Baseball

In case you missed it, the Padres finally broke their inter league losing streak during this past week, and actually took 2 of 3 while visiting hot and humid Texas over the weekend.

The Pads have been going through players like water, looking for a winning combination here in 2009, and seem to have found a couple players who can help. OF Kyle Blanks is the best prospect the Padres have brought up from the minors in years, and should be here for many seasons to come.

Everybody loves a hard worker. Just ask Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire. He is known around Twins' Territory as one who adores players who bust their tails, even though the results may not be there.

Perhaps this is the reason Matt Tolbert still finds himself in the batting lineup every day?

Being brutally honest, Tolbert is not a good baseball player. His defense is above-average at second base, but most of that is thanks to his incredible speed.

Interleague play first began in 1997, and since that time, the schedule has seen more and more National League teams added.

The Twins' style of play, often referred to as "small ball," has been compared regularly to that of the National League "style." So it's no wonder that the Minnesota Twins have succeeded in interleague play since the tradition began.

As the Texas Rangers head into July and the All-Star break, they stand in second place in the American League West.

Only a game and a half separates them and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As the Rangers and Angels get set to take part in a crucial three game set at Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington, Texas GM Jon Daniels is looking at his options internally and externally.

He's got a knuckleball that floats like a butterfly, but stings like a bee.

I have had it with Magglio Ordonez.

Okay, I should preface this by saying how much I appreciate what Ordonez has meant to my beloved Detroit Tigers and the fans in general. 

Maggs signed with us when we were still a losing franchise without a lot of promise.  Sure, we may have overpaid for the then injured slugger, but he still had to sign the contract and we all were grateful.

After an early injury scare (sports hernia) kept him sidelined from the outset of his Tigers tenure, he eventually hit the field and tore the league apart in the process.

Original Article: Baseball Reflections

Last week’s Fantasy Focus centered around three prime sell-high targets.

This week, we’ll turn our attention to the minor leagues to find out which prospects are most likely to make a fantasy impact this season.

Hello again Tigers world. I am now making my way back to Michigan. I will spend this week in Washington DC with my brother and his wife before finally making my way back to the Great Lakes State. 

I think Brandon Inge has at least a pair of huge home runs since I left about a week and a half ago. I’ve also seen Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera go deep at least once or twice. That trio has hit a ton of homers this season and I wanted to see how they stack up against other power trios. 

The Rays won five of six last week, returned to full strength with Kazmir, Bartlett, Burrell, Bradford, and Shouse getting off of the DL. They look to continue their hot streaks when they head north to face Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays.