Baseball

This past week, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Adam Lind signed a four-year, $18 million contract.

Lind's contract also has three option years that could bring the total to seven years and $38.5 million.

By locking him up now, the Blue Jays eliminate his three arbitration years and get cost control for the next seven seasons. 

So what does this mean to the Rays?

Those of you who regularly visit the Phillies’ BR page know that featured columnist Gary has appropriately analyzed the Phillies’ five “keys” to the 2010 season during the last few weeks.

Just as a refresher, here are Gary’s five keys:

1. How will the fifth starting pitcher fare?
2. Can Cole Hamels go back to the future?
3. Which Raul Ibanez will show up this season?
4. Will the bullpen sink or swim?
5. Which Brad Lidge shows up?

Tough to argue with any of them.

Brett Gardner had a great game for the New York Yankees on Opening Night in Fenway Park.

Against the Yankees' primary nemesis, Gardner was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.

This was very good news for Gardner and the Yankees, as his offense has been a question mark. But last night he was aggressive at the plate and on the bases, and he was valuable despite the Yankees' ultimate 9-7 loss.

In his first two at-bats Gardner slashed singles to left field. It was what he did after his second at-bat that was spectacular.

Baseball is beloved for more than the action on the field. It is a game where malapropisms are frequently used to describe the action taking place between players.

There are expressions, superstitions, and folklore that are ingrained into the national past time's psyche.

We know many of the expressions used, even if we do not know what they really mean.

One of the most renowned baseball legends is Yogi Berra. His malapropisms are so vast, it has made for several books.

There was a lot of negativity surrounding the New York Mets this spring, but one of the bright spots was right-handed pitching phenom Jenrry Mejia.

Mejia burst on the scene this spring and was the talk of Mets camp. In 17 innings, Mejia had a 1.59 ERA and struck out nine while only walking three.

Mejia’s performance was so impressive that the Mets have decided to keep him on the major league roster to start the season.

Last year, I went on Bodoglife.com and placed some baseball prop bets. Bets like over/under for a player’s average, home runs, or wins and a team’s over/under for wins.

I made 25 bets (I didn’t actually bet) and when the season ended, I finished at 64 percent on the season. Good, but not great. I am definitely looking to improve on that percentage this year.

Let’s look at 25 bets for this season:

He steps up to the plate with his hat tugged low on a line that meets his eyebrows.

He is shorter than the home plate umpire but he gives the impression he could care less.

Down on the Farm: 2010 Top Pitching Prospects

With the Minor League Season about to begin, the Down on the Farm series is set to resume. As a first assignment, I thought I would quickly highlight pitching prospects to keep an eye on this season.

COMING SOON:

RHP Robbie Weinhardt
2009: Advanced A Lakeland & AA Erie
Stats 63 innings
1-2, 5 SV, 1.57 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
10.3 K/9, 3.6 BB/9

It's a new season. A new beginning. A fresh start.

It's also the final opening day for one of the greatest managers to ever grace the dugout, Bobby Cox.

Cox has what is possibly his most talented team since the early 2000s.

The Braves have plenty of starting pitching. They have a lineup that has the potential to become quite dangerous. They have a bullpen with one of the all-time greatest closers.

There are still question marks within those units.

Will Troy Glaus continue his torrid pace from spring training (he hit over .400)?

The Washington Nationals made one of the best moves of spring training on March 20^th, they sent down Stephen Strasburg.

Having made the decision that the young phenom would start the season in Double A, the Nationals designated him for assignment, which caused the hype surrounding Strasburg to deflate like a punctured beach ball.