Cliff Lee: Rumors, Trade, Debut – In That Order

After much speculation, Cliff Lee was finally traded – to the Rangers. Many people thought on Friday that the Yankees were the front-runners for picking up the prized former Cy Young winner, but the Rangers came in and gave the Mariners what the desired, which was a young hitter (Smoak). So instead, the Yankees will have to settle for picking up Lee in the offseason, when he becomes a free agent. Nevertheless, he’s a Ranger right now, and they hope that will …

America, it’s your time! It’s time for you to express your opinion in the Final Vote! Ok, ok, it’s not that big of a deal, but this is definitely more exciting than picking the starters of the All-Star Game. After 33 players were picked for each league, we are down to five remaining choices with only one winner for each league. Voting has already started and ends on Thursday 7/8 at 4pm EST. Since this is really the only thing fans should be voting for, then I’ll say that if …

Ok, it’s not even funny anymore. When it comes down to it, the American League just has better players, and seemingly they have better teams. Does that mean they win every single World Series? No, but it does mean they practically win every single All-Star Game. Just so you know, it’s been 13 straight All-Star wins for the AL going into the 2010 ASG in Anaheim. Since the AL has the best teams, I’m sure they would like to have some home field advantage, that’s for sure. Who will be …

It’s been quite a while since the National League has come out on top during the All-Star Game. In fact, it’s been 13 years since they were able to beat their American League counterparts. Not even the incentive of home field advantage in the World Series has been able to pull the NL ahead. So who are the guys that are going to be looking to snap the skid and get some pride back to the National League? The leading vote getter for the National League is Cardinals first baseman …

Just when I thought the Arizona Diamondbacks couldn’t be any dumber, they go and do something like this…… and totally NOT redeem themselves!

Last season, the Diamondbacks let manager Bob Melvin walk due to an underachieving team and replaced him with AJ Hinch, an unsuccessful catching prospect in his mid-30s. Hinch had no managerial experience prior to this job and the team was craving some discipline. To no surprise, the team did not respond to Hinch and they remained one of the worst teams in the league.
Now its 2010 – has …

Payback can come in many different ways. It could be something that planned, or maybe indirectly felt. But in the case of Edwin Jackson, he decided to gain some payback on his former team straight on and strongly.

Diamondbacks SP Edwin Jackson pitched the fourth no-hitter of the season on Friday night in Tampa Bay against the Rays, a team that traded him away just a couple seasons ago. It is the second no-hitter in D’Backs history (Randy Johnson, perfect game, 2004) and the first of Jackson’s career.

In the ninth inning, …

Good Fredi, Hello Bobby?
The Florida Marlins are making moves – too bad those moves aren’t from the pits of the NL East. On Wednesday, the team dismissed manager Fredi Gonzalez. They replaced him with Edwin Rodriguez, their Triple-A manager. Now, there are rumblings that they are they looking to nab Bobby Valentine to a possible four-year deal.
Fredi Gonzalez DEFINITELY left because he lost control of the team. It all goes back to last season, but it is best exemplified because through this year’s debacle with Hanley Ramirez. When the manager …

MLB POWER RANKINGS (June 14 – 20)
Biggest jumps from last week: Rangers +4, Reds -9
1. Yankees (43-26) – The Yanks were able to prevent losing the season series to their cross-town rivals with a couple nice wins to wrap up the weekend. That team is so good it’s unfair – and it doesn’t even really bother me.
2. Braves (42-28) – Atlanta slides into the two spot after continuing to pitch and slug. If they can continue this, they could be the class of the NL.
3. Rays (42-27) – The Rays are …

This edition of News and Rumors is jam packed with some big news a few rumors floating throughout the league.

Not So Chipper Anymore
It looks like Bobby Cox may not be the only person retiring from a long career with the Atlanta Braves. After the last few years, Braves 3B Chipper Jones has said he wasn’t just going to hang around if he felt he couldn’t do anything productive anymore. Well, the 38-year old hasn’t announced anything, but it appears the idea of retiring in 2010 is not out of the …

2 games up, 2 wins down.

Playing in a city that knows a thing or two about young phenoms (LeBron James), Nationals SP Stephen Strasburg made his second start and earned his second career win against the Cleveland Indians in what ended up as a 9-4 final in favor of the Nationals. On Sunday, he showed much of the command he possessed in his first career start on Tuesday against the Pirates, but some technical mound issues slowed him down a bit as the game went on.
First let’s take a look …