Have you noticed how badly Casey Blake is scuffling so far this season? While he’s looking a bit better lately, it’s been an awful start for Blake, who’s career seems to be in decline since posting a fine year in 2006. Now 34, Blake is having a real difficult time getting on base enough to be useful. But at least he’s been productive – on pace for a career high in RBI — and that will keep him in an Indian lineup that’s struggling to score in the early going. At what point will Manager Eric Wedge opt to give Andy Marte a chance? Believe it or not, Marte is just 24, so there still could be some upside there, even though most have written him off as a major bust.

Kevin Hooper, a former Tiger prospect, had his number retired last week by Lawrence High in Kansas. He last appeared in the majors in 2006, and will play Indy ball this summer in an effort to try to get back to organized ball. The 31-year-old hit .301 for Triple-A Toledo last year so he still has some skill.

Koyie Hill had his finest Triple-A campaign last year, batting over .320 with some pop, but he was awful in his limited action with the Cubs. Judging by his horrible start at Triple-A Iowa this year (8-for-44), he won’t be seeing Wrigley this year unless there’s an injury.

Travis Hafner continues to disappoint, but he has pulled within six home runs of trying Joe Carter for 10th place on the all-time Indian list with 151. What’s the deal with Pronk? That shoulder must be bugging him as he’s just not getting on base (a common problem for Cleveland hitters), and where the hell is the pop? He’s in a 2-for-19 funk. Sit Hafner’s ass down until the Pronk starts pounding some balls.

Did you know that former Expo Mike Lansing has a field named after him? The Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League play there. That’s kind of fitting considering how his talent was invisible as soon as he left Colorado, Lansing’s second home.

Did you happen to notice that the Pirates, after a decent start, have dropped six straight to fall into the NL Central cellar? It looks like they are well on their way to tying the MLB record of 16 straight losing seasons. I’m dubbing this the curse of Pat Meares, an icon of Pittsburgh baseball failure in this generation.

Remember how out of place Joe E. Tata was with all those kids on Bev Hills? Yup, that’s Juan Carlos Navarro on this list. (Worldvision Enterprises Inc.) Picking up where we left off last week, when we listed the rookies we ranked five through ten, Next Generation brings you the top five rookie performances of the [...] more

While it’s difficult to hit the cutoff man in MLB 2K8, at least you’re soothed by Jeanne Zelasko’s voice (well, if you’re Andy, you are). When I was much younger, back in those college days, I’d have some rough weekend mornings. I’m talking about times when the only evidence of your existence from the previous evening [...] more

Safe Rosenfels got the job done after Matt Schaub went down. What Went Right The passing game made great strides in Houston as Matt Schaub started the 2007 season in a scorching fashion. He averaged 260 yards per game over the first six weeks and, yes, that qualifies as “scorching” for the Texans. Trust me. Schaub went [...] more

Scott Olsen, slapped around like a step child last season, has recovered nicely so far in 2008. Sometimes in our haste to find the next phenom, we have a tendency to overlook the established veteran and the proven history that they can provide. Having the “new kid on the block” should not be underrated, but there [...] more