Yankees Achieve 100th Win of the Year...

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Omar Rawlings)

For a meaningless game, Saturday’s game featured huge milestones…

Congratulations to the 2018 New York Yankees for their achievement of 100 victories. It is something they have not done since the championship year of 2009 and it is not something that many teams do each year. It usually means that you win the division but the Boston Red Sox were just a little better this time around.  

The Yankees also busted the MLB record yesterday for Team Home Runs. When Gleyber Torres hit his two-run shot in the 4th inning off Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, it gave the Yankees one more than the previous record of 264 set by the Seattle Mariners. Giancarlo Stanton added the 266th of the year with his 38th dinger in the 7th inning. For Stanton, he also had two RBI’s to give him 100 for his new team, matching the team’s win total when the Yankees closed out the 8-5 victory.  But I have to give a big... 

RED SOX SUCK! 

...for their fan who threw Stanton's home run ball back onto the field and hit Giancarlo as he rounded second.  

Miguel Andujar set the new Yankees’ rookie record for doubles with two yesterday to increase his season total to 46, eclipsing the old mark of 44 set by Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio back in 1936.That’s special company when you can rub shoulders with Yankee legends. If Shohei Ohtani wins the AL Rookie of the Year, it won’t detract from the brilliant season Andujar has enjoyed. He deserves the hardware as much as Ohtani, but all things considered, I’d rather have a World Series trophy. Andujar has a chance, Ohtani does not.

In taking the first two games of the three-game series with the Red Sox, the Yankees have prevented Boston from reaching 110 victories which I personally appreciated. Today’s game is probably about as meaningless as a spring training game, but it is a day the Yankees can enjoy and get ready for Wednesday’s Wild Card Game in the Bronx against the Oakland A’s.  

I look back to Boston’s sweep of the Yankees in early August as the defining moment for the AL East. It gave the Sox the momentum and the separation they needed from the Yankees to propel them to the AL East championship. If the Yankees could have at least split that series, I think the race to the finish would have been much tighter.  

Within the last couple of weeks, I had my doubts if the Yankees would be able to hold the lead in the Wild Card standings and thought they could potentially lose home field advantage for the game to the hard charging Oakland A’s. I apologize for the ‘glass is half empty’ approach. Thankfully, the Yankees have picked up some momentum over the last week and grabbed the pole position earlier this week. The A’s did pick up their 97th win of the year yesterday against the Los Angeles Angels, 5-2, which boggles my mind. They are truly a team that came out of nowhere but are loaded with lethal bats and a deadly bullpen. The A’s have a chance to avenge the famous Derek Jeter “Flip Play” which erased the A’s Jeremy Giambi in the 2001 ALDS.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

I like the 2018 Yankees and their chances but I’ll temper any excitement until the conclusion of Wednesday’s game. Anybody can win one game. Heck, the Baltimore Orioles, even with 115 losses, could beat the Boston Red Sox in one game. I know, the stakes are much higher in the post-season and guys elevate their game, but in the span of nine innings, anything can happen. If the Yankees can beat the A’s, then I feel they have a great shot moving forward. It will mean a quick return to Boston for the next round if it happens.  

I honestly do not know which pitcher I’d go with to start Wednesday’s game. I like the job J.A. Happ has done since he joined the Yankees. I look at his last game against the Red Sox when he gave up four runs as really just a bad pitch to Steve Pearce who didn’t miss it for a grand slam. I am sure that Aaron Boone would have pitched that inning differently in the playoffs and Happ would not have faced Pearce. On recent performance, I’d have to go with Happ, but I can’t discount the argument David Cone made on yesterday’s FOX telecast of the game, “Severino is your Ferrari”, “you can’t keep your Ferrari in the garage”. Sevy has been the ace for the last couple of years and despite his stretch of struggles this summer, he’s still the leader of the staff. So, I’d probably go with Sevy but I can’t really argue against Happ if Boone decides to go that direction. I thought Masahiro Tanaka might the one rounding into form for the one-game ‘do or die’ playoff but his last start showed me that we don’t need his propensity for allowing home runs in a game against a team filled with sluggers like the A’s. Khris Davis hit his 48th of the year yesterday, proving that if you throw him a mistake, the ball will go very, very far. I’d prefer not seeing Tanaka face guys like Davis, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Stephen Piscotty. So, in my mind, Tanaka is not an option when your season is on the line. Nevertheless, the Wild Card game is an ‘all hands on deck’ situation so any signs of trouble for the starter should be a quick signal to the pen.  

