Fan News

As I was taking in the hideous stylings of one Allan James Burnett last night at Chase Field, I thought it would be fun to gauge the A.J. Love on some sure-to-be completely rational New York Yankee message boards.

The struggling right-hander had allowed three homers and five runs through one inning against the last-place Diamondbacks. Burnett, I reasoned, would be a periphery topic at the very least.

It turns out that Yankees fans—even-keeled lot that they are—were not happy with their supposed No. 2 starter.

It has been reported that Carlos Beltran worked out in front of Omar Minaya and the New York Mets training staff on Sunday.

Beltran showed his hitting and base-running ability. Beltran impressed Minaya and the medical staff. They believe that he is ready to move on to the next step of his rehabilitation. Exactly what rehab is needed and when it will start is uncertain. It is possible that the next step is a minor league rehab assignment.

Minaya and Beltran are supposed to talk to the Mets' head doctor later this week to come up with a plan of action.

As Major League Baseball inches closer and closer to the trade deadline, the trade rumors will become more of a hot button topic among all baseball fans.

The two biggest names on the market right now are Houston's Roy Oswalt and Seattle's Cliff Lee.

When you break down the possibilities of each team that will be chasing both of these pitchers, you'll find different problems that each team will have to face if they want to get a deal done.

We'll cover those problems, the teams in the running, and several other rumors making the rounds.

We are a little more than halfway through June, so let’s take a look at the players who are mired in deep slumps based on BABIP for the month.

Is there anyone that an owner may be willing to jump ship on that’s worth buying? Let’s take a look.

1. Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays: .157

The marquee pitching names of the 2010 trade deadline seem to be all of the talk. The final destinations of starters Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt have been under the microscope for weeks now. The Mets seem to be in line to make a move on a starter to help solidify their rotation.

There is the criticism over a deal for Lee or Oswalt that the Mets would be dealing far too many prospects that have a future with club.

These rankings are based on a 300 point system, 150 for offensive production and 150 for pitching production. 30 points (1 point for each team) is the most points any team can receive in a given category. For instance, if the Rays lead the league in HR’s they will get 30 points for that category.

The 5 offensive categories used: HR’s, RBI’s, Runs, Average, and SB’s .

The 5 pitching categories used: Wins, Saves, WHIP, ERA, and K’s

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Dear Dallas-Fort Worth Sports Fans,

Hey it's us, your first place Texas Rangers.  Yes, that's right, go check, we are in first place in the AL West. 

We have the fifth best record in the majors at 41-28.  We have won nine of our last ten games and our best player, Josh Hamilton, has found the swing that made him famous two years ago at the HR derby.

He's batting .337 with 16 HR and 52 RBI.  All three of those stats are at least in the top four of each category in the AL.

Last year's NL Cy Young competition was quite the horse race. Chris Carpenter, Tim Lincecum, and Adam Wainwright all received significant votes from the BBWAA as well as vocal and passionate support from fans.

While this year's race is far from unanimous, there is one obvious favorite who would win hands-down if a vote was held today.

Need proof?

Don't let the ridiculous pants fool you...

Left-hander Daniel Norris has some serious skill and is starting to gain some helium with his sights set on being a top-five pick in next year's MLB draft.

You can check out my high-school-less mock draft, but this is the new and improved draft, complete with all the prep studs who have thrust themselves onto the big stage.

You'll also notice I've added some player comps. These aren't necessarily who each player should turn into, but they are models of who the prospects are most similar to in terms of size, tools, and personality.