Random Baseball Card of the Day - 6/12/13

1983 Fleer #360 Tony Gwynn (Rookie Card), San Diego Padres

(photo cred: comc.com)

Every baseball fan knows the story of Tony Gwynn, former Padre great and current head coach at San Diego State University. He's was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the Class of 2007.

Batting Title Tony: He was quite possibly the best hitter of his era, winning an unbelievable eight National League batting titles--his first in 1984 and his last in 1997.

No K in Gwynn: In 9288 career at-bats, Gwynn struck out only 434 times, for an average of 29 a season. Some guys strike out 29 times in the first month of the season.

Passing It On: Tony Sr. coached his son, Tony Jr. at SDSU. Junior has a ton of talent but to help put it in perspective, he's struck out 274 times in seven seasons in the majors. He's already on his third team (MIL, SD, LAD) but has yet to crack the Dodgers' big league roster this season though he is hitting .301 with 18 RBI and 4 stolen bases for AAA-affiliate Albuquerque. 

Random Fact: Gywnn's longest hitting streak of his career was a 25-gamer back in the 1983 season, his second year in the big leagues.

Random Baseball Card of the Day - 6/11/13

1981 Fleer #213 - RHP Doug Bair, Cincinnati Reds

Doug Bair looks like a cool cat based on this photo, all relaxed in his dugout photo shoot.

Not Bair-d: In 1978, the righty pitched to a 1.98 ERA while racking up 28 saves for the Reds, the fourth-highest total in the NL. He also logged  100 innings and recorded 91 strikeouts.

Career: Bair pitched for seven teams (CIN, STL, PIT, DET, OAK, PHI, TOR) in his 15 seasons in the big leagues, compiling a career 55-43 record with 81 saves. He was also a two-time World Series Champion--in 1982 with St. Louis and 1984 with Detroit.

Random Fact: In 1990, his final season, he was the third-oldest player in baseball.

With My 32nd Birthday Approaching...

...I thought I'd have at it creating a list of who I consider to be the best player to wear the number 32 in sports--MLB, NASCAR, NHL, NFL and NBA--I'm going to pick one from each sports in honor of my 32nd birthday.

"Lefty" was straight nasty with the 32 on his back

MLB

STEVE CARLTON. The lefty won four Cy Young Awards with the Phillies, amassed 4,136 strikeouts, was a member of two World Series champions and racked up 329 career wins. Needless to say, he's enshrined in Cooperstown. The number 32 has been widely used in baseball as a pitchers' number until recently (Josh Hamilton, Jay Bruce). The likes of Roy Halladay, "El Presidente" Dennis Martinez, Sandy Koufax have also donned thirty-two on their back.

NASCAR

RICKY CRAVEN. How can I not go with the man who has the only two wins from the #32 car in NASCAR history? The #32 has raced 715 times and won only twice--both Craven.  Ricky Craven, currently an ESPN analyst, piled up over $9.5 million in career earnings. Way back when, in the late-70's, Dick Brooks was the man behind the wheel of the #32 car. Though Brooks never won in the #32, he placed Top 5 eighteen times. Ricky Craven, not Ricky Bobby

NHL

CLAUDE LEMIEUX. This was a tough one for so many reasons but Lemieux found the back of the net 379 times during his 21-year NHL career. He also registered 407 assists and 1,777 penalty minutes. "The Grim Reaper" Stu Grimson was my next pick followed by Dale Hunter but Lemieux won out. He won four Stanley Cup championships and a Conn Smythe Trophy. His 80 career playoff goals are ninth all-time in NHL history.

NFL

JIM BROWN. Gotta go with him, right? Sure, Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson was a hell of a player but in nine seasons, Brown ran for 12,312 yards and 106 touchdowns. OJ wasn't far off, rushing for 11,236 yards but only 61 touchdowns (in 11 seasons). Then he went out and killed some people, got acquitted, then proceeded to rip some people off and then I lost interest. Brown made the Pro Bowl in all nine of his seasons and led the league in rushing eight times. Marcus Allen was considered for the mere fact that he couldn't be tackled in Tecmo Bowl for Nintendo. Guys wearing #32 now include RB Maurice Jones-Drew and FS Devin McCourty.

NBA

ERVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON. It could have gone to Julius Erving had he not switched to the #6 late in his career, but Magic was just that. Dude won five NBA Championships with the Lakers  A three-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA Finals MVP, Johnson is the best ever to wear #32. He was as well-rounded a player as the game has ever seen. He scored, he rebounded and he dished out dimes (19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 11.2 APG). His assist number place him atop the NBA's all-time assists-per-game list ahead of John Stockton (10.51) and Chris Paul (9.82).

--

Just thought I'd throw this one together to celebrate my 32nd birthday. Have a great night--here in Connecticut, it's been raining all day and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. 

MLB: Early Season Surprises

With the MLB season just over 30 games in, some things remain the same.

Miguel Cabrera is hitting a robust .381 to go along with an MLB-high 37 RBI. The Houston Astros are as abysmal as expected in their first year in the American League with a 10-24 record and an MLB-worst -72 run differential.

"Big Game" James Shields has the Royals in the hunt early on

There are, however, some nice surprises in the early going.

• New York Mets catcher John Buck already has 10 HR's, good for second in the NL. He's halfway to his career-high total of 20, set in 2010 during his only season in Toronto. Fellow Met, RHP Matt Harvey is also off to a blistering start. He's 4-0 with a miniscule 1.28 ERA, .69 WHIP and .133 BAA. He's also fanned 58 batters in 49.1 IP.
• Somehow, the Mets are 9.5 games back of the Braves
• The big-budget, high-profile Los Angeles Angels are just 11-22 and 9.5 games back of the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton (.203, 2 HR) and Albert Pujols (.240, 5 HR) have gone bust while Mike Trout remains a legit star in the game.
• The Angels have the third-worst ERA in baseball (4.65)
• Seton Hall's own RHP Jason Grilli has 13 saves for the Pittsburgh Pirates, bringing his career saves total to 18.
• Pittsburgh has allowed the second fewest hits in baseball (240)
• The new-look Kansas City Royals are just a game behind the AL Central-leading Tigers thanks to 3.33 ERA. James Shields (2-2, 2.52 ERA), Ervin Santana (3-1, 2.36 ERA) and Jeremy Guthrie (4-0, 2.40 ERA) have anchored the staff.
• KC is 17-13 with a +14 run differential
• Atlanta Braves OF Justin Upton has found his power stroke once again, leading the league in HR's with 12. It's too bad B.J. Upton is batting only .153 with 3 HR and 5 RBI.
• The Braves are in first-place in the NL East

All these numbers have my head spinning. Time for some R&R. And maybe a ballgame.

MLB: My Random ESPN Fantasy Draft

LoMo

Randomly I decided to join a live fantasy baseball draft this morning and am going in to it completely unaware of who should be picked where. When all is said and done, I will post my team. I'm not expecting anyone to care about who's on my team or that I even have a team, but if you are, your thoughts are welcome--criticism also welcome.

Wooo! I had the first pick overall, the veritable kiss of death. There are ten people in the league, none of whom I know, which means it's likely I'll stick with this squad the entire year. Scoring is head-to-head.

(Overall pick in parenthesis)

1. Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit (1)
2. Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami (20)
3. Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto (21)
4. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Los Angeles-NL (40)
5. B.J. Upton, OF, Atlanta (41)
6. Kris Medlen, P, Atlanta (60)
7. Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore (61)
8. Jordan Zimmermann, SP, Washington (80)
9. Rafael Soriano, RP, Washington (81)
10. Erick Aybar, SS, Los Angeles-AL (100)
11. Adam LaRoche, 1B, Washington (101)
12. Lance Lynn, SP, St. Louis (120)
13. Phil Hughes, SP, New York-AL (121)
14. Marco Scutaro, 2B/SS, San Francisco (140)
15. Kevin Youkilis, 3B/1B, New York-AL (141)
16. Addison Reed, RP, Chicago-AL (160)
17. Alejandro De Aza, OF, Chicago-AL (161)
18. Grant Balfour, RP, Oakland (180) - Auto Pick got me
19. Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado (181) - Auto Pick got me again
20. Everth Cabrera, SS, San Diego (200)
21. Edwin Jackson, SP, Chicago-NL (201)
22. Salvadore Perez, C, Kansas City (220)
23. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle (221)
24. Logan Morrison, OF, Miami (240)
25. Bruce Rondon, RP, Detroit (241)

Overall, it wasn't a bad draft. I got a little back-to-back teammate crazy at times (picks 5-6, 8-9, 16-17) but I'm content with the squad. I think I got a sleeper with Rondon and Perez and hopefully Morrison can bounce back from this knee injury and produce for the Marlins.

