EVIL~! alkeiper

They're a .500 team. .500 teams regularly run off hot streaks and can make a run at things if they are still in the race. It is not likely, but it is far from impossible.

That's a good point. We often forget that labor stoppages were the norm even before the 1994 baseball strike. 2002 was the first time the labor contract came up in MLB without a stoppage, and we just witnessed the NBA close a deal months before the deadline. I can't speak for all of sports, but I am sure it will be a long time before the NHL tries this again.

The attendance drop in baseball looked worse than it really was because baseball had expanded in 1993. The Colorado Rockies drew 4,000,000 in attendance, an unsustainable spike. Still, baseball suffered a short term drop in attendance. I think baseball lost the casual fan, but the fan who says he'll never watch baseball again is usually not a hardcore fan in the first place. Baseball has suffered in Canada though. I don't know if it is more the strike, or baseball doing everything it can to kill business in Montreal. In any case, Montreal lost the Expos, Vancouver lost their AAA team, and rumors have broken that the AAA Ottawa team could move soon as well. It is odd because this is a golden age for Canadian talent. Jason Bay, Eric Bedard, Rich Harden, Jeff Francis, Justin Morneau, Corey Koskie, Eric Gagne. There's never been a better time for Canadians in MLB.

Fun facts about Bobby Abreu. In Close and Late situations this year (i.e. close games AFTER the 7th inning), he is hitting .282/.391/.513. Abreu has grounded into the amazing total of THREE double plays this year. One a month. Abreu is the best outfielder in baseball. If the team can not pitch, that is not his fault. The Phillies are at .500. Their failures are due to Thome's injury problems, and the team's inability to produce reliable pitching. Still, this team is only five games out of a wild card berth, and behind only two teams at that. If you think this season is over, you are a damed fool. And watch your language, because if I have an excuse to toss you for disparaging remarks about Abreu, I will.

Lou Gehrig had 23 I believe. I had no idea Ramirez was approaching the record.

The Jimmy Rollins story! Last year he was better, but he seems to be back in the mindset of a power hitter this year. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Obviously Rollins shouldn't swing for the fences, but he has value as a power hitter, particularly when he can slice line drives into the gap and run out triples.

Jones didn't start hitting until 2/3rds of the way through the ballot and even now, he wouldn't rank among the top three outfielders. Mike Piazza is a few points off the lead for OPS among NL catchers. His competition includes Paul LoDuca, whose second half collapses are well-documented, and a host of others who have not formed a reputation yet. He's going to the Hall of Fame, and honestly I don't see a problem. Rolen's in the All-Star game because the non-Rolen vote was divided among David Wright, Morgan Ensberg, Aramis Ramirez and others. Again, blame the process. As for Yankee and Red Sox fans, if you look closely only Rodriguez is starting for the Yankees, who deserves it, and the four All-Star starters the Sox produced also deserve it. I know several knowledgeable Yankee fans who would vote for the best players regardless of affiliation (as long as they are not Red Sox of course).

I think Billy Wagner needs to learn how to win.

Too bad Wang isn't really that good. 28 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings pitched? Here's a fun exercise. Find me a pitcher in the last twenty years who won 50 games in the majors with a 3.3 K/9 rate. Start looking. I'll save you the trouble and assure you such a pitcher does not exist. It is a matter of time before Wang either learns to pitch, or is toast in the major leagues.

I made this argument at NMB. What the All-Star voting really needs is a runoff. The way the voting is constructed now, a player can merit an All-Star selection with 15-20% of the vote. When there is no clear-cut favorite, fans vote for several qualified candidates, and that allows weaker candidates to steal a spot here and there. If we took say the top 5, and had fans vote at each position for the last two weeks, I think we would see more informed choices.

Told ya. 3-0 Phillies.

True, but if the game counted would you ever take Bobby Abreu out of the game? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No, not a chance. That's why home-field in the World Series should not be on the line in a game where managers try to get everyone in and fans vote on starters. Jason <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have no problems with the fans voting, and I think the mistakes are due to the process rather than the voting pool.

True, but if the game counted would you ever take Bobby Abreu out of the game?

Ryan Howard coming up. Here comes the pain.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/mil...?mc=_triplea_05 Since the sucktitude of the MLB All-Star game has gotten me down, I figured I'd drop some information regarding the last All-Star game I thoroughly enjoyed, the AAA All-Star game. The AAA version features top prospects, and a few familiar names you might remember. Of the 28 players representing the International League, I've seen 19 of them in live action. I'm glad to see Chris Coste make the squad from the Red Barons. Ryan Howard will almost certainly miss the game due to his promotion.

