Rankings/List

So how did the most hyped debut in Major League history end up? I think he did alright. Stephen Strasburg reached 101 mph on the radar gun. He fanned 14 batters and had zero walks. Most importantly, we got a W.

You could tell just how great Strasburg's stuff was by reading the body language of those around home plate. Time after time, the knees of Pirates' hitters buckled when Strasburg threw curveballs, and time after time, Pirates hitters were whiffing badly.

On Sunday he picked up his second major league victory over the Indians. It's safe to say he has passed the test so far.

Every so often, you hear people of influence connected to or interested in Major League Baseball fuss about how the black American baseball player is disappearing from the diamond.

Last week I talked about the biggest snubs that are not getting voted to this year's All-Star Game. Now I want to turn my attention to pitching.

Pitching is back in a big way, as we have seen three no-hitters, two perfect games, and one coulda, shoulda, woulda perfect game by Armando Galarraga. As the All-Star Game approaches, both Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel will have to make some big decisions about who should represent the A.L. and N.L. on the mound.

In Part I of this slideshow, I will begin with the A.L. If I were the A.L.

If you talk to any Giants fan this year, they'll probably talk to you about Aaron Rowand's dismal slump, the equally underwhelming season by Bengie Molina, and the slight concern about franchise players Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval and their sub-par seasons.

You'll hear stories about the lack of opportunity for young guys like Nate Schierholtz and John Bowker and the clamoring for youngsters like Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.

And, as always, you'll hear plenty of criticism for San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.

Hello and welcome to today's MLB Rumor Mill!

I haven't done a rumor mill for Major League Baseball in a couple of days, so now here is one today!

Is there a possibility that Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt could go to the New York Yankees or Washington Nationals? It could be possible.

More on that and other rumors on today's rumor mill for the MLB!

So sit back, relax, and read today's MLB rumor mill.

Hope you enjoy it!

Begin Slideshow

All the talk before the season started was that the Red Sox pitching would have to be fantastic in order for the Red Sox to win a title. The talk at the end of May was that the Red Sox needed to trade David Ortiz. Both of these have been disproven since, as the Red Sox enter the middle of June with one of the best offenses in the league.

Here are the numbers.

With such a rich and lengthy history, the Cubs have seen roughly 2,000 players don the Cubbie blue over the years.

Because of that, I thought it would be fun to name who I feel are the top five players for all 26 letters of the alphabet, going by last name.

To qualify, the player needs only to have played at least one game for the Cubs.

The Tigers head into this 2010 season with championship aspirations and a talented roster, but they have also relied heavily on the support of a few Tigers.

The club has recently floundered offensively, allowing more runs than they have scored. Most recently, the Tigers were shut out by the subpar Chicago White Sox.

In terms of pitching, the only bright spot has been the Tiger bullpen.

Currently, the Minnesota Twins are one of two Major League teams who boast a roster with two MVP winners.  

Joe Mauer (MVP-2009) and Justin Morneau (MVP-2006) have led the Minnesota Twins to three AL Central Division Titles over the past five years.

Mauer already has three batting titles and two gold gloves, while Morneau has been leading the league in hitting for most of the season so far in 2010.

Where would this "Dynamic Duo" rank amongst some of the best in baseball history?