Introduction.

First post, whooo. I've always loved baseball, and now I'm old enough (20, and with enough time on my hands) to actually discuss my opinions on a medium like this.

I have to start off by mentioning that I was born and raised in Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA, and I have always been a hardcore New York Yankees fan. So, while I will of course stay somewhat true and discuss the Braves (and the other 28 teams in the game), I will also spend a lot of time focusing on the Bronx Bombers.

And speaking of them, I think the pressure people are or were putting on Alex Rodriguez to hit his 600th career home run is getting a little out of hand. I can't remember anyone else having this much attention dedicated to them when they hit or surpassed the same record. What's the rush? There are still 2 months left in the season (and, let's face it, as a member of the Yankees, there's a good chance he'll be playing into October as well) and he's still got a few good years left, he'll hit it soon enough. Willie Mays didn't his his 600th until 21 at-bats after 599, so it's not uncommon, even though it is somewhat upsetting. But it'll happen. Just let it be.

Let's give a special shout out to Matt Garza for pitching the first no-hitter in Rays history against the Tigers on Monday. Since they're the team that I perceive to be the biggest threat to the Yanks' bid for back-to-back World Series appearances, I can't say I'm terribly happy for them, but it's still a big achievement. I knew this season was the so-called "year of the pitcher" before it even started, when Stephen Strasburg was already being hailed as the best thing to happen in D.C. since President Obama (by the way, both have performed subpar to the expectations they created, but I still say that The Kid is doing better than number 44). However, to see a pitcher skyrocket from complete obscurity to being called "one of the best pitchers to ever play in the big leagues" by none other than Curt Schilling is pretty good. Really, all this means for Ubaldo Jimenez (aside from almost certainly getting a NL Cy Young this year if he can beat out Roy Halladay) is that the pressure is heavily on him, not for the remainder of this season but for next season. If he doesn't repeat or give a similar performance, it's almost guaranteed that he'll go back to being an unknown in a matter of time.

Speaking of the Phillies' new ace, I'm surprised that Doc has been pitching since 1998 and got his perfect game this season. Of course, a lot of it has to do with the fact that the Phils' defense is better than any team in Canada, but still, if a pitcher's good, he can get it done one way or another. Which is why I don't get all the hype about Roy Oswalt. Everyone's been speculating about where he'll go and how great he is for weeks. Since when does a 6-12 record make you buzzworthy? My 14-year-old sister could get a similar record playing for the Astros, it's not impossible to do. Hell, Zack Greinke plays for one of the worst teams in baseball, and even he got the Cy Young last year. But what really pisses me off about Oswalt is his arrogance: he refuses to back down on his demand that whatever team wants him must pay him the $16 million option he's owed next season. You know what, Roy? When you post a winning record, someone will think about throwing some money your way. Until then, stop being newsworthy.

In my next post, I'll be discussing why Joe Mauer is my favorite player, why the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds may not be as bad as we all originally thought, and why setting a precedent for not awarding a perfect game to someone who earned it does more to hurt the game than help it.