Fan News

Even before the 2010 MLB season began, almost every team in baseball was in awe of the offensive potential of the Los Angeles Dodgers powerhouse outfield.

With 2009 Silver Slugger Award winners Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, along with a rejuvenated Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles outfield was sure to wreak havoc on the best pitching staffs around the league in 2010.

Let me start by saying I am not a White Sox fan. I grew up cheering for the Minnesota Twins.

As a Twins fan I remember Ozzie Guillen being a thorn in the Twins' side as a player. Since taking over the White Sox he is now a thorn in the Twins' side as a manager.

Yet, Guillen is one of my favorite managers in baseball. A lot of it is for the praise he has always had for the Minnesota Twins, and the mutual respect that Ron Gardenhire and he have for each other.

LOS ANGELES—After going 13 straight games without scoring more than four runs, Mets manager Jerry Manuel has made drastic changes to tonight's starting lineup.

Jason Bay seems to be moving lower in the order by the day. Tonight's Mets lineup is as follows:

SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
RF Angel Pagan
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Ike Davis
LF Jason Bay
C Henry Blanco
P Johan Santana

For the first time as a Met, Jason Bay will be batting seventh in the order. It's a lineup that shows the panic level of Jerry Manuel.

It was fun while it lasted.  But as scripted, the Reds season is over.

But much like the malaise one feels before the onset of the flu, it's just an all-too-familiar feeling.

Entering Friday, our beloved Redlegs find themselves only 1.5 games behind the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals and a half-game back of the San Francisco Giants for the NL Wild Card.

Non-Reds fans just read that and laughed, maybe thought to themselves, "Has this guy been stealing his Granny's morphine?"

No, only her anti-anxiety medication.

In a lot of ways, it has always been about the numbers in baseball. Fans, writers, and historians have long focused on the precious statistics in baseball, and there have been specific "standards" by which players are considered Hall of Fame material.

Well, all that's a thing of the past, for now the numbers have been deflated by steroid-cheating needle pushers like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and especially Barry Bonds, who has obliterated the most precious of all records with his insidious ways.

It was one of the biggest gambles in World Series history.

Matty Alou was on third base with the potential tying run. Willie Mays was on second base with the potential World Series winning run. There were two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Willie McCovey was the batter with Orlando Cepeda on deck.

New York Yankees' manager Ralph Houk went to the mound to talk to right-handed starter Ralph Terry. It would be Terry's choice.

Terry decided to face McCovey.

Last November, the Philadelphia Phillies had found themselves in one of the most enviable positions in all of sports. 

They had just won a World Series Championship and followed it up with a repeat, albeit unsuccessful, trip to the Fall Classic. The organization possessed a tremendous nucleus of talent just entering their prime. 

It sounds like a great idea: Bring the Prince Fielder to Chicago, and let him take down Daddy's former team and keep them off the top spot.

However, for "His Royal Highness of the Trade Deadline," is he really worth the price?

Reports are saying the Brewers covet two major league players for the hefty first baseman, second baseman Gordon Beckham and pitchers John Danks or Gavin Floyd.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse after the Tigers lost Joel Zumaya to a serious elbow injury, valued third baseman Brandon Inge had his hand broken by a wild pitch.

However, the Tigers can’t just simply pout about the situation.  Instead, they need to show some confidence in their depth at third base, just as they are in their pitching staff.

The Tigers are in a rough patch, to say the least right now.

According to reports around the Majors, the Arizona Diamondbacks have changed their stance on Dan Haren possibly being traded this year.

Haren, who is 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA and league leader in strikeouts with 141, had previously been almost impossible to trade. Now, it appears that the D-Backs have taken a more open stance towards trading Haren this year.