Fan News

The Milwaukee Brewers' eighth straight loss—a 5-4 heart-breaker to the division-leading Cincinnati Reds—has many fans calling for manager Ken Macha's head.

The embattled Brewers skipper is being criticized for his understated (read: boring) demeanor and methodical, analytical approach to leading the team. 

Read Adam Rosen's article on The Top 21 Moments in Yankees History.   It is a fun read, and who doesn't love reminiscing about the Yankees? 

Unfortunately, Adam takes the opportunity to propagate one of the great myths about Derek Jeter—that he once made some incredible play where he dove into the stands to catch a ball at a pivotal moment in a crucial game against the Red Sox.

Sometimes we as fans forget that professional sports are not just around so we have an excuse not to go to the store with the wife or something to talk about with that uncle who insists the Bears will never win again until they bring Ditka back.

The fact of the matter is professional sports are around so that the owners of the teams can make money. Sure, the owners aren’t the only ones making money when you go to the stadium or buy a jersey. Everyone from the players and coaches down to the ticket takers and security guards make money from a professional sports team. Why?

When one looks at the line of Phil Hughes' start Monday night against the Boston Red Sox, they see five innings pitched, six hits, five earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. The big stat, however, was the two home runs, a solo job to David Ortiz and a three-run jack to the newly-rejuvenated J.D. Drew.

In 2007, David Wright had one of the best seasons in Mets history, hitting .325 with 30 HRs, 107 RBI, and 34 steals. That season, Wright only had 115 strikeouts in 160 games (an average of 0.72 a game).

Fast-forward two-and-a-half years later to the 2010 season.

In 40 games, Wright has accumulated 55 strikeouts (1.38 a game), and has batted only .262.

It seems apparent that David Wright is not the player he used to be.

In 2004, the future of the Mets was revealed when David Wright and Jose Reyes were called up to the big leagues.

Every year, there are a handful of players who shock us in the season's opening weeks.

There are nobodies, rookies, and washed-up veterans who emerge as the game's top players by May, while some of baseball's biggest stars make their fans embarrassed to don their jerseys.

In this week's Featured Columnist poll, 16 of Bleacher Report's top baseball writers weighed in on which hot hands and slow starters we should begin idolizing or start worrying about, respectively.

This slideshow showcases 10 hot starters (look for the cold-starter results tomorrow), each with a rating of "the real deal,"

Let me start by saying that I am one of the biggest Derek Jeter fans ever. I grew up watching my favorite player become a legend for the most storied franchise in American sports. Seeing Derek Jeter play is something that I will tell my children.

However, this season has not been going as well as we have come to expect from "El Capitan".

At the one-quarter mark of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the New York Yankees are 25-14. That is good for second place in the American League East, 3.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

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

Fred Lewis, Toronto Blue Jays

Lewis went 3-for-5 with a run to raise his average to .298.

Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays

Overbay went 2-for-4 with a HR and three RBI. He’s hitting just .190 but has 17 RBI.

Jose Molina, Toronto Blue Jays

Molina went 3-for-4 with two runs to raise his average to .278.

Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds

Last night's loss to the Boston Red Sox has to leave a bad taste in the Yankees mouths. With a 5-0 lead after seven innings and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera lurking in the bullpen, the Yankees likely thought this game was over and they would sweep the short two game series.

Besides Paul Maholm, Zach Duke is the longest serving Pirate. And he is still hard to typecast.

On a good night, he is capable of beating a Cy Young award winner like the New York Mets' Johan Santana, or the Phillies Roy Halladay. On a bad day, he can be truly awful.

An example of this was Duke's last outing against Cincinnati. He gave up five runs, two of them homers, in five innings, for a 9.00 ERA.