And now, starting for the American League All-Star team as voted on by the baseball fans out there… with a stellar 11 home runs, 31 RBI and a .238 batting average, former MVP Jason Giambi! Every year the fans make a mistake or two with their selections for All-Star game starters, often voting on reputation or recognizable names instead of on how a player has performed in the current season, and that’s not always a bad thing. It brings more star power to the game, which is supposed to be more of an event than a competitive game anyways. Cal Ripken Jr. was a constant presence in the starting lineup over the years, despite a career that was on a noticeable downward plunge. But the fans loved him because of the streak that kept him in the public eye, and even more importantly, because they knew who he was. One year Jose Canseco was voted as a starter despite missing virtually the whole first half of the season due to injury, but he was still the most exciting player in the sport at the time, so he still deserved to be there at a showcase for the sport. Jason Giambi has no business being at the All-Star Game in 2004.
Category: MLB
MLB
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This week I wanted to wait until the weekend to breakdown the 4th of July edition of the Fantasy Sports Weekly. I want to give a glimpse into the fantasy football crystal ball for all of you who have told me “I hate fantasy baseball…I’ll start reading when you have some fantasy football stuff…” and I will also breakdown the fantasy baseball all star team for the first half of the season.
But first… |
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A Flawless Day… Almost
Leave it to the Boston Red Sox to ruin a perfect day.
The script was all right there in front of me, every detail pointing to June 30, 2004 going down in history as one of the watershed days of my life. The weather was gorgeous, a moderate mixture of temperature, sun intensity, and gentle breeze that could have passed for San Diego in April as easily as Boston in early summer.
The last place Pittsburgh Pirates just completed a sweep of the first place St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-5 victory on Wednesday. The win lengthens the Pirates’ win streak to five, after a horrid month of losing in June. While starting pitching has been a huge key during the streak, the timely hitting from the Pirates’ younger stars could come as more of a surprise.
But is this something that Pirate fans should get hyped about or no?
Pressure? Urgency?
The Red Sox could get swept by the Yankees this week and still hold a 6-4 lead in the season series.
Unfortunately, the glass-is-hall-full approach is not shared by many citizens of Red Sox Nation, who have been known to demand the firing of pennant-winning managers and other field generals who take the team to the ALCS. In some baseball cities, reaching Game 7 of the ALCS would be seen as a triumphant season. In the hardball meccas of Boston and New York, however, such a season is a disappointment, a chapter in the annals of the franchise that deserves to be skimmed over. In these two cities, where baseball is not as much a diversionary sport as it is a fan’s validation of his own self-worth, the greatest rivalry in professional sports is renewed (for the eighth time this year) this week in the Bronx.
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Manny and Thome – Ohio Players
A quick glance at baseball’s league leaders in home runs reads like this: National League – Jim Thome, American League – Manny Ramirez. They are two of the biggest stars in the game, both establishing their Hall of Fame credentials with every titanic blast, but have both remained somewhat mysterious to the public. Blame part of that on Major League Baseball’s reluctance to promote superstars, but also look at the two men as two personalities that you wouldn’t expect to find in professional sports.
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Red Sox….. afraid of risk?
Now that the Beltran saga is behind us, at least till 2005, and A-Rod is the new Yankee for life, the Red Sox may now have to reap the consequences.
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In a New York Microcosm
In the fifth inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Mets finally had Mike Piazza at the plate with Kaz Matsui and Jose Reyes on base, something that has never happened before. What took place was all too familiar.
Barry went bonkers when asked about sprinter Tim Montgomery’s alleged testimony that the person who supplied Montgomery with performance enhancing drugs also supplied Bonds with similar drugs. According to the AP, Bonds unleashed a “flurry of expletives” against Tim Montgomery. Remember when Turk Wendell basically said, “look at him! he’s obviously on steroids!” and Bonds went nuts? At that time, the Associated Press said that Bonds “chastised” Turk. I saw that clip folks and chastised isn’t quite the word I’d use. Bonds called him a little bitch and said he was chickenshit. If that’s chastising, I wonder what “flurry of expletives” means.
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Pokeymania
Bill Simmons, the self-proclaimed Boston Sports Guy, writes about The Leap: those moments when good or even great players transcend their previous limitations and solidify their immortality as one of the truly elite.
While not quite the same idea, Red Sox fans witnessed The Leap of a different variety on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at a brisk Fenway Park.