Baseball

It all made perfect sense for Dodgers fans.

With new ownership on its way and an underwhelming pitching staff to begin the season, the presence of Roy Oswalt in free agency seemed too appealing to pass up. Having not found a place to pitch by opening day, Oswalt announced he would wait a couple of months before deciding where he would play in 2012.

The baseball gods are really testing the Los Angeles Angels' collective resolve this season.

First, the Angels had to deal with Albert Pujols' prolonged slump, which sucked the life out of their offense and was painful to watch from beginning to end. It also may or may not have cost hitting coach Mickey Hatcher his job.

One thing that the Toronto Blue Jays have shown this season is that they are consistently inconsistent.  On occasion they have looked like a team equipped to raise their play to a new level—only to follow it up with disappointing stretches against teams they should beat (teams worse than .500) or fall short against teams they are competing with for a playoff spot. 

They also haven’t been able to get on a roll.  As of May 23, they have gone on five winning streaks of two or more games followed by losing streaks of two or more games.

Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are the future of the Washington Nationals. 

Strasburg will be the ace of a formidable starting rotation for years to come, and Bryce Harper will anchor the outfield and the lineup with his five-tool talent. The future is in good hands. 

Here are seven reasons why the Washington Nationals need to quickly sign both players to long-term contracts to ensure the successful future of the franchise.

Adam Wainwright has gotten off to a pretty rough start this season, posting an ERA of 5.77 prior to Tuesday's action.

After Tuesday night's contest against the Padres though, it's safe to say that his ERA will see a nice drop.

Wainwright pitched a shutout against the Padres, throwing just 111 pitches over nine innings while allowing just five baserunners—four hits and one walk. He also struck out nine.

As a devoted Detroit Tigers fan and follower, I probably should not be discussing the Cleveland Indians. But sometimes my love for the greater game of baseball takes precedence over my own biases.

Tuesday night's victory over the Atlanta Braves proved to be an encouraging sign for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Washington Nationals are being cautious with Ryan Zimmerman since his DL stint earlier this season.

Zimmerman was originally in the lineup on Tuesday but was scratched after manager Davey Johnson forced him to sit according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.

Playing Rough

Something you hear a lot about from fans is the lack of an "old-school" mentality in the modern game of baseball.

Well, Joe Maddon has struck again.

Maddon is definitely known for some, well, different lineup decisions—catcher John Jaso leading off in previous seasons is a good example.

Tuesday night's contest featured an even more absurd move, as Maddon penciled in Carlos Pena's name in the No. 1 spot in the order.

Needless to say, I was confused.

Why would Maddon put his best run-producer in the leadoff spot of the order?