Well it’s the “faux” mid-way point of the baseball season and instead of dwelling on the past half of the season we are going to look at events beginning with last Saturday’s drama and moving into the future. Yes I have the ability to see into the future, and will attempt to do so at the end of this segment in what is sure to be a supreme demonstration of ineptitude. But first we must dwell on the past for at least a moment while we check the Scoreboard.
SCOREBOARD
*The Mets stand at 46-45 at the “halfway” point. This really is a great season thus far considering I expected a 100+ loss season for the Metropolitans. Unfortunately they play in the same division as the juggernaut Phillies and the resurgent Braves which leave the Mets 11 back in the division and 6 back in the Wild Card. A Playoff berth is not in the stars for this squad.
*RA Dickey will come back after the break and face off against the Phillies. If Dickey is going to get this Cy Young campaign back on schedule it starts tomorrow night. He stands at 4-7 with a 3.61 ERA, it’s a long shot but I believe. LONG LIVE THE KNUCKLEBALL!
*World Series Pick – Brewers are tied for 1st and the A’s are dead in the water. ‘Nuff said.
*Jon Sterling has yet to choke Suzyn Waldman out during a broadcast but I got the sense during Jeter’s 3000th hit call that he was about too. If the Yanks struggle down the stretch the pressure may become too great for Sterling to handle and then we may get some gasps coming from the booth. I’m just sayin’ it couldn’t happen to a nicer group.
*Joe Buck has not been removed from his seat at FOX yet, nor has anyone snapped Tim McCarver’s neck (probably because he already looks dead) but I think Justin Timberlake along with nearly thousands of Twitter folk resoundingly told Joe Buck that he’s the worst there is. At the ASG on Tuesday during Mark Grace’s interview with Timberlake, JT appeared to be having some fun at the expense of Grace and more notably Joe Buck. JT said several times in a very condescending tone that Joe Buck was “calling a GREAT game and doing a GREAT job.” I’m not sure if he was condemning the game or Buck, or both, but either way I give JT a huge amount of credit and this move may land him in the upper echelon of groups of people, a Riot! guy. To be named to that list you either need to be somewhat of an obscure cult sports hero (Moe Mantha and Oscar Gamble), say whatever you want whenever you want to (Charlie Sheen and Bill Burr), openly buck the establishment in a funny or non-lame way (also Charlie Sheen), or happen to have the luck or your last name being The Riot! (Ryan Theriot). JT would fall into two of these categories and a lot like voting on a pope, JT’s application is being vetted and when you see the white smoke you’ll have your answer. Until then JT, you definitely earned some underground respect for that, it was very cool. As for Joe Buck, you suck and your dad would call a better game…..NOW, and he’s been dead for 9 years now. By the way, giving up your World Series seat for Vin Scully if he accepts it, is not doing a favor for him, it’s doing a favor for us you over hyped blow hard.
*A reiteration of a positive note Bob Uecker, Jon Miller and Vin Scully are STILL awesome.
*There were no new “Berman-isms” during the HR Derby as I suggested at the beginning of the season but Chris Berman did prove, yet again, to be about as played as his home run call. (BACK, BACK, BACK…..wouldn’t a shotgun blast be perfect right there? After the third “BACK” <BAM!> just sayin’)
*Jason Werth ISN’T worth dick.
*The Giants are struggling mightily and my NL MVP pick, Buster Posey, shelved for the season. Oh Well.
*My AL MVP pick, AROD, was having a solid season but will be out roughly two months if not more. Uh Oh.
So that’s the scoreboard so far. On a non-baseball/scoreboard note, there have been 20 NFL players arrested during the 120 day lockout thus far. That’s a nice round number and it works out to 1 arrested player every 6 days. Don’t these guys have any other hobbies other than slapping their bitches up and driving drunk? Damn, I think if I was a multi-millionaire I would have very little to be angry about. Just sayin’. Ok on with the show.
WTF is wrong with people? Part 2
So last weekend I went on a bit of a tirade and for that I apologize; I tend to get really emotional about certain things and I spouted off for a few minutes and then hit “POST” and now some are mad at me. That’s OK because I stand by what I said and will address those of you cretins who emailed me at a later date, but with all that being said we had some other dipshit nearly take a 20 ft. swan dive on national TV during the HR derby on Monday. Not to suggest that Shannon Stone, the guy who TRAGICALLY fell to his death in Texas is in anyway compared to this guy. What happened to the former Mr. Stone was tragic and a complete accident all around and we send our sincerest condolences to the Stone family. This guy at the All Star Game festivities would have gotten no sympathy from me if he would’ve plummeted to his death. This numb nuts was standing on a table and dove out over the railing to try and catch one of the nearly 600 homers that were hit on Monday night. Anyone who saw the picture of this guy standing on what looks like a table waiting for a ball knows what I’m talking about. What this guy did and its’ result, if different, wouldn’t have been tragic; this is what the Darwin Awards are for. The fact that myself and all the other news outlets had to even detract attention from the tragedy in Texas for this mental defective aggravates me and makes me want to choke any dummy leaning over a railing at a ball game. Especially a HR Derby ball, there were nearly 1,000 balls hit in the stands that night. Your profit margin for a ball like that goes down every time one goes in the stands. Unless the future Babe Ruth is participating, which he’s not, one of 2,000 HR’s hit during the HR Derby is worthless. And while you might have been trying to create a fun memory by catching a dinger at the Ding-fest, you’ve only forever made yourself a punch line on this site and most others on the net jackass. There’s a memory for you, enjoy J.HR Derby is Toooooooo Looooooooong!
