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The Nationals Signing of Dan Haren To A 1 Yr Deal: Why It Is Still A Bad Move For Them

Monday December 17th, 2012

Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Writer) Follow @TheJakeMan24

Starting pitching is already an obvious strength for the Washington Nationals. If that not evident to you, well, I’ll provide some stats. As a unit, the Nats’ starters combined to post a 3.40 ERA, and a 3.46 Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP). Both marks led the National League. Therefore, starting pitching should be labeled as their best strength.

However, Washington’s rotation became a bit slimmer when Edwin Jackson decided to part to greener pastures. Yes, technically he is still a free-agent, and the Nationals could technically prepare an offer for him. But the likelihood of that happening is about as little as can be.

Why?

Because Rizzo signed Dan Haren to a one-year, $13 Million Deal instead. OK, Haren’s reputation is surely a bit more reputable than Jackson’s. He is a three-time all-star, and has finished top-ten in Cy Young voting twice in his Ten Year Career. Meanwhile, Jackson is known to get a wild hair every so often, but has ace-esque stuff when he’s clicking. It’s just that his command is inconsistent. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: @TheJakeMan24 on twitter, American league, angels, anibal sanchez, cy young, dan haren, edwin jackson, gio gonzalez, jordan zimmerman, Naitonals Park, national league, stephen strasburg, washington nationals, zack greinke

Forever A Met: David Wright And The Quest For Franchise King Status

Dec 10

Posted by fanaticalstability

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Monday, December.10, 2012

Stephon Johnson (Guest Baseball Writer and Mets Correspondent): Follow @stephonjohnson8

Met fans have gotten used to having their greatest players come either from other franchises or move on to other franchises. When combing through the 50-year history of the Mets, you realize that every great player this franchise has had didn’t spend their entire career in Flushing. Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Cleon Jones, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, David Cone, Mike Piazza, Al Leiter and Jose Reyes were all either products of other franchises or homegrown talent that was eventually let go.

Met fans can now say that they have a player who’ll more than likely remain with the franchise for his entire career. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: @stephonjohnson8 on twitter, al leiter, citi field, darryl strawberry, david cone, david wright, Dwight Gooden, Flushing Meadows, fred wilpon, gary carter, harvey, ike davis, jason bay, jerry koosman, johan santana, jonathan niese, jose reyes, keith hernandez, mets ownership group, mike piazza, national league, new york mets, NL east, r.a. dickey, ruben tejada, sandy alderson, Shea Stadium, stephon johnson, tom seaver, zach wheeler

The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 2: The Pitchers And Analyzing Mulder, Hudson and Zito Post Oakland

Dec 2

Posted by chuckbooth3023

Sunday, Dec.02/2012

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A's in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A's will look for the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013

A.J Griffin was 7-1 with a 3.06 ERA in 15 Games Started for the A’s in his 2012 Rookie Season. The A’s will look to the 24 Year old for some Quality Starts in 2013.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

Yesterday we talked about the hitters of the Oakland Athletics current roster and today we will talk about their pitching. This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms. In the early 2000’s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. Billy Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term. With the exception of this year, Barry Zito has not lived up to his 7 Years and 126 Million Dollar contract he signed with the San Francisco Giants since leaving the Athletics. Despite a 15-8 year for the SF club this past year, he holds a 58-69 (.447) record for San Francisco lifetime with a 4.47 ERA. He was 102-63 (.618) and a 3.55 ERA with the A’s before leaving at the age of 29. The guy made 18.25 Million in his Oakland days and has already pocketed 99 Million with SF.

Mark Mulder never was the same pitcher in the NL and was out of baseball four years after being traded to St. Louis. His A’s career had netted him an 81-42 (.659) record with a 3.92 ERA. He was only 22-18 (.550) and a 5.04 ERA with the Cardinals before retiring. As you will read in this article below, the franchise made a worthy trade in returns for this man. Mulder made 25.3 Million in his contract with the Cardinals after making only 8.4 Million with the A’s.

Tim Hudson on the other hand, has been one of the better pitchers in the NL for the last decade, still towing the hill for the Braves at the age of 38. He was 92-39 (.702) with a 3.30 ERA for the A’s. He has since gone 105-65 with a 3.52 ERA for the Braves in in 8 years. He definitely has been worth the $ invested (84.5 Million plus another 9.0 Million in 2013.) He only made 4.5 Million in his 6 years with Oakland. The sandwich pick they landed for Hudson’s Free Agent signing was Travis Buck. Unfortunately Buck only played 170 games for the franchise, hitting .250 with 18 HRs and 71 RBI in 571 AB.

Total Record for 3 other teams is 185-152 (.549) and they have made 208.8 Million away from Oakland, whereas they were 275-144 (.656) and made a total 33.15 Million Dollars with the Athletics. I would say, Beane made the right decision in not signing them.

The Future of the Oakland A’s: The Mustache Gang Meets the Bash Brothers: Revealing Billy Beane’s Master Plan click here.

For The Oakland A’s 2013 Roster Tree Part 1: The Hitters Click Here

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2012 ALDS, @chuckbooth3024, A.J cole, A.J. Griffin, a.j. Kirby-Jones, aaron cunningham, American league, andrew werner, andy parrino, arizona diamondbacks, barry zito, bartolo colon, billy beane, boston, brad peacock, brad ziegler, brandon mccarthy, brett anderson, brett wallace, carlos gonzalez, chris carter, Chuck Booth, collin cowgill, colorado rockies, connor robertson, craig breslow, dan haren, dan straily, dana eveland, daric barton, derek norris, detroit tigers, eric sogard, evan scribner, george kottaras, gio gonzalez, graham godfrey, grant balfour, greg smith, jarrod parker, jason kendall, jerry blevins, jesse chavez, josh reddick, Marco scutaro, mark Mulder, matt albers, michael taylor, Miguel Tejada, minnesota twins, MLB Amateur Draft, national league, o.co coliseum, oakland athletics, orioles, pat neshek, pedro figueroa, pirates, rob bowen, robert gillam, ryan cook, san diego padres, san francisco giants, sean doolittle, st louis cardinals, the fastest 30 ballgames, tommy milone, toronto blue jays, Travis Blackley, travis buck, trevor cahill, tyson ross

Is A Return to the Astros in the Cards For Lance Berkman?

Dec 2

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Sunday December 2nd, 2012

Lance Berkman spent from 1999-2010 with the Houston Astros amassing 326 HRs and 1090 RBI with a stat line of .296/.410/.959. With HOU moving to the AL West, will they make him a contract offer to possibly DH?

Jake Dal Porto (Baseball Writer):

With the move to the American League West, the Houston Astros are likely years away from contending in one of the toughest divisons in baseball. So basically, the Astros won’t be in the market for immediate impact players because that type of approach likely won’t get them anywhere in the standings. There’s one exception, though—Lance Berkman.

