Opinion

In the wake of the news of the sudden and sad departure from Major League Baseball by Manny Ramirez, there will no doubt be many articles, op-ed pieces and columns regarding Ramirez and his place in baseball history.

There were a few concerns for the Colorado Rockies, the team that many experts picked as the favorite to unseat the defending world champion and division rival San Francisco Giants.

One week into the 2011 season, those expectations don't seem too out of reach. 

With all the positives that this season could potentially bring, there are, of course, some things the team still needs to work on.

Barry Bonds awaits his fate in a federal courthouse in San Francisco for allegedly lying about knowingly using steroids.

Starting today, the New York Yankees play the Boston Red Sox for the first time in 2011.  The over-hyping of this series began earlier this week when the Red Sox got off to one of their slowest season starts in their history.

Just how important is this series?  It all depends on who you ask.

On Wednesday, I wrote that it was too early to leap off the bandwagon of the 2011 Red Sox. I still believe that—however, alarm bells have started to ring as the 0-6 Sox limp home to Fenway Park to face their hated rival, the New York Yankees.

The vaunted offense of the Sox has disappeared over the last four games.

    While the New York Yankees surprised no one by taking a three-game series from the Minnesota Twins in their trip to the Empire State, there are certain observations that should instill both optimism and pessimism for the Twins as the season trudges through its first weeks.

Terry Francona and the Boston Red Sox have started the season an abysmal 0-6.  

While it is still early, it is not too early for Francona to start playing around with his lineup.  The Sox have a bevvy of versatile hitters capable of hitting in different lineup slots.

It's been five years since the big trade of the 2005 offseason, in which the Florida Marlins sent starting ace Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for prospects Anibal Sanchez and Hanley Ramirez.

However, which team got the better end of the deal?

The Florida Marlins?

The first week of the season is now over for the Toronto Blue Jays, who finish with a 4-2 record.

They took two of three games from both the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics.

If you've listened to just one Cincinnati Reds game on the radio in the past thirty years, then you have experienced Marty Brennaman, one of the best, most honest broadcasters in baseball history. 

Brennaman beat out 200 applicants to take over for the legendary Al Michaels in 1974 and be the main man on 700 WLW for Reds baseball.