Pittsburgh Pirates

The Chicago Cubs will win, the Pittsburgh Pirates will lose, and Albert Pujols will continue to be the best hitter in the NL. The Cincinnati Reds’ staff is intriguing, as is St. Louis’ if Chris Carpenter has a positive impact in his return from injury, and how much will Milwaukee miss CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets?

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 NL Central Preview"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Even though I was not too happy with the three-team trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox but Jason Bay has been a perfect fit for the defending world champions.

Continue reading "A New Bay Era"

  The divorce. It was inevitable, after weeks of torture and pain for both parties. It was sad, gazing back through the photo album of memories the two sides created together – two World Series championships, numerous All-Star games, and countless humorous vignettes. It was disheartening. But it was time. And finally, citing irreconcilable differences, Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox officially separated July 31, 2008.

Continue reading "The Break Up"

the west coast team is very apt - they really are Red Sox lite.  And who did we get?  The Pittsburgh Pirates' left fielder, Jason Bay.Now you may ask how in the world did we get a guy

Continue reading "Angels Sweep Silenced by Manny Trade"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

Food for thought: Ryan Doumit (Pittsburgh Pirates), 10 HR, 25 RBI, .330 AVG., despite missing over 30 games.  

Lance Berkman 1B – Houston Astros

The National League Central is by far the best division for first basemen, with the likes of Albert Pujols, Derrek Lee, Prince Fielder, and Lance Berkman. The All-Star starter seems to rotate amongst the quartet, and this year is definitely the year of Berkman.  His numbers are out of this world, and provide an ample amount of evidence that everything is bigger in Texas. The ‘Big Puma’ is leading the league in slugging, OPS, runs, and extra base hits. Also he is the runner up in several categories from homers to batting average to hits and doubles. Without a doubt, Berkman deserves to be anchoring the National League infield at first.

Continue reading "Mic's National League All-Star Team"

Sorry for the Blog Pause--went out of town to the wedding of a friend of mine, but now I'm back and back strong, to conclude my review of the unsung heroes of the 1961 Yankees infield. We're finishing with that all-important position of shortstop, Tony Kubek, who was an anchor for that 1961 team, both in the field and at the plate. He's also one of the great woulda-coulda-shoulda players, someone that many argue would have been one of the greatest Yankee shortstops ever, had his career not been cut short by injury.

Continue reading "Around The Horn With The '61 Yankees: SS"

in the top third of the league, something Milwaukee will need in order to compete with the Cubs.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Is there anything to be excited about in Pittsburgh?

Aside from a couple of good young pitchers in Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny, and the probable debut of centerfielder Andrew McCutchen, not a thing. In typical fashion, the Pirates did nothing to improve themselves over the winter and their awful player development leaves little to be excited about in the future. McCutchen, who will start the season in AAA, is a top 15 prospect according to Scouts, Inc. with the potential for 30 plus home runs. Even when he does get the call to the Majors, it may be a while before we see fireworks. That leaves Pittsburgh with another season of at least 90 losses.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: NL Central"

The Pittsburgh Pirates fans are the kind of fans you have to just feel bad for.  When was the last time this was any good?  This team does have some nice pieces, kind of like the Reds, with Jason Bay, Tom Gorzelanny, Freddy Sanchez and Ian Snell.  This team has a great core of young kids to build around and they seem to be trying to do that.  At least the Pirates seem to have an idea of what their direction is.  This is not the Pirates year and who knows when it will be their time again but they are getting there.  Pirates’ fans, your team has a plan, remember that while you struggle along for at least one more summer.

Continue reading "Part II: NL Central"