Berkman played with the Astros for 12 years before being traded to the Yankees in the midst of the 2010 season, and eventually signing with the Cardinals where he has spent the last two years. Given his age (36) and his derailed body, Berkman might choose to end his career with the team that drafted and brought him up. It would be bittersweet for both sides involved, and something positive for a struggling Astros’ organization.

The timing for the Astros and Berkman to reunite is seemingly perfect. See, if the Astros still played in the National League, it would be unlikely that Berkman could endure another year of wear and tear on his fragile frame. Well, he could, but the likelihood of him suffering an injury would balloon dramatically. Luckily, the Astros now have the benefit of the designated hitter. It’s like adding another hitter. This is where Berkman comes into play. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles, MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: AL West, American league, Carlos lee, cbs sports, Houston, houston astros, jake dal parto, lance berkman, MLB Rumors, national league, NL MVP Voting, rice university, st louis cardinals, wayne graham

MLB Should Distribute More Games Against All Teams For Every Club

Nov 30

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Thursday, Nov.29/2012

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I wrote an article about 6 months ago that investigated a solution to a Payroll/Geographical Alignment that the MLB should consider in going forward for the next CBA discussions in 2016 here. Let’s be real and this will never happen. The idea of running any drastic re-alignment is probably too much for the folks at MLB to fathom. However, there is a growing trend that is starting to rear its ugly head in MLB Baseball. It is the bigger market teams really starting to throw down some serious dollars, while the lesser revenue teams can’t keep up with same kind of salary influx. Of course I have fought this fight on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media platform I have found. Sooner or later these big salaried teams will reel off a bunch of World Series Titles amongst themselves and it will leave the MLB having as much competitive balance as the NBA. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: @chuckbooth3024, al central, AL West, American league, baltimore orioles, boston red sox, bryce harper, Chuck Booth, cleveland indians, detroit tigers, giancarlo stanton, houston astros, kansas city royals, la dodgers, los angeles dodgers, miami marlins, Mike Trout, MLB CBA, MLB Divisions, mlb realignment, MLB Unbalanced Schedule, mlbpa, national league, nba, new york yankees, nfl, NL Central, NL east, nl west, oakland athletics, philadelphia phillies, safeco field, san diego padres, stephen strasburg, tampa bay rays, the fastest 30 ballgames, toronto blue jays

A Fishy Problem In Miami: What Do The Marlins Do With Giancarlo Stanton?

Nov 22

Posted by Jake Dal Porto

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Thursday November 22nd, 2012

Jake Dal Porto: Giancarlo Stanton isn’t the only human being that’s furious over the Marlins recent transactions which most notably saw them deal Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, and Mark Buehrle to the Blue Jays. Or in English, Miami just betrayed their fans and players. While the fans do matter, you would have to think that Stanton’s words have a bit more meaning than any other figure or figures.

And Stanton is not pleased. He sounded off on his twitter account a little over a week ago, saying that “he’s pissed off”. The slugger doesn’t have to say much more. Perhaps the next words out of his mouth could be a trade request. That isn’t too far-fetched at this point either, and the idea is something that Miami’s management should highly consider in coming weeks.

At the moment, there’s no wrong choice in terms of trading Stanton or retaining him. The fans are already peeved off, and trading their cornerstone piece probably wouldn’t change he fans’ state of mind. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Tags: giancarlo stanton, jake dal porto, jose reyes, josh johnson, Mark buerhle, miami marlins, MLB Rumors, national league, ozzie guillen

Florida Baseball and The San Juan Rays

Nov 15

Posted by mednickalex

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Thursday November 15th, 2012

Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst)

Last week Jonathan Hacohen, the founder of MLBReports.com called to my attention that the Tampa Bay Rays are an anomaly. Ultimately, if you look at the way their team is structured and where their talent lays, and the kind of game that Joe Maddon manages the Rays are ultimately a National League team; displaced in the AL East. The Rays greatest strength is their depth of pitching that they can reach into the bowels of an amazing farm system ripe with young talent. But from there on out, they rely on an offense that generates runs due to other inefficiencies.

Joe Maddon might very well be the best manager in baseball. He possesses a unique approach to the game, that if had to be categorized, is definitely more national league style than american league. He has to be creative in how he manufactures runs, as his offense does not boast the big sluggers other AL East teams do. He does, however, have a plethora of pitching talent available.

With B.J. Upton leaving town, and Carlos Pena only a carcass of what he once was, there is ultimately zero power left in their lineup. Their DH for the past two years have been the likes of an aging Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Luke Scott. Ownership is constantly complaining about attendance and looking for bargain free agents like Johnny Damon to bring in at the end of their careers and hopefully attract some Yankees and Red Sox fans to the stadium.

At this point, the Rays power hitters are Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist. They have an amazing nucleus of pitching talent, including David Price who just won the AL Cy Young, and they are mentioning trading almost all of their starting pitchers. This is understandable, as you have to dish out talent to bring back offensive talent that they are in great need of. But I still have major gripes with the way owner Stuart Sternberg has approached the past 4 seasons in St. Petersburg, and I will get into more detail about this in a little while. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Teams: Articles and Analysis

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Contact Hitters and Pitching Are Keys to Winning In the MLB Playoffs: Bravo Giants! Attn: Yankees!

Nov 10

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Saturday, Nov.10/2012

The Giants GM Brian Sabean saw that his offense had significant holes from previous years and before 2012, dealt for Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. Both are decent contact hitters, with decent power and speed. It also took for the emergence of Marco Scutaro and the renaissance play from Pablo Sandoval to show that teams that can make regular contact (and are armed with great pitching,) ultimately win in the playoffs.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I can’t believe I am going to utter these next few words, “I am starting to shift on the idea of eliminating the DH in the AL and also I am beginning to find the National League Brand of Baseball a lot better these days.” I am not just saying this because the National League has registered 5 World Series Wins out of the last seven years (STL x 2, SF x 2 and PHI vs BOS AND NYY since 2006.) I just find that the American League Baseball is becoming boring. If you have read my articles in the past, I hate teams that strikeout non-stop and when you put two of these teams together for a Series like the AL routinely does, the games are filled with heavy pitch counts, four-hour games and not much contact. This years ALCS represented an all-time low for fan excitement. Put aside that I am a Yankees fan for a minute, it was absolutely brutal baseball. In fact, last years ALCS was no picnic either. If the games continue on like this, they might as well scrap the DH, start having the umpires call more strikes on the hitters and have all AL Teams convert to a National League style of game.

The National League has seen the Cardinals give us thrilling moments and comebacks to epic proportions over the last 2 years. I honestly think that Mark McGwire is not receiving enough credit for molding that team into a bunch of contact hitters. You watch the 2013 offense of the LA Dodgers, they will all have a different approach. We will save the DH debate for another day, but lets just say that 2012 was the worst year for DH’s in some time if not ever. There are only about 3-4 decent DH’s left in the game and if David Ortiz is not in the lineup for the Red Sox, there are no more marquee guys that just hit and not field! The National League Teams plan on more contact for runs created out of necessity and it is always reflective by the competitive games we see them play in the playoffs.

