The Blue Workhorse

Earlier today, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 79th All-Star Game being held at Yankee Stadium, which is only appropriate since this is the final season for the historic ballpark.

The starters were determined solely by the fan vote once again, unfortunately.

Nevertheless, we wanted to do what we hadn’t seen anywhere else and break down the selections team-by-team, so that you could easily see who was selected from your favorite team (starters are in bold):

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The 2008 Major League Baseball season has started with a bang, and many players have came out of nowhere to post spectacular numbers over the first two weeks. However, all fantasy baseball players need to realize the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and it is far to early to give up on a player who starts slow, especially if they are an established major league player. However, here are some names that have caught the eye over the first two weeks:

Johnny Cueto (SP CIN) – Yes, Johnny Cueto sounds more like a character in a John Wayne movie, but the Reds’ young pitcher has dazzled big league hitters over his first two starts. The Dominican import began the season with a bang with a 7 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 10K performance over Arizona, but I was more anxious to see how Cueto would rebound against Milwaukee’s powerful lineup. All Cueto did was throw 6.1 innings, gave up 5 hits, had 0 walks and 8 strikeouts. His season line thus far: 13.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 18 K, and a WHIP of 0.45.

For the past two seasons, there have been concerns about a couple of the most known and dominant closers in the game. Last season, it was New York Yankees’ stopper Mariano Rivera after he got off to a rough start. This season the troubles are in the other league, on the other coast as Trevor Hoffman, the man who enters to “Hell’s Bells,” has left without the lead, or a save, already twice in the early stages this season.

After week one of the MLB season, there have been several teams, including the Padres, that have already run into bullpen issues, particularly on Opening Day, so we decided to examine each of the 30 major league teams bullpen performances thus far and see which teams should really be concerned with their bullpen.

The Red Sox, with two World Series titles in the last four years, are one of the favorites again this year. While the Red Sox are looking for championship titles, other division rivals have other goals: the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to move pass either the Red Sox or Yankees and get back into the top two in the division. However, they may have to hold off the upstart Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays just to keep the #3 slot. The Rays first goal will be to finish above .500 for the first time in team history, but greater goals are just beyond the horizon.