Baseball

The bullpen was supposed to be a key strength for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2010.

All the talk about lacking a true No. 1 starter didn't matter, because the relievers would be there to secure any lead.

That bravado hinged, in no small way, on the return of Scot Shields.

Shields has indeed returned, but his pitching form has not.

After looking at the merits of the Boston Red Sox trading for Milwaukee Brewers first baseman, Prince Fielder, there could be another team with colored socks in the mix for Fielder's services, the Chicago White Sox.

GM Kenny Williams isn't afraid to bring in a big-name player to his organization, as evident by his acquisitions of Jake Peavy and Alex Rios last season.

Fielder would just serve as the latest player to come to Chicago thanks to one of the most aggressive general managers in baseball.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter reached another milestone this past weekend and did so quietly.

Not much mention was made of baseball's poster boy after he took over the active hits lead.

As of today, Jeter has 2,781 hits and has overtaken Ken Griffey Jr. for the active lead. Griffey has 2,776 as I write this.

It is quite a feat for Jeter to already catch "Junior." Griffey already had over 1,000 hits by the time Jeter came to the Majors.

The Cubs begin May 3 with an average—at best—record of 13-13 and find themselves 4.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals (17-8) in the National League Central.

Starting pitching remains the team’s strong suit. But if you haven’t noticed, the Cubs—outside of Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez—are starting to hit.

Whatever way you want to slice and dice the Mets Sunday-night defeat in Philadelphia, there's no getting away from the fact that Johan Santana struggled.

Struggled is probably the nicest word to describe his shortcomings in Citizens Bank Park. It's like saying that Stalin struggled to understand the merits of democracy or that C.C. Sabathia struggled to fit into a pair or Chinos with a 36-inch waist.

Not yet...

The starting pitching had to let down at some point this season. It’s virtually impossible to keep up the pace.

Mike Pelfrey got the fun started, giving up six runs in the fourth inning on Saturday en route to a 10-0 loss, the first loss for the Mets in eight games.

Things only got worst on Sunday when Johan Santana put up his worst effort in his time with the Mets, as he gave up 10 runs in less than four innings pitched.

With the first month of the season in the books, let’s take a look at which pitchers have benefited most from a lucky BABIP.  Who is most likely to fail?  Who will continue to thrive?  (All stats through Saturday).

1. Livan Hernandez —Washington Nationals — .180

The Cincinnati Reds' starters are pitching like we thought they would going into the season, including, yes, Aaron Harang. 

But the Reds have an unexpected problem. The bullpen, more specifically the middle relievers, are pitching like kids dropped on their heads as babies.

The back-end is fine. Coco Cordero is lights out. And if Arthur Rhodes keeps it up, he may be the first eighth-inning guy to win a Cy Young Award.

Daniel Ray Herrera has been fine for the two or three batters he faces, and Micah Owings is doing alright in the mop-up role.

Since Brian Cashman took the reigns of a championship-bound team in 1998, he has acquired several players who were run out of town following their disastrous tenures in pinstripes. Scathing condemnations written by dozens of columnists questioned these previously successful players' respective abilities to succeed under the bright spotlight of New York. 

Hello, Jason Heyward, so nice to meet you. But as good as you are already, and as great as you’re going to be, you’re not alone.