Baseball

As Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha fills out a lineup card that he hopes will remain consistent for six months this spring, summer, and fall, the task proves to be rather simple—not painstaking work. But upon second glance, one would realize that the two hole has been left empty by the Brewers' skipper. And the two names missing are Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez. 

The Yankees scored the go-ahead run in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Yankees pompous radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling boasted the team was on its way to win their fourth straight championship.

It's hard to blame him. With Mariano Rivera pitching against the feeble part of the Diamondbacks order, Sterling would be a fool not to like his chances.

Nationals.com beat reporter Bill Ladson is reporting that Garrett Mock has been named the team’s fifth starter.

Heaven help us all.

The 1961 New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds in a five game World Series that was closer than the final result indicates.

1961 was one of the finest seasons in Yankees' history, but the passage of time often creates a false reality.

Recently, the host of a sports show discussed the 1961 World Series. It was concluded that beating the Reds was almost a cakewalk. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This article is the fifth installment of a six-part series in which I analyze each division in baseball and tell you exactly how I believe things are going to shake out this season.

I am by no means a credible source—merely a casual fan who knows a little about baseball and would like to share his observations and thoughts.

The other day it was revealed that Vicente Padilla would be the Opening Day starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  I know, in the scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter, but the Dodgers have not one, not two, but three starting pitchers who I would rank above Padilla.

The question some are asking is if we should use this as a sign that Padilla is a usable fantasy option?  He was strong after the Dodgers acquired him last season, posting the following line:

Over the past couple of days Jorge Posada, Nick Johnson, Francisco Cervelli, Damaso Marte, and Alfredo Aceves have all had to deal with minor injuries that left them in question of making the opening day roster.

They must be healthy enough, because the Yankees have set their opening day roster and they are all a part of it. However, whether they’ll each play on opening day is still in question.

The National League East should be one of the easiest divisions to predict in all of baseball.

Everyone knows the Washington Nationals are dead on arrival for at least another year so put them in the cellar and etch it in stone. The Philadelphia Phillies are almost as sure a thing at the top based on lineup, rotation, and history.

Contrarily, the New York Mets look distinctly more start-and-stop than the other three clubs so put them in fourth.

The 2010 Major League Baseball season begins Sunday night with the Yankees in Boston to play the Red Sox. Fast forward six months, and here you have it, the final standings...

American League East

My “Key” player series concludes today with looking at the “Key” player for each American League West team. There are a lot of question marks in this division, so let’s take a look at who the “Key” player will be for each team.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Scott Kazmir

Kazmir is a great talent—there is no doubt about that, but he is always hurt. He will be entering his seventh year now in the majors and he has only made 30 plus starts twice in his career.