MLB

Part of the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup is formidable.

This includes Nyjer Morgan, who hits for average and steals a ton of bases. Freddy Sanchez is beginning to look like the man who won a batting title in 2006. "Nasty" Nate McLouth is just that to opposing pitchers. And the Pirates are in good hands when one of the catchers with the initials RD, Ryan Doumit or Robinzon Diaz, is batting.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Pirates' lineup isn't contributing as much as the team would like.

Roger Clemens was, for many years, my favorite baseball player. I wore No. 21 for one year in Little League. I had his posters littering my bedroom walls and still have one in my office. I saved every article I could find about him so that I could read them later.

Clemens, as far as I could tell, was not only the best righthander in the game, but he was also the hardest worker. I enjoyed watching Roger Clemens compete, even when he was with the Yankees.

Help is on the way for those of you in deeper fantasy baseball leagues, where the free agents are slim pickings.

Everyone in the fantasy baseball world knows about the hype around David Price and Matt Wieters, so here are some other worthy prospects waiting in the wings.

You might want to keep an eye out for these minor league prospects, who could be called up very soon and give your team a much needed boost.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in the NL West and enjoy the best record in baseball.  So all is well in L.A., right? 

Hardly! 

Like any major league team, the Dodgers have a list of issues, problems, and contingencies to fix and plan for.   The Dodgers look to Ned Colletti (general manager) and Joe Torre (manager) to keep a competitive team on the field and on top of the standings. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the rubber polygon at the apex of the baseball diamond known as home plate. The game of baseball simply revolves around this tiny stadium landmark.

It is treated with both respect and disdain. It is treated as both “unimportant” and as the ultimate goal.

The ball players address the plate as they approach when they take their turn to bat. It’s with reverence and a bit of trepidation with which they step up to the plate.

April has come and gone, and we are now about halfway through May.  Many casual Pirates fans may be wondering how the farm clubs as well as players such as Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, and Jose Tabata may be doing. 

Look no further as I will update you monthly, between the 10th and the 15th, about the happenings of the Pirates minor league teams.

AAA Indianapolis Indians: 13-17, 2nd place International League West division

It has been said that the definition of stupid is doing the same wrong thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome.

As cruel as it might sound, I believe the industry of baseball is stuck in this proverb. Continuing to use the same failed pitching mistakes continues to only lead a team into more and more losses. 

I believe New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel is a stupid person.

He obviously does not read my Bleacher Report articles.

After a great 11-1 start and subsequent seven game losing streak, the Florida Marlins are 17-15 and in second place in the National League East. They are a half game behind the first place New York Mets.

The Marlins lineup is a good mix of veterans (Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross), players just coming into their primes (Hanley Ramirez, Alfredo Amezaga, Jeremy Hermida) and young players getting their first full time chance in the big leagues (Cameron Maybin, Emilio Bonifacio).

Believe it or not, Kevin Millwood is pitching like an ace this year. The scary thing is his numbers could be even better if the Rangers offense would help. 

After Saturday’s performance Millwood’s record is at 3-3 with a 2.92 ERA. He’s even eating up the innings too, which will give him an automatic contract next year.  In his seven starts this year, he has gone at least seven innings. That ties a team record. A record hard to match regardless of the team you play for.

So you're slumping a little bit on your pitching, running behind in your league because Hamels hasn't been what you remember him being, or Chien-Ming Wang decimated your numbers from Opening Day on.

Or maybe it's your bullpen: your relievers aren't much help since Brad Lidge is pitching like that 2006 Pujols homer was yesterday, Ziegler's got the flu, and you tried to find Hoffman's Brew Crew subs while he was out, only to to discover it was more like the Blew-it Crew.