MLB

All we have been hearing about all weekend is just how expensive Yankee tickets are for 2009. The AP took weeks old single-game price information and made it a fun, "look how expensive these tickets are, OMG!1!1!!!" story.

On June 4, 1974, the Cleveland Indians held "Ten Cent Beer Night."

The club intended to offer as much eight-ounce Stroh's beer as fans could drink—and for only 10 cents a pop.

Now some background from before the Indians played the Texas Rangers that night.

Six days earlier there was a bench-clearing brawl between the two teams at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

Dear fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees,

Keep praying.

Pray that the Rays are not for real, but I'm here to tell you they are.

The Rays finished with 97 wins last year, and will many will be quick to say they will regress from that number, it's not likely to happen.  Not with their young stars in the making.

The Rays lineup this year:

C - Dioner Navarro.  A 25-year-old All-Star in 2008 is likely entering his prime.  Sorry Yankee fans, you're stuck worrying whether or not Posada can still play the position.

Tampa Bay finished 13th in the majors in runs scored with 774 last year.  They are looking to improve on those numbers with the additions of some hitters (Burrell and Joyce), the healing of some stars (Upton and Crawford), and the maturation of a stud (Longoria). 

I’m going to take a look at the Rays lineup to see what each player is looking to contribute to this year’s offense.

O.K. Padre fans, here's your chance to let everyone know which venue you enjoyed more to when attending a Padre game. I know that the Padres are moved for good, but there are several things missing from the Petco Park Experience in contrast to attending a game at the Murph (It will always be the Murph to me)

In the Friars unbridled rush to get into a new stadium, much of what made the Padres home field advantage so tough to overcome was left behind.

So its Petco vs the Murph, who will win?

Time to go West, my friends. I don’t think we are going to find the best baseball out here this year. Lately, for some reason, the East Coast is dominating things in sports. In the NCAA’s, it was something like two or three teams from out west were one of the top four seeds, 16 overall. The only recent World Series winners from out west were the Angels and Diamondbacks, the latter's championship dating back to their Randy Johnson/Curt Schilling years.

I don’t see the trend changing this year.

I remember jumping up and down in front of my dad one evening in 1997. 

The Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, and a sour apple lollipop my mother reluctantly gave me after literally an hour of begging, which in turn probably made jumping up and down a bad idea. 

The stage was set.

The 2009 Houston Astros may find themselves in the baseball record book for worst spring training record in history.

After their recent 12-1 loss to the New York Mets, the Astros' Grapefruit League record fell to 1-16-3. They must reach at least six wins in order to catch the 1985 Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished 6-18 that spring.

Currently, the pitching has been somewhat respectable, but weak offensive production and terrible defense continue to be cancerous to the team. 

During his 13-year tenure as a Major League executive, former Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan acquired the reputation of being a prudent horse trader and a proponent of developing players from within the organization's ranks.

Of course, this  was a philosophy borne of necessity.

The Houston Astros can officially welcome future Hall-of-Fame catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to the active roster.

Rodriguez, the 1999 AL MVP, passed his physical in Orlando, finalizing the one-year, $1.5 million contract. ESPN.com reports the 14-time All-Star will make his spring debut for the Astros this Sunday.