5 NL, 1 AL

Well there goes our home field advantage (Thanks CJ Wilson).

Prince Fielder hit a three run home run in the 4th while the NL pitching staff shut down the AL lineup and win the All Star Game 5-1.

How did the AL score a run? Of course Adrian Gonzalez hit the bomb off of Cliff Lee in the 4th. After the 4th the AL just got 3 hits, one of those being from Kevin Youkilis. David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury both went 0-2.

Josh Beckett was supposed to go, but opted to sit after the knee felt a little funny. He said if it was a regular season game he would have played, I like it.

End result, whoever we play in the world series we are going to have to start in their stadium.

Circling The Bases - National League Power Rankings

One Up,One Down - Here is a look at a riser and faller in the NL.


Philadelphia

The Phillies are winners of 4 in a row, and are 8-2 in their last 10, the best 10 game mark in baseball. They sit only two games back of ATL, and 1.5 back in the Wild Card (SF). Obviously, the addition of Roy Oswalt makes their rotation very deep and probably puts them ahead of St Louis for the best rotation in the NL. However, they are a bit banged up offensively to say the least. The oft-injured Chase Utley is due off the DL later this month, and slugger Ryan Howard recently injured his ankle in an awkward slide into 2nd base. They also have serious questions in the back end of their bullpen. My own opinion is that they might want to let Contreras try closing a few games. He's got about 5 pitches to use, and could be pretty good in short inning work. The bullpen, though, could be their eventual undoing.


San Diego

The Padres haven't played terrible in their last 10, but they aren't exactly the picture of confidence for a division winner. San Francisco is only 2 games back and I don't think I would be insane to say that before the season most people would have put the Giants ahead of the Padres. I mean, look at San Diego's roster! Their pitching has been very good, but they are playing way over their heads this year, and adding Miguel Tejada doesn't make me think this team is over the hump. They have no regulars hitting .300 or better. Outside of Adrian Gonzalez, they have no offensive threats. Yet, they still find ways to win.


NATIONAL LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS #1-10 Rank, Team, (previous rank)

#1 Atlanta Braves, (1)
The Braves have won their last two and are sitting steady at .500 in their last 10. The Phils are breathing down their necks, but injuries to Howard and Utley may keep them from overtaking the Tomahawks. The Chop is going strong again down in Atlanta.

#2 Cincinnati Reds, (2)
It's not quite the Big Red Machine, but this rag-a-muffin squad has got enough to win the NL Central if they can hold off St Louis. They play in a great hitters park and have gotten tremendous pitching lead by Johnny Cueto. Unheralded Travis Wood has also been a pleasant surprise. Through 7 starts he has a 2.4 ERA and a WHIP under .9! Who?! Exactly. Perhaps the most unheralded rookie starter in years. His efforts are hardly getting any attention in the shadows of Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg.

#3 Philadelphia Phillies, (7)
(See above)

#4 San Diego Padres, (4)
I don't know if I believe in it yet, but they are a division leader in August right now. Gotta give props for that.

#5 San Francisco Giants, (9)
My pick, still, to win the NL West this year. I like their rotation, and while the offense isn't anything to write home about I think they have more than San Diego.

#6 St. Louis Cardinals (5)
Yadier Molina has started to pick it up, finally. But it might be too little too late for St Louis, who has a stellar rotation, and like San Diego, one real big bopper. Although, Holliday is far better than San Diego's 2nd option. 7th in the NL in runs scored, which is not terrible, but they are chasing the NL leader in runs in Cincy.

#7 Colorado Rockies, (3)
Ubaldo Jimenez has been mostly awesome this year, with a few horrendous starts sprinkled in. The rest of the Rocks' rotation leaves a little more to be desired. Carlos Gonzalez is emerging as a young superstar in this league, and MLB would be smart to promote him a little more. Tulo is back from his injury, so hopefully the Rockies can get some momentum going. Remember, this is the team that a couple years back won an insane amount of games in August and September to make a late push for the playoffs, and eventually the World Series (pwned).

