All other things being equal, it's clearly better to chalk up a "W" than an "L." Nevertheless, some wins are better than others.

The wins to be happy about are ones where opponents were clearly out of it, and are likely to stand up under most different sets of circumstances.

On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Pirates won last night, not because they posted winning metrics, but because they were playing an opponent they could beat. The Los Angeles Dodgers outhit the Pirates, 12 to 10, and proved once again that Zach Duke is one of the most hittable starters in baseball.

In any endeavor in life, the leap from the No. 2 person to being the No. 1 man or woman is tremendous.

Until you go through it, you will never know how big the actual leap is.

Going from a Director of Sales to a VP of Sales is a huge step. Coaches will tell you going from an assistant basketball coach to the head coach is the longest eight feet in their lives.

In baseball, going from the seventh or eighth inning guy to the closer is a big step.

New Toronto Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor found out how big that step was yesterday.

John Bowker's spot on the Giants' opening day roster wasn't a guarantee when spring training opened.

With a minor league option left and players ahead of him ahead of him in the pecking order, Bowker had to earn his way onto the roster. And it looked like at the beginning of the spring, if he was going be on the roster breaking camp, it wasn't going to be as a starter.

The Boston Police Department has set out in search of the body of Jason Varitek. The Red Sox catcher was last seen behind the plate of Fenway Park for the first pitch. He shortly disappeared after the toss by Pedro Martinez and was not seen in the clubhouse afterwards.

Many people speculate that Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez was behind the plate yesterday because of Varitek's absence. After all, Varitek is the better of the two catchers and is the team captain. 

That familiar smell is in the air. The smell of freshly cut grass, water soaking the once hard packed dirt that sat dormant for the past few months, the brand new bats being taken out of the bags and being stacked for each individual player, and the anticipation of a new season to come.

In just a few short hours, players from both the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays will make their way to the Ballpark at Arlington and begin a six-month marathon to the World Series.

It's pretty clear that the 2010 MLB Draft is going to be pitcher heavy. Aside from catcher prospect Bryce Harper (aka the second coming of Stephen Strasburg in position player form), who is practically a shoe-in to go No. 1, you have to drop down to the 10-15 top prospect range to find a legit position player who is a can't miss player.

I profiled hard throwing right-hander Jameson Taillon a few days ago as a prospective future Oriole prospect, and today it is Anthony Ranaudo's turn.

Baseball Professor is attempting to undertake a project of grand importance, one that will unify the fantasy baseball community while simultaneously providing thought-provoking discussion.

This project could only be called one thing – The Sunday Survey.

The baseball season begins tonight with arguably the best rivalry in sports.  With the Red Sox and Yankees both making major changes to their team over the offseason, it's time to take a long at what differences the fans will look at this season.  With that in mind, here is a look into who made the right moves and who made the wrong moves.

Boston Red Sox

Opening Day optimism, there is nothing like it in sports.  Cubs fans have thrived on it for over 100 years.

This is, by far, my favorite time of the year on the sports calendar.  The snow has melted, the grass is turning green, and I can start to hear the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd.

The American League Central has consistently been one of the most competitive divisions in baseball in recent years. In fact, 162 games have not been enough to decide the division pennant the last two seasons, requiring a play-in game to award the Central crown. The AL Central figures to be tight at the top once again in 2010. The following is a completely unscientific prognostication of whom will be the key figures will be in this season's race.

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