Fan News

For those of us that love the game of baseball, there's one thing that we've gotten used to seeing but is something we don't see very often—the collision at home plate.

Baseball isn't a contact sport; it's never been known as one. But it has been known to happen and is part of the game.

It’s safe to say that Andruw Jones has been one of the most disappointing baseball players in recent memory.

Just five years ago, Jones was in the middle of a fantastic season wherein he hit 51 homers with a .922 OPS (despite a .240 BABIP) and was worth 8.3 WAR. As recently as 2007, he slammed 26 long balls while driving in 94 and accumulating 3.8 WAR.

Then disaster struck.

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are fading fast, and are already eying the San Francisco Giants with a fleeting hope of making a remarkable comeback and a wild-card berth.

NEW YORK: The Mets return home tonight to Citi Field against the Colorado Rockies to begin a six-game home stand.

They will try to rebound from a 2-4 road trip against the two teams in front of them in the NL East.

Not only did the Mets lose ground in the division, but they lost some players in place of a youth movement.

When the Mets take the field tonight, they will be playing guys like Fernando Martinez, Ruben Tejada, and Josh Thole, not the veterans like Luis Castillo or Jeff Francoeur.

The home stretch of the 2010 MLB season has arrived as division races heat up and teams begin to make their run at baseball glory. So in anticipation of these final weeks here are nine reasons to love this sport, one for each inning.

1. No Time Limit

Despite being home to the all-time home run king, the Atlanta Braves have never been known for their ability to hit the ball out of the park. They are somewhat better known as the "Anti-Yankees," if you will. They have country accents, less money, and very little power, but they have still found ways to to win.

I have witnessed Cliff Lee torment my New York Yankees at the Stadium while he was a Cleveland Indian, a Philadelphia Phillie in the 2009 World Series, and recently a Seattle Mariner.

Now Lee is a Texas Ranger, but his uniform is irrelevant because most Yankees fans have no problem identifying Lee on the mound. I still remember our first encounter, like it was yesterday.

It was May 7, 2008 and I was bringing one of my best friends to her first Yankees game at the Old Stadium. Bringing a virgin is always a treat because the Yankees usually impress newbies.

As the season heads into its final month and a half, and the playoff races really start to heat up, oftentimes the wild card races shape up to be the most interesting part of the final few weeks of the season. That leads me to wonder: would Major League Baseball benefit from adding a second wild card in each league?

The fact of the matter is, it is far harder to reach the postseason in baseball than in any of the other three U.S. major sports, with not even a third of all baseball teams reaching the playoffs.

As news broke on Aug. 7 that the Boston Red Sox had signed Carlos Delgado to a minor league deal, I thought it was a great move. This is a potentially high rewarding transaction with very low risk.

Delgado could fill some holes as All-Star first basemen, Kevin Youkilis, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn muscle in his thumb. 

Although Delgado is 38 years old, he appears to be healthy and in great shape, and he's hungry to win.