Stats

Yesterday, once again Nationals outfielder Willie Harris made a bigger impact in Mets infamy in making a game-saving catch on Rod Barajas. With two outs in the ninth inning, Barajas was up at the plate with the bases loaded. The Mets catcher would eventually hit the ball into left field where Harris had just came in the inning before.

In his first start of the season for the White Sox Triple-A affiliate, RHP Carlos Torres made a very strong pitching appearance. He threw six shutout innings with four hits, a walk, and eight strikeouts to earn the win for the Charlotte Knights.

The 26-year-old pitcher from Santa Cruz, CA was drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox in 2004. In 2009 his impressive numbers gave him a chance to play with the major league team last September.

After taking Brian Stokes deep on Thursday, Jim Thome hit his 565th career home run, and is now only two shy of tying Rafeal Palmeiro for 11th on the all-time list.

But on another list, Jim Thome tied one of the hardest working Twins in recent memory.

Jason Tyner played eight major league seasons, and spent three with the Twins, but his most memorable moment came in a July 28th game in 2007.

In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Tyner took P Jake Westbrook deep for his first and only career home run.

All right, I'll take the Pirates' capture of their first series with two games in the "W" column, and one in the "L," which they have done in the recent past.

But it was a muted "win" that basically reeked of defeat. (And I was saying this two games ago with a reference to a "Pyrrhic" victory.)

The Dodgers outscored the Pirates, 18-17. The Dodgers outhit the Pirates 33 to 27. The Dodgers' batting average was forty-one points higher.

About the only thing they didn't do was to win the crucial, second game of the match. And it gets worse for the home team.

Jake Peavy's first start of the 2010 season was if anything to me, concerning.

No, I am not calling for Peavy's head, wishing the White Sox did not acquire him, or anything of that nature. I was just concerned with the way the start went. 

Barry Zito’s six scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros fit the profile the once-brilliant left-hander has slowly established in rebuilding himself after two horrendous seasons with the San Francisco Giants.

Oh, it would be nice to believe that the Zito, who gave up three hits while striking out five with just a single walk, was the result of his latest change in attitude and approach.

All spring, the talk has been about how the Atlanta Braves want Bobby Cox's last season in the dugout to be a big one, hopefully leading to a World Series.

Monday's game against the Chicago Cubs showed they mean business.

The Braves smashed a few offensive Opening Day records en route to a 16-5 pummeling of the Cubbies, who some expect to contend for the NL Central, or at least the Wild Card.

Inside the numbers:

Working in a local supermarket, I have a front row seat for all the latest hollywood gossip and glamour. There are upsides and downsides to this.

For example: downside, I can name about twenty celebrities who have cellulite, and how many plastic surgeries Heidi Montag has had.

A clear upside: the Swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, or any magazine that has Kim Kardashian on the cover.

As Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha fills out a lineup card that he hopes will remain consistent for six months this spring, summer, and fall, the task proves to be rather simple—not painstaking work. But upon second glance, one would realize that the two hole has been left empty by the Brewers' skipper. And the two names missing are Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez. 

One of Baltimore's best moves this offseason was trading for veteran pitcher, Kevin Millwood. Although some initially questioned the move, his presence has already been felt this spring. Millwood’s locker has been assigned in between two of the Orioles' most coveted prospects, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman. Both of whom have seen great success this spring and are polishing their resumes in hopes of getting a spot on the opening day roster.