes right back to being the man we expected as the season begins.

To start 2010, there are many players off to great starts. Some, like Utley, Pedroia, and Pujols are expected, as they are great, MVP-caliber players who are starting the season off right.

Jerry Manuel needs to go.

Let me preface this by saying I will miss him dearly. His post-game sound bites are tremendously amusing. I feel this way because I am a Yankees fan who has to listen to Joe Girardi be his vague self everyday.

Manuel will be missed in that regard, but from a baseball standpoint he will not.

At around 8:30 last night I decided to move on to something else, as the Mets were heading into the 13th inning. I returned to that channel at around 10 PM and found the Mets were still playing in the 18th.

Chipper Jones is naturally right-handed. A switch-hitter, he learned to bat from the left side because he loved to emulate the Dodgers lineup as a child, and learned to take swings from the other side of the plate.

Jones has stated in the past that his left-handed swing takes a lot more work to keep steady than his right-handed swing. He has many more moving parts from the left side, and despite having better career numbers as a lefty, his swing is starting to slow and deteriorate.

Yesterday at Busch Stadium will be a day that will go down in baseball history. It was truly remarkable that a game in this era of baseball goes a full 18 innings without a run crossing home. 

However, the story of last night's game was not dictated by the hitting, pitching, running, or fielding; it was the managing. And you better believe that there were a lot of questionable moves.

Whenever a game goes that long, there will be a lot of strategical moves that need to be made. Everything from substitutions to sacrifice bunts, to who is going to pitch.

Although it is only a few weeks into the 2010 Major League Baseball season, it's not too early to take a look at the 2010 Midsummer Classic in Anaheim, California. All-Star week is filled with excitement and fun for MLB players and fans. Who will be representing their respective leagues in Anaheim?

American League

Starting Lineup

Pitcher: Zack Greinke-Kansas City Royals

Catcher: Joe Mauer-Minnesota Twins

First Base: Kevin Youkilis-Boston Red Sox

Second Base: Robinson Cano-New York Yankees

Who would have thought that the New York Mets pitching staff would be the strongest part of the team, while the hitting staff would be the weakest?

Saturday, April 17 against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Mets hitting staff was shut down until the top of the 19th inning when Jose Reyes scored a run on a sacrifice fly against a position player converted to pitcher during the game. All regular relievers were already used up in the Cardinals bullpen, and the only pitchers available were starters.

Going into Sunday's game against Kansas City, the Twins have an awful lot to boast about:

• The very successful opening of Target Field. 

• The long-term signing of the reigning American League MVP, batting champion, and hometown hero Joe Mauer.

• The most wins and highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball.

• Four straight season-opening series wins, with the first two on the road.

• Third in the American League in home runs, with six players having hit at least two homers.

Saturday April 17th, 2010 turned out to be a great day of baseball.

After coaching my son's team in their final scrimmage before our season starts on the 19th, (Anthony Cappetta: 2-for-3, with two steals) my son and I sat down at 4pm eastern time, to watch the Mets take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Despite the fact that the Mets have been a disappointment so far in this young season, even after their own manager proclaimed that the team needed to get off to a fast start, something about yesterday seemed different.

Where do I begin? How do you talk about ending a love-hate relationship?

That is where I am with Francisco "Coco" Cordero.

If you watched Saturday night's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, you should already be in league with me.

Johnny Cueto left after five complete innings pitched and a one run lead. He was in line for the first win for a Reds starter in the young season.

Three pitchers (Daniel Harrera, Logan Ondrusek and Arthur Rhodes) were awarded a hold to set things up perfectly for our local stud, Cordero.