Fan News

White Sox and Astros players are bundled up to the point where no part of their skin can be seen. What can be seen, however, are their nerves with each breathe they take blowing into the air.

Before each batter steps to the plate he rubs his hands frantically and with each crack of the bat a player's painful grimace can be see as he scampers toward the bases.

The Chicago White Sox are playing really bad baseball right now.

Their offense is as bad as it gets in the majors right now. As a team, they rank 26th in baseball in batting average (.246), on-base percentage (.315) and slugging (.391). They rank 27th in runs scored (136) and total hits (303). Through 37 games, they've been held to two or fewer runs 15 times. They have been shut out six times.

There is only one player on the entire roster, no matter the number of at bats, that is hitting over .300 (Paul Konerko, .316).

What is the importance of a number on a baseball jersey? How long have they been wearing numbers?

All teams began wearing numbers on their jerseys in 1937 though some wore them inconsistently prior to that.

In 1929 the Yankees started wearing numbers on their jerseys. Their numbers corresponded to their place in the batting order. In other words Babe Ruth batted third, therefore he was #3. Lou Gehrig batted fourth so he wore #4.

Today, it is quite fashionable for young guys to emulate their favorite player by wearing his number on their little league uniforms.

It was one of the last things Orioles Manager Dave Trembley wanted to see in last Wednesday's game against the Rays. 

His emerging star center fielder, Adam Jones, hobbled off the field in the fourth inning with a strained hamstring.  That is not the kind of news you want to face when you are about to embark on a 11 day, 10 game road trip, one that may significantly help define the Orioles character as a team in 2009. 

Fresh off an AL Central division championship and an offseason that showed underachievers and liabilities like Javier Vazquez, Nick Swisher, and Joe Crede the door, the Chicago White Sox thought they had a 2009 club young and balanced enough to repeat the success of last season. 

National media outlets were not impressed though, as they saw this team of having done little in the offseason to improve the parent club. 

Sure, they had signed Bartolo Colon, but he had been a liability over the past few seasons and was past his prime. 

This story was written by Stan Whyte, currently a writer for Baseball Reflections.com.

Texas Rangers (23-14) vs. Detroit Tigers (20-16)
Tuesday, May 19 - Thursday, May 21
Comerica Park - Detroit, MI

Game One

TEX: Brandon McCarthy (3-1, 5.92 ERA) vs. DET: Dontrelle Willis (0-0, 7.71 ERA)
Weather: 70s - Sunny - Zero Percent Chance of Precipitation

It all started with events that could be described as nothing less dramatic than New York’s worst nightmare.

Not only had the Yankees lost starting catcher and offensive juggernaut Jorge Posada to a leg injury, but they had also been forced to add his underappreciated backup to a long list of wounded teammates.

Jose Reyes has sat out the last five games and is not showing any true signs of either coming back to the lineup or going on the disabled list to let his leg heal properly.

The Mets have been enduring an incredible amount of injury news of late, mostly the news of Carlos Delgado requiring hip surgery which will sideline him for approximately  ten weeks.

Injuries do occur during the season, and no player wants to sit on the sidelines, but how these injuries are handled by the team can make or break a player and his season and in some cases, his career.