Baseball Analysis

The Philadelphia Phillies are blazing hot right now, but there?s someone who can make them even better ? AAA Scranton left hander Cole Hamels. Francisco Rodriguez, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera and Bobby Jenks were all call-ups that helped win their team's championships and Hamels could do likewise for the Phillies. Read more »

The best players in baseball are continuing to put up offensive numbers at a staggering rate, with #1 Albert Pujols leading the way. Our RealGM.com player rankings have some surprising new names, including some veterans off to a strong start. Read more »

As it always seems to do, the Giants have to start with the health and production of their leftfielder Barry Bonds. Bonds, who started out very slowly and had some around baseball wondering if he could make it through the year, now seems to have found his stride at the plate. Read more »

Odalis Perez couldn?t have hoped for a heftier six-run lead than the one his team supplied for him, until it all fell apart in the fifth. It would eventually lead to an Arizona comeback, and a 10-8 victory over the Dodgers Read more »

Ex-Mets great and current commentator Keith Hernandez has taken considerable heat for recent comments he made on-air about female trainer Kelly Calabrese being in the Padres? dugout, however, the comments seem to reveal a bitter side of Hernandez. A Keith Hernandez that never recovered from his break up with fictional television character Elaine Benes. Read more »

Brad Penny would do just about anything to get the second inning back in the Diamondbacks 3-2 win over Los Angeles Monday. Penny surrendered his three earned runs in that long inning, which finally ended with a double play, ending the pitcher?s misery Read more »

The ninth inning started with many fans in San Diego coming to their feet, only to exit the stadium. But those who stood behind saw a huge five-run comeback for an eventual 6-5 win, and nearly avoiding the sweep at the same time Read more »

With almost a month gone by in this year?s variation on Abner Doubleday?s motif, Red Sox fans have had plenty of time to wind up their whips and find their victims. Per usual, the faithful have spent the better part of the last four weeks sitting on the couch with their trusty brew of choice, searching for something to call up WEEI sports talk radio to bitch about. And thanks to Josh Bard?s bungling of Tim Wakefield?s knuckleball, Wily Mo Pena?s adventures in right field, and Curt Schilling?s immense pitch counts, the faithful have had plenty of vulnerable parties to attack. Read more »

Winning fourteen division titles in a row isn?t easy. Just ask Bobby Cox and his Atlanta Braves, but be sure not to ask them just right now as the Mets have a comfortable first-place lead. The Braves find themselves in second place in the division so far, and it seems fairly good, right? Read more »

The Padres lack of effort so far this season was well documented by the Dodgers upon entering the series. Los Angeles took advantage of it and were able to beat San Diego, in a score of 4-2 Read more »

When the Dodgers acquired starting pitcher Jae Seo from the New York Mets during the off-season, the club was set to make him the final piece in the rotation. He struggled in his first couple of starts going winless at 0-2, but that finally changed as Seo and the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 3-0 Read more »

Where would the St. Louis Cardinals be without reigning National League MVP Albert Pujols? Probably lying face down in a ditch somewhere. In a world where athletes are revered as heroes strictly for athletic achievement, it's nice to know there's a man like Pujols out there, taking care of business in all aspects of the game. The game of life. Read more »

The common theme this week is the number three. There are three new teams moving into the Top-5 from last week, and three dropping out. Three of the Top-5 teams are represented by the NL Central; the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros. Three of the Top-5 teams play in the National League. Last but not least, three teams have three words in their name. Okay, maybe I went a little over board, but anyways, here are the newest team rankings. Read more »

Dodgers? pitcher Odalis Perez came into the final game of the series against the Astros with three wins. But 1B Lance Berkman and company absolutely destroyed Perez and racked him up for six runs on eleven hits Read more »

Poor old, dim-witted Charlie Manuel just can't figure out the most perplexing move in all of baseball, the double-switch. But, you can't blame Charlie..... Few in America can decipher the mysteries of the double-switch. Read more »

The Dodger bullpen could only go so long after Brad Penny was taken out in the seventh. Four hours and forty-eight minutes later, the Houston Astros were able to edge the Dodgers in the bottom of the fourteenth, and close out the longest recorded game in Minute Maid Park Read more »

What a great night! Sophomore sensation, Ervin Santana, pitched a brilliant game. He went six innings and struck out a career high 10 batters. The Angels pitching was excellent striking out a total of 14 Tigers in the 3-0 shutout. Read more »

Down by one in the bottom of the ninth with three runners on, 1B Nomar Garciaparra exploded on a 2-2 fastball from closer Brad Lidge to give LA a three run lead and ultimately a victory Read more »

Old schoolers will tell you that Coco Crisp is your ideal leadoff man. Guy hits for a good average, gets on base at a decent enough clip, has a bit of pop in his bat, can lay down a bunt, and he's the fastest guy on the team. Yep, he's a great leadoff hitter. Except during his absence, we've found a better one. His name is Kevin Youkilis. Read more »

Another one run game between the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. Vladimir Guerrero carried the halo?s offense on his back for a 4-3 win against the Athletics. Read more »