So seriously now, something needs to be done about this. THREE AND A HALF HOURS!? What? That’s way too many homers. I laid out in another entry earlier this week about what to do about this crap, just break it down to two rounds, and have the finals be a 9-inning old school HR Derby. Two hours, and done. Moving on.
“Some-Star Game”
I heard this quote during “Around the Horn” on ESPN and I’ve used it ever since because it rings true. Look at all of the actual “Stars” that were NOT at the ALL STAR GAME. Jeter, Sabathia, Pujols, Rivera, AROD, Chipper, Palanco; just to name a few. 13 of the original 68 players chosen to go didn’t, and now here’s the rest of the story, half the pitchers chosen didn’t even play. WTF? In a sport that is basically trying to lure kids to their sport takes the candy away from perhaps one of its’ most publicized games. Who runs this league? Oh, him. One thing that is guaranteed to at least help the sport is to make sure your stars go to the ALL STAR GAME. I think that maybe a penalty needs to be in place for not going if you are voted in by the fans at least. If you are asked by the manager to go and you can’t or don’t want to, that is understandable. It’s still frustrating, but understandable. So maybe the penalty should be if you are voted in and you don’t go for any reason other than a legit injury, you will not be eligible to go the following year. Yea, I know, I was thinking it to, all these players would opt out on purpose just so they don’t have to go next year for sure. This whole thing makes me sad. It’s become such a business that these players don’t even care anymore. This is why I like the old school baseball vids so much more. They just looked like they were having actual fun. As intense as Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio could be, they still looked like they were having the time of their lives. These guys, these “stars” never look happy. And when it comes time to do something that the FANS love, like the All Star Game, they back out to “rest.” UGH! This is depressing, I’m sad for young baseball fans. It’s no wonder I go out to my son’s little league games and these kids aren’t having fun. They are more concerned with how they look, and they kill themselves for making an error or striking out, and that’s because of this ME attitude that ball players have these days. I know that we don’t have a right to these players time and that the ASG is just an exhibition, but I remember as a kid how much Jay and I would talk about the line-ups and if a Mets player or an Orioles (he was an Orioles fan back then) player would get a hit or when they would play at all. Our whole day would be consumed with ASG stuff. We would do some flipping (card game) in the afternoon, maybe play some ball and then it was game time. It was an event. Now it’s an afterthought. And to be honest (I don’t believe I’m about to say this) but I give Bud Selig a tiny sliver of credit for at least trying to make the All Star Game relevant again. He completely did it the wrong way, but at least he’s trying. The reason the ASG is crap now is simply because of the players. If your starting line-ups consisted of all of your healthy stars and the pitchers were the pitchers you want to see against the best of the best, people would watch. Roy Halladay, great pick for your starter, Jered Weaver, what? Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter this season and all I’ve heard all season is how dominant he is. I know he pitched on Sunday, so again it’s up to the player to set it up so he CAN pitch at the ASG. Or simply push the ASGame back to Wednesday, instead of Tuesday, forever; so they have the right amount of rest. So this “he pitched on Sunday” crap doesn’t happen again. This was the case for why the following stars didn’t pitch; Lincecum, Sabathia, and Verlander to name a few. This ASGame mess simply comes down to selfishness on the player’s part and them showing, yet again, the fans don’t matter at all. The only way they will ever care is if we stop paying their salary and that’s just never going to happen. So the only real solution here is to just stop bitching about the ASGame and just watch it if you want to. Take the home field advantage thing off of this game and give it to the team with the best record where it belongs, and just make it an exhibition that doesn’t MEAN anything, because it truly doesn’t anymore.
Sidebar: As I was writing this the TV ratings came out for the All Star Game and guess what, lowest ever by a long shot. Who didn't see that coming?
Jeter does Wrong?