I was a little disappointed with the forgettable performance of Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder yesterday. This has been a breakout year for Holder who has been relied upon as one of the bullpen’s key performers. Holder was given the ninth to finish off the game, in relief of Sonny Gray who had done a fine job for a couple of innings. The Yankees had a comfortable 8-3 lead, but Tzu-Wei Lin walloped Holder’s first pitch for a ground rule double to left. Brock Holt followed with a homer to right to close the gap with the Yankees to three runs. Sam Travis was next and he singled to center. With Aroldis Chapman warming in the pen, Holder finally got the first out when he struck out the past-his-prime Brandon Phillips. Chapman had to come in and close out the game, picking up his 32nd save in a game that should not have been a save situation. Hopefully this was just an isolated poor outing for Holder. The Yankees need him for middle relief in October if the team advances beyond the Wild Card. Chapman did walk a batter to bring the tying run to the plate, but I am glad to see the Cuban Missile is rounding back into form. He is still not where he needs to be, but I like the insurance card (Zach Britton). A combo of a healthy Chapman and an elite closer like Britton is a solid recipe for success.

Credit to the Yankees for their accomplishments this year. To win 100 games for a team that seemed to struggle for extended periods this year shows that they are a very talented group when healthy. In looking at the National League, it’s not easy to make the playoffs, let alone win 100 games. There are two dead heats entering the last day of the season with ties atop the NL Central and NL West. The NL Central co-leaders, the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, have the most wins in the NL at 94. For the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, today’s games could either mean winning the division or heading to Los Angeles for a tie-breaker game tomorrow. The loser of the tie-breaker would then head to Milwaukee or Chicago depending upon who loses the NL Central. The Brewers and Cubs would play a potential tie-breaker Monday in Chicago. Very complicated. I am glad the Yankees don’t enter the final regular season game with so much uncertainty and potentially chaotic travel schedule over the next couple of days.    

Buck Showalter probably manages his last game today. His team has lost three consecutive games and stands at 46-115. They’re facing the Houston Astros at Camden Yards so today they’ll probably see Houston’s backups and minor leaguers. Hopefully it means one final victory for Buck before he goes. His managerial record is 1550-1517-1 for a .505 winning percentage. In my mind, he helped prepare the 90’s Yankees for its run of success even if he never saw the fruits of his labor. Farewell, Buck. I hope this is not the end of the road, but just the closure of another chapter before a new one begins. Maybe the Angelos Family surprises me and decides to keep Buck around but I seriously doubt it. 

Also, farewell to David Wright of the New York Mets. I don’t care for the Mets but I recognize Wright was a special player and it’s too bad his final years were filled with injuries. He is one of the game’s better ambassadors and I am hopeful he stays in the game for his post-playing career. Major League Baseball needs more guys like David Wright.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Jim McIsaac)

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like the Yankees were just assembling in Tampa in Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers in camp, awaiting the arrival of the position players including new Yankee Giancarlo Stanton.This has been a very fast year. Although the bullpen management has driven me nuts at times, I think Aaron Boone has done a good job as the team’s manager. So many of those bullpen decisions are driven by Brian Cashman’s analytics team so it’s hard to place all of the blame on Boonie. I like the calming effect his personality has on the clubhouse, not too much unlike former Yankees manager Joe Torre. I know that many Yankees fans have anointed the team’s former manager as Saint Girardi, forgetting his faults. But entering Wednesday’s game, win or lose, I am glad Aaron Boone is the manager of the New York Yankees.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

A loss on Wednesday does not end the hopes of this team. They’ll be back, stronger than ever, in 2019, and I think they’ll overtake the Boston Red Sox next year. The Sox benefited from career years from multiple players but I don’t think they’ll catch lightning in a bottle again next year. The Yankees can have a say in ending Boston’s highly successful season with a win on October 3rd. A perfect ending and a beautiful beginning for the Yankees if they can survive the Wild Card game and defeat the Red Sox. The Yankees, right now, can beat anybody. That’s not a boast, but a fact. Let’s prove it on the field.

