Nick Blackburn has always been tough to figure out. Finishing the last couple seasons with a "well-rounded" total of 11-11, he looks to be skidding into similar figures towards the end of June. 

But what worries me isn't so much the new advent of suck, but it coming after a phenomenal month of May. Blackburn was 5-0 in May, winning all of his decisions. He pitched at least seven innings in every start, as well as starting off the month with a complete game.

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

People can keep telling themselves "oh, it's only one game," but soon the doubters will have to accept the fact that the New York Mets are a legitimate threat in 2010.

They shut out the Yankees for their third straight victory over their cross-town rivals on Friday night, and the Mets are putting more weight behind the idea that their road sweeps in Baltimore and Cleveland were no fluke.

This current Chicago Cubs team has shown the unremarkable ability to lose in many different ways, most often due to a lack of so-called clutch hitting.

And yes, this team has certainly had its share of bullpen issues along the way, just to add insult to injury.

But one thing has remained constant throughout the Jim Hendry era: a lack of fundamental baseball.

Remember when we blamed Dusty Baker for a lack of attention to fundamentals as his teams kicked around the ball and couldn't ever seem to do the little things that win games?

I was married on May 31, 2008, the same day Manny Ramirez clubbed his 500th home run at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

For that reason, it’s one of those baseball moments forever ingrained in my mind, as the replay was still dancing across the televisions in the hotel bar as our wedding party meandered in.

That historic feat took place in the same stadium that, barely more than two weeks earlier, Ramirez high-fived a fan sitting beyond the left field wall.

While turning a double play.

After yet another near-sweep of a relatively weak team, the Seattle Mariners this time, the St. Louis Cardinals continue their quest for dominance in interleague play. 

St. Louis looks to recapture first place in the NL Central this weekend against the Oakland Athletics. 

The Cardinals haven't enjoyed much success on their California trips this year. They went 1-2 against the San Francisco Giants, 1-2 against the San Diego Padres, and 0-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Most Rockies fans hold out hope as long as possible that the team is going to turn a mediocre season around. As long as possible may have come with the news on Friday.

The Mets are officially on a tear. With their 6-4 win over the Indians tonight, the Mets have won seven in a row and 11 of their last 12. They are 12-2 in June and are 18-5 since May 22.

Once again, the Mets tore the cover off the ball, recording double-digit hits in their fourth straight game. The Mets got it going—no pun intended—right off the bat, scoring three runs off Jake Westbrook in the first inning.

The Oakland Athletics were hanging tight in the race for the American League 
West division title. After the past two series where the A's have lost five games out of six that were played, it has become clear the A's need to make some major adjustments. 

That would involve making trades for a big time bat in the lineup. The only problem is, what self-respecting player would want to play for Bob Geren? This was shown by the most recent trade the A's have made. 

In less than half the year we've had some amazing, and I mean amazing games by pitchers. Three no-hitters from Ubaldo Jimenez, Roy Halladay, and Dallas Braden, with the last two being perfect. Technically we've had three perfect games if you count Armando Galarraga's, which I think we should. Have the pitchers finally taken the lead in fantasy value over batters? Lets take a look…

2010
3 no-hitters (Jimenez, Halladay, Braden)
5 complete game one-hitters (Matt Cain, Johnny Cueto, Jon Niese, Mat Latos, Armando Galarraga)