Opinion

It is time for Major League Baseball to realign and expand.  The antiquated notion of having separate American and National Leagues, with separate rules for each is no longer a quaint idiosyncrasy, but an annoying inconsistency.  The League could clean up the evil that is the designated hitter, create better geographic rivalries, and expand its product all in one fell swoop.  It would be a three-pronged plan: 1) Expand to 32 teams, 2) Create eight divisio

Major League Baseball wasn't necessarily meant to be enjoyed with one finger extended in an attempt to find a target for today's round of criticism.

Oh, the 2010 San Francisco Giants have made it easy for fans who want to affix blame, find solutions to every potential problem, and moan about what will go wrong next from Opening Day through the dog days of summer.

While Rays outfielder Carl Crawford did tell "Angels On Air" host Jeff Biggs (interview can be heard here) that he would consider Anaheim his new hometown, it will ultimately be economics that will determine his 2011 team and beyond.

Sometimes Jose Bautista drives in runs by hitting home runs. (He has 95 RBIs, third in the American League, going into today's games, and is tops in four-baggers.) At other times, he drives in runs--well, by running.

That was the case last night, in the bottom of the fourth, with two out and two on to Bautista against the New York Yankees. By capturing first base, he had loaded the bases for Vernon Wells, described by the Yankees' commentator as "dangerous."

Currently Albert Pujols and Joey Votto are locked in a battle for the coveted "Triple Crown" of hitters in the National League, while Miguel Cabrerra is chasing it in the American League. The hitters Triple Crown, for those that don't know, refers to leading the league in home runs, RBI, and average in the same season. It has been 42 years since anyone has won it at all, (Carl Yastremski for Boston) and it's been 73 years since anyone has done it in the National League (Joe Medwick for the Cardinals).

Joe Blanton, the pitcher most notably remember for hitting a homerun vs. then Tampa Bay Ray, now White Sox Pitcher Edwin Jackson.

Blanton has had his fair share off up and downs, but I'm here to let you know if his ups and downs, may produce an up or down for the Philadelphia Phillies.

This week, I went to my first Angels game in almost two months and for a number of reasons, the trip was surprisingly difficult.

First of all, despite the fact that Los Angeles is listed first in its formal name, the team still resides in Anaheim. It's a fun little town in north Orange County, but it is hardly convenient to me in my suburban home in Temecula.

As the Blue Jays continue to try and play the role of spoiler against the Red Sox, Rays and Yankees one more important date looms on the calender. That is of course next Wednesday when the calender turns to September. At that point the Blue Jays can increase their active roster to as many as forty players. No team ever adds the full fifteen and teams often only call-up a few extra players.

Andy Pettitte will throw a bullpen session on Friday in Chicago to test his strained left groin.

Pettitte has been on the DL since July 20 when he strained his left groin in a game on July 18 against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Originally, Pettitte was going to be out for 4-5 weeks, but Andy was targeting three.

Over the past 10 games, the Oakland A’s are 7-3 and have scored five or more runs five times. They are averaging four runs per game and have Athletics’ fans wondering where the offense has been all year.

The offensive outburst could be related to the fact that the A’s have had games against Toronto and Cleveland, but nevertheless the offense is a welcome sight for Oakland fans.