MLB

The Cubs cause a lot of pain. Unless you're a true Cubs fan, you have no idea. 101 years is a long time to wait for a championship.

A lot of people ask me, "Why do you invest so much into a team that produces so little?" That is a great question. I finally sat down to think of why.

Here are the reasons:

Because we play two.

Because we had Ernie, Ronny, Billy, Fergie, and Phil all on one team.

Because we experienced the magical summer of 1969.

Because we call 1969 magical even though we choked in August.

On Sunday night, in front a national television audience, the creative genius Chicago Cubs' fans have been begging Lou Piniella to employ finally showed up.

If you read the play-by-play for the ninth inning, there is a sequence that will undoubtedly have you scratching your head.

Sean Marshall relieves Angel Guzman. OK, nothing major there.

Aaron Heilman relieves Marshall; Marshall to left field. What? It's bad enough Heilman's pitching, but Marshall in left field?

Thankfully, for the Braves, the first half is over. Well technically, the first 54 percent of the season is over, but I digress.

Due to the up-and-down nature of Braves baseball in '09, I have decided to split this article up. The past will refer to the time period between April to late June. The present will cover late June to now. And, as day follows the night, the future will refer to the second half of the season.

Now that I've dedicated an entire paragraph to setting the article up, it's time to get to it!

The Past

Here is the un-official mid-way point of the Major League Baseball season.

It's the All-Star break!

We've got a day of long balls, followed by a day of a game that is supposed to mean something, followed by the one true day in America where the sports world stops.

Nothing happens in any major sport. MLB, the NBA, NHL, NFL, NASCAR, and the PGA are all idle.

That is, it really feels like a day that never ends. I'm working on that day this year, so who knows about that?

Rumors have been flying around Nationals sluggers Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn. Most of the rumors have Willingham and Dunn headed to Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Mets, among others.

This article hopes to break down the reasons why and why not for trading Willingham and Dunn.

The first half of the Major League Baseball season is over. For the first time since becoming a full time player, Alex Rodriguez will not be an all star.

Truth be told, he hasn't played like one either. Not for a long while.

OK, he missed the first month after hip surgery and still has 17 home runs on the season and got his average from a dismal .212 to around .257.

In the series against the Angels this weekend, he did slug three home runs and now has 570 career home runs, putting him 10th on the all-time list.

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Sports fans are entitled to various idiosyncrasies, and mine include disproportionate affection for Brad Radke, Twins pitcher from 1995 through 2006.

“Disproportionate” is the term others would apply; I feel entirely justified in proclaiming Radke among my all-time favorite players.

Now that the Twins have inducted him into their Hall of Fame, here’s my three-point case for Radke.

On Monday, Major League Baseball will embark into its 24th annual State Farm Home Run Derby in St. Louis.  With the contestants already announced, the fans will anxiously await to see if anybody can repeat Josh Hamilton's incredible feat of 28 jacks in a single round. 

All will be on their seats as hometown favorite Albert Pujols, a man who has a legit shot at breaking Barry Bonds' 762 career home runs, will set the standards.

There are going to be a lot of Mets fans that are not going to be too happy with me after they finish this article.

In fact, I'd venture to say that there will be a few who will refuse to finish it because they will say I'm not a true fan, I am being too negative, and that I am giving up the remainder of the 2009 season.

All of the above may be so, but since this is definitely an opinion piece, if you don't mind, allow me to fire away.