In 2012, the Giants made 4 key acquisitions before and during the season to change their offensive demeanor. If you ask me flat-out as a baseball observer, there is no way the Giants win the World Series without Marco Scutaro or Angel Pagan at the top of the lineup. I also am conceding credit to Melky Cabrera’s hitting contributions as a contact hitter before being busted. Before Melky Cabrera was shown the door for PED’s, he was the same hitter as Scutaro in the 2nd half and postseason, in just hitting every single pitch that was thrown at him. To be honest here, Angel Pagan does strike out a fair bit as a lead off hitter, however he also has speed that makes him dangerous whenever the ball is contacted. It is all about a mixture of power, speed and contact hitters. To illustrate this fact, Hunter Pence (also picked up near the Trade Deadline) did not hit well in the regular season or playoffs for average, yet he was able to drive in a pile of runs because guys ahead of him were always on base. All he needed to do was to make contact for his RBI. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Carlos Beltran Is The Best Active Hitter For A Postseason Career

Oct 17

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Wednesday, October.17/2012

Carlos Beltran is only amongst a select few active and retired players that possess 300 Career HRs (334) and 300 Stolen Bases (306) for their Career. At age 35, this year may be his last chance to win a World Series.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

I love that baseball is a game of numbers. Every once in a while you stumble upon an awesome mind-blogging stat or ten that makes you sit and back and think, wow, that guy is awesome. I have a decent memory when it comes to the history of the game. So it came as no surprise to me that Carlos Beltran continues to be putting up video game statistics in the postseason. Having started this article, unfortunately the man has left the 3rd game of the National League Championship Series with a strained left knee. This is a shame. I hope that the slugger can come back in this series as he is listed on the injury report as Day-to-Day. Just how good is Carlos Beltran in the Playoffs? Check out these stat lines. In 111 career AB, the man has a .378 AVG with 14 HRs, 25 RBI and has a staggering OPS of 1.327 (His OBP is .489 and Slugging is .838.) These are unbelievable numbers and easily the highest OPS in the history of MLB for a playoff career.

When the St. Louis Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to free agency last year, it was a risky yet bold move to pick up the often injured slugger. The franchise signed Beltran to a 2 YR/26 Million Dollar contract (or just over 10% of the contract that Pujols signed for.) The team also re-signed Rafael Furcal and Lance Berkman to help carry the load offensively. Showing the wisdom as they have so often done, the Cardinals proved to work their payroll model and still improve their club in the process. While Furcal and Berkman would succumb to injuries during the year, Beltran has produced at a high rate for a nice portion of the year. At the 82 game mark, the outfielder had 20 HRs with 65 RBI and was a co-frontrunner (along with Joey Votto) for the National League MVP. While his numbers slumped a little in the second half, the club still knew they had a proven playoff performer. Beltran also played in 151 games this season, his highest amount since 2008 with the New York Mets. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in MLB Player Profiles, Playoffs, The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2004 NLCS, 2006 NLCS, 2012 nlcs, albert pujols, Atlanta Braves, carlos beltran, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, houston astros, jermaine dye, joey votto, johnny damon, kansas city royals, lance berkman, national league, new york mets, rafael furcal, san francisco giants, st louis cardinals, twitter @chuckbooth3024, washington nationals

2012 MLB Postseason Preview: Every Pitch Counts

Oct 4

Posted by mednickalex

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Thursday, October 4th, 2012

October is the time when there is a quiet current of electricity surrounding baseball. There is an intensity in every second between pitches, and the players really zone in. This is the reason they played 162 games through the regular season. They are all after one thing: A World Championship.

Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Writer):

With the last games of the 2012 regular season being officially completed yesterday I get the same feeling I do every season…it’s a sickening pain in my stomach, that makes me want to hibernate and not wake up until April comes around. For baseball lovers, we are all very familiar with this feeling. We find solace in the fact that with the exception of the month of November, we can still follow baseball transactions all year-long. Furthermore, we cannot get too upset; baseball isn’t really over. In fact, some might argue that it is just beginning!

The boys of summer play all those games in the summer heat for one reason. The grueling 162 game schedule sees many ups and many downs, and all of these challenges are met with a firm resolve: to do whatever it takes to get to the postseason. October is the time when the weather turns cold, and ball players become unshaven warriors duking it out to be the victorious few who have the honor to take a championship ring home this offseason. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Big Collapses in MLB (1964-2011) + NYY And TEX Are in The Playoffs But May Choke Away Divisions

Oct 3

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Wednesday, October.3/2012

The Athletics are 71-38 since June.2nd and have forced a winner take the AL West crown matchup tonight versus the Rangers. They once trailed the Rangers by 13 games at the 80 game mark.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024

In case you may have missed the standings of late, the Yankees and Rangers are in danger of choking away the AL East and AL West. If MLB had decided to not infiltrate this year’s extra Wild Card playoff birth, we could have been in line for another monumental collapse. Both of the Yankees and Rangers held sizable leads in their respective divisions over the Athletics and Orioles heading into the second half of the year. Now it has come down to Game 162 for each club to decide the divisions. If the perennial playoff teams of TEX and NYY end up losing their divisions, they still will have a playoff game against each other on Friday to see who moves on to the ALDS.

If you are a Yankees fan, you have to be elated the Raul Ibanez pulled a rabbit out of his hat last night, with a 2 run HR to tie the game vs the Red Sox-and then he won it with a single in the 12th. If the Yankees can win today versus the Red Sox, they will clinch the AL East division and best record in the American League. It is nice to have your own fate in your hands, but really it should not have come down to this. On July.18, the Yankees had a 10 game lead over the Orioles and were looking to cruise for the rest of the year. Ever since that day, the Orioles have ridden 16 straight extra inning wins to post a 46-24 (.657) stretch in which they have pulled to within 1 game of the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have gone 37-33 (.529) in that same stretch. So it all comes down to the Yankees have a magic number of one. If New York wins, they clinch the division, if they lose and the Orioles lose, they win the division. If they lose and the Orioles win, it will force a one-game playoff Thursday in Baltimore in which the winner takes the AL East and the loser would play the AL West loser in the Wild Card Game Friday. The winner of the AL East will play the winner of the Wild Card game.

Amazing enough is all of the extra inning wins, now on the 162nd game of the season, the Orioles still have a chance to tie for the AL East crown with a win over Tampa Bay and a Yankees Loss to the Red Sox.

Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in The Rest: Everything Baseball

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Tags: 2012 MLB playoffs, AL East, AL West, American league, Atlanta Braves, baltimore orioles, boston redsox, bucky dent, chicago cubs, Chuck Booth. fastest 30 ballgames, detroit tigers, fenway park, goose gossage, minnesota twins, national league, new york mets, new york yankees, oakland athletics, philadelphia phillies, raul ibanez, ron guidry, seattle mariners, st louis cardinals, tampa bay rays, texas rangers, toronto blue jays, twitter @chuckbooth3024, yankee stadium

Wil Myers and Billy Hamilton Are MLB Ready Prospects: The 2013 AL and NL ROY?

