Fan News

Hello, class. If you remember, last week we talked about the basics of Sabermetric principles and how they look at stats differently than most people and value lesser used stats over more traditionally viewed numbers like ERA and batting average.

With the MLB trade deadline just over two weeks away, Dodgers' general manager Ned Colletti is scrambling to make the best possible roster moves in an effort to mold together a playoff contending squad for 2010.

It's been speculated that financial resources are limited, and outside of several underperforming relievers and a few substandard bench players, Los Angeles really doesn't want to sacrifice talent at the Major League level in order to obtain that missing piece of the puzzle that puts them over the top.

However, the Dodgers' farm system remains one of the most productive in baseball,

The Home Run Derby is a yearly event that captivates the nation like few others. People are naturally attracted to the long ball, and seeing the sluggers duke it out to see who is the game's biggest bopper is a great thrill.

The first incarnation was a television show in the 1960's that showed the best hitters of the day competing for cash prizes by seeing who could hit the most big flies. Hank Aaron was the most successful, winning six straight competitions, and Mickey Mantle also won a few.

The San Francisco Giants need a big bat to make a big run at a National League playoff berth.

Guess what?

They don't need to trade starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez (whose still got a 75 percent chance of being a productive big league winner) to get outfielder Corey Hart (who'd come with 50-50 odds that his offensive numbers would diminish in the move from Milwaukee's cavernous Miller Park to San Francisco's cavernous AT&T Park).

The Rays were the best team early in the season, and they stumbled out of first place into third. However, via a sweep of the Red Sox, the Rays are back comfortably in second place.

How'd that happen? Here are the grades for the players of the Rays in the first half of 2010.

Begin Slideshow

The Atlanta Braves have traded SS Yunel Escobar and P Jo-Jo Reyes to the Toronto Blue Jays for SS Alex Gonzalez, P Tim Collins, and SS Tyler Pastornicky

At the end of the season, legend Bobby Cox will finally retire and hand the Braves over to another manager. The Braves would love to send him off with another World Series Title.

Last night in the All-Star game, Braves catcher Brian McCann could have helped them in a very crucial way.

As we all know, the game decides home field advantage in the World Series, and that’s what it is: an advantage.

Imagine for a minute you're staring into a boxing ring somewhere between Anaheim, California and Arlington, Texas.

The Los Angeles (don't call me Anaheim) Angels just watched as the Texas Rangers stole left-hander Cliff Lee right out from under the New York Yankees. It was like a stunning left cross that the Angels never saw coming.

While they stare off into space, stunned that the once lowly Texas Rangers just threw their biggest punch in years, and while the stars they're seeing start to wear off, owner Artie Moreno has to be hatching a plan on how the team responds.

Sports fans knew George Steinbrenner for 37 of his 80 years, ever since he bought the New York Yankees in the early 1970s. But the legacy Steinbrenner leaves behind will permeate throughout the offices of sports owners for years to come. George Steinbrenner set the standard for just about all of today’s franchise owners.

Embodied within one man were many different qualities; not all flattering. Charitably, he’s been described as complex. But he was always larger than life, and not to be forgotten.

Busy as Blue Jays Catcher John Buck was collecting his first hit as an All-Star, he still found time to discuss his former teammate, David DeJesus, with WEEI's Alex Speier yesterday in Anaheim. Put bluntly, Buck thinks DeJesus would perform tremendously with the Red Sox or another playoff contender.

Little does Buck realize that he may be playing in Beantown just as quickly as Kansas City's much-discussed outfielder. Perhaps they'll reunite at Fenway.