Yeah, three REALLY bad choices if you base it off this year. I'm more of a fan for recent history/reputation, but whatever. Manny, Ortiz, Damon, Varitek all made the starting lineup. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Beltran, Rolen, who's third? Piazza's past his prime, but he's still producing numbers as good as the best catchers in the league

Live chat tonight (hopefully) for the All-Star selection show. Invite yourselfs to "NMBBaseball."

Utley lost his rookie eligibility in 2003.

There isn't one. And I'd be hard pressed to give the award to Lee, seeing that his OPS has risen a full eleven points since last year. How about Brett Myers, who cut over two runs from his ERA, added three to his K/9 ratio and doubled his K:BB ratio?

I think Baker was called up last time too.

AL MVP: Brian Roberts NL MVP: Derrek Lee AL Cy Young: Mark Buehrle NL Cy Young: Roger Clemens AL Rookie: Tadahito Iguchi NL Rookie: Clint Barmes AL Manager: Ozzie Guillen NL Manager: Bobby Cox

Neither played when Rochester came around. I'll likely see the club once or twice again, and I'll see if either of them appear.

This is a good place to drop this link... http://www.baseball-reference.com/travel/ Enter your zip code and find nearby clubs you never knew existed.

About 5 hours. Box seats at Scranton are just $9 as well. The nice thing about my area is that while the nearest park is half an hour away, there are a ton of stadiums within a one or two hour drive. I've got the New Jersey Cardinals, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, Reading Phillies, Harrisburg Senators, Williamsport Crosscutters, Camden Riversharks, Somerset Patriots, Trenton Thunder and Binghamton Mets all within range. That doesn't count the New York City area parks. Syracuse is the next closest AAA park though, and that's a nearly three hour drive. The nice thing about being a Phillies fan is that most of the teams are close together. Citizens Bank Park is a two hour drive. Scranton is half an hour. I can reach AA Reading in an hour and a half. The Single A Lakewood club is two and a half hours. Single A Batavia is five hours, but they play teams much closer.

I have a part time gig going to Red Barons games and scoring them for an independant company. As a result, I have attended quite a few live games, 18 to be exact. In addition, I have attended games in Binghamton, NY and Sussux County, NJ. I've stated it many times before, but it is worth repeating. If you think Major League Baseball is too costly and unexciting, check out a minor league game. Ticket prices are usually less than $10, parking fees are not outragious, and while concessions are marked up, they are still affordable. Best of all, you can walk up and get tickets much closer to the action. Each time I see a prospect listed in John Sickels' Minor League Prospect Guide, I highlight his name. Here are the talents I have seen so far this season. Players not listed but otherwise of interest are in italics. ATLANTA P Kevin Barry P Kyle Davies OF Kelly Johnson 3B Andy Marte OF Bill McCarthy C Brayan Pena SS Tony Pena Jr. BOSTON P Abe Alvarez P Tim Bausher C Kelly Shoppach CHICAGO (A) OF Brian Anderson P Jeff Bajenaru P Arnie Munoz CINCINNATI 3B Edwin Encarnacion C Dane Sardinha OF Steve Smitherton P Joe Valentine CLEVELAND P Andrew Brown P Dan Denham OF Ben Francisco 1B Ryan Garko 3B Jake Gautreau C Javi Herrera SS Brandon Pinckney SS Brandon Phillips OF Ryan Ludwick 1B Jeff Liefer DETROIT OF Curtis Granderson P Ryan Raburn 1B Carlos Pena MINNESOTA 1B Garrett Jones OF Kevin West NEW YORK (N) 3B Aarom Balderis P Brian Bannister 1B Craig Brazell SS Anderson Hernandez 2B Jeff Keppinger OF Wayne Lydon P Blake McGinley OF Angel Pagan P Royce Ring P Jae Seo 1B Brian Daubach NEW YORK (A) P Colter Bean P Alex Graman 1B Andy Phillips P Wayne Franklin P Scott Proctor PHILADELPHIA P Eude Brito C John Castellano P Gavin Floyd 1B Ryan Howard P Franklin Perez C Carlos Ruiz P Vicente Padilla P Terry Adams P Geoff Geary PITTSBURGH OF Chris Duffy P Zach Duke OF Nate McLouth C Ronny Paulino P Ian Snell 3B Ty Wigginton 1B Graham Koonce ST. LOUIS C Brandon Yarbrough TAMPA BAY OF Joey Gathright OF Jonny Gomes 1B Eric Munson SS B.J. Upton TORONTO 1B Eric Crozier OF John-Ford Griffin OF Gabe Gross P Francisco Rosario Having been to one park each from the Majors, AAA, AA and Single A, the differences are readily apparent. Promotions are much more widespread the further down the minors you travel. The Single A New Jersey Cardinals featured an on-field promotion nearly every half inning. Players are more accessable in the low minors. The NJ Cardinals actually stationed a player at the information booth to meet fans and sign autographs, and I understand the Williamsport Crosscutters and other teams in the NY-Penn League do the same.