Opinion

The panda is, by nature, a docile creature.

DreamWork's Kung Fu Panda was a lovable novice who needed to learn how to harness his considerable talents.

Lovable though he may be, the 2011 version of Pablo Sandoval resembles neither a kung fu panda nor a real one.

That’s why it may be time for a new nickname.

OK, we're not saying we would trade the artist formerly known as Fat Elvis straight up for Super Joe, but here are 10 compelling reasons why Lance Berkman is more valuable than the reigning NL MVP.

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The thought going into the season about Pirates third basemen Pedro Alvarez was his glove not his bat.

While his glove has came around and performed decently well, his bat has been terrible.

He is batting an abysmal .183 with only four RBI’s.

It seemingly is a paradox, but upon closer examination, it makes sense. Today's top players are among the best in baseball history, but today's teams are among the worst ever.

Albert Pujols, Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez, Joey Hamilton, Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulotwitski, Joey Votto, Ichiro Suzuki and Ryan Howard, in no particular order, can hold their own with the greatest hitters of all time.

The Phillies' starting pitching rotation has drawn many comparisons to the 1996 pitching staff of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves pitchers had a very strong season from their pitchers, but they lost in the World Series to the New York Yankees, four games to two. 

So how will the Phillies finish this season? 

When looking into Brett Gardner's problems, one stat really jumps out at you. Gardner, after batting .287 against righties last year, is only batting a .105 against them this year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers promoted outfield prospect Jerry Sands on Monday after the 23-year-old hit a whopping .400/.422/.875 with five HRs and 17 RBI in 10 games (40 at-bats) at Triple-A Albuquerque.

He made his major league debut later that night, going 1-for-3 with a sac fly. He then went 1-for-4 on Tuesday night with an RBI groundout.

Through three starts (19 1/3 innings) in 2011, Seattle Mariners’ rookie Michael Pineda has certainly turned some heads. The 21-year-old boasts a 2.33 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 16/7 K/BB ratio, which includes a start at Texas.

This begs the question: How good is Michael Pineda?

Kansas City Royals’ pitcher Bruce Chen tossed his third consecutive quality start on Tuesday, limiting the Indians to just two runs on six hits in seven innings. He also walked three and struck out five.

To the surprise of no one, the recent Barry Bonds perjury trial ended with a result that satisfied neither party and only really succeeded in stirring up another round of PED-related articles. 

One of the most common type article to enter the fray is how the Hall of Fame will view such candidates; after all, Bonds (and others guilty/suspected of usage) put up some impressive numbers during his career.