Hanley Ramirez Drives 'Em In

HANLEY RAMIREZ PUT UP A FINE STREAK of 10 straight games with an RBI came to an end this past week, and there's a good chance he'll put up another such streak or two before his career is through. During his streak which ran from June 21st to July 1st, Ramirez drove in a total of 24 runs, roughly half of his RBIs on the season.

Chris Coghlan's Ransom Phone Call

I UNDERSTAND IT WHEN A FAN tries to trade a significant home run ball for some form of memorabilia, like one of the player's bats, a signed baseball or an autographed photo. But what the fan did who caught Chris Coghlan's first homer was nothing short of a ransom. It's one thing to ask for one of the aforementioned items and another to ask that player to secure one of his teammates bats and demand tickets to future games. And that the fan turned out to be a police officer didn't help boost confidence in our peace officers. Who am I kidding, this is a fallen world for sure. I'm just glad Mr. Coghlan got his home run ball back so that he could give it to his mom who has supported him through all the years.

Marlins Take Miami-Dade for a Ride

IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME and it won't be the last, but it's always frustrating to the taxpayer when private corporations, in this case the Florida Marlins, use publicly-funded money to pay for stadiums. The Marlins have tried for fifteen years to tap significant citizen dollars to build a new stadium. They claim a need for a new venue which will bring in more dollars and help make their team more competitive, blah, blah, blah. Lest we forget, the Marlins have won two World Series since 1997. That's one less than the Yankees, the same number as the Red Sox, and more than everyone else.