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?

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?

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?

It looks like these Yanks’ just made a huge statement.

With all the problems these guys have been having prior to the start of the 2009 MLB baseball season, it looks like the Yanks’ are finally pulling it together. They won three games in a row to further establish their spot on top of the American League and after they added into that by sweeping their rivals from Boston 4-0, these Yanks’ definitely have something going on now.

In case you didn’t get that, yes, the New York Yankees just swept the Boston Red Sox to win their four-game season series in the Bronx. Them Yankees did that in style too, beating the Red Sox for the fourth and final time with back to back homers from Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira in the eight inning. And mind you, they were down to their last out then.

The Boston Red Sox simply had no answer for the Yankees as New York defeated Boston 5-2 for the four-game sweep. To say that the last four games in the new Yankee stadium were special could very well be an understatement since the four-game series with Boston marked the first time that the crowd watching Yankee games screamed that loud.

”It felt like the playoffs,” Johnny Damon said.

It sure felt like the postseason as Yankee fans were in a sense of hysteria only reserved for huge playoff games with a lot at stake. After the Yankees rallied with four runs on 15 pitches in the eight inning with Matt Teixeira hitting another homer…

Read More » New York Yankees SWEEP the Boston Red Sox

Peter Rose definitely deserves a second chance.

There are reports claiming that MLB commissioner Bud Selig is considering lifting the lifetime ban on should-be Hall of Famer Pete Rose, saying that Selig was close to letting the game’s all-time hits leader back in the game.

Before Rose entered the recognizable door on a possible reinstatement this 2009 MLB baseball season, Selig slammed it again. Ugh.

It has been nearly 20 years since Pete Rose was banned from baseball by late commissioner Bart Giamatti following allegations that he gambled on the sport that gave him a different name, ”Charlie Hustle” and made him one of the most adored players in baseball.

In his final decision, Giamatti concluded that Rose violated Major League Rule 21 and was placed on the ineligible list on Aug. 23, 1989.

No one knows whether or not Giamatti, who passed away a few weeks after issuing the ban, had planned to reinstate Rose in the future, but one thing is for certain, Rose has paid his dues and even admitted to gambling on baseball when he released a book five years ago.

Rose definitely deserves a second chance, which is what life is all about, second chances and learning from past mistakes. Even Hank Aaron himself has hinted recently that Rose deserves a second chance.

Rose the manager may have broken the rules, but…

Read More » Should Pete Rose finally be given another chance and be included in the MLB Baseball Hall of Fame?

Now that’s something new right?

And in case you didn’t get that, yes, the Rangers have been playing terrific defense this 2009 MLB baseball season. And for a team that has been known for anything BUT their D, it definitely looks like this club has finally moved on since losing A-Rod years ago.

The Texas Rangers have done a lot to get this defense going the way it is right now. For one, they knew they would get a full season from Chris Davis, a very good defensive first baseman, otherwise known for his power. To tighten the defensive skills of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, they dispatched former big league catcher Scott Servais to Saltalamacchia’s home in Florida over the winter for some defensive tutoring.

The Rangers installed rookie Elvis Andrus at shortstop while shifting erstwhile shortstop Michael Young to third. ”It made us better at two positions,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. They have jumped from last in defensive efficiency to second, similar to the worst to first improvement by the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rangers’ pitching has also improved. The hiring of pitching coach Mike Maddux away from Milwaukee was an inspired move. Ace Kevin Millwood (4-3, 2.93) not only has set the tone for a rotation that goes deep into games, but ”has set the example for everyone else as far as conditioning and work ethic,” Daniels said.

”In the past couple of years we had people to…”

Read More » Well whaddaya’ know, the Texas Rangers play Defense

Vindication, that’s what Pedro should be gunning for at this point of his career.

Well, that’s what the Philadelphia Phillies are hoping for after they just signed the veteran for the remainder of the 2009 MLB baseball season. They just signed Martinez to a $1 million, one-year contract that can earn him up to $1.5 million in incentives and as far as the Phillies are concerned, they’re hoping he’s worth every penny.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn’t pitched since last season with the New York Mets. He was miserable, to say the least, in his final two seasons in New York, winning only eight games in 25 starts. Still, that didn’t stop the Philadelphia Phillies from signing him up.

”Of course there’s some risk here. But we’d rather risk it on someone of his caliber and who knows how to win,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said of Pedro Martinez.

As for Pedro, he’s just happy that somebody gave him a second chance. He knows he’s no longer the same player he was a few years ago but he’s willing to find out just how good (or how bad…) he could end up to be this season.

”I might surprise you, I might not,” the 37-year-old Martinez said. ”It’s going to be really fun to go find out.”

”I don’t expect to be the same Pedro that I was when I was 26. There’s…”

Read More » Second half of the MLB season kicks off with Pedro Martinez returning to the majors with the Phillies