Baseball

The Rays' bullpen hasn't been what most would call reliable in the early going of the 2010 Major League Baseball season.

However, it appears that Rays pitcher Matt Garza has found the remedy for their troubles.

Don't let them pitch much.

For the second time in as many games, Garza relegated bullpen appearances to one inning of Rafael Soriano. Both games featured Garza pitching eight innings in a dominant fashion. Garza only gave up one earned run in each performance.

Here are some pictures tweeted by MLB of the World Series ring that the New York Yankees received today as part of their Opening Day ceremonies in the Bronx.

This is George Steinbrenner's ring. In the past his ring has been slightly different, usually bigger, than the rings they hand out to all of the players. I’m not sure if that is the case this year. This is also the first time that the ring is made out of white—not yellow—gold.

What do you think? I like it. I think it’s one of the better rings they’ve given out in recent history.

So, I was Jonesing (get it?) for some Sox news and decided to make my way to BleacherReport. 

And by the looks of things, there is pandemonium, chaos, and a lost season on the South Side. 

All of you in panic mode are fools, and I'm going to show you why.

The Hitters

Much has been said about the production—or lack thereof—from the Sox lineup. Let me sprinkle some reality into your lives.

After a matchup between two relatively awful teams left Cubs fans with high hopes Monday, deeper problems still plague the mind of seasoned manager Lou Piniella.

Piniella may have made his best decision so far in the young season when he decided to start 24-year-old Tyler Colvin in replace of the struggling Alfonso Soriano on April 8. The result? Colvin belted his first career home run in his first at-bat of the season. 

Being that I live in Los Angeles now, I've only been able to catch the highlights of the Giants' wins on MLB.com the day after the game or catch the game on MLB.com's virtual game thingy.

Imagine my thrill last night when I dropped into a sushi restaurant that actually had the game on in the bottom of the third.

It immediately made me remember there's a God who loves me and wants me to be happy.  ;-)

Then Mark DeRosa hits into a double play.

The Giants of the last two or three years would have been deflated.

Like most Reds diehards, I'm treading lightly on praise right now, but it is soooooo hard to hide the enthusiasm.

Oh, and this from the Enquirer today: @ Cincienquirer   Aroldis Chapman will make his debut in Louisville Friday. Tickets are, predictably, going fast: http://bit.ly/csEHc0

Like most Reds diehards, I'm treading lightly on praise right now, but it is soooooo hard to hide the enthusiasm. Oh, and this from the Enquirer today: @Cincienquirer  Aroldis Chapman will make his debut in Louisville Friday. Tickets are, predictably, going fast: http://bit.ly/csEHc0

The primary reason why athletes play the game, any game, is their competitive fire drives them to win. What helps drive the Major League baseball player is to obtain the World Series Championship ring.

The Reds season is now one week old, and positive things are already transpiring.

To begin with, they are four up and three down, which is a real good thing, considering their first two series were against the top two finishers in the NL Central in 2009.

Scott Rolen is beginning to look like the Rolen of 2004 with the Cardinals. He finished that season with an OPS+ of 157.

There is a new young gun in town—I have named him "Iceman." When that takes off, don't forget where you saw it first.

The 2010 American League CY Young race will be a long season battle between a lot of great pitchers. With that said some young pitchers have started the 2010 season trying to make a name for themselves.

2010 CY Young Race Top Five

1. Matt Garza (Tampa Bay)

2. Carl Pavano (Minnesota)

3. Casey Janssen (Toronto)

4. Jon Rauch (Minnesota)

5. Dallas Braden (Oakland)