Opinion

In 2008, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded a "utility" third baseman named Jose Bautista to the Toronto Blue Jays for a backup catcher. It took him a couple seasons, but the former utilityman rocketed to become a team mainstay.

The Yankees just can’t catch a break.

After dealing with an ailing Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre and Greg Golson this spring, the oblique strain is back and is now affecting key player Curtis Granderson.

The right muscle strain caused the hitter to be scratched from the lineup on Tuesday and may deprive Granderson of participating in Opening Day on Thursday against his former team, the Detroit Tigers.

Last Friday, the Phillies announced that closer Brad Lidge would likely be joining second baseman Chase Utley on the Disabled List to begin the 2011 season.

The loss of Utley, who has yet to play a game this spring because of patellar tendinitis in his right knee, and Lidge, who is reporting discomfort in his shoulder, means the team that most picked to represent the National League in this year's World Series is already off to an unfortunate 2011 campaign.

Everybody has their list.

They get a ton of attention and for this group, unwarranted. They're overrated.

Which stats are the best indicators of being overrated?

OPS? WAR? Should an eye test be taken?

Potential sometimes cannot be judged on stats.

Let's take a look at the 10 most overrated players in baseball.

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The Colorado Rockies need to get off to a quick start.

It's a story that's been written a hundred times. However, it's been written so many times because of the fact that this group of baseball players seem to play their best when they are seemingly out of the race.

In 2010, it seemed like a breath of fresh air to Rockies fans when the club went 11-12 in April.

That being said, 11-12 is not very good for a team looking to make a statement, but compared to previous years it seemed like a hot start.

The Seattle Mariner's chronically underachieve, and last year was certianly no different.

However, when you look at back at their lineup on Opening Day and see Casey Kotchman, Jack Wilson, Rob Johnson and Jose Lopez pencilied in, you can realize why this team failed in historic fashion. The 2010 Mariners scored the fewest runs in the American League since the designated hitter was introduced.

I believe in the "Baseball Gods."  No kidding, I really do.

There is just too much baseball karmic history to deny the existence of the baseball higher power, so to speak. 

Having said that, I do not believe that the Philadelphia Phillies or their fans have done anything so terribly wrong so as to anger said Gods. 

What did we do?  Seriously.  We signed a top of the line starting pitcher in the offseason, who wanted to come to Philly.

No player has felt the demand to perform every plate appearance like Alex Rodriguez has since Dave Winfield was nicknamed Mr. May in the 1980’s. However, this week there were several instances of Yankee fans going to bat—so to speak—for Rodriguez over Derek Jeter.

They are the Frick and Frack of baseball in Detroit. Some would call them Laurel and Hardy; on a good day, they're Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

It's gotten to the point that when you see either Dave Dombrowski or Jim Leyland, you're half-surprised not to see them joined at the hip.

They're two peas in a pod. Twin sons of different mothers.

The Barry Bonds trial just concluded its first week of testimony after eight years of buildup, and honestly, nobody should care.

Bonds is not facing trial because of any crime that caused physical harm to another person; he did not perpetrate some great social injustice. No, Barry Bonds is on trial because he took steroids to elevate his game in his quest to rewrite the baseball record books and then lied about it.