Baseball

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles got interleague baseball off to a fantastic start on Friday night in Washington, DC.

The regional rivals played a well-pitched, defensive baseball game that went into extra innings.  The Orioles won the game 2-1 in the 11th inning after the Nationals could not successfully mount a comeback in response to Nick Markakis' impressive solo home run in the top half of the frame.

Every time Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander hits the mound, there is a chance of him pitching a no-hitter.  That's how good he is.  Verlander was looking for the third no-hitter of his career and the eighth in Tigers history on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He lost it in the ninth inning after a breaking ball that was hit by Pirates DH Josh Har

Anthony Rizzo is far and away the most exciting player in the Cubs organization. 

Rizzo is hitting .353 with 14 home runs, has a .416 OBP in 150 at-bats and is getting hot again, hitting .350 in his last 10 games with seven home runs, 14 RBI, four extra-base hits and a K-BB ratio of 6-to-4. 

There is no doubt Rizzo will be joining the Cubs in the very near future. Their upcoming schedule forces the front office to consider the options.

It seems more and more these days one can turn to the sports section of the newspaper on any given morning, or tune in to SportsCenter at any time and be assaulted by stories highlighting professional athletes, baseball players in particular, engaging in behaviors that are not only egregious and loathsome but unfortunate fodder for self righteous pundits and cynics alike—angry critics who claim that sports and their lionized idols are nothing more than a blight on our culture and embody an egocentric, selfish entitlement that threaten

"Aging" Andy Pettitte wasn't too old to pitch a brilliant eight-inning shutout game Friday night against a formidable Cincinnati Reds team. This gave him his first win in 2012, and it made up for a weakish previous start against the Seattle Mariners

His skills are still what they used to be. That is not unexpected for an older player, even a pitcher.

Texas Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan does not expect a new contract for Josh Hamilton by the end of this season, according to ESPN.com.

After starting out 2012 sluggishly, the Philadelphia Phillies have put the pedal to the medal over the last week, winning six straight games and seven out of eight against San Diego, Houston, Chicago, and now Boston.

The Texas Rangers had Roy Oswalt throw a bullpen session for them on Friday, revealing the Rangers as the another team that saw him pitch.

Once upon a time Tim Lincecum was one of the elite pitchers in the game…

When you say it like that it feels like ages ago, doesn’t it?  Of course, that’s far from the case.  Lincecum was one of the best pitchers in the league as recently as last season and viewed by most as a Top 5 option entering 2012.  So, when you see these types of numbers through 8 starts, you obviously have to be curious as to what is going on:

The “Fabulous Foursome” is a new column here at Rotoprofessor that we are going to run once a week focusing on four players fantasy owners should be looking to acquire for various reasons (for example, a new closer, prospect on the verge of a recall, buy-low candidates, etc.). 

Let’s take a look at who you should be targeting this week: