Fan News

The 2010 season has been a roller-coaster ride for Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar.

After starting slowly in the month of April (.253 AVG., 1 HR, 4 RBI), Aybar never fully hit his stride.

Suffering through another tough month in May, Aybar appeared to pick it up in June and July, raising his average to .278 and displaying more of the peskiness expected of him at the top of the lineup.

In the past couple weeks, baseball has begun to see its annual class of 20-game winners emerge. First was CC Sabathia, who will be going for win number 21 on Thursday. Second was Roy Halladay, who won his 20th game yesterday. Now, Jimenez is looking to win his 20th game.

Just as the news broke about Ryne Sandberg's name appearing of the list of possible Blue Jays' managerial candidates, the Cubs decided to get involved in the hiring process. 

ESPN reported that the Cubs general manager, Jim Hendry, has met with the Triple-A Cubs manager in Arizona on Tuesday and continued to speak on Wednesday.  

The Minnesota Twins became the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot. They still have 10 games remaining to play out the season. 

For manager Ron Gardenhire this is a luxury he has not been afforded in the past.

According to Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi, the Toronto Blue Jays have added a new name to the list of managers that could be hired to replace their current skipper, Cito Gaston.

Some of the candidates, like Brian Butterfield and Rob Thomson, are stationed in the American League East right now and could remain in the same division if they take the job offer. 

Something that is commonly overlooked in baseball and other sports is the fans.  Yes, the players are the ones who are playing the games and winning them.  But the players aren't the only people who influence the outcome of the team.  Fans do too.  Especially in Philadelphia.

I'm not saying that the players don't make the team win or lose.  I'm just saying that the fans can influence the way that the players play, and that they deserve a lot more credit than they usually get.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have set a new record in a category to be embarrassed about, meanwhile introducing a new general manager.

The 2001 Milwaukee Brewers had set a record to forget about. They set the season strikeout record the year the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series.

Now, the Arizona Diamondbacks have broken the 1,399 strikeouts carried for several years with a standing season total of 1,403.

The 2010 Cy Young conversation had been a fascinating debate. It had raised questions about how to determine if a pitcher is successful, and the value of certain statistics. 

But, unlike other years, the 2010 debate has recently become quite a silly argument as the season comes to a close.

More than a month ago, during my last MLB mock draft, the Orioles were in line for the number one pick. Since then, they've been one of the hottest teams in baseball, and they also have a new manager in the form of Buck Showalter, so it looks like they're time near the bottom of the barrel might be coming to an end.

The new "numero uno" belongs to the Pirates, and they might have one of the deepest pools of top-end talent to choose from in quite some time.

During the 2010 Spring Training, the Atlanta Braves startlingly announced that rookie Jason Heyward would be the starting right fielder on Opening Day. This announcement set the baseball world on fire as not only did Heyward not have any major league experience prior to the 2010 season, but he was also only 20 years old.