Major League Baseball Playoffs Recap

Twenty-seven games ago, 8 teams kicked off baseball’s second season.

The Division playoffs promised to be hard fought and exciting, but that promise certainly wasn’t kept.

The Milwaukee Brewers entered the playoffs on the back of CC Sabathia and were ready to take on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cole Hamels proved to be the ace of the series with a gem in Game 1. Hamels pitched 8 innings and allowed only 2 hits while striking out 9 batters. He didn’t allow a run.

Sabathia was roughed up in Game 2, possibly due to the amount of pitches he threw in the last week of the regular season. He was pulled in the 4^th inning after surrendering 6 hits, 5 runs and 4 walks.

The Phillies went on the win the series, 4-1.

In the other National League series, the Chicago Cubs were set to play host to Manny and the Dodgers in what was supposed to be the least exciting of the 4 series.

It certainly wasn’t exciting, if you’re a Cubs fan.

Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden were lit up during the Dodgers sweep. Chicago was embarrassed at home and were outscored 20-6 for the series.

On the American League side, the Tampa Bay Rays cinderella story wasn’t finished just yet as they welcomed the Chicago White Sox to Florida.

Ozzie was able to guide his boys into the postseason in grand fashion and the White Sox were poised to used their playoff experience to end the Rays season.

Someone forgot to tell the Rays about that plan. James Shields, Scott Kazmir and Andy Sonnanstine all picked up victories for Tampa Bay, while BJ Upton and Evan Longoria proved the offense as Tampa went on to finish off Chicago in 4 games.

The Los Angeles Angels hadn’t had anything to play for in close to a month, so they were happy to get started when the Boston Red Sox came to town.

Jon Lester proved to be too much for the Angels as he hurled 14 innings of shutout ball and led the Sox to 2 victories. This was probably the most exciting series of the first round, as Games 2, 3 and 4 were hard fought contests.

So the Championship round was set. The Philadelphia Phillies would face the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays would host their hated rivals from Boston.

In the Phillies-Dodgers series, it came down to Cole Hamels vs. Chad Billingsley. Hamels won the series MVP by notching 2 wins, going 14 innings and allowing just 3 runs. Billingsley on the other hand failed to escape the 3^rd inning in Games 1 and 5. He allowed 11 runs and the series was never in doubt. The Phillies are headed to the World Series courtesy of a 4-1 series win.

The American League Championship couldn’t have been much different.

In what was sure to be a series of emotional swings, Boston went into St. Petersburg and took Game 1 by shutting out the red hot Rays. Tampa battled back in Game 2 and won the game in extra innings. Boston still had the advantage, having split on the road, and now they were headed back to the friendly confines of Fenway Park.

The Rays showed the baseball world that they weren’t intimidated as they took Games 3 and 4 by a combined score of 22-5. They were well on their way to wrapping up the series when they led 7-0 after 6 innings in Game 5, but the Sox mounted one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history when they scored 8 runs over the next 3 innings to win 8-7.

The series swung back to Florida and Boston proceeded to win Game 6 and force the pivotal Game 7.

Tampa Bay wasn’t about to let the dream die on their home turf and rookie phenom David Price stole the show and earned the save by striking out 3 of 4 batters to close out the game.

So here we are…The Philadelphia Phillies will open up the World Series in Florida as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB Weekly Review 8.25.08

Is this “next year” for the Cubs?

If you’re a fan of the Chicago Cubs or just a fan of baseball, you’ve certainly heard the phrase, “there’s always next year.” With the Cubs currently owning the best record in baseball, this really could be their year.

Not only do the 80 wins by the Cubs top all of baseball, their 49-19 home record makes the friendly confines of Wrigley Field someplace that opponents don’t want to be in October. They are also one of only six teams that do not have a losing record on the road.

The Cubs could very well be facing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the World Series.

The Angels still hold a commanding 17 game lead in the division despite losing 7 of 9 games recently. They’re starting to look vulnerable losing 2 against Tampa Bay, 2 against Minnesota, 2 against Cleveland and even dropping a game to the lowly Mariners. They will still make the playoffs with ease and their magic number is only 16.

With the Angels, Cubs and Rays looking to hold onto their division leads, 3 other races are a little bit closer.

The Dodgers trail the Diamondbacks by 3 games and the division will be decided very shortly. LA heads to the desert for a 3 games set this weekend, followed by a 3 game series with San Diego and then they play host to Arizona for 3 more games.

