Opinion

Shortly after securing their future long-term home, Marlins Ballpark, in Little Havana near Downtown Miami, the Marlins began their long-term deals with their marquee players. 

In 2008, the Marlins signed their all-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a six year, $70 million extension that goes through the 2014 season. It was their first such long-term deal since they signed first baseman Carlos Delgado to a five year deal in 2005. 

The Marlins continued that trend by locking up their ace, Josh Johnson to a four year extension worth $39 million in 2010. 

"We are better than this."

That was the message Mets players had on Tuesday at Citi Field, as the team looked to close the gap on NL East rivals Atlanta and Philadelphia.

"I think this is a first-place team if you ask me," Chris Carter told me. "You know what, we've been losing a lot of one-run ballgames, so we just need to find a way to score one or two more runs I think we'll be good."

The New York Mets might be 8.5 games out of first place in the National League East, but the players know that they are capable of turning the deficit around if they're given time.

Therein lies the kicker, though. The Mets are more than two-thirds of the way through their schedule and time just isn't something that is on their side. Still, they say, you can't stop believing now.

Just 10 short years ago, professional baseball in Philadelphia was dead.

Totally, undisputedly, dead.

I was a sixth-grader at the time, back in 2000, and nobody at Elkins Park Middle School in the Montgomery County Philly suburbs even wanted to talk about our city’s ball team.

No one. Wanna talk about Pokemon? Sure. The Harry Potter books? Of course. The Fightin Phils? No way.

The Phillies were nobodys. They were losers.

The Yankees got seven innings out of their starter A.J.

Are you hurting in the run category? Here are some reasonably available players that can help you out.

Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado Rockies
Fowler scored 12 runs over the past 15 days while hitting .364 with a HR, eight RBIs, and two SBs. On the year, he’s hitting .244 with 47 runs, three HRs, 19 RBIs, and 11 SBs. Dexter is owned in 35 percent of ESPN and 26 percent of CBS leagues.

The answer is absolutely not.

The Bleacher Report editorial staff asked me my opinion of the designated hitter. Do guys like Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers and David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox help the game, or is their specialization bad for baseball? I consider myself a baseball purist (I dislike artificial turf, 12-man pitching staffs, innings limits, pitch counts, and the Wild Card) but I do like the DH.

On December 21, 2007, news broke that Josh Hamilton had been traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.  

At the time, it was a fairly big trade; Hamilton had hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI in just 298 ABs for the Reds, while Volquez was a top prospect in the Rangers organization.  Herrera was not a top prospect, but he has gone on to be a solid bullpen arm.  

But we all know what became of Hamilton and Volquez.  

Back in March of this year, Oakland A’s speedster Rajai Davis made a pretty bold prediction. He believed he could steal 75 to 80 bases in 2010.