MLB

Story from BaltimoreSportsReport.com

Thirty-seven pitchers ventured south to sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida to attend spring training with the Baltimore Orioles. So far the rotation seems to be missing three spots. Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara have filled the top two.

Last season, the Detroit Tigers finished 74-88, last in the AL Central, in large part due to their disastrous pitching. The Tigers' 4.90 team ERA in '08 was the fourth worst in the major leagues.

Detroit's hyped lineup was good, but it didn’t produce the galactic numbers that a lot of people expected. The Tigers may be facing some difficult financial decisions if their disappointing play continues. 

The Tigers were top three in player spending in 2008, along with the Yankees and Mets. They spent about $138 million. 

CC Sabathia gave up five runs in the second inning as the Yankees were defeated 7-4 today by the Tigers. Our old friend, Gary Sheffield, hit two homers against us. 

I am old school. I remember sitting in the bleachers in Ebbetts Field in the 1950s. My first game was, I think, the Dodgers against the Phillies in 1951. I was six. For the next six years, all I could think about was "The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant."

Broken hearted at age 12, I went into baseball hibernation until 1962. Baseball was back and The New York Mets were born and I was re-born.

In the final piece of this series of articles laying out the players that are going to make up the Texas Rangers’ 2009 season, I’m going to to finish up with the biggest piece of the puzzle for Texas.

Whenever you hear about the Texas Rangers in national media it always seems to be about the pitching, or really the lack there of. 

This season is going to be a huge part on how the team will develop into the next couple of seasons, and I’m going to breakdown this players and what to expect this season and in the future.

After a second straight mind-blowing upset at the hands of The Netherlands, the roster of the Dominican Republic returned home with their tails tucked between their legs.

The Dominican team held the weight on their shoulders of a nation as passionate about the game of baseball as any other in the world.

As more and more information surfaces regarding steroid use in the MLB, it has become clear that the problem went much deeper than we all thought. Remember, just a few summers ago, we were all touting A-Rod as the "clean" savior who would valiantly reclaim the title of Home Run King from the evil Bonds. 

Back then, I thought the steroid users were sparse and obvious; bulky guys who were smaller at the start of their career. Now, I find myself asking more and more, "Who wasn't on steroids?" 

The Mets made a huge sacrifice in sending 16 players to the World Baseball Classic this year, but they have all served their countries well so far, even though Jose Reyes and Fernando Tatis are returning to camp after the Dominican Republic was eliminated last night.

David Wright was the first Met to accept an invitation to play for Team USA in the WBC after A-Rod decided to play for the Dominican Republic, but we all know what happened there, so no further discussion is needed.

A pinch-hit two-run home run prevented Cuba from being the next victim in a World Baseball Classic that has featured incredible upsets. Backup catcher Yosbany Peraza—known in Cuba for his prodigious power stroke—saved the day.

Team Australia led the game 4-2 after six innings. Cuba scored once in the seventh on a double by designated hitter Michel Enriquez. In the eighth Australia brought in its closer, Rich Thompson.