Author: Garrett Rudolph

With all the commotion of the seven-game NHL championship series, the thrilling NBA playoffs, US Open, and the largest sporting event in the entire world, The World Cup all going on at the same time, is anybody actually watching baseball?

In an offensive era, where records and milestones are continuously coming into question, few eyebrows are raised suspiciously toward the achievements of pitchers. So, where the top offensive player of this generation stands on shaky ground with regards to his future Hall of Fame induction, the top two pitchers– Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux– are already booking hotel reservations for Cooperstown and scheduling tee-times at the Leatherstocking Golf Course.

For the next eight top pitchers… they’ll have to read this article before they start making flight plans. Who’s Going to the Hall, and Who’s Watching the Ceremony on Baseball Tonight, by Garrett Rudolph.

There is only one position player in baseball right now whose statistics are good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, no questions asked. I won’t even mention his name, but we all know who I am talking about and we all know that his off-field endeavors might eventually cost him his admittance slip, just like it cost Pete Rose. That is an argument for another day, another time, and certainly, another writer.

But for the other 99.9% of baseball there is the potential for some argument one way or the other. With that said, here is the definitive list: Who’s In and Who’s Out amongst the top 9 candidates, according to Garrett Rudolph.

Lot of movement this week. White Sox get dethroned by the streaking Mets. Athletics and Astros take jumps forward. On the other hand, all of a sudden, the Braves and Diamondbacks look like double-A teams.

The All-Star Game is just around the corner, and after that, the trade deadline, which means teams have to start making important personnel decisions.

This week’s focus is on the injuries across the league. Pujols injury proves he’s human. In New York, Sheffield joins his buddy Godzilla on the DL, while out in California both Gagne and Harden return, only to get cold feet and jump right back to being injured. And finally, after months and months of suspense and waiting… Rocco Baldelli has finally returned, just in time for the Devil Rays’ playoff push.

The Rocket is back, but will he be enough to catch up with Pujols and the Redbirds? Will the Braves playoff streak finally come to an end? Will the AL East again come down to the greatest rivalry in sports. And will Bud Selig mercifully intervene and allow two AL wild cards in place of an AL West champion?

The short answer to all these questions is, I don’t know, but we’re a third of the way into the season and the postseason layout is slowly coming into focus on the horizon.