In the sixth inning of tonight’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes slid into second base awkwardly on a stolen base attempt. Reyes immediately grabbed for his ankle, then spent most of the time writhing in pain and in tears until trainers came out and carted him off the field. The stolen base was Reyes’ fifth of the year and he was enjoying a solid start to the season batting .395 on [...]

Team News and Notes Atlanta Braves (6-1) The Braves currently sit in first place in the NL East, and new addition Justin Upton is a major reason why. The 25-year-old has batted .423/.448/1.192 to start the season, with six bombs and eight RBI. The other half of the Upton brothers, B.J., has struggled to hit himself out of a barn batting just .120 to date. On the mound, the wily veteran Tim Hudson is back [...]

Conor Glassey of Baseball America did a very interesting Q&A session with Mets Scouting Director Tommy Tanous. Tanous had some cool insights into the world of scouting, touching on how technology, statistics, amateur showcases, and more have changed the world of scouting. Here is just a little bit of what he said: Scouting is based on opinions, and it’s always said that you can’t properly evaluate the success of a draft until about five years down [...]

So, this time of year, everyone wants a prediction on the Mets season. How many games will they win? Will Ike Davis hit more homers? Can our new captain lead the team to a better record? Who will be the pitcher to watch now that R.A. Dickey is gone and Johan Santana is done? I am not a big fan of predictions probably because they never come true. Why waste your time guessing how the [...]

Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus cashed in a big way by agreeing to an eight-year, $120 million contract extension. The deal hasn’t been finalized, but should be made official on Thursday. There is a clause that would allow Andrus to opt out after the fourth year if he chooses, but since the extension doesn’t kick in till after his current contract expires after 2014, that means he’s signed at least through 2018, which would be [...]

NL East At A Glance Miami Marlins: The team that essentially alienated whatever fan base they thought they had looks like an obvious 5th place team in this division. They do however have the best player in the division in Giancarlo Stanton. No matter what the rumors say, I still think Giancarlo is a Marlin for a very long time. If I’m wrong, I hope I’m apologizing on my way to buy a Giancarlo Mets [...]

There have been many changes and lost traditions in baseball over the years. One particularly missed is the spectacle that used to be Opening Day. The season always started on a Tuesday in Cincinnati and Washington; the home of the sport’s oldest franchise and in the nation’s capital for the national past time. This year, lost in the midst of the NCAA Tournament, the start of the baseball season begins with Sunday’s highly anticipated Houston [...]

One of my favorite Rites of Spring has always been a hearty re-reading of this great baseball classic that dates back over a hundred years ago. Enjoy. Casey At The Bat By Ernest Lawrence Thayer, San Francisco Examiner – June 3, 1888 The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, A [...]

While surfing the Internet the other night I came across an article about Matt Lauer. (It was nice to see something online not related to a Kardashian for a change.) The article explained how Lauer threatened to jump ship to CBS. To keep him on board NBC offered him a salary of $25 million. He accepted. And not a soul complained. $25 million for Matt Lauer? And he can’t even hit a curve. Every once in awhile I, [...]

NL Central At A Glance Chicago Cubs: If you think it can’t get worse than where the Mets were – take a look at the Cubs. However, they are getting to a point of respectability. Jeff Samardzija went from that guy who played tight end for Notre Dame to a potential ace. He has some serious talent, but is he an ace for a good team or does he just happened to be the best [...]

NL West At A Glance Arizona Diamondbacks: The D’Backs made tough decisions this off-season  They decided to build their roster based on their team concept, and not based on just overall talent. Some think Justin Upton was the move that proved their concept, but I think it was sending Trevor Bauer to Cleveland. Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson have an idea of what they want this team to look and act like, and they apparently did [...]