AGRI Biz

The main problem plaguing the New York Mets right now is not Omar Minaya, Jerry Manuel, or the pitching staff; it’s the complete lack of certainty. Will Jerry Manuel still be around in two weeks? Your guess is as good as mine. What will the Mets’ pitching staff look like next week? Who knows. How long will Ike Davis be on the big league roster? A week? Two weeks? Will someone other than Omar ...

After allowing just two walks all spring, it took Fausto Carmona two hitters to equal that number in his first start of 2010. Collectively Cleveland sighed and exclaimed, "Oh boy, here we go again!" He isn't fixed; he's still the same old rattled head case that can't throw strikes. This year is going to be even worse than we imagined. How could anyone put a single strand of hope into this enigma ...

Conor Jackson has always intrigued me. He looks and sounds like a guy who should hit .320 with 30 home runs and be an All-Star every year. Unfortunately, he is a guy who hits about .285 with 15 home runs every year. Which, if you consider it, isn’t all that bad. But the issue now with Jackson isn’t his productivity on the field, it’s the fact that he can’t stay on the ...

Looking for a team that is building its way to being competitive? Hoping to get in on the ground floor of a team loaded with young fantasy talent? The Cincinnati Reds might be your team. Cincinnati general manager Walt Jockety has done a good job of assembling talented youngsters. Then he surrounded them with quality veterans who can produce on the field, lead in the clubhouse and mentor the kids. There is ...

The latest news out of Phillies camp was not promising: Starter J.A. Happ will miss tonight's start against the Atlanta Braves due to stiffness in his elbow. Instead, Kyle Kendrick (0-0, 17.47), pictured, will face Tommy Hanson (1-1, 2.38). Other matchups feature Tim Hudson (1-0, 2.84) vs. Roy Halladay (3-0, 1.12) and Jamie Moyer (1-1, 7.50) against Derek Lowe (3.0, 4.67). In the face of losing two of three games at home to the Marlins, ...

Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke used a historic April to propel him to the American League Cy Young award last year. I don’t think anyone expected Greinke to repeat his April performance this year.   Greinke is off to a slow start in KC Through three games this year, not only has Greinke not repeated his 2009 April performance, but has really struggled so far. Look at Greinke’s first three starts ...

As a hitter, there's no worse feeling in baseball than knowing you're going to come to the plate to face a man who you know will dominate you with one pitch. As you adjust your batting gloves and dig in, you know that you're going to flail wildly, but that there's nothing you can do about it. Three pitches later and you're back on the pine, wondering just went wrong, coming ...

It's the call most Mets fans wanted in spring training. Ike Davis became a fan favorite with his impressive spring, but the Mets organization wanted to see him play more in Triple-A. They chose to give the first base job to a combination of Fernando Tatis and Mike Jacobs while waiting for Daniel Murphy to return from injury. Well, that didn't work out so well. Jacobs was struggling at the plate, and Tatis is ...

The closer role is perhaps the most difficult job in major league baseball. If not the most difficult, it surely is the most highly scrutinized and insecure position on any team. Before two weeks of the 2010 regular season had passed, four teams had already changed pitchers filling this important role. Looking around the league, it is possible that these are just the first amongst other similar moves by teams that ...

Matt Holliday is looking like one of the best hitters in the game. Ike Davis made his big league debut. Could Brandon Morrow be turning the corner? Let’s look at 10 of the biggest stories from yesterday’s games.   Hitting   B.J. Upton (1-for-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 R) Through May ‘09, Upton had hit .204 with 2 home runs, 9 RBIs, 32 runs, and 15 steals. So far this season, the average still isn’t ...