MLB

With the news of the release of the two-time All-Star closer, the question looms about where B.J. Ryan will end up.

Ryan, who has struggled a bit this year, will definitely be a steal for whoever picks him up.

Look to the stats. He has had over 30 saves three times in his career. He has a career 3.37 ERA and 112 saves.

Ryan, who this year has battled a left shoulder injury this year, has definitely struggled for the Jays. He is 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA and only two saves in 20 2/3 innings.

Brooks Conrad is no prospect. Not even close.

He is not a prized piece of the Atlanta Braves' future, such as Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman. 
 
Conrad is a nearly 30-year-old, career minor leaguer. His only major league experience came last year with Oakland. He had 16 at-bats and struck out in nine of them. 
 
But Conrad is much different this year.

A quick note before I begin.  I will only be looking at players selected within 10 picks of each Pirate pick.  Keep that in mind when you read this.  At the end of the article I will put together the Pirates 2009 Opening Day roster with the adjusted picks.

It all started in 1997 when the Pirates, with the 8th overall pick, selected J.J. Davis.  Davis was an OF from California who was a 3-sports star.  He also had scholarship offers from USC (Basketball), and Oregon State (Football). 

Since its inception in 1933, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game has provided fans an annual opportunity to see most of the great stars of the game on the same field.

The Toronto Blue Jays released former closer B.J. Ryan prior to Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As a result, the two-time All Star is now a free agent and can be signed for a prorated portion of the league minimum salary. The Blue Jays are responsible for the roughly $15 million remaining on his contract. The contract—at one time the highest-ever given to a reliever—runs through next season.

The Seattle Mariners and Jack Zduriencik have done a great job acquiring talent like Jason Vargas, Russell Branyan, and several more that haven't reached the majors yet.

Now right now the Mariners have some strong parts, but they have also found a few weak points.

I know some of you won't agree with this trade. Nationals fans and Red Sox fans alike will probably not like this trade. But baseball isn't about making moves that people like—it's about winning. And I believe that this trade will make both the Nationals and Red Sox better.

So imagine—You're in your living room, watching SportsCenter when Scott Van Pelt says something like:

I grew up in a home where the vast majority of the time one of two things were being watched on television: the news or sports. By the age of 10 I easily knew more about the Giants and 49ers of San Francisco than whatever the most popular cartoon of the era was.

In this environment I learned how to be a good sports fan. I was taught to be fanatical about my team and at the same time appreciate the talents of athletes regardless of who they played for.

Ken Rosenthal first reported yesterday that the Toronto Blue Jays will listen to offers about their stud ace, Roy Halladay, speculation started to fly around the sports world as if Brett Favre was considering a comeback.

ESPN picked it up and ran with it, Comcast Sportsnet ran with it as well. Just about every source for baseball did as well like they did last season with C.C. Sabathia.

If there ever was a team that needed a new stadium it was the Philadelphia Phillies. The concrete wasteland that was known as the Vet was the biggest abomination in the history of American sports. Veterans Stadium was home to the worst turf in baseball, a court house in the basement, and more rats than all other stadiums combined. The wrecking ball finally came and the Phillies moved across the street to the baseball-only Citizens Bank Ballpark.