Yardbarker: Alfonso Soriano

Back on the Job

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:56:30 -0500

The All-Star break was last week, but several players are finally getting back to work. Troy Percival and J.J. Putz came off the disabled list over the weekend while other closers are having their own injury issues. And what does the presence of Ray Durham in Milwaukee mean for Rickie Weeks?

MLB Injury Report

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:36:25 -0500

Jermaine Dye Dye could miss several days after being hit in the knee with a pitch. Alfonso Soriano It's unclear as to when exactly Soriano will return, but it will be this week. Khalil Greene Greene is day-to-day with a stiff lower back. Carlos Guillen Guillen is out indefinitely as he tends to his wife who is suffering from complications during childbirth. David Ortiz Big Papi has homered in 3 straight games during his rehab stint and is expected the rejoin the Sox on the 25th. Troy Tulowitzki Tools is expected to return to the Rockies lineup on Monday. Frank Thomas Thomas will be out at least 2 more weeks. Ryan Zimmerman Zimmerman will rejoin the Nationals on Tuesday. Gary Matthews Jr. It's possible that Matthews will have season-ending knee surgery.

Cubs 2nd Half - The Lump has Shown Up

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:11:11 -0500

All of you Cubbie fans out there know what I'm talking about. The lump that comes into the back of your throat when you start to worry about the season at hand getting away.....Here's the thing. The lump came late in those seasons because leading up to it they were in a battle, they were the ones hunting, not those being hunted. Well the lump has come already this season for me. It's very, very small, and can still ....

MLB Weekly Sleepers (7/20)

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:20:52 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith breaks out his fourth edition of MLB Sleepers and runs down a quick list of potential needles (in a haystack - get it?) for the upcoming week. So, who could surprise some unsuspecting opponents this week? Only one way to find out ... click it.

Top 7 Fantasy to Real Life Baseball Discrepancies

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:12:42 -0500

With the best players in baseball like Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez and other established stars, it usually translates into them ranked nearly as high as far as fantasy baseball is concerned in almost every single case. But due to fantasy baseball being?fantasy, some discrepancies arise as you start looking at who the most valuable players are in your 4x4 or 5x5 league.

Sometimes, the guy that ends up winning your league for you is the same guy whose fans curse the team every time that he is in the lineup, or a guy whose numbers look decent at the end of the year, but whose streakiness makes him beyond frustrating to root for in real life.

This week's Top 7 pays tribute to the players whose fantasy value and real value are the furthest from each other.

7. Dan Uggla

OK, fine, this is based upon his performance in the All-Star Game, but three errors and 27 men left on base in ten innings wouldn't mean much of anything fantasy-wise, but sure didn't help the NL. Here's the most depressing thing about the All-Star Game?with JD Drew getting his second huge home run in less than a year and being healthy all season so far, is it even fair to rip on him being the biggest pansy in baseball anymore? How depressing.

6. Alfonso Soriano

Streakier than Jim Edmonds, injured nearly as much as Drew, and as frustrating in the outfield as Adam Dunn, Soriano may put up huge numbers year after year, but you can't find too many Cub fans without several negative things to say about him.

5. Michael Bourn

He is the new Juan Pierre. He is on someone's roster in any fantasy league because of his steals, but on the Astros he is a leadoff guy with a .218 average and a .273 OB%, good for 84th out of 86 qualified players.

4. Willy Taveras

Another ungodly light-hitting outfielder who inexplicably keeps playing despite horrifically low power numbers and OB%, but fantasy owners hope the Rockies continue playing he and his 39 steals.

3. Carlos Marmol

Unless you are in one of those progressive leagues that have the holds-plus-saves category, middle relievers are the most under appreciated players in fantasy baseball. Marmol was the posterboy for that in the first half with 22 of them despite slowing down the last few weeks. He is still owned in some leagues because of his massive amount of strikeouts, but he sure won't be on major league waivers any time soon.

