Who Got Snubbed?

It's easy to point out who you should be watching for in The Midsummer Classic, but it's even easier to point out who you aren't watching because they're not there.

The nominees, please.

Ryan Howard. He leads the NL with 28 homers and 84 runs batted in despite a .234 batting average. Who cares what your BA is when your OPS is .832.

Johnny Damon. I was pretty sure this guy's career was over the day he signed with the Bronx Bombers. His .387 on-base percentage is quite impressive at the top of that Yankee line-up.

John Danks. Arguably, the biggest snub in baseball was the White Sox' other "JD." Danks has a nasty 2.67 ERA, a filthy 1.15 WHIP and only seven (7!!!) wins to show for it. That from a guy who went un-drafted in almost every fantasy baseball league.

Cole Hamels. King Cole is 9-6 on the season, but has 126 punch outs, a 1.02 WHIP, a 3.15 ERA and has limited batters to a minuscule .213 batting average.

Jose Reyes. Whoudathunkit? The New York Metropolitans were saved by the quota rule (holla back, Billy Wagner). Somehow a .302 batting average, an .854 OPS and 32 swipes aren't better than Miguel Tejada's .275/.316/.423 line.

What To Watch For In Tonight's All-Star Game

Intern Bill over at The Big Lead put together a nice lil' piece breaking down the NL and AL rosters. I'll pick a few guys I'll be watching for.

Chipper Jones. Even though Larry Wayne Jones is no longer hitting .400, he's the best at the hot corner and could possibly hit a homer from each side of the plate if he gets enough ABs in the game.

Edinson Volquez. Finally, Volquez has managers that understand the definition of "pitch count." Clint Hurdle ignores Dusty Bakers advice, limiting his pitches as Volquez lives to pitch another game.

Aramis Ramirez. A-Ram loves the spot light. Whether it's making a Gold-Glove caliber play (yeah, he's a pretty damn good defender these days) or it's standing at the plate admiring a game-winning home run, The Ram might have one of each tonight.

Brad Lidge. If your name is Brad Lidge, you're thankful that Albert Pujols is on your team. If the NL has the lead going into the bottom of the ninth, I'm giving him the ball. No homo. (Did I do that right?)

Manny Ramirez. The king of admiring home runs is still admiring the walk-off shot from last year's ALDS against the Angels. I can see him doing it again at Yankee Stadium.

Mariano Rivera. The G.O.A.T. will be the guy closing it out in the top of the ninth if the AL has the lead unless....

....Jonathan Papelbon gets the nod from Tito Francona. How odd would it be to see a Red Sock picking up a save, walking off a winner at Yankee Stadium and getting a rousing ovation? Just wondering.

Milton Bradley. I can see him grabbing two hits tonight. One, a double to right-center and the other comes at the expense of a New Yorker's chin.

Daily Dosage: Whose Ready For The Big Game

First, check out Miss Universe. That's Miss Venezuela. And that begs the question, why the f*ck is Ozzie Guillen so pissed off all the time when women like that are gracing your homeland. Don't worry, I'll wait.

On to a brief moment of Dosage.

Favre Wants Out. Apparently, Ted Thompson is taking management lessons from the Jerrys Reinsdorf and Krause book of stupidity. Pissing off one of the greatest QBs of all time to the point where he's begging you to let him go is absolutely retarded. Hey Brett, you're always welcome to don the Blue & Orange over here on the lakefront.

Another Packer Rally? I wonder if Packer fans will circle Lambeau Field (among other places) to protest the treatment of CBS college hoops analyst Billy Packer, who is out after a billion years at The Corporate Nipple.

I Read Goldielocks As A Child, So I'm Not Surprised. The Bears don't seem to be interested in a really good QB from a division rival who could step into the Hall of Fame right now. Instead, they're interested in football's Mark Prior and another Jones character. Who's ready for a 6-10 season?

Quality Linkage

• Peyton Manning's sac is hurting. (Pro Football Talk)
• I blog from my Mom's basement. Does that make me a bad person. No, and FJM got my back. (Fire Joe Morgan)
• Jonathan Papelbon apparently doesn't know that Mariano Rivera is The Greatest Of All Time. (Fanhouse)
  

Josh Hamilton, You Are Ridiculous!

I understand that Justin Morneau of the Twins won the Home Run Derby. Yeah, he was my click to pick. And yeah, he's helping out the fantasy team. But count me in on the Josh Hamilton love fest.

28 home runs in the first round. 35 overall. And all it takes is the silly rule that all the home runs don't accumilate over all three rounds and Morneau wins the HR Derby with 22 home runs.

Golfers around the world must have been watching that spectacle green with envy, seeing a baseball player drive balls farther than they could.

I'm not sure if there are words to describe what the Rangers' slugger is doing at this point of his career.

But I digress.

Hamilton is not only the feel good story of the year, but his legend will grow as this generation of baseball fans will more than likely tell his story years from now to their children and their children's children.

It might be just me, but the only thing that would have made this story perfect would be if Jim Hendry had a time machine and undid the stupidity that was trading a player that would solve his ball club's biggest weakness.

