With Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui no longer part of the Yankees, can these guys return to the World Series this year?

That is the question most Yankee fans are asking themselves as we kick off the brand new 2010 MLB baseball season. Will the key additions of Javier Vasquez and Curtis Granderson be enough to fill the holes Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui left on the roster?

Without a shadow of a doubt, both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui were keys in the Yankees’ World Series run in 2009. Hell, Matsui was the 2009 World Series MVP for crying out loud. Thankfully, the Yankees are deep enough on both offense and with pitching that they can probably afford to lose out on those key elements on their title run heading to the season.

While some will remember Vazquez’s bad first go-around with the New York Yankees, things will be drastically different in that he won’t be counted on to be the ace or even second-best pitcher on the team. He’ll be the fourth starter behind CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte. There is no questioning Vazquez’s stuff and the second tour on duty with the Bronx Bombers should be a lot smoother.

Granderson can do a lot of things on offense, but would be so much better if he could hit lefties (.210 career batting average). Yet, in a lineup that includes Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, and newly (re)-acquired Nick Johnson, Granderson will be alright.

And so will the Yankees as they have a great shot to…

Read More » Can the NY Yankees win the 2010 World Series without Johnny Damon and World Series MVP Hideko Matsui?

For some reason, the National League always plays second fiddle to the American League because its counterpart has the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Coming to the 2010 MLB baseball season, teams from the National League will once again have the opportunity to outshine those more popular teams from the American League. Yup, betting on these NL teams won’t be that bad of an idea at all.

So which of these NL teams are worth the buck? What about the Los Angeles Dodgers? For the Dodgers, the contract extension of Joe Torre was a huge lift to their spirits. And with Torre still on board, I can’t see any reason why this team will fall from grace anytime soon.

Torre, who originally figured to retire following the 2009 season, said he had committed to a one-year extension that will take his current deal through 2011. Torre’s agent, Maury Gostfrand, and the Dodgers are working on the financial details.

When Joe Torre originally signed a three-year contract to manage the Dodgers starting in the 2008 season, he only intended on managing two of those years. He structured the deal that way because he didn’t want to feel like a lame-duck manager after just one year in Los Angeles.

But then the Dodgers advanced to the NL Championship Series in 2008 and 2009, prompting Torre to stick around and see what might happen next. Even before seeing the results of the 2010 season, he wants to make sure he’s around for one more year.

Make no mistake, though, Torre will manage in 2011 and then…

Read More » Can the LA Dodgers save the NL this 2010 MLB Season?

And as always, these early picks are brought to you by those guys from SPORTSBETTING.com. (Because they really don’t have anything else to do…)

In case you haven’t noticed, the 2010 MLB baseball season is just around the corner. The last time I was mildly interested in a baseball game, the Yankees won the World Series so it’s only fitting that we kick off this one with them Yankees and their chances to go have their re-peat.

The New York Yankees are the perennial favorites to capture the American League pennant and after winning the World Series last season, it’s no surprise that they are once again favored to capture the pennant again in 2010.

However, the Yanks will have a big distraction this season. As it stands, star shortstop Derek Jeter is going into the final year of his deal with them pinstripes and you can bet it will continue to be a distraction until the situation with is resolved.

”I was a Yankees fan growing up. This is where I want to be,” Jeter told the media as he was prepping for spring training in Tampa, Florida. ”I’ve never envisioned myself playing anywhere else, and hopefully I don’t have to.”

It’s doubtful that the Yanks would allow Jeter to leave but then again, former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Damon said he would never sign with the Yankees and he did. The Bronx Bombers are currently listed as the odds-on at +150 to represent the AL in this season’s World Series but if they lose a guy like Jeter, it’ll be awfully hard to win anything.

But hey, at least they still have Alex Rodriguez right? At this point…

Read More » Early Betting Picks for the 2010 MLB Baseball Season

Why now? Well, McGwire probably wants to be in the MLB Hall of Fame and he probably thinks doing this is his ticket.

After losing out on the Hall of Fame voting for God knows how many times already, Mark McGwire felt it was time to finally admit to the very thing that has cast a shadow over what was once a stellar MLB career.

Yup, he finally admitted of using steroids during the time he and Sammy Sosa were blasting all them balls out of the park. He finally came clean people. But what difference does this make, we all knew he was on steroids anyway when he broke the home run record back in 1998 right?

