Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

While Clayton Kershaw is clearly the Dodgers' ace, Zack Greinke has held up his end of the bargain since signing with L.A. in the winter of 2013. Last night -- while his teammates blasted four home runs in support-- he kept the San Francisco bats in check as the Dodgers won 7 - 3. His stats against the NL West are especially impressive: 22 - 1 with 1.95 ERA in 32 starts against division rivals. Biggest of all, he's now 6 - 0 against the arch-rival and defending World Champion Giants since donning Dodger Blue. (This image is from May 2014, as he relaxed on the bench at Citi Field.)

Dan Uggla has had a roller-coaster ride of a baseball career. No progressing past Double-A in his minor league career, the second baseman was a rule-5 selection by the Marlins where he blew away his new team in spring training -- and after blasting 27 homers and hitting over .280, he finished third for the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year. He kept smacking homers for the fish... even though his batting average dropped the next three seasons and his strikeouts rose (and stayed) over 140 a year. Traded to the Braves, he signed a big money contract extension. He kept hitting homers at the Ted as his average dropped below .200, the strikeouts stayed alarmingly high and his fielding went sour. Atlanta released him -- with 2 years left on his contract -- during the 2014 season, and Uggla flopped in a brief trial at 2nd base (opening the door for San Francisco's rookie standout Joe Panik). I saw him in Washington camp last March, hoping to hook on for a job. It was a good situa

...you share it with Mets starting pitcher Dillon Gee . While teammates Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Bartolo Colon grab most of the media attention, Gee has been a dependable back-of-the rotation hurler since arriving in Queens during the 2010 season.  Here, he's working against the Braves in July 2014.

One of baseball's most dedicated -- and now longest-tenured -- media members has published his memoir. Ed Lucas has covered baseball for close to 60 years -- yet he's never seen a game since 1951 as you or I might. He personifies beating the odds, building a successful career and a wide circle of friends. His deep passion, encyclopedia knowledge, and knack for landing the "hard-to-get" interviews has made him a much-respected figure in New York baseball circles. He shares his unique story in Seeing Home. In our interview last week, he explained that "everybody has some sort of obstacle they have to overcome. This book will help them overcome things. You can't give up -- people can tell you can't do this, you can't do that. I didn't listen to them. And I fought to make sure I could do what I wanted to do." Losing his sight from an accident while playing baseball at age 12 only made the New Jersey native's interest in the game stron

Chris Young watches Lucas Duda's home run land in Yankee Stadium's right field porch. Saturday's top of the 1st inning home got the Mets off and rolling in their 8 - 2 victory over the Yankees that even the season's first Subway Series at one win each. (Below:) One more good one from Saturday -- a wide shot of Matt Harvey (who won his fourth straight start) pitching to Young. Notice how the shadows are crawling across the field at around 4:30pm.

  Giancarlo Stanton remains the best reason to keep an eye on the Miami Marlins. Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, the slugger who last winter signed the largest contract in baseball history, launched the fastest home run I've ever seen in a major league ballpark. Fastest? What other word could I use? The ball exploded off Stanton's bat. Or should I say ignited? I have never seen a ball come off a bat and head toward the fence any more quickly than what Phillies radio voice Scott Franzke called "a supersonic blast." I have seen such legendary sluggers as Mantle, McCovey, Schmidt, Stargell and Pujols. But I have never seen anyone light up a ball the way Stanton did Thursday. That home run off Justin DeFratus pushed Miami's lead to 8 - 0, in a game that would mercifully end 9 - 1. Stanton's laser landed in the left field seats, as you can see from where the fans were looking. Baseball needs a new generation of stars to take over as Jeter,

...just like the number worn by their skipper, Terry Collins. No David Wright? No problem -- just promote Eric Campbell. Jenrry Mejia busted for PED? Jeurys Familia steps up. Zach Wheeler needs Tommy John? Turn to Dillon Gee. Mets pull off another come-from-behind victory last night to nip the Braves 2 - 1 for their 10th straight.

With a broken hand sidelining Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud for at least the next month, the organization recalled its top catching prospect Kevin Plawicki and inserted him into the starting lineup Tuesday. (Above:) Imagine what's racing through the young man's mind as he waits in the on deck circle during the 2nd inning while Eric Campbell hits. There's two outs -- so Plawicki doesn't even know whether his chance will come this inning or next. (Below:) After Campbell singles, Plawicki gets his turn.  He makes good contact -- but lines out to Atlanta 1st baseman Freddie Freeman. But the Indiana native know he's made it. His first major league at bat is official and his career has officially begun. And like every Met since the days of Marvelous Marv, Plawecki is cheered on by a fan-made sign. The night's a success: Plawecki gets two hits in four times up and scores twice as the Mets hammer the Braves 7 - 1 for their ninth win in a row!