Go Yankees!

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: Comeback Players of the Year

The original post was written below on March 23, 2018 stating that Tim Lincecum and David Wright would win the American League and National League Comeback Player of the Year Awards for their respective leagues. Boy, what a good war to start off my prediction recaps… WRONG! 

Lincecum was released by the Texas Rangers on June 5th after his rehab clock for a blister problem that popped up in Spring Training ran out. No one else signed Lincecum for the 2018 season and his career is likely over after another failed comeback attempt. David Wright will play in one last game for the Mets, his only game of the season, before calling it a career and retiring at the end of the season. I went bold, and unfortunately being bold backfired on this one. Maybe on the next prediction.  

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is generally given to a player who has not only a great season but has a great story behind their great season. For example, if a player misses a bulk of the previous season or seasons due to injury they are generally a candidate for the award if they come back the next season and have a strong season. Remember when Bartolo Colon basically came out of retirement for the New York Yankees only to shock the baseball world by showing that he could not only still pitch, but still pitch effectively at the Major League level? Or remember last season when Greg Holland returned from missing the 2016 season with Tommy John surgery to lead the National League for a chunk of the seasons in saves in 2017? Those are the kind of stories that win you a Comeback Player of the Year Award, and here are my 2018 stories. 

I know I am reaching way out in left field on this one, but you almost have to with any of these sorts of predictions at this stage in the year. No one knows who is going to come back healthy, and nobody knows who is going to be the “next big thing” in Major League Baseball. So why not go bold? Why not predict that Tim Lincecum will not only make the Major League roster at some point in the 2017 season with the pitching-starved Texas Rangers, but why not predict that he will do well for the team in whatever role they use him in? It could happen, and according to my predictions it will happen. The Freak is back, likely as a reliever, and he wants some more hardware for his shelves at home. 

The National League version was a little harder to come up with, so I decided to go bold once again in predicting that David Wright finally makes his way back onto the field with the New York Mets. At this point Wright doesn’t even have to be all that effective to earn to award, the story in itself of him working his way back to the Major League level would be story enough. Wright is currently working on trying to get back to the Mets after undergoing shoulder surgery in September of 2017 and an additional surgery on his lower back in October of 2017. Currently at the time of this writing Wright has been shut down from baseball activities for at least eight weeks, but if the Mets former third baseman can make it back by June or July he would easily be the story of the second half around Major League Baseball.---

Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees Literal Insurance Policy

The New York Yankees announces earlier this week that they would be without their center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the remainder of the 2018 season after the lefty tore his labrum in his left hip. Ellsbury, who has not played a game thus far this season, will miss the entire season and will miss the fifth year in his seven-year contract that the New York Yankees handed him worth $153 million when Robinson Cano jetted to the Seattle Mariners via free agency. With two years left on his contract you would think the Yankees would be wanting him to get back on the field as healthy and as soon as possible, well you would think that until you realized just what the team had to gain via the insurance policy that they took out on Ellsbury when they signed him to his monster contract.

Ellsbury is set to make $21 million in 2018 and will earn every dime of it despite not playing in a single inning for the Major League club this season. Luckily for the Yankees they took out an insurance policy that would reimburse the team $15,857,142.86 according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN and Forbes.com. Reportedly the Yankees signed a similar insurance policy on Ellsbury that the New York Mets took out on third baseman David Wright, a policy that cost the team $2 million but would pay up to 75% of his salary if he were physically unable to play on the field in any given season. The policy does not kick in until a player has missed at least 60 games in any given season.

