Baseball

I've never been one for moral victories. You either win or you lose.

A rematch of teams that met in a championship setting the previous season does not constitute a "revenge game" nor series.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series—they have the rings. No series win in June the following season will avenge that.

Now Boston has a problem like really no other in baseball which is that they really have too much pitching depth on their roster. This is obviously a good problem for Boston and today I will analyze who really deserves to be in their starting rotation. I will give a short synopsis of each pitcher and see if they deserve a spot in the rotation. I will also see if they deserve to be where they are today.

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester

Forgive my ignorance on the matter, as I'm not well-versed in MLB rules and regulations, but why in the world is a suspended player allowed to play in the minor leagues before making their post-suspension major league debut?

Now obviously I understand it is in the rules that a suspended MLB player can play up to 10 games in the MiLB system, but still do not receive a paycheck of any kind. Paycheck or no paycheck, how can something like this be allowed?

Thursday was the 10th anniversary of Jesse Orosco's record-setting relief appearance. This week's Flashback Friday revisits that game and Orosco's tenure in Orange and Black, which had Baltimore fans talking about the pitcher's "snapdragon" curveball.

When Derek Jeter woke up in his Trump Plaza penthouse this morning, he officially (and unbelievably) began the 35th year of his insanely awesome life.

A first-round selection in the 1992 draft, Jeter has been nothing less than the face of the New York Yankees since 1996 when, at 21, he captured the American League Rookie of the Year award and a World Series title.

Despite sitting in 4th place in the American League East with a 37-35 record, the Tampa Bay Rays' season is not over just yet.

They have scored the most runs in the AL, and have an expected Win-Loss record of 42-30. Their expected W-L (based on runs scored and runs against) would put them in second place in their division, with the second best record in the AL.

This team is still stacked, and still improving. They are about as close as you can be to a complete offensive club. They hit, they run, and they hit for power.

Jacques Demers, as the irrepressible coach of the Detroit Red Wings, wasn’t happy.

In 1987, around the beginning of his tenure in Detroit, Demers had to make changes. His team was slumping and wasn't putting in the effort needed. He could not abide this.

So one blustery winter morning, he called practice at 7:30 a.m.

Desperate for something to change their offensive woes this year, Giants manager Bruce Bochy has made two interesting moves in the lineup within the last month.

First, after platooning him in the outfield the first couple of months of the season, on June 11, Bochy started giving outfielder Nate Schierholtz more consistent playing time in the outfield over Fred Lewis. Lewis was the starting left fielder last season, and in April, May and early June this year.

When Derek Jeter woke up in his Trump Plaza penthouse this morning, he officially (and unbelievably) began the 35th year of his insanely awesome life.