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Ah, breath it in. It’s time for the Midsummer Classic when the National League and American League’s “best” players meet up for their annual contest to theoretically see which is the better league. For the past nine contests, the A.L. has flexed their muscle and shown that they are better than their senior circuit brethren.
Oh, wait, I forgot about that debacle of an All-Star game in 2002 when the A.L. and N.L. played to a 7-7 tie, going 11 innnings. How embarassing was that for baseball. BUT, we’re not here to dwell on the past and certainly the N.L. doesn’t want to, last winning the All-Star game in 1996, 6-0 with Mike Piazza (then with the Los Angeles Dodgers) taking home the MVP hardware.
So, how does tonight’s matchup look? Here’s the batting order and since the game is taking place in Pittsburgh’s beautiful and basically new, PNC Park, there is no designated hitter (and unfortunately, no deserving Travis Hafner!) and pitchers will bat:
American League
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
Derek Jeter, Yankees, SS
David Ortiz, Red Sox, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, 3B
Vladimir Guerrero, Angels, LF
Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers, C
Vernon Wells, Blue Jays, CF
Mark Loretta, Red Sox, 2B
Kenny Rogers, Tigers, P
National League
Alfonso Soriano, Nationals, LF
Carlos Beltran, Mets, CF
Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 1B
Jason Bay, Pirates, RF
Edgar Renteria, Braves, SS
David Wright, Mets, 3B
Chase Utley, Phillies, 2B
Paul Lo Duca, Mets, C
Brad Penny, Dodgers, P
My prediction? The American League continues its dominance over the National League, beating the senior circuit 5-3 with David Ortiz taking the MVP going 2-2 with two dingers and four RBI. Now if only Pronk could have played, I’m sure he would have hit a grand slam to take the MVP award… I mean, the guy does have five already in half a season! Sorry, no more Hafner propaganda.
Enjoy the game! (Pronk, you were robbed!)
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| Yahoo Sports MLB
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The mighty homerun. Nothing leaves a fan, and even players, more in awe than a ball hit hard and far. And to provide some entertainment during the All-Star festivities, MLB brings us the Home Run Derby. This year’s participants are a good mixture of a former Derby Champ and MVP (Miguel Tejada), a Derby runner-up (Lance Berkman), World Series MVPs (Troy Glaus and Jermaine Dye), the current major league leader in dingers (David Ortiz), and the next generation of superstars (Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, and Ryan Howard).
There three rounds to determine the winner with the top four scores of the first round advancing to the second round, the top two scores in the second round advancing to the championship to claim the title of “Mr. Crush-A-Lot.” Each hitter will have ten outs in each round with an out being either a swing and a miss or anything that doesn’t leave the yard in fair territory.
Here are the participants and their power numbers - homeruns and slugging percentage:
Lance Berkman - 24 HR; .607 SLG
Miguel Cabrera - 15 HR; .566 SLG
Jermaine Dye - 25 HR; .646 SLG
Troy Glaus - 23 HR; .518 SLG
Ryan Howard - 28 HR; .582 SLG
David Ortiz - 31 HR; .609 SLG
Miguel Tejada - 17 HR; .510 SLG
David Wright - 20 HR; .575 SLG
Who do I think is going to take the Derby? You’re looking at his picture. If Howard does win, hopefully it doesn’t drain all of his power in the second half as it did last year when teammate Bobby Abreu won the contest, but was never the same power-wise afterwards, hitting only six homeruns after the All-Star break. Before the break last year, he had 18 dingers. How many does Abreu have thus far in this first half of 2006? A pedestrian eight homers.
Hopefully the Curse of the HR Derby only lasts one year for whomever wins.
While much of the United States was out enjoying a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon, over 1 billion people worldwide were witness to a dramatic World Cup finale. The World Cup has only been decided in a shooutout two times previously, once with Italy losing to Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. Congrats to Italy on 5-3 shootout win over France for their fourth World Cup Championship.
