Fan News

With the news that Kevin Youkilis is out for the season for the Boston Red Sox, baseball pundits have deemed this series a do or die series for the Sox against the rival New York Yankees this weekend.

Surprise players can carry both a fantasy baseball squad and a major league baseball team to a championship.

Owners and managers may have hunches regarding certain players, but they remain pipe dreams until the production actually comes to fruition.

The true value of these players comes in their unexpected contributions, usually at very low salaries. A cheap all-star, in many ways, can be considered more valuable than a high-priced superstar.

Last Night Rewind

The hunt for October is coming ever closer. With each day, it's becoming more clear who is making a move in the MVP race and who is fading out of the race.

Here's the weekly update on the top nine Most Valuable Player candidates in the American League.

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When the Twins struggled their way into the All-Star break, going 8-13 and falling to third place in the American League Central division, things were looking pretty bleak.

All-Star first baseman Justin Morneau hasn't played a game since July 8 after suffering a concussion. 

Currently infielder Nick Punto and Gold-Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson are on the disabled list.

Here is the lineup the Red Sox used on Wednesday:

Ellsbury CF, Scutaro SS, Ortiz DH, Martinez C, Drew RF, Beltre 3B, Lowell 1B, Kalish LF, Hall 2B

If that lineup seems a little bit out of the ordinary, you are right. However, abnormal batting orders have not been out of the ordinary for the Red Sox this season. They have used 94 different batting orders this season, compared to 74 for the division rival Yankees.

Please be sure to check out Mets Paradise and our forum for everything Mets!

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With the recent news of Fred Wilpon saying Omar Minaya's job is not in jeopardy, it makes me wonder, should it be in jeopardy in the first place?

After looking through all the transactions Minaya did for the Mets it's not a simple yes or no.  

Alex Rodriguez joined an elite group of men who have hit 600 in baseball history. Congratulations A-Rod!

Unfortunately, Shaun Marcum joined an exclusive group as well. For every 600th home run that's hit, someone has to serve it up. Here are the men who became famous by throwing the ball that ended up in Cooperstown.

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The Tampa Bay Rays went 106 games into the season before starting a pitcher not named James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemman, David Price, or Wade Davis.

This kind of consistency in the rotation doesn't quite play into the managing style of Joe Maddon. 

If you watch the Rays two days in a row, you will rarely see Joe put the same lineup card out those two days. However, this rare occurrence has been a great thing to rely on for the Rays.

Adam Dunn has already made it clear that he wants to be a Washington National for this season and in the future. With the numbers Dunn is putting up, he's showing how he feels on and off the field.

At this point in the season, it would be easy for Dunn to look at where the Nationals are and just coast through the rest of the season. Yet Dunn refuses to do so and continues to go out everyday and produce for the Nationals.