Now while I am not a conspiracy theorist one has to wonder if either Ellsbury, the Yankees, or a combination of the two are really slowing down his recovery process and timetable. Ellsbury went down in spring training with an oblique injury and has seen various other, less serious, injuries keep him out of Major League action including, but not limited to, a hip issue that required a cortisone shot, plantar fasciitis, “back issues” and then ultimately the torn labrum in his hip that ended his season. Ellsbury never stood a chance this season, and it makes you wonder why when both he and the Yankees benefit from it, both financially and in the Yankees case with the all-important roster spot on the Major League team.

I am sure there are procedures and policies and such that prevent against what basically equates to insurance fraud, but damn things look a little fishy right now as we look back… right? Oh well, here’s to 2019 and a speedy recovery for Ellsbury… so the team can dump him and trade him before the season with any luck and a healthy bill of health. Here’s to hoping, and here’s to the eating of salaries.

TGP 2018 Predictions: Comeback Players of the Year

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is generally given to a player who has not only a great season but has a great story behind their great season. For example, if a player misses a bulk of the previous season or seasons due to injury they are generally a candidate for the award if they come back the next season and have a strong season. Remember when Bartolo Colon basically came out of retirement for the New York Yankees only to shock the baseball world by showing that he could not only still pitch, but still pitch effectively at the Major League level? Or remember last season when Greg Holland returned from missing the 2016 season with Tommy John surgery to lead the National League for a chunk of the seasons in saves in 2017? Those are the kind of stories that win you a Comeback Player of the Year Award, and here are my 2018 stories.

I know I am reaching way out in left field on this one, but you almost have to with any of these sorts of predictions at this stage in the year. No one knows who is going to come back healthy, and nobody knows who is going to be the “next big thing” in Major League Baseball. So why not go bold? Why not predict that Tim Lincecum will not only make the Major League roster at some point in the 2017 season with the pitching-starved Texas Rangers, but why not predict that he will do well for the team in whatever role they use him in? It could happen, and according to my predictions it will happen. The Freak is back, likely as a reliever, and he wants some more hardware for his shelves at home.

The National League version was a little harder to come up with, so I decided to go bold once again in predicting that David Wright finally makes his way back onto the field with the New York Mets. At this point Wright doesn’t even have to be all that effective to earn to award, the story in itself of him working his way back to the Major League level would be story enough. Wright is currently working on trying to get back to the Mets after undergoing shoulder surgery in September of 2017 and an additional surgery on his lower back in October of 2017. Currently at the time of this writing Wright has been shut down from baseball activities for at least eight weeks, but if the Mets former third baseman can make it back by June or July he would easily be the story of the second half around Major League Baseball.

Spring Training Around New York: Could David Wright Retire?

Good morning everyone and Happy Saturday to you all. The New York Yankees aren’t giving me much to talk about in all honesty so this morning I wanted to broaden my horizons a bit and expand at least to another borough of New York and talk about the “other” captain in the city, David Wright. Wright injured his shoulder again this spring a shoulder that has nagged him for a few seasons now, leaving many to wonder if the 34-year old New York Mets third basemen would retire. This caught my attention and I wanted to talk about it… so I will. New rules and such, putting more of “me” into this site. .

Wright’s shoulder was sore after his first throwing session of the spring which is concerning for both Wright and the Mets given his recent injury history with his right throwing shoulder. Talks of moving Wright to first base had even been made public due to the severity of the shoulder injury but he had to prove he could throw before any of those talks came to fruition. One throwing session and two visits to two different doctors later and Wright was once again shut down with a serious shoulder impingement.

Wright claims to be working out at the team’s minor league complex as he tries to keep his body in shape but at some point the team, and Wright, are going to have to make a decision on this thing. Wright played in just two games as a designated hitter for the Mets before a neck surgery ended his season prematurely in 2016 and all signs point to him missing a huge chunk of time again in 2017. At 34-years old you have to start wondering if it’s worth trying to come back or if it’s better to ride off in the sunset while you can still presumably life your arms above your head. The future may be now for Wright and it may be time to walk away. His body is presumably trying to tell him to walk away… but will he listen?

