MLB

The Oakland Athletics entered the 2009 season with some serious bullpen questions. After 27 games and an 11-16 record, some of those questions remain unanswered while injuries have taken the focus off of some solid developments in the Oakland bullpen.  

Entering the season, Oakland manager Bob Geren had two legitimate options at closer. The submarining Brad Ziegler, who saved 11 games in 2008 after replacing Huston Street, held a tenuous hold on the position.

The Washington Nationals' season is one-sixth complete.  I know that sounds funny to say, but it's true.  The team has played 27 games so far, which is one-sixth of 162.  So how does the team stand?

Well, to listen to the national media or bloggers looking for cheap web page hits, the Nats are a laughingstock.  But how true is that?

The starting pitching leaves much to be desired.  Any staff that's counting on two rookies and Daniel Cabrera can not be considered good.  And the bullpen has been every bit as bad as advertised. 

Don't expect any walk-off home runs from Aramis Ramirez anytime soon.  The Cubs' star third basemen will be out until at least mid June after suffering a dislocated shoulder in Friday night's 3-2 loss to the Brewers. 

The Cubs have suffered numerous injuries this season but this one really hurts.  Despite this latest injury the Cubs will have to move forward. 

Did you hear that last night?  That was the sound of Philadelphia starting to breathe again. 

After Cole Hamels took the mound, one thing was certain—there was no dust on the bottle. He had seven K’s in 95 pitches, sailing 2008-style through the game atop his 80 mile an hour changeup. Then in the sixth, he sent two batters to base on balls when his arm ran out of quarters. 

Like a story fit for Hollywood, Alex Rodriguez launched the first pitch he saw in 2009 over the left field wall.

Time seemed to stop momentarily as his bat connected with the pitch, and the Yankees quickly opened up a 3-0 first inning lead.

If you think that this race is between the Phillies and the Mets, you are absolutely wrong. I look at this division as a very flawed division; every team has at least one major weakness.

I am going to break down the race as we are more than a month into the season. However, I will not focus on the Nationals because they are simply out of the race already.

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As May 1 is now in the rear-view mirror, it is time to do what all Yankees fans (not to mention temperamental owners and executives) are inclined to do—panic! 

And why not, really? It seemed that many people were willing to junk the new Stadium after the first home stretch. The balls were flying over the right field wall with alarming frequency. 

About one month is in the books for the 2009 Texas Rangers season. Before jumping into grading each hitter for their first month performance, lets look at the team's overall rank for key stats in the American League 

Current place in the Standings: 16-13, 1st in the AL West

Home Runs: 50, 1st in AL

Runs: 166, 3rd in AL

Batting Avg: .282, 4th in AL

Stolen Bases: 23, 4th in AL

On-base Pct: .334, 10th in AL

Alex Rodriguez hit a dramatic home run in his first plate appearance of 2009. Returning from hip surgery, Alex blasted Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie's first pitch into the left field stands for a three-run home run.

The extraordinary feat brought back memories of Aug. 4, 1963.