The Starting Five: Week of July 9, 2007 - MLB MIDSEASON BLOWOUT!!!
Posted by Jason Goodman on 07.10.2007
A bit of All-Star "Weekend" Fun...
Serena Williams, you can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella-ella…
That's me expressing my Bajan pride, cuz Rhianna is F-O-I-N-E. Don't hate.
Well, Independence Week was interesting for me. The actual holliday was on my regular day off, so it was basically me sitting around not running any errands. My neighborhood fireworks show went until 3:30 am. I was fortunate enough to fall into the best seats I've ever had at Yankee Stadium, and to see a win this season. Then I worked through the weekend. Yeah, BIG FUN. All of this was trumped, however, by TRANSFORMERS! That movie was effin' AWESOME. I only wish it had been released on IMAX screens, because It more than deserved a "mega-screen" treatment.
Congratulations to Venus Williams and Roger Federer for their impressive wins at Wimbledon. Williams, ranked #31(!!!), simply dominated in straight sets over Marion Bartoli. With this victory, she has secured her fourth Wimbledon Championship in 6 attempts. Federer, triumphed in a riveting 5-set battle over Rafael Nadal. He has now won FIVE STRAIGHT titles at the All England Club, and 11 Grand Slam singles championships overall, putting him in company with Bjorn Borg(only man to win 5 straight) and Rod Laver. At his rate, he could possibly eclipse both Roy Emerson(12) and Pete Sampras(14) in 2008.
It's amazing to me that nobody is talking about this most unlikely of home run races between the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and Milwaukee Brewers' first baseman Prince Fielder. These two are hitting at an alarming rate, and there is absolutely no question about how they're doing it. The odds that either will pass Barry Bonds' total are still slim at this point, but if A-Rod stays healthy AND can avoid another May swoon, you may be looking at the next Home Run King. Something tells me that Fielder would happily play the Sammy Sosa to Rodriguez' Mark McGuire, if it meant a berth for Milwaukee in this year's postseason. I know there is hoopla for Bonds and what he is about to accomplish, as well there SHOULD be, but if you want to see the next man to break the all-time mark, look no further than third base up in the Bronx. Fielder may be cementing himself as a threat for the future, as well, depending on how he follows up in the second half of this season.
I know we're on the eve of this year's All-Star festivities, out in beautiful San Francisco, so I thought I'd give my rundown of the top 5 things to look out for in the second half of the season.
The Starting 5: MLB Midseason Special!!
The Yankees will make the AL East and Wild Card races MUCH tighter than you think.
Did you think I WOULDN'T take a chance to push my personal Pro-Yankee agenda??
Understand me, people: I am NOT claiming the Yankees will take the AL East crown this year. That will take a lot more than I've seen from my team. They will, however, have the Red Sox' lead down to less than 7 games by the end of this month. That's my prediction. I will also be surprised if Brian Cashman doesn't try to get an extra infielder before the trade deadline, if for no other reason than to split time at 1st base with Andy Phillips. With the pitching situation looking up (even IF Kei Igawa gets sent back down, Jeff Karstens and Phil Hughes will be ready to return a short way down the road), and the bats beginning to reach their potential, consistency is the main goal for Joe Torre's squad. They will have to be careful, however, as Boston shares a rather "easy" schedule coming out of the All-Star Break, so the Yanks will have to be at their best right out of the gate. By the time Yankees v. Red Sox Chapter 3,452,699 rolls around in late August, the games will have a huge meaning… like they always do.
Also falling into this group are the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and, albeit begrudgingly so, the St. Louis Cardinals. There are certain teams you simply can't count out until the math puts them out, and the reigning World Series champions always fit into that list. With the Mets not playing their best baseball right now, Atlanta has a chance to sneak back into division supremacy. They would have to strike quickly, because once the Mets are healthy again, they are going to be impossible to keep up with. Chicago is a bipolar team right now and, with both Detroit AND Cleveland needing to slip, The White Sox may not have the best chance out of this division, but the one thing Ozzie Guillen WILL have them doing is playing much better baseball.
Oakland Athletics' ace Dan Haren WILL be the AL Cy Young winner.
I absolute LOVE C.C. Sabbathia. Josh Beckett has been AWESOME. Johan Santana is Johan Santana. Dan Haren, however, Dan Haren's been ABSOLUTELY SICK this season. He brought ERA of less than 2.00 into this month. The last AL pitcher to do that? Pedro Martinez. 13 straight quality starts. I've seen that in an entire rotation, but never from ONE STARTER! Only 5 Starts yielding more than 2 runs, that's right I said FIVE. In order to secure this "all-but-sure" trophy, the Athletics need to go into the postseason, which they have a slim, slim chance at accomplishing. Still, Haren is my bet.
Matt Holliday = NL MVP
OK, I know this may seem elementary, but the moment Albert Pujols finds his stroke again the bandwagon will be at full throttle. I am sticking with Holliday because he has a chance to bring his team to the brink of postseason play. I don't think they'll actually make it this time but, much like Ryan Howard last season, Holliday will be a dominant force on the diamond. He leads the Rockies in hitting, homeruns, RBI, and runs scored. The Rockies are 5-2 so far this month, and while he has hit a minor offensive slide, his overall production will only increase with a healthy Todd Helton in the lineup, and the speedy Willy Taveras and reborn Kaz Matsui running the bases. He is going to do big things in this second half.
Bobby Cox will SMASH the Ejections record into teensy little pieces.
OK, so that was just a cheap ploy for me to bring you the Manager's Rant of the Week:
If you recall early June, Lou Pinella threw a fit for the ages. Got himself suspended for bumping an umpire, and after the game even admitted that they got the call right! Here's that fateful day from a fan's perspective:
Not ONE SINGLE high-profile player will go down due to steroids.
It's not gonna happen, I don't care WHAT Jason Giambi told George Mitchell, nothing is ever going to come of this "investigation," because everyone made way too much money in the late 90's to care. I will only say this one more time, because it's getting inane: If the MLB and US Government really cared so much about keeping kids off steroids, they WOULD. It's not a high-priority issue, however, and most likely will never be treated as such. That's all there is to say about that.
Walkin' Off
Vlad, you are a powerful, powerful man. You made the Home-Run Derby
look way too easy.
Harry Potter comes out this week… I HAVE TO GO! By "HAVE TO," I mean that if I don't I will never forgive myself. I think this is the episode Harry discovers "hair where there wasn't hair before," or something like that. And I think Hermione gets a visit from her Aunt F- OK, I'm gonna stop right there. I apparently also need to start working on my pick for Fantasy Football, because #4 is not an easy place to sit. I'm thinking Shawn Alexander, but if any of you know something I don't, NOW is the time to tell me.