Wright seems to still enjoy and love the game of Major League Baseball so I truly doubt that he will retire, and he is definitely saying all the right things about the whole situation, but like the New York Lottery…. Hey, you never know.

The Mets Offense vs. the Giants Pitching

Now I’m not nor have I ever been a Major League Baseball hitter so I can only presume but you have to think that the offense for both the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants can’t be looking forward to tonight. I mean yeah, it’s the postseason and I’m sure everyone is pumped for the playoffs and this do-or-die one-game playoff game tonight but when you look at tonight’s pitching matchup you have to cringe a little bit as a hitter. Especially the New York Mets offense who has to take at-bats against the Giants starter tonight Madison Bumgarner.

Here is what the New York Mets offense has done against Bumgarner in their careers. All photos and stats are courtesy of ESPN.com:

Fantasy Baseball: Who are the New York Mets?

The New York Mets are the new version of the New York Yankees? If you read the New York tabloids and sports articles online apparently some seem to think so, me not so much but I digress. Who exactly are the New York Mets? They are a bunch of aces with a Bartolo Colon thrown in who pitch behind players like David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. But who are the Mets really and how can they help you in your fantasy league draft? Well I’m glad you asked. 

The New York Mets have a new shortstop and a new second baseman now that Daniel Murphy is gone and the team feels good about where their offense is at this point. Asdrubal Cabrera could be the team’s starting shortstop over Wilmer Flores but he may be better suited as a backup for New York and Zack Wheeler is on his way back from Tommy John surgery leaving Bartolo Colon’s future with the team up in the air. 

We’ll start with Walker who has some large shoes to fill, especially if the Mets make the postseason for the second consecutive season. Murphy was an absolute beast in the postseason and although Walker brings much better defense and surprisingly more power to the club he may be overlooked for much of the season. Walker is one of the better second baseman in the National League in my opinion and may be a solid, not spectacular, pickup for you at the position if you can wait him out until the middle rounds. 

Asdrubal Cabrera’s position with the team is not set in stone yet and likely won’t be until the end of Spring Training. With Wilmer Flores currently manning the shortstop position and Ruben Tejada expected back sometime in early 2016 Cabrera may be forced into a super utility role. Cabrera is solid everywhere but not really spectacular at anything leaving much to be desired as a starter, although he wouldn’t be the worst 20^th round pick or so in the world. If he’s a bench player he has little fantasy value but if he’s a starter he may be worth a shot late. 

Finally you have the return of Zack Wheeler and what it may mean to Bartolo Colon. It is thought that Colon is simply keeping the seat warm for Wheeler until he can return from Tommy John surgery but as we all know, injuries happen. Colon is durable and will likely make his 20 starts or more this season and will somehow continue to defy the odds in the National League. He may even run into a pitch or two and help you with your on-base percentage at the plate (yes I know that is not counted in most leagues for pitchers…. It’s a joke). Grab both if you can, especially Wheeler with say your last pick. Lots of wins there I think between the two. 

There you have it, those are the Mets. Hopefully the Mets can help you lead your team through the postseason and to the Promised Land much like Daniel Murphy led that team to the World Series in 2015. 

Unfortunately for Some Yankees Fans the New York Mets are Here to Stay

The New York Mets fell to the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series in just five games and in front of their home crowd in Citi Field this week. A lot of change is coming to the Mets, Bartolo Colon is likely to retire. Yoenis Cespedes and Tyler Clippard are likely to hit the free agency market while Daniel Murphy is destined to receive a qualifying offer this offseason. The Mets are not a perfect team, no team is in the era without super teams, but the Mets are a good team. I can say this with full confidence, even as a Yankees fan, that the New York Mets are here to stay.

The core of the Mets will be back and so will that fantastic pitching staff that has given many of us Yankees fans pitching envy. Jacob deGrom’s hair will likely be back in 2016 and so will Jeurys Familia’s sinker. The Mets will have Steven Matz for a full season in 2016 and