This match was the perfect ending to an incredible month of World Cup action. Despite the poor showing by the U.S., the Europeans showed the rest of the world why this is still their sport and kept us entertained (and distracted) during those early morning weekday matches.
There were a ton of great moments during this Cup: Ghana, Austrailia, and Ukraine advancing to the Round of 16 for the first time ever, the amazing game winning goal from Argentina against Mexico, the shootout between England and Portugal, a red card for Wayne Rooney, the United States giving Italy all they could handle, France knocking off the heavily favored Brazilians, and a German team that far exceeded their own national expectations. Unfortunately, this World Cup will be forever remembered for the brutal head butt that yielded French star Zidane a red card in the overtime period of the final.
Forza Italia. I bet the streets are still sticky in Firenze, Roma, Torino, and Milano this morning.
A classy way to end your career.
Fantasy Baseball First-Half-Bests: National League
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB,
BEST FANTASY HITTER: Alfonso Soriano, 2B/OF, Washington Nationals
.272 BA, 27 HR, 56 RBI, 63 R, 20 SB, .887 OPS
I’m a huge Albert Pujols fan and it pains me to choose someone other than Pujols, but you can’t deny the value that Soriano has as a 2B. Unless Soriano gets traded to another team and plays second again, this will be his last season to qualify as a 2B, so let’s all bow down and praise him. Of course, if Pujols didn’t get hurt, he probably would have better numbers and this Best Hitter designation… sorry, just had to make an argument for my main man.
Others considered: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals; Jose Reyes, SS, New York Mets; Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
BEST FANTASY PITCHER: Chris Capuano, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
129.0 IP, 10 W, 3.21 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 112 K
What? Who? Sure Capuano isn’t really a “top” name, but he’s getting results like one. If you were like me and thought that Capuano’s 2005 season, especially the wins total, were fluky, you and I were wrong to doubt Capuano and his abilities. If anything, he’s just gotten better from last season.
Others considered: Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks; Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds; Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs
BEST FANTASY ROOKIE: Dan Uggla, 2B, Florida Marlins
.307 BA; 13 HR; 51 RBI; 57 R; 5 SB; .875 OPS
Dan Uggla. Dan Uggla? Yes, Dan Uggla. Uggla came out of nowhere (just like the rest of the young Marlins) to actually be considered as one of the best players at his position… as a rookie. Uggla is on pace for the following numbers - .300/25/100/110/10. By far, he is the best waiver wire pick-up of the season.
Others considered: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins; Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins; Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals; Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers
Click to continue reading Fantasy Baseball First-Half-Bests: National League
Fantasy Baseball First-Half-Bests: American League
Posted by Tom Massimo Categories: Editorial, Fantasy, MLB,
BEST FANTASY HITTER: Carl Crawford, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
.319 BA, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 55 R, 32 SB, .880 OPS
Is he the best hitter in the American League? Certainly not, pitchers fear David Ortiz much more. But for fantasy production, nobody puts up points in all five categories like Crawford.
Others considered: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox; Alex Rodriquez, New York Yankees; Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners; Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians
BEST FANTASY PITCHER: Johan Santana, SP, Minnesota Twins
131 IP, 9 W, 2.95 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 138 K
He is as close as you can get to a five category pitcher. Too bad they can’t bring him in on off-days to close games.
Others considered: Jon Papelbon, Boston Red Sox; B.J. Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays; Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox; Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
BEST FANTASY ROOKIE: Francisco Liriano, SP/RP, Minnesota Twins
88 IP, 10 W, 1.83 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 102 K
Tough call with Jon Papelbon converting 26 of 29 saves opportunities, while sporting a microscopic 0.59 ERA. But Liriano’s complete dominance is too hard to ignore.