The Phillies will also decide a lot in the next couple of weeks. They currently trail the Mets by 0.5 games and host them for 2 games this week. Philadelphia then heads out on a tough road trip, which includes 4 games at Chicago, 3 at Washington and 3 more at New York.

The only race closer than New York and Philadelphia is Minnesota and Chicago, who are tied for the American League Central lead. The Twins are in the middle of a brutal 14 game road trip that started off with a split vs. the Angels. The race will likely come down to the last week of the season when Minnesota hosts Chicago for a 3 game series.

Denard Span has been a spark plug at the plate for the Twins, but no one has been as hot as Grady Sizemore and Matt Holliday.

Sizemore is batting .333 over the past week with 6 runs scored, 1 triple, 2 homeruns, 10 RBI and 4 stolen bases.

Holliday is hitting .417 during the same span with 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 6 RBI and 3 stolen bases.

On the other side of the field, Rich Harden and Ricky Nolasco have been lights out.

Harden pitched the Cubs past the Reds and Nationals this week. He picked up 2 wins, going 7 innings in each outing. He scattered 4 hits while allowing only 1 run. He didn’t walk a single batter and struck out 21.

Nolasco was equally impressive with 2 wins on the road vs. the Giants and Diamondbacks. He went 7.1 innings vs. Arizona and logged a complete game against San Francisco. He gave up 5 hits and 2 runs. He recorded 21 strikeouts and 2 walks.

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Week 12 Review of The All American Home Run Derby

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Week 12 Review
Dilldocks is now starting to find some separation in the standings and leads the way with a total of 221 homeruns. AllorNothin is hanging tough with 216 HR. Mr. Papa Georgio remains in the mix with 214 HR. #1Philsfan is just one back of Mr. Papa G, while The Shockers rounds out the Top 5 well off the pace with 204 HR.
Our pool player breakdown is as follows…
1 player with 23 homeruns
1 player with 22 homeruns
3 players with 20 homeruns
2 players with 19 homeruns
2 players with 18 homeruns
2 players with 17 homeruns
5 players with 16 homeruns
5 players with 15 homeruns
4 players with 14 homeruns
5 players with 13 homeruns
4 players with 12 homeruns
9 players with 11 homeruns
6 players with 10 homeruns
6 players with 9 homeruns
9 players with 8 homeruns
7 players with 7 homeruns
5 players with 6 homeruns
3 players with 5 homeruns
4 players with 4 homeruns
3 players with 3 homeruns
2 players with 2 homeruns
3 players with 1 homerun
2 players have failed to go deep
Dan Uggla now leads the Majors with 23 homeruns and fellow 2nd baseman Chase Utley is just one shy of his mark. Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman and Adrian Gonzalez all have 20 HR.
Sixteen players have between 15 and 19 round trippers. Hanley Ramirez represents the middle infield with 16, while Ryan Howard(19) and Pat Burrell(18) give the Phillies 3 players in the Top 9.
The 10-14 HR group has 28 members. Miguel Cabrera(10) remains at a snails pace, but Corey Hart(11) has turned around a slow start. Joey Votto(12) and Brandon Phillips(13) show that Dunn and Griffey aren’t the only power hitters in Cincy and ARod(14) continues to climb the leaderboard.
Thirty players comprise the 5-9 HR crew. Eric Byrnes(6), Vernon Wells(7), Matt Holliday(8) and Brad Hawpe(9) are all looking to make up for time lost on the DL. Khalil Greene(7) is showing that last year’s HR total was just a fluke and Justin Upton(9) is out to prove that he’s the real deal.
The fifteen players with a total of 5 or less HR continue to disappoint. Not surprisingly, 10 of the guys have spent time in the minors or injured, but Kosuke Fukudome(5) and Delmon Young(1) can’t use that excuse.
The only players that have failed to go deep are Josh Field, who is still in the minors, and Victor Martinez, who is out until after the break. Barry Bonds will no longer be mentioned barring his return.

