Ah, the week where pitchers and catchers report to camp. It’s scheduled around Valentine’s Day for a reason, you know. It’s the time of year where hope springs eternal and love conquers all, and even if your favorite team doesn’t have a prayer of making the playoffs, it’s still all right to believe that they might make the playoffs. Faith, even blind faith, is a powerful thing, and it is never stronger for a baseball fan than it is right now.

For the people who actually play and manage the game of baseball, however, it is a much, much different story. Some have contract issues to deal with; others have to try and deliver the same numbers they racked up the previous year even when the lineup around them is depleted. Managers have to talk to reporters about taking baby steps with young players, while telling their shrink that they just can’t bear the thought of losing another 95 games. General managers have to find a way to fill that hole, and they all have a hole. Of the hundreds of players, managers, and baseball personnel currently working in the majors today, though, these are the ones we pity the most. (Thanks to the good people at Baseball Reference for their meticulous, endless stream of statistics and bread sticks.)

Vernon Wells

His contract (seven years, $126 million) was considered to be one of the most untradeable contracts in baseball, and his sub par performance after inking said contract only made it seem like an even bigger albatross. (Sports writers like using the word ‘albatross.’ It makes them look well read.) Granted, he broke his wrist in 2008, and dealt with the lingering effects of it in 2009, but no one remembers that; they just remember the numbers, and Wells was once again confirming his reputation as the “Star Trek” movie franchise of baseball players. Last year, wrist fully healed after surgery, Wells had a nice bounce-back year (he ranked 16th among outfielders in one of our points-based fantasy leagues), so you can see why The The Angels Angels of Anaheim, after missing out on Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford, would view Wells as a worthwhile gamble.

Having said that, Wells is positively boned if he turns in a season less than, or even equal to, his 2010 numbers. Anaheim is taking on nearly all of the money remaining on his contract (a whopping $86 million), and given that the Angels traded Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli in order to get him, Wells will be expected to perform at astronomical levels for the remainder of the contract. Good thing he has his stellar defense to fall back on during the rough patches.

Michael Young

Poor bastard. When the Rangers asked Michael Young to move from second base to shortstop to make room for Alfonso Soriano (who’s now a left fielder, by the way), Young did so. When the Rangers asked Young to move from shortstop – where he had just won his first Gold Glove – to third base in order to make room for Elvis Andrus, Young did so, though a bit more reluctantly than he was the first time. Now the Rangers have signed Adrian Beltre, and they’re asking Young not to play at all; just grab a bat every couple of innings. This is not in Young’s DNA, and Young, understandably, has requested a trade. The Rangers, however, are having a hard time finding a suitor for Young, thanks to his backloaded contract (three years, $48 million), which will make for one awkward clubhouse in a few days.

It’s hard not to feel bad for the guy. He merely signed the contract that the Rangers offered him, and his batting numbers have remained relatively consistent (save for his nine home runs in 2007, though he did knock in 94 runs and steal 13 bases that year). The Rangers are trying to grant his trade wish – they’ve reached out to Colorado and Florida – but everyone in baseball knows the Rangers are stuck, and they’re telling the Rangers they’ll take Young if the Rangers eat the vast majority of his contract. As it stands, it looks as though Young will be a DH and part-time first baseman. As selfless as he’s been in terms of doing what was best for the team, it has to sting that this is how he’s rewarded for his selflessness.

With football season upon us, that’s when baseball gets real interesting. To me, there is no better time of year than that first weekend in October when you have four MLB playoff series and a full slate of NFL games. As for the pennant races, they’re starting to shift and some teams are beginning to pull away while others lose hold on their position…

1. New York Yankees (75-47)—A one-game lead but the Mariners are in town this weekend, so it’s as good a time as any to start padding the margin over the Rays and Sox again.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (74-48)—Still hanging on, as the Yankees continue to look in their collective rear-view mirror.

3. San Diego Padres (73-48)—The Giants had their five-game winning streak, and the Padres answered with one of their own, widening their late August lead to 6 games over the G-men until losing last night. Is there any question about manager of the year here?

4. Atlanta Braves (72-50)—Bobby Cox hopes his team will feast on Cubs’ pitching at Wrigley while the Phils face the Nats at home.

5. Texas Rangers (68-53)—The Rangers lost four in a row this past week but still have a seven-game lead over the A’s and Angels. I’d say they have nothing to worry about.

6. Minnesota Twins (71-51)—As we suspected, the Twins keep adding to their lead, now 4.5 games over the White Sox.

7. Cincinnati Red (71-51)—Just when the Cardinals made a statement, the Reds have now won 7 in a row while St. Louis has lost 5 straight, giving Dusty Baker’s boys a 4.5 game lead and increasing the chances Brandon Phillips will start smack-talking again, if he hasn’t already.

8. Boston Red Sox (69-54)—Time is running out on the Sox, and also on Roger Clemens’ days as a free man.

9. Philadelphia Phillies (69-52)—They’ve stayed hot, but so have the Braves. Do you think the Phils wish they still had Cliff Lee?

10. San Francisco Giants (69-54)—Only trailing Philly in the wild card chase by one game, two in the loss column. But a recent slide took them out of that spot and their hopes of a division crown are fading away.

