Opinion

Jose Bautista, the Blue Jays right fielder, became the 26th player in major league history to hit 50 home runs when he launched a Felix Hernandez pitch into the left field bullpen in the first inning of a 1-0 Toronto win.

It's a special number, no doubt.

For those of you who haven't heard, Jose Bautista blasted his 51st and 52nd home runs today. There have only been 26 players in the history of baseball to ever hit 50 home runs is a single season; it's really a remarkable accomplishment. But for some reason, Jose Bautista hasn't been getting any pub for what he has done this year.

The New York Yankees are not in the playoffs; their magic number remains frozen at three just for a spot in October.

Three appears to be getting bigger and growing harder to reach with each game. The Yankees need to stop playing Jekyll and Hyde since winning the first two games of their last series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

What could be more frightening than the fake, plastic smile Jamie McCourt puts on every time there's a camera on her? How about the likely source of this whole catastrophe?

It is possible somewhere long ago, before reports of a bitter divorce began to surface, before the future of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization came into question, and before Dodgers fans realized their team may be in a struggle for the long haul, Frank McCourt had the chance to say two simple words: "I'm sorry."

Last night, Jose Bautista became the first player in the Majors to hit 50 home runs this season, and, with only a week remaining in the regular season, he may be the last as well.

Wait...what? Who? Huh?

That would be the standard reaction from most baseball fans, spanning from the casual observer to the most diligent follower.

The first question to consider, of course, is, who in the world is Jose Bautista?

There are now less than 10 games left in the marathon that is the Major League Baseball season. There were many lessons taught this year: One of which is that 2010 was the year of the pitcher, with so many pitchers throwing absolute gems.

We learned that even though its been three years, somebody can reach the 50 home run mark again (even though Jose Bautista only had 59 total HR for his career. Suspicious? Kind of. I like to give him the benefit of the doubt though).

Yankees vs. Red Sox, the most storied and greatest rivalry in sports will have a little less meaning this time around because of Boston's injury-plagued season that has left them on the brink of elimination, but it still is a must win series for the Bronx Bombers.

New York Yankees fans have been wanting ace C.C. Sabathia to win this year's Cy Young Award. After every single okay start, there were articles stating that C.C. had locked-up the most prestigious pitching award in Major League Baseball.

Well, there's a phenom that has been pitching one of the best pitching seasons over the past couple of years, and it's Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Carlos Guillen has been one of the finest Tigers in recent memory.

A great teammate, a perfect gentleman.

They've moved Guillen all around the field, the Tigers have, both to create space for other players, and to try to protect his body. The former has worked much better than the latter.

The switch-hitting Guillen isn't all that effective from the right side of the plate, but he still gives you more flexibility because of batting righty and lefty.

Miguel Tejada is playing grown man baseball at a grown-up time for the San Diego Padres.

Tejada became the 129^th player in MLB history to reach 300 homers Wednesday evening against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But that isn't the only milestone the 36-year-old veteran is looking to accomplish this season. 

It has been seven years since Tejada has played in the postseason. Both he and the Padres are in search of their first World Series ring.