#8 Los Angeles Dodgers, (8)
Things are not excellent in Chavez Ravine these days. Billingsley and Kershaw should be a nice 1-2 punch for the next few years, but this team has not been able to get it going this year. Matt Kemp seems more interested in Rihanna (can you blame him?) than baseball. He actually told a reporter that baseball is not the most important thing in his life. And while, that is a nice honest answer, I'm sure Frank McCourt and Joe Torre don't want to hear that. The media is all over him for being out late about town in Hollywood nights before games and such. Basically, it is awesome TMZ type stuff in Dodgertown.

#9 New York Mets, (6)
Having recently relocated to the fine state of New York, I get to watch this debacle on a nightly basis. They are in the top 10 only because the rest of the NL is atrocious. Jason Bay sucks, and might have been Theo's best move yet in letting him go. Jose Reyes is back but isn't quite right yet, same for Carlos Beltran. Ike Davis is a nice looking young player, though, and something to look forward to. Perhaps the most troubling sign of all is the struggles of Mike Pelfrey since the early part of the season when he looked like an ace in the making. He has been awful and it is a pleasure to watch him get all stressed out on the mound. (Well, for me at least.)

#10 Florida Marlins, (10)
Yea, about these last couple spots. I should have just made a top 8. Anyway, outside of Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez there is not so much to write about here. So I won't.

Circling the Bases - National League

As we get ready to begin the 2nd half of the baseball season, I figured we'd take a moment to take a look at Baseball outside of Boston, MA...as unappealing as that sounds. We'll take a look at every division and even play a little Power Rankings, which I will try to update every week (no promises). Today, we'll take a look at the National League - American League to come tomorrow.

NL EAST

ATL - 52-36

The Braves have got the 'chop going again in the dirty dirty, with the best record in the National League as we head into the 2nd half. If I told you the Braves and Padres would be the only two NL teams with 50+ wins at the half you'd have probably crapped your pants. But here we are. Rookie sensation Jason Heyward has breathed new life into this great franchise. Despite battling some minor injuries Heyward has put together an impressive first half with 11 HR and 45 RBI. Troy Glaus has found the fountain of youth and is once again one of the best mashers in the league, 14 HR 58 RBI. The Braves also have a great rotation and solid bullpen. They look poised for a deep run in the playoffs. We'll see how the 2nd half plays out and whether they can hold off Philadelphia, a notorious 2nd half team.



NYM - 48-40

Ah, The Mets! Those amazing Mets, always seem to blow it in the 2nd half in recent years. At 48-40 there in decent position and look forward to getting Carlos Beltran back into the lineup. The key will be finding regular AB for Angel Pagan who has been a pleasant surprise. He'll likely see some of Francoeur's AB with Beltran healthy. The Mets could use another starter, like many teams, and should be in the hunt for one come trade deadline time. Jose Reyes has also seen a lot of DL time and will hopefully be a contributor going forward. They need him atop the lineup to be successful. Any rotation with R.A. Dickey has some question marks. I don't expect to see this team in October.


PHI - 47-40

Rumored clubhouse problems involving Jayson Werth and Chase Utley's wife abound, and may be part of the cause of Philly's underwhelming first half. Utley is banged up again and they'll need him to be the catalyst of the offense when he gets back. The rotation led by Roy Halladay has some holes and could probably use another starter. Ted Lilly??? Either way the Phils will probably need some tinkering to make it back into the post-season after two straight World Series appearances.


FLA - 42-46

The Marlins have already gone through a managerial change this season as Fredi Gonzalez was shown the door not too long after benching the franchise player, Hanley Ramirez for lack of hustle. The only team in the division under .500 at home, that might have something to do with their 3rd place standing. It's not fault of Josh Johnson who is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. He's leading the league with a 1.07 ERA and a whip of 0.96 He has been downright filthy, and unfortunately for the fish he can only go once every 5 days. Young phenom Mike Stanton has yet to really make a splash, but don't ignore him in the 2nd half. He had nothing left to prove in the minors, and Peter Gammons has a chubby for him that would make Peter North jealous.


