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The Tigers' rotation is still somewhat in limbo.

Justin Verlander is the staff ace, and obviously Leyland's No. 1 starter. It appears that Edwin Jackson may have pitched himself into the No. 2 slot, to be followed by Jeremy Bonderman (if healthy) and Armando Galarraga.

It is the fifth slot in the Tigers' rotation that has Jim Leyland and Dave Dombroski scratching their heads.

Dontrelle Wills or Nate Robertson was supposed to be the answer for the fifth rotation spot, but until recently, neither has had a strong spring.

So, at (relatively) long last, The Rocket That Fell To Earth finally hits stores on Tuesday. This is my fourth book, and in many ways it was the most challenging.

My first book, The Bad Guys Won! was tough because I was a rookie, and relatively clueless.

Before being faced with a serious elbow injury, Chris Ray was locked in as the O's closer, and deservedly so. At age 24, Chris went on to post a 2.73 ERA and record 33 saves. 

It wasn't until the following season in 2007 that something peculiar began happening. 

Chris lost his dominance, but being the warrior that he is, kept on insisting nothing was wrong. Despite having discomfort in his elbow, even taking drugs to ease the swelling and null the pain, Chris still insisted he felt fine.

Who's going to be an all-star this year?

Just making some early All-Star predictions. 

Remember, the rules call for each team to consist of 32 players, and at least one from each of the teams in the league.

AL:

C:  Joe Mauer, Twins;  Best catcher in the AL, he'll make it. 

1B: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers; Barely better than Papi, but either might be used.

2B: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sucks;  Did I type Red Sucks?  Oops!  Best 2nd Baseman in the league.

It's the middle of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive. Pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back into the swing of playing Major League Baseball everyday.

In cementing his place as the opening day starter for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in AAA, Phil Hughes gave the Minnesota Twins all they could handle and more.

Hughes lowered his spring ERA to an impressive 2.19, while limiting the Twins to just four base runners in 4 1/3 innings pitched.

The San Diego Padres enter their 4oth season, in almost exactly the same shape from which they began as an expansion franchise in 1969, looking up from the bottom of the division. This is an attempt to take an overall look at trades the Friars have engaged in during these 40 seasons, and examine the outcome of these transactions, for all teams and players involved.

Some of baseballs biggest names have come and gone for the Pads, who seem to have a knack for both profiting from trades, and basically shooting themselves in the foot on others.

Ever since 2001, the Seattle Mariners have relied on one player to consistently get on base and to score runs.

Ichiro Suzuki is now starting to show his age, 35 years old, on the baseball field. Sure, his team in the World Baseball Classic, Japan, is doing rather well, but Ichiro has not done well. Right now he is posting a .214 batting average for Team Japan, not quite his typical .340 batting average.

But, what was his stats in the 2006 World Baseball Classic? Back then, he had a typical .364 average.

The Yankees' 4-2 victory over the Twins marked their eighth consecutive win, and it was their second time beating the Twins this week.