Sep 16

Posted by samevans87

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Sunday September 16^th, 2012

Photo Courtesy of Giants fan: Crystal Ramos

Sam Evans: The consensus around baseball is that Billy Hamilton and Wil Myers are two of the top twenty-five prospects in the game. With Myers hit tool and proximity to the majors and Hamilton’s crazy speed, both are pretty solid bets to reach their potential. These two are likely going to be All-Stars for their respective teams in the coming years. Instead of comparing them to other prospects, let’s look at what makes Myers and Hamilton so special.

First of all, Wil Myers. Myers was drafted as a catcher in the third round of the 2009 Amateur draft. He had the talent of a first-round pick but he seemed like he might be going to the University of South Carolina. The Royals offered Myers $2 million, which was an offer that he smartly took and started his journey into professional baseball.

The Wil Myers catching experiment lasted all of two years. When he played in Wilmington with Salvador Perez in 2010, Perez made it clear who had the brighter future behind the plate. It’s a bummer Myers never got comfortable behind the plate because there aren’t many catchers in the majors that offer the kind of offensive production that Myers likely will. Read the rest of this entry →

Posted in On the Verge: MLB Prospects

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The Philadelphia Phillies Franchise Part 3 of 4: The Pitchers

Sep 1

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Saturday September.01/2012

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles here.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 This team has played for almost 130 years. As such, they have a great deal of history, so there are going to be several more hitters than pitchers as is the case with most Franchises. For the first seasons as the Quakers, they had some decent pitchers. It wasn’t until Pete Grover Alexander joined the club, that Philadelphia Phillies fams got to see a Hall of Fame pitcher before their very eyes. From Alexander, to Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, to Jim Bunning, Rick Wise and Chris Short, to Steve Carlton, Tug McGraw and Jim Lonborg, to Curt Schilling and Mitch Williams, to Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, the Phillies Pitchers have been improving in each generation.

Last year when the club won a record 102 games for the Franchise, they had the best 4 starters they had ever assembled in Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Roy Oswalt to take the mound. Having Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton as your 5th starter is an option most teams would love to have. The Phillies have been one of the best teams in the National League since 1975. They have appeared in 9 NLCS’s and 5 World Series while winning 2 of them. That is an impressive 36 year run. Going forward, the clubs pitchers still look solid. Cole Hamels just signed a 6 year extension, Cliff Lee is around for 3 more years and Roy Halladay still has 2 more years left after this. The club also signed Jonathan Papelbon up until the end of the 2015 season before 2012 began. Papelbon may have a chance to make this list when someone else chronicles the best pitchers in Phillies history one day 25 years from now.

If you ask me to have a Mount Rushmore of Pitchers it would be: Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Grover Alexander and probably Cole Hamels because of his instrumental pitching since the 2007 season.

For Part 1 of the Phillies Article Series: The Franchise click here:

For Part 2 of the Phillies Article Series: The Hitters click here:

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

For the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals Franchise 5 Part Series click here

Steve Carlton Highlight Reel:

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The Philadelphia Phillies Part 1 of 4: ‘The Franchise’

Aug 17

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Friday August.17/2012

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Team’s Payroll going into in 2013 and 5. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) To follow all of the updates, be sure to check my author page with a list of all archived articles here.

It took the Phillies 77 years to win their first World Series in 1980, however since that time, they have been to 4 more World Series: In 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009, while taking home the Trophy in 2008.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024 The Phillies started as a franchise in 1883 in the city of Philadelphia-and have the longest continued stretch as their original name. It has been a club that suffered tremendous droughts for the player and fans alike. Only in recent vintage (since 1975) has this team come into permanent prominence, with the now Hall of Fame Mike Schmidt entering the league and turning the fortunes of the city. From signing Pete Rose to put them over the top for their 1st World Series Trophy, to just re-signing Cole Hamels to a 144 Million Dollar Contract, the team has been adamantly aggressive in keeping its name amongst the elite in baseballs annals.

One could even argue that the Phillies had been the best team in baseball from 2008 up until the start of this season. I recently named this club the best team from the years 1980-1983 and then again for the years of 2008-2009. But before the likes of: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, or Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton, or Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose, they were plenty of other men who left a mark on this historic NL Franchise. We will look at all of the significant players that ever played for the club as a pitcher or hitter. The pitchers and hitters will be focused on solely in the next 2 weeks. Let us look and how the team has fared in its history.

Here are the final pitches of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Property of Major League Baseball & Fox.

For Part 2 of The 4 Part Philles Article Series: The Hitters, click here.

For Part 3 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Pitchers- click here

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

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Melky Cabrera out for the Season: Giants’ Outfielder Suspended 50 Games for PED

Aug 15

Posted by bernieolshansky

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Wednesday August 15th, 2012

Bernie Olshansky: Just a little while ago, Giants’ outfielder Melky Cabrera was announced suspended for 50 games due to testing positive for testosterone—a performance enhancer. This will put him out of action for the rest of the season.

For the Giants, this is catastrophic. They lost a .346 hitter in the middle of the lineup. They just acquired Hunter Pence and got Pablo Sandoval back from the DL, and the lineup was stacked. They got through one game with the best possible lineup, and then this. As a Giants fan, I can’t even think of the words to describe this situation. Apparently the testing was during the All Star Break. The Giants now have a tougher road to the playoffs, but I’m not sure their goose is cooked. Buster Posey has been on fire recently, and the return of Sandoval should provide a large boost. The major problem with Cabrera’s absence is the loss of a high-average hitter. Now the Giants will need to work harder in order to get runners on base for the power hitters. Cabrera was having his best season—even better than last. Now the Giants must hope to scrappily win enough games to snag a wild card. Gregor Blanco will be expected to fill in for Cabrera. The Giants recently signed Xavier Nady, so he might play a part too.

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Tags: all-star, baseball, buster posey, giants, hunter pence, melky cabrera, mlb, mvp, national league, nl, outfield, ped, san francisco giants, testosterone, tim lincecum, west

Top Ten Stat of the Week: Active Saves Leaders in the MLB (A Closers Role)

Aug 13

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Monday August.13/2012

Mariano Rivera holds the ALL-Time Record for any closer (active or retired) with 608 Saves. Will he come back in 2013 to add to his totals?

