Opinion

Unless there is a catastrophe, the Yankees are going to buy another World Series this season. There's no denying it.

That team is stacked with great hitting and great pitching. Their young players mesh with the veterans when it comes to creating a cohesive unit.

There's no team in baseball that can challenge them. People can talk about the Giants with their starting five, but the Yankees have a good starting rotation of their own.

Just as Travis Snider was on his way to an outstanding month of May at the plate he's now on his way down to Dunedin, Florida for an MRI and rehab. Snider injured his wrist in Friday night's game, a game in which he went deep for the second consecutive night. It's not clear yet how long he will be out and wrist injuries can be a tricky injury to recover from.

The Phillies placed Brad Lidge on the DL with elbow tightness. We were told that Lidge’s MRI came back clear and only showed inflammation, but in the end I guess the Phillies are comfortable with Jose Contreras and Danys Baez in the back of the bullpen until Lidge can some back healthy.

Contreras is the guy you want to own, as he’ll be called upon to get the saves, and he has been throwing the ball real well this season.

Times are changing.

Back in 1989, one needed to make a trip to the local newsstand and gather the courage to purchase a copy of Penthouse magazine to get the dirty lowdown on a big league player, if one trusted the testimony of an alleged mistress.

After a lackluster April to start the season, the Dodgers have rallied off seven straight wins and return home two games back in the National League West after completing a three-game sweep of the first-place San Diego Padres.

In a much anticipated home series with divisional rival Los Angeles, the Friday night fireworks at PETCO Park would be the only explosion Padres fans would see for the rest of the weekend.

Eager to see the Padres' new bats take on the Dodgers for the first time this season, Friars fans instead saw 17 scoreless innings to close the series.

Nothing like the popularity contest known as All Star Game voting to drive an attentive fan crazy.

The All Star game is meant to be for the fans, so logically, the fans should get the right to choose who they get to see in the game. As a result, many times a "fan favorite" makes the game despite lackluster performance, thanks to the fan vote.

While the differences between good and bad have become more clear as the years have gone on, there are still plenty of whoppers on the ballot.

THE MEAT OF THE ORDER

Every week there are three things I deem to be really important. It's kind of like the "meat" of my lineup. This week, there is only two because my DH is on the disabled list.

1. Trey Hillman Fired

I’m a little shocked that the Kansas City Royals decided to pull the trigger on firing Trey Hillman this early. Not so much because I believed the vote of confidence that Drayton Moore cast in favor of Hillman, though.

Let's face it, despite the team's recent success, the New York Yankee outfield isn't looking too promising right now.

At the start of the season, the Yankee outfield was seeing great production out of both Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Unfortunatley, both of these players have been cut down with injuries.

According to a recent update from NBC news, Granderson is able to jog and hit without pain, but, "still isn't running at top speed or changing directions, which will tax his injured groin more than light jogging in one direction."

The lineup and batting order that makes the most sense for the Giants—and why it makes sense—is of some interest as the club hits San Diego looking to move into first place in the National League West.

1. Aaron Rowand, center field

Rowand's been more productive in the leadoff spot than he has anywhere in the lineup in his two-plus seasons in San Francisco. Don't mess with a good thing...unless he goes 0-for-4 and the Padres win 2-1 in the opener.

2. Freddy Sanchez, second base