Week 10 Review from The All American Home RUn Derby

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Week 10 Review
The battle atop the leaderboard rages on!
Mr. Papa Georgio is in a dead heat with #1Philsfan with each team having a total of 176 HR. AllorNothin sits in 3rd place, just one HR off the pace. Dilldocks remains in the hunt with 173 HR and Adragon’s Bash Bros holds down the 5th spot with 169 HR.
Let’s look at our pool player breakdown…
1 player with 21 homeruns
1 player with 18 homeruns
3 players with 17 homeruns
2 players with 16 homeruns
5 players with 15 homeruns
3 players with 14 homeruns
4 players with 13 homeruns
5 players with 12 homeruns
4 players with 11 homeruns
6 players with 10 homeruns
4 players with 9 homeruns
13 players with 8 homeruns
9 players with 7 homeruns
8 players with 6 homeruns
7 players with 5 homeruns
6 players with 4 homeruns
5 players with 3 homeruns
1 player with 2 homeruns
3 players with 1 homerun
4 players have failed to go deep
Chase Utley maintains his league-leading total yet again this week. His 21 HR are good enough for a 3 HR cushion over Dan Uggla. Josh Hamilton, Lance Berkman and Adrian Gonzalez are all 4 HR back, while Ryan Braun and Adam Dunn are 5 HR off the lead.
We have 12 players with a HR total between 13 and 15 HR. Jason Giambi(13) and Joe Crede(14) have had nice weeks, but Chipper Jones(15) and David Ortiz(13) are currently on the sidelines.
There are 15 players in the 10-12 HR pool. Jack Cust(11) added to his total this week and Hanley Ramirez(12) has been showing power since returning to the leadoff spot.
Our biggest group is the 7-9 HR class with 26 players. Alex Rodriguez(9) continues his climb towards the upper echelon, Ian Kinsler(8) is turning things around after a slow start and Corey Hart(7) hopes that he’s found his HR swing.
The 4-6 HR group is where we start to find the injured and underachieving. Vladimir Guerrero(6) isn’t where you would expect and Eric Byrnes(6) is just hoping to get back on the field. Vernon Wells(5) has returned from the DL and hit a HR in his 2nd game back.
The 1-3 HR group can be summed up with just 2 words: DELMON YOUNG(1)!!!!!
With Delmon and Eric Chavez homering this week, we have just 4 players in the Goose Egg Club. Andy LaRoche is in the process of being called up. Josh Fields is in the minors. Barry Bonds is in court. Victor Martinez owners are in trouble.

No Power Signal from U.S. Cellular Field?

It’s no secret that Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, Joe Crede and Jim Thome aren’t getting it done.Jermaine Dye has a respectable batting average at .286, but he has just 23 RBI and nearly 3 strikeouts to every walk.Joe Crede has the most RBI of the quintet with 29, but 22 of those came during his red-hot April.Jim Thome has at least managed double-digit homeruns with 10, but his .212 average and team-high 56 strikeouts leave something to be desired.Paul Konerko is hitting .205 with just 6 HR.Nick Swisher is the most consistent of the group. He’s consistently terrible in every category, batting .201 with 4 HR and 14 RBI. Now what most people don’t realize is that the White Sox played 20 games on the road in May, but they return to their hitter friendly confines for 17 games in June. They will host Kansas City, Minnesota, Colorado, Pittsburgh and their cross-town rivals from Wrigley.They’ll not only be in one of the most hitter friendly parks in baseball, but they’ll also be facing tougher pitching in batting practice than they will in most of the games.Kansas City’s best hope was Zach Grienke and the Sox tagged him for 8 run in 6 innings in their first home tilt of the month. The next two scheduled starters for KC are Luke Hochevar and Gil Meche. Each pitcher has an ERA close to 5 or worse.Minnesota will bring a very suspect pitching staff to town. The Twins haven’t been able to recover since losing Johan Santana via trade and Francisco Liriano to injury. Livan Hernandez(4.81 ERA) and Boof Bonser(5.97 ERA) will likely get starts.The Rockies staff isn’t going to scare anyone either. Aaron Cook has been solid this year, but the rest of the guys with 2 or more starts range from a 5.37 to an 8.44 ERA.When the Pirates come to town, they’ll start the likes of Zach Duke(4.41 ERA), Paul Maholm(4.97 ERA), Ian Snell(5.94 ERA) and Tom Gorzelanny(7.22 ERA).The only real test will be from the Cubs, but if they don’t happen to face Carlos Zambrano or Ryan Dempster, they’ll see Jason Marquis(4.98 ERA) or Ted Lilly(5.54 ERA).There’s no place like home and by the end of June, the Chicago White Sox will have shown everyone exactly why that is true.

