Fan News

OK, this assumes the Phillies will go to the World Series but here goes nothing.

If the Phillies are the top seed in the NL (which they would be if the season ended today), they would get the option of playing Game 1 on Wednesday vs Game 1 on Thursday. All other games would be the same regardless.

Who’s the hottest team in MLB right now?

The answer is the New York Yankees.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is a Yankee-hater, because you either bleed pinstripes or you burn them. It is that simple.

Last night the Minnesota Twins became the first team in 2010 to clinch a playoff berth.

The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers were competitive in the AL Central through the first half of the season, but the Twins used a fantastic August and September to pull away from the pack.

Despite the loss of Justin Morneau for the last two months and Joe Nathan's Tommy John surgery at the start of the year, Minnesota has won yet another AL Central title.

This past spring the Yankees held a competition for their fifth starter spot that included pitchers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, among others. Hughes won the job.

The Minnesota Twins were the first MLB team to punch their postseason ticket on Tuesday night after defeating the Cleveland Indians 6-4 at Target Field.

The Twins are currently a game back of the Yankees for the best record in baseball after their division clinching victory improved them to 91-60 on the year.

Minnesota clinched their second straight AL Central title, and they will be one of the top World Series contenders when the playoff get underway in October. 

We are in the home stretch of the long, arduous MLB season. The Minnesota Twins have wrapped up the AL Central, while five others (New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds) are all pretty much guaranteed spots.

That leaves the quartet of the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies jockeying for the final two postseason spots: the National League West Crown and the NL Wild Card.

For those of you still contending in your fantasy baseball leagues, here are some batters you may want to pick up in a last ditch effort to win some cash in 2010.

Homeruns

Dan Johnson (1B TB) In only 22 at bats, Johnson has hit three homers, earned four runs and drove in seven. He seems to be getting every day at bats now for the Rays with 21 at bats in the last seven days. He should be a good source of power and earns fantasy value just being a part of the Tampa Bay line-up.

In this audio feature we have audio of Angels first baseman Kendry Morales addressing his season ending ankle break. Angels manager Mike Scioscia also talked with AM830's Jason Brennan and LA Angels Insider.com's Eric Denton about the playing time of Mark Trumbo and Hank Conger.

The one constant thing I have said about the Texas Rangers all season is that the only thing that can hold them back would be injuries.

Jose Bautista used to be a problem for the home team, when that team was the Pittsburgh Pirates.

But now that he has found his stride, or rather his bat, in Toronto, it's now his opponents that are wondering if they have a problem.

He's looking at 50 or more home runs this year. This seems like a "high water mark," at least for now, but even if he regresses to say, 30 to 35, he will still be a dangerous long ball hitter.