Fan News

Nick Swisher arrived in New York rather unheralded, acquired from the White Sox after the 2008 season for seldom-used infielder Wilson Betemit and two throwaway prospects.

He had allegedly worn out his welcome in Chicago after only one season, having alienated manager Ozzie Guillen and suffered through a career-worst .219/.332/.410 season.

But the surface numbers don't adequately tell the tale of Swisher's 2008 campaign.

J.P. Ricciardi's tenure with the Blue Jays can be described with one word, mediocre. The Jays were never really that good under him, but also never really that bad. They had their good stretches and they had their bad ones as well.

Had they been in another division, however, the team could have succeeded in my opinion. But the unbalanced divisions in baseball is a story for another day.

The season is long and right now it's coming down to the wire for the top owners in their respective leagues.  These few players that are poised for either a huge week or a week you will want to avoid.  Pay attention, this could mean winning or not winning your league.

Start 'Em:

As much as the Mets don't want to admit it, by calling up two of their top minor league prospects, they are planning for 2011.

Perhaps their thinking is that the young players is what energized them early in the season, but it's too late for that now.

There are so many negatives that outweigh every potential positive. By bringing up Ruben Tejada and Fernando Martinez, a couple of veteran players are upset. Of course, Mets fans don't care about feelings and they shouldn't.

PHILADELPHIA-- The Mets made some bold moves after last night's loss to the Phillies, calling up some younger players to try to install energy in the team.

It's not as if the Mets were completely energized tonight, but they did more than enough to earn a victory.

Johan Santana was on the mound, and he was as dominant as possible. He was opposed by Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, and they locked up in a classic pitchers' duel.

Randy Wells pitched a quality start, but that was not enough for the Cubs to win.

Once again, the Cubs stumbled in front of their home crowd, losing a heart-breaking 4-3 ballgame to the Cincinnati Reds.

After two terrible starts, Wells showed up today, giving the best he could to hold the Reds until the seventh. 

Some of you might be thinking who is J.P. Arencibia. Well Arencibia was drafting No. 21 overall by the Blue Jays in the 2007 draft. He was a highly regarded catcher who could hit for average and for power and he sure made himself known today.

Arencibia went 4-for-5 with two home runs today against the Tampa Bay Rays. His parents were in attendance and they were so happy about what he did. In his first at bat he homered on the first pitch he saw.

Right now, the team playing the best baseball in the AL East Division is without a doubt the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the last week the Blue Jays won series against the two best teams in baseball; first they were in New York winning two of three against the Yankees, then headed home and pounded on the Tampa Bay Rays.

By now this is a broken record in Toronto, the ball club plays well, but is always missing that something to make it into the post-season.

In a strange turn of events, an unknown source reports that Joe Buck paid off Lance Berkman.  The bounty was placed to hit a line drive off Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez while the superstar wasn't paying attention.

Buck, known by many as a Yankee hater, allegedly told the struggling Berkman he would give him $75,000 if he hit a screaming line drive that hit A-Rod, while Buck would distract A-Rod by talking to him. Rodriguez is now considered day-to-day. 

Berkman, as of August 6th, is 2-for-19 in five games. 

Mythbusters: Lance Berkman w/ two strikes

FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver took it upon himself to call Lance Berkman a “good two strike hitter” after he walked against Red Sox starting pitcher John Lackey. The stats, however, show that Berkman is not a bad two strike hitter, but certainly not a good two strike hitter.

Berkman with two-strikes (career): .193 BA

Ortiz’s AB