Baseball

They used to be scattered all over the state, particularly in the tri-county area.

The tony suburbs of Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills were popular for them, but towns like Washington and Livonia were home to some of them as well.

Theirs was a time when you not only played baseball for the Detroit Tigers, you stuck around to experience our winter months, too.

Let me start by stating up front, as a Minnesota Alumni, I bleed Maroon and Gold.

John Anderson, Minnesota Head Coach, has done a tremendous job coaching the University Men's Baseball Team. In 2009 he became only the 39th coach win 1,000 games in Division I College Baseball.

"First and foremost I would like to thank the Minnesota Twins organization and Pohlads for giving us the opportunity to be part of the experience of bringing outdoor Major League baseball back to the state of Minnesota," said Anderson.

Next up in the updated starting rotation series is the American League West. The West is a real interesting division in terms of starting rotations because there are so many young starting pitchers in this division.

This division is filled with pitchers in their mid-to-late 20s. Pitchers like Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, and Brett Anderson make this division a nightmare for opposing batters.

Here are the updated starting rotations for each American League West team.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The next division up in our Starting Nine series is the American League West. This division has undergone the most change from top to bottom this offseason, so it will be interesting to see which lineup looks the best headed into the season.

Here are the updatedstarting lineups for the American League West.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

1. Erick Aybar, SS

2. Bobby Abreu, RF

3. Torii Hunter, CF

4. Kendry Morales, 1B

5. Hideki Matsui, DH

6. Howie Kendrick, 2B

7. Juan Rivera, LF

In his first spring training ever—and with last year's Arizona Fall League listed as the only professional fodder on his Major League résumé—Mike Leake snagged the role of fifth starter for the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

The move makes Leake only the 13th pitcher to completely skip the minor leagues since the amateur draft was introduced in the mid '60s. 

It's been 16 years since the last one, Ariel Prieto. He went 15-24 during a six-year career—a possible indicator as to why it has been so long.

Well, it is official. The season is ready to start, and the 25-man roster is set. So just leave it to Your Party Host to give you the lowdown on what you need to know about each player.

In 2009, plenty of American League rookies had excellent seasons. Twenty three-year old third baseman Gordon Beckham had a eye-opening year, hitting .270 with 14 homers and 63 RBI in 103 games.

"The slow one now will later be fast...for the times they are a-changin'."—Bob Dylan

If anyone's curious as to what defines classic music, it's that some aspect—usually several—is almost impervious to the ravages of times and fad while applying to a myriad of life moments.

Bob Dylan's lyrics are a perfect example.

Written almost 47 years ago, they fit the 2010 American League Central like those black stretchy pants that are in style on the fairer sex.

I'm a National League guy for a variety of reasons so, being on the West Coast, the Junior Circuit's rep from the middle o

The Mets can win 90 games this season.

Omar Minaya wasn't lying when he said that on a recent radio interview.

Many people would wonder how I could think that.  Well, here we go.

1. Starting Pitching

Just as Jeff Francis thought that he was over the hump, he showed up at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, N.M., feeling stiff and sore.