Baseball

To say this has been an emotional week for the Colorado Rockies is a vast understatement.

With such a rich and lengthy history, the Cubs have seen roughly 2,000 don the Cubbie blue over the years. Because of that, I thought it would be fun to name who I feel are the top five players for all 26 letters of the alphabet, going by last name.

To qualify, the player needs only to have played at least one game for the Cubs.

Adrian Gonzalez homered for the fourth straight day on Sunday and now has six on the season.  I know that this isn’t any breaking news that Gonzalez hits for good power, but I thought it was noteworthy that he had a nice streak going.

Even if he isn’t traded away at the deadline, Gonzalez seems to be the one guy who can hit home runs for San Diego whether it be on the road like today, or in PetCo Park. 

 There have been a number of developments over the past week with regard to the health of both the Washington Nationals and their farmhands. The biggest story in terms of its impact on the team is the status of Ryan Zimmerman.

Kendry Morales was 3-for-3 with three RBI, and Brandon Wood delivered a clutch two-run double to lead Los Angeles to an 8-4 triumph over New York on Sunday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. New York dropped their first series of the season after winning their first five. Los Angeles improved to 19-8 at home against the Yankees dating back to the 2006 season.

Some say baseball can be defined by just statistics, but only a true fan can see past the statistics and see the beauty of the game.  Some people say that a cycle is just four hits, that a perfect game is just another win, a walk off home run is just a hit, that a no hitter is just another win! In the next few weeks I will dive into baseball lore, legend, databases, Wikipedia articles, and my baseball filled brain to try and let you see the beauty of baseball I see every time I see that gorgeous green diamond.

Around baseball there are a number of ballplayers who have gotten off to horrendous starts. In some places, such as Boston, the struggles of players like DH David Ortiz (.156, 7-for-45) and RF J D Drew (.158, 9-for-57) will have no implications beyond shuffling someone like Mike Lowell into the lineup on occasion.

The prospects who are deemed closest to being major-league-ready aren’t really doing any better in the minor leagues than Ortiz and Drew have managed in the major leagues.

Mike Leake is not your typical pitcher. Leake, 22, has made the jump straight from the draft to the major leagues. Aroldis Chapman and Stephen Strasburg have made more headlines with their 100 mph fastballs, yet they are not in the major leagues and Leake is.

Leake is only 5'10" and 180 pounds. His fastball barely tops out in the low 90s. Now how does a right-handed pitcher who puts up average numbers on the radar gun get to the major leagues before two flamethrowers such as soon-to-be teammate Chapman and highly-rated and hyped Strasburg?

Ramon Hernandez knocked in the winning run in the last of the eighth inning as the Cincinnati Reds did what they do best.

They came from behind to score the winning run in their last at-bat for the seventh time in eight wins.

The Reds evened their homestand at 3-3, while putting the skids on the San Diego Padres win streak at eight. They won the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 before the Padres came to town.

April baseball rarely provides a clear window into the state of the game by October.

Teams that struggle to find their way early on suddenly become high-powered contenders late in the season, and those who lead their respective divisions in the first month rarely sustain that dominance into the sixth.

However, while 20 or so games may not be enough time to accurately predict a team's path through the season, it is plenty of time to notice trends.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are trending poorly.

With all of the movement in the AL West—big trades, free agent signings, and the los