MLB

Ryan Ludwick certainly is no fluke.

The 30-year-old outfielder proved just how potent his bat can be on Friday as the Cardinals lost a nail-biter 8-7 to the Chicago Cubs.

The All-Star slugger hit a pair of homers off Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano in the third and seventh innings and finished the day with four RBI. He did strike out twice though, including a critical at-bat in the ninth inning against Carlos Marmol.

The Blue Jays won eight of their first 11 games this season. Toronto improved to 8-3 and has scored a whopping 77 runs in its surprising early move to the top of the American League standings.

The Toronto Blue Jays, whose $80.5 million ranks eighth in the AL, are the top team in the MLB so far this season.

Their high-powered offense is operating at full throttle. The Jays pounded out 17 homers in their first 10 games, scoring 68 runs on 115 hits.

In 2008 the Indians' Travis Hafner struggled through the worst year of his career.

Limited by a shoulder injury, Hafner appeared in only 57 games, hitting .197/.305/.323 with only 5 HRs and 24 RBI while striking out almost twice as much as he walked.

These numbers were a far cry from the Hafner of 2004-06 who averaged .308/.419/.611 with 34 HR, 111 RBI, 96 R, and 38 2Bs a year as one of the league's most best hitters.

The Minnesota Twins have had serious struggles with their bullpen so far this season, just as they did at the start of last year. Last year, they cut bait on Juan Rincon, added Craig Breslow and saw almost immediate improvement.

They'll hope for the same effect from Juan Morillo this season.

Morillio was claimed off waivers Friday from the Colorado Rockies, where he'd spent his entire career. Morillo is just 25, hits 95 to 96 on the radar gun, but is a walk machine. In 2006, he struck out 132 hitters in AA, but also walked 80.

I was not shocked when I heard the news.

It was so obvious, and I would've been stunned if another city had topped us for the dubious honor. Forbes magazine tagged Seattle as "the most miserable sports city" for 2009.

This is non-debatable.

Breaking it down sport-by-sport, the Seattle fans were treated, or should I say punished, to the worst sports year I've ever heard of.

I hate when the Giants suck.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not exactly a Giants fan. In fact, I've been rooting for the Dodgers since I was 7—almost two decades of bleeding bright blue. 

On a scale of teams I hate from 1-10, the Giants are hovering somewhere around 13 on any given day, right next to the Yankees and not far above the Red Sox. So don't go thinking I'm weeping over their latest misfortune of a lineup.

Baseball is less fun when the Giants suck.

Cue the doomsday music, and prepare for a passionate backlash from the mainstream media and an increasingly pessimistic fan base.

Many owners are panicking early on in the fantasy baseball season, and it is your chance to buy low on some great players that are experiencing slow starts. Here is a list of a few of the players that are being dropped in a ton of leagues, but can still turn a nice profit for your roster and contribute meaningfully in 2009.

Face of the Franchise: Tim "Rock" Raines

Manager: Felipe Alou

C—Gary Carter
1B—Andres Galarraga
2B—Jose Vidro
3B—Tim Wallach
SS—Orlando Cabrera
OF—Tim Raines
OF—Andre Dawson
OF—Vladimir Guerrero
DH—Warren Cromartie
Bench: Util. Bob Bailey, Util" Hubie Brooks, 3B Larry Parrish, OF Rondell "Ron-DL" White

It's official.

The Minnesota Twins are in a freefall.

After splitting a season-opening series with the Seattle Mariners, the Twins proceeded to drop the rubber match of a three-game road series against the White Sox.

They then dropped three of four games against the visiting Blue Jays. Only a clutch hit by Joe Crede in the 11th inning Wednesday saved them from being swept by the invaders from the North.

The Twins (4-7) will open a three-game set in the Metrodome Friday against a team that's having just as many problems they are.