Preview/Prediction

For die-hard Reds' fan this could easily have been titled, "Bring it on Cards!" But various politicians have used that sort of rhetoric before, and it hasn't worked very well. And as a die-hard Reds' fan...a little good karma can't hurt.

And it's not a stretch to say that deity Shiva owes the Reds a bit of good karma.

David Ortiz struck out three more times yesterday, reminding us that he has truly become an all-or-nothing hitter. 

Ortiz now has 109 whiffs in 340 at-bats this season, which means he's striking out a whopping 32 percent of the time.

The Boston DH's strikeout total is third highest in the AL, behind Austin Jackson (114) and Carlos Pena (111). For the record, the latter two are both position players who make an impact defensively, at least mitigating some of the impact of their frequent strike outs.

PHILADELPHIA: The Mets needed a dominant performance from a starter in order to be sure of a victory, with the way their offense is slumping. They got that from Johan Santana last night.

Today, they will pitch R.A. Dickey, who unbelieveably owns the lowest ERA on the Mets staff. Yes, that's not a typo, Robert Allen Dickey has been the Mets most consistent and reliable pitcher since his call-up.

He has pitched at least five innings in each start, and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 13 of his 15 starts this season.

The season is long and right now it's coming down to the wire for the top owners in their respective leagues.  These few players that are poised for either a huge week or a week you will want to avoid.  Pay attention, this could mean winning or not winning your league.

Start 'Em:

The NL Wire – A look into some worthy roster additions

Here are the top five Cy Young candidates for 2010.

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I have decided to start dishing out MLB rumors as well. There are a lot of them so let's get started. 

Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada were scratched from their Triple-A lineup. It seems the Mets are working on a deal that may send them to Seattle.

I wonder for whom? Cliff Lee is the only true rental player they had. Of course there is also Brandon League as playoff teams often need relievers at this time.

Also in regards to Martinez and Tejada neither of them have been placed on waivers so a deal is not imminent. 

PHILADELPHIA-- The Mets had a grasp on last night's opener against the Phillies, but couldn't secure the final six outs. With that, they fell below the .500 mark for the first time since May 23rd.

They must win the final two games of this series to even be considered a contender down the stretch.

In reality, the Mets are cooked in 2010. But, if you want to spin it from a homeristic point of view, you can say "Ya Gotta Believe." After all, that phrase worked for the Mets 37 years ago.

He was over the hill. He couldn't hit without Manny behind him. He's older than he lets on. He was on steroids. The injuries got to him. Even some Fenway Faithful began calling him "Big Pop-up." Then, all of a sudden, David Ortiz started to hit again. The past two years have been the toughest in his tenure in Boston, which may be coming to an end. 

On what was a seemingly routine August night in Baltimore in 2008, Red Sox DH David Ortiz dug in to the box. He fouled off an outside fastball, then grabbed his right hand in agony.

The 2010 MLB offseason definitely will be known as one of the busiest in terms of managerial moves and firings. Some the of the games best might call it quits and it will certainly be the end of an era in baseball. 

We've already had a pair of managers who seem very much safe in the Royals' Ned Yost and Orioles' Buck Showalter.

Come Opening Day 2011, we will have seen a 60 percent of the managers from the 2010 Opening Day, an amazing and shocking drop from 40 percent.