And how could I not pick the Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera with the first overall pick? And Stanton is a 40+ homerun guy that people slept on--it's irrelevant that he's in Miami with a weak-ish surrounding cast, dude is a beast. And Bautista in the 3rd round? Come on.

Looks good on paper, but it's a long way to the finish line.

MLB: Best Nicknames of Hall of Famers

Yankees great Joe DiMaggio

Opening Day of the 2013 MLB season is almost here so I thought it's about damn time to take a look back in the history books at some of the best nicknames of players in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.

• Hammerin' Hank Aaron
• Sparky Anderson
• Mr. Cub Ernie Banks
• Yogi Berra
• The Georgia Peach Ty Cobb
• Andre "The Hawk" Dawson
• Joltin' Joe DiMaggio
• Rollie Fingers
• "The Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig
• "Stonewall" Jackson
• "Big Train" Walter Johnson
• "Ignitor" Paul Molitor
• Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto
• Ryne "Ryno" Sandberg
• Dazzy Vance
• Rube Waddell
• Hack Wilson

Play Ball!

MLB Postseason Numbers

With the Yankees offense in shambled and getting shut down by seemingly every pitcher they face, it got me thinking about some of the player batting averages this postseason on teams still playing.

It's not like they're getting shut down by aces, they're facing a #3's and #4's. 

I digress.  Here's some blind batting average numbers by players still swinging it (and one not) in the postseason.

__________  .273 - New York Yankees
__________  .385 - St. Louis Cardinals
__________  .063 - New York Yankees
__________  .385 - Detroit Tigers
__________  .308 - St. Louis Cardinals
__________  .292 - San Francisco Giants
__________  .200 - Detroit Tigers
__________  .333 - New York Yankees
__________  .182 - San Francisco Giants

The answers may surprise you.  Here they are, in order.

Ichiro Suzuki
Carlos Beltran
Robinson Cano
Jhonny Peralta
Daniel Descalso
Pablo Sandoval
Prince Fielder
Derek Jeter
Buster Posey

RAUL is COOL

If you haven't heard, Raul Ibanez came up in the clutch for the Yankees in the 9th and 12th inning.  With one swing of the bat each, he tied and then won the game for the Pinstripes.

This is a much bigger deal than normal because Raul Ibanez was asked to pinch hit for Alex Rodriguez who is 1 for 12 with 7 strikeouts in the ALDS.

Joe Giradi went with his gut and not with his binder.  The difference between good and great is pulling the trigger on tough decisions. I tip my hat to Joe for sitting a struggling superstar for his best option on his bench. Not an easy call, he was playing with fire and did not get burned this time.


Also, if this doesn't give you chills then well I don't think you truly bleed Pinstripes!

Today is another day of 4 playoff games. Wait...let me rethink that, today is offering 4 ELIMINATION games.

Giants vs. Reds in Game 5 at 1:07pm EST
---> My Prediction:  Reds squeak by and Dusty Baker is back in the NLCS, again.

Cardinals vs. Nationals in Game 4 (STL 2-1) 4:07pm EST
---> My Prediction: Nationals tie up the series and the city of Washington will be ROCKING.

Yankees vs. Orioles in Game 4 (NYY 2-1) 7:37pm EST
---> My Prediction: It depends on which Phil Hughes shows up. Bats need to awake too. Yankees win.

Tigers vs. Athletics in Game 5  9:37pm EST
---> My Prediction:  Athletics have the momentum and the Tigers have Verlander. I say the A's make it their first ALCS in a long time.


Only bad thing about the postseason is that sinking feeling that Baseball is almost over for the year.

Big Time Bats of the Postseason - AL

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

Curtis Granderson, NY Yankees

Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles

Josh Reddick, Oakland A's

Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

Big Time Bats in the Playoffs - NL

Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Buster Posey, SF Giants

Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves

Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals

Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

Pretzels: The Underrated Snack

For me, this is a no brainer.  Pretzels are one of the most underrated snacks known to man (and woman).

Pretzels could rank right up there with my favorite foods/snacks that are readily available.  Pizza, Haribo Cola, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage and broccoli rabe with penne pasta, spaghetti and meatballs.  I mean this list can go on for days and months.

I will direct my focus to the pretzel.

