Preview/Prediction

There's no doubt the New York Yankees has had some pretty good prospects over the years: Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter. These days' prospects are Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Austin Jackson (who left via trade), and Phil Hughes.

Austin Jackson was supposed to be the starting center-fielder, but Brian Cashman traded him for Curtis Granderson, who is now injured. Jackson is thriving as the leadoff guy as a Detroit Tiger.

Brian Cashman kept all four players as they were coming up with the Core Four.

In the midst of their worst offensive slump of the season and having loss four of five, the Yankees return home to open up a seven-game, three-team homestand against the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

The Yanks and Twins enter their three-game set with identical 22-12 records, good for second best in the Majors behind the Rays and tied with the Padres.

Like New York, Minnesota has done it with a mix of good hitting and solid pitching. The Twins lead the AL with a .277 batting average and are second with a 3.51 ERA.

Padres’ hurler Mat Latos tossed a one-hit shutout against the Giants Thursday night, picking up his second win in as many starts. In his last 17 innings, the 22-year-old has allowed no runs on just three hits and zero walks.

The struggling Kansas City Royals have dumped Trey Hillman and replaced him with former Brewers skipper Ned Yost. But don't expect Hillman to be the only MLB manager to be sent packing. There are plenty of other managers who also find themselves standing on thin ice. And so without adieu, here are the managers who I think will be gone before season's end.

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Sometimes it isn't just about statistics.

Dan Haren, the ace of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff, was conducting a clinic Tuesday night at Chase Field when Manny Ramirez approached the plate in the top of the fourth inning.

All nine outs recorded by Haren prior to facing Ramirez were strikeouts, and Haren was keen on continuing to uphold his brilliance.

The San Diego Padres have seemed to carry momentum over from ending last season on a high note with tied for the best record in the NL at 21-12, the best home record at 11-5 and have the fewest runs scored against them in the majors (101).

Each division in the majors has at least one team to stand out above the rest except the NL West. The injury riddled Rockies have three starting pitchers with an ERA above six and still waiting for closer Houston Street and No.2 pitcher Jorge De La Rosa to get back healthy.

Championships are not won or lost in May, but if the Minnesota Twins plan on making a serious playoff run and contend for the World Series this year, the next seven games could tell us plenty.

The Twins embark on a three-city road trip with three games against the Yankees and two each at Toronto and Boston.

Last year when the Baltimore Orioles had a 64-98 finish, there was another disappointing fact behind the season: the team had only one All-Star—Adam Jones.

Jones ended up on the All-Star team last year as a reserve after a strong 1st half.

The question this year is: who is going to represent Baltimore for this year's 2010 All-Star game in Los Angeles?

The only former All-Stars on this year's roster are Kevin Millwood (who joined the club via trade), Miguel Tejada (who decided to return to Baltimore via free agency), and last year's outfielder Adam Jones.

As it stands, the Dodgers are 15-17.

This is an appalling statistic for a team loaded with talent. Unfortunately the Dodgers are one dimensional and can't play with the mentality of always climbing uphill; mainly due to the fact that it isn't uncommon to be down five runs in the third inning.

The remedy would make for a story comparable to the Manny Ramirez trade. Eight letters encompass what the Dodgers desperately need: Cliff Lee.