McGwire said in an interview that he used steroids on and off the field for nearly a decade. But he believes the drugs didn’t gave him more power to hit home runs. As far as he’s concerned, his ability to hit home runs is a God given gift. Yeah, suuure it is.

”I was given a gift to hit home runs,” McGwire told Bob Costas on the MLB Network. He also told Costas that studying pitchers and making his swing shorter led to his increase in home runs and that he could have hit them without PEDs.

”I truly believe so,” McGwire said. ”I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for health purposes.”

Jeez… He’s almost as bad a liar as Manny Pacquiao…

Read More » Mark McGwire finally admits he used Steroids during his MLB career, when will Manny Pacquiao do the same?

Two of the best all-around baseball teams collide as the New York Yankees slug it out against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6.

That’s right, the 2009 MLB World Series is on as the Yankees and the Phillies play in what is shaping up to be an interesting championship face-off, to say the least. With fans from New York on one side and Philly fans on the other, you can almost smell a brawl brewing.

But who has the advantage? Sure, the New York Yankees are having a terrific season considering that just a few months ago, Alex Rodriguez was in the middle of controversies involving performance enhancing drugs. But do they have enough to dethrone the defending champs?

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to win it all again after winning the title last year. They have assembled enough talent to bring themselves back in the big dance. This time they have the Bronx Bombers from New York challenging them for the title. Can they make quick work of the Yankees like they did the Tampa Bay Rays last year?

These two teams boast two of the best hitting lineups in the game.

For the Phillies, they have some great hitters including Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino. However, the most powerful and feared bat in their lineup is the incomparable Ryan Howard…

Read More » Who’s your pick to win the 2009 MLB World Series? The New York Yankees or the Philadelphia Phillies?

62-game regular season. Check. American and National League divisional series. Check. AL and NL championship series. Check.

When the New York Yankees defeated the L.A. Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the ALCS, they have not only won the AL Pennant and booked a date with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 MLB World Series, they ensured that two of pro sports’ most obnoxious fans would see their teams vying for the title this year.

Online sportsbooks have set the series prices and no big surprise here, the New York Yankees are reasonably steep favorites. New York is at -190 while the Phillies, vying for back-to-back titles, are +165.

However, with the Philadelphia Phillies winning Game 1 convincingly, 6-1, we expect these lines to move dramatically in the next few days.

By virtue of the AL’s 4-3 victory in the 2009 MLB All-Star game, the New York Yankees had homefield to start off the Fall Classic, which began Wednesday. In the opener, the Yankees were a -165 favorite while Philadelphia is a +150 ‘dog with the Over/Under set at 8.

So those of you who wagered on the Phillies and on the Under are probably having a delightful evening just about now.

In the last 10 meetings overall between the Yankees and the Phillies, they have posted a mark of 2 Overs and 8 Unders. Yankee fans, however, shouldn’t fret yet. New York is still looking good to get back at the defending champs.

In the Bronx Bombers’ last 10 home games overall, they are…

Read More » SPORTSBETTING.COM has odds on the 2009 MLB World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies

We are.

You can almost feel the intensity of the 2009 MLB World Series as the ALCS and the NLCS will decide which two teams will come out to play for the world championship.

In the ALCS, the New York Yankees are looking to return back to the big dance as they go up against the Los Angeles Angels, a team looking to get at least one team from Hollywood in the World Series.

In the NLCS, the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to return to the World Series and defend the world title they won last year after dominating the Tampa Bay Rays in five games. They do battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team looking to give Joe Torre his first world championship ring since moving to Hollywood.

What’ll happen if the Yankees face their old mentor and take on the Dodgers? Will the World Series be settled in Hollywood this year? Can the Philadelphia Phillies win back to back titles and beat whichever team that’ll come out of the American League?

Here’s a look at all four possible matchups and who we think will take it. Unfortunately, we’re not picking the Los Angeles Angels to win ANY matchup. Sorry.

Los Angeles Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2009 MLB World Series

Another cross-town World Series match-up in the making? As everybody knows, this kind of scenario never materialized like the New York Yankees – New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals – Kansas City Royals matchups they were gunning for before mainly because there still is the ”baseball doesn’t exist west of Kansas” reaction.