Originally created in Europe, the pretzel was brought to America in the late 19th century by southern German and Swiss German immigrants, and if they were still around today, I'd thank them profusely.  And then I'd thank them again.  Nowadays, Pennsylvania is the center of the American pretzel campaign, producing over 80% of the pretzels we consume in this country.  Pretty remarkable.

I prefer sourdough over the soft or traditional variety, but I won't turn down the two latter.  And I'll be damned if the hard pretzel didn't originate in America.  In 1850, the Sturgis bakery in Lilitz, PA became the first commercial hard pretzel bakery.  Thanks Lilitz!

I don't care who makes them, as long as they keep making them.  Utz, Snyder's of Hanover, Rold Gold, Bachman, Herr's, Auntie Anne's.  Thank you all.

I really don't care for the honey wheat braided pretzel twists but if it was my only option, I'd grab a handful.

But seriously, when are pretzels not acceptable to eat?  I've had them after breakfast and sometimes even for breakfast.  I have a few every day driving back from work.  Watching football?  Grab some pretzels.  At the bar, pretzels and peanuts.  Chex Mix?  Yep, they've got the pretzels in there as well.  Headed to the ballpark to catch a baseball game?  They offer up the soft variety there.  Salted or unsalted.  It doesn't matter.  If pretzels played potato chips in a bowl game, they'd be 15-point underdogs. 

OK, I am cooking dinner, I just had to get this off my chest.  Pretzels don't get the amount of respect they deserve.  And if my voice were bigger, I'd let the world know.

Eat More Pretzels!

Derek Jeter: No MVP....No Problem

Derek Sanderson Jeter is having a magical season once again. If you are surprised at this then you are not a true baseball fan. It is hard to believe that the Kalamazoo Kid has been in the big leagues for 17 seasons.  Equally hard to believe is that Jeter has never won an MVP award!  He has been selected in the top ten finisher 7 times ('99,'06 were his near misses at the award).

I can picture Derek's reaction to a reporter asking him "So Derek, you have accomplished everything under the sun in the MLB except winning the MVP award. How does that make you feel?"




We all know what Jeter's response would be, the only thing that matters to him....

                                                              (image credit: Latinosports.com)

P.S.  I guess Bud Selig really downsized after the 90s and went with smaller Commissioners' Trophies!

Recap from last few days...

While Ryan has been all over the the Atlantic Ocean this month, I have been working and entertaining a friend from Ireland .  We had a helluva time visiting our favorite watering holes in NYC. I have a few thoughts on a few matters that I would love to share with you.


1.  NJ Transit is the worst and pretty much backgrounds:  LIRR and Metro North, I apologize for complaining about you in the past.  NJ transit is stuck in the 80s...the 1880s.

2.  The best bar in NYC you have not been to:  It pains me to write about this and ruin the best kept secret but then again, it is New York City.  O'Neil's Boat Basin on West 79th street is the greatest spot for summer city drinking.  Fair price, food is basic, and the atmosphere is great.  Also, Nathan would agree with this post because it is VERY dog friendly.

3. The Olympics are over:  The USA won the Medal Count and overall Gold Medals. To all the USA athletes who trained so hard (win or lose) thank you!

4. The November Match up is set:  In one corner is Obama/Biden  and in the other Romney/Ryan.  Don't be surprised if Biden all of a sudden "retires" from politics in the next 3 weeks.

5. Top 20 under 20: Peter Thiel (creator of PayPal) is giving 20 young people 2 years and $100,000 to pursue  their dream.  Pretty cool that this Billionaire is helping find the next big inventors.

6.  Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, and Grace Potter ROCK!:  I was fortunate enough to see this star studded concert with my best friends. Words can't describe the talent the performers have nor the memories I have from this day.

7. All we are is dust in the wind:  Had some notable deaths this week.  Johnny Pesky (Red Sox, 92), Ron Palillo (Welcome Back, Kotter. 63), Helen Gurley Brown (Cosmopolitan editor, 90)

8. Blog I have been reading:  Not that deep but still always have funny commentary on random things. www.Bminusblogs.com and follow them on twitter @BminusBlogs

9. MLB season is HEATING up: I smell playoff baseball....I just that aroma hope its coming from the Bronx and not from Baltimore!

