Opinion

What every young, building franchise needs is a vocal leader.  One who isn't afraid to call a player or two out.  Whether that be in the clubhouse, or through the media.

The future of the Washington Nationals franchise, and right now Major League Baseball's most marketable player, Stephen Strasburg, seems like he is quite comfortable in that role.

I love the game of baseball. In fact, I'd call myself a baseball enthusiast.

That being said, there's a topic that seems to stick in my craw more often than not. While I have my own opinion on players' salaries and how most aren't worth half of what they're getting, that's not one of the biggest issues in the game today.

What is? Controversial managers.

The true test is here. The time to find out if the Cincinnati Reds are playoff material has arrived in the form of a nine-game West Coast pow-wow.
 
Recent history suggests the Reds are screwed. Over the last five seasons, the Reds have a 16-35 (.314) record on the Left Coast.
 
In ’06 they were tied for first before embarking on a 10-game stretch in the West Coast. A 2-8 trip later, they were six games behind and the season was essentially finished.
 

Fresh off an unacceptable loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon, the New York Yankees arrived back home to face the Detroit Tigers for a four-game set.

Instead of keeping the Tampa Bay Rays at bay, the Yankees lost to the Tigers 3-0, but that is just the icing on the cake.

Oh, how things can change so quickly. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez to be their new closer, replacing Billy Wagner, at the start of the 2009 season to a 3-year, $37 million contract.

Fans and members of the media thought the Mets were finally landing a star reliever, after years of frustration at the closer position.

After John Franco, the Mets never really had a legitimate closer. It started with Armando Benitez in 1999, who went on to blow Game 1 of the 2000 Subway Series.

After witnessing yet another poor start by Javier Vazquez on Monday, I believe that it is about time to call upon the services of 23-year-old Ivan Nova.

As you may or may not know, Vazquez is going through a stretch of dead arm right now, which is severely limiting his velocity on pitches, which are topping out at 88 miles per hour.

He got ripped by the Rangers last Wednesday, and he gave up two runs through four innings against the Tigers yesterday, throwing 106 pitches and dodging several scary situations in the process.

If a rough patch in a Major League Baseball season can be analogized to a gathering tempest, then the San Francisco Giants are heading into a doozy.

The club is sailing into a bank of cumulonimbus that isn't just dark; it's that inky, purplish shade of black. The kind that means your best option is to find Toto, stick your head between your knees, and kiss your tokus goodbye.

It's probably a bit of a reach, but it's possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.

I'm not going to lie.  I mercilessly mocked the New York Mets for signing R.A. Dickey in the offseason.  To be honest, I was frustrated.  Other teams were out signing pitchers like John Lackey (Red Sox), or trading for others such as Cliff Lee (Mariners), and I was stuck having to deal with the Mets settling for a 35-year-old knuckleballer who had never seen any extended success in the major leagues. 

I grew up watching many sports. I always thought it would be incredible to play for a team, preferably a Toronto team. When I remember what I used to dream of, I wonder now whether the players have forgotten those dreams.

Many rookies in baseball hold out for money. They want lots of money now. That is all fine and dandy for them, and I applaud the agents for trying to get the best deal available, but hasn't it gone a little too far?