Chuck Booth: (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- To be a closer in today’s baseball game takes quite the mental fortitude. There is a lot of psychological warfare one could do to himself in preventing a successful run at saving games. While I am of the mindset that the relief pitchers of yesteryear seemed to be relied on more for lengthier durations, this does not diminish this stat in any way. It is hard to acquire the 90-100% save rate that most teams are striving for in a pitching staff. In any given seasons the average save opportunities average from 45-65 chances to lock a game down. A lot of this also depends on what team you play for. There have been several phenomenal stretches put forth by closers of the game in recent vintage. Who could forget Canadian born Erig Gagne? This man once saved 85 straight games from 2002-2004. He is the all-time leader in that category and beat out John Franco’s previous record by an astounding 30 games. Another incredible run was Brad Lidge‘s incredible 2008 season where he did not blow a save opportunity out of 48 games both in the regular season and playoffs.

Sure these guys don’t log 120 innings anymore, or throw for 3 inning saves like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage did for many years. By the way, we can all thank Tony La Russa for the invention of specialists pitchers (Rick Honeycutt, Jesse Orosco anyone?) and the one inning save closers. La Russa perfected this scenario with former starter Dennis Eckersley coming out of the pen for the Oakland A’s during their powerhouse days in the late 80’s. Eckersley was so dominant every team tried to duplicate their own bullpens to mock the A’s.

Before this time had come, relief pitchers were all mostly comprised of young pitchers trying to acclimatize themselves into the Major Leagues first, before earning a spot as a Starting Pitcher. For example, David Wells was once a relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays first and then was promoted to a starting pitcher after he proved he could pitch in the Major Leagues. In today’s baseball world, relief pitchers are now being drafted out of college and high school as relievers whereas they used to all come from the position of starting pitcher. It also used to be that relief pitchers were players that graduated to a starter and then could not find success as starters and were sent back to the bullpen once again to stay. When it came down to it, you had only a couple of chances to perform as a starter. Maybe it was because there were bigger than life characters like Gossage that make remember these pitchers in such favorable terms. Maybe it was because we never saw them interviewed on a social media platform like today’s athlete is and the mystery surrounded them made them more feared, or maybe it is because we tend to admire things more when they happened in the past. I still love the closers role in today’s game and nothing has more drama in a baseball game than trying to nail down the last 3 outs!

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Top Ten Stat Of The Week: Active Career Stolen Base Leaders

Aug 8

Posted by chuckbooth3023

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Wednesday August.8/2012

Juan Pierre was one of the most prolific hitters in terms of base hits in the last 12 years along with being the Active Leader for Career Stolen Bases. Pierre has 4-200 hit seasons in his resume.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on Twitter)- The game has been moving back towards speed, offense and athleticism since the adaptation of the steroid testing in the MLB. I think we will see a big emphasis on the Stolen Base in the coming years. We have Billy Hamilton coming in the near future and he could actually challenge a 100 Stolen Base in one season. 30 years ago there were several guys challenge or eventually succeed in stealing 100 bases. Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman both hit the century mark 3 times, while Ron LeFlore and Tim Raines cracked the 90 SB plateau. Teams used to have several speedsters in their lineup. Jose Reyes has the most stolen bases in one year for the active players with 78 swipes in 2007.

I omitted Luis Castillo from the list because he has not played since 2010, (much to the delight of the New York Mets fans I am sure.) I am sure that Boston Red Sox fans are hopeful that he can regain his stolen base prowess very soon with him being only in the second year of a 7 YR/140 Million Dollar Contract. Johnny Damon also has foraged a great career to be on this list from sheer determination. Out of this top ten , Jose Reyes has the most steals per games played, while Omar Vizquel (who has played 2947 games) has the least amount of steals per game played. I was most surprised by Derek Jeter cracking this list because he has never stolen more than 34 bags in one year. I wonder how many bags Ichiro would have stolen had he arrived in North America earlier? Johnny Damon and Omar Vizquel making this top ten is a test to their long-playing careers. I figured Jimmy Rollins had more steals than what his totals came in as. Bobby Abreu has the most HRs on this list with 286 and Juan Pierre has the least. with 17.

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Joey Votto: The Best Cincinnati Reds Player Ever?

Jun 15

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

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Friday June 15th, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): Joey Votto is in his 6th season in the majors and he looks to become one of the best there is in the league. Votto back in 2010 won the National League Most Valuable Player Award with amazing numbers. Racking up 37 home runs, 113 RBIs, along with a .424 on base percentage. The on-base percentage says it all when it comes to Votto. He just isn’t the type of player that just hits homers. He also takes a lot of walks and hits well to the opposite field, which gives him many doubles along the way. He hits so well to the opposite field that the opposing team can’t play a shift making it even harder to defend Votto. Not only is he a great hitter, but he is undoubtedly one of the best first baseman in the National League. He is also starting to make the claim of best player in the entire game.

Votto has played in 61 games this season and already has 27 doubles. This leads the entire major leagues. Votto is an unbelievable hitter to the left side which makes him an even better player. 76 hits already should let him get over 200 for the first time in his career, as long as he doesn’t start getting intentionally walked every time at-bat. A good sign for Votto this season is he has more walks than strikeouts. This could be the season that Votto carries the Reds far into the postseason. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: cincinnati reds, Joe Morgan, joey votto, johnny bench, Most Valuable Player Award, national league, pete rose, World Series Champion

Posey or Wieters: Which Young MLB Catcher Has the Bigger Upside? The Friday Faceoff

Jun 1

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

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Friday June 1, 2012

Ryan Ritchey (Baseball Writer): A couple of years ago the Minnesota Twins were talking about moving Joe Mauer to first base, to save his legs. Since he was such a great hitter, the Twins were looking to preserve his bat. That never did happen and the Twins are going down really fast and so is Mauer. The only thing Mauer has been really good for lately is making commercials for Head and Shoulders shampoo and one-liners from video game ads. Joe Mauer has played 9 seasons in the majors and does not have 100 career home runs. Yes he hits for a very high average. But he was supposed to be a great overall hitter. In my opinion, this home-grown Minnesota boy stayed behind the dish too long and now he will never be the same offensive player that he was in ’09. Injuries have taken their toll and the Mauer decline began far sooner than most expected.

The big question for the next two big young catchers is whether they going to stay behind the dish, or undertake a postion change to save their legs…and bats. Buster Posey and Matt Wieters are no doubt the best young catchers in the game right now. Some will look at Mike Napoli, Brian McCann and Alex Avila for that title. But for actual youth, production and potential, Posey and Wieters are the next big things. The only thing is how long will they actually be catchers. If I’m in either the Giants or Orioles front office, I move them as soon as possible. The catcher position is one of the hardest positions in the game and leaving either Posey or Wieters behind the plate too long could prove detrimental. Just look at Joe Mauer as an example of what could happen if you wait. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: American league, baltimore orioles, baseball, buster posey, catcher, giants, joe mauer, matt wieters, mlb, national league, orioles, prospect, san francisco giants

#29 Smoltz Jersey to be Retired: A Tribute to a Future Hall of Famer

Apr 21

Posted by Ryan Ritchey

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Saturday April 21st, 2012

Ryan Ritchey: On June 8th, 2012, John Smoltz’s number 29 jersey will be retired as an Atlanta Brave. This will be the 4th in 4 seasons for the Braves. Reality is that Smoltz was one of the most underrated pitchers ever to pitch in the majors. He is not a 300 game winner (a number that every starting pitcher shoots for), but he was one of the most consistent pitchers to ever toe the rubber. Winning 213 games throughout his 21 year career, he had to be consistent. Also as a reliever he also saved 155 games in 4 seasons. Impressive stats to say the least.

