Fan News

Stephen Strasburg’s name won’t be added to the long list of can’t-miss prospects who have missed.  Following his historic performance in his Major League debut Tuesday, the sports world is abuzz over his 99-mph heat and devastating slurve.

Strasburg’s dazzling debut was arguably the best moment in the history of the Washington Nationals.  It was a polarizing moment in the 2010 MLB season, which lacks compelling story lines even in mid-June.  It justified the national media’s hype and made the Nats’ a franchise worth covering.

From George A. King III :

The Mariners are scouting the Yankees’ organization thoroughly.

They had two scouts recently in Charleston (Single-A). Last night they had two scouts watching Trenton play Reading, one of whom was former Yankees minor league coach Bill Masse.

They are slated to have at least one scout check on SWB shortly.

Don't expect the New York Yankees to publicly admit to wanting both or either of these players.

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, George A. King III of the New York Post says the Yankees are likely to be interested in both Mariners starting pitcher Cliff Lee and Astros first baseman Lance Berkman.

The Yankees have five quality starters on the team at this point, so many may think pursuing Lee would be pointless. In all reality, adding Lee would be more of a move for next season.

You think the Cubs regret letting Casey McGehee go?

Today's blog post has been —ahem —"ghost" —written by one Walter Perry Johnson. Don't mind him. He's been dead for over 60 years and has only the vaguest ideas of what's going on in the world.

If you had said before the season started that a New York Yankees pitcher would be having a Cy Young caliber season in June, you would have thought it would be CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, or maybe even Javier Vazquez.

You might have even thought it was Mariano Rivera.

But on June 9, it’s none of those Yankee pitchers. The pitcher that is having a Cy Young caliber season is Phil Hughes.

I have to admit that a radio appearance and the debut of Stephen Strasburg took up most of my attention last night, but that didn’t stop the Yankees from beating up on the Orioles.

They won 12-7 behind a grand slam from Curtis Granderson and a hard fought performance by Phil Hughes.

Here are some notes:

In the next few weeks, Major League Baseball will embark in trade frenzy. Every team must quickly decide whether they are a buyer or seller.

Do they have a chance to compete this year? Is it better to hold the pieces for a run next year? Should they sell any valuable assets to rebuild for years to come?

It is not easy for a general manager to make these decisions.

Just because you’ve slipped behind in the Stolen Base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.  Here are some reasonably available SB threats.

Aroldis Chapman is one of the most talked about prospects in baseball, though it is becoming increasingly questionable if he will make a fantasy impact in 2010. 

He’s shown some good and some bad during his time at Triple-A, but the one constant has been struggles with his control (which many feared before he signed).  Let’s take a look at his numbers thus far:

5 Wins
54.2 Innings
4.45 ERA
1.59 WHIP
61 Strikeouts (10.2 K/9)
34 Walks (5.7 BB/9)
.339 BABIP