Baseball

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In this day and age where hype overshadows pragmatism, dented cars mean more than practicality and age tends to mean more than relative production, it’s no wonder that Atlanta Braves centerfielder Nate McLouth is being glossed over.

Imagine you are responsible to select an all-time starting rotation for the San Francisco Giants in a fantasy league.  Your team would then have to compete against all other selected teams.  Who would make your team?  Who would you select for back up?

The rules for eligibility are simple.  Pitchers selected must have pitched 1000 innings for the Giants.  Relief pitchers considered must have logged 250 games for the team.

You may draw from any era the team was in existence.

Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra pulled a Carlton Fisk yesterday, by signing a one-day minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, then announcing his retirement, and taking a job at ESPN to become a baseball analyst.

As you may remember, I called this retirement a few weeks ago , even though I didn't get the exact method of the retirement down-pat.

Pity the prima donna who loses her voice.

Manny Ramirez is a prolific hitter. He’s also a perennial headache. In 17 big league seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder has justified his shenanigans in the clubhouse with his statistics on the field—which would be better news if his recent numbers didn’t raise the specter of a looming collapse.

Distinction means running ahead of your peers.

Decline, on the other hand, means fading back into the pack.

Troy Tulowitzki broke out in a big way in his 2007 rookie year, hitting .291 with 24 Home Runs and 99 Runs Batted In, while narrowly missing out on NL Rookie of the Year honors to Ryan Braun.

However in 2008 he took steps back, never being quite healthy and it showed in the statistics. He put up an ugly .263 average with only 8 home runs in 101 games, numbers that would scare away fantasy owners going into 2009.

Mike Lincoln is not a starting pitcher. Did you hear (er...read) me?

The closest Lincoln should come to starting a game is as a long reliever. He hasn't started a game since 2000.

He came up to the big leagues in 1999 with the Minnesota Twins. He started 15 games in '99 and had a 3-10 record with a 6.84 ERA.

The next year he started four games and was 0-3 with a 10.89 ERA. Those numbers are troubling, baseball fans. To send a man on the hill thinking you have to score 11 runs to win is not in anybody's playbook.

Pitching wins championships. It is a mantra subscribed to by many baseball enthusiasts, managers, and the like.

However, acquiring the pitching depth and talent to make it to October is easier said than done.

Every team is looking for an ace, a starting pitcher who can compile innings and strikeouts while maintaining a low WHIP and ERA and come through when the club needs a win.

Despite the demand for staff aces, there simply are not enough to go around.

There is no real glory in being a backup, but somebody has to do it.

Most backups are unappreciated—typically role players, hitters or pitchers on the team, backups are designed to do one job and one job only.

Some backups are expected to fill in at certain points, maybe at one point more than another.

They are widely unappreciated and often criticized when they don’t produce in the few opportunities they get.

When the Philadelphia Phillies sent Cliff Lee to Seattle in order to make room for Rory Halladay, I shook my head. I couldn't understand the concept of sending a No. 1 starter and picking up another one.

Lee was not ecstatic to realize the team he helped to the World Series had the door open for him with his hat in their hand.

So much for gratitude, eh?

He is currently with his third team in less than a year. The Phillies obviously rented him from Cleveland in the middle of last season.

If you find yourself in the Clearwater, Florida area on March 14, 2010, there will be a great event to take the family to at Bright House Field.

A group of former Major League Baseball players will be gathering for an Alumni Legends Game again this spring.

Last Spring a couple dozen former stars of the game came together at Bright House Field with the Military All-Stars Team, which was led by former Red Sox first baseman Brian Daubach.