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Between 1951 and 1973, the Yankees won 12 pennants and seven World Championships. Between 1951 and 1973, Willie Mays established himself as the greatest centerfielder in the history of baseball, and depending on how you measure it, one of the top three or four players of all time (I got Ruth and Wagner 1-2, and…

Phillies 5, Mets 4; Phillies 1, Mets 0: The Phillies win the second one behind eight shutout innings from Pedro Martinez. Next up: Tom Glavine comes out of retirement on Tuesday and throws a three hitter at the Mets, getting run support from Mo Vaughn, who hits for the cycle, while Vince Coleman coaches third…

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz each turned in gems Sunday as Boston claimed both ends of a doubleheader against Tampa Bay, extending the Rays’ losing streak to 11 games. Lester allowed just two hits over eight shutout innings for his fifth victory in a row and is now 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA and 149/39…

Tim Lincecum will take the mound for the San Francisco Giants on Monday after missing his last start with “spasms and inflammation” in his back. His return couldn’t come any sooner. This is a huge week for San Francisco, a surprise contender this season that is currently on the verge of dropping to the fringe…

- John Smoltz will miss his next start with right shoulder tendinitis. The 42-year-old already received a cortisone shot to ease the pain and expects to be ready for a start against the Cubs next Saturday. In four starts since signing with the Cardinals, Smoltz is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 28/1…

The following is the second in a series profiling some of 2009′s biggest disappointments. Last Week: Cleveland Indians This Week: Cincinnati Reds Record: 63-78 (5th in NL Central) How It Happened: With one of the most exciting young cores in the game, there were more than a few baseball experts who pegged the Reds as…

Earlier in the week, I highlighted the Mets’ year-long power outage. Nothing much has changed since then, as they are still dead-last in home runs with 81 (did you know the Yankees have 220? Yikes.) and Gary Sheffield still leads the team with 10 home runs despite not actually appearing in a game since August…

“We’ve had some dramatic games since the end of May, but that one right there goes to the top of the list. We’re down to a swing, and the interesting thing about it is the guy who is one of the hottest hitters on our club is the guy at bat. What an at-bat he…

It seemed like a safe enough assumption; Jake Fox had made 10 starts in left field this season and he’d hit .286/.332/.526 in his 175 at-bats for the Cubs. Of course he was going to see additional playing time with Alfonso Soriano being shut down with a knee injury. It was a given. But now…

As measured by park-adjusted runs above average. Taken from Fangraphs.com 1. Willy Taveras -26.3 2. Alex Gonzalez -21.2 3. Dioner Navarro -20.5 4. Yuniesky Betancourt -19.9 5. Emilio Bonifacio -19.9 6. Edgar Renteria -17.3 7. Aaron Miles -16.6 8. Kaz Matsui -16.5 9. Jason Kendall -16.5 10. Ronny Cedeno -15.9 Rather than go by OPS…

- Seattle‘s Brandon Morrow will make his first major league appearance since July 10 when he starts against the Rangers.  The 25-year-old was being used carefully in Triple-A Tacoma, though he did throw a nine-inning shutout on Aug. 14.  In four starts since, he had pitched 19 1/3 innings and allowed six earned runs.  He…

This afternoon Baseball America announced Jason Heyward as their minor league player of the year after the Braves farmhand and 2007 first-round pick batted .323/.408/.555 with 17 homers, 46 total extra-base hits, 11 steals, and a 51/51 K/BB ratio in 99 games between high Single-A and Double-A before finishing the year with a brief stint…

Cubs manager Lou Piniella, on Alfonso Soriano’s chances of coming back from a knee injury to play again this season: He’s going to go see his own doctor to get a second opinion on this thing. We’ll probably know something in the next few days. I would categorize it as doubtful that he’d return. Doubtful.…

Earlier this week I discussed the possibility of Cristian Guzman shifting from shortstop to second base for the Nationals next season, and Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Jim Riggleman officially broached the subject with him during “a private meeting” yesterday: Guzman, who did not give Rizzo and Riggleman…

* Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that Takashi Saito’s next appearance out of the Red Sox’s bullpen will earn him a $500,000 bonus, and then after that he gets another $500,000 for every five outings. So far Saito’s incentive-laden contract has paid him $5 million for 48.2 innings of a 2.59 ERA and…

I guess J.P. Ricciardi still is, but he has apparently farmed out the communications function to Cito Gaston: When asked earlier this week about his plans for next season, Jays catcher and soon-to-be free agent Rod Barajas said he didn’t have any yet, but that he would love to return to Toronto . . .…

You know the story by now: a veteran comes to St. Louis, loves it there, wins some games, falls for all of that “best fans in baseball business” and decides to make it a home.  Jim Edmonds is the best example of it.  Come to think of it, he might be the only significant example. …

The MLB Network is going to name three production studios after Ernie Harwell, Mel Allen and Vin Scully.  A classy move by the network that, one hopes anyway, will provide some inspiration for all who work there.  Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I’d like to think broadcasters who see these luminaries’ names…

SI’s Tim Marchman has a good piece up this morning in which he breaks out what the numbers and career progression would need to look like in order for Derek Jeter to pass Pete Rose for the all-time hits record.  Upshot: it almost certainly won’t happen, but it’s not impossible. Personally I’d like to see it simply because…

While Kevin Millwood pitched well earlier in the season, he is 2-4 with a 5.92 ERA and has been walking a lot of guys in his past 11 starts. What’s more, as Baseball Time in Arlington’s Joey Matschulat notes this morning, Millwood has greatly reduced the number of fastballs he has thrown in the second…

Despite having three more seasons on his contract after this one, Chipper Jones may hang it up before then: “I’m not going to tolerate the numbers I have right now for very long.  I’m certainly not going to stick around for a big contract if I’m not having fun and not producing. I’m not saying…

Rockies 5, Reds 1: Jose Contreras had to leave the game in the third inning with angina or dropsy or consumption or whatever the hell it is that 86 year-old people get all the time. Didn’t matter though, because at this point the Rockies could probably put the 1985 Hackensack Bulls in the lineup —…

Charlie Manuel made things official Thursday, announcing that Brad Lidge will try to get back on track in “low-stress” situations while Ryan Madson takes over at closer. Manuel showed incredible patience with Lidge, allowing him to go 0-7 with 10 blown saves and a 7.11 ERA in 51 innings before losing his job. That also…

Mark Whicker told Poynter Online that it’s the “speed and the enormity of the Internet” that forced him to apologize for a column noting sports topics that developed during the 18 years in which Jaycee Dugard was being held captive and raped. While the piece truly wasn’t intended to harm, Whicker’s misguided effort landed him…

* Gil Meche is unlikely to pitch again this season because of shoulder inflammation, likely finishing at 6-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 23 starts after posting a 3.82 ERA through his first two years in Kansas City. He’s still under contract for two more seasons at $12 million per year. * Brett Cecil held…