2. Jason Isringhausen

Ah yes, fantasy saves. There are people who, especially in NL-only leagues, have Izzy sitting on their roster hoping that he gets another chance to close so he picks up some more saves. In real life, Cardinal fans across the country scream and throw things at the TV if he even begins warming up.

1. Juan Pierre

He helps neither real nor fantasy in power, with no homers since 2006. The only thing keeping him on fantasy rosters are his stolen bases, and the only thing keeping him on the Dodgers is one of the worst contracts in baseball.

Mid Season Report

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:54:07 -0500

The first half of the 2008 Major League Baseball season has been full of surprises, from the Tigers to the Rays to the Padres to the Braves. Most surprising of all, at least to the Phillies faithful, is that at the All Star break the Phillies were in first place atop the National League East. The Phillies are currently a half a game ahead of the Mets and one a half games up on the Marlins. Lets go through the majors and recap the season so far. AL East Perhaps the biggest story in the majors this year is the surprising play of the Tampa Bay Rays, who at the break were just half a game behind the first place Red Sox, and that's with a seven game losing streak. The Rays have been bolstered by one of the most talented young lineups in the majors in years, as well as some timely defense and a great, young rotation led by ace Scott Kazmir. They are definitely the Cinderella, the darlings of the 2008 season, much to the chagrin to their division rivals the Red Sox. Boston fans are upset that some of the media focus and the limelight has been diverted from their beloved Sox. The reigning champs continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, despite losing pitcher Curt Schilling for the year (and perhaps for good) and a decline in production from slugger David Ortiz (including a stint on the disabled list). It looks like this could be the first time in years that the New York Yankees won't make the playoffs. They currently sit six games back of Boston and it just looks like there is too much talent in Tampa and Boston for the Yanks to make up enough ground. That being said, I am loathe to ever count the Yankees out of anything. Red Sox win division. If it wasn't for the Rays, the debacle in the AL Central would be the biggest story of the season. The Tigers, whom I picked to win the World Series, are a disappointing .500 on the season. Even more surprising, the Indians are in last place, 12 games under .500. The Chicago White Sox are sitting pretty atop the Central at 14 games over .500, led by 10 game winner, and former Phillie, Gavin Floyd. Erratic closer Bobby Jenks, despite being on the DL, has 18 saves with a 1.95 ERA. On offense, the White Sox have a tandem of heavy hitting outfielders in Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin. I have to admit, I'm not overly impressed by the White Sox. In large part, I think they have overachieved so far this season. I think they will come back to earth, which will leave an opening for the Minnesota Twins to step in and take the division. The Twins, led by first baseman Justin Morneau, DH Jason Kubel, and catcher Joe Mauer, are right on the tail of the White Sox, just a game and a half back, and with star pitcher Francisco Liriano waiting in the wings of AAA, the Twins are poised to move into the post Santana era. Twins win the division. AL West Until the Texas Rangers find someone who can pitch (Vicente Padilla currently leads the team in wins with 10), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are the prohibitive favorites to win the division for years to come. The Rangers can hit, led by the top individual story of the year Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, but their pitching is a joke. They boast a rotation of Kevin Millwood, Padilla, Jamey Wright and Kason Gabbard. Until they can get at least one pitcher, they could have all the offense in the world, they still won't be able to compete with Los Angeles. The Angels' pitching rotation, which boasts John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver, not to mention closer Francisco Rodriguez who is on pace to shatter the single season saves record, is arguably the best in the majors. Their offense, while not being the power heavy lineup that Texas or Boston has, plays small ball like no other team in the majors. The obvious offensive leader is Vladimir Guerrero, accompanied by Torii Hunter. But the offense works so well because of intelligent baseball guy like Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson. The Oakland Athletics have basically traded themselves out of contention and the Seattle Mariners have the worst record in baseball. Needless to say, Angels win the division. I think the Rays win the AL Wild card this year. They are too talented to fall behind the likes of the White Sox or Rangers. In the end however, the Red Sox have too much experience and skill to be taken down. They beat the Angels to go on to the World Series. NL West Many commentators are calling this the NL Worst, and it's hard to argue with that. After starting out red hot, division leading Arizona is now one game below .500. That's right. The division leader has a losing record. Need I say more? The reigning NL Champion Colorado Rockies are fourth in the division with a record of 39-57, topped only by the San Diego Padres, an incomprehensible 37-58. The Dodgers are one game back of the Diamondbacks, trailed by the San Francisco Giants in third place. This division is a crapshoot at this point, but the Diamondbacks' pitching, led by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren is just too good and the offense is not going to continue to struggle in the mighty fashion it has over the past month or so. With up and coming stars like Mark Reynolds, Conor Jackson and Chris Young, the Diamondbacks are going to eventually right their ship. Arizona wins the division. NL Central This is the best division in baseball. