Baseball Update

Today the Yankees lost to the Orioles again, this time 6-3. Mo Rivera, for the second time in this series, could not hold his own against the O's who have been hot since the break. The Yanks are now tied for the wild card lead in the American League. With the pitching the way it's been, things don't look bright for New York. Today, Phil Hughes only went five innings and gave up two earned runs although all three were scored when he was in the game. Shelly Duncan hit a three run home run in the ninth inning to put the Yankees back in the game but Mo blew it in the tenth after a Miguel Tejada doubled and Aubrey Huff hit another home run. New York will have to man up against teams like the O's because they have a tough stretch coming up against the Tigers and Angels. This is not going to be easy.

The Mariners also lost tonight, this time to the Twins. The final was 6-1 in Seattle. Jarrod Washburn couldn't have been better, going seven innings and giving up one earned run, although two were scored while he was in. The Mariners bullpen blew it, giving up four runs in the final two innings. Hey, this bullpen has been excellent all season long, give them a brake. However, this offense hasn't been excellent but I think it will be good enough to win the wild card. Guys like Ichiro and Jose Guillen have been carrying this team all season long and they need to step it up now. The pitching has been better, as this is the time of year that Jeff Weaver usually heats it up so lets expect it. Also, the King hasn't had a bad year. He has an ERA under four and eight wins. He doesn't have more simply because of the injury earlier this season. If Seattle can stay consistent and keep it going, I think they will win the wild card.

Meanwhile, in the National League, the Diamondbacks have been doing excellent as they are currently on top in the National League West. Tonight, they beat the Marlins and remain in first. Who ever thought that Arizona would do this. The big story on this club so far has been Justin Upton, the number one draft pick in 2005. The guy has really been getting on base and has an OBP of .319 and a slugging percentage of .535. They have won four out of their last six games, folks and that has put them on top for a while. They have been great since the break and are 20-10. Their biggest streak came in July when they won eight straight games. This has clearly been the feel good/comeback story of the year wrapped in one. Keep it going D-Backs.

Here are your updated standings from the A.L. Wild Card:
Mariners and Yankees tied in first place. Yanks: 67-53 M's: 66-52
Indians and Tigers in second with a record of 66-54. Both are one game out.
Toronto is in fourth place with a record of 61-58. They are 5.5 games back.

Have a good one and keep rooting for your team!

Some Bad Things....Aren't Really Bad

Well, I know it's kind of a bad headline for an article, but that's what I thought of so maybe if you keep reading the article, you'll realize why I called it that.

The first thing I would like to address is the Phillies losing their 10,000th game last night to the St. Louis Cardinals, and it wasn't a pretty one (but as ESPN noted last night, at least it wasn't their 416th loss by ten runs or more. Really good stuff! lol). I notice how everyone seems to be making a big deal out of the fact that this is a prime example of failure in the history of a ball club. If anything, this shows endurance and durability and the effort to keep going for over 120 years. Heck, MLB hasn't even been around that long. So this, to me is not a bad thing at all, but more of a new door opening to the future of this franchise.

Hey, at least they won a world series. But so did the Atlanta Braves, the team that is right behind them at about 9,600 losses and they've been around since 1876, eight years before the Phillies became an organization.

So, yeah, that is pretty pathetic.

The last thing I wanna talk about is the fact that David Wells got suspended for seven games. It's funny because David Wells is one of those guys that always gets into trouble with baseball, or in bars or somewhere else. Yet, hes never even been thought about when it comes to steroids. Isn't that weird. They have to go choose a guy like Rafael Palmeiro to convict of taking steroids who has 3,000 hits and never got into any trouble with the law. So he gets into trouble and not David Wells. It's weird the way American athletes are these days.

Anyway, David Wells actually makes some valid points about the game of baseball. He should actually be listened to sometimes and the problem is, hes not. So, they suspend him for seven games because he argues with an umpire. And that's just a whole other story with baseball. The umpires SUCK! If they even SENSE a bad jist is going on with the players, they throw them out of the game. It's very unfair because half the ejections that are made are based on the umpires feelings towards the players. That's why I think people like David Wells should be listened to.

Sunday Thoughts

The New York Mets took three games out of four from the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon in a 5-2 victory that was the second straight win for New York. Some might have said if they didn't win this series, their season may have been on the verge of over. Think about it. Losing at least two games to a team that has been in the division basement since at least June 7th? (Referencing today's Murray Chass column in the New York Times ) That would not sound like a playoff team to me. So the Mets were able to not lose at least two games, they won three and showed their not done yet. By that, I mean their season's not over yet. Good job by New York as they stay a game and a half ahead of the second place Braves.

So, I'll bet your wondering my thoughts on this whole David Beckham thing. An article in today's UK Telegraph explains Beckham's thoughts on his career and more importantly that everything hes done in his career has been "for the game." That's a very bold statement, as if we didn't already know that you intended on making MLS a popularity in American Sports by coming here.

Hah! What a joke.

I think LA Times Reporter Grahme L. Jones put it best in his article today that he started off by describing what happened when Beckham arrived in Los Angeles. In other words, nothing. It's very interesting to see it from more then one person's point of view. Anyway, I think it's quite obvious that Beckham's arrival will not have any effect on the popularity of the sport in America.

Its just that there is so much more going on right now in America with sports that it would be very hard to make the MLS catch people's attention the way the NCAA Tournament does every March, and of course the opening of the baseball season in April , and the NBA finals in June, and the All-Star game in July (I hope you would know I'm talking about the baseball all-star game, not the WNBA all-star game, another sport that has failed beyond belief). So the question is, what can the MLS do to catch the attention of real American sports fans like us?