WAS - 39-50

Another losing season in Washington, but one man has made them instantly relevant...Stephen Strasburg. He will fill stadiums on nights he takes the hill and with good reason. The best prospect baseball has seen, maybe ever struck out 14 in his MLB debut and has looked every bit as dominant as people expected. It's a rare day that an athlete delivers on hype, so it is a real treat to watch this kid throw. If you like big time gas and nasty breaking balls this kid's got it. Don't miss it.
Hopefully, in a few years he won't be having a one hour special about his decision to leave Washington and take his talents to the Bronx.



NL CENTRAL

CIN - Along the same lines as San Diego, a big surprise division leader here in the Reds. Led by the resurgent Scott Rolen and would-be All-Star snub Joey Votto, the Reds sit atop the Central at the half. Votto is the best hitter in the league right now, and we'll see if he can maintain that title through the whole season. There is another guy named Albert Pujols, after all. The Reds have gotten good pitching from Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo and a string of guys no one has heard of. They hope to get Edison Volquez back at some point in the 2nd half (ahead of schedule) to bolster the rotation. I don't know if they're really a contender, but no one wants a piece of them in that ballpark right now.


STL - 47-41

The Cardinals have been a bit underwhelming thus far as well. Their offense ranks in the bottom half of the league in most offensive categories. While Albert is putting up his numbers, the Cards on a whole are struggling to score runs. To be honest I think the only other Cardinal I can name off the top of my head are Matt Holiday, Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus. This franchise hasn't done a great job of putting a team around Pujols. Their rotation however, led by Adam Wainwright, is another story. They continue to pitch well, and I expect that to be the reason that STL gives CIN all they can handle down the home stretch.


MIL - 40-49

Milwaukee, after a couple years of seemingly breaking through into contention, are back to the ol' Brewers we know and love...losing. As they continue to struggle look for the team to be shopping Prince Fielder, who is likely to want too much money next off-season. They may also be shopping Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Their asking prices seem to be steep, so we'll see if they cave as the deadline approaches. Looks like another decade of rebuilding ahead for Milwaukee.



CHC - 39-50

The Cubs are a joke. How's that Soriano contract looking right about now? Not so good! Everyone thinks they're underachieving, but that is because Cubs fans are dillusional and think they have a good team every year. Carlos Zambrano is entertaining, but not because he is pitching well. Derek Lee is too old, Starlin Castro is too young and the rest of the team just isn't that good. They'll probably sell off Ted Lilly to the highest bidder and hopefully get some more young pieces to go with Castro and Brett Jackson. Lou Piniella continues to be the most overrated manager in baseball, and I suspect that if he survives the season this will be his last in Chicago (just my own thoughts).



HOU - 36-53

The Astros. I almost forgot about them when doing this post. They've yet to deal Oswalt, but I know plenty of teams are interested. Mets? Phillies? The Astros should move him sooner rather than later, as they're more likely to dip their asking price as the weeks go by. They need to move him and Carlos Lee (although his contract is very unappealing) to have some hopes of rebuilding soon. They've done an awful job in recent drafts and their farm system continues to be ranked among the leagues worst. What more can I say? This team is a LONG way from the 2005 World Series.


PIT - 30-58

Is this the worst team in American sports? God, how long has it been since Pittsburgh had a winning season? Well, since you asked that would be 1992 the last year Barry Bonds was in town. I don't know what to say. Pedro Alvarez looks like he might be a nice young power hitter of the future, and Andrew McCutchen is a nice player. That's about it. Years of selling off decent and good players for peanuts have left this team in shambles. Hopefully, new ownership can get some momentum going.

*Why doesn't MLB move the Astros to the AL West so every division has 5 teams? Fucking stupid. Also, this division is terrible. I thought the NL West was bad. You couldn't pay me to watch any of these teams right now.