Look, I've been one of the bandwagon drivers since the Cubs chose him No. 1 overall in the 2007 Rule V Draft and then for some unthinkable reason, traded him to the Cincinnati Reds for $50,000 cash.

And despite Jim Hendry's initial mistake, he could have made amends this off-season if the rumor was true that the Reds were asking for were Sean Marshall.

Lucky for the Reds, they ended up with All-Star Edinson Volquez.

I'll guess I'll stop now and give Hendry a hug and thank him for Rich Harden.

Home Run Derby: Who Ya Got?

Gone are the days of McGwire, Sosa and Bonds juicing 'em out of the park.

It's time for a new generation of drug-free (I presume) stars to start launching the ball into the stratosphere.

Justin Morneau, Evan Longoria, Josh Hamilton and Grady Sizemore represent the AL and Lance Berkman, Chase Utley, Dan Uggla and Ryan Braun will be taking cuts from the NL side in tonight's Home Run Derby.

Tonight's the kind of night you want to put your mute button to good use, and your ears will thank you as Chris "Back, Back, Back" Berman and Joe "Banks Boulevard" Morgan will call the action.

As I whip out my crystal ball, Swami Lu predicts that Justin Morneau will take advantage of the infamous Yankee Stadium right-field short porch to win the derby.

But enough about me, who ya got?

Baseball's Most Valuable At The Break

If the season ended today...

...the NL MVP would be Albert Pujols.

Nobody has done more than less than Mr. Pujols. He's hitting .350 with 18 homers 50 RBIs with a 1.074 OPS. That's sick, especially if you take into consideration that Skip Schumaker is his table-setter and his protection is Troy Glaus.

...the AL MVP would be Josh Hamilton.

At this pace, the man nicknamed The Natural is making Brock-for-Broglio look like an even deal. Hamilton's batting .310 with 21 home runs and 95 ribbies and that's sick. Those are the types of numbers players put up over 162 games, not 93.

...the NL Cy Young would be Tim Lincecum.

Apologies to Brandon Webb (13 wins at the All-Star Break) and Edinson Volquez (league-low 2.29 ERA), Tim Lincecum is the winner deserving of a chicken dinner.

The 5-foot-10 strikeout machine (135 punchouts) has 11 wins despite the run support of an offense that comes to the plate swinging a wet newspaper. He's got the second best ERA in the league (2.57) and he's 8-1 on the road.

...the AL Cy Young would be Francisco Rodriguez.

Some of you laughed at me when I picked K-Rod in the fourth round of my fantasy baseball league. 38 saves, 43 strikeouts, and a 2.36 ERA later, it looks as if I've got the last laugh heading into the All-Star Break.

...the NL Rookie of the Year would be Geovany Soto.

Ever since he hit the only home run during the Cubs' brief playoff appearance in 2007, Geo Soto's star has been on the rise. He's got 16 homers and 57 ribs and he handles a pitching staff that has four All-Stars. Oh and by the way, he's the starting backstop for the NL in the All-Star Game and that has never happened before.

...the AL Rookie of the Year would be Evan Longoria.

Think about how good his numbers would be if Longoria would have broken spring training with the big club? .275 16 HRs 53 RBIs and a .863 OPS from a rookie at the hot corner is special. The idea that his potential this year could include 30 homers and 100 ribbies while hitting at the dreadfully awful looking Tropicana Field is mind-boggling.

...the NL Manager of the Year would be Tony LaRussa.

Some of you must be scratching your heads. Yeah, I'm giving LaRussa the award based on the fact that the Cards have 53 wins and are only 4.5 games behind the Cubs (who should be running away and hiding from this division).

...the AL Manager of the Year would be Joe Maddon.

The Tampa Bay Rays have 55 wins...at the All-Star Break. They're half a game out of first place...at the All-Star Break. They have a 55.4 percent chance of making the playoffs...at the All-Star Break. Kudos to Maddon and the Rays.

All-Star Game Line-Ups and Starters

Get your pencils and scorecards ready.

AL Line-Up

1: Ichiro Suzuki, RF, Mariners
2: Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees
3: Josh Hamilton, CF, Rangers
4: Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
5: Manny Ramirez, LF, Red Sox
6: Milton Bradley, DH, Rangers
7: Kevin Youkilis, 1B, Red Sox
8: Joe Mauer, C, Twins
9: Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox

Starting Pitcher: Cliff Lee

NL Line-Up

1: Hanley Ramirez, SS, Marlins
2: Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies
3: Lance Berkman, 1B, Astros
4: Albert Pujols, DH, Cardinals
5: Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves
6: Matt Holliday, RF, Rockies
7: Ryan Braun, LF, Brewers
8: Kosuke Fukudome, CF, Cubs
9: Geovany Soto, C, Cubs

Starting Pitcher: Ben Sheets

OK, so sometimes predictions do not go as followed. But I wasn't too far off.

I nailed Ichiro, Jeter, Youkilis, Mauer and Pedroia on the AL side. And you can flip-flop Fuku and Soto on the NL side. And I wasn't too far off on Braun or HanRam.

And I was on it with Lee and Sheets as the top candidates.

Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

With a .288 batting average 16 home runs and 56 RBIs at the All-Star Break, is Geovany Soto the best ninth hitter ever?