Opinion

Yes, the word optimism and the Pittsburgh Pirates does not ordinarily fit into the same sentence, but their are a few reasons for the city of Pittsburgh to look for the light at the end of an 18-year-long tunnel.

The Pirates are coming off a 105 loss season, but with the additions of some veteran players and the continued development of the young players in the current lineup, the Pirates could be better this season. 

Lately, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been a hotbed for controversy. Whether its the arctic weather, Jerry Jones' inability to know how many seats to have for his Super Bowl guests or Christina Aguilera botching the national anthem, hostility and malice are sure to be found.

To add fuel to an already raging fire, Texas Ranger captain Michael Young now wants to be traded.

Back in 2006, all the buzz was about how Barry Zito signed the largest contract in the MLB for a pitcher. In 2011 that contract is still the talk of the baseball world, but for all the wrong reasons.

By signing the seven year contract, Zito immediately became the richest pitcher in baseball history. His contract was worth $126 million and included another option year in 2014.

Just over half way through his contract, the Giants I'm sure have been trying to find some kind of way to move Zito and the $60+ million left on it.

The New York Yankees were probably very disappointed this week to hear that Andy Pettitte has decided to retire instead of return for another season with the Bronx Bombers. Now heading into spring training this leaves two big holes in their starting rotation that will most likely be filled by either Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Bartolo Colon or Freddy Garcia.

I attended my first game at the "new" Yankee Stadium last summer, folks; it's hard to believe the "old" one has been leveled and the reality of the whole thing is still sinking in.

If you're looking for a scapegoat as you stare at the Yankees' funny-if-it-weren't-so-sad starting rotation, you might as well go with Joba Chamberlain. The man's already a human punching bag at this point, so I doubt he'll mind.

Had Chamberlain developed as the team expected, the departure of Andy Pettitte wouldn't feel like such a cataclysmic event.

Late in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLV, the camera flashed New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez sitting with his girlfriend Cameron Diaz.
 
Diaz was feeding A-Rod popcorn at the moment, and Fox’s Joe Buck was elated to have caught the slugger being feed like a baby. It was typical A-rod awkward.
 

I hate to look ahead and into the future, but it's looking like the 2012 free agency period may be an important one for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Many of the main cogs of the franchise will be over to the age of 35 or close to it.  The window isn't exactly opened all the way.

Not only do some of the Phillies prospects have to prosper down the line, Amaro is going to have to make some tough decisions.  Who does he want to re-sign or sign during this time frame.  Philadelphia's farm system is ranked in the top five by the way.

The A's first round pick of the 1996 draft, Eric Chavez made his professional debut with the Oakland Athletics on September 8, 1998 in a pinch-hit role against the Baltimore Orioles. Over the course of the next 13 seasons "Chavvy" would become the second longest continuous tenured player to wear an Oakland Athletic uniform.

Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Don Mattingly.  You know the names because you've heard them a million times, and strung together you probably already know what the topic is: great players who never won a World Series.

In basketball, football and even hockey to a certain degree, greatness is measured with rings.  Despite complete and utter statistical dominance, Wilt Chamberlain is considered by knowledgeable basketball fans to be inferior to Bill Russell.  Why?  Count the rings.