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the best record in baseball. Four and a half games behind them are the Cardinals, with the Brewers just a half game behind them. All three of these teams are going to be better in the second half. The Cubs traded for Rich Harden last week, and the Brewers added reigning AL Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia. The Cardinals are getting ready for the return of Adam Wainwright and former Cy Young Chris Carpenter. Both pitchers are aces on almost any other team in the majors. The Cubs and Brewers already have bona fide aces on their teams in Carlos Zambrano and Ben Sheets, respectively. This is, without a doubt, the toughest division in baseball in some time. I think the Cubs are ultimately the most complete team in the league, and certainly the division. Now let me just say, here and now, there is no way Ryan Dempster continues to pitch this well. He just isn't this good. He will come back down to earth. But even with The Dumpster coming back to reality, the Cubs are bolstered by some serviceable pitching in Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, in addition to Zambrano and Harden. On offense, the Cubs' lineup reads like it's very own All Star roster, led by Derek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Geovany Soto. Cubs win the division. NL East The Phillies came into today with a half game lead over the Mets. The Marlins sit just one game behind the Mets. It is a division up for grabs to say the least. The Marlins boast a talented, young roster rivaled by only Tampa Bay and Arizona. Led by Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla and Josh Willingham, they have an offense that puts the in a position to win every night. That being said, their pitching is thin, with Ricky Nolasco leading the team with 10 wins and a 3.70 ERA. The Braves are most likely looking to scrap this year and go into rebuilding mood, if only temporarily. First baseman Mark Teixeira is a free agent at the end of this year and chances are that the Braves are going to move him before the trade deadline. Their pitching is pretty banged up, and old. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Mike Hampton are all currently on the disabled list. Not to mention that they are six and a half games out of first place. The Mets pose the biggest threat to the Phillies' playoff hopes. Winners of nine straight coming into the break, the Mets are batting .320 as a team during that time. They also only gave up a total of 19 runs over the same span. They are hot, no doubt, led by Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Fernando Tatis. But therein lies the problem for the Mets. They have been winning in large part as a result of the contributions of usual bench players like Tatis, Endy Chavez, and Damion Easley. The Mets' pitching is also suspect after you get past Johan Santana and John Maine, neither of whom have been stellar this season. After having a impressive season last year, Oliver Perez is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA. His record is somewhat deceiving, as he has been wildly inconsistent this year. Pedro Martinez continues to battle being really old. Originally set to return this week, his next start is being skipped. I just don't think the Mets have the talent to overcome a Phils team with a much more potent offense and what could end up being a more stable pitching rotation. The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Athletics Thursday, and while Blanton has not had much of a year so far this season (5-12, 4.96 ERA), he has show some real talent and a change of location could be all he needs to break out. More importantly, the addition of Blanton means that Adam Eaton is out of the starting rotation. Brett Myers is progressing nicely in AAA and is set to return to face the Mets on July 23rd. JA Happ threw a no hitter today in his minor league start and it is only a matter of time before he is brought up to the major leagues for good. The biggest cause for concern for the Mets is that the Phils' struggles have in large part been due to a lack of offense. This coming from one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Jimmy Rollins, Chasey Utley and Geoff Jenkins are eventually going to turn things around. Ryan Howard continues to lead the league in home runs and RBIs. Pat Burrell is going to eclipse his usual 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. And that's without the possible addition of another bat, like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. I say this with the caveat that I generally have no faith in the Phillies in ever winning anything, and at the risk of tempting fate, I pick the Phillies to win the division. I pick the Brewers to win the NL Wild Card this year. I'm going to be very cliche and pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant over the Brewers. I think unless the Phillies add a serious starting pitcher, ala Erik Bedard, they are not going to be able to compete with the Brewers in the playoffs. That will bring us to the ESPN's ultimate dream, a Red Sox Cubs World Series. Bristol could fawn all over the lovable losers from Chicago and Boston. Seriously though, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Boston wins, again. (Just threw up again) Should be a very exciting second half. Continue to check out Hot Stove Philly as we bring you all the latest scores, trades, rumors, and general sports drama.