NL WEST

SD - 51-37

Wow. Even typing that seems weird. Coming into the season, we were all predicting where Adrian Gonzalez would end up at the trade deadline. Well those plans have been put on hold for the time being. This team is rolling, and their pitching leads many to believe they'll keep on rolling, all the way into the post-season. I don't know if I'm buying that just yet, because Colorado is pretty good, although Tulo is out with a fractured wrist. The Padres have gotten stellar pitching from youngster Mat Latos and the rest of their rotation which is rounded out with a bunch of no-names and journey-man Jon Garland. Their offense is built around get on base and let Adrian drive 'em in which has been working thus far. Heath Bell is locking down wins at the back end of the pen, and the Padres look like a contender for the playoffs anyway. A great pitchers park in Petco, they've done well building a team to fit, though I'm convinced they're as surprised as anyone else.


COL - 49-39

Nipping at the heels of the Padres are the Rocks, who have battled through injuries much like the Red Sox. Brad Hawpe, Huston Street and Troy Tulowitzki have all seen the DL, among others, and yet here they are tied for 2nd in the NL West. If they can get healthy for the 2nd half, they're my pick to win the division. They've got the Ace in Ubaldo Jimenez that could take a team deep in the playoffs, and they're fairly well-rounded on offense. They also have the 2nd best home record in baseball (Detroit), which could fair well come September. Don't count out the Rockies just yet.


LAD - 49-39

Despite all the off-field turmoil involving the McCourts' divorce and legal battles over the rights to the team, the Dodgers are still hanging around. Young star Matt Kemp was benched briefly by Joe Torre for showing a lack of discipline and baseball fundamentals, which drive Torre nuts, but has come up big in recent weeks. James Loney has been steady, hitting over .300 and Andre Ethier got off to a hot start before hitting the DL for a stint. Clayton Kershaw, the young lefty, leads the rotation along with Hiroki Kuroda and Jonathan Broxton locks down saves with his 100 mph heat. They still have Manny being Manny in left field, and when he gets hot he could carry them for a couple weeks. I'm not sold that this team has enough depth on the mound to win the division or the wild card, and I doubt that with the legal battles going on they'll be buyers at the deadline. I think they'll run with what they have which might not be enough.


SF - 47-41

A sexy pick heading into the season, with their great rotation led by "Big Time Timmy Jim" Lincecum, the Giants have been even lighter in the hitting department than expected. They finally turned loose their best hitting prospect, Buster Posey who looks ready to take his place in MLB as a regular run producer. They still have time to right the ship, but could probably use another bat. Corey Hart might be a nice fit for the Giants, but Milwaukee will want a pitcher in return, and I'm not sure San Francisco will give one up. The Kung Fu panda really has to turn it around from here on out for them to be a contender in the West.


AZ - 34-55

Arizona became the second team in the league to rid themselves of a manager this season, and they cleaned out the front office while they were at it. Owner Ken Kendrick has his hands full rebuilding this team, and not much to do it with as he just ate about 5 1/2 years of GM Josh Byrnes contract. Rumors have been swirling in the valley of the sun that the team is shopping Steven Drew and Mark Reynolds, although the latter would come with a pretty steep asking price. They've got some talent coming through the pipeline in Jarrod Parker, a young ace in the making, but recent moves and the 2001 World Series team have crippled this team - 2007 NLCS aside. The real kicker is the $50 mil they shelled out to 4th OF Eric Byrnes who is now playing beer league softball and yucking it up like a real deuchebag. Clearly, the highest paid softball player in the world. Still not as famous as Jenny Finch though.


Here's my Top 10 NL Power Rankings for the week of July 12, 2010.

