MLB

On March 24, 2008, Claudio Vargas was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers and competing for a spot in the starting rotation. On March 25, 2008, Claudio Vargas lost that competition and was cut from the team altogether.

In reality, there were too many starters for not enough spots in that rotation...on March 25. Shortly after, Chris Capuano was injured and hasn't thrown a pitch in the Majors since. Thus is the tenuous nature of pitching. One day you can have an apparent surplus and the next you can have a severe dearth.

With pitchers and catchers due to report to Spring Training this week, the race to find the next ace for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is about to heat up.
Typically a strength in Anaheim, it was the Angels' pitching staff that set an ominous tone at the start of the 2009 season.
John Lackey injured his shoulder just weeks before Opening Day. Ervin Santana was sidelined after straining his forearm early on in Spring Training.

In December of 2004, Red Sox veteran catcher Jason Varitek was named the Red Sox's team captain, the first captain since outfielder Jim Rice in the 1980's. However, fastforward to 2010 and the 37-year old is now the back-up to Victor Martinez.

What has happened to Varitek in a period of six years? Could it involve off-field issues, such as the 2009 divorce between him and wife Karen? Is it simply old age? Whatever the answer, one only has to look to Varitek's stats to understand the magnitude of his rapid decline.

To celebrate my 50th article here on Bleacher Report, here are the top three things I'd like to see from the Oakland A's in 2010.

1. A's Stay Healthy in '10

There's no doubt that baseball is a kid's game. 

There's nothing like trying on your very first pair of cleats, or having your very first bag of sunflower seeds. 

Baseball is built on the foundation of youth. Many of us dreamt about playing under the lights of Yankee Stadium at one point or another during our childhood. And many of us had aspirations of becoming a major league ball-player someday.  

My Grandpa was a lover to those close to him and a fighter against the disease that eventually took him away from his loved ones. He was an avid baseball fan, a man of courage and faith and mostly, a caring, supportive and loving grandpa to me.

With former Chicago White Sox star Frank Thomas announcing his retirement on Friday, the thought crossed my mind to what his legacy will be.

Just a few years back, there were questions whether he would be a Hall of Famer.

Now it seems to be a slam-dunk that not only will he get in, but that it will be the highest honor of all—first ballot.

But is Frank Thomas really a Hall of Fame baseball player?

Statistically he is. With 521 career home runs, a .301 lifetime batting average, 1,704 ribbies, and a .419 OBP, am I crazy for even asking this question?

I've been getting ready for fantasy baseball and came up with this idea for a Battle of the Blogs league. I have set up the league on ESPN.com and would like to invite any bloggers interested in joining. This will be a great way to compete with other bloggers for bragging rights as well as promote everyone's blog.

I am hoping to get bloggers from all over the country. Below are the details of the league.

Battle of the Blogs Fantasy Baseball League is open to anyone with a blog. Your blog name will be used as your team name.

I would like to begin this article by saying that I've recently joined "BleacherReport" and I will continuously be writing and commenting on the Atlanta Braves. I would sum up the braves off season as high-risk high-reward.