Fan News

The St. Louis Cardinals came in to Cincinnati to claim back first place in the division from the Reds. They may have done much more than that.

It wasn't even close. In the three game series, the Cardinals outscored the Reds 21-8.  Forget about the infamous basebrawl of game two—the Cards hit the Reds hard and often.

This could be the single most pivotal point in the season for the Reds. How they react, bounce back, or fade away between now and September 3rd will determine the whole season. 

Why September 3rd? 

While Mets fans and media are sure to continue their calls for manager Jerry Manuel to be fired after the Mets' latest loss — a 6-2 stomach punch delivered by the Colorado Rockies — let's take a look at the numbers, shall we?

Fellow members of Braves Country, our beloved Braves are 18 games above .500 and will end tonight up by at least 2.5 games ahead of the red hot Phillies.  We sit a half game out of first place in the National League, and we have the second biggest division lead in Major League Baseball.

The Mets have failed to reach the World Series since they did so in 2000.  Although they have lacked talent in some of the years since then, it hasn't all been self inflicted.  There have been some players that have just killed this team over the last ten seasons.

Here is a list of the top five players that have beaten the Mets up over the pat ten seasons.

Begin Slideshow

From the third week of May to the All-Star Break, when the Atlanta Braves were rolling, Billy Wagner was one of the best closers in baseball.

Over that approximate two month stretch, the 39-year-old southpaw was 16-for-17 in save opportunities while collecting one win in a total of 23 appearances.

Take a glance around the league and you will likely see most successful teams have a solid cleanup hitter penciled in behind the player batting third to prevent the four-finger salute.

Mark Teixeira enjoys the services of Alex Rodriguez. Albert Pujols has Matt Holiday. Chase Utley knows opposing teams would prefer him not be on base with Ryan Howard coming to the plate. 

Rumors of new baseball managers for the 2011 season have been flying about in the baseball world.

Many names have surfaced, including Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, and current bench coach of the New York Yankees, Tony Pena. 

Tony Pena has been part of the Yankee coaching staff for five consecutive seasons, serving as the first base coach, catching instructor, and currently the bench coach.

Stephen Strasburg has opened the eyes of a football rich Washington D.C.
area and put the spotlight back on Major League Baseball. The Nationals
went 59-103 in 2009 and drafted their savior.

Strasburg was called the "most-hyped pick in draft history," by ESPN. The right-hander from San Diego didn't wait long to make a splash in the Big leagues, but he waited just as long to go to the Disabled List.

Before the 2010 season began, the Arizona Diamondbacks' player development staff got together to create a plan for managing the team's pitching staff. One of the items on their agenda was to determine the workload for their young starting pitching.

At the time, they were talking about Ian Kennedy, whom they traded for along with Edwin Jackson. Kennedy was coming off an injury and the team hoped to limit his total innings to 180. This limit allowed him to extend himself but also made sure he was not overworked to a point that could cause future injury.

For Brandon Phillips, firing up your team should probably not involve getting teams into fights.

Phillips, easily one of the best players and leaders for the Cincinnati Reds, may be the reason why the St. Louis Cardinals swept their recent series, ending today with the Cards winning 6-1.