The Baseball Consigliere's Monthly Report

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Consigliere’s Monthly Report (May)
Each month, I’ll break down which of our pool players get the credit for their team leading the division and which players get the blame for their team being in the basement.
AL East
First Place: Tamp Bay Rays
Carlos Pena has regressed from last year, but with 10 HR, 32 RBI and 26 runs, he’s still been solid. BJ Upton only has 3 HR to his credit, but he’s been great in every other area. He has a .305 average, 34 RBI, 32 runs and 17 SB.
Last Place: Baltimore Orioles
All of the blame can’t fall squarely on Nick Markakis, but most of it can. He’s hit 9 HR which puts him on pace to set a career high, but he’s batting just .263 with nearly a strikeout per game. At this rate, he’ll end up about 40 RBI shy of last year’s total.
AL Central
First Place: Chicago White Sox
Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko and Jim Thome have all been average at best. Joe Crede’s .264 average is amazing compared to the other 3 and his 9 HR and 29 RBI look decent, until you realize that he had 2 HR and 7 RBI for the month of May. It’s clear that our pool players aren’t the reason for the Sox success.
Last Place: Kansas City Royals
Alex Gordon improved a bit in May and carries a .280 average with 5 HR, 25 RBI and 32 runs. Those are nice numbers for a contributor, but Gordon has to play like a superstar if the Royals are ever going to win.
AL West
First Place: Los Angeles Angels
Vlad Guererro, Torii Hunter and Gary Matthews Jr all have very similar numbers. They average about 6 HR, 27 RBI and 27 runs each. Hunter has the best average at .275, but this team is fortunate to be in first with Vlad not hitting like we’ve all come to expect.
Last Place: Seattle Mariners
Adrian Beltre has nothing to brag about with a .244 average, but it’s great compared to the .204 of Richie Sexson. Sexson, who spends most of his time lately riding the pine, only has 18 runs on the year. Even more concerning is the fact that 9 of those 18 have come off his homeruns.
NL East
First Place: Florida Marlins
Last month, I said, “When you look at the Marlins, you don’t have to look any further than superstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez.” While this still holds true, it’s now a 2-man show in Florida. Ramirez is batting .292 with 9 HR, 23 RBI, 44 runs and 13 SB. Dan Uggla has emerged as the star of May though. Uggla is batting .297 with 16 HR, 38 RBI and 43 runs.
Last Place: Washington Nationals
Zimmerman’s May was slightly better than his April, but now he’s been out for the last 8 games with a shoulder injury. The Nats are in trouble.
NL Central
First Place: Chicago Cubs
Last month at this time, Alfonso Soriano was on the DL and Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee were picking up the slack. It’s now a 3-headed monster, as they have combined for 35 HR, 112 RBI and 111 runs!
Last Place: Pittsburgh Pirates
Adam LaRoche(April)- 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 Runs
Adam LaRoche(May)- 5 HR, 19 RBI, 14 Runs
As you can see, LaRoche has rebounded and Jason Bay is batting .296 with 13 HR, 29 RBI and 43 runs. As a team, the Pirates just aren’t good.
NL West
First Place: Arizona Diamondbacks
Chris Young has now topped Justin Upton is every category but average. Young has 4 more HR, 4 more RBI, 10 more runs and 3 more SB. If the D-Backs want to stay in first, they need “The Franchise” to step it up a notch.
Last Place: Colorado Rockies
Troy Tulowitzki – Currently on the DL
Matt Holliday – Currently on the DL
Brad Hawpe - Currently on the DL

He's not Bruce Almighty...He's Bruce "Lee Roy"

