They both share a nickname, they both shared a number, and they both shared the love the game. I can see it as clearly now as it was the day that it happened.

My catcher, “The Kid,” is standing at second base. He's clapping along; waiting for the rally to come. Number 8 blazoned across his back, standing there with a huge smiling beaming across his face. knowing that he had just started something special. He KNEW that something great was going to happen. This is a story of two catchers, two number 8's separated by 25 years, but both the catcher for my team.

After a shaky first half the season, the Milwaukee Brewers have finally begun playing baseball in a way that shouldn’t come to any surprise.

Since July 26, the Brewers are 19-3 including two straight series victories over division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Baseball is a game of numbers. We count everything: pitches, strikeouts, hits, errors, earned runs, unearned runs, home runs, runs batted in, hits allowed, walks, and a million more categories. There is a recorded number for every pitch of every game that has ever been played. These numbers are the statistics that allow us to look into the past and determine who the best was. Barry Bonds and his 73 home runs, Ichiro’s 262 hits, Hugh Duffy’s incredible .439 average in 1894, Pete Rose’s 3,562 games, Matt Kilroy’s 513 strikeouts in 1886, and Cal Ripken’s incredible 2,632 games played without missing one to take the title as baseball’s Iron Man.

Saturday night, Ichiro Suzuki connected on a pitch from Oakland reliever Brian Fuentes to surpass Edgar Martinez for the Seattle Mariners' franchise lead in total hits (2,248).

It may be too early to tell, but it appears the Boston Red Sox bolstered the wrong aspect of their game in the offseason. The Red Sox boasted impressive offensive numbers in 2010, finishing the season ranked 6th overall in batting average, 3rd in on-base percentage, 2nd in runs scored, and 2nd in slugging percentage. The same cannot be said for their pitching statistics, which were mediocre at best, only cracking the top ten in one statistical category (opponent batting average). Every other category was either middle of the pack or worse, not a good sign for a team residing in one of the toughest divisions in all of sports, the AL East.

The New York Mets are rebuilding. From the checkbook and front office, all the way down to the bench. The 2011 season features (for now) many New York Mets familiars such as SS Jose Reyes (who is entering his contract year), starting right-hander Mike Pelfrey and the ever-positive third baseman and big bat, David Wright.

But Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins will also be rolling out some fresh new faces.

As the New York Yankees helped kick off the 2011 baseball season in the Bronx with a win over the Detroit Tigers, the Seattle Mariners prep for their own inaugural game in Oakland on Friday.

The greatest thing about sports is, they never end. It's a revolving door. The NFL season is over, bring on college hoops. College hoops is over, it’s NBA playoff time. Amidst all of this, America's pastime begins. Without further ado, here are my picks for every Major League Team's Over/Under in wins, Division, and Wild Card, as well as award predictions.

Derek Jeter, arguably the best New York Yankee of the modern era, is coming off one of the worst offensive years of his career. He posted a batting average of .270 last season, which isn’t really subpar, unless you hold yourself to a standard of .314 like Jeter does. The Yankee shortstop batted leadoff for the 2010 season as the Yankees failed to find a player to fill the role of a true leadoff hitter. Back to the two-spot seems like the most promising of options. Where to put Jeter in the lineup is a problem I’m sure a lot of ball clubs would like to have.

Spring training has come and gone and we are now just days away from hearing, “Play ball!” as we get ready to start the long road to October. This year, the NL East is shaping up to be one of the most challenging and potentially competitive divisions in baseball. So why is everyone already giving the Philadelphia Phillies the title?

While some American League teams have made many new additions that will vastly improve their rosters, other teams are left worse off because of defections, or players that were not resigned. The same teams will probably make the playoffs as last year, but their standings at the end of September will surely be different.

This past off-season, Boston added two bona fide All-Stars to its roster, Philadelphia signed another Cy Young-caliber starter, and the Yankees gave closer money to a setup man.

For many fans in smaller markets, those moves undoubtedly drove home the feeling that trying to compete with the big boys is futile. And while it’s an understandable plight, an examination of the game’s changing tides reveals that all fans can feel a little more hopeful about their team’s chances these days.

No, really.

With the parade in San Francisco now over, the teams are now 0-0 entering the 2011 season. While it’s still tough to look forward to a new season, if you are a Rangers fan, it’s a whole lot easier after the franchise made their first appearance in the World Series.