Opinion

The struggling New York Yankees have let the AL East get a little to tight. They are now tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the division lead.

The Yankees have gone just 5-5 in their last ten games while the Rays have been hot. Tampa has won nine of their last ten including taking two of three from the Yankees.

The fans who have not yet lost hope with their beloved Los Angeles Dodgers are pulling out their hair, racking their brains, and seeing their stress levels reach dangerous peaks.

If it was a simple task to isolate one problem area that is causing the Dodgers' horrible play, the coaching staff would have taken care of it already. After all, that's what they get paid to do.

But perhaps the one thing that has plagued the Boys in Blue the most this season is drama—2010 hasn't seen a moment without it.

Striker: Surely you can't be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

One couldn’t be surprised if Dodgers manager Joe Torre slipped into the role of Ted Striker from the movie “Airplane!” when talking to L.A.’s GM Ned Colletti's version of Dr. Rumack after hearing of the deals Colletti orchestrated at the trade deadline.

Meanwhile, the reaction from Dodger fans trend towards language with a much higher concentration of salt and vinegar.

Still holding on to Chone Figgins or Aaron Hill? Fantasy baseball owners may want to consider cutting ties with these big name underachieving players. You will be shocked at these comparisons.
 
Check out these numbers and ask yourself whether you would like to add this player if he was available on the waiver wire in your league: .264/.325/.382 with 45 R, 42 RBI, and two SB.

There were quite a few trades made at this year's non-waiver deadline, but not as many moves as I thought there would. With so many equally talented, but non-impact players available after the big guns—Cliff Lee, Dan Haren, Roy Oswalt—were gone, it became a buyer's market.

Some teams, like the Toronto Blue Jays, would not trade any of their valuable commodities (Scott Downs, Jose Bautista, Jason Frasor) unless they received top dollar and/or equal return back.

As of the 2010 MLB trading deadline: Jeremy Hermida out, Ryan Kalish in.

Ryan Kalish is one of Boston's top prospects and he's getting a chance to show what he's capable of. 

After tonight's loss against the lowly Cleveland Indians, Kalish played well again and went 3-3 and made some great throws from the outfield to prevent runners from scoring. 

So far in Kalish's short Major League career, he is 5-10 with two RBI and one run scored. A lot more productive than Jeremy Hermida. 

Like a kid finding socks beneath the brightly colored wrapping paper on Christmas morning, Angels fans once again felt short-changed on Saturday after baseball's trade deadline passed.

Since 2005, it seems Los Angeles has been in the market for another big bat to bolster their lineup.

The Rays talked about Jeremy Hellickson going back to spring training. They felt he was untouchable when it came to acquiring a hitter.

On Monday night, Hellickson made his Major League debut against the Twins. It was a spot start appearance, and nothing more. He was going to be in the minors after the game was over, and that proved to be the case.

It’s harsh to beat up on a player just after he gets hurt, but after watching the video of the big collision in today’s Indians-Red Sox game, I just don’t feel as much sympathy for Santana as perhaps I should.

Santana is a great young player, and I hope the injury isn’t too serious and he recovers quickly.  That said, the injury is entirely his own fault.

What happened to Orioles Magic? A once respectable franchise has turned into a complete joke, to put it frankly.

The Orioles are on their way to their 13th consecutive losing season. They haven’t had a winning season since 1997, when they went 98-64, and they have changed managers eight times in that 13-year span, with names like Lee Mazzilli, Dave Trembley, and Sam Perlozzo.