Lefty pitchers are baseball’s equivalent of kickers in the NFL.  They are just a little bit different.  However, because we lefties are such a minority in the realm of baseball, it allows us to provide the rest of you with a unique perspective on the game.  Since I have this special ability to provide a different look, I will be giving that to you each and every day.  So, without further ado, here is the first ever issue of “Changeups and Screwballs: A Southpaw’s Perspective.”

-       While it may not be the most honorable reaction, I was thrilled to find out that Bryce Harper’s season was ended early due to a hamstring issue.  I suppose that is what happens when you decide to run hard for a full 90 feet.

-       Seeing Joe Mauer play right field made me laugh.  Any coach that is worth his paycheck could probably teach a monkey to play a corner outfield spot.  Mauer looked like a natural by the third fly ball he caught.

-       Watching A-Rod make a nice barehanded run-through play to get Ben Revere out on Sunday makes me think he will be just fine post surgery.  Did you realize that he is already 36?

-       Big ups to Jered Weaver on that healthy new contract.  Here’s hoping that he turns out to be more like Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia, and does not turn in to John Lackey or A.J. Burnett.

-       It finally appears that someone really does want to win the A.L. Central.  The way the Tigers beat down Cleveland, coupled with Justin Verlander leading that staff, leads me to believe that they will find themselves in the ALCS.  Just don’t let Miggy have any champagne.

-       Even though the Astros have the worst record in the bigs, I still believe that they are only the second worse team in the league.  The Cubs are pathetic.

-       I am so happy that my Astros will be getting the first overall pick next June.  I have to find some sort of light at the end of this tunnel.

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Recently we received a comment from a reader regarding our predictions, and I think the topic he brought up is probably worth its own piece.  The reader felt like I unfairly predicted that the Yankees would finish the year third in the AL East behind Boston and Tampa, who I predicted would both finish 2011 in the playoffs.  Before I continue, I would like to mention that I think the AL East will be a very tight division, particularly in the battle for second place.  The Yankees are one of the best offensive teams in baseball, and they certainly deserve a great deal of respect for that, but everything else they do is far from representative of a playoff-caliber team.

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Today on The Baseball Show, co-host Clint Evans from Diamond Hoggers and I welcome Jason Rosenberg from It’s About The Money, Stupid. IIATMS is the New York Yankees SweetSpot network blog on ESPN. A huge thanks for Jason to being on the show–and as he mentions about former guest Matt Sosnick–we would also say that Jason is one of the best guys in baseball writing.

Topics discussed included:

• How he got started blogging about baseball
• He talks about our friend Matt Sosnick, MLB Agent
• His induction into the SweetSpot network & relationship with Rob Neyer
• Speculation about the next head editor of SweetSpot at ESPN
• We are joined by a renegade intruder, only for a moment though!
• Jason says The Extra 2% is a must-read book.
• Hardcore New York Yankees talk
• The Tampa Bay Rays possibilities of winning in the AL Central
• What does the future hold for the catching position (Francisco Cervelli, Russell Martin, Gary Sanchez, Jesus Montero, and Austin Romine), as well as Joba Chamberlain
• Have Yankee fans and Alex Rodriguez mended their relationship?
• Curtis Granderson talk, and how will Andruw Jones fare as the fourth outfielder?
• Thoughts on Derek Jeter’s contract extension
• Much more!

A huge thanks to Jason for being part of the show. Check out IIATMS anytime you want  to read about the Yankees. Find him on Facebook or follow him on twitter. And as all baseball fans know, the Yankees are always relevant.

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I will admit that this article will probably interest Brett, Griff, and a handful of high school baseball players from Colorado and Utah who also frequent the Newschoolers forum…and literally no one else.   Sorry Arlo.  This is just what September and October mean to me: baseball playoffs and the anticipation of winter.  The title probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to very many readers, but these are a few nicknames of some of skiing’s greats.  Growing up the majority of sports media to which I subscribed were ski magazines, Internet forums devoted to skiing, and ski films.  I paid way more attention to the world of professional skiing than I did to the world of professional baseball until I was around 20.  At that time I found myself at school in Iowa playing baseball.  Iowa surprised me with something that at least resembled skiing in the form of a trash dumb covered in manmade, but it was far enough from the skiing that I knew that I let it go a little.  This time of year always brings me back to yesterdays and the days to come on the hill.  Griff and Brett are two of my favorite people in the world to ride with, so I am really glad that they also write for The Sombrero.  Anyway, with this piece I will compare a legendary skier to the Big Leaguers that I believe their personalities, talents, and styles most represent.

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After watching Alex Rodriguez roll on the ground for what seemed like an eternity, I would have expected him to have had a broken leg, or at least a fractured hoof.  However, A-Rod was able to postpone a trip to the glue factory for one more day, and was in the starting lineup on Sunday.  Yesterday, ProRumors published the story that Joe Buck might have been the reason that A-Rod took the line drive to shin- apparently their exchange of greetings distracted A-Rod just before being struck with the batted ball.  While he has denied that he was distracted by Buck, I don’t think that alone should exonerate him.  Personally, I think we need to examine a different angle in this story- Joe Buck’s undeniably ginormous head obstructed A-Rod’s view of the ball.