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I understand the need to appeal to the mass audience. It's even somewhat expected that an announcing team from a nationally televised broadcast may not know all there is to know about the teams they're visiting.

But the shame of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast of the Tampa Bay Rays-Boston Red Sox game crossed the border of embarrassing and went straight into laughable.

Update: I thought the Marlins would be smart enough to shut down Ricky Nolasco for the season, but apparently I was wrong.

With a torn meniscus in his right knee, Nolasco took the mound on Saturday and got torched for seven hits and six runs in two innings by the Atlanta Braves.

In the midst of another miserable season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it's often tough to find real bright spots to talk about, but the Pirates have one in outfielder Jose Tabata.

Neil Walker gets the press, being the hometown kid, and he's deserved it. Walker is having a tremendous rookie campaign and has cemented himself as part of the future core of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Man, Ruben Amaro blew it.

He had Cliff Lee in his possession, and threw him away for nothing so that he could acquire Roy Halladay.

And now? The Philadelphia Phillies are screwed. Sure, they picked up Roy Oswalt, but he's not Cliff Lee, and they had to give up J.A. Happ to get him.

Amaro could have had the best pitching staff in baseball, and he threw it all away.

He sucks.

Except...

It isn't true. It is a myth. It is a Phillies' myth, one that Phillies fans have latched onto, and one which they need to let go of.

A pennant race in the MLB can be affected by guys you have never even heard of. We've seen it happen before, and I'm sure it will happen again this season.

Starting on September 1, teams all around the league will reward minor leaguers with the opportunity to help the team out on the big league level. The list may include young phenoms, former stars, and underdogs who never were supposed to make it. Any of these players can impact an entire pennant race.

With the 13th pick in the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft, the Cleveland Indians selected Manny Ramirez.  On September 2, 1993, Ramirez made his Major League Baseball debut against the Minnesota Twins, wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform for the first time.  From that day, until May 6, 2009, Ramirez earned and wore the distinction of being his generation's finest hitter.

The Chicago White Sox announced Monday afternoon that Manny Ramirez had been claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers and will join the team Tuesday in Cleveland.

The White Sox will be responsible for paying $3.825 million of Ramirez's contract this season.

With three trips to the DL this season and the inability to play defense, Ramirez will most likely slide immediately into the DH spot, which has been a black hole for the White Sox thanks to Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay.

Through history, many players have entered baseball's most hallowed hall. The list of players is numerous: 54 starting pitchers, 16 catchers, 18 first basemen, 17 second basemen, 10 third basemen, 21 shortstops, and 60 outfielders have plaques in the Hall of Fame. Even nine umpires have gained entrance to Cooperstown.

Some claim third base, or even catcher, is the most underrepresented position in the Hall of Fame.

Roger Clemens plead not guilty to the perjury charges levied against him Monday, according to a report from the Associated Press. 

Clemens was accused of lying to  Congress during a hearing regarding the use of steroids and HGH in baseball.

If he's convicted, he faces jail time of up to 30 years, and a fine up to $1.5 million. But the real damage was done today, as Clemens' not guilty plea has already sealed his fate.

Here are 10 reasons why Clemens' Hall of Fame dreams were dashed today.  

There was a lot of news surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays in the final weekend of August.

They were playing the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, and despite having one of his best strikeout totals, Marc Rzepczynski struggled to keep the ball in the zone and suffered as a result.

Three of the five baserunners he walked later came in to score, a costly result when he only allowed five hits.