DJ and Maddog chat

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:09:20 -0500

DJ and I sent some emails back and forth over the last few days about various issues regarding the Cubs and I'm going to post it here. It was his idea so if you just can't stand it and feel like you wasted precious time, blame him. Here goes… CARLOS MARMOL Maddog: Obviously he's been unbelievably good and very valuable to this team over the past year, but he's replaceable if only because a pitcher projected to throw another 30 innings cannot be irreplaceable. Most relievers are replaceable over a full season. All of them are over only 65-70 games. DJ: RP are not created equal and the Carlos Marmol we knew was a God among men. You cannot replace the #'s that man put up from 07-early 08. The Cubs MUST fix this guy before the playoffs because there are going to be numerous games where we need him to come in a shut the other team down before Wood is in the game. I recommned a DL for 2 weeks then a stint in Iowa were he can only throw either his fastball or a pitcher other than the slurve. I firmly believe this Cubs team must have Marmol back to get that WS. Maddog: I agree you can't replace his numbers from the past 1+ years, but he's not capable of doing that either. No team can replace the numbers of someone who achieves at their 99th percentile. As with any expectations moving forward, they were always that Marmol would regress toward the mean even though we remained hopeful he wouldn't regress entirely to the mean. Nobody could expect Marmol to continue doing what he was doing. The fact he did it for so long is actually amazing. Few can do that and none can sustain it. But take a look around at the relievers who have achieved remarkable things in just one season. Take a look for where they are now. What Marmol did was impressive, but really not out of the ordinary for your average, everyday, run of the mill reliever in this game. DJ: I would really have to take issue with your last line. The average RP cannot strike out 96 in 69 IP. Nor can they sustain well over a year's worth of complete and utter domination. Marmol didnt just have a sparkling ERA ALL of his metrics were outstanding. To me, that means that while Carlos may not be the next K-Rod he is not an average RP but rather a very talented man who is going through some issues. Fixing this must be a priority for the team if they want to give the fans the best chance at winning the long awaited WS. -------------------------------------------------------------------- KOSUKE FUKUDOME DJ: As of late people around ACB seem a bit restless about our Japanese import and I cant figure out why. Every player goes through slumps and Fukudome might be more prone that most becaue its his first go around vs MLB pitching. However, if you look at his line he is right about where we all thought he would be. He is a perfect 2 spot hitter and his defense in RF has been outstanding. I dont think he needs a platoon because he gets on base vs LHP and I dont think its realistic to even imagine that Hendry is going to platoon his prize FA halfway into his 1st season. Maddog: I can't speak for everyone at ACB of course, but what we've seen from Fukudome over the last 69 games in which he's hit .259/.356/.378 isn't too far off from what I expected of him. I expected a little more average, about the same OBP and a little more slugging. Overall he's actually been better than I expected. What's to say this is just a slump? It's been a really long one if that's what it is. It seems more likely to me that it's simple regression than a slump. Also, don't be so sure that he won't find himself in a platoon. He didn't start 2 of the last 3 games, and those were against right handers and he's 9 for last 54 with 2 extra-base hits. Lou has said on several occasions he wants more offense out of him. Besides, do you really think Jim Hendry is force his "prize FA" to play if Lou tells him the team has a better shot to win the World Series if he platoons him? DJ: I will eat my shoe if fukudome is in a platoon. Maddog: I don't actually expect to see Fukudome in a platoon during the regular season unless he continues to hit like he has the last 2+ months. I think he'll improve somewhat, but I do expect a platoon in the playoffs unless Fukudome seriously improves. -------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFENSE Maddog: A lot of people seem to think the Cubs offense will regress in the 2nd half. I'm not sure about you, but I think the offense will be about the same. The Cubs have played 40 or so games without Alfonso Soriano who is still just barely behind the team leader