Seeing as how Brandon Phillips escaped with only a fine for his role as instigator in Tuesday’s Reds-Cardinals brawl in Cincinnati, some fans may be up in arms with the way Major League Baseball handled the situation.

But the punishment levied in the melee was just.

Reds’ starter Johnny Cueto was suspended seven games for his Jet Li impersonation during the brawl, while Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker each received two-game bans by the league. In addition, Phillips, Cincinnati reliever Russ Springer (who came on the field while on the disabled list, which is apparently a no-no), Cardinals’ starter Chris Carpenter and catcher Yadier Molina were each fined an undisclosed amount.

Keep in mind that while Phillips kicked everything off on Monday by slamming the Cardinals for being “little b*tches,� his role in the actual brawl was minute. Him going toe-to-toe with Molina at home plate hardly deserved a suspension. The league reserved the right to come down hardest on Cueto, which they did.

Even though he was backed into a corner and claims he was just trying to defend himself, there was absolutely no need for Cueto to start flailing his legs and kicking his feet at other players like a little school girl. Carpenter was in a similar situation (if not a worse situation) and he didn’t feel the need to start kicking people with metal spikes. Cueto’s actions were ridiculous.

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Somebody forgot to inform Brandon Phillips that if he’s going to make comments like the ones he did Monday about the Cardinals, he and his team needs to actually back them up.

Since Phillips called the Cardinals “little bitches,� St. Louis has reeled off two straight wins in Cincy and erased a two-game deficit in the NL Central. With one game remaining in the series, the Cards have seized a ton of momentum and have a chance to turn the entire season on its head.

It appears as though Phillips’ comments did nothing but wake the Cards up, as evidence of the clubs’ brawl in the bottom of the first inning during Tuesday’s game. (Check out the video below before the MLB takes it down off YouTube.)

Following the melee was a pretty good game – a game in which the Cards downed the Reds, 8-4. The defeat ensured that the Reds will lose a series for only the second time in their last 14 and they’ll try to avoid the sweep today.

I think it’s humorous that the Cincinnati broadcast team in the video above try to pin the start of the scuffle on Yaider Molina. Phillips needs to realize that he can’t say what he did and then tap Molina’s shin guards like they’re old war buddies. I don’t blame Molina for getting in Phillips’ face, although I do blame Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker for what they did following the shouting match at home plate. Before La Russa and Baker started spatting at each other, the “fight” was nothing more than a tense huddle. But instead of getting the situation under control like they should have done, La Russa and Baker couldn’t put aside their own differences and they wound up escalating the situation.

And what was Johnny Cueto thinking? I realize he was backed into a corner, but so was Chris Carpenter and he didn’t feel the need to start sissy-kicking everyone. He could have seriously hurt someone (even more than Jason LaRue having to get stitches in his face) with that crap move. I’m sure plenty of people (including maybe even teammate Brendan Ryan) want to take a few shots at the loudmouth Carpenter, but kicking someone in the back with metal spikes on is weak.

Kudos to Scott Rolen for not only trying to play peacemaker, but for landing some real shots when the brawl actually started. Dude was a beast, although too bad he alone can’t stop the Cardinals from taking back the division.

The Reds have shown their resiliency before. There have been a several times this season when fans could have said, “Yep – here’s where it all falls apart,” but the club just kept winning.

That said, it’s gut check time for the Reds.

The all-star game is behind us now, which means pennant races are about to heat up for real. And there are so many teams in contention this season, it really promises to be a wild rest of the summer. Here is a look at our post-all-star-game power rankings…..

1. New York Yankees (57-32)—Playing with heavy hearts this week after the passing of George Steinbrenner, but nothing else has changed. They just keep winning, and for the Yankees, that’s just what they do.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (54-35)—David Price is the real deal, and one of many reasons this young Rays team is battling the Yankees for AL East supremacy. They’re one of a handful of teams that can compete with the boys from Gotham, but they’d better not get swept this weekend.

3. Atlanta Braves (53-37)—They suddenly have a 5-game lead over the slumping Mets (and 5.5 over the Phils), and have the look of a team that wants to send Bobby Cox out on top.

4. Texas Rangers (52-38)—Cliff Lee and that lineup? The Rangers can start printing playoff tickets now.

5. San Diego Padres (52-37)—At this point, you can’t call it smoke and mirrors. Just like the Rays, this young team plays hard, manufactures runs and keeps games close with solid pitching.

6. Boston Red Sox (51-39)—Someone has awoken the beast that is David Ortiz. Home run derby was just a tease of what’s to come at Fenway this summer.

7. Chicago White Sox (50-39)—A 9-game winning streak was snapped yesterday, but the south side of Chicago is beaming. Too bad Jake Peavy is out for the year, but that doesn’t seem to matter much right now.

8. Cincinnati Reds (50-41)—See Padres, San Diego. Dusty Baker is one heck of a manager, and that is showing again now. Of course, when you have Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Scott Rolen in the middle of your lineup, all is right with the world.

9. Colorado Rockies (49-40)—This year, the Rockies won’t wait to make their move until September. They have already started making it, and the Padres had better watch their collective back

10. Detroit Tigers (48-39)—They have quietly kept right up with the White Sox, just one game back and now 2.5 ahead of the Twins. And Jim Leyland is still one of the best managers in the game.