Opinion

Heading into the 2010 Major League Baseball season, there was one thing the Bay Area and everyone else knew for sure about the San Francisco Giants. Namely, that the squad would contend as long and as hard as the starting pitching would allow.

It was justifiably considered the organization's backbone and primary weapon on the diamond.

Two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, as notorious for throwing smoke as he became for inhaling it, was the unquestioned leader of the staff.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' fan faithful is represented very well by people of different ages, races, lifestyles, and personal beliefs.

And among all the fans, there are various levels of allegiance and devotion—some folks have the ability to recall any imaginable statistic in the history of the franchise, while others may simply enjoy a gorgeous day at the Ravine with friends and family.

After the acquisition of closer Matt Capps, the Minnesota Twins had a consistent bullpen. Every reliever knew what his job was going to be. Every reliever had his inning.

It was organized. Peaceful.

Flash forward a month.

The Twins acquired two more relievers: Randy Flores off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies and Brian Fuentes via trade from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States in North America.

Nyjer Morgan's latest suspension for charging Marlins P Chris Volstad for throwing behind him drew a ludicrous eight game suspension from Bud Selig, in addition to his previous seven game suspension currently under appeal.

Volstad allegedly threw behind Morgan in retaliation for a heinous crime: Stealing two bases in a row when his team was down by 10 runs.

Oh no. He's lucky he doesn't get suspended for that, too.

Josh Hamilton left Friday's game versus the Twins with back stiffness.

The injury doesn't appear to be too serious after hearing Hamilton's comments, but the Rangers were already worried about his achy knee that has flared up again. If you looked at the Texas slugger's performance lately, you couldn't tell he's been banged up.

To me, the Mets being irrelevant in August is no laughing matter. Being an afterthought while the Yankees are thriving across town isn't a joke. Being laughed at by Phillies fans instead of respected and hated isn't a knee slapping good time for me, or any Mets fan that I know who cares about the team.

With the expansion of the roster on September 1, Detroit Tigers catcher Max St. Pierre finally got the promotion he has been waiting for since he started playing baseball. St. Pierre, a native of Quebec, grew up speaking French and did not begin playing baseball until he was 10 years old. In 1997, St. Pierre was drafted in the 26th round of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Since then, St. Pierre has traveled around the minor leagues.

If you've been paying attention lately, the Cincinnati Reds called up left-handed phenom Aroldis Chapman and his 103 mph fastball this week.

That's right, I said 103 mph. He was actually clocked at 105 mph during a minor league game a week ago. Now, I have no problem with Chapman or the fact that he's wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform. What I have a big problem with is why he's not wearing a Pirates uniform instead.

Courtesy of Bill Ladson at MLB.com, here were Nyjer Morgan's comments this afternoon upon learning about his eight-game suspension for "three separate incidents" in the past week, including clipping St.

I live in South Florida, and right now I am not in baseball mode. My attention has shifted to other teams in the area.

However, something happened recently that brought my attention back to Major League Baseball:

The bench-clearing brawl between the Marlins and the Nationals.