Fan News

Yet more worrying news came out of the Cincinnati Reds camp today.

At the quarter pole of the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in unfamiliar territory—staring up at the rest of the National League East.  And while the Phightins are off to their slowest start in the last five years, there's still reason to believe Philadelphia can claim its sixth consecutive division crown.  

Here are five good reasons to believe.

The San Diego Padres stand as the worst injury-bitten team in Major League Baseball. Mark Kotsay becomes the latest player to be added to the injured list, as the Los Angeles Angels make the 90-minute drive further south in California to visit the Padres Saturday night.

In the offseason, with Ryan Howard out for an extended period of time, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed Jim Thome for $1.25 million. 

That experiment has run its course, and it’s time for the club to part ways with the aging bat.

Here are six reasons why:

1.  He’s hurt

The Cincinnati Reds played well Saturday in narrow victory at Yankee Stadium.  Homer Bailey is showing signs of being the starter that, for years, fans were told he was.  The bats were alive, and the Reds made the most of their opportunities.  

Joey Votto is looking hot, Heisey and Phillips are heating up and talents like Costanzo are revealing their worth.  But that's not all the 6-5 win over New York revealed.

The Washington Nationals have a problem when it comes to their starting pitching.

They have too many worthy starters. It is certainly a decent problem to have for any major league ballclub.

With Chien-Ming Wang looming in the minors and his rehab stint nearing its end, the Nats are going to have to decide which of their overachieving starters will have to take the fall and move to the bullpen. 

The Giants have one of the youngest lineups in the National League, much to the dismay of manager Bruce Bochy.  If you don't count Aubrey Huff (and who does count Huff anymore?), then Angel Pagan at age 30 is the oldest everyday player. Most of the players are between 25 and 27 years old.

Ozzie Guillen frequently makes controversial comments, but his thoughts on Dwyane Wade are completely unnecessary and have nothing to do with him.

According to ESPN, the Marlin's manager had this to say on Wade's altercation with coach Eric Spoelstra during Game 3 of the Miami Heat's playoff series.

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles got interleague baseball off to a fantastic start on Friday night in Washington, DC.

The regional rivals played a well-pitched, defensive baseball game that went into extra innings.  The Orioles won the game 2-1 in the 11th inning after the Nationals could not successfully mount a comeback in response to Nick Markakis' impressive solo home run in the top half of the frame.

Every time Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander hits the mound, there is a chance of him pitching a no-hitter.  That's how good he is.  Verlander was looking for the third no-hitter of his career and the eighth in Tigers history on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He lost it in the ninth inning after a breaking ball that was hit by Pirates DH Josh Har