Fan News

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated is a lot of things, but this is a great take on the upcoming contract negotiations with Derek Jeter.

Take a read:

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been a cellar-dwelling team for as long as most fans remember. But often, in September, they have their moment of glory by taking three games from a division leading team in PNC Park.

This is what may be happening now, against the Atlanta Braves. A win tonight would result in a sweep. Even a loss would not change the fact that the Pirates have already clinched the three game series.

Legend has it that Billy Martin, the oft-hired and fired coach of the New York Yankees, would occasionally arrange batting orders by picking names out of a hat in an effort to break out of hitting slumps.

A startling trend has emerged in the 2010 Cincinnati Reds campaign: They can’t beat high-quality teams.
 

Are you hurting in the run category? Here are some reasonably available players that can help you out.

Logan Morrison, 1B/OF, Florida Marlins

Morrison scored 19 runs over the past 15 days while hitting .351 with a HR and six RBI. On the year he’s hitting .318 with 29 runs, one HR, and 13 RBI in 148 ABs. Logan is owned in 40 percent of CBS and 18 percent of ESPN leagues.

Daric Barton, 1B, Oakland A’s

WhatIfSports.com utilizes its award-winning baseball simulation engine to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking possible of all 30 teams in baseball each Monday during the regular season. To come up with the rankings—using only their statistical performance to date this season—each team is simulated against every other team 100 times (50 at home and 50 away) so that all five pitchers in the current rotation start ten times at each location.

Last Night Rewind

• Two major injury notes from yesterday. Josh Johnson looks like he could miss his next start with a back problem. Johnson was sent back to Florida for evaluation after stopping a bullpen session early. They will also look at his shoulder. Miguel Cabrera was pulled from last night's game by the Tigers after aggravating a shoulder injury.

How about some hot hitters to consider to round up the rest of the night?

Ever since I started following baseball and pretty much all four major sports, my favorite team has been the New York Mets. Why? I have no idea. But I have never been more disappointed with the Mets than the 2010 season. They have had so many bad memories and so few good ones.

The Mets have to make changes in the offseason and it starts off when Jeff Wilpon fires both Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel. These two alone have been absolutely awful for the franchise. Here is a list of the good players Minaya has gotten: