Baseball

Let’s take a preliminary look at the first-round of 2011 fantasy baseball drafts.  This is going to be an extremely fluid list, so don’t take the order as anything set in stone.  As I work on my progressions and really dig into my research, things are going to move, possibly quite dramatically.

With that said, let’s get to the list:

Anyone who thought that this would be an easy series...do you have your answer yet?

A day after the Giants eked out a one-point win on the defending National League champions, the Phightin's turned around to pull off a 6-1 win to even up the series at one game apiece.

The only thing that was more ironic than the spelling of Cody Ross' name spelled backwards (Sorry Doc), was another solo shot from Cody Ross on a pitch in the same place to break up another no-hitter tonight.

It will be a great homecoming for Pat Listach on Tuesday.

The former Brewer and Astro was informed late last week that Doug Melvin asked the Washington Nationals for an interview for the managerial position, according to MLB.com and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Listach was currently beginning a managerial assignment for a Puerto Rican winter ball league, but had to change plans quickly to head back to Wisconsin. He will be meeting with Doug Melvin on Tuesday for an interview.

In today’s issue of the New York Daily News, there is a sidebar that contains the names and faces of 15 current players on the baseball team from New York that isn’t the Yankees. This team has been my favorite team ever since I was a young child, when my dad, who apparently hated me and wanted to doom my baseball dreams for the rest of my life, raised me as a fan of this team.

It's not going to be a sweep for the Yankees. The Rangers got their first postseason victory at home in their nearly 50 seasons with a 7-2 blowout win over the Yankees.

After a bullpen collapse Friday night, the Rangers were able to hold on to their lead. The Rangers' bullpen was the complete opposite of what it was in their loss to New York on Friday. The Yankees were only able to obtain one hit in a little over three innings against the Rangers' bullpen.

There has been talk in the past few weeks about what the Cincinnati Reds will do with Orlando Cabrera, who they hold a $4 million mutual option on for 2011.  Will they exercise that option or will they let him walk, turning the keys over to Paul Janish?

It’s easy to cheer when your team is the Giants, a town awaiting a charming moment, a town awaiting a miracle, a town awaiting a celebration in the Bay Area. Earlier this season, when a refreshing moment hardly seemed far-fetched, the San Francisco Giants mounted into a premier ballclub with the grandest turnaround as an uneventful sport enticed a large crowd near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Since the arrival of Citi Field in New York, the classic folk song "Meet the Mets" is rarely rejoiced around the stadiums 41,000 plus seats. 

As much as each and every Met fan still enjoys referencing the song from time to time, "Meet the Mets" went out with Shea Stadium, and is no longer the team anthem that so many generations came to admire.

The Rangers hired Ron Washington as their manager in 2007. They wanted a manager who would be the anti-Buck Showalter. They felt Washington's light approach would get guys to play at a high level after being worn down by Showalter's micromanagement.

Washington did not start out well in his first year as the Rangers manager. His team got off to a rough start, and he did not get along with Mark Teixeira.

Early in the seven o'clock hour, the rally towels were already waving. The noise was already to the max, and the fireworks were already firing.

The historical city of Philadelphia always finds a way to write and rewrite history. The action was preceded by the world-famous Philadelphia's boys choir opening with the National Anthem, and then it was time to play ball.