Opinion

Here's your River & Sunset question of the day: Is Mark Teixeira having a good season?

Many of his statistics would say absolutely. He ranks top five in the American League in home runs (28), runs scored (94), RBI (91) and walks (73). He's on pace for 36 homers, 117 RBIs, and a career-high 121 runs, all while playing a Gold Glove-level first base.

The last couple of nights, you really can't put the full blame of 30 runs given up to the Giants on the relievers, but the bullpen is a piece that does need some serious help. Unfortunately, Cincinnati has only themselves to blame.

This year's National League MVP is quickly becoming a race between two players, Albert Pujols and Joey Votto, who are not only in a race for the MVP, but also for the Triple Crown. Looking at these two players, it's not so much an issue of which one deserves the MVP—they both do. The question is, which player deserves it more? While the sexy pick is the underdog Votto, a closer look at the numbers reveals a different story. Here are five reasons why Pujols deserves it more.

Everyone knows what it means: your team is flush with money and run by talentless slobs, who can make up for an inability to develop high quality talent within the farm system by simply buying other team's high quality talent.  

You are the evil empire, pricing every other team in baseball out of the market for the best players in the game.  

The Pittsburgh Pirates will do some tinkering to the starting rotation this week.  Jeff Karstens is being shelved for the time being with a tired arm.  Daniel McCutchen will assume Karstens spot in the rotation tonight against the Cardinals.

They will also need a starter for Sunday, as Ross Ohlendorf won't be taking his scheduled start.  The guy to keep an eye on is Charlie Morton.  Morton needs this opportunity.  Pirates fans need it as well.

Dan Uggla is a player who often gets little respect despite showing to be a tremendous source of power out of the middle infield year after year.

Unfortunately, he draws some criticism for the other aspects of his game, hurting his perceived value.

Obviously, we will have to reassess things once 2010 has come to a close, but thus far it appears that things are heading in a positive direction when it comes to his numbers:

Johnny Damon was a larger than life figure in Boston after the Red Sox won their first World Series in 2004 after an 86-year drought.

On Tuesday, Damon declined an opportunity to return to Boston after the team claimed him on waivers from Detroit.

The Red Sox could use a spark, as they are six games behind the Rays and Yankees for first place in the AL East, and Damon seemed like a logical fit.

However, Damon is a much different player and person now than he was in 2004 while playing in Beantown.

The Detroit sports fans are an easily scorned bunch.

When they’re happy and when it’s moved them, the Detroit sports fans have long cheered the miscreants, the black sheep types. They’ve leapt from their seats to yell themselves hoarse for pugilistic, alcoholic, drug-taking hockey players. Players coming off suspension have been greeted like returning war heroes.

They’ve also booed mightily at some of the most talented athletes to ever roll through this town.

The announcement was made yesterday that Nationals rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg is once again heading to the disabled list with a forearm strain.

After going on the disabled list in late July with an inflamed right shoulder, Strasburg was making just his third start since returning from that injury when he was pulled with the forearm injury.

Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals’  “Baseball Jesus” has been placed on the disabled list for the second time this season, and the team’s management and fans are understandably quite concerned.

Some people say that it is normal for a pitcher to have some arm soreness, especially since this is his first year of professional baseball, and his body is merely adjusting to his new pitching schedule.