Here is something that Yankees fans thought they'd never hear: for the first time ever, playoff tickets will actually be cheaper than what the team charged during the regular season. The Yankees charged astronomical prices for seats at their new ballpark and a price adjustment was definitely needed.

The $2,500 "Legends" seats located right behind home plate will be reduced to a more palatable $275 during the American League Division Series. Even if the team makes it all te way to the World Series, the most fans will pay for the priciest seats in the ballpark will be $425.

The markdown from $2,500 to $275, however, is not as drastic as it seems. Most of the $2,500 that fans paid out to sit in the Legends seats went towards upfront licensing fees that they paid for the privlege of actually buying the tickets. That made the average cost of a regular game ticket $325, so the $275 ALDS price represents a savings of about $50 per ticket. Even still, who'd have thought that postseason Yankees tickets would be cheaper than the regular season tickets? Usually it's the other way around.

.For the ALDS, obstructed view bleacher seats will be an ultra-affordable $5. Grandstand seats will range up to $29, Terrace level seats will go for up to $80, and main level seats will be priced up to $200.

In the middle of June of 1984 the Cleveland Indians traded Rick Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs. The change of scenery did the big right-hander a world of good as he led the Cubs to the postseason that season going 16-1 and took home the National League Cy Young Award as a reward for his stellar work on the mound. Could another midseason trade by the Tribe turn out the same way two-and-a-half decades later? While Cliff Lee won't have nearly as much time to work with as Sutcliffe did in the 2009 campaign, if he keeps pitching the way he has in his first five starts he may warrant a look adding an NL Cy Young Award to his AL Award last season.

Lee has gone 5-0 with a microscopic ERA of 0.68 in his 5 starts for the Philadelphia Phillies since the trade last month. Lee has struck out a batter per inning and has only allowed 24 hits in 40 innings of work. Lee looks to be pitching as well as he did in last seasons' Cy Young season when he won 19 of his first 21 decisions, so his track record shows that he can go on spurts of nearly flawless work.

Their was a scary moment in the Los Angeles Dodgers - Arizona Diamondbacks game yesterday when D'backs player Rusty Ryal hit a line drive that nailed LA pitcher Hiroki Kuroda in the head. While the video footage looks rather nasty, the good news is that Kuroda never lost consciousness and a CT scan was negative, revealing no fractures or bleeding. The Japanese pitcher is listed in good condition.

As a Clevelander, many will remember the devasting effects a line drive had on Indians hurler Herb Score who was a top pitcher until he was hit by a line drive and never regained the form he had before being hit by the batted ball.

Here is a video of what happened last in the 4-3 Dodgers loss.

I was reading a recent issue of Sports Illustrated yesterday in which the feature piece centered around Mark Buehrle. The by-line to the story suggested that his perfect game a few weeks ago was quite possibly the best moment of the MLB season thus far. I can't argue with that assessment one bit. Being an Indians fan (actually, that's only a half truth, but we'll deal with that another time) I had no problem rooting for Buehrle to get the perfect game as I followed it online. The drama was high, and the action was right down to the wire as DeWayne Wise made what I consider the catch of the year in the ninth to save the perfect game. I couldn't get enough of the highlights of the game and how the crowd reacted as they got closer to the twenty-seventh out.

Nearly one year ago, a bench-clearing brawl that erupted ended with seventeen players and managers being ejected in a game between the Peoria Chiefs and Dayton Dragons. In the midst of the fight, Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo threw a ball which ended up hitting an Ohio fan. Today, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation as a result of the fight.

Castillo, 22, had directed the ball towards the Dragons dugout during the fight, but it ended up in the stands, striking an onlooker. The fan was taken to the hospital, and Castillo was taken off in cuffs. He was arrested and charged with felony assault.

Castillo could have received up to eight years in prison, but the judge was more lenient in doling out his punishment. Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Connie Price said that he had expressed that he was sorry about hurting anyone.

Manny Ramirez served a 50 game suspension earlier this season for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy, but that was reportedly not his first instance of testing positive for banned substances. According to the New York Times which cited lawyers involved in pending litigation over the testing results who spoke anonymously, Ramirez and David Ortiz are both amongst some 100 major leaguers that tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003.

The lawyers spoke anonymously as the information is under seal by a court order. The results of the 2003 tests were supposed to remain anonymous, but were later seized by federal agents. Alex Rodriguez admitted to using performance enhancing drugs after it was revealed that he was one of the names on the 2003 list.

Ramirez, who was with the Cleveland Indians from 1993 until 2000 when he was traded to Boston, led the Red Sox along with Ortize to their first World Series Championship since 1918 in 2004. Ramirez is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch last night in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. Everyone from fans to sports gambling sites questioned his ability to make 60-foot, 6-inch throw from the pitching mound to home plate. So how did the Commander-in-Chief fare?

While the angle of the camera from Fox was pretty awful and gave little indication of whether the pitch was good or bad, several members of the media who were in attendance were able to shed more light on the throw. The general consensus seems to be that Obama throws like a girl.

Rachel Abrams of The Weekly Standard commented:

"He may have thrown out the first pitch wearing a Chicago White Sox jacket ("My wife thinks I look cute in it"), but there was nothing in his cool aspect or his broadcast-booth blarney to suggest a true love for the game, like that of, say, our 43rd president. This guy should stick to golfing, or, better yet, to kicking a soccer ball around the White House lawn. It suits him: more Europeanish, less Americanish."

Dave Van Dyck of The Chicago Tribute chimed in, stating:

Some of the biggest sports legends in history will be on hand for the 30th National Sports Collectors Show at the IX Center later this month. The show runs from July 29th-August 2nd this year and features the likes of Bob Feller, Jim Brown, Troy Aikman, Bo Jackson, and Joe Montana who will be participating in autograph signings.

Below you will find all the information on the event including schedule of events and hours of operation.

Show Hours

Wednesday, July 29: 5pm to 9pm
Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, August 1: 10am to 6pm
Sunday, August 2: 10am to 5pm

Admission

Single-day admission tickets are $15 if purchased in advance. Week-long VIP passes are available, starting at $119

Tickets can be purchased by following this link.