Opinion

Dustin Pedroia won the 2008 AL MVP.  Based on that victory, Robinson Cano should run away with the AL MVP this year. 

It's important to compare Cano's year to Pedroia's and expose some truths about baseball, position scarcity, and the real value of players.

81-60. That is the best record in the National League to date and it is currently boasted by the 2008 and 2009 National League Champions and 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

What is it that led the Phillies to back-to-back NL championships and has now led them to the National League's best overall record with only 21 games left in the season? The answer is sheer toughness.

One of the reasons, if not the reason, I got into baseball writing was to challenge conventional wisdom. Challenging conventional wisdom is what we learned from Bill James and from Billy Beane, and it is the reason we tend to speak unfavorably of Joe Morgan.

The Kansas City Royals have numerous players who are capable of being dubbed their Fantasy Baseball Minor League Player of the Year, but ultimately it is hard to give the honor to anyone but Mike Moustakas.

The third baseman split time between Double and Triple-A, posting the following amazing line:

478 At-Bats
.324 Batting Average (155 Hits)
36 Home Runs
123 RBI
94 Runs
2 Stolen Bases
.371 On-Base Percentage
.636 Slugging Percentage
.316 Batting Average on Balls in Play

What a difference a year makes.

After two consecutive trips to the NLCS in 2008 and 2009, Dodgers fans had even higher hopes for the 2010 season.

Folks in Dodgertown knew that the divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt would have some type of effect on the organization, but nobody guessed the 2010 campaign would turn into a struggle on the field.

During their respective 2010 tenures with the Pittsburgh Pirates (as of today), James McDonald has pitched 41 innings while Octavio Dotel has thrown 40. In other regards, they are strikingly similar.

They've both faced 173 batters. They've both given up 19 earned runs. They've both walked 19 batters (counting intentional passes). And their ERAs are also very close: 4.17 for McDonald versus 4.28 for Dotel. 

So are they about the same value, or is one decidely more valuable than the other?

With the season winding down to a merciful end, the Reds are faced with a few hard questions.

The starting pitching has not been getting it done as of late, and that becomes a huge concern. In the three games thus far in the series with the Colorado Rockies, the starters are only giving an average of a little over four innings.  

That is entirely too much burden to place on any bullpen.

Yesterday, reaction to all but three Mets visiting the Walter Reed Medical Center to meet with wounded military personnel was abundant.

Many communicated their disappointment towards Oliver Perez, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo—some rather vehemently.

Courtesy of Dove Men+Care, Lady Loves Pinstripes was given the opportunity to ask New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi some personal questions about his life at home and on the field.

Here is Lady Loves Pinstripes exclusive Q&A with Yankees Joe Girardi.

Lade Loves Pinstripes: Where do you see yourself in five years?

The Yankees have an off day after finishing up a 10-game home stand with a victory against the Orioles to avoid their first sweep at the new Yankee Stadium. They were 7-3 during the home stand.

They will fly into Texas, with Jorge Posada, to start a nine-game road trip.

Here are some notes: