Through three innings, Cole Hamels looked like his old self again. He struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. Then in the fourth he gave up a two run homer to Ryan Braun, and then was struck on the shoulder with a batted ball by big ole' Prince Fielder. Fantasy owners around the country have been holding their breath but, thankfully, tonight I am reading that it is just a bruise, and Hamels says he will be out there for his next start.

Tough loss for Houston. They battled but just couldn't mount an attack against the duo of Billingsley and Broxton.

Wandy Rodriguez pitched another great game and is one of three pitchers in the majors with four quality starts. The offense couldn't string any hits together.

Hitting line:
Matsui 0-3, Sac bunt
Tejada 2-4, 2B
Berkman 0-4, GIDP, K
Lee 0-4, 2 K
Blum 0-3, BB, K
Erstad 1-4, K
Rodriguez 0-2, BB, GIDP
Bourn 1-2, BB, SB
Wandy Sac Bunt
Michaels 0-0 HBP
Pence 0-1, (lined out on a hard hit ball to short)

The Yankees have many traditions in their organization. One of the most well-known traditions is the great men that have graced the outfield in center field.

Joe DiMaggio. Mickey Mantle. Tom Tresch. Bobby Murcer. Mickey Rivers. Bernie Williams.

Each of those players had their own set of special skills. Some won gold gloves. Others won MVPs. Some were All-Stars. All were Yankees.

All of them won World Series Championships and all of them represented the position of center field with a type of grace that not all players possess.

The best I've ever seen," says a longtime scout. "And it's not even close." These are the words of a longtime scout to Buster Olney, ESPN’s Acclaimed MLB senior writer, after watching the game’s future star. With the velocity of strikeout king Nolan Ryan and the pinpoint control of future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, Steven Strasburg is being touted by many in baseball as the greatest pitching prospect ever.

Filed:April 22nd, 2009

Cub reliever Luis Vicaino (Cubbie Nation/file)

Luis, we hardly knew ya.

The Cubs made moves Thursday, designating reliever Luis Vicaino for assignment and recalling Jeff Samardzija from AAA, in an effort to stabilize their bullpen.

What started as a Spring Break with the prospect of seeing multiple games at several venues on a variety of levels ended with us arriving home a day early having seen just a few innings of baseball.

That’s okay. Quality can supersede quantity especially when it comes to peanuts and cracker jacks. I’m not quite sure that makes sense, but we’ll go with it.

This has got to be one of the more bizarre stories in broadcast television history. Of course it has to involve the New York Yankees, their new stadium with a reported 1,000 obstructed view seats, and an overzealous security guard.

This is nothing new, but I have some thoughts from today's game:

Melky Cabrera hit two home runs, and has hit very well in his limited at bats. He's proven that he can't sustain this over a full season, but he makes a great bench player. He is a good pinch-runner, good fielder, and knows how to hit, even if he's not a solid everyday hitter. Plus, he's young and cheap.