10.  Happy 25th Birthday to Tim Tebow: Your birthday wish should be for the Jets to win the Super Bowl.

Brew Crew Trade Greinke to the Angels

After a terrible first month of the season, the Angels are right where everyone thought they'd be: in the thick of a pennant race.  On Friday, July 27 the Angels worked out a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers  to trade their Ace in exchange for some minor league talent (top position player prospect + 2 AA pitchers).  Greinke, 2009 AL Cy Young winner,  is scheduled to pitch for the Angels on Sunday against the Rays.

Let me break this deal down.  Greinke goes to the Angels to add to an already stellar pitching staff. The Angels finally have their Ace to lessen the burden of Weaver, their most consistent starter.  However the  Angels are only renting him because Greinke is headed into Free Agency after this season and do not have a guarantee that he will sign with the Halos after this season.  Zach is making $13.5M this season and turned down an offer for over $100M from the Brew Crew earlier this month. With this trade the Angels have continued to deplete their farm system in search of a World Series.  

The Angels turned Brewers:  All three were at AA Arkansas but they may be shifted in the Brewers DEEP farm system.

Jean Segura, SS (b.3/17/90 ht: 5'11, Dominican Republic) signed with the Angels in 2008 and he is currently holding his own down in AA Arkansas, his batting stats .294/.346/.404 (via. MLB.com) with 33 steals in 46 attempts. He is the crown jewel of the trade because the Brewers really wanted a Shortstop.

Ariel Pena is a 22 year old 6'3 right handed pitcher from Dominican Republic that signed with the Halos in 2009.  He is  nothing much to write home about but he does have potential. The one standout statistic is that he has 180 strikeouts in 151.2 innings at Single-A last year (Via Baseball cube).

John Hellweg is a 23 year old 6'7 right handed pitcher drafted in the 16th round of 2008 draft out of Florida State.  This tall glass of water was born and raised in Michigan which is close to Milwaukee, which means the Brew Crew is taking a gamble on his talent to get the hometown fans  to switch allegiance to Brewers from the Tigers.

The Angels want to win and they want to win NOW.  They made this move not to keep up with the Yankees and Rangers, but rather to keep ahead of the scorching Oakland Athletics.  How mad would Arte Moreno be if he misses the playoffs this season because of a bunch of no-named Moneyball 2.0 stars beat his team out for the playoff spot all for  a fraction of the payroll cost.

Tune in on Sunday to watch Greinke in an Angels uniform against the Rays.

-Dan

Tuesday Tweets

New THIS IS HELL video for "Acid Rain":

This Is Hell Release "Acid Rain" Music Video dlvr.it/1vNgDd

— Alter The Press! (@AlterThePress) July 24, 2012

I'm guessing Jimmy Fallon is being sarcastic:

Traffic is awesome in NYC today.

— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) July 24, 2012

That's a bold statement, but it just might be true:

Valdespin might have the worst OF arm since Johnny Damon #Mets

— Earl (@ttlsportsblog) July 24, 2012

They are on fire as of late:

Hard to compare 5- and 4-team divisions, but one could argue AL West is tougher than AL East right now, given emergence of A’s.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2012

Artie Lange is priceless:

How do you sum up why the Kardashians are famous?Simple:Robert got O.J. Off & Kim got Ray J off.The End.

— Artie Lange (@ArtieQuitter) July 24, 2012

Anyone else have playoff fever?:

Said one GM this morning: "Yesterday felt like the trading deadline. There were so many calls."

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) July 24, 2012

I was guilty of this once (the sign, not the ramming):

*Baby on board* Oh really? Thanks for letting me know, I was about to ram into your car, but now I won't.

— Men's Humor (@MensHumor) July 24, 2012

100% right:

Ichiro overrated if you need him to lead off and star. He's underrated if you need him situationally. That is all Yanks need from him.

— Colin Cowherd (@ESPN_Colin) July 24, 2012

When a reeling team gets desperate:

Shocker: Snooki got booed at the Mets game last night dlvr.it/1vLmZr #mlb #hbt

— Hardball Talk (@HardballTalk) July 24, 2012

Have a great Tuesday.

The Mendoza Line - Fantastic Four

Image via VintageSeattle

Take a look at that guy?