And since East Coast fans usually can’t stay awake to…

Read More » Ready for the 2009 MLB World Series?

The American League has always been all about the Yankees. And it doesn’t matter if they are playing well or not.

But since the New York Yankees are just clicking on all cylinders this 2009 MLB season, you just know that they’re talking about them Yankees like never before. But can they really win it all?

The New York Yankees hold the best record in the league. Mark Teixeira leads the American League in RBIs, Derek Jeter is having another great season and they have a good supporting cast in Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, and Jorge Posada.

The pitching has improved, and that’s the main reason why they are where they are. CC Sabathia has 19 wins, AJ Burnett has 12, and Andy Pettitte has 13. And of course, closer Mariano Rivera continues to dominate from the mound.

So if the New York Yankees are the best team in baseball right now, who’ll challenge these guys in the conference? We have two, the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox.

The Los Angeles Angels are six games behind the Yankees, and the second best team in the league. Angels manager Mike Scioscia says this is the deepest lineup he has taken into the playoffs since the 2002 team that won the World Series.

Let’s see if they can indeed win it all…

Read More » Who can stop the NY Yankees in the 2009 MLB Playoffs?

Are the Dodgers really that good?

Since Manny Ramirez came back from his suspension, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been on a roll this 2009 MLB baseball season.

You read it, the Los Angeles Dodgers look like the team to come out and represent the National League in the World Series. The Dodgers lead the pack in the NL West. However, slugger Manny Ramirez is in a downward spiral and he appears to be bringing the Dodgers down with him.

On their fifth attempt to clinch the National League West, the Dodgers fell 4-3 to the second-place Colorado Rockies as Manny Ramirez struck out in each of his four trips to the plate. The Dodgers may have gotten some sort of momentum since Ramirez came back from the suspension but with Ramirez himself struggling, I’m not sure how long can the rest of the Dodgers keep themselves afloat.

Last year, after acquiring Ramirez, the Dodgers looked like a completely different team. Before trading for him, they were 54-54. In the Dodger blue, Manny hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBI in 53 games. Truth be told, they have been led by outfielders not named Manny in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, along with first baseman James Loney, and young pitchers like Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw.

It’ll be interesting to see how everything unfolds around the Dodgers.

One team looking to challenge the Dodgers are the Colorado Rockies. Under new manager Jim Tracy, the Rockies appear to be a completely different team. They don’t have any superstar pitchers, but Jason Marquis has 15 wins, Ubaldo Jimenez has 14 along with an ERA of 3.47, and Jorge De La Rosa has 15 in addition to…

Read More » Who can stop the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League once the 2009 MLB Playoffs get here?

The New York Mets are not the worst team in baseball.

They are not even the most incompetently run franchise in their own division. Yet, their campaign this 2009 MLB baseball season may have forever redefined the concept of losing.

Nothing has gone right for the poor New York Mets in this calendar year. From the ownership down to the bat boys, the entire organization has been beset by financial issues, management missteps, injuries, errors, poor timing, and just plain bad luck. Every week seemed to bring a new crisis or terrible disaster and through it all, they constantly found inventive and entertaining ways to squander victory. And there’s still a month left!

Let’s take a look at this disgruntled franchise on what has gone wrong this year. Actually, it started in the offseason when the Mets first gave Francisco Rodriguez a three year, $37 million contract. This was the biggest buyers market in years and no other big market teams were in the mix for a closer, and yet they still gave him premium money. Frankie finishes 55 games in 2010, 100 games between 2010 and 2011, and is deemed healthy after the 2011 season, his fourth year option vests for $17.5 million. The bad news is, Frankie has been declining the past four seasons and the decline has continued this season.

Then the injuries.

The first set of injuries came within a few days of each other in May. Carlos Delgado got injured in a game against the Pirates on May 10th, yet doesn’t go on the disabled list until May 16th, despite requiring hip surgery. Jose Reyes injures his calf in a game against the Braves on May 13th but was placed on the disabled list on the 26th, almost two weeks after the initial injury. Reyes has not been seen since, and apparently everybody thinks he’s a wuss for making sure he is completely healthy before returning to the field.

The Mets lost their last remaining star when David Wright was…

Read More » What the fuck is wrong with the New York Mets?