Fred Lewis

Let me preface this article by saying that Jonny Gomes is one of my favorite players on the Reds.

I am wondering if being 'unofficially' awarded the left-field job prior to the start of camp hasn't sapped the slugger of his hunger.

Managers always preach that the intangibles are what win games.  Simple things like running out a ground ball, hustling on a weak pop up, fielding a ground ball and stealing a base in a big spot are all things that a manager wishes everyone on his club could do.  Unfortunately, everybody can't.  That's why these players are so valuable.

I would first like to start with three players who, I feel, deserve some sort of recognition.  They failed to crack my Top 10, yet they are deserving of something. 

The Mets just signed Chris Capuano and Taylor Bucholz to add some more depth to the pitching rotation. Both of these are solid signings and may pay off in big ways.

Capuano is only a few years removed from an 18-win season, and Bucholz has shown he can be a valuable seventh, or even eighth inning reliever.

Offering opinions in print, particularly on the Internet, curses the writer to be haunted by his opinions forever.

Oh, it must be nice to be in the electronic media where you can offer an opinion and have it just disappear into thin air.

It's hard to deny having opined that the San Francisco Giants would finish 75-87 once the opinion appears in print. Say it on TV or radio and ... "Well, I mentioned that they COULD potentially finish 75-87, but I think I made a bit larger point and, really, I'm not surprised to see them in the thick of the NL West race."

Sooner or later, the revisionist sharks will begin circling one of their favorite pieces of bait, San Francisco Giant general manager Brian Sabean.

My guess is that they've already started and the first bite is only a matter of time.

With the addition of the 29-year-old speedy outfielder, Fred Lewis, coming by way of trade from San Francisco, the Blue Jays have found their 25th man. Man number 26 is Mike McCoy.

After breaking camp with the Jays, McCoy was told by general manager Alex Anthopolous that if someone came up on the waiver wire that the Jays wanted they would pounce and send McCoy down to AAA Las Vegas.

That day has come.

The San Francisco Giants were never expected to tear the cover off the ball coming into the 2009 season. There were reasons to be optimistic, but they were never expected to be a team that would improve a little bit.

Well, that hasn't really happened.

The Giants are currently the lowest-scoring team in Major League Baseball by a pretty good amount. Even a trip to Coors Field saw the Giants struggle to score runs on two of three occasions.

Big Money has been money