MLB

The Chicago Cubs look like they have started to take away some of the question marks surrounding this team. 

How can a pitching staff that's so good on paper (maybe the best in the National league, when healthy) keep losing one run games? Ted Lilly got the win in a close 2-1 ballgame. 

How can an offense that was so potent and productive last year not be scoring runs consistently? The Cubs, combined with a masterful performance from Ryan Dempster, shut out the Dodgers 7-0. 

Throughout our life time, we are all bound to face some sort of adversity. Whether it be trouble in school, recovering from an addiction,or coping with the loss of a loved one, it is never easy.

‘The Man of a Thousand Stances’.

‘Dewey’.

Regardless of the nicknames, Dwight Evans was the man who patrolled the Boston Red Sox right field for nearly 19 years.

Hello friends, sorry it's taken so long for me to get back on the horse and write a new article. I've been hard at work on my music, and should be releasing my first solo EP, entitled Disparition, some time in mid-July.

You can hear rough mixes from the record at http://myspace.com/tomschecter.

With the baseball season already two months in, pitchers are starting to really establish themselves as top candidates for the 2009 NL and AL Cy Young award. Here is the updated list of candidates for this prestigious award:

American League

1. Zach Greinke: Kansas City Royals,  8-1, 0.90 ERA, 88 K's

Although the Royals have recently struggled, Greinke has kept pitching beautifully. He gave up three earned runs today to raise his ERA to 0.90. He is still the top candidate for the Cy Young.

My original title for this article was "Luis Castillo: Accept My Apology." That would have been the title had he got a hit in his last at-bat today, giving him an 8-for-15 on this home-stand. But instead, he made out and my memory is long and forgiveness has to be earned.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/126490-a-new-york-mets-contest-you-wa...

The story of the past week for St. Louis Cardinals fans was twofold: the continued success of the starting pitching and the return of Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick.

The week began with a Sunday finale against the in-state rival Kansas City Royals. Joel Pineiro was solid in his seven innings, giving up just three runs. The Cardinal offense could not produce, however, as the Royals' three runs proved to be enough for the victory.

<!--StartFragment-->

The Mariners started off the 2009 red-hot and gave us all a glimmer of false playoff hope when they were a top the AL West at one point with a 15-10 record. We seemed to forget this was a team that was supposed to be in a full-blown rebuilding mode.

He is pleased to meet you, baseball fan.

He obviously figures you must need the introduction, since not many of you caught him this spring representing Mexico in the WBC, nor have his major league-leading 20 home runs given him enough recognition to help him crack the top five in the NL first baseman All-Star ballot.

Oh, he's in the top 10 in walks, RBI, slugging percentage, and OPS in the NL too.

One-hit wonder, you say? Nonsense. Adrian's been consistently brilliant for a while now.

The Mariners coughed up a sweep. David Aardsma had his worst outing of the year, blew his first save and exhibited the same shaky control he’s had all year, sans a dominating fastball. The bullpen and the pitching staff as a whole has been better than this all season. No need to worry.

The Mariners received an uncharacteristic power surge from Ichiro. The leadoff hitter had four hits, including two doubles and a home run. But he won’t do this often, this is unconventional, and goes against every trend in Ichiro’s career. No reason for hope.