Fan News

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the magic number is one, and the Padres are coming to town. With the postseason scent filling out nostrils, it is time to take inventory, which provides good information and fun speculation. First, it is necessary to recall what we know as facts, as much as there can be in sports.

The end of an era is coming...again.

The Blue Jays had their final home game on Wednesday night and had a ceremony honoring Cito Gaston since he will be retiring this year.

With close to 900 wins under his belt with the Blue Jays, Gaston is the most successful manager in the franchise's history.

Seattle Mariners manager Jack Zduriencik announced today that they are shutting down star pitcher Felix Hernandez for the rest of the season.

He’s only missing one start, but come on, Mariners—you can’t be serious.

I understand being cautious with your franchise cornerstone, but Hernandez is in the midst of a tight Cy Young race, and one more win could certainly push him into the lead.

The Giants have a magic number of one.

The only way the Giants do not win the division is for the struggling Padres to win four in a row against San Francisco.

What I am trying to say is that it's over.

For those who have commented on my articles, I will say it: I was wrong. But I did say the Giants would win the division at the beginning of the season.

With September suddenly turning into October, that can only mean one thing for baseball fans.  The playoffs are finally here: eight teams vying for one elusive trophy.  

Before that happens, there is other hardware to be handed out.

Both leagues have awards for individual success which often times parlays into post-season success come October.  These men were the very best in the sport over the last six months and will now be rewarded.  Here are my 2010 MLB award winners.  

Catching the baseball.

Many consider this the basic feature of America's pastime. However, knowing our beloved Mets, they usually seem to screw it up.

Tonight in the Mets 9-2 loss to the Brew Crew, Jose Reyes dropped a pop up with two outs in the fifth inning. Dillon Gee had only given up two runs up to that point, with the Mets trailing 2-1.

When the 2010 season began, very few people thought that the Rockies would be looking forward to the 2011 season by the end of September. However, they find themselves in that position in their final series of the season in St. Louis.

Barry Zito. Vernon Wells. Mike Hampton.

It doesn't matter how much money is at stake, Major League GM's make a lot of mistakes. Few names prove as much better than the three players listed above.

Some bad moves are avoidable. Some are not. But every off-season, ever trade deadline, some General Manger is going to make a move he thinks will help his team only to see it backfire and eventually cost him his job.

Albert Pujols did everything he could possibly do and then some to try to get the St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs.  But, with the Cincinnati Reds preparing for October, something clearly went wrong.  The Cardinals came into the 2010 season with World Series aspirations, but now they will have to settle for watching it on TV.

Pujols did have some help this year.  Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Matt Holiday all deserve credit for having excellent years.

Part 3 of 7

Although the Phillies have a league-wide reputation as an offensive powerhouse, their numbers were down across the board this season. Appearances can be deceiving. 

A peek at the rankings suggests that the Phillies might take a back seat to other playoff teams in terms of offensive output.