  Monday night at Comerica Park in Detroit, baseball fans witnessed something very, very rare. The catchers on both teams -- Brian McCann for the Yankees and James McCann for the Tigers -- not only had the same last name... but wore the same number (34). I did some checking after the game, which Detroit won 2 - 1, and have yet to find whether this ever happened before. Think of the odds -- opposing players with the same name. Now, narrow it by restricting that to the same position. And to thin the ranks even more, those similarly named and positioned opponents are wearing the same number! I can't recall it ever happening... can you? About the only tangible difference was that New York's McCann hits left-handed, while his Detroit counterpart swings from the right side. I'm sure the experts at the Elias Sports Bureau will come up with whether or not this was a "famous first" in baseball... But you have to admit, it again proves that if you come to a

I made my first 2015 visit to Trenton on Sunday. A perfect spring baseball day, temps in the low 60s. The promotion was built around Brett Gardner, a home-grown Yankee who spent part of the 2006 and 2007 seasons playing for the Thunder. But the day belonged to the Yanks' top pitching prospect, Luis Severino . The improvement from when I first saw him in August was dramatic. Last summer, he went all-out and retired the side in order in the top of the 1st inning. He did that again Sunday -- but, this time, he's got plenty more left in the tank for the next four innings. Making his second start of the season, the 21 year old earned the victory tossing five innings, allowing just a run and three hits and striking out six. Another highlight was pitching out of a bases-loaded one out jam in the 2nd inning, getting the final two Portland batters on a pop up and strikeout. Several other top prospects stood out in Trenton's 5 - 1 win. Below, 3rd baseman Eric Jagielo (w

Heading into spring training, two of the biggest questions around baseball were Alex Rodriguez and Bartolo Colon. A-Rod, returing after a year's PED suspension and less than two years off his second hip surgery. Plus, he was just months away from turning 40. Hardly the kind of data that would make you confident he'd return to be a feared hitter. Colon? You wouldn't call the portly pitcher a sure thing. Counting the days til his 42nd birthday cake (on May 24th), he won 11 for the Mets a year ago -- but he was now a year older, and not an ounce lighter. Yet, both guys came through big-time on Friday night. A-Rod smacked a pair of home runs (one estimated at 471 feet) at Tropicana Park, and then added the tie-breaking RBI single in the Yankees 5 - 4 win over the Rays. Tally 'em up -- he drove in four of the Yanks' five runs. Colon also delivered -- in his case, 7 innings of one-run ball to win his 3rd game of the young season. And the longtime American Leaguer c

A year ago, the Mets committed to Lucas Duda as their everyday first baseman when they traded his rival Ike Davis to the Pirates. Since then, it's clear GM Sandy Alderson made the right choice. After belting 30 home runs in 2014, the L.A. native has gotten off to a hot start this season -- after last night's three-hit game against the Marlins, he's batting .395 with eight RBIs. Of greater importance was the last of those hits, an RBI-single off Miami lefty reliever Mike Dunn that gave the Mets the lead for good. Playing with confidence, the Mets have moved into 1st place in the NL East and Duda looks locked in! (This photo came on Tuesday night vs. Philadelphia)

I sat with a group of friends on 300 (middle) deck of Citi Field last night, as baseball held its annual celebration of the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson. It's the one day a year that number-42 comes out of retirement. Instead of just noting the plaque honoring Jackie, all uniformed personnel don his number, a tradition that began with Ken Griffey Junior ... then spread across the game in a very unique salute. Seeing everyone in 42, shows how Jackie's breaking the color barrier on April 15th, 1947 made baseball truly everyone's game. Players of all ethnicities and all backgrounds would be welcome. The national pastime began to belatedly begin looking like the nation. (Above:) Jackie's 42 in orange, is displayed alongside the Mets' own Casey Stengel (37), Gil Hodges (14) and Tom Seaver (41) And the 42 in Dodger Blue is prominently displayed in Jackie Robinson Rotunda, the grand entrance of Citi Field. I consider this is the most significant

You KNEW it was going to be a special night when Matt Harvey took the mound Tuesday at Citi Field.The Mets fans' collective bottled-up hopes could finally be released... their hero returning after missing a year-and-a-half recovering from Tommy John surgery. The atmosphere was electric with a crowd of almost 40,000 on a cool April night. It's been a long time since the Mets drew a crowd this big this early in the season on something other than Opening Day. There were flashes of brilliance, moments of near domination. One of Citi Field's new additions is a video board tracking strikeouts. Then, there's this Dark Knight schtick. Harvey embraces it as his nickname -- while a few fans in the box seats decided to get into the act as well. I'm not sure how well this is going to work out everytime Harvey pitches at home. Not a perfect night... but a success (for the most part). Harvey was back in front of the faithful and the Mets came away with a victory.

Stephen Drew, like many of his Yankee teammates, got off to a slow start as the team dropped 4 of its first 5 games. Suddenly, things began to click on Sunday night, when Drew's solo homer capped a 7-run 1st inning as the Yankees grabbed the early lead and cruised to a win over the Red Sox. Drrew's power show continued Monday at Camden Yards, when, he delivered the game-changing hit of the night. With the Yankees down by 2, he pinch hit for Brett Gardner with the bases loaded. And he drove the Tommy Hunter pitch long and far as the Yankees grabbed a lead they'd hold for the rest of the night. A pleasant surprise for team that looked so sluggish a few days earlier -- not to mention their first pinch "grand salami" since Jorge Posada (also vs. Baltimore) in 2001. But I have to take note of how TV keeps intruding into the game. While well aware of the hefty fees the networks pay for national TV rights, do fans in the stands really want to see the guy who ju

Got to Yankee Stadium early enough on Sunday night to catch the Red Sox regulars taking batting practice. (Above:) Hanley Ramirez applying a product to the outside of his bat. (Below:) Ramirez watching teammate Shane Victorino get in some swings. "Big Papi" David Ortiz even appears intimidating just standing in place.  (Above:) Ortiz chatting with new teammate Hanley Ramirez.  (Below:) Ramirez gets ready to enter the batting cage. (Below:) A World Series champion in both Philadelphia and Boston, here's outfielder Shane Victorino.