As a rookie at the age of 21, he had a rough start to his career going 2-7 with a 5.48 ERA. As a pitcher, he learned from his mistakes and became an all-star in only his second season in the bigs. He went 12-11 on the year, but had 5 complete games with a 2.94 ERA. Read the rest of this entry →

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Tags: Atlanta Braves, baseball, Bobby Cox, cooperstown, cy young, hall of fame, john smoltz, mlb, national league, saves, Tommy John Surgery, wins

Bob Gibson: Ranking the Cardinals Hurler Among the Greatest of All Time

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Friday March 9th, 2012

Rob Bland: Bob Gibson is, in Jonathan Hacohen’s mind, the best pitcher of all time. To me, there is certainly in an argument for at least top-10, maybe top-5. But I have trouble actually justifying putting him ahead of Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Pedro Martinez and Walter Johnson. Now, these pitchers played in different eras, so it is extremely difficult to compare them side-by-side.

Bob Gibson pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals for parts of 17 seasons, racking up 251 wins against 174 losses. He made his debut on April 15, 1959, and played his last game in September of 1975. Six years later he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 337 of a total 401 votes (84%).

Between 1961 and 1974, Gibson threw over 200 innings all but twice; 175.1 in 1967, and 195 in 1973. He surpassed 250 innings pitched eight times, and 290 innings four times. Needless to say, Gibby was a work horse. (more…)

Posted on March 9, 2012 | Image

Ballparks Are Using Gimmicks to Attract Females and Children

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Monday February 6th, 2012

Douglas “Chuck” Booth (Baseball Writer)- At first you might say, what are baseball teams doing to our classic baseball parks? After a few minutes of thinking you will realize that your team is in business to make money just like every other multi-billion dollar industry. I am talking about ‘Gimmicks’ at the baseball yard of course. They are often there to attract more casual female fans and children into walking through the turnstiles. From a Ferris Wheel in Detroit, to increased kid/mom interactive coloring stations that are located in almost every park, these gimmicks give the casual fan something to spend their time doing at the ballpark. I consider myself a hard-core fan, so does this kind of thing bother me? Absolutely not… and I will tell you why.When I arrive at the ballpark, I am there to watch baseball only! I usually have traveled a long distance, spent a considerable amount of money, time and effort in order to watch these games from the stands. So what do I care if the stands are not full with people waiting for every pitch? To tell you honestly, I would rather the casual fans spend more time in the concourses occupying themselves, rather than disrupting anything in my realm of vision for the baseball game. Seeing kids throwing temper tantrums is normal in any public place, so if they are not in their seat while having a conniption fit- that is great.

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Posted on February 6, 2012 | Image

Is Expansion of Interleague Play a Good Idea?

Nov 28

Posted by samevans87

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Monday November 28, 2011

Sam Evans: When Major League baseball first instituted interleague play in 1997 it was supposed to draw fans back to the game. It worked, as attendances rose around baseball whenever teams from the other league were in town. Now, in the year 2011, MLB is searching for a new way to draw fans back to the game and level the playing field for teams at the same time.

This offseason, Major League Baseball decided to realign the Astros to the American League. With balance leagues of 15 teams each side, this means that there will be at least one interleague game on days when all thirty teams are playing (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Opening Day, etc). MLB is trying to make the leagues and divisions more fair, but by doing so they are making interleague play less meaningful. In “Elmo Saves Christmas,” Elmo wishes that he could have Christmas every day. However, when Elmo’s wish comes true, he discovers Christmas is not as fun anymore. I am frightened that this will happen to baseball, and the result is that interleague play will not be as special.

For myself and many other baseball fans, the current interleague schedule is perfect. The summer months are a great time to go watch a team that you otherwise would not normally get to watch. I am afraid that with MLB’s new proposed schedule, the concept of separate leagues will lose almost all of their meaning outside of the postseason. The All-Star game will also not be as exciting because we would have already seen most of these players face each other throughout the year.

If I was Bud Selig, I would recognize that baseball needs to regain popularity among younger people. Baseball needs new ideas in marketing to become more popular around the world. If this new increased interleague schedule is destined to happen, then I would have only one interleague game on those required days and make it nationally televised. This would be similar to NBC’s Game of the Week which was televised and extremely popular from 1960 to 1990.

I think that interleague play over a whole season will have the opportunity to bring more fans to the game. However, I think there is more of a chance that it has little to no impact. Major League baseball needs to focus on getting people talking, to create a buzz. We have seen this idea work when fans are drawn to exciting players such as Strasburg and when fans see other people talking about the game.

If Major League Baseball ends up increasing the interleague games, they definitely shouldn’t have more than two interleague games per day, and they should advertise these games as much as possible. I didn’t find many problems with the current alignment, and I think it would have worked best if they had just stuck with the present schedule. Advances in the game can be great and revolutionize the sport. Increasing interleague play is not the answer in that regard. Expect more schedule and realignments changes to come until Major League Baseball gets it right.

***Today’s feature was prepared by our Baseball Writer, Sam Evans. We highly encourage you to leave your comments and feedback at the bottom of the page and share in the discussion with our readers. You can also follow Sam on Twitter***

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Tags: American league, bud selig, future of baseball, mlb, national league, national tv, Owners, schedule

Should Dale Murphy be Elected into Cooperstown?

Nov 20

Posted by samevans87

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Sunday November 20, 2011

Sam Evans: Dale Murphy was one of the best baseball players of the 1980’s. He played in 2180 games, hit .265, with 398 home runs. Now, after twelve years of eligibility, Murphy still has not been voted into the Hall of Fame.

Dale Murphy was not a dominant player during his era. He was a very good player, he won two MVP’s and five straight gold gloves. However, when you look back at his two “peak” years, he only posted a 6.1 WAR in those years combined. We can’t fully be sure of WAR’s (wins above replacement) ability to fully show the defensive prowess of players, but either way that is not impressive enough for a Cooperstown candidate.

On the field, Murphy was an inspiration to others. He truly looked like he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else in the world. Off the field, he wasn’t any different. Just ask Joe Torre, who had this to say about Murphy, “If you’re a coach, you want him as a player. If you’re a father, you want him as a son. If you’re a woman, you want him as a husband. If you’re a kid, you want him as a father. What else can you say about the guy?” Murphy truly was an American hero as evidenced by his Lou Gehrig award and Roberto Clemente award.

