MLB

Mickey Mantle's last solid season was 1964, although he did fairly well in 1966.

In 1964, Mickey hit .303 with 35 home runs, 111 RBI, and a .423 on base average. The 1966 season was not as good, when Mickey hit .288 with 23 home runs, and that was followed by two sub par seasons, after which Mickey retired.

There is a tendency to excuse or even disregard Mickey's last few seasons, which has resulted in Mickey being ranked higher among baseball's greats today than when he played.

If you haven't heard, Alex Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1996, Ken Caminiti had a career year, batting .326, hitting 40 home runs, and batting in 130 runs. Ken had a .408 on base average, slugged .621. and won his second consecutive gold glove.

As a result of his great season, Ken Caminiti was selected the National League's Most Valuable Player by a unanimous vote. It was only the fourth time a National Leaguer won the award unanimously (Orlando Cepeda, 1967, Mike Schmidt, 1980, Jeff Bagwell, 1994).

For almost 20 years, Matt Groening's "The Simpsons" has been a cornerstone of American pop culture.

Even if the show has declined a bit in the last few years, it remains a gleaming bastion of wit and entertainment.

Here's what the show would look like if it were cast with Major League Baseball players.

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Fair or foul? Safe or out? Home run or in play? These are some of the critical questions that umpires in Major League Baseball are faced with several times in a game, all season long. Over the past few seasons, much had been made about implementing a video replay review in baseball (similar to the NFL and NHL).

In the summer of 2008, the leaders of MLB deemed it acceptable to have instant replay in the game, but only to determine whether a ball was hit out of the park, or if it was still in play.  And so far, it has been pretty successful, I think.

This is the sixth installment of the grading of the starters for the Cincinnati Reds' 2009 performances.

Willy Taveras is my biggest disappointment of the Reds' acquisitions last season. He came in as the reigning National League stolen base champ with 68.

This season, he "tentatively" stole only 25 bases and finished a dismal ninth in the league. Michael Bourn of the Houston Astros was the league's most prolific thief this year with 61.

There are some prospects who possesses a bat so good that an organization will try them anywhere across the diamond in order to find a spot. 

The St. Louis Cardinals have such a prospect in Allen Craig, who has played all over the infield as well as being tested in the outfield.

He’s seen minimal time at SS and 2B, and there is no chance that a hole opens up at 1B courtesy of Albert Pujols.  He has spent the majority of his time at 3B, though his long-term potential there is minimal despite the team’s potential need.  As Baseball America recently said:

The free-agent market officially opened last week, ushered in by a flurry of important signings that could truly change the game. Or a general malaise, one of the two, I forget which.

Anyone who studies market trends in baseball can tell you that a high volume of deals get done as the windows are closing, not opening.

Shortstop Alex Gonzalez has decided not to wait any longer while the Red Sox try to make up their mind… he has reportedly signed a one-year, $2.75 million dollar deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, with a team option for 2011 ($2.5 MM).

Gonzalez came to the Red Sox in a trade after starting the 2009 season with the Cincinnati Reds…although he is known primarily as a defensive whiz, he managed to hit .284 in 68 games after arriving in Boston.

Toronto, line up to get your tickets to the Gonz show .

The signing of former Red Sox and Reds shortstop Alex Gonzalez has capped off what has been an unusually active past few days for the Jays in the free agent market.