Jeter was voted into the All Star Game and he didn’t go. A few days after Jeter did what no other New York Yankee ever did, hit his 3,000th hit, and he did it in very dramatic way; with a homer. So riding all that emotion that was felt at Yankee Stadium on that perfect Saturday afternoon where Jeter reached his goal with a 5 for 5 day, baseball’s greatest ambassador decided to skip the All Star Game in favor of some R&R. Dude, what a dick move. At least show your face, play an inning, take a few grounders and a swing and make some kids happy you self-absorbed millionaire. There was an outpouring of emotion towards Jeter this past week, including talks of him now becoming one of the Top 5 Yankees of all-time and how does he repay his fans; the bird finger. That’s right a big fat middle one right at you Yankee fans. Those of you who stuffed the ballot boxes and voted online every day (sometimes twice); what did you get? Nothing because that’s ultimately what you mean to this guy. He didn’t even pay the guy who gave his 3000th hit back; it was the YANKEES that paid him, not Jeter. Jeter who has made $20 million a year for about 10 years now can’t pony up $300,000 for this fan who thought more about the moment and not the money. He wasn’t expecting anything when he brought the ball back. Ok maybe he was, but he knows for sure just like the rest of us, he could’ve held it hostage and even sold it for a few hundred grand, no doubt. But he didn’t. He returned the ball knowing the historical significance of it and he received a nice package from the Yanks organization; tickets for the Club Suite for the rest of the season, autographed jerseys and all sorts of memorabilia, but nothing from Jeter. When asked about how much that ball could go for, Christian Lopez said after the game “Money’s cool and all, but I’m only 23 years old. I have a lot of time to make that. His accomplishment is a milestone.” A lot of people said he was crazy for returning it, but I think the dude’s a class act and that is what “Advanced Fandom” is all about. But that’s not the end of the story. Jeter has had several opportunities to do right by this guy and he’s failed at every turn. It is an unusual story because Jeter has always seemed to do the right thing in this spot, but this time he keeps swinging and missing. Actually he’s not even taking the bat off his shoulder it seems. Lopez was told he can expect a tax bill of roughly $14K from the gifts he received from the Yanks. Oh so now not only did he not receive any money for this, but he’s going to owe a year’s salary (he’s a cell phone salesman) in taxes for the gifts? So when this news came out Jeter stepped in and helped him out right? WRONG AGAIN. Miller High Life has offered to pay this bill for Lopez. Miller who is vying to be the official beer of fans everywhere (I don’t know who you go to, to get that contract but this is a good start) has made an offer of at least $10K to help Mr. Lopez with his impending tax bill. So Jeter has turned out to be less than grateful for this piece of history that he had no right to, and yet very little has come out of the Jeter camp. I have to say as a Yankee hater, this makes me smile, but as a baseball fan I want to see one of the game’s strongest ambassadors do the right thing FOR THE FANS. Hello, remember us? That means helping the fan out that gave you back your piece of history when he didn’t have to, and going to the All Star Game when YOUR fans voted you in. Just remember Derek, the applause will end eventually and then what? Do right by your fans Jeter.
As I was writing this a statement was released from the Jeter camp stating that it wasn’t exhaustion but an injury thing. He had just come back from an injury to his calf the week prior to the All Star Break. That’s all well and good Derek, you still should’ve shown your face. Maybe be the DH for one AB, that’s all we’re asking. Anyway at least he acknowledged the fans and our disappointment; it was a small bone, but a bone nonetheless.
Mid-Season Awards
AL MVP – C.C. Sabathia – I know this award almost never goes to a pitcher (Only 21 in 100 years, that’s 200 MVP awards given out; last time in the AL ’92, NL ’68, it’s rare) but if you look at the situation, it makes sense in this case. C.C. leads the majors in wins with 13 and his ERA is 2.72. Those numbers are great, but not the best in the AL. I wouldn’t award him the Cy Young Award in the AL, but the MVP. Here’s why. The Yankees rotation consists of Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, a guy named Nova and AJ Burnett. Two has-beens, a never will be, a should’ve been and the ACE could be the name of this rotation. Like a fun VH1 style reality show right? I digress; Sabathia and a stellar bullpen are the only reasons the Yanks don’t have to put up 9 runs a game to be in this race. C.C. means more to this team than any other player in baseball right now. 
NL MVP – Jose Reyes – Reyes’s case is similar to C.C.’s in the fact that Reyes doesn’t dominate in every category and if he was on a different team he may not even be considered. But the fact that he’s keeping what most thought would be a 100 loss Mets squad around the .500 mark is MVP-worthy. He does lead the majors in hitting at .354 (tied with Adrian Gonzalez) and he leads the NL by 30 points in average; he ranks first in triples and hits and is second in the league in Stolen Bases. If you want to see what Reyes means to the Mets just go check their stats from the week before the All Star break when he was out with an injury. Let’s just say their offense became offensive, not in a good way.
