Opinion

Much has been made of Milwaukee's lack of pitching and depth in the bullpen (it's Hoffman, Hawkins, then everyone else..), but there are some performances that should not go without praise in the early going this season.

Starting today, (April 18th) I will begin a bi-weekly series of stock up/down articles summarizing the Brewers' top performers in both the batters box and on the pitching mound, also including a rundown of players struggling as of late.

So, without much further ado, let's begin the way-too-early-to-mean-anything-by-September hasty generalizations!

I wanted to give my opinion on Joe Girardi wanting to pull CC Sabathia before the ninth inning of last Saturday's game at Tampa Bay.

Sabathia was cruising along with a no-hitter into the 8th inning, when with two outs Kelly Shoppach, a former teammate of CC's at Cleveland, singled to left.

Even before the ball landed, Girardi was out of the dugout to remove Sabathia.

It isn't easy being a Cubs fan.

Everyone who knows baseball knows that.

Everyone who can count to one hundred knows that.

The Cubs' misfortune isn't just unlucky, it's cruel.

It's like that sign that restaurants and bars love to hang on their walls which reads: "Free Beer Tomorrow." Most patrons understand the joke. Tomorrow never comes. Don't forget your wallet.

The Cubs have a similar sign that reads: "Wait 'Til Next Year."

The problem with the comparison? For other teams, next year finally did come. And for Cubs fans, it isn't funny.

Who are these guys?

     - Fan, Major League

Every Cleveland Indians fan can recite every line from Major League by heart and with a twinkle in their eye.

Mitch Talbot is the personification of the team assembled in the movie because, as this season opens, no one outside hardcore Indians fans knew who this guy was.

Dear Passionate Baseball Fans,

Okay. I'm going to say this point blank: Barry Bonds is the biggest cheater there ever was.

There you go.

Let's rewind.

Early in his career, Bonds was great. The skinny guy was ripping homers and stealing bases like crazy. He was one of the greatest in the game.

But has he came to San Francisco, he bulked up. As said in the book Game of Shadows, it prompted the question: "What the hell have you been doing?"

Steroids.

Drugs. Performance-enhancing drugs. That's what.

There are alot of top caliber baseball studs who are leadoff hitters or should be leadoff hitters.

Some have more power than others, some hit for a higher average, some are faster than others, and some have higher on-base percentages than others.

Let's take a look at the best leadoff hitters or some who are not leadoff hitters who should be hitting leadoff.

One great thing about all of these leadoff hitters is that they are all clean players who don't have to worry about having a tainted career.

The most important thing about being a leadoff hitter is having a high on base percentage and s

The 2010 Major League Baseball season is almost two weeks old, and already, there are naysayers that speculate New York Mets' skipper Jerry Manuel could be on the verge of unemployment.

Granted, the Mets come into play Friday last in the National League East, but is that really a reason to start panicking, this early in the season?

With the addition of the 29-year-old speedy outfielder, Fred Lewis, coming by way of trade from San Francisco, the Blue Jays have found their 25th man. Man number 26 is Mike McCoy.

After breaking camp with the Jays, McCoy was told by general manager Alex Anthopolous that if someone came up on the waiver wire that the Jays wanted they would pounce and send McCoy down to AAA Las Vegas.

That day has come.

Thus far into the season, the Braves have continued their offensive woes from the run-challenged 2009 summer.

Only Martin Prado, Brian McCann, and Jason Heyward have been better than league average.

Those three have been more than impressive, but the lack of production from the rest of the lineup is starting to be a concern. While nine games is not an appropriate sample size, the team should be hitting better than they currently are.

Let's take a look at the production of the three aforementioned players compared to the rest of the team.

This is just about the most disgusting story that I have ever read involving unruly fans at a stadium event.

As reported by NBC Philadelphia , a 21-year-old man was arrested at Wednesday's game between the Phillies and the Nationals after he INTENTIONALLY VOMITED ON AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND HER FATHER.