Opinion

When you take a look at the Giants organization, from top to bottom, they're arguably one of the best in baseball. In fact, in 2009, they were the best in terms of overall organizational record. 

Four of the six Giants affiliates made the postseason (San Jose, Fresno, Augusta, Salem-Keizer), and two of those four won their respective league titles (San Jose Giants, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes). 

With the second half of the season under way, so is the race for the NL Rookie of the Year.

So far there are plenty of worthy candidates and will probably be to close to call until the last couple of weeks in the season.

There is no clear leader, thanks to the likes of Jamie Garcia (Cardinals), Ike Davis (Mets), Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Buster Posey (Giants) and Jason Heyward (Braves), who are all having great rookie campaigns.

Only time will tell who will end up NL Rookie of the Year.

I know this article is a little different and contradicts bloggers in this internet age, but bear with me!

This past weekend I was reading the latest Sports Illustrated Issue—the one with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and their newest pick-up LeBron James.

I will admit it that I have always been a sucker for a good sports read. Whether it be, SI, ESPN The Magazine, or since I discovered this whole new world we call the business of baseball, books focused of the economics of the game.

This article is the final part of a series of articles looking at the Cubs not-so-distant future. To read part four, which takes a look at the pitchers, follow this link .

Please check out my website, TheSportingRave.com . More celebrity/pop culture stories.

The newest sports movie to hit the pre-production stage, titled Moneyball,  is a story that tracks the Oakland A’s baseball team and its unconventional general manager Billy Beane, played by none other than Brad Pitt.

New York Yankees starting pitcher AJ Burnett took the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday afternoon.

Burnett was pulled in the third inning, marking his shortest outing in pinstripes. This time Burnett's frustrations got the better of him, which certainly did not go well over with his teammates.

In the first inning Burnett gave up a double to Carlos Pena that scored Evan Longoria. In the top of the second inning, the Rays' Reid Brignac hit a two-run homer that put the Rays ahead of the Yankees 3-2.

This article is a long time coming. I know the team is only 5.5 back in the division, but with the strength of the NL East and the National League in general, things may become very bleak on Broad Street.

This city of Philadelphia talks about 2008 like it was yesterday, the season where everything was perfect and the Phillies were kings of the world…guess what, it's not and they are slipping HARD.

The Yankees' bullpen looked good today in relief of Andy Pettitte, who lest after two-thirds innings pitched due to a Grade 1 groin strain, which will keep him out a projected 4-5 weeks.

This puts the Yankees in a very precarious position for several reasons.

The bullpen has now pitched over 13 innings in the past two games, because of A.J. Burnett's injury from his clubhouse rampage yesterday and Pettitte's groin injury today.

Change is in the air here in Toronto.  It seems that most of the city's sports teams are in the midst of an overhaul.  The Raptors are transitioning into the new era without Chris Bosh.  Brian Burke continues his push with the Maple Leafs in hopes that they can make the playoffs, acquiring Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong this offseason. 

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos also continues to put his impressive stamp on the Toronto Blue Jays.

Following the 2008 season, Braves GM Frank Wren made it clear that he was looking to acquire at least two starting pitchers to bolster the rotation and lead the Braves back into the playoffs.

While Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami eventually made their way to Atlanta, the Braves wanted an ace, and targeted a couple big name pitchers.