MLB

Those looking for this year's Josh Hamilton—a breakout slugger—look no further than teammate Nelson Cruz. Nelson, who will turn 29 this season, has made a career in the minor leagues.

He capped off his minor career last season with a bang; a bang which included blasting 37 home runs and batting in 99 runs, not to mention a .342 batting average. Last year's spectacular performance in triple-A earned him the Pacific Coast League MVP award.

Nelson's triple-A contract with Oklahoma was bought out on Aug. 25, 2008.

I recently wrote an article on "25 Ways to Tell if You're a Cardinals Fan." I enjoyed coming up with the list so much, I decided to stay in the division and turn it into a series of articles.

So, Milwaukee, here is your list of ways to tell if you're a Brewers fan!

Another baseball season upon us, and another chance to prove how little I know when it comes to accurately predicting how the new season will play out.

Nevertheless, I like to entertain myself and look back seven months from now and see if I knew anything, so before all you critics out there rip my predictions to shreds, know that I make them without doing any real research and simply off of gut feelings based on how teams faired last season and how they look based on the moves they made during the offseason.

Here are my picks for the 2009 season:

National League:

East

1. Philadelphia Philies (94-68) The defending champs will not need a Mets Collapse this year

2. New York Mets (91-71) With a beefed up 'pen the Mets should win the Wild Card

3. Florida Marlins (89-73) The Marlins are gradually improving and are almost there but still only the third best team in this division

4. Atlanta Braves (80-82) This team has improved, just not enough

The most important number to consider when analyzing the Mets' signing of Gary Sheffield is $400,000. The amount the Mets will pay Sheffield for his services. This is a low-risk, high-reward signing.

Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work out; the Mets cut him and bring Nick Evans back to the big club. Sheffield goes home and collects paychecks from both the Mets and the Tigers while the price of the Italian sausage at CitiField goes up 50 cents.

As much as I love the Italian sausage, I won't be distraught if things with Sheff don’t work out.

We hear about them on TV, we see them in the newspaper, and we research them on the computer; not all of them, however. Prospects are among the most exciting factors of the baseball world.

If you look at a team's success, they are most successful when they are built up of home grown talent rather than record-breaking free-agent signings.

The Mariners had forgotten that concept and now they are coming off a 61-101 season. But don't worry, the farm system is stocked with young talent, and now, with Jack Zduriencik at the helm, that is not going to be changing.

It didn't feel like Yankee Stadium.

Emerging from the steps that connect the D train to River Ave., I wanted to go left, but the crowds ushered me right - across the street to the new ballpark.

Waiting on the massive line near Gate 6, I gazed up at the colossal exterior and snapped pictures like the thousands surrounding me.

In 50 years, I'd tell my grandchildren how I attended the first ever game at the new Yankee Stadium.

I'd leave out the part about it being an exhibition.

“Gary Sheffield had no demands for the Mets and did not specifically discuss his number of at bats with us.” -- Omar Minaya (April 3, 2009)

And if you believe that, I have beachfront property in Montana for all of you.