Opinion

Hank Steinbrenner made headlines this week in choosing to target Derek Jeter, one of the greatest Yankees ever, as the excess-obsessed poster child for the team’s current ails.

It’s our first spring in the modern baseball era without The Boss. Every time he opens his mouth and tries to be like his dad, Hank reminds us how engulfed he is by his father’s shadow.

I've become somewhat disillusioned with the lack of a salary cap in baseball.

On one hand, I enjoy baseball being the one team sport in which the cap doesn't exist. On the other hand, I'm tired of teams like the Yankees going out and snatching every available free agent they covet.

Adam Wainwright is the next victim for Tommy John surgery. With this said, pitchers are the likely victim of this surgery. 

Not to mention, great pitchers seem to be the victims, like Kerry Wood, Stephen Strasburg and Chris Carpenter.

This UCL injury will not stop with Wainwright. There will be many pitchers to come that suffer from this torn ligament and there will be many pitchers that face other injuries as well.

The body was just not built to throw the ball 90-plus miles per hour over a long time period. 

We may never know if the Wilpon family, principal owners of the New York Mets, benefited or lost as a result from dealings with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.

However, we will soon know if the Wilpons' involvement with Madoff will cost their beloved Mets on the field.

The recent lawsuit against the Wilpons will cost them millions. It's not relevant if they win or lose in the courtroom.

The Minnesota Twins are hoping that history repeats itself with their Rule 5 draft pick Scott Diamond whom they selected from the Atlanta Braves. 

It was 11 seasons ago when the Twins received another left handed starting pitcher as a Rule 5 draft pick from the Houston Astros. 

Ah, baseball season.  For me, there are few feelings like it.  Spring Training represents a new era every year for me; one filled with hopefulness and optimism.  The recent purchasing of an undisclosed publication taught me something that put a damper on this anticipation: The Cleveland Indians are the worst team in Major League Baseball. 

The injury to Adam Wainwright's elbow will officially require Tommy John surgery, ending his season and severely damaging the Cardinals' chances at an NL Central division title.

Now that their season is over before it even began, the Cardinals are going to trade Chris Carpenter, their only remaining ace, and probably try to find a buyer for Albert Pujols, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

They'll probably sell the team, and baseball in St. Louis will be over.

By the time the 2009 baseball amateur draft finally came to an end, the Washington Nationals had added 50 players to their minor league system.

But really, other than the first two—Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen—the other 48 were either minor league "inventory" or relative unknowns who would probably slip into the anonymity of the low minor leagues, likely never to be heard from again.

The 2011 MLB season was supposed to be a season filled with promise and potential for the St. Louis Cardinals. It was supposed to be a season the was to afford the Cardinals a bit of retribution after missing the playoffs in 2010, despite finishing 86-76—heck, even fantasy baseball fans were champing at the bit over the St. Louis Cardinals’ net fantasy baseball value in 2011.

Carlos Zambrano has been to the mountaintop and back.

He has braved the treacherous climb, studied with the celebrated Dharma bums in the Himalayas, found inner peace with the spirit of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and even spent a few months in the swamps of Dagobah under Jedi master Yoda.

He is ready.