in home runs. If you're right about Fukudome then we should see some increased production from him. Aramis Ramirez hasn't really started hitting as well as he can yet, though nobody in the game has been more timely with his production than Aramis. Soto has been pretty bad lately, but he's too good an offensive player to not bounce back. If Edmonds keeps hitting in CF, that's a lot of offense that we missed the first couple months with Johnson and Pie out there. DJ: I expect our offense to regress at CF and SS, to maintain at C, and 2B and to improve at RF, LF, 1B and 3B. Overall I would expect similar production and more power in august and sept provided that everyone stays healthy. -------------------------------------------------------------------- DEMPSTER'S 2ND HALF DJ: I expect Dempster to regress as his IP starts to grow. Running up Camelback Mountain is good and well but the tax on his arm is much greater than it has been in years. That being said Dempster has the stuff to be a legit starter and I would expect 5-6 wins with an ERA a shade north of 4. Maddog: I thought Dempster's ZIPs in-season projection I put together recently is the best idea of what Dempster is capable of going forward. That projections was: 4-5, 4.34, 14 GS, 83 IP, 78 H, 40 ER, 9 HR, 36 BB, and 65 K. That's about average pitching. That being said, I'm not sure the projection can take everything into account, obviously. Dempster is firing more strikes than probably every before. He's working deep into games and being relatively economical with his pitches and not often pitching in a lot of a stressful situations. Truth be told, I don't have any idea what to expect. He's been better than anybody could have imagined (he's very deserving of being an all-star), but you point out how he hasn't pitched nearly as much in recent years. In fact, he's thrown nearly 125 innings already. 20 starts so far. Don't know what this means since it's a small sample, but: 2.90 ERA starts 1-5, 2.51 ERA starts 6-10, 2.87 ERA starts 11-15, and 4.80 ERA starts 16-20. However, that 4.80 ERA includes his worst start of the season and in a small sample that's just not fair (2.1 IP, 7 H,8 ER against the White Sox). His other 4 starts in that stretch have at a 2.60 ERA. So there doesn't appear to be any "falling off" at this point. -------------------------------------------------------------------- SORIANO'S 2ND HALF Maddog: I don't have much to say here, but thought it should be included. I expect Soriano to struggle the first couple weeks he's back, but then I expect a patented 3-4 week stretch where he practically carries the offense on his shoulders. I also expect we'll see a less timid Soriano in the outfield and on the bases. If his legs aren't healed now, they never will be. From all accounts, it appears that perhaps the best thing about this injury is that his legs have been given time to get 100% healthy, which would be the first time that's true since his first leg injury with the team last year. DJ: I'm expecting a monster 2nd half from Soriano. He will finish with over 30 HR's and I'm thinking we might seem some SB as well. He has now had well over 2 months since his calf strain and the time off might have got his legs ready to run. -------------------------------------------------------------------- OVERALL, WHERE THEY FINISH, BLAH BLAH BLAH Maddog: I don't think the Cubs could be in better shape than they are right now. They have a comfortable 4.5 game lead over the 2nd best record in the NL. It's almost impossible to imagine any other team than maybe the Cardinals or Brewers finishing the season with a better record and even for those 2, it's quite unlikely. That's just a big lead with less than 70 left. My updated playoff predictions in the NL would be: Cubs, Diamondbacks, Mets and the Phillies winning the Wild Card. Cubs over the Phillies in 3. Mets over the Diamondbacks in 4. Cubs over the Mets in 6. The toughest team the Cubs will play in October will be in the World Series if they get there. No other team in the NL is as good as the Cubs. I won't say who I think wins it all. DJ: I agree that the Cubs in set for the divison as of now. However, they need to have a very strong August to seal the deal. The way they finish their schedule is brutal and having the divison in order before then should be the main goal. Make sure that 3 game series vs Milw. to end the season is irrelevant and rest up our pitchers for the post season. Right now I predict in the west- The Diamondbacks, Central- Cubs, East- Phillies- WC- Brews Cubs over Phils in 4, Cubs over Brews in 5-6, then a Boston ChC WS with the Cubs winning it in 6.

