Baseball

There is a noticeable mood difference in the Denver area as the Rockies showed they are still actually playing baseball and not hosting summer social gatherings at Coors Field. After tying a franchise record 11 game win streak the town is buzzing a bit!

This piece was originally published on June 4, 2009 when Sammy Sosa announced he would retire.

In a move that was typical of the strange ending of his baseball career, Sammy Sosa announced Wednesday that he'll announce his retirement sometime soon.

That's right, an announcement that he's going to make an announcement.

Sosa has seen an incredibly awkward fall from grace on Chicago's North Side, where he became one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the game.

This weekend will see a renewal of a rivalry in Anaheim, as the first place Dodgers (by eight-and-a-half games as of this writing) take on the surging Angels.

It's been a bit one-sided this year, as the Angels took two-of-three at Dodger Stadium in May.

In fact, the Angels have always played their Chavez Ravine neighbors tough. I remember going to a Dodger-Angel game two years ago today where the Angels walloped the Dodgers 10-4, and it wasn't even that close.

Francisco Liriano has served many roles in the eyes of Twins fans.

In 2006, he was the second-coming of Johan Santana and part of a vicious one-two punch that would lead the Twins to the Promised Land.

In 2007, he was the missing piece on a team that failed to meet expectations.

For the latest edition of the San Francisco Giants Roundtable, we decided to revisit Randy Johnson’s historic accomplishment from a couple weeks ago.

Now that the furor over the Big Unit’s feat has died down and baseball fans have had some calm to digest the latest entrant in the 300 Wins Club, we took a look at whether RJ will be the last pitcher so blessed, what it meant to the Gents, how the big lefty’s signing has worked out for the franchise, and basically all things Randy Johnson.

Enjoy.

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It is June 17, and we're almost at the halfway point of the season known as the All-Star break. The Mets have played 62 out of 162 games, and currently sit three games out of first place in back of the rival Phillies with a record of 33-29. Much like the life of Britney Spears, the Mets' season has been filled with peaks and valleys.

In one championship weekend, Phil Jackson won his tenth title (as an NBA coach), Kobe his fourth, and Sidney Crosby his first.  

Who needs home runs?

The Yankees failed to go yard at home for the first time since May 6 but played nearly flawless small ball to beat the Washington Nationals, 5-3, on Tuesday.

New York was 3-for-4 in moving runners over to third with less than two outs and a perfect 3-for-3 in scoring those runners.

With two on and nobody out in the second, Hideki Matsui did his job by grounding out to first to advance the runners.  Robinson Cano, who had four hits in the game, then scored on a sac fly by Melky Cabrera.

When Alex Rodriguez's name was linked to a 2003 list of players who had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs during the survey testing that season, it sparked a media frenzy that even the Mitchell Report couldn't touch.

There is a reason Selena Roberts didn't write a book about Jason Grimsley, Chuck Knoblauch or any of the others who were named in the report, even though many had hard evidence linking them to steroid or HGH use: The Public doesn't care about non-stars.