Baseball

Washington DC

By Patrick Read

The new year is looming around the corner, and with 2010 comes the knowledge that Spring Training will begin in just a couple short months.

If you were looking to pick your greatest ever Philadelphia Phillies lineup based on single-season offensive performances, where would you start?

Do Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Von Hayes, Juan Samuel, and Larry Bowa?

Is Chuck Klein the greatest outfielder ever? Is the past worth more the present? Is power more important than speed?

It all points to one all-encompassing question with hundreds of possibilities: Which Phillie had the greatest offensive season at his position?

After a long hiatus, my obsession with uniform aesthetics continues with a look at Major League Baseball's road and alternate caps.

The baseball hat plays the integral role in a baseball uniform and it is one of the great American inventions and traditions we've ever seen.

Be aware that this list constitues hats worn only during the 2009 season and will not include teams that do not have road or alternate caps (Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, etc.).

Giants' fan Larry Levensen always argued that Leo Durocher could run rings around Casey Stengel when it came to managing. Durocher never blew a World Series the way Stengel did in 1960.

Casey Stengel's Error

Nothing was better than seeing the Yankees beat the Pirates in just about every category in the 1960 World Series, except for the only category that counts, which is games won.

We’re in the thick of baseball’s Hot Stove League right now, and I must say, I love the Tigers’ chances in 2010.

Yes sir, I think they’ll do just fine. All they have to do is have every starter pitch a complete game every outing and oh yeah, hold the other guys to no more than two runs per pop.

That’s all.

It hasn't been a great off-season for Atlanta. Simple as that.

The divisional opponents have gotten stronger. Atlanta has gotten weaker. Sure, we can debate whether Atlanta has made the right moves, but none of it adds up to a stronger team.

Next year, there will be no Vazquez, LaRoche, Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano or Kelly Johnson. There will be Melky Cabrera, Troy Glaus and Billy Wagner. Add all that up and I'd prefer to have those former players, not the latter group.

Jason Bay is unofficially off the market as the New York Mets have signed the Canadian-born left fielder to a four-year deal worth a reported $66 million.

This is quite possibly the last big signing of the year, the decade, and Omar Minaya’s final chance to put a winning ball club on the field in the always-competitive National League East.

According to ESPN correspondent, Jerry Crasnick, the deal will become official after Bay takes the required physicals.

Bay and the Mets do appear to be a perfect fit for each other.