Mario Mendoza was a player back in the late 70's, early 80's.  Defensively, he was serviceable at shortstop.  Offensively, not so much.  His career average was .215 with zero pop (only 4 HR).  All too often today, the "Mendoza Line" is a barometer for the ineptitude of a hitter. Although he only had more than 100 at-bats in 4 of his 9 seasons, Mendoza managed to hit over his own line in three of those four years.  The only other time batting over .200 was when he his .218 in 1978 with the Pirates, in just 55 at-bats.  He peaked with the Mariners in 1980 and 1981, putting together back-to-back seasons where he batted .245 and .231, respectively.

With those numbers in mind, there are currently four players in the majors (who are qualified to be among the league leaders in batting average) hitting below the Mendoza Line.

Carlos Pena, TB - .194 average - 330 AB - 11 2B - 14 HR - 39 RBI - 121 K
Pena is a career .236 hitter with 272 career HR in 12 seasons.  Tolerable.

Rickie Weeks, MIL - .197 average - 319 AB - 17 2B - 9 HR - 33 RBI - 108 K
Weeks is a career .250 hitter with 118 career HR and 106 career SB in 9 seasons.  Not too bad.

Justin Smoak, SEA - .198 average - 324 AB - 6 2B - 13 HR - 38 RBI - 76 K
Smoak is a career .218 hitter with 41 HR and 272 K, in just his 3rd year in the league.  Ehh.

Cliff Pennington, OAK - .199 average - 281 AB - 13 2B - 3 HR - 16 RBI - 59 K
Pennington is a career .249 hitter in 5 seasons with a .968 fielding percentage.  So what?

Who'd you rather have on your team?  Smoak has the smallest sample size while Pennington might pick it a little on defense, he's a bottom of the order bat, at best.  That leaves Weeks and Pena, two guys with an inordinate amount of strikeouts but both with a little pop.  Pena draws a lot of walks, makes the plays in the field, and stays healthy.  I think Weeks can bring a little more to the table as far as being a dynamic player.  He gets on base, scores runs, creates a little something on the basepaths.  His issue has always been his healthy, however.  But when he's right, the dude's a freak.

Image via Zimbio

The motliest of crews, indeed.  But if you had to twist my arm into taking one, I'm going with Southern University's finest, Rickie Darnell Weeks.

Kevin Youkilis

YOLLLLK!!

Inspired by my egg sandwich for lunch.

BREAKING NEWS!! Adam Dunn Steals a Base

Adam Dunn just registered the 60th stolen base of his career.  Not since 2008 have we seen the likes of this. 

He'll also probably strikeout 220 times, but that's not breaking news.

NL All-Star Roster - Right or Wrong?

On to the National League roster, which has already made one move - Chipper Jones replacing Matt Kemp.  It's the absolute right thing to do, regardless of stats.

Here we go:

National League
Catcher - Buster Posey, SF
Reserves - Yadier Molina, STL; Carlos Ruiz, PHI
Snub - Carlos Ruiz not starting is complete bullshit, he leads the NL in batting average.  As a catcher!

First Base - Joey Votto, CIN
Reserve - Bryan LaHair, CHC
Snubs - Paul Goldschmidt, ARI

Second Base - Dan Uggla, ATL
Reserve - Jose Altuve, HOU
Snub - Aaron Hill, ARI

Third Base - Pablo Sandoval, SF
Reserves - Chipper Jones, ATL; David Wright, NYM
Snub - David Wright not starting is once again, utter bullshit.

Shortstop - Rafael Furcal, STL
Reserves - Starlin Castro, CHC; Ian Desmond, WAS
Snub - no one because NL shortstop is very down this season

Outfield - Melky Cabrera, SF; Matt Kemp, LAD; Carlos Beltran, STL
Reserves - Ryan Braun, MIL; Jay Bruce, CIN; Carlos Gonzalez, COL; Andrew McCutchen, PIT; Giancarlo Stanton, MIA
Snub - Michael Bourn, ATL; Andre Ethier, LAD; Martin Prado, ATL