Random All Star Festivities Thoughts

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:32:56 -0500

You know me and my random thoughts that seem to go in many tangeants. Well it seems that I have a lot of things to talk about during the All-Star Break but unfortunately nothing of great substance. So here's a few quick hits to let you know what's going on at The BearDown during the slowest sports week of the year.

Here lies a Cubs fan

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:15:35 -0500

So here's a new one… how about a cemetery that is only for fans of a certain team? That's right. A Chicago Cubs fan has teamed up with Bohemian National Cemetery to create "Beyond the Vines," a place where only Cubbies fans can go after death. Believe it or not, it's true.

Beer nuts: Burrell finishes third in All-Star voting

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:07:06 -0500

Brewers outfielder Corey Hart and Mets third baseman David Wright finished ahead of Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell in the final fan voting. Wright was invited to the team to replace Alfonso Soriano. Hart is hitting 292/.332/.510 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs, while Wright is hitting .285/386/.511 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs. Burrell is hitting .279/.412/.581 with 22 homers and 54 RBIs, and is also leading all NL outfielders with a .933 OPS. Beerleaguer: Fans will vote...

Wright Makes All Star Team Over Actual All Stars

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:42:05 -0500

It was announced Friday by NL All Star team manager Clint Hurdle, also the manager of the Colorado Rockies, that New York Mets third baseman David Wright has been named to the all star team as a replacement for injured Cubs' outfielder Alfonso Soriano. This year's MLB All Star Game is being held at Yankee Stadium in New York, the same city in which Wright's Mets play. hmm…. David Wright in no way deserves to be named as an all star. Wright currently ranks 18th in the NL in home runs with 17, tied for third in the league in RBIs with 70, and 26th in the league with a .288 average. Those numbers are fairly impressive, sure, especially his RBIs. But lets take a moment to look at who is ahead of him. Ahead of Wright in RBIs are Ryan Howard (83) and Carlos Lee (72). Howard (27) and Lee (21) are also both ahead of Wright in home runs, as is Pat Burrell with 22. Lee (.293) also has a better batting average than Wright. Most people would assume I think that Howard or Burrell should be named as all stars and since they weren't, that's why I'm ragging on Wright. I do think that Howard and Burrell should have made the all star game, but I also think that Lee should have made it. And I very much think that Wright should not have. I understand that every team sends one player to the Mid Summer Classic (ala Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh) and that means that some deserving players won't get the call. But some players don't, like Ryan Ludwick of the St. Louis Cardinals and Wright. Neither does recently elected Corey Hart, but that has more to do with fan favorites than anything else. The numbers just aren't there for Wright. I could understand if the debate was between Burrell and Wright, their numbers are fairly close and I could see giving Wright the edge because he plays in New York and the All Star game is an exhibition game at heart, regardless of whatever stupid junk Bud Selig adds to it to try and make it more legitimate. But when compared to Howard and Lee, Wright pales in comparison. Wright certainly has a better batting average than Howard, whose average is a dismal .234. But as much as Howard strikes out, his on base percentage (.383) is only .005 percentage points lower than Wright's (.388). And he has 10 more home runs and 13 more RBIs than Wright. Lee has more home runs, RBIs, a better average, and a higher slugging percentage. The point is that David Wright in no way deserves to be on this year's National League All Star team.

