Baseball

Dontrelle Willis and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Royals 7-3 Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

Willis, who made his first start today since last June when he was placed on the disabled list due to social anxiety, pitched six innings and surrendered only two earned runs.

It was a pitchers duel in Cincinnati on Thursday as Bronson Arroyo and Brad Penny squared off against one another.

However, St. Louis' bullpen imploded in the late innings as the Reds defeated the Cardinals 2-1.

Jason Motte surrendered the death nail as Johnny Gomes blasted a walk off home run to stem the tide of the series and prevent a sweep.

Newly-acquired pitcher Brad Penny spoke of how tough the loss was and acknowledged the toughness of his adversary on the mound.

After a five-month wait, baseball is finally here. 

Actually, it was only four months that I longed for baseball, with March Madness really prolonging the desire for the seven-month marathon known as the MLB season.

However, baseball is here, my life is jam-packed with high school baseball season, fourth quarter projects, and studying for final exams.  When this arrives, I know it's time to record my predictions somewhere.

The Los Angeles Dodgers salvaged a win on Thursday in a 10-2 affair over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ronnie Belliard had a big day, filling in at third base for Casey Blake. He collected four RBI's while falling a single short of the cycle.

Chad Billingsley looked sharped, going nearly six innings allowing just one run and striking out seven.

The 2010 season is officially on its way in San Francisco, with the home opener against Atlanta looming tomorrow.

While opening week is near the end of its run in the major leagues, today the Giants' minor league organizations begin their own Opening Days.

What should Giants fans expect this season, after the Giants' combined farm system finished with the best record out of any other organization in baseball?

The Milwaukee Brewers were busy even on their off day on Thursday. They became the latest team to sign a young player to a long-term deal, buying out a couple free agency-eligible seasons when they signed Yovani Gallardo to a five-year, $30.1 million deal.

The contract is the richest ever for a pitcher with two-plus years of Major League service time. Gallardo passes Jon Lester, who got a $30 million contract from the Boston Red Sox last year.

To date, Zack Greinke's record is 0-0 and Kyle Farnsworth's is 1-0. 

Things aren't always as they seem, though. Both of these pitchers took very different routes to get to this point.

Zack Greinke, while not dominant, cruised through six innings on Opening Day, giving up 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Greinke turned a winnable game and a 4-2 lead over to the bullpen in the top of the seventh.  The result: The Royals trailed by the bottom of the seventh.

So begins the sophomore campaign at New York's Citi Field. While many questions have arisen about the quality of the product on the field, the forum in which the Mets play is nothing less that stellar. During the Mets miserable 2009 campaign, the beauty of Citi Field was perhaps lost, with New Yorkers attention seemingly fixed on the Mets' crosstown rivals in the Bronx. Twelve thoughts and observations on my maiden 2010 voyage to the Mets' home...

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Three games does not a baseball season make.

Yet, there comes a moment where honesty must overtake optimism, and the honest fact that this will be a very long season for the Astros must be accepted.

A listless three-game sweep at the hands of the visiting San Francisco Giants—lowlighted by Wednesday's 10-4 loss—provided at least five notable signs that indicate the 2010 Astros may be headed toward the franchise's worst season in 20 years.

As the team takes Thursday off in preparation for a weekend series against the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Philli

The day is here, the draft is over, and there are many, many surprises for those who couldn't make it to the war room. In our league, there were a few teams that had notable auto-drafts.

Green Monster Hooligans is a good friend of mine, one who is widely know simply as "Boston," because of his prolific love of the BoSox. So it was only fitting when he auto-drafted and with his first-round pick (third overall), was rewarded with Alex Rodriguez, star third baseman for the New York Yankees.