Baseball

1. (↑7) Tampa Bay Rays (14-5): Tampa Bay finishes the week with the best record in the majors and sits atop the FPR (250/300 total points) for the first time. The Rays are first in RBI (112), runs (113), and wins (14). The hottest team in baseball has won 8 of their last 10 and have a 1.5 game lead in the AL East.

On Jan. 1, 1927, Charles "Swede" Risberg testified that in 1917, the Chicago White Sox "bought" four games from the Detroit Tigers for $1,100.

As repayment for their cooperation, the White Sox "sloughed" a series in 1919 to the Tigers in an attempt to help the Bengals finish in third place.

On Jan. 5, 1927, the players accused of involvement had their chance to respond to the charges. Twenty-nine players denied the charges before Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis.

In the beginning of the 2010 season, a lot of things have gone right for the Yankees.

Curtis Granderson is fitting well into the center field spot for the Yankees, as is Brett Gardner in the left field spot.

Phil Hughes is doing a tremendous job as the fifth starter while for the most part, Joba Chamberlain has done a good job as the setup man.

However, there has been one glitch so far in the 2010 season: Javier Vazquez.

Just because you’ve slipped behind in the stolen base category doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.  Here are some reasonably available SB threats.

When the Nationals traded their Rule V pick last winter to the Yankees for reliever Brian Bruney, many thought it to be a solid addition to a woeful bullpen.

The 28-year-old veteran had a career record of 17-10 with a 4.31 ERA and he seemed like a logical option to either be the team’s eighth-inning set-up man or perhaps even their closer.

If you look up powerhouse in the dictionary, chances are a picture of Ryan Howard won't be to far away.

If you look up all-or-nothing on google, chances are Ryan Howard's picture will quickly appear on your screen.

It's no secret that Ryan Howard drives in runs like they're going out of style.

It's also no secret that he comes up empty more often than any other big league hitter.

As the later portions of Ryan Howard's new 5 year, $125 million contract near, the latter will likely overtake the former.

Ryan Howard is a big boy, to say the least.

Here’s a look at some unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers

Inge went 3-for-5 with two runs, two HRs, and two RBI. He’s hitting .270.

Marco Scutaro, Boston Red Sox

Scutaro went 3-for-5 with four runs and an RBI to raise his average to .276.

Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

Tek went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. He’s hitting .357.

Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox

A casual Cleveland Indians fan flipping through the sports section would let his face fall if he noticed Justin Masterson's numbers so far this year.

At 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA, his basic stats are bad enough to make Joe Six-Pack put down his coffee, stare into space, and mumble something about the good old days.

After surrendering seven runs in four innings Sunday against Oakland, even diehard Tribe fan Samantha Bunten was compelled to ask, "What on earth is wrong with Justin Masterson?"

In honor of Alex Rodriguez and his breaking of an unwritten rule while playing against the Oakland A's.

The following is a list of baseball's unwritten rules and the decision of whether they're worth keeping or whether they really aren't that big of a deal.

As for the one that ARod broke, I think we can all agree he knew exactly what he was doing and playing stupid afterwards was even more idiotic in my opinion.

Hours before the Philadelphia Phillies failed to make the necessary plays in a 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, they made one huge play off the field.

The Phillies announced they had locked up slugger Ryan Howard to a five-year, $125 million contract extension that could keep the All-Star first baseman in Philadelphia through 2017.

The contract runs through 2016, with a club option for 2017 that could raise the value of the deal to $138 million.