Fan News

The 2010 MLB season has not disappointed, as competition is fierce but so is disappointment.

For playoff staples, like the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, things could not have gone any worse. As they say, "When it rains, it pours" and both the above two ball clubs will be noticeably absent. The presence of the Red Sox and Cardinals will be deeply missed, a true heartbreak for all fans of baseball.

So, which American League teams are in contention?

Since its opening in 1997, Turner Field, home to the first place Atlanta Braves, has seemed like hell to the New York Mets, with Bobby Cox playing the role of the devil. Even when the Mets have fielded competitive teams, they still have struggled in Atlanta.

In 116 contests over the course of 14 seasons, the Mets have won only 38 games while dropping 78 in the new "Home of the Braves."

Nothing infuriates a fan base more than watching a young player—formerly a prospect within their team’s system—blossom into stardom in another uniform.

One would tend to think that when rooting for a team like the New York Yankees, this mindset would apply much less frequently—as they often demand a prospect fire sale to bring in the latest available superstar on the market.

The San Francisco Giants will rely on strong starting pitching, a struggling Padres team, and an easy September schedule to overtake the San Diego Padres and win the 2010 National League West.

The Schedule:

The Giants are currently three games back of the Padres with 28 games to play. 12 of the remaining games are against teams with sub .500 records, and another seven of those games are against the division leading Padres. The other games are against the struggling Cubs and the hated Dodgers.

As the playoffs slowly approach, baseball fans continue to wonder who the AL MVP will be. Will it be a member of a first place, playoff team? Will it be a member of a lower-placed team?

I've decided to make an MVP of each AL division just to breakdown the many candidates for the cherished award.

Please enjoy the article and thank you for reading.

NOTE: All statistics are as of September 1, 2010.

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Everyone likes a good ole-fashioned baseball brawl.

Fighting in baseball dates back to the '30s, when Bill Dickey broke Carl Reynolds’ jaw after Reynolds collided with Dickey at home plate.

Alex Rodriguez has left the man who negotiated his 10-year, $275 million contract.

Rodriguez is not expected to replace Scott Boras with Pittsburgh attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp, who helped him with his legal affairs.

Reisinger was the one who negotiated Rodriguez's ordeal with Congress for performance-enhancing drugs. Reisinger also represented Sammy Sosa and Andy Pettitte in their trials.

Jeff Francoeur certainly has his free-swinging ways.

The radar-gun indicated a wicked, nasty fastball, akin to a 100 mph car pursuit on the 5 Freeway to commute from Santa Monica to Orange County.

That is, only if you are a local resident and pay your property taxes here in Southern California.

But in another town, such as Cincinnati, the speed and heat is relevant to the Reds’ hitless reliever Aroldis Chapman, a flame throwing Cuban star on the rise when Cincinnati is contending for a postseason berth.

When speedy Washington Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan charged the mound at Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad on Wednesday night, he did it to defend himself.

Nyjer had been plunked on the back earlier in the game, most likely on purpose for separating catcher Brett Hayes' left shoulder, which tells you the Marlins weren't too happy with Morgan.