Fan News

By Troy Sparks

I'm not a big fan of interleague play.

Maybe fans like to watch it.

American League teams shouldn't play National League teams during the season, except in All-Star Games and the World Series.

That idea was ridiculous from the start. I was fine with teams playing games within their own league.

The American League has its own identity as does the National League.

A designated hitter can bat for the pitcher in the AL.

You see double switches and pitchers batting for themselves in the NL.

With such a rich and lengthy history, the Cubs have seen roughly 2,000 players don the Cubbie blue over the years.

Because of that, I thought it would be fun to name who I feel are the top five players for all 26 letters of the alphabet, going by last name.

To qualify, the player needs only to have played at least one game for the Cubs.

There appear to be two factors in the Mets' home success and road failure.

First, they just aren't scoring runs on the road (47 percent fewer runs).

Second, Mets pitchers are giving up 58 percent fewer home runs at Citi Field than on the road.

As a result of allowing fewer home runs, the Mets are also allowing 30 percent fewer RBI at Citi Field (135 away, 95 home).  

One could argue that other factors, including the number of hits (singles, doubles, and triples) and walks could account for this, but statistics suggest otherwise.

Let’s forget for a moment that Chase Utley is one of the most popular athletes on the planet.

Let’s imagine he’s a fictional character on Fox’s just-ended TV series, 24—and that he’s withholding some kind of information.

Mr. Utley being interrogated by government agent Jack Bauer?

Almost certainly the worst job Major League Baseball teams ever did of handicapping baseball talent happened in the 1975 Draft. It was a bad, bad draft on many levels.

The first player selected was my all-time biggest draft bust: Danny Goodwin. Adding to the fact that this was the second time Goodwin was the first player selected in the draft, he was also given what was then almost certainly a record bonus for a drafted player of $125,000.

By Larry Barnes | Yankees ‘n More and The New York Yankees Daily-Press
It is past time for the New York Yankees to have a fulltime pitching coach on staff – a benefit the Yankees haven’t enjoyed for a week and counting. That’s because Dave Eiland has some unnamed personal issue that has kept him away from the team.

It's the beginning of June and while the Yankees are in the midst of a pennant race with the Rays, that hasn't been the buzz of the area lately.

Nope. The buzz belongs to the possible trade destinations of the Seattle Mariners' left handed pitcher, Cliff Lee.

Before the start of the season, I honestly thought Seattle would be a major contender in the division and they would hold onto Lee for the 2010 season. Hell, I even picked them to win the A.L. West this season, especially when they got Lee back in the winter.

A long time ago, Jim Hendry, knowing that the World Series window for a team that had not represented the National League in the Series since 1945 was very short, went on a spending spree. Among other signings, he gave Kosuke Fukudome a big deal, (4-years, $48 million) locked up Carlos Zambrano (5 years, $91 million) and Aramis Ramirez (5 years, $75 million) and, of course, the most reviled contract in Cubs history, the 8-year, $136 million dollar behemoth handed out to streak hitter and strikeout machine Alfonso Soriano.