D-Rays fans are loving Akinori Iwamura, and why shouldn’t they? The guy has been a beast so far, hitting a nice, clean .500/.600/.700 over the first six games.

Did you know that Emiliano Fruto tossed six no-hit innings yesterday for the Nats’ AAA team? Everyday, Top Prospect Alert allows you to check out how your favorite organization’s minor leaguers performed the day before.

JC Bradbury at Sabernomics wrote a very convincing piece that argues that HGH isn’t impacting the game at all.

With MLB’s adoption of mandatory testing for steroids, many thought that home run rates would drop dramatically. They didn’t, and many felt that the lack of a test for HGH could be part of the explanation. Well, it’s time for the scientists working on such a test to start something else more important. Even if players are taking HGH, the drug no more effective than ionized bracelets, magnets in your shoes, or jumping over the foul lines. The impact of HGH on home runs in today’s game is zero. If a player is dumb enough to take this stuff, let him go right ahead.

This is why I love blogs. Seen any articles in newspapers like this? Let me know…

Beyond The Boxscore is doing weekly MLB awards .

The headline, “Gritty attitude nearly cost Tigers shortstop his life” made me laugh. See Seattle? Grit isn’t always a good thing!

Rich Lederer writes about a recent ceremony for his high school coach, John Herbold.

Alan Schwarz writes about Pat Venditte, an ambidextrous pitcher for Creighton University.