Fan News

Everyday I lie in wait. Squirming at the HDTV in my house which plays ESPN, believing that a day will pass without hearing the name of another New York Met pulling up lame or contracting a peculiar strand of the flu.

I have previously mentioned in posts that I believe somewhere in a secret study, in a room hidden behind the 2008 championship trophy, Phillies GM Ruben Amato Jr is dressed in robes, decorated in face paint poking at voodoo dolls in certain Mets likenesses.

How much longer before he sticks a needle in David Wright's back?

With just about one-third of the season behind us, I thought this would be a good time to issue the Cubs starting rotation their first progress report.

Starting Pitching

Carlos Zambrano: B-

Carlos Zambrano is 4-2 with a 3.72 ERA.   His stuff has been real good, but he's missed a total of four starts due to an injury and a suspension.  The other issue with Big Z is his lack of command.  

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On Thursday, Randy Johnson won his 300th game, placing him in an elite category with 23 of baseball’s greatest players.

It took the Big Unit 22 seasons to reach this incredible milestone, and he is likely the last pitcher who will reach 300 wins for quite sometime. Among active pitchers, only Jamie Moyer (age 46, 250 wins), and Andy Pettite (age 37, 220 wins), are anywhere near 300 wins, and it is unlikely that either pitcher will have the longevity to reach that mark.

With the bases loaded in the sixth inning and Carlos Lee facing Bucs reliever Edwin Meek with two outs, Meek tossed Lee a curveball.

It was, according to the venerable Astros' play-by-play announcer Bill Brown, supposed to be a curveball outside. But this one floated up and in the zone. Lee belted a grand slam to help starter Mike Hampton as the Astros went on to win, 9-1.

On Friday night in St. Louis, the Colorado Rockies faced a difficult task. They were playing Albert Pujols and the second-place Cardinals. To top it off, Colorado was sending struggling lefty Jorge De La Rosa to the mound to start a four-game series.

The Rookie of the Year Award was established in 1947. For the first two years, it was given to the best Rookie in the Major Leagues. Then, in 1949 the sportswriters voted for the best rookies in each league.

The sportswriters all write down three names on their ballot. They rank them from first to third. First place players get five points; second place gets three points; and third place receives one point.

In 1987 the award was named the Jackie Robinson Award, though I have rarely heard it called that.

For now, the rehab road has ended for Jeremy Bonderman, who will be handed the ball on Monday night to make his first major league start in over a year.

That road started almost a year ago when Bonderman underwent two surgeries: one to remove a blood clot from his pitching shoulder and another to remove a rib to alleviate symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Bonderman came into spring training this year attempting to claim a spot in the Tiger rotation, but wasn't healthy enough to continue. After some time off, after that bend in the trail, the rehab road continued.

Amid the tribute articles, video montages, and picture slide shows, we are always reminded of Randy Johnson mean streak that made him the force he was in his glory days with the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

The man who has been branded "The Most Intimidating Pitcher of Our Era" wouldn't have even been recognized as he captured his 300th winning against the Washington Nationals in the rain on Thursday night.

At this juncture, there are not many of us that would trade places with Mets manager Jerry Manuel.

His team has been decimated by freak injuries and lingering illnesses to the point where they are out of major league-level players. The lineup these days looks like one out of an early March split-squad game.

All Ted Williams ever wanted growing up was to be known as the greatest hitter of all-time.

In a career that spanned four decades, Williams left little room for argument in regards to that discussion.

The Splendid Splinter had a career batting average of .344, ranking him tied for seventh all-time in the major leagues.

Williams also hit 521 career home runs, won the American League Triple Crown twice, and was the last player in baseball to hit .400 when he accomplished the feat in 1941.