Opinion

If there has been one thing that has plagued the New York Yankees the past few years, it has been their slow starts to the season. The Yanks then have to finish the season strong to be in contention.

However, 2010 is starting off great for the reigning World Series Champions.

The Yankees are 7-3 entering Saturday's afternoon game against the visiting Texas Rangers. The Yankees are a half-game in front of Tampa Bay and Toronto, and two-and-a-half games ahead of the Red Sox.

It was important for the Yankees to get off to a fast start for a few reasons.

Game No. 12 in our journey to score 162 games this summer featured an Alfonso Soriano spotting and an unlikely performance from a less-than-desirable pitcher. 

Game No. 12 – Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs

As usual, the focus of the Orioles' troubles lies on the mound. After falling to the A’s in the series opener on Thursday, manager Dave Trembley expressed during his postgame interview with MASN that he needs stronger performances from his starting pitchers, especially in the first inning. These are more than valid arguments; however, the Orioles are not only struggling on the mound, but at the plate.

The Atlanta Braves are 10 games into the season, and they sit at 6-4 after winning their first game against the Rockies.

Here are some thoughts from the first week and a half of the year.

Martin Prado Keeps Hitting

Prado has been a hit machine thus far. At the beginning of the season, you could count me among those skeptical that Prado was as good as he showed us in 2009.

Sabermetricians like to compare MLB players to "replacement players." But sometimes it's a hard to grasp the concept. How exactly do they quantify "replacement level?"

Detroiters need look no further than that Tigers bullpen for the perfect example: Brad Thomas.

Thomas is the epitome of replacement-level talent in Major League Baseball.

I want to start this piece by making it clear that I have been a loyal fan of the Baltimore Orioles for 40 years and hope to be a fan for another 40 years.

It's only mid-April, but there are plenty of people already discussing who on the Cubs roster should get traded.

The discussions always center around what those players are doing on the field—obviously an important part in discussing potential trades, but are usually short on providing full context.

Trades are much more complex than, "Well, I have this guy that I want to get rid of and you have this other guy that I want. Any chance you want to make a swap?"

Those who know me, those who follow my "Sound Offs" on "Vegas Unwrapped", or on these and other hallowed Blog pages know if nothing else, I rarely hit the panic button. Nor do I demand change for the sake of change only or because of one incident alone.

What's not to like about Eugenio Velez? He's got speed, power and likely, ADD. His attention span can be short on the field but his athletic abilities are superior to those of his teammates - Bowker, Torres, Schierholtz - who would also like to have more playing time. And who amongst the Giants starters will get even with Padilla? I vote for Jonathan Sanchez.

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If you ask any San Diego Padre fan on the streets of San Diego, most would tell you they don't want to see the last of their fan favorites leave their city. They don't want the team to trade an All-Star, their leading offensive player, and a Gold Glove first baseman.

But, the San Diego Padres may not have much of a choice but to do just that, especially if that aforementioned first baseman is looking for the kind of money that one Mark Teixeira got from the Yankees. I'm speaking of course about long time Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.