The Mid Summer Classic

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:24:36 -0500

What was meant to be a one-time event has turned into a celebration for the midway point of the long baseball season. The All-Star Break has become a way to thank the fans and put on a show, while still having something at stake. The All-Star Game has developed into an important event since the debacle in 2002 when the teams ended in a tie and sent thousands of fans home unhappy. For the past five years, the winning team has secured home field advantage for its league in the World Series. The American League has won all 5 years and 10 straight, not counting the aforementioned tie. With this incentive being added to the game, some players have more to play for than others. Generally the players voted into the game are part of a winning ball club, but that's not always the case. Starting AL 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez stands a good chance to play in the World Series and likely teammate Ichiro Suzuki is on the worst team in the league. That being said, the teams that stand to benefit the most from an All-Star Game win are the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, Twins, Angels, Phillies, Marlins, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Cardinals. Each team is leading or in contention for the division crown. It's easy to pick out a couple of teams that are the favorites to represent their respective leagues in the World Series, therefore giving them an even greater interest in the game's outcome. I am, of course, talking about the Twins and the Cubs. The All American Homerun Derby will have a long list of sluggers on hand to represent www.letsgodeep.com. The National League projected starters from our pool are Lance Berkman, Chase Utley, Chipper Jones, Alfonso Soriano and Ken Griffey Jr. Kosuke Fukudome currently has a narrow lead over Ryan Braun for the 3rd outfield spot. They will both start if Soriano is unable to play. Hanley Ramirez also holds a slim advantage over Miguel Tejada for the starting shortstop role. The American League projected starters are Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Josh Hamilton. Ian Kinsler is currently 2nd in voting behind Dustin Pedroia, but gaining fast. It also appears that Jim Thome will start at DH by default with David Ortiz and Hideki Matsui both injured. The consigliere's prediction is that the streak stops in New York. The American League suffers a big loss with David Ortiz out and the fans seem more content to vote in Yankees and Red Sox players than voting in the best players available. Unless there is a change in the voting over the final 2 days, the American League will need clutch hitting and a flawless game by their manager because the National League appears that they're going to field an offensive juggernaut. Take it Deep: www.letsgodeep.com

All-Star '08: The Final Recall

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:15:26 -0500

Every year, MLB.com makes a big production "The Final Vote", letting the fans pick the 32nd man on the All-Star team in each league. But arguing about who got snubbed is really only half the fun of All-Star debates. With that in mind, I thought BBTF commenter "DKDC" had a great idea when he suggested that we vote one player off each team, too. You can now do just that in All Star '08: The Final Recall.

Below I've listed the six eligible players in each league, along with a brief summary of their candidacies. Unlike The Final Vote, you may only vote once in The Final Recall. Unless you can get past the cookies, in which case you can vote as many time as you please.

Joe Crede, CHW: On-base percentage of only .333. Zero triples. Has grounded into nine double plays. 0/3 in stolen base attempts.
Dustin Pedroia, BOS: OBP down 25 points from last year; also not as gritty. Zero intentional walks. Has grounded into eight double plays.
Joe Saunders, LAA: Not actually good; mostly a product of good defense and luck. 63 Ks in 120.3 IP. Zero shutouts.
George Sherrill, BAL: Was the third best player traded for Erik Bedard. 22 walks in 38.2 innings. ~~Five~~ Six blown saves.
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA: .068 ISO. Plays for the Mariners. May be drunk during game.
Jason Varitek, BOS: See here. Has grounded into 10 double plays. Having caught four no-hitters does not make you an All-Star.

