Admittedly, we had to rework our weekly roundtable this week after the Mariners decided to finally win a game (against the Yankees in the Bronx nonetheless) and the Mets finally dealt Carlos Beltran to the Giants after a rumored move to the Indians was nixed by the outfielder.  We also all learned the name Jerry […]

An epic game was played last night between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves.  One of those games that you can never predict will be memorable at the start of the evening.  And perhaps, that’s part of the allure of baseball – a random, late July game between the Pirates and Braves can turn into […]

In this week’s roundtable, we talk about the surprising story of the 2011 MLB season, and perhaps any season in this millennium, the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The OC staff also talks about the biggest star that will be dealt at the trade deadline and in light of the Sox and Rays recent 16 inning 1-0 game, […]

The Texas Rangers won their 12th straight game last night, shutting out the Los Angeles Angels of Carmageddon 7-0 behind the strong pitching of Alexi Ogando.  Ever so quietly, the defending AL champs have put together the longest winning streak in the majors this season.  The 12 game streak is the second longest in franchise […]

As we look ahead to the start of the second half of the MLB season today… well, at least the portion played after the All-Star break, we’re going to examine players and teams that will be risers and fallers in the second half of the season.  April, May, and June brought us several good and […]

The National League won the 82nd All-Star Game in Arizona last night, defeating the American League by a score of 5-1.  It’s the second straight win for the NL after not winning the previous 13.  (We have to include that ridiculous tie in 2002 in the record books, hope Uncle Bud enjoys seeing that beauty […]

Last night’s Yankees-Indians game had everything you would want to see from two division leaders.  For the Yankees, Phil Hughes came back after a lengthy layoff (having not pitched since mid-April) and allowed two runs in five innings.  His comeback will be crucial for the Yankees as they need an extra arm to battle both […]

This week our roundtable dives right into the discussion approaching the upcoming MLB All-Star Game.  We’ll look back at the biggest snubs (you can check out our in-depth breadown of the rosters for the AL and NL), talk the new-look home run derby, and whether or not home-field advantage in the World Series being on […]

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was activated from the DL today in a pleasant surprise for Pujols, the Cardinals, and their fans.  The prognosis when Pujols was first injured on June 19 was a lengthy layoff – 4-6 weeks after fracturing his wrist in a game against the Kansas City Royals.  Nevertheless, Pujols has […]

Very quietly, Cliff Lee has had one of the most dominant months put forward by a pitcher in the last several decades.  In fact, you can’t do much better than Lee did this month.  The Philadelphia left-hander went 5-0 in June, allowing only one earned run the entire month and pitching three consecutive shutouts.  Can […]

For the past few seasons, many people around baseball have viewed the Milwaukee Brewers as a rising force not just in their division, but in the National League. Now in 2011, they may finally be proving the “experts” right. With two of the best players in the game in Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, the […]

You have to feel some sympathy for the Florida Marlins.  First of all, their fan support is about the worst in all of the major pro sports.  On top of that, the team played terribly enough to fire their manager.  In stepped that young up and coming baseball strategist, Jack McKeon.  Then, the Marlins had […]

One of the Philadelphia Phillies’ four aces, Roy Oswalt, was placed on the disabled list with back spasms.  Unfortunately for Oswalt, he has a long and troubled history with back injuries and back spasms.  This will be the sixth time in his career that Oswalt will be forced to miss time due to a back […]

No time to waste with this week’s roundtable, we need to get it finished before Jack McKeon falls asleep or starts playing with the Twitter thing… Strike 1: Are the Cardinals in serious trouble with the Albert Pujols injury and will there be any ripple effect to later contract negotiations with the team if the […]

You have to look deep down the MLB standings to find the hottest team in the majors right now.  The 4th placed team in the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins, are finally looking like the team that we all expected to see when the season began in April.  After starting 17-36 and having the worst […]