From 1980 to 1989, Murphy had more total bases than anyone in the majors. He had a perplexing career in terms of statistics. He never dominated any one category. A typical season from Murphy would look along the lines of: 30 HR, 90 RBI, 130 K, 15 SB, and a .265 AVG. That is a pretty good year by all standards. The player that was most similar to this stat line in 2011, was Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds.

Let’s make one thing clear. Based on his statistics alone, Dale Murphy is definitely not a Hall of Famer. A 44. WAR is not enough for a Hall of Famer. That is in fact less than Red Sox fourth outfielder J.D. Drew. However, if you want to make a case for Murphy’s election by including his contributions to the game of baseball off the field, I can see a stronger case for his candidacy.

Last year, Murphy received only 12.6% of the BBWAA voted for the Hall. He has a long ways to go, in terms of voting, and not a lot of time to do it. I really am indifferent to whether or not Dale Murphy is Hall of Famer. If he makes it in, I will be pleased that his great character and steady numbers had been noticed. The bottom line is that regardless of whether he is eventually elected into Cooperstown, Dale Murphy should always be remembered as a tremendous player that truly was a role model to kids and adults who followed his career. Even if he does not fit the Cooperstown mold, he was one of the top players of his generation and should be regarded as a strong role model for future wave of Major League Baseball players to come.

Please e-mail us at: MLBreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan onFacebook . To subscribe to our website and have the daily Reports sent directly to your inbox , click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

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Tags: 1980's, Atlanta Braves, baseball, bruce, cooperstown, Dale Murphy, drew, hall of fame, national league, reds, redsox

2011 MLB All-Star Game Recap: National League Defeats the American League for 2nd Year in a Row

Jul 13

Posted by blandy12

Wednesday July 13, 2011

Rob Bland (Intern Candidate for MLB Reports): This year’s edition of the Midsummer Classic, the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, had a record-setting vote-getter. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays received over 7.4 million votes in fan voting. This game was said to have lost some of its lustre due to the amount of players who elected not to participate. A total of eight players that were voted in by fans or chosen by coaches dropped out due to injury, timing or just plain wanting to rest. For the American League, David Price (TB), Derek Jeter (NYY), Mariano Rivera (NYY), Alex Rodriguez (NYY) and Jon Lester (BOS) all withdrew due to various ailments and injuries. Chipper Jones (ATL), Jose Reyes (NYM), and Placido Polanco (PHI) were the players who bowed out in the National League. One of Major League Baseball’s rules pertaining to eligibility for pitchers is that they must not start on the Sunday prior to the game. Due to this rule, CC Sabathia (NYY), James Shields (TB), Justin Verlander (DET), Felix Hernandez (SEA), Cole Hamels (PHI), and Matt Cain (SF) were ruled ineligible and unable to participate in the game.

Surely not having Price, Sabathia, Shields, Verlander, Hernandez and Rivera hurt the AL. Although he has had an impressive start to the season, CJ Wilson (TEX) probably should not have been pitching when he gave up the 3-run home run to Prince Fielder (MIL). It easily could have been one of those more accomplished aces as mentioned. However, that is the way it turned out, as the National League took advantage early and defeated the American League by a score of 5-1. The MVP of the game was Fielder, because of his huge home run that put the NL on top early and as it turned out, for good.

My pick for MVP was Roy Halladay (PHI), as he started for the National League and was dominant as only the Doc can be. He faced the minimum six batters over two innings, including Curtis Granderson (NYY), Adrian Gonzalez (BOS) and Jose Bautista (TOR); all potential MVP candidates. Halladay managed to throw only 19 pitches as part of his historical pitching performance.

In the 2^nd inning, the defensive play of the game occurred when Brian McCann (ATL) hit a towering flyball in foul territory that Bautista caught as he slid into the wall. Aside from being one of the top home run hitters in baseall, Bautista is also an accomplished fielder who is capable of winning a gold glove at either third base or right field.

The scoring in the game started in the top of the 4^th inning, when Adrian Gonzalez blasted a Cliff Lee (PHI) cutter over the right center field wall for a solo blast. The AL followed with three straight singles, the last of which was off Tyler Clippard (WAS). Hunter Pence fielded the ball and threw a laser to the plate to catch Bautista who tried to score from second for the third out. In the bottom of the inning, Carlos Beltran (NYM) and Matt Kemp (LAD) hit singles to set up Fielder`s massive bomb.

Jordan Walden (LAA), another player who probably didn`t deserve to play as much as the other big name starters, began to light up the radar gun last night, hitting 100 mph on his first four fastballs. Starlin Castro (CHC) came in to pinch run at first base after Troy Tulowitzki (COL) hit a leadoff single. Castro proceeded to immediately steal second and third base. He then set up another play at the plate, where Walden bare handed a weak ground ball by Rickie Weeks (MIL) and threw Castro out. Weeks stole second and came around to score when Andre Ethier (LAD) hit a single to right field, making the score 4-1.

The scoring continued in the bottom of the seventh inning when Pablo Sandoval (SF) hit a ground rule double over the wall in the left field corner. This scored Hunter Pence (HOU) after his leadoff single and a passed ball that allowed him to move to second base, and eventually score.

Fan favorite Brian Wilson (SF) came in the top of the nineth inning with runners on second and third. A fly out and ground out later, and the game was in the books. Make the final score 5-1, as the National League wins for the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and secures home field advantage for its league in the up coming World Series in the fall.

This year`s All-Star Festivities were enjoyed by so many fans, and continually impressed me. I have had a great time covering the 2011 All-Star Game, everything from the Futures Game, Home Run Derby and of course, the All-Star Game itself. With Major League Baseball now entering the dog days of summer and the secon half of the season, it is time to speculate on trades and the calling up of prospects. Pure heaven for this baseball writer!

***EDITOR’S NOTE: With Chase Field still buzzing, the trade market has already begun. The Milwaukee Brewers announced right after the game taht they had acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations from the New York Mets for two players to be named later. With the Brewers acquiring Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum in the offseason, clearly Milwaukee is going for it. Will be interesting to see if Brewers allow K-Rod’s $17.5 million option to vest for 2012, which is based on number of games finished in 2011. If K-Rod finishes 55 games, the option will vest. As he has already finsihed 34 this season, so the option could vest depending on how the Brewers use K-Rod and how close they remain to a playoff berth. It will be interesting to see what prospects go from Milwaukee to New York. Long-term this deal could hurt Milwaukee depending on which top prospects they give up. But in the short-term, this deal will make the Brewers’ fanbase happy and their slugging free agent to be, Prince Fielder, may have more thinking to do before selecting his new team for 2012. The ground work has been set with respect to the trade market. Now we will see if the K-Rod deal has indeed open the trading floodgates for the rest of baseball. ***

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
American	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
National	0	0	0	3	1	0	1	0	–	5	9	2