Aaron Cook, COL: Has allowed 141 hits and struck out only 64 in 132.2 innings. Plays in a division which is the rough equivalent of AA.
Kosuke Fukudome, CHC: 65 strikeouts, only seven home runs. Has not actually caused his teammates to walk more, despite what you may read.
Cristian Guzman, WAS: 15:7 GIDP:BB ratio, which is not good. 3/6 in SB attempts. Team is rapidly approaching having a 0% chance of reaching postseason.
Alfonso Soriano, CHC: Has played in 51 games. OBP of only .332. Has 191 fewer PAs than Jose Reyes.
Miguel Tejada, HOU: Hitting .207/.262/.333 in last 45 games. Grounded into 11 double plays. Unsure of his actual age. Hitting .243/.294/.378 on the road.
Brian Wilson, SF: 16 walks in 35 innings. 97 ERA+. 131st among NL pitchers in VORP.

Voting will be open until Monday at 4pm EST.

Quick Hits

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:21:31 -0500

-The Mariners released 1B Richie Sexson. Sexson has struggled mightily since joining Seattle and will likely try to cling on with a contender as the season progresses.

-Matt Holliday will replace Cubs OF Alfonso Soriano by starting in LF for the NL All-Stars.

-Vernon Wells will miss 4-6 weeks with a hamstring injury

-Evan Longoria and Corey Hart were both voted in to represent their respective clubs in the All Star Game

Childish and stupid

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:53:01 -0500

Over at Viva el Birdos, some chump wrote a diary about how the Cubs are going to lose 90 to 100 games every year from 2010 to 2015 yesterday. Some people from here went over there and were initially quite decent. lboros shut the comments down in the thread and said the author's fan post was quite thoughtful. Was it? What I consider thoughtful and what he considers thoughtful are obviously 2 different things. If I spend a shitload of time writing about something and 80% of what I say is inaccurate, it isn't thoughtful, it's stupid. I'd like to point just one thing out that this author included and then later reached a conclusion. Signed Until Ave Salary Age No trade? Zambrano 2012 $18m 27 Full Ramirez 2011 $15m 30 Partial Soriano 2014 $18m 32 Full Lee 2010 $13m 32 Full Fukudome 2011 $13m 31 Full Lilly 2010 $12m 32 Full He then spends time talking about other stuff that, quite frankly, doesn't even matter because including this table makes his conclusion wrong anyway. Call me a complete homer, but this has the makings of a team that will lose 90-100 games every year from 2010-2015. Aging stars with unmovable contracts, a pitiful minor league system, and an ownership situation will likely damage the on-the-field product, at least in the near-term, will conspire to doom this team for many years. They had better win now. Interesting that he chose 2010 through 2015. Take a look at that table he provided above. 2 of the 6 players (Lee and Lilly) are signed only through 2010 and 2 others (Ramirez and Fukudome) are signed only through 2011. This guys says these contracts aren't movable? Yeah, you never see aging veterans traded in the final year or two of their contract. That never happens!!! The fact of the matter is that the only contract on there that is not tradeable is Alfonso Soriano and even that contract might be able to be moved if the right circumstances presented themselves. If anything, 2011 is about the time the team will start winning (if they weren't already) with $53 million coming off the books. Furthermore, only Zambrano and Soriano make more than $15 million annually. Lilly, Fukudome, and Lee have an average salary of $12 and 13 and are free agents after 2010 or 2011. It would be easy to trade those guys and considering the low cost of their salary, the Cubs may actually even get a prospect in return. I don't think the Cubs are going to lose as many games as this guy said, but whatever. My issue is with him using evidence he presented himself that disproves his theory as evidence it proves it. That's called being stupid. If you haven't nominated a douchebag, do so now by first voting (only one option) and then clicking the send comment link to add your nomination.