Recovering from a hamstring injury, Pedro Martinez pitched four innings in a simulated game on Wednesday, Martinez, who ended up throwing about 60 pitches, hurt his hamstring in his first start of the 2008 season.

While the New York Mets haven’t put an exact timetable on when Martinez could return to the big league roster, his prognosis sounds more positive than it did a few weeks ago. It’s no possible that Martinez could return by the beginning of June.
Last season, Martinez battled injuries almost the entire year. He finished his 2007 campaign with a 3-1 record and a …read more

Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister, Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals in recent years have already been eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the season. However this year, the Royals actually find themselves over .500. Why? Look no further than the pitching of Zack Greinke and Brian Bannister. These two pitchers have 0.75 and 0.86 earn run averages, respectively.
Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
After a solid season last year, many thought Cole Hamels would be better this season. But this better? Hamels has a 0.82 ERA and has given up only 11 hits in …read more

CC Sabathia, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, is off to an absolutely dreadful start to the season. On Wednesday, he allowed nine earned runs for the second consecutive start. His ERA now sits at 13.50.
Last season, Sabathia was lights out. He was 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA as he dominated in his best season to date. He was particularly dominant after the All-Star Game, posting a 2.76 ERA in 15 starts.
Is it time to worry about Sabathia?
Well, first before we worry, we should try to figure out what is wrong with him. The first thing everyone thinks of …read more

   Photo by Xurble   some rights reserved
I learned two things from our first attempt: First, people seemed to like it, and second, I made the questions too easy. Let’s see if I can do a better job of stumping y’all today:

I was born in a city whose name means “High View.”
I thoroughly dominated the Carolina League at age 22.
I once won a Cy Young Award, although I wasn’t the best choice that year.
My teammates have included Cecil Fielder, Andres Galarraga, Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, Mark Langston, Kevin Mitchell, and Raul Mondesi.
I’ve won more games than Bruce Hurst but fewer than Brad Radke.

Who …read more