Thought i’d kick of the June thread here.
Orioles finally got a win today after a 5-game losing streak. Adam Jones continued to beat up on Seattle pitching, rubbing their noses in the trade that sent Jones to Baltimore.
In other news, with the All-Star Game just over a month away, the leading vote-getter for the AL shortstop position is Derek Jeter, with an OPS+ of 80. That’s a quarter-million more votes than the AL shortstop with an OPS+ of 143.
Without looking it up, I have no idea which AL SS has an OPS+ of 143. Is it Asdrubal Cabrera? It must be. Jeter is a household name and SS is not the same position it was 15 years ago, so I can see why he leads.
I can see Ichiro making it even though he’s having his worst year, for the same reason. Felix, Pineda, and League should represent the M’s.
Guys, fans vote for who they want to see in the ASG. More people by far want to see Jeter, especially if this is his last year before the countdown to Cooperstown starts, than want to see Assdribble, who may be just a fluke.
BREAKING NEWS! As long as they let the fans vote, that’s what happens.
It is Cabrera, although Jhonny Peralta actually has an even better OPS than Cabrera.
I can see why Jeter leads too: because, in the minds of a lot of voters, All-Star has virtually nothing to do with actual performance. It’s a popularity contest.
Actually that is exactly what it is.
Meanwhile the Yanks got healthy against the A’s pitching of all things. They are now up 2 games over Boston. Jeter is beginning to get seriously close to 3000 now even at his .260 rate of progress. Colon with his miracle stem cell treatment looks like he did when he was back with Cleveland and Garcia is doing a solid job as the 5 guy. AJ looks better then last year, I hope it keeps up and we might just gets Hughes back someday. Nova has not looked great but fair for a 4. CC is solid as always.
Granderson is the team MVP so far. Probably would do fairly well overall if the voting was today. I would say 4th or 5th in the league. Swish is looking better but Jorge Posada needs to improve or his final season could end up ending early. I hope he goes on a fair tear soon.
What do you mean “actually”?
You act as if you are contradicting me, when that’s exactly what i said.
“Actually”, I’m trying to tell you to not even think it is anything else, that is all.
Not to speak for Jim, but it seems to me he’s reacting to your exasperation (surprise? outrage?) that Jeter is leading, when you readily acknowledge it’s a popularity contest.
You spoke well for me, sums it up better then I said it.
Well, i can quite easily acknowledge that it is a popularity contest while also preferring that it would be otherwise.
I probably shouldn’t care so much, because i don’t even watch the ASG, mainly because it’s a retarded abomination. If they chose the best players (fuck the one-player-per-team rule) and used pitchers properly, it would at least be worth tuning in for.
I also think a game between the “best” players would be great. On the other hand, I like to see the “stars” play each other too. It’s best when those groups are largely the same (as I remember from all the ASGs when I was a kid…) but it doesn’t usually work out that way anymore.
Any chance Jeter skips the ASG this year? Yankees are home right before the break, then they play at Toronto the Thursday after the break. That’s a long trip to Arizona, and I wonder if he’ll come up with some reason not to go?
As we reach the 1/3 mark of the season, once again baseball has showed itself in desperate need of a salary cap, as small market teams have no hope of competing.
Lets take the NL West which is held by pre-season powerhouse umm Arizona? No better start with AL central led by uh Cleveland? Ah ha the nl east fits the narrative with big market Phillies having the best record in the NL. The nl’s 2nd best record is there in those free spending Marlins. Texas has used their WS loot to open up a lead in the AL west of 1.5 over the expected doormat Mariners, 3.5 over last place. The NL Central has shown that you can’t win if you are small market, have your best player have an offseason, and lose your best pitcher to injury, unless the year happens to be 2011. The rest though is clearly in revenue order with the Astros, Cubs Pirates, Reds, and Brewers in a row, just don’t ask which way. Finally we have the mecca of money dominance that isthe al east, where the massive payroll dump of the Rays has caused them to collapse and be 2 and a half entire games behind the Yanks, half a game behind the Sox.
Anyone who complains about lack of parity in baseball, hasn’t a clue what they are talking about.
OK, so this has nothing to do with specifically June baseball, but this is the baseball discussion.
Why does the NL Central have 6 teams and the AL West have only 4? Stick Houston in the AL West, all divisions have 5 teams, automatic in-state rivalry. Seems like a no brainer.
You’d have to have at least 2 teams off every day or have to have interleague play every day.
That won’t work in baseball where the days off are usually Monday or Thursday. You can’t have two teams idle on a summer Saturday/Sunday.
Speaking of the NL Central, my Reds are decidedly an average team right now. Lack of quality starting pitching (considered to be a strength going into the season) is really hurting those guys.
At least Jay Bruce finally came out of his shell. If anyone has him on their fantasy team and started him at all last week they should be pretty happy.
Stupid Mets.
I think the ASG rosters should represent all teams. I’d even like to see a requirement that at least one guy from each team appear in the game. There’s got to be at least one guy on any fourth-place team from across the country that I should know about, would like to get a glimpse of matched against the best-known figures from around the league.
That is, you’d have to have a couple teams off or an interleague game each day of the season. Given that I think interleague would benefit by being spread out anyway, this seems eminently practical. Off days are fine on any day other than the weekends.