After one series in the 2009 baseball postseason, a number of hitters are smoking hot. Here’s a look at the hottest of the hot — and you may be surprised by a couple of players on the list.
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
In the postseason, Alex Rodriguez usually fizzles. Not this year. Against the Minnesota Twins, Rodriguez hit .455 with two homers and six RBIs.
Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
Manny Ramirez gets the headlines but Andre Ethier was the team’s most important hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ethier hit .500 with two homers and three RBIs.
Bobby Abreu, Los Angeles Angels
In the …read more

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to be a tough out during the 2009 baseball postseason. The Colorado Rockies seemed to have control of Game 4 — until a two-out, ninth inning rally gave the Phillies the victory and allowed Philadelphia to advance to play the Los Angeles Dodgers for a trip to the World Series.
Heading into the top of the ninth inning, the Phillies trailed 4-2. But with two runners on base, Ryan Howard delivered a two-run double to tie the game. Jayson Werth then singled to score Howard and give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
In the bottom of the …read more

When the Philadelphia Phillies traded for Cliff Lee, they knew they were getting a good pitching — especially considering he was the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. However, little did they know he’d be this good.
In five starts with the Phillies, Lee is now 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA. In his latest start, he helped the Phillies beat the New York Mets by a final score of 6-2 on Monday. In seven innings, Lee gave up six hits and no earned runs while he struck out five batters.
Offensively, Ryan Howard carried the Phillies. In the first inning, he hit …read more

Pedro Martinez wasn’t great but he was good enough in his 2009 baseball debut. Signed earlier in the season by the Philadelphia Phillies, Martinez helped his new team beat the Chicago Cubs by a final count of 12-5.
In five innings of work, Martinez gave up three earned runs, seven hits and one walk. He also struck out five batters while throwing 99 pitches.
After the game, Martinez talks about how happy he was with his performance.
Said Martinez: “It was really fun to actually get back to the game. Last year was a horrible year. It was a very tough year. I …read more

In the 2009 Home Run Derby, Albert Pujols was supposed to be king. Bashing in front of his St. Louis Cardinals home fans, Pujols was considered the favorite. If Pujols wasn’t going to win, then it had to be hometown hero Ryan Howard, right?
Guess again.
The king on of the Home Run Derby turned out to be a prince — Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the final round of the competition, Fielder was able to out-slug Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers. Both Pujols and Howard were eliminated in earlier rounds.
Fielder hitting the ball hard is nothing new. On …read more

Going into the 2009 fantasy baseball season, first base looked like a very deep position. Little did we know that it’d be this deep. Here are the top five hottest fantasy baseball first baseman who are leading this very deep field:
1. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
The production the Yankees have got recently from Teixeira makes the franchise look smart for sign him to that mega contract in the offseason. In the last month, he has 25 RBIs, 20 runs and nine homers.
2. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Even though he’s dealt a few nagging injuries as of alte, Pujols remains a …read more

Everyone stand up and thank Torii Hunter for stating the obvious. After learning that home runs were down around Major League Baseball in the biggest drop in 15 years, the Los Angeles Angels center fielder said the following:
“I think the steroid testing has something to do with it,” he said. “If there were any guys who were taking it, they’re not taking it anymore. I’d say it’s a small percentage, but of course it’s going to have an impact.”
We appreciate Hunter bringing this to our attention, but everyone, even non-baseball fans, knew that home run production would drop drastically …read more

It’s time for another ‘Thursday 10′ post at Inside the Ballpark. Today’s list looks at the Top 10 Most Disappointing Major League Baseball Players of 2008. It was tough to narrow the field to just 10 players, however these players have had the most disappointing seasons to date. Maybe one or two of them will turn it around and won’t make the list near the end of the season, but for now, they are on the list.
Top 10 Most Disappointing Major League Baseball Players of 2008
10. Roy Oswalt – Houston Astros – Oswalt has been one of …read more