Preview/Prediction

Success on the baseball diamond has its own timetable.

Witness Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's occasional on-again, off-again experiment batting Joe Mauer in the two-hole.

The recent move has kick-started the Twins' offense, enabling them to halt a six-game slide that had many of the players questioning their choice of profession.

The Twins produced a 20-1 victory Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. Mauer, hitting second in the batting order for the first time this season, contributed a pair of doubles and a grand slam for six RBI.

The Toronto Blue Jays open a series in Atlanta tonight after an extremely disappointing series against the Boston Red Sox in which they got swept. The Jays are still in first, but by just 0.5 games.

Both Robert Ray and Brett Cecil were officially sent down today, and taking their places in the rotation will be Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero. This means that Janssen will pitch Game Two of the series, and both Scott Richmond and Brian Tallet will be pushed back a day.

Game One Pitching Preview: Roy Halladay (8-1) Versus Kenshin Kawakami (2-5)

Unless you are just getting back from a two-month long vacation in the Sahara Desert, you are aware of the struggles of Boston's beloved slugger David Ortiz.

After arriving in Boston in 2003, David Ortiz quickly captured the hearts of millions of Sox fans after the comeback in the 2004 ALCS against the hated Yankees.

David Ortiz became a staple in the No. 3 hole of the Red Sox line up for four years. All of a sudden, Mr. Ortiz can't seem to catch a break in the early part of the 2009 season.

John Smoltz is a baseball anomaly.

Everyone is well aware of the career that Smoltz had during his 20 seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He compiled 210 victories during his tenure in Atlanta while also racking up 154 saves.

Beware the ides of July.

Before beginning the “Beltway Series” against the Washington Nationals this Memorial Day weekend, the Baltimore Orioles will finish up their disappointing appearance in the new Yankees Stadium (losing game 1 and game 2 of the three game series).  Assuming that the O’s allow for the sweep (because they might), their record will be 16-25 and 10 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East division.

If you are a Braves fan, you know how much Omar Infante means to the Braves' chances in the NL East race for 2009.

I'm not talking about the Braves fan that occasionaly wears a t-shirt and knows who Chipper Jones is.  I'm talking about the Braves fans that KNOW the team.  You know who Tommy Hanson and Kris Medlen are.  Likewise, you know what a hitting machine that Infante has been for the Braves all year long.

More rumors have been flying around about the 2007 Cy Young Award Winner then one person has about them at my high school. Where Peavy will end up is the question on everyone's mind.

The 2007 Cy Young Award Winner has been the talk of the town in Chicago since last December. Cubs fans need him, while Sox fans want him.

The 89 career game-winner has been the hottest ticket on the trade market as of late. Peavy could make a big impact to any team he ends up playing for.

On May 4, 2009 Yankees starting catcher, Jorge Posada, strained his hamstring running the bases. He was put on the disabled list.

Jose Molina took over as the number one catcher and the Yankees called up Francisco Cervelli, the only other catcher on their forty man roster.  Cervelli was playing at Double A Trenton at the time and was hitting .217.

Three days later, May 7, Molina was running home and came up lame with a strained quadriceps.

It was one of the last things Orioles Manager Dave Trembley wanted to see in last Wednesday's game against the Rays. 

His emerging star center fielder, Adam Jones, hobbled off the field in the fourth inning with a strained hamstring.  That is not the kind of news you want to face when you are about to embark on a 11 day, 10 game road trip, one that may significantly help define the Orioles character as a team in 2009. 

Texas Rangers (23-14) vs. Detroit Tigers (20-16)
Tuesday, May 19 - Thursday, May 21
Comerica Park - Detroit, MI

Game One

TEX: Brandon McCarthy (3-1, 5.92 ERA) vs. DET: Dontrelle Willis (0-0, 7.71 ERA)
Weather: 70s - Sunny - Zero Percent Chance of Precipitation