Bringing in an international star like Beckham, is not one of them.
Right now the MLS is not even as popular in America as the World Series of Poker, or even Arena Football. Maybe we Americans are a greedy little country that appreciates everything it created and maybe it just can't come to learn that some international sports can do a world of good for us.

Ahh, but how would that explain the love of Cricket in America?

7/13 World Series Top Ten

1. Angels- I just think they have more hitting and more underlying talent the Red Sox. Plus if John Lackey's healthy, expect 15-18 wins.
2. Red Sox- Pitching is key and with a staff that looks like Beckett (at least 13 wins), Schilling (at least 10 wins), and Matsusaka (at least 14 wins), things don't look bad. And Manny and Papi still haven't even heated up yet.
3. Tigers- Very intriguing lineup includes scrappy ballplayers like Curtis Granderson and Placido Palanco. Magglio Ordonez will be an MVP favorite and Justin Verlander could win the Cy Young.
4. Mets- Hey, Pedro's coming back as well as Moises Alou who I believe can be a huge difference maker when healthy. And Reyes and Wright will keep going.
5. Indians- The lineup will feature Travis Hafner for the next five years. Hopefully he will make the most of the first year of the new contract. He can.
6. Braves- John Smoltz will need to stay consistent as will the ball club in general to have a shot.
7. Padres- Jake Peavy and this pitching staff that leads the sport in ERA can do it, but will the lineup continue to decline?
8. Brewers- The pitching is better then expected, with Ben Sheets making an appearance in the All-Star game and showing everyone he still is healthy. Prince Fielder can hit home runs!!
9. Cubs- Hey, I like what they've done in the last couple of weeks before the All-Star break and hope they can continue to be a powerhouse. They've got a chance, but they'll have to remain poised and consistent throughout.
10. Mariners- The way their season has gone, they're certainly not out of it and don't expect them to lose it anytime soon as long as everything stays the way it has been. Ichiro will lead this club in the end.

Should A-Rod Stay in New York?

The answer, simply is no. If Alex Rodriguez wants to take the risk of failing in New York next season, then its his decision. This season has been his best in Pinstripes since he joined the Bronx Bombers. However, this could simply be something rare for A-Rod on the Yankees. This could simply be a good break for Alex and if he goes another five years for the Yankees, it's not guaranteed he will produce these kinds of numbers every one of those years because he's on the Yankees and being in the New York spotlight is a very hard thing to overcome. The fact that he put up those kinds of first half numbers (30 homers and 80 plus RBI) tells the Yankees that he can play up to full potential. It doesn't tell them that he will play like that in the first half of every season forward for the Yankees.

Now, if Alex decides to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, I believe he will be doing a whole lot of good for himself. He will open up a huge window of opportunity for himself because there is no team that has the media market and the pressure that comes with the contract as the New York Yankees. No team has that besides the Yankees. I don't even think the Mets are that close to putting the kind of pressure on players as the Yankees are simply because of how talented and storied the Yankees franchise is. Rodriguez seems much better off on a team like the Giants, a team with the money to spend. The Giants have a payroll of about 90 million dollars. They pay three players ten million dollars or more each year. That's not a lot. Plus, they have alot of young kids on the team that I believe A-Rod will enjoy. Plus, all the Giants need is a guy like Rodriguez to turn into a possible playoff team.

Another team that could easily compete for A-Rod at the end of the season is the Anaheim Angels who are undergoing a huge youth movement that greatly compares them to the 2005 Chicago White Sox. They have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and they still have one of the greatest sluggers in the game in Vladimir Guerrero (14 hr 75 rbi .325 avg). What a team the Angels would be if they had A-Rod and Vlad. They're already being considered as a World Series favorite and adding A-Rod next season will do wonders for their club. However, LA has the fourth highest payroll in MLB.

The Chicago Cubs also seem to be somewhat of a perfect fit for Alex Rodriguez if he decides to leave the Yankees at the end of the 2007 season. The Cubs have a payroll of just under 100 million dollars but still have the money to spend. They already have a powerhouse offense that includes Alfonso Soriano (last offseason's biggest free agent target), and possible Cy Young candidate Carlos Zambrano. The Cubs, however will have a new owner sometime in the near future so the possibilities are endless as to how much money the Cubs will be willing to offer.

Okay, so you pretty much know my opinion on the A-Rod situation. The problem is, the Yankees don't really have anybody else and if they can't get A-Rod a contract to come back next season, the Yankees could enter a dark age as they did in the 1980s. Guys like Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada won't be around forever. Plus, Abreu has not had a good year so far (six homers and 44 rbi with a .270 avg). The Yankees, basically need A-Rod to come back next season to have a chance at making the playoffs. Derek Jeter is the only guy that I can think of that can make an A-Rod like difference on this ball club. So the Yankees are probably going to offer Alex as much as it takes to re-sign him. And can you blame them? This is a team that probably doesn't have anyone else if Rodriguez leaves.

According to recent news, A-Rod has decided to wait until the end of the season to talk about contract negotiations with New York:

"I think it would be selfish on my part to talk about my contract status when our team desperately needs wins," Rodriguez said on Thursday. "My goal is to win as many games as we can, focus on my teammates and really play at a real high level in the second half."

Coming from a man who started to not think about anything else but playing baseball this season, he seems very confident that the Yankees will come out of their shell in the second half and make a run at the division.

Yeah, fat chance.