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Ever since ESPN has tabbed Jay Bruce as Bruce almighty; this nickname has spread across the networks, newspapers & internet like wildfire! Has everyone forgotten about another Bruce that was one of the biggest bad asses on the silver screen in the 1980's?If you've seen the cult classic The Last Dragon by Barry Gordy, you know what I'm talking about! He's the baddest Bruce I've ever known (Yes, even badder than Bruce Lee) because he was the coolest karate chopping Mo Fo I've ever known! How many dudes do you know that could use their aurora & Afro to completely dominate & strike fear into their opponent? Maybe Bruce Lee Roy has shown Jay Bruce the ways of the dragon & how to connect with his inner Chi to funnel that energy into his big bat these day ;)Anyways, rent the movie if you haven't seen it & I hope you enjoy this story not about Bruce Almighty, but.......The New Bruce "Lee Roy"The Reds didn't seem to be headed in the right direction when they traded away Josh Hamilton and signed Corey Patterson. Why wouldn't you just bring up Jay Bruce to play CF? Probably for the same reason that Joey Votto had to wait patiently while Scott Hatteberg wasted plate appearances. Dusty Baker loves his vets. If you're a rookie and want to get your chance, you have to make it impossible for you to stay in the minors. Jay Bruce did exactly that. Through 49 games at Louisville, Bruce was batting .364 with 34 runs, 9 doubles, 3 triples, 10 HR and 8 SB. The one knock on Bruce has always been his high strikeout rate, which showed in Louisville(12 BB/ 45 K) and that's exactly the reason that the Reds kept using as a reason to leave him in Triple-A. When rumors started to heat up that Ken Griffey Jr would be traded back to Seattle and that Adam Dunn might be on the market, it seemed that Bruce's time was coming. After Bruce had a 10 game stretch where he batted .611, including 3 HR in his last 17 at bats; the Reds couldn't ignore him anymore. Cincinnati officially made the call up on May 27th when they designated Hatteberg for assignment and Bruce has been something out of **** tale ever since. He made his debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates and collected 3 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs, 2 RBI and 1 SB. In the 6 games since his call up, he's batting .591 with 2 HR, 6 RBI, 10 runs and 2 SB. He also notched his first career walk-off HR in a win over Atlanta. Oh, and as for his one flaw... he has 6 walks and just 1 strikeout so far.
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Week 9 Review in The All American Home Run Derby

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Week 9 Review
Teams continue to jockey for position at the top of our standings.
This week’s leader is #1Philsfan with 163 HR and he’s building up a lead over Mr. Papa Georgio(158 HR). Dilldocks falls into a 3rd place tie with AllorNothin. Each team has 156 HR. Adragon’s Bash Bros and bulldogs are tied for 5th with 153 HR each.
Let’s take a look at our pool player breakdown…
1players with 20 homeruns
1 player with 17 homeruns
2 players with 16 homeruns
4 players with 15 homeruns
6 players with 13 homeruns
4 players with 12 homeruns
5 players with 11 homeruns
4 players with 10 homeruns
8 players with 9 homeruns
11 players with 8 homeruns
8 players with 7 homeruns
12 players with 6 homeruns
4 players with 5 homeruns
6 players with 4 homeruns
7 players with 3 homeruns
4 players with 2 homeruns
1 player with 1 homerun
6 players have failed to go deep
Chase Utley is hot again and jumps out to a 3 HR lead over the rest of the league with 20 HR. Lance Berkman is 3 back of Utley, while Adrian Gonzalez and Dan Uggla currently sit 4 back.
Josh Hamilton, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn are all tied with 15 HR. Six players have 13 HR, including Albert Pujols.
We have 13 players in the 10-12 HR range. The Reds are represented with Joey Votto(10) and Brandon Phillips(11).
The 7-9 HR group is packed with 27 players. Among the notables are Alex Rodriguez(7), Evan Longoria(7), Prince Fielder(8) and Hanley Ramirez(9).
Our 4-6 HR crew is made up of 22 sluggers. Travis Hafner(4), Vernon Wells(5) and Eric Byrnes(6) are all currently on the DL and won’t be leaving this group anytime soon.
Twelve underachievers make up our 1-3 HR class. Jimmy Rollins still hasn’t found his power stroke and sits on 3 HR. On a positive note, Jay Bruce has been called up and has shown that he’s here to stay with 2 HR this week.
Our Goose Egg Club lost a member this week, when Bruce was called up from the minors. Andy LaRoche could be following him shortly, but Josh Fields will probably stay put for a while. Wouldn’t you think that Victor Martinez and Delmon Young would have hit a HR on accident by now?

Surprise!!!

