Baseball

During the first week of baseball we have all been spending our days in front of the tube watching as much baseball that the women in our lives will allow. Here are a few guys that have shocked us with their savage bats during week one.

1.) Edgar Renteria, SS

In the final game of the Phillies-Astros series, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, who pitched a complete game on Sunday, seems to be in mid-season form.

With offensive help coming from Jimmy Rollins, thanks to his solo home run to start the game off, and Carlos Ruiz's second-inning sacrifice ground ball that sent Raul Ibanez home, for the Phillies second and last run of the game.

With their first road trip of the season in the books, the Cubs have a 2-4 record.

The good news is that the Cubs could easily be 5-1 right now if a handful of innings had gone a little differently. The bad news is that the Cubs were denied that 5-1 record because of those innings.

I think it is safe to say that, although the team's first week of games had it's share of ups and downs, the poor play has outweighed the good, and is at the forefront of Cubs fans' minds.

The performance of the bullpen was a key concern for the Cubs coming into the season.

Opening Day in Pittsburgh - while warm & breezy, Pittsburgh is not high on the list of places I would hope to begin the season. Sadly I was not consulted by the schedule makers.

The Down on the Farm series began last week, as I examined the Tigers' top pitching prospects entering the 2010 season. Today, we briefly examine some position players to keep an eye on this season.     

COMING SOON:

1B/DH RYAN STRIEBY
2009: AA Erie 
Stats: .303 average, .427 OB% 
18 doubles, 1 triple, 19 home runs, 58 RBI

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi has both his critics and his advocates.

If Kelly Shoppach hadn't broken up CC Sabathia's no-hitter with two outs in the eighth inning of yesterday's game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays, Girardi would have made a managerial move that could have converted many of his supporters.

He told ESPNNewYork's  Wallace Matthews, "Shoppach was [CC's] last hitter, no matter what." 

That translates to, "If CC had a no-hitter entering the ninth inning, I wouldn't have let him attempt to make history."

Nathan Beard has always had the dream of being a knuckleball pitcher.

As a youth growing up in Staples, MN, Beard began working on his knuckleball at a young age.

After allowing two runs in the first inning, A.J. Burnett (1-0) rebounded to pitch six scoreless innings as New York topped Tampa Bay, 7-3, Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field. The Yankees completed their season-opening road trip with a 4-2 record. They also improved to 11-4 in their last 15 games against Tampa Bay.