Fan News

Following the 2008 season, Braves GM Frank Wren made it clear that he was looking to acquire at least two starting pitchers to bolster the rotation and lead the Braves back into the playoffs.

While Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami eventually made their way to Atlanta, the Braves wanted an ace, and targeted a couple big name pitchers.

Heading into the All-Star Break, Twins fans split into two camps.

The “oh God, it’s all over” camp reacted to the hometown nine’s recent run of form—a poor one, dropping them into third place in the decent AL Central.

The New York Mets won today behind the strong pitching performance of Johan Santana. Though Santana pitched well enough for a win, he didn't get it, as closer Francisco Rodriguez blew another save. Santana went eight strong, surrendering only one run on eight hits and one walk, while striking out five.

Personally, I had prayed that manager Jerry Manuel would let Santana come out for the ninth inning and finish the game out, but having thrown 115 pitches (81 for strikes, by the way), Santana got the handshake after retiring the last nine batters he faced.

As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches, the question is, will the Marlins ultimately become buyers or sellers? The team is currently 10.5 games out of first place in the National League East Division with the Braves, Mets, and Phillies ahead of them.

In a Major League season full of surprises, 2010 has brought on a handful of unexpected producers during the first half of the season.

Whether it has been the utter dominance of young pitchers, or the outburst of power from the big bats, there are veterans bouncing back, and many potential stars in the making.

Between some of baseball's younger generation and some of the old, a wide variety of players have stood out on an unexpected level.

On the other hand, some of the early surprises of 2010 could be just a brief flash of stardom rather than more permanent dominance.

When the Twins and Brewers swapped Carlos Gomez and J.J. Hardy in the off-season, Minnesota GM Bill Smith and Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin were looking to improve their squads.

As both teams crank up the second half of the season they find themselves in third place of their repsective divisions. Both players have spent time on the DL list this season; Gomez for a strained rotator cuff and Hardy for a wrist injury. They also share the same number on their jersey, but the similarities end there.

So who's gotten the better end of this deal?

We are now just past the midway point of the 2010 season and it is time for a little self-reflection.

Do you have a chance to compete or is it time to start preparing for fantasy football ? (Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy Football now available) Understanding your league rules and looking at results realistically will be the key to success.

Skipper Charlie Manuel wouldn't say his team got lucky in their wild 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, but that was plainly obvious to anyone watching.

Geovaney Soto certainly isn't a scrub and is not a guy who will make many mistakes, so when he drops a perfect throw that would have allowed him to tag out Brian Schneider by a good 10 feet or so, a lot of it is luck.