Others considered: Jon Papelbon, Boston Red Sox; Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners; Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels
Click to continue reading Fantasy Baseball First-Half-Bests: American League
Final MLB All-Stars: A.J. Pierzynski and Nomar Garciaparra
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Kudos, MLB, News,
Yet another White Sox player makes the American League All-Star squad! Catcher A.J. Pierzynski joins teammates Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Jose Contreras, Bobby Jenks, and Mark Buerhle. Pierzynski can thank his spot to the Final Vote option that fans could choose, online, the player that deserved a spot in the Midseason Classic that wasn’t chosen before. For the National League, 1B Nomar Garciaparra, usually a mainstay as an All-Star during his Boston Red Sox days, get’s the fans’ vote to represent the Los Angeles Dodgers in the “game that counts.”
Read More | Yahoo Sports - MLB
NBA Draft Grades: Pacific Division
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Drafts, Editorial, NBA,
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Who They Ended Up With: C Patrick O’Bryant, C Kosta Perovic
Comments: Well, the Warriors got taller that’s for sure. Bryant can block shots and can run the floor well for a big man. He can be a real force in a couple of seasons. Perovic may not amount to much of anything at all… but he’s tall!
Final Grade: C
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Who They Ended Up With: PF/C Paul Davis, PG Guillermo Diaz
Comments: Considering they only had two second round picks, the Clips did really well for themselves. Wait, did I say they only had second rounders and not in the lottery? And did I also say they did well for themselves… in a draft? Yeah, believe it or not, the Clips are heading in the right direction. Davis is a tough player that can shoot from the outside and get after the ball off the boards. He’ll be a solid backup to both Elton Brand and Chris Kaman down the line. Diaz has excellent stroke and can snap nets to a big degree if given the time on the court. Solid, solid perimeter player.
Final Grade: B+
Click to continue reading NBA Draft Grades: Pacific Division
NBA Draft Grades: Northwest Division
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Drafts, Editorial, NBA,
DENVER NUGGETS
Who They Ended Up With: Nobody
Comments: The Nuggets had a second round pick, which they used on Leon Powe, whom they shipped out to the Boston Celtics for a future second-rounder. It made sense for the Nuggets not to actually “keep” the pick since they really don’t have the salary cap room IF Powe (or whomever they wanted to draft and keep to themselves) made the team. They just paid the max contract extension to Carmelo Anthony, they are grossly overpaying Kenyon Martin, and they just gave Nene a huge extension as well. Definitely have some money issues and I think this team is going to implode.
Final Grade: NA
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Who They Ended Up With: PG/SG Randy Foye, PF Craig Smith, C Loukas Mavrokefalidis
Comments: I like the T-Wolves getting Foye because they sorely needed some electricity and scoring from the backcourt and Foye will provide it. He’s been compared to Dwyane Wade because of his ability to score and get to the paint. He’s explosive with great handle and can also find the open man. Smith at 6’7” is a bit small for a power forward, but he’s earned his stripes in the tough Big East where he played for Boston College. Mavrokefalidis may stay in Greece for more seasoning. Hopefully for the T-Wolves, Kevin Garnett is liking these additions as I do.
Final Grade: A-
Click to continue reading NBA Draft Grades: Northwest Division
World Cup Profile: Luca Toni
Posted by Sean O'Connor Categories: Athletes, Championship, Soccer,
World, get to know Luca Toni! The star Italian striker could have a very big say in who ends up World Cup Champions when France and Italy battle it out on Sunday evening in Germany. Toni has risen quickly to stardom in Italy after years milling in the Serie B and later Serie A.
Fully utilizing his tall build (6’4”), he burst onto the stage this year scoring 31 goals for Fiorentina (Florence’s squad) in the Italian Serie A. Fiorentina, after many dismal years, rode Toni to a 4th place finish and a qualification for the Champions League next season. Toni won the European Golden Boot, scoring the most goals in any of the European Leagues.
Toni scored his first goal of the World Cup against the Ukraine in the Round of 8, and then added another later on in the same match.
If Italy is going to beat France they will need a stellar performace from both Toni and Francesco Totti up front, and continued tough defense. Through six games, the Italian defense has yet to yield a goal (other than the own goal they spotted the USA in the first round).
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