Pitchers
Matt Cain, SF - perfect game, no qualms here.  3rd in K, 7th i n ERA
Aroldis Chapman, CIN - 100mph from the left side?  I hope he doesn't do somersaults.
RA Dickey, NYM - back-to-back one-hit shutouts, "power knuckler".  1st in W, 3rd in ERA
Gio Gonzalez, WAS - stud.  2nd in W, 4th in K
Cole Hamels, PHI - 10 wins, 6th in K, 3.08 ERA
Joel Hanrahan, PIT - McCutchen was the only Pirate who should have made it.  20/22 in saves.
Clayton Kershaw, LAD - 1st in IP, 4th in K, 8th in ERA and only 6 wins to show for it
Craig Kimbrel, ATL - 1st in saves, only 13 hits in 30 IP
Lance Lynn, STL - 10 wins, but he started off hot (6-0, 1.80 ERA)
Wade Miley, ARI - two hitters listed above are more deserving.  9 wins, sub-3.00 ERA, ehhh.
Jonathan Papelbon, PHI - 18 saves, ERA just over 1.00, getting it done for the lowly Phillies
Stephen Strasburg, WAS - 1st in K, 13th in ERA.  Electric arm, but he struggles going deep in games
Huston Street, SD - a Padre made it?  12/12 in save chances, only 8 hits in 21 IP

Snub - AJ Burnett, PIT - 9-2, 3.31 ERA; Johnny Cueto, CIN - 9 wins, 4th in ERA; Zack Greinke, MIL - 9-2, 106 K

You can't really argue for Brandon Beachy or Ryan Dempster because they are both hurt, but I think the National League did a good job with the pitchers.

Ruiz should be starting, it's an absolute joke that he's not and Uggla is hitting .234 with almost 100 strikeouts.  Aaron Hill, he's at .300 with better numbers across the board.

Grade - C

AL All-Star Roster - Right or Wrong?

Every year there is controversy over who is on the All-Star roster and who got snubbed.  This seems to be almost as certain as death, taxes, and Nolan's awesomeness.  Time to take a look at what all this bitching is about.

Personally, I think it's kind of ridiculous how players from teams that aren't even in a pennant race have to be represented, but on the other side of the coin, I kind of like giving everyone a chance.

I'm sure the roster will change because guys might be hurt or might not want to be there, it happens every year.

Without further ado, here is the American League roster. (Starters in BOLD, Reserves in italics, Snubs in plain font)

American League
Catcher - Mike Napoli, TEX
Reserves - Joe Mauer, MIN; Matt Wieters, BAL
Snub - AJ Pierzynski, CWS

First Base - Prince Fielder, DET
Reserve - Paul Konerko, CWS
Snub - no one

Second Base - Robinson Cano, NYY
Reserves - Ian Kinsler, TEX
Snub - Jason Kipnis, CLE (maybe?)

Third Base - Adrian Beltre, TEX
Reserve - Miguel Cabrera, DET
Snub - no one

Shortstop - Derek Jeter, NYY
Reserves - Elvis Andrus, TEX; Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE
Snub - no one

Outfield - Josh Hamilton, TEX; Curtis Granderson, NYY; Jose Bautista, TOR
Reserves - Adam Jones, BAL; Mike Trout, LAA; Mark Trumbo, LAA
Snub - Josh Reddick, OAK; Colby Rasmus, TOR

Designated Hitter - David Ortiz, BOS
Reserves - Billy Butler, KC; Adam Dunn, CWS
Snub - no one

Pitchers
Ryan Cook, OAK - only 12 hits allowed in 35 innings
Matt Harrison, TEX - tied for league lead with 11 wins
Felix Hernandez, SEA - only Mariner worth a shit, 3rd in K, 7th in ERA
Jim Johnson, BAL - tied for league lead with 23 saves
Joe Nathan, TEX - 18 saves and only 4 BB
Chris Perez, CLE - tied for league lead with 23 saves and he's got a great beard
David Price, TB - tied for league lead with 11 wins, 5th in ERA
Fernando Rodney, TB - tied for league lead with 23 saves
CC Sabathia, NYY - 5th in K, 4th in W even though he's not having a great year ERA-wise
Chris Sale, CWS - electric stuff, 4th in W, 2nd in ERA
Justin Verlander, DET - machine, 1st in IP, 1st in K, 4th in ERA
Jered Weaver, LAA - no-hitter, 1st in ERA, 9-1 record
CJ Wilson, LAA - 9-4, 3rd in ERA

Snub - Yu Darvish, TEX - 10 wins, 117 strikeouts; Jake Peavy, CWS - 6th in ERA, 6th in K; Scott Downs, LAA - 14 holds, 0.43 ERA in 28 IP, lefty-lefty match up guy

The Rangers lead everyone with 7 players on the roster while the Angels have four.

They did a pretty decent job besides Pierzynski and Royals' closer Jonathan Broxton not being on the team.

Grade: A-