Baseball

There is this beautiful song out on the country radio charts. In fact, it is now ranked at No. 2 for this week, and it is called, "The Boys of Fall," and its artist is Kenny Chesney.

It talks of high school football and wearing the jerseys, digging in the cleats, and roughing up the shoulder pads. It is an emotional song that still manages to stay away from the label of "cheesy" label.

Down where I live in Texas, it fits the culture like a glove because Texas is all about football.

by Lake Cruise, September 26, 2010 

Startled by the news that Joe Torre is vacating the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dugout next season, I started to wonder if Saint Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa needs to resign.

Torre’s decision resulted in Peter Gammons also questioning Tony La Russa’s future, and Gammons mentioned Saint Louis as a possible destination for Torre if La Russa steps down.

Cubs television analyst Bob Brenly officially withdrew his name from the list of candidates for the Cubs skipper job that opened when Lou Piniella retired last month. While he did not disclose his reasons, one sentence seems to say a lot about why he would not want to manage the team in 2011.

The Mets were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday. However, with 10 games left in the season, fans should not stop supporting the team. I am completely aware that it is football season and there are two exciting teams in New York. The Jets, behind Rex Ryan (you either love him or hate him), are looking to improve on last season's AFC Championship game appearance.

The American League's playoff field is virtually set. The Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers will duke it out for the right to represent the American League in the World Series. Each team has some key strengths and a few glaring weaknesses. Find out who will represent the American League in the 2010 World Series.

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      The New York Yankees are in a slump.  A bad one at that.  However, they are still very much in the hunt.  With their magic number down to 3, and facing the Red Sox, there's a good chance that they will have clinched a playoff spot by the end of the weekend.  With many of the Yankees in their 30's, it's vital that they clinch by the weekend so that they can rest their starters.

The saying goes good pitching beats good hitting. It's actually more than a saying. It's a reality. If you have a dominant pitcher on his game, there is not a hitter on the planet that can hit him.

Painting the black. Hitting your spots. Changing speeds.

It is something the Giants pitching staff has done very well for the past 18 games. They have not allowed more than three runs in a game since September 4.

There has been some argument the past couple of years whether baseball should expand their playoff format.

The argument being that very few teams are in the playoffs and often times half the teams are out by the All-Star break, meaning that half the fans have little to no interest in baseball any longer.

So would it help if baseball decided to expand the playoffs from 8 teams to let’s say 12 or possibly 16? Well, how about we lay out a format for two potential different playoff systems.

Last night, Jose Bautista became the first player in the Majors to hit 50 home runs this season, and, with only a week remaining in the regular season, he may be the last as well.

Wait...what? Who? Huh?

That would be the standard reaction from most baseball fans, spanning from the casual observer to the most diligent follower.

The first question to consider, of course, is, who in the world is Jose Bautista?

There is no professional sports league in which it is tougher for a franchise to reach the postseason than Major League Baseball. Making the postseason in baseball is a true accomplishment for any team, even for the Yankees and their $206 million payroll.