Web Gems

There is nothing that fires a baseball fan up more than a web gem. For those of you lacking in the Baseball Tonight slang speak, web gems are the nightly countdown of the top defensive plays from around the league.
The Baseball Tonight die-hards will tell you that there is nothing sweeter than watching grown men get after it with the leather. This minute of highlight reel is so nasty (see amazing), not even the home run slug-fest segment "Touch 'em All" can touch it. Enjoy.
Video courtesy of ESPN.com

A Sad Moment

Late Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels lost their top pitching prospect, their next young star, their teammate, and their friend. Nick Adenhart, a 22 year old right-hander from Baltimore, Maryland, tragically passed away after being involved in a car accident. The young pitcher was fresh off his season debut in which he scattered seven hits in six scoreless innings in a no decision effort for the Angels. It was the best start of his young career and he will be sorely missed.
It is just so shocking when an athlete dies. It's at times like these that we remember that the professional athletes we idolize are human too. They hurt, they bleed, and they are just as vulnerable to death as anyone else. Nick Adenhart was so young and so full of talent but life had other plans.

Go Away Rain: It's Baseball Season

The winter is gone and April is upon us. After weeks of long toss, batting practice, scrimmages, and PFP's the baseball season is finally here. There is no emotion like the hope that comes with that "this is our year" feeling. It's opening day, and everybody is ready to rock n' roll.
Mother nature has other plans, however. For the Boston Red Sox, the excitement will have to wait at least another day as the possibility of inclement weather has postponed their home opener until tomorrow. Yes, their season will still start and they will play the full 162 game schedule but the Sox are being robbed of one of the best moments of the year. In the most disasterous sports news reported this weekend, baseball will once again be ruined by rain. It's just unbelievable that water, the same liquid that is necessary for human existence, will once again rip out the hearts of fans everywhere. Get here summer, we need you more than ever.

Everybody Wins

As a sports fan you have to just love when a deal is made and every party involved is a winner. Thursday afternoon the Chicago Bears reached a deal with the Denver Broncos sending two first round draft picks, a third rounder, and QB Kyle Orton out west in return for 25 year old QB Jay Cutler.
The Bears got a great deal in receiving a young, talented player and now have the best quarterback in the division. In turn, the Broncos got two first round picks to help reload and sent the disgruntled Cutler packing. Both teams got what they needed and were winners in the deal.
Some would argue however, that the real winners in the Cutler deal are the San Diego Chargers. With Cutler out of the AFC West, the Chargers are the favorite to win the division for the next 10 years. Sadly, it will be tougher for the media to paint SD QB Philip Rivers as such a bully, considering the biggest baby in the league is now gone.