Opinion

Who says you can't go home?

Kerry Wood, the sometime Cub who remains beloved of the team's fanbase, will be a free agent this winter.

After signing a two-year contract in December 2008 with the Cleveland Indians, Wood struggled to stay healthy and effective. He posted a 4.80 ERA in 81 games with Cleveland before a July trade to the New York Yankees.

CC Sabathia has five more years to go. At least as a Yankee. For $23 million a year. Unless HE doesn't want to (given his player's option to quit after two more years).

Unless he's the team's answer to Jamie Moyer or Phil Niekro, he won't be worth $23 million in his seventh year. More to the point, he hasn't been worth $23 million in this, his SECOND year, according to FanGraphs. More like $18-$19 million year to date.

Even had CC Sabathia pitched well last night, who knows if it would've been enough to lock down a second Cy Young Award?

The groundswell for Felix Hernandez is building. The Mariners ace fired eight more brilliant innings in a 1-0 loss earlier Thursday, dropping him to 12-12 on the year.

I was sorry to see Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez traded away last year and not just because they were good players and all around great guys. It's because they were Pirate loyalists who would have been willing to play on the team for less than they appeared to be worth on the open market.

An important consideration for the low-budget Pirates.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Jered Weaver was very, very quietly having a Cy Young-caliber season.

Take off the purple-colored glasses for a minute. Forget about the magic of 2009. Forget about the past for a moment.

The Rockies had climbed back into the game on Carlos Gonzalez's first career grand slam. With the score 8-6, Joe Beimel allowed Stephen Drew, a guy who seems to only hit against the Rockies, to hit a solo home run to right field to expand the lead to 9-6.

Anyone who follows baseball knows that if there ever was a must-win for the Colorado Rockies, Thursday was it.

During his time in Boston, infielder Jed Lowrie has been the butt of many jokes by Red Sox fans. He has been criticized constantly for his apparent lack of any visible baseball skill set and has been labeled "injury prone" by the hometown fans.

The playoff picture in the American League is all but set, with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers simply dotting the eyes and crossing the tees on their way to October. 

There is a little drama left in the National League, as the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres battle it out with the Atlanta Braves for the NL wild card and the NL West division title.

Summer is over, folks. As of today we are in the midst of autumn.

Last night in a 7-2 loss to Tampa Bay, Yankees manager Joe Girardi brought in relief pitcher Royce Ring, who was making his debut this season after pitching in Triple-A for most of 2010.

Ring was very effective and efficient, so should Girardi include Ring on the postseason roster?