The New York Yankees climbed to glory once again and have set the bar in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles struggled a bit last season and have made some moves to once again compete for the division. While they will have to have a few players put up some career numbers, it is not out of the question that they sneak in for the wild card in 2010.

Over the last two seasons, the teams that went the deepest into the playoffs had lights out bullpens. While the Orioles have improved their starting pitching, their bullpen will be the key to their success. Luckily for them, it would appear that this is indeed the strongpoint of their ballclub.

To say that Baltimore has the best bullpen in baseball is not stretching the truth. They are going to have players that get cut from the major league club that will fill in holes for just about every other team in the league. This is a great problem to have and one that will ensure that they keep only the best. It may just be the secret to their early success.

Starting pitching always seems to struggle when the season first starts. Pitchers are trying to work themselves back into shape and it can take awhile before they are ready to put in 7 or 8 innings every time they take the ball. With this bullpen, Baltimore has a great shot of pitching lights out from the 5th or 6th inning on.

The early season schedule has a chance to be a blessing for Baltimore. They have some very winnable games and then get to face off against the big boys of the division. They have a stretch of 16 games that are played over 16 days that could be quite a momentum builder. How they handle this stretch will probably dictate their season.

The biggest move of the off-season was the signing of the resurgent Kevin Millwood. Having his best season since his Cleveland days, Millwood will settle in as the Ace of the staff. This allows Guthrie to move down to a much more comfortable number two starter where he should rack up a ton of wins.

If Baltimore fans were looking for a reason to get back to the ballpark, they finally have it. This team will contend and fan support will be what they need to get them over the hump. How can you not get excited about seeing the Yankees and Red Sox come to town in April? Get loud because this is their chance to make a mark and set the tone for the entire season.

Written by Heather Maxwell, sponsored by Stub.com. Stub.com sells Baltimore Orioles Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in the world.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a team that expects to win and win big. That didn’t happen in 2009 because of various reasons, but they are making a huge push to make sure that the team does not experience that again. It is perfectly understandable why the fans are getting twitchy and cannot wait for the new season to start.

After the 2007 season, the Diamondbacks thought they had a franchise player in Byrnes. However, he seemingly turned into a different player that never again put up the numbers of that magical season. Maybe he needs a change of scenery or maybe he was a fluke, but cutting their ties with him was definitely the right thing to do.

When a team is looking to turn things around, they need to steal hot young talent from successful clubs and that is exactly what the Arizona Diamondbacks did. Adam LaRoche has been putting up some decent numbers in Atlanta in a very tough division and in some tough ballparks. He should have an incredible year.

While the offensive news is exciting, Brandon Webb will hold the key to the success of the Diamondbacks in 2010. Their horrible 2009 was directly related to him not being able to take the ball and the fact that he is ready to go again will be good news for loyalists. He was getting better every year until that injury and he will hopefully pick up where he left off.

Assuming Webb is 100% at the start of the season, Arizona will have an incredible 1-2 punch with Danny Haren following him up. He was notched 30 wins combined over the last two season and has struck out 429 players in that same span. Between these two pitchers alone, Arizona could get close to their win total for the entire 2009 season.

The bullpen is lead by closer Chad Qualls and he is another player that is set up to have a huge year. With Webb back in there, he is going to see a lot more save opportunities during the season. While he only saw 29 save attempts last season, that number could very well climb to 50 this year. He would be a nice addition to any fantasy team looking for a dark horse closer.

If Arizona Diamondback fans are looking for a reason to head back to the ballpark, they have it. Webb’s return should get this team back above .500 and could very well put them in a solid playoff position. Their division will be a highly contested one and that means lots of exciting days at the old ballpark.

By Heather Maxwell, article sponsored by Stub.com. Stub.com sells Arizona Diamondbacks Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in the world.

The days of Red Sox fans having to suffer disappointment after disappoint have been over for quite some time, but you wouldn’t know it from the talk around town these days. They put in another solid season last year, but the World Series is where the Boston Red Sox fans expect to see this team every year.

The Red Sox rattled off 95 wins last season, but fell short of the incredibly hot New York Yankees and their 103 win season. They easily captured the wild card spot, but that was hardly good enough. While there was no need to retool the team, some small tweaking took place to once again get them atop the American League East.

The big change for the Boston Red Sox comes at short stop as they welcome former Toronto Blue Jay Marco Scutaro to the team. Along with his glove, he brings a .282 average, 12 HRs and 100 runs. This shores them up over the middle and once again guarantees that they are putting one of the best teams in baseball out on the diamond every night.

Red Sox fans have to love the lineup that is going to be on the field every night. Ellsbury makes it extremely exciting as any single might as well be considered a double. Pitchers can simply not hold him on and there is a better chance of him stealing than not. If he gets on, pitchers are going to have nightmares.

Fans want to see the offense, but the pitching that Boston runs out there each night is going to win a lot of games. It is a nice feature to not have to worry about scoring 6 or more runs in order to get a win. Lester will lead them off this season and if he doesn’t get 20 wins it will be a crime.

The season is exciting right off the bat as the first home series will have the World Champion New York Yankees in town for a split 3 game set. While that should be enough to get fans fired up and in the seats, they should really be happy about the rest of the month as the schedule is begging Boston to finish April with close to 20 wins.

You want excitement? Well this season is going to have plenty of it! The ballpark should be packed every day and if tickets aren’t secured soon, they are going to be awfully hard to come by. Fan support will be like having an extra man on the field and that may be all they need to knock the Yankees around in Fenway.

Written by Heather Maxwell, sponsored by Stub.com. Stub.com sells Boston Red Sox Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to your favorite events around your area.

It has been more than two months since the World Series finished up and, of course, that means there is nothing going on with that sport right now since the next season will not start for a couple of months.

