Fan News

The steroid era is finally over. It leaves with an Alex Rodriguez whimper after a Jose Canseco roar. 

Now we can get back to b-a-s-e-b-a-l-l. 

The teams that do that the best will be the best. 

No more artificially enhanced Giants bashing baseballs for game ending home runs.

No more curiously powerful shortstops gaining 50 lbs in two years and becoming number three hitters. 

The new game will be remarkably like the old game. The game we grew up playing. A game of skill and strategy and speed and defense and beauty. 

Gary Sheffield has agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Mets, according to MLB.com.

Sheffield, 40, was released by the Detroit Tigers earlier this week, prompting interest from the Reds, Phillies, and Mets.  The Mets jumped at the chance to add another power bat to their lineup.  It will cost them only $400,000, with Detroit picking up the rest of the $14 million owed to him this year.

The fountains throughout Kansas City are just days away from water flowing through them again. The weather is beginning to warm, and hot, humid days that Kansas City summers are known for are right around the corner.

Opening Day in Kansas City is also known as "Greater Kansas City Day," and there's nothing quite like it.

The New York Mets have reached an agreement with free agent DH Gary Sheffield. The 40-year-old was released by the Detroit Tigers last week.

Yes, you read that right, Sheffield is a DH.

But wait, aren't the Mets in the National League?

Yes, they are, but apparently Sheffield was a bargain they "couldn't pass up," despite the fact that they seem to not have a place for him.

New York will only have to pay $400,000 (the Major-League minimum) of Sheffield's $14 million salary. The Tigers will cover the rest.

In economics, the Misery Index is calculated by adding the inflation rate to the unemployment rate. The Sports Fan Misery Index, developed by the Boston Sports Group, calculates the financial pain experienced by a devoted team follower when he watches his club lose at home.

Using research available from Team Marketing Report, the Sports Fan Misery Index is computed by adding three numbers: 1) the cost of an average ticket (premium seating is not included in this calculation); 2) the cost of parking; and 3) the cost of consolation, or two small beers.

Earlier this evening, the Mets signed former Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield. It is said that Sheffield will be making around $400,000 this coming season.

To me, that's a great bargain for the Mets. Gary is most likely going to get a good amount of time in both left and right field.

I agree with New York's decision 100 percent. They got Sheff at a very cheap price (maybe even a steal), and even though he's old, he can still launch the ball like crazy.

Sheffield is just one home run shy of the 500 mark for his career.

R.A. Dickey, knuckleballer extraordinaire, has been announced to take over the fifth spot in the rotation for the Minnesota Twins, replacing the injured Scott Baker.

I'm all for giving guys a chance, but it seems like the Seattle Mariners tried the same thing with this guy last year, with rather bleak results—a 5.21 ERA—but was found to be rather serviceable from the bullpen.

With the Grapefruit League completed, the Braves will prepare to face Philadelphia on Opening Day on Sunday.

The Braves finished with a 20-11 record, and gave fans a lot to look forward to this season.

Below is a review of the Braves' offense this spring, as well as predictions on where each player will be at the start of the season.

Catchers

Brian McCann (.304/.379/.478 in 23 AB)

As the Tribe officially moves out of their home away from home in Goodyear and on to two meaningless paid exhibition games with the Houston Astros, it is time to take a look back on the long adventure that was Cleveland Indians spring training.

With the second installment of the WBC this season, the Cactus League was extended by two weeks and many, many games. The pitchers "got their work in." The position players "took it a day at a time." And manager Eric Wedge used countless other analogies to describe baseball games in March that don't count.