Surprise!!!
Every year a few players start out very hot and every year those players eventually cool off. As the month of May comes to a close, we have a few guys that are still hot and showing no signs of slowing down. A couple of them are no strangers to the spotlight and a couple are just beginning to take center stage. Let’s take a look at the 5 guys that are the biggest surprises thus far.
Lance Berkman
Berkman has been around the game for a while now and has made quite a name for himself, but this year he’s looking to set career highs across the board. He’s currently batting .384 with 17 HR, 47 RBI, 57 runs and 10 SB. His batting average is downright ridiculous and he’s already set a career high in stolen bases. If he can maintain his current pace, he’ll set new marks for HR and RBI and shatter his previous run total.
Chase Utley
Some would call Utley a rising star and others could make the case that he’s already a certified superstar. He’s doing everything in his power to make the latter true. Utley is right at his career pace for average, runs and stolen bases, but his power numbers are through the roof. He’s currently batting .310 with 17 HR, 46 RBI, 42 runs and 5 stolen bases. He’s on pace for 49 HR and 133 RBI, which would destroy his previous highs of 32 HR and 105 RBI.
Dan Uggla
The Marlin middle infielder doesn’t have the experience that some of the other guys, but he’s well on his way to stardom. Uggla is carrying a career high .307 average along with 16 HR, 38 RBI and 41 runs. At this rate, Uggla will set new career highs across the board with 51 HR, 120 RBI and 130 runs.
Josh Hamilton
Hamilton burst back onto the scene last year and showed why you never give up on talent. With his troubles in the past, Hamilton is looking to make up for lost time. He’s batting .324 with 13 HR, 58 RBI and 35 runs. He’s already set a career mark for RBI and is currently on pace for a whopping 174 this season. At this rate, he’ll hit 39 HR and cross the plate 105 times.
Joey Votto
It turns out that the only thing holding Votto back was Dusty Baker. Once Votto was given his fair shot, he took it and ran. He’s currently batting .294 with 10 HR, 29 RBI and 28 runs. He only played a handful of games last year so he’s already setting career highs. At the pace that he’s on, he’ll hit 30 HR while scoring 85 times and knocking in 90 RBI. The scary thing is that I think he can top those numbers. Not bad for a rookie that started the year behind Scott Hatteberg.

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Mafia Moniker Musings 2 from Letsgodeep.com

Mafia Moniker Musings II



The Hundo’s was out to a nearly double-digit lead and hung on by the narrowest of margins as we hit our 1st quarter prize. Congratulations on winning $100 and 4 tickets to the MLB game of your choice!Our next prize comes on July 17th and next time the cash payout is higher. With 40 teams within 20 HR of the leader, it truly is anyone’s ballgame. Good luck to all of our participants.The good news is that The Hundo’s avoided #1Philsfan in the standings, the bad news is that no one is safe from the Consigliere and his friends. Here are a few more names that didn’t go unnoticed. Team Mas – I think you mean “Team No Mas” because your chances of winning are no more.Round Trippers – I think that you tripped rounding first because you’re way behind in this game.Beach Boys – It’s true. We wish they all could be California girls, but by the looks of your score, you have them in your lineup.GoGreen – It’s nice to see someone caring about the environment, but you can let your team know that they can start hitting homeruns because it’s not considered littering the bleachers.Michigan – Wow. Great name here. Lots of thought put into it. What’s wrong? Did you think that Idaho would be taken?Foley Bears – You better hope that your team turns it around like the Bad News Bears because the team is not looking good.Tallest Midgets – Is that like being the smartest person on the short bus?WarningTrackPower – After seeing your ranking, I’d say it’s more like InfieldPopUp.Ducchi – This name sounds too similar to a feminine hygiene product for me.Two Amigos – I think it’s time to bring in the 3rd Amigo to help you get to the top.

