Fan News

If you've read my first two articles, "The Stolen Base: A Lost Art. Will we ever see a 100 Steal Man Again?" and "Gimmie Five!

The New York Times is reporting that lawyers with knowledge of MLB's 2003 drug tests say Sammy Sosa tested positive for PEDs that year.

In other news, the earth is round.

So it's not that shocking. But it does make me wonder why only A-Rod and Sammy have had their test results publicised.

What about the rest of the 104 players on that list? 

In each case, the timing was curious.

Selina Roberts was writing a book about A-Rod. Meanwhile, Sammy was on the verge of formally announcing his retirement, saying he was a lock for the HOF.

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After the Giants finished 2008 with a record of 72-90, a lot of people saw promise.

There were flashes of brilliance from young guys, steady contribution from veterans, and it looked like a couple tweaks to the roster could change a lot for 2009.

When we last left our hero Jim Hendry, he was holding on for dear life as I was about to enter the bad phase of the trilogy.

With a huge payroll over the past several years, Hendry has spent like a drunken sailor on shore leave.

I remember a time growing up when I was just a naive, young kid.

I loved the game of baseball, and still do. In 1998, I was 8-years-old and in the prime of my childhood.

It was a simpler time then. The Yankees were the best team baseball had ever seen, and the Red Sox couldn't buy a playoff win.

But above all, in the middle of that summer, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire captivated me.

With everything else going on with the Mets and their injuries, one positive is coming as we near the end of this first half.

David Wright leads NL third basemen in votes, and Beltran is ranked high enough in the outfield category to have a good chance at making the team as well. 

Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez may be joining Wright and Beltran in St Louis next month.

You can hear it, even from the Bay Area.

You can hear the trash talk, the snide remarks, the fans' shouts of support for their winning team. You can hear the calls of this year being different, this one meaning more than the ones before... and none of it about the Lakers.

The Freeway Series has split SoCal again.

As the Angels and Dodgers prepare for the second half of the yearly Freeway Series, the Dodgers, as usual, seem to be scrambling to find a way to knock off their persistent AL rivals.

John Smoltz was smiling in front of his locker on Tuesday afternoon as he finally confirmed that he will return to big league pitching on June 25 vs. the Washington Nationals, following a final three-inning rehab stint on Wednesday at McCoy Stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

But what he doesn’t want is fans thinking this is just about him.

The Giants currently have a major logjam in the outfield with Fred Lewis, Nate Schierholtz, Aaron Rowand, Randy Winn, and Andres Torres all deserving of playing time. 

Aaron Rowand is having a spectacular year with a .300 batting average, a .363 on base percentage, and a .470 slugging.  He had a solid first month of the season with a .283 batting average with six walks and two home runs. 

Tonight begins one of the great reasons interleague baseball is considered a success in Major League Baseball: the Chicago Crosstown Classic.

But this year's version of the series comes with lots of question marks about both teams. Both managers have been public with their frustrations as well, while the teams that were picked to be among the favorites in their divisions are fighting for respectability.

So before this serious begins, let's look at the matchups and how the team's players represent Chicago the best.