Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes returned to CitiField Tuesday night for the first time since he sold his considerable shortstop talents to the Miami Marlins. He heard more boos than cheers, and he continued to struggle at the plate.

Today is "Jose Reyes Day" at Citi Field because it's the first time Jose Reyes will be playing at Citi Field as a member of the Miami Marlins, whom he signed a six-year, $100 million contract with in the offseason. So far, Reyes has gotten off to a cold start, but assuming he stays healthy, he will likely get back to being the best leadoff hitter in the game and baseball's best shortstop whose name is not Troy Tulowitzki.

This afternoon, Derek Jeter hit his 3000^th hit.

All of our lives, we’ve lived in the shadows of the Bronx Bombers; we’ve hid our faces behind the Yankees' World Championship rings and hung our heads at Hall of Fame introductions. How have we never had a Derek Jeter?

The New York Mets had their six-game win steak snapped last night in a 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals. They still showed the same fight and clutch pitching that had brought them to this point, but fell a bit short.

Now the Mets will look to start a new win steak when they head to Philadelphia for a three game set with the Phillies.

As the San Francisco Giants attempt to repeat as World Series champions, there are a some major concerns that face them. 

In 2010, GM Brian Sabean did a remarkable job infusing the team with players who helped lead the Giants to their first ever world championship in San Francisco.  Sabean may very well need to work his magic again in 2011. 

The Milwaukee Brewers farm system has been talked about all spring, but for all the wrong reasons.

After unloading a boatload of young talent to acquire two top-tier starters before Christmas, a common thought has been that the Brewers have the worst system in all of baseball. Yes, in order to acquire Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, the Brewers had to shell over their top prospects in Brett Lawrie, Jake Odorizzi and Alcides Escobar, among others.

Every baseball season, at least a few "name" players switch teams via trade.

These players are known to even the most casual of fans because they have appeared in All-Star Games and competed for major awards in the past.

At the time of the trade, their level of skill can fall into any number of categories.  

Many are former stars and heroes who now find themselves in the fading light of their careers; still in search of that elusive World Series ring. Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood were dealt separately to the Yankees last year in an attempt to reach that goal.

View From the Rockpile: Musings From a Mile High Along the Journey to Rocktober

There’s no bigger stage for a middle-market club than the sparkling new sandlot just a skip, hop and a seven-train jump from Broadway.  Do it here, and media, critics and fans will take notice. 

America, meet the 2011 Colorado Rockies.

The season is only a few weeks old, but already teams have began to separate themselves from the pack, while others have shown once again that they still do not have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot.

Injuries and under performing players will inevitably create a need for some contenders to make a move to bring in a player to shore up their lineup as they make a push towards the playoffs, with the Chase Utley injury in Philadelphia a perfect example of that.

The opening month of the season is a time for optimism around baseball, as everyone is still in the running at that point. Still, there are clearly teams that will not be in that position for long, and they need to look ahead to what moves they may make at mid season to strength their team moving forward.

There are a number of intriguing options who may find themselves on the trade block sooner rather than later, with no name larger than Prince Fielder, who has been at the center of trade rumors for what seems like years now.