Week 6 Review in The All American Home Run Derby

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Guess who is leading the game after 6 weeks? That’s right. Once again, The Hundo’s leads the way in the All American Home Run Derby. The once insurmountable lead has dwindled to just 1 HR as we close in on our first quarter prize. With just 3 days of games remaining before the deadline, time will tell if The Hundo’s holds on to the lead or if we see a collapse like the New York Mets of last year. #1Philsfan is just one homerun back with a total of 100. Mr. Papa Georgio(98 HR), The Shockers(94 HR) and Sultans of Swat 2(93 HR) round out the Top 5 and also have a great chance to overtake our leader.Here is this week’s player breakdown…1 player with 13 homeruns1 player with 12 homeruns1 player with 11 homeruns2 players with 10 homeruns3 players with 9 homeruns2 players with 8 homeruns15 players with 7 homeruns14 players with 6 homeruns11 players with 5 homeruns8 players with 4 homeruns19 players with 3 homeruns4 players with 2 homeruns6 players with 1 homerun7 players have failed to go deepChase Utley has fallen off his pace, but still leads the Majors with 13 HR. Lance Berkman, Dan Uggla, Derrek Lee and Chipper Jones also have 10+ homeruns.Pat Burrell is another Phil that has cooled off, but remains near the top of the league with 9 round trippers. Adrian Gonzalez, Chris Young, Carlos Pena and Hanley Ramirez all have 8 or more.Joey Votto had a 3 HR game this week and Ryan Braun added a 2 HR night to lead 15 players with a total of 7 HR.Raul Ibanez finally added to his total and now had 6 HR. That’s the same number that Miguel Cabrera seems to be stuck on. Twelve other players also have 6 HR.Ryan Zimmerman showed some more pop and now leads a group of 11 players with 5 long balls.We have 8 players with 4 HR, but ARod is hoping to get off this list later in the week.Our largest group is 19 players with just 3 homeruns. Ian Kinsler and Adam LaRoche are starting to show some signs of power, but everyone is still looking for Vladimir Guerrero. His name appears on this list, but I haven’t heard from him in weeks.Koskue Fukudome and Khalil Green finally hit #2 on the year and join Gary Sheffield and Ryan Garko as the only guys with 2 HR.Six players sit with just 1 HR. Andruw Jones, JJ Hardy and Corey Hart are all equally unimpressive. Our Goose Egg Club is 7 this week. Delmon Young and Victor Martinez remain the only active players without a single homerun. Who hits one first? Delmon, Victor or Jay Bruce?

MLB Injury Report 5/13/08 from Letsgodeep.com

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Manny RamirezManny is currently day-to-day with a sore hamstring.Alex RodriguezARod continues to workout without any setbacks and should return this week.Eric ChavezChavez could begin a rehab assignment this week and remains on pace to return at the end of the month. Hank BlalockBlalock’s torn hamstring is healing, but he still won’t be back for a couple of weeks.Richie SexsonSexson is currently serving a 5 game suspension for charging the mound on Kason Gabbard.Vernon WellsWells broke his wrist making a catch on Friday and will be out 6-8 weeks.Andy LaRocheLaRoche will continue to play in Triple-A for the foreseeable future.Josh FieldsFields is still in the minors, but is on the DL with patella tendonitis.Jay BruceBruce is now batting .328 with 6 HR, but the Reds would like to see his walk rate improve before he gets the call.

MLB Senior Citizens who have found the fountain of youth!

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Written by Consigliere
As we all know, players tend to lose a step on the base paths when they get older and it’s not uncommon that the power numbers tail off too. Some guys are able to maintain their power well into their 30’s and a few of them are making a splash in this year’s All American Home Run Derby players pool.Here is a look at the Top 5 pool players over the age of 35.Chipper JonesChipper might not be the Jones that hit 51 HR in a year, but he has hit at least 30 on six occasions. He came just one HR shy of that mark last year, but his 10 round trippers this year trail only Chase Utley and Lance Berkman, so he’s well on his way to 30 again.Manny RamirezManny has always been a monster at the plate and has eleven 30+ HR seasons under his belt and 5 of those years, he cleared the 40 HR plateau. Many experts thought that age had finally caught up with him when he only hit 20 HR last year. That was his lowest total since 1994 when he only played in 91 games. With 7 HR so far this year, Manny seems to be Manny again.Jim ThomeThome also has eleven seasons of 30 or more homeruns, but unlike Manny, he has 6 seasons of 40+ and a career high of 52 HR in the 2002 season. He’s hit an average of one homerun every 4 games since turning 30 years old and the only thing that seems to slow him down is the occasional injury. He has 6 HR in 32 games this year.Ken Griffey Jr.The question with Griffey is always, “what if?” What if he hadn’t battled injuries his entire career? Would we be talking about the greatest HR hitter ever? The man who owns the best swing in baseball has 9 seasons of 30 or more HR, but 7 of those years he hit 40 or more, including back-to-back seasons of 56 HR. Last year, at the age of 37, he hit 30 homeruns and proved to everyone that he’s still a force to be reckoned with when he steps up to the plate.Carlos DelgadoDelgado has had 10 seasons of 30 or more homeruns, but the interesting part is that it was in 10 consecutive seasons. You could make a very good case that Delgado has been a model of consistency for a decade, but you can also argue that the end of the streak last year marked the beginning a power loss. He still managed 24 HR and has 4 this year, but he hasn’t remained a threat like his counterparts listed above.