As a result, I like to pass the time by taking a few moments to reflect on the current state of the game. I’ve written many articles of the sort, and today I’d like to pay homage to five of the best pitchers in professional baseball today.

My five picks are as follows. If you feel differently than I do about them, then go ahead and let me know by writing down your thoughts.

Zack Greinke had the best season in baseball for a pitcher last year, but he still needs another great season or two under his belt before he can move up on this list. Still, Greinke is one of the most dangerous pitchers in baseball and has a bright future ahead.

At #4 we have Roy Halladay, who is a consistently reliable baseball pitcher. It is obvious that Halladay will someday be in the Hall of Fame.

Christ Carpenter holds the #3 place on this list as he always manages to be extraordinary. When he returned from almost two seasons of being away from baseball, it was like he had never been gone. I do believe that Carpenter just might be better than he has ever been previously.

Holding the #2 position on my list is John Santana. It’s true, after he joined the Mets, no Cy Young award has been won by him; but, each and every season Santana can be counted on to make it an awesome one, which is why he comes in at the #2 position.

The #1 spot on my list definitely goes to Tim Lincecum. He has dominated this sport for two years now and is without a doubt the pitcher who is best at getting strikeouts. WOW is the word that comes to mind when I think about Lincecum’s ERA in the twos!

Aside from baseball, the writer additionally regularly blogs regarding modern and contemporary floor lamps and mini pendant lighting.

When a new baseball season gets underway, most teams around the league are just trying to figure out how to survive. For the Yankees, it is about trying to make sure that they do nothing less than get back to the World Series to defend their crown. With the team that they have, anything less would be unacceptable.

Last season was absolutely incredible for the Yankees. While we all know Arod is a great player, everyone was waiting for him to come through in the post season. To say that he was robbed of a post season MVP award in the ALCS is an understatement. He was far and away the best player on the field. However, it is unlikely that he was too upset after getting his first ring.

Pitching is and always has been the key to winning a championship and the Yankees will be running out the same arms this season as they did last. CC Sabathia will once again be in Yankees pinstripes and he is backed up by three other 15 game winners. This is truly a remarkable starting staff.

Talking about the bullpen is almost a waste of time. We all know what happens when the call to the pen gets made and so does the rest of baseball. There is flat out no better closer in baseball than Rivera. He has missed exactly seven save opportunities over the last three years. Just about every closer in the league blew that many last season alone.

As far as offenses go, it just does not get any better. Rodriguez is one of, if not the premier player in the league. There are a lot of young stars in the league with big bats, but few of them are on the hot corner and even less have the all around talent that Arod has. This is pretty much the same team that put up 103 wins last year and they will get pretty close to that again in 2010.

The defending champs definitely have some challenges in the early part of the season, but then it is smooth sailing for a few weeks. It is hard to imagine that the Yankees will not come out of April with the lead to the division and a huge win record. The Bronx Bombers will be up to their usual again in 2010.

It is not like Yankees fans ever need an excuse to get to the yard. Fans can expect the park to be packed to the gills on April 13th when they play their first home game against the Angels. That stadium will be rocking as fans will want to show their Yanks how much the appreciated the memorable season that they put out on their quest to the 2009 World Series.

Written by Jake Kohler, article sponsored by TicketSeating.com. TicketSeating.com sells New York Yankees Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and more to just about any event in the world.

While the National League East is no picnic to play in, the team that comes out of this division will probably be the odds on favorite to win the National League and get to the World Series. It will not be an easy road, but Atlanta has every reason to believe that they are going to be hoisting at least one banner this season.

The Hinske signing did not perk up a lot of ears, but don’t underestimate the value of this talented veteran. Let’s not forget that he was the Rookie of the Year in 2002 and has the potential to hit over .300 and knock out quite a few balls. While his role will probably be that of the primary left-handed pinch hitter, his leadership and experience should lift this club up a bit.

If the Braves are going to be successful in 2010, they are going to need to see another big year from Matt Diaz. This is an exciting young ballplayer who continues to progress. His big season in 2009 was great news as he had to handle coming back from an injury. He is one of many players that will allow the Braves to contend.

Offense is great, but pitching wins. The Philadelphia Phillies took all the headlines with the signing of the Halladay, but let’s not forget that they traded Lee. Starting pitching has always been their downfall and they rely on the long ball to win games. With the staff that Atlanta has, they can stop the balls from leaving the park and shut them down.

Jair Jurjens was an absolute stud last season eating up over 200 innings and winning 14 games. If he would have had better run support, it could have been a Cy Young season. If he comes anywhere close to the 2.60 ERA that he put up last year, the Braves will be ecstatic. So far, there is no reason to believe any different.

It doesn’t get any better for opposing teams after Jurjens gets off the mound. Up and down, the Braves have the potential to have the best starting 5 in the baseball. Lowe, Hanson and Hudson will all take a turn and every single one of them could put up 20 wins. 100 win season is not out of the question this year.

The Braves always fill up and this season should not be any different. Anyone that wants a decent seat better get their tickets now. Make no mistake about it, 2010 will not see the Braves finish in the same position. They will be neck and neck at the top of the division and have to be a favorite to take the East.

Written by Heather Maxwell, article sponsored by Stub.com. Stub.com sells Atlanta Braves Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and many more tickets to just about any event in your area.

I thought the same until I found out that it actually was named after the daughter 22nd and the 24th president of the U.S.A, Grover Cleveland.

That guy is always smiling, even when he doesn’t perform that great. He never ceases to put a smile on my face. And he’s a great batter.

He had two sons that played in the majors, Dick and Dave Sisler. Don’t know about any brothers.

who is ur fav baseball player and what team does he play for