Baseball

This is the time of the year that most trading happens. Owners become impatient with slow starters or don't think guys can keep up fast starts. Here are players to buy and sell before it's too late.

Catcher

Buy: Brian McCann (ATL)

In 1997, the movie Gattaca taught us that "there is no gene for the human spirit." At the start of every MLB season, we learn that there isn't a statistic for it, either.

As per usual, countless so-called experts—myself included—spent the weeks leading up to Opening Day breaking down the statistical projections and prognosticating about how the divisions would shape up in 2010.

Clearly, Dallas Braden’s perfect game was the biggest story of the day, but there certainly was plenty more worth discussing.  How about Clayton Kershaw out-dueling Ubaldo Jimenez?  How about Hunter Pence showing signs of breaking out?  Let’s look at all the stories from yesterday’s games.

Pitchers

Dallas Braden (9.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 6 K, W)

THE MEAT OF THE ORDER

Every week there are three things I deem to be really important. It's kind of like the "meat" of my lineup. This week, there is only two because my DH is on the disabled list.

1. Zach Duke isn’t plunking anyone.

This whole “unwritten rule” thing has gone far enough. We are talking about these things way too much for them to be “unwritten” at this point. So let’s start calling them “The unwritten but often spoken of” rules of baseball.

At any point in the history of the Colorado Rockies if three of the projected five starting pitchers had gone on the disabled list, the Rockie

Andy Pettitte wasn't too pleased when he found out the Yankees decided he would skip his next start. Here are the quotes from Mark Feinsand:

The biggest news so far today is the Cubs’ decision to call up 20-year-old Dominican shortstop Starlin Castro all the way from AA ball. 

Castro was hitting a robust .376 with a .990 OPS for the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League, but that’s a long way from the Show.

Castro is one of the more highly regarded prospects in baseball (Baseball America ranked him 16th among all prospects before the start of this season), and players his age sometimes progress very quickly.

Comedian actor Will Ferrell was on hand at Round Rock’s Dell Diamond on Thursday evening, May 6, guest starring for the Express (the Houston Astros’ triple-A affiliate).

After watching a majority of the game from the owner’s suite, Ferrell entertained fans when he emerged from the bullpen as Billy Ray “Rojo” Johnson to start the sixth inning.

The character “Rojo,” an American-born pitcher out of Venezuela, was used as part of a skit during intermission leading up to Ferrell singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the seventh inning.

Fer

For the original article check out Baseball Professor .

Cubs GM Jim Hendry called up highly-touted prospect Starlin Castro Friday morning, a move that’s been widely speculated for the past week.