Hello Fans,
Break time is over and it’s time for our ball heroes and rivals to get back to work. It’s ABOUT time! What’s the big deal!? They had at least three days off in a row after working and traveling roughly 86 out of the last 100 days or so. That much downtime is an eternity comparatively speaking. The All-Star Game festivities are over, and the Senior Circuit N.L. claimed the home field advantage for the World Series with a surprising shutout at 8 to zip. The A.L. won the Homer Run Derby with Prince Fielder’s 12 shots in the final round. Now, the real games are back. Everybody should be rarin’ to go, from fans big and small in the grandstands to the gatekeepers to the grounds crew. As the summer rolls on, let’s take a look at a few things to keep in mind!
Despite unwarranted and unruly criticism from the fans at the All-Star game and Home Run Derby, Robinson Cano did a fine job selecting his squad of Mark Trumbo, Prince, Joe Bat (Jose Bautista), and himself (the reigning champ is automatically in) for the Derby. There was no need to put Billy Butler in it just to appease the Kansas City home crowd with a Royal contestant. Now, there are talks of having a host city team member in it every year now. Why? This ain’t Little League, it’s the BIG LEAGUES!! Man up. This is a competition that requires the best to participate. Baseball has W’s and L’s for a reason just like it has statistics for a reason, to determine who the best is. (SIDENOTE: As a ‘source’ pointed out, Cano also skipped over his own teammate Curtis Granderson who has 23 HRs). Here’s why not to; if it was in San Francisco this year, Buster Posey would be in it with his less than showy 10 HRs! Come On! He’s a great hitting catcher in games, but he’s not one of the top four guys we want to see in there, right? And to emphasize my point further, San Diego’s HR leader is Chase Headley with 8! It’s about the fans, not the home fans. Keep on putting the big show men in there. OK, that’s done with.
The MLB is looking highly competitive again and similar to recent season trends of great parity with only one team claiming more than one title in the last 11 Fall Classics (BoSox-’04 & ’07). Heading into tonight’s games (7/13), there are 12 teams within 8 games of first place, and that DOESN’T include the current 6 first place teams. AND, a whopping 18 teams are within 8 games of a Wild Card berth, again not counting the first place Nationals, Pirates, Dodgers, Yankees, ChiSox, and Rangers. That makes 26 out of 30 teams. WOW!! If you filled those teams out on a pre-season list, just head on out to Vegas because you can either see the future or are real lucky. That’s a great, fresh list of teams that geographically covers the nation’s MLB teams too. However, it would be nice to get rid of one of those teams that’s a little all too familiar atop the standings for this guy’s liking, but we won’t mention any names (initials are NYY).
Anyway, in the second half of the season, keep a close eye on the Cole Hamels Sweepstakes. If he goes to Texas, as there are rumors of their interest, the 3rd Time will be the charm as the Rangers dropped the last two Classics. That lineup is ridiculous with a .280 average and the pitching is already among the best with a neat 3.72 ERA. Throw Hamels in there and lookout AL lefties (i.e. Granderson, Cano, David Ortiz, etc.) In the NL, Pirate Andrew McCutchen should win the MVP while leading his upstart Pittsburgh team to its first winning season since the Killer B’s of ’92 and into the playoffs. This guy can do it all and he’s still only 25. He’s covering about as much ground in center as anybody, hitting .362 with 17 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 18 HRs, 60 RBI, 14 SB, and 1.039 OPS. UNREAL. He should have started in the All-Star game, but whatever. No player does more while having to do that much for his team than McCutchen. Keep your eye on that guy. Mc-V-P!, Mc-V-P!, Mc-V-P! Did anyone make that t-shirt yet? No? I’m all over that!
Later Fans.