W: T. Clippard

L: C. Wilson

S: B. Wilson

National All-Stars
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	#P	AVG	OBP	SLG
R Weeks 2B	3	1	0	0	0	1	12	.000	.000	.000
B Phillips 2B	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
C Beltran DH	2	1	1	0	0	1	7	.500	.500	.500
a-A Ethier PH-DH	1	0	1	1	0	0	8	1.000	1.000	1.000
b-G Sanchez PH-DH	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
M Kemp CF	2	1	1	0	1	0	15	.500	.667	.500
A McCutchen CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
P Fielder 1B	2	1	1	3	0	0	6	.500	.500	2.000
J Votto 1B	2	0	0	0	0	1	9	.000	.000	.000
B McCann C	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
Y Molina C	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	1.000	1.000	2.000
c-J Bruce PH-RF	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	.000	.000	.000
L Berkman RF	1	0	1	0	0	0	3	1.000	1.000	1.000
J Upton RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
M Montero C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000
M Holliday LF	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	.000	.000	.000
H Pence LF	2	1	1	0	0	1	10	.500	.500	.500
T Tulowitzki SS	2	0	1	0	0	0	5	.500	.500	.500
S Castro PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000	.000	.000
S Rolen 3B	2	0	0	0	0	2	8	.000	.000	.000
P Sandoval 3B	1	0	1	1	0	0	6	1.000	1.000	2.000
Totals	31	5	9	5	1	9	126
a-singled to right for C Beltran in the 5th b-popped out to second for A Ethier in the 7th c-struck out looking for Y Molina in the 8th
BATTING 2B: Y Molina (1, C Perez); P Sandoval (1, B League) HR: P Fielder (1, 4th inning off C Wilson 2 on, 0 Out) RBI: P Fielder 3 (3), A Ethier (1), P Sandoval (1) 2-out RBI: A Ethier All-Stars RISP: 3-8 (P Fielder 1-1, J Upton 0-1, S Rolen 0-1, B Phillips 0-1, R Weeks 0-1, A Ethier 1-1, G Sanchez 0-1, P Sandoval 1-1) Team LOB: 3
BASERUNNING SB: S Castro 2 (2, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila, 3rd base off J Walden/A Avila); R Weeks (1, 2nd base off J Walden/A Avila) CS: L Berkman (1, 2nd base by D Robertson/A Avila)
FIELDING E: S Castro (1, throw); J Bruce (1, throw) Outfield Assist: H Pence (J Bautista at Home).

National All-Stars
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
R Halladay	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	19-14	0.00
C Lee	1.2	3	1	1	0	0	1	25-16	5.40
T Clippard	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3-3	0.00
C Kershaw (H)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8-6	0.00
J Jurrjens (H)	1.2	1	0	0	0	1	0	23-15	0.00
C Kimbrel (H)	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	14-8	0.00
J Venters	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	4-4	0.00
H Bell	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5-2	0.00
J Hanrahan	0.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	14-9	0.00
B Wilson (S)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7-5	0.00
Totals	9.0	6	1	1	1	5	1	122-82
PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: R Halladay 4/6; C Lee 4/8; T Clippard 1/1; C Kershaw 1/3; J Jurrjens 5/6; C Kimbrel 0/2; J Venters 2/2; H Bell 0/1; J Hanrahan 1/3; B Wilson 2/2 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: R Halladay 4-3-2-5; C Lee 4-1-3-8; T Clippard 1-1-0-1; C Kershaw 1-1-2-2; J Jurrjens 3-5-3-4; C Kimbrel 1-2-4-1; J Venters 1-2-0-1; H Bell 1-0-0-1; J Hanrahan 1-2-4-2; B Wilson 1-1-1-2 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: R Halladay 3-2; C Lee 4-1; T Clippard 0-0; C Kershaw 2-0; J Jurrjens 2-2; C Kimbrel 1-0; J Venters 1-0; H Bell 0-1; J Hanrahan 0-0; B Wilson 1-1 Game Scores: R Halladay 57

American All-Stars
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	#P	AVG	OBP	SLG
C Granderson CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000
J Ellsbury CF	2	0	0	0	0	2	8	.000	.000	.000
A Cabrera SS	2	0	0	0	0	1	6	.000	.000	.000
J Peralta SS	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
A Gonzalez 1B	2	1	1	1	0	0	6	.500	.500	2.000
M Cabrera 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	.000	.000	.000
M Young 3B	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000	.000	.000
J Bautista RF	2	0	1	0	0	0	5	.500	.500	.500
C Quentin RF	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.000	.000
J Hamilton LF	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	.500	.500	.500
M Joyce LF	2	0	1	0	0	0	7	.500	.500	.500
A Beltre 3B	2	0	1	0	0	0	10	.500	.500	.500
K Youkilis 3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	4	1.000	1.000	1.000
M Cuddyer 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
D Ortiz DH	2	0	0	0	0	1	10	.000	.000	.000
a-P Konerko PH-DH	1	0	0	0	1	0	13	.000	.500	.000
R Cano 2B	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000	.000	.000
H Kendrick 2B	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	.000	.000	.000
A Avila C	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	.000	.000	.000
M Wieters C	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000
Totals	33	1	6	1	1	5	122
a-walked for D Ortiz in the 7th
BATTING HR: A Gonzalez (1, 4th inning off C Lee 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: A Gonzalez (1) 2-out RBI: A Gonzalez All-Stars RISP: 2-5 (M Joyce 1-1, A Beltre 1-1, H Kendrick 0-1, M Cuddyer 0-1, P Konerko 0-1) Team LOB: 6
FIELDING DP: 1 (A Avila-R Cano). PB: M Wieters. Outfield Assist: J Bautista (A Ethier at 2nd base).

American All-Stars
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
J Weaver	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	14-8	0.00
D Robertson	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	14-7	0.00
M Pineda	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	10-8	0.00
C Wilson (L)	1.0	3	3	3	0	1	1	22-14	27.00
J Walden	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	20-13	9.00
C Perez	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	15-9	0.00
B League	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0	19-13	9.00
A Ogando	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6-5	0.00
G Gonzalez	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	6-3	0.00
Totals	8.0	9	5	5	1	9	1	126-80
PITCHING First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: J Weaver 4/4; D Robertson 1/3; M Pineda 3/3; C Wilson 3/6; J Walden 2/4; C Perez 2/4; B League 3/5; A Ogando 2/2; G Gonzalez 1/1 Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: J Weaver 3-3-0-2; D Robertson 2-1-3-1; M Pineda 3-3-1-1; C Wilson 4-2-4-4; J Walden 2-3-5-3; C Perez 2-2-2-3; B League 1-4-4-4; A Ogando 2-0-1-2; G Gonzalez 2-1-0-0 Ground Balls-Fly Balls: J Weaver 1-1; D Robertson 0-1; M Pineda 0-1; C Wilson 0-2; J Walden 1-0; C Perez 0-2; B League 0-2; A Ogando 2-0; G Gonzalez 0-0 Game Scores: J Weaver 53

***Thank you to Rob Bland for preparing today’s article on the All-Star Game. You can follow Rob on Twitter.***

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