Runner-up – Joey Votto, Brian McCann, and Lance Berkman
NL CY Young – Cole Hamels – Boy do I hate this, I have a Yankee as my first half MVP and a Phillie as my first half CY Young award winner. If you knew how much I want to kill myself right now, you would totally get how much of a fan of the game I am to even consider this shit. But Hamels has been the best pitcher in the NL this year. My argument here is similar to the Verlander argument. I know that Jurrjens has one more win and a lower ERA, but Hamels has just been more dominant. He has twice as many K’s as Jurrjens and his WHIP ranks #1 in the league. (11-4, 2.32 ERA, 121K’s and a 0.93 WHIP)
Runner-up – The rest of the three headed monster Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, and Jair Jurrjens, and Matt Cain
AL CY Young – Justin Verlander – Boy it’s hard to go against Jered Weaver on this one considering his miniscule ERA, but Verlander is within a third of a run of Weaver and he’s so dominant in every other category. Justin is 13-4 with a 2.15 ERA, 147 K’s and a WHIP of 0.87. That ranks him 1st in Wins, K’s and WHIP and 2nd in ERA; plus he has a no-hitter to his credit this season.
Runner-Up – Jered Weaver, CC Sabathia, and Josh Beckett
….and now the future
Here’s how it’s going to shake out.
AL
East - The Yanks and the “Sawx” are going to battle it out like they normally do and the “Sawx” will prevail because the Colon/Garcia factor will eventually catch up to the Yanks. AROD is likely out until late August at least and it seems the Red Sox have found their new staple in Adrian Gonzalez. The Yankees will however make the playoffs through the Wild Card and be a threat.
Central – Sorry Cleveland but the Indians will fade. In fact, it’s already begun. The Tigers are a game up on the Indians and eventually the White Sox will catch the Indians as well. They won’t be terrible, but I see a .500 finish in the Tribe’s future. I went to see the Indians when they were here in San Fran and if you take Hafner and Cabrera out of that line-up, you have a group of sub-.250 hitters. Don’t worry you can blame LeBron for the Indians failures too. I see the Tigers running and hiding in this division. Maybe taking it by 6 games or so. I thought the Twins were capable of another late season push, but I just think that’s too much too many years in a row and the White Sox are just too much of a mess to get it together for a legitimate run.
West – The Rangers will put this one away early in August. Once they put this tragedy behind them. The only wild card here is if the Angels get there “stars” to start playing like it. Torri Hunter and Vernon Wells have been non-existent thus far this season. If those two guys start playing up to their capabilities this race could be interesting, but based on what I’ve seen so far, it’s not going to happen.
NL
East – I’m not sure how real the threat is from the Bravos, but the Phillies should win this division by 5 to 10 games. With that pitching staff and the possibility of their bullpen only getting better as we head into August, they could really open things up. The only thing here is the Phillies bats have been very subdued thus far. If they get going, this could be a 12 game lead before you know it. The braves will battle it out with the Pirates and the Reds for the Wild Card spot (that’s right I said the Bucs) and to me that race is a toss-up. If I had to bet I would say the Braves make it do to a very strong pitching staff, but it’s as young as it is strong so that’s something to be aware of.
Central – Speaking of the Pirates I wish and I hope they make a play for this division. It’s funny how time heals all wounds. I used to hate the Pirates as they were a strong, very strong, rival of my Mets back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, but now I find myself rooting for them to not make this just a fun first half story that’s forgotten about come October. They have the young horses, now they may need one veteran presence; who could that be? As far as what I think will happen, I think with the move the Brewers made to solidify their bullpen with the acquisition of KROD from the Mets, they’ve put themselves in position to take the division and really make some noise in the playoffs. I was listening to both San Fran and Philly radio yesterday and I have to tell you Milwaukee, they have their sights set on each other; you are barely on their radar. You may be hearing this here first, DON’T SLEEP ON THE BREW CREW.” They definitely have something the Giants and the Phillies don’t have; hitting. Their pitching IS good enough right now to shut down those line-ups, and their line-up could definitely be good enough to hit that pitching. You could definitely have your hands full with the Brewers San Fran and Philly, be careful. The Reds will also make some noise in this division and you can never count out the resilient Cardinals making this a very fun summer in the Midwest. A four horse race in the Central where the Pirates are relevant is a very good thing for baseball. Or is it? That's a different discussion for a different day.
West – The only drama that can come from this division will be of the Giants own doing. Even though they can’t hit and they have suffered massive injuries, they have the pitching to put this weak division away early. The Dodgers are done, the Padres are past done, and the Rockies are always dangerous late in the season, but hopefully the Gigantes will extinguish that in late August. So that leaves the D-Backs, who I feel are a year or two away from being a legit threat to the Giants.
…..and finally
I have nothing more to say other than I’m excited about the 2nd half. So enough talking already, let’s get to the field.
Runner-up – Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton and Asdrubal Cabrera
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