Opinion

The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a fine start to their 2012 regular season.

Sitting third in the division with a 15-11 record through 26 games, the Jays have been impressive through April and early May.

But does the current roster have enough starting pitching to compete all season long? Probably not. The Jays have a rotation stacked with young pitchers who have an incredibly high ceiling, but they don't have a legitimate fifth starter at the moment.

Sometimes I wonder if I am but one of a few baseball fans who does not support the repulsive-at-times treatment some have shown New York Yankees veteran hurler Freddy Garcia.

Players want to have their names in the record books—but not for records like this. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have had very few things to celebrate this season, and on Friday night they set a record that would have been better left unbroken.

Headlines can be a writer's best friend, and a writer's worst nightmare. Sometimes they can attract attention to a story in a positive way and up the reads and feedback on a story. Sometimes they can instigate widespread anger that is misleading with regards to the actual story.

This column is the latter.

The Chicago White Sox have cried uncle in their attempt to use Chris Sale in the starting rotation. Forget Sale's goal of a 200-inning season. The White Sox are ending the ruse after just 32.

Am I suggesting that Chicago was never serious about the notion of Sale returning to the role of a starting pitcher? I'm not sitting in the White Sox clubhouse, but I'm sifting through the early details of this move and something doesn't add up.

Of all the stories that have surrounded the 2012 Boston Red Sox, the Adrian Gonzalez saga has seemingly flown under the radar for the most part.

Saga, you say?

Well, that might be a bit dramatic. The problem is, Gonzalez has yet to truly perform in Boston in 2012. You can even make a solid argument that his numbers in 2011 were faulty due to the fact that he never produced in the clutch.

Think about that for a second.

On a night that saw Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg run onto the same major league field for the first time, it was Matt Kemp that once again put his stamp on the moniker of  “best player in the game."

We're a month into the 2012 season, and so far, it's been a season full of surprises. The Nationals, Orioles and White Sox are all either in first place or a game or two out, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz are both hitting near .400 and Albert Pujols has yet to hit a home run in an Angels uniform.

Major League Baseball has started its annual All-Star voting campaign for the July 10 event in Kansas City. Over the years, I have been strongly opposed to having the voting start so early.

However, the voting for the starters is more of a popularity contest where Yankees fans would probably vote for Derek Jeter 25 times if he were hitting .200.

Jeremy Affeldt is in the final year of his contract with the San Francisco Giants. As an effective left-handed reliever who will turn 33 this year, Affeldt figures to find continue his major league career, whether it's with the Giants or another team.