Today, Felix Hernandez toed the rubber at Safeco Field with some of the best stuff we’ve seen from him since his 17 shutout innings that began the 2007 season. Felix’s stat line may not reflect it completely, giving up seven hits and four runs (though only one was earned).

Hernandez’ two-seamer was running hard to the third-base side, and looked like it had a weight tied to the bottom of it. His change-up, with essentially the same action, had perhaps the best command I’ve seen him have with that pitch, and his breaking ball was adequate.

Before the season started, most analysts were calling for David Price, Elvis Andrus, Matt Wieters, or Travis Snider to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Orioles' outfielder Nolan Reimold would probably be only the third Oriole considered, after super-prospect Wieters and Japanese import Koji Uehara. But after being called up to the majors on May 14, Reimold has quickly shown he is very capable of placing himself in the discussion.

Nick Swisher heard MVP chants early in the season, when he recorded 13 hits, 10 of which were extra-base hits, in his first 10 games.

The fact that Swisher's career batting average was .243 meant nothing to Yankee fans, who began talking about how the trade for the former Ohio State Buckeye would make the Yankees' season. As Borat would say, "Ehh not so much!"

Whew! My adrenaline is pumping! What a game—a possible World Series preview with so much hype. The Saturday night game in Boston definitely lived up to that hype in a 3-2 Mets victory thanks to a two-run home run by Omir Santos in the top of the ninth inning.

Today I was lucky enough to go to "The Palace that George Built," and frankly, it was so much nicer than the old one.  The wide open aisles and the many different eating establishments made it much more enjoyable than the old Yankee Stadium.

In doing all of this, the Yankees have created a truly state-of-the-art facility but, the one problem that I found is it is missing the Yankee Stadium mystique it once had across the street.

Lidge has greasy fingers. And when “grease is the word,” Madson’s the cure.

Mark my words.

Let's start this article off by saying one thing.  Rocco Baldelli is not only athletically gifted, but pretty damn smart as well.

He attended the Gifted and Talented student program while at La Salle Academy in Rhode Island, and then switched to a normal high school by the name of Bishop Hendrickson High School, also in Rhode Island.

While at BHHS, the baseball stud posted a 4.25 grade-point average.  He played baseball, indoor track, basketball, and even volleyball, and was a four-star athlete at those sports.

BleedCubbieBlue.com has issued a breaking news update on its site, claiming that Cubs starter Rich Harden has been placed on the 15-day DL with what the team is terming a "mid-back strain".

With Carlos Zambrano coming off of the DL, it had been expected that David Patton would be offered back to his original club, since the seldom used relief pitcher was a Rule-5 draft pick and must remain on the Cubs' 25-man roster.

The move of Harden to the DL is retroactive to May 18. Randy Wells will start in his place Saturday night.

I have heard it said before, and I do believe it: One of the hardest things to do in any sport is to hit a baseball.

But with 14 guys on the roster, you think that someone could do it. OK, that’s not fair, I hear ya, but last night the Mariners were held scoreless again, thanks to Joe Saunders dazzling the Mariners at the plate with the nine inch in circumference, five ounce object with white with red stitching we call a baseball.

The Toronto Blue Jays open a series in Atlanta tonight after an extremely disappointing series against the Boston Red Sox in which they got swept. The Jays are still in first, but by just 0.5 games.

Both Robert Ray and Brett Cecil were officially sent down today, and taking their places in the rotation will be Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero. This means that Janssen will pitch Game Two of the series, and both Scott Richmond and Brian Tallet will be pushed back a day.

Game One Pitching Preview: Roy Halladay (8-1) Versus Kenshin Kawakami (2-5)