Baseball

As usual, the focus of the Orioles' troubles lies on the mound. After falling to the A’s in the series opener on Thursday, manager Dave Trembley expressed during his postgame interview with MASN that he needs stronger performances from his starting pitchers, especially in the first inning. These are more than valid arguments; however, the Orioles are not only struggling on the mound, but at the plate.

The Atlanta Braves are 10 games into the season, and they sit at 6-4 after winning their first game against the Rockies.

Here are some thoughts from the first week and a half of the year.

Martin Prado Keeps Hitting

Prado has been a hit machine thus far. At the beginning of the season, you could count me among those skeptical that Prado was as good as he showed us in 2009.

Last night, I had the great pleasure of going to Progressive Field for the first time this year.

I saw a great game from great seats ($17 for front-row bleacher seats, thank you StubHub) with great weather (despite an ominous forecast).

However, as I strolled to my seat, I began to notice that many parts of the stadium were not how I remembered them.

For those Tribe fans who have not yet made a pilgrimage to the Prog, here's a list of what to expect.

ERA calculator has been fixed

Albert Belle was one of the most feared athletes in sports, both on and off the field. Albert produced some offensive seasons that challenged those of the greatest sluggers the game has ever known.

With a lifetime .295 batting average, 381 home runs, and a .564 slugging average, Belle had a great career statistically, but he does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

One need not worry. The only way he will get in is to pay the admission fee.

Thanks to a walk-off single last night by Lastings Milledge that scored Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates have gotten off to a .500 start this season. Due to their losing ways, the Pirates don’t get much love here at The Ghost of Moonlight Graham .

But today is for the Pirates. Let’s see what is going on with the team from the Steel City.

Whatcha Gonna Do When the Pirates Run Wild on You?

Sabermetricians like to compare MLB players to "replacement players." But sometimes it's a hard to grasp the concept. How exactly do they quantify "replacement level?"

Detroiters need look no further than that Tigers bullpen for the perfect example: Brad Thomas.

Thomas is the epitome of replacement-level talent in Major League Baseball.

I want to start this piece by making it clear that I have been a loyal fan of the Baltimore Orioles for 40 years and hope to be a fan for another 40 years.

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

Carlos Silva, Chicago Cubs
The Astros are bad. Silva gave up twp unearned runs on five hits with 5 Ks in seven innings. He’s 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA.

It's only mid-April, but there are plenty of people already discussing who on the Cubs roster should get traded.

The discussions always center around what those players are doing on the field—obviously an important part in discussing potential trades, but are usually short on providing full context.

Trades are much more complex than, "Well, I have this guy that I want to get rid of and you have this other guy that I want. Any chance you want to make a swap?"