Fan News

As seasons and almost more importantly aimless offseasons pass by, we Royals fans have had to adjust our expectations for contention, with the carrot on the proverbial stick predictably staying two years away. Not so long ago, we were looking to 2010 as the year that .500 would be attainable—the year that respectability would be ours.

After getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers, the Twins have definitely hit the lowest point of their season. The pitching was awful, and the offense matched that effort.

Again, Nick Blackburn couldn't get out of the third inning, and the offense couldn't muster a single run.

The Twins rewarded Blackburn with a four-year, $14 million contract that includes an $8 million option for 2014 in March of 2010.

As soon as phenom pitching prospect Steven Strasburg was drafted No. 1 overall by the Washington Nationals, baseball fans were awaiting the next Gibson or Ryan to take the mound.

As time went by in the minor leagues, Strasburg dominated the competition and a move to the majors became a reality for him.

Finally the Nationals called up Strasburg on June 8th for a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that game he dominated with 14 strikeouts and earned a win.

Carlos Beltran played his first minor league rehab game for Class A Port St. Lucie today.

Beltran was able to play five innings in center field; he went 0-for-2 with a walk.

While this is certainly not the performance that the Mets front office was hoping for, it is a good sign.

Beltran appears to feel comfortable playing in a baseball game again.

Tomorrow will be an important day for Beltran. Playing back-to-back games is a big step for him.

Hopefully, he will be able to play at least seven innings this time.

We Giants fans have seen a number of wild, yet successful, closers in the past 20 years.

With Rod Beck's curly locks flowing from behind his head in a mullet-type of hair style, he gathered 199 saves in his seven years as a Giant, becoming the greatest closer in the franchise's history and an instant fan favorite.

Shortly after, a man took that honor from Beck when he played for the Giants from 1998 to 2002, raising the bar and putting up 206 saves in a Giants uniform. That man goes by the name of Robb Nen. 

What is the value of a double play?

It seems like a simple question at first, but underneath the surface, incalculable defensive factors muddle up the idea that a double play is anything but a complex and intricate pattern of moving parts.

For those who believe glove conquers all, the middle infield is the most important part of a baseball team. How these two perform defensively can directly affect the number of games a team wins. So which dynamic duo was most valuable defensively this past decade?

Friday is Aramis Ramirez's 32nd birthday. It's also the day that he will be activated off of the disabled list.

In order to make room for the embattled third baseman, somebody needs to move off the 25-man roster. Since the team has only just started a stretch of 20 days without an off day, they can't afford to go with fewer than 12 pitchers.

That means, while Ramirez might have a very happy birthday tomorrow, one of the club's position players will be less than thrilled.

The Bombers are barely leading the pack.

What started out as a four-horse race with the Yanks playing second fiddle is now a crowd of three with the Yanks on top.

With Toronto currently down seven games, the Yankees are preoccupied with keeping the Rays (two games back) and Red Sox (two and a half games back) at a distance.

I must admit, I am a bit disappointed to see Toronto fall out of the race (for now at least). Sure, everyone knew that four teams weren't going to be fighting over first place for the season's entirety, but it was still fun to watch.

Yesterday, the Kansas City Royals gave phenom Stephen Strasburg his first loss in the major leagues as they defeated Strasburg’s Washington Nationals 1-0. The Royals did to Strasburg what they have tried to do to most teams in 2010—bludgeon them to death with singles.

The Royals mustered nine hits off of Strasburg yesterday and all of them were singles.

A.J. Burnett’s recent struggles are not a secret.  When you have a June ERA of 10.35 and WHIP of 2.00, it’s kind of hard to hide.  Let’s dissect his numbers in June and see if we can pinpoint where things have gone off course: