"The players make the manager. It's never the other way."—Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson

It's not easy being a manager in Major League Baseball these days.

Here’s a breakdown of the two-start pitchers for the fifth week of the baseball season.

Five Stars
Matt Cain: @PIT, @WAS
Cliff Lee: @ARI, NYM
Jered Weaver: vs. OAK, @TB

Four Stars
Jaime Garcia: @HOU, @ATL
Justin Masterson: vs. KC, vs. DET

Three Stars
Clay Buchholz: @BAL, vs. SEA

Here’s a look at the unheralded fantasy baseball players who played well yesterday.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs

Perhaps it's just coincidence and happenstance, but it seems like the New York Mets have had the worst luck and/or timing when it comes to collecting talent on their roster.

Whenever they would obtain a perennial All-Star-type player or former MVP, that player would prove to be a huge bust and completely tank with the Mets.

On the flip side, the Mets seem to always trade away or let go of players who would go on to lead All-Star, MVP and even Hall of Fame careers.

I called it at the beginning of the year. Neftali Feliz has yet to throw a pitch faster than 96. While that's still blistering heat, he is used to throwing 100-plus mph. He is in the low-90s consistently, which, for the Rookie of the Year and All-Star, is awful.

Today, the Texas Rangers put him on the 15-day DL.

Bud Selig recently noted that Major League baseball is considering expanding the playoffs to 10 teams in 2012.

The proposed plan would have two wild cards selected from each league. Those two teams would play each other in a one game playoff or a best of three series with the winner advancing to the divisional series which would continue in the same manner as it does today.

Last week, I ranked the rookie pitchers of the AL East, featuring arms like Zach Britton, Kyle Drabek and Ivan Nova.

This week, I've decided to take on the NL counterpart and expand my rankings to include the rookie hitters as well.

The NL East is unique in my eyes because I think the top contenders for the Rookie of the Year are right in the NL East. The division currently sports the best rookie in the NL, but we'll get to that later.

Now take a look at the power rankings of the top five on the NL East rookie ladder.

One of the biggest question marks in the Atlanta Braves lineup before the 2011 season involved who would fill the revolving door position at first base. It was quickly decided that rookie Freddie Freeman would take over at first, but many Braves fans were unsure how the highly touted prospect would fair through an entire season.

The Indians dropped their second game in a row today in Minnesota, losing 10-3 to the Twins.  While two losses in a row may not seem like a big deal to most, many Indians fans are starting to worry.  Immediately after the game was over, numerous comments on the Cleveland Plain Dealer's website were blasting the Indians.  One person predicted over 90 losses while another called for a players only meeting.

The greatest compliment you can pay a manager is that you can't imagine their team performing any better year after year. Unfortunately this can't be said of A's manager Bob Geren since his tenure began in 2007, and the trend has carried over into 2011.