#1 Atlanta Braves
#2 Cincinnati Reds
#3 Colorado Rockies
#4 San Diego Padres
#5 St. Louis Cardinals
#6 New York Mets
#7 Philadelphia Phillies
#8 Los Angeles Dodgers
#9 San Francisco Giants
#10 Florida Marlins

Brad Penny Is Also Super In The NL

Penny threw five-hit ball over eight shutout innings in his first start with the Giants, leading the NL wild-card contenders to a 4-0 win over the Phillies. Which is confirmation that the NL (including the Phillies BMack, are a minor league team) If Brad Penny even had one game like this for the Red Sox I could have called this coincidental, however he didn't, and sucked the whole time. For some reason I don't have as much of a bitter taste in my mouth when it comes to Penny as I do for John Smoltz, but it does suck to have two former Sox pitchers kill it in the NL.

MLB Standings

AMERICAN LEAGUE
AL East
BOSTON 54-34 -
NEW YORK 51-37 3GB
TAMPA BAY 48-41 6.5GB
TORONTO 44-46 11GB
BALTIMORE 40-48 14GB

AL Central
DETROIT 48-39 -
CHICAGO 45-43 3.5GB
MINNESOTA 45-44 4GB
KANSAS CITY 37-51 11.5GB
CLEVELAND 35-54 14GB

AL West
L.A.A. 49-37 -
TEXAS 48-39 1.5GB
SEATTLE 46-42 6GB
OAKLAND 37-49 12GB


NATIONAL LEAGUE
NL East
PHILADELPHIA 48-38 -
FLORIDA 46-44 4GB
ATLANTA 43-45 6GB
NEW YORK 42-45 6.5GB
WASHINGTON 26-61 22.5GB

NL Central
ST. LOUIS 49-42 -
MILWAUKEE 45-43 2.5GB
CHICAGO 43-43 3.5GB
HOUSTON 44-44 3.5GB
CINCINNATI 42-45 5GB
PITTSBURGH 38-50 9.5GB

NL West
LOS ANGELES 56-32 -
SAN FRANSISCO 49-39 7GB
COLORADO 47-41 9GB
ARIZONA 38-51 18.5GB
SAN DIEGO 36-52 20GB

MLB League Leaders

BATTING
Batting AVG
AL:
Joe Mauer MIN .373
Ichiro Suzuki SEA .362
Miguel Cabrera DET .321

NL:
Hanley Ramirez FLA .349
Carlos Beltran NYM .336
Pablo Sandoval SF .333

Homeruns
AL:
Carlos Pena TB 24
Russell Branyan SEA 22
Nelson Cruz TEX 22

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 32
Adrian Gonzalez SD 24
Mark Reynolds ARI 24

RBI's
AL:
Jason Bay BOS 72
Justin Morneau MIN 70
Evan Longoria TB 66

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 87
Prince Fielder MIL 78
Ryan Howard 67

Stolen Bases
AL:
Carl Crawford TB 44
Jacoby Ellsbury BOS 40
BJ Upton TB 31

NL:
Michael Bourn HOU 32
Nyjer Morgan WAS 24
Juan Pierre LAD 23

Runs
AL:
Chone Figgins ANA 68
Dustin Pedroia BOS 65
Marco Scutaro TOR 64

NL:
Albert Pujols STL 73
Shane Victorino PHI 63
Chase Utley PHI 62

PITCHING
Wins
AL:
Josh Beckett BOS 11
Tim Wakefield BOS 11
5 tied with 10

NL:
Jason Marquis COL 11
4 tied with 10

ERA
AL:
Zach Grienke KC 2.12
Edwin Jackson DET 2.52
Felix Hernandez SEA 2.53

NL:
Dan Haren ARI 2.01
Tim Lincecum SF 2.33
Matt Cain SF 2.38

Saves
AL:
Brian Fuentes ANA 26
Joe Nathan MIN 23
Jonathon Papalbon 23
Marino Rivera NYY 23

NL:
Health Bell SD 23
Fransisco Rodriguez NYM 23
Brian Wilson SF 23

Stikeouts
AL:
Justin Verlander DET 149
Jon Lester BOS 131
Zach Grienke KC 129

NL:
Tim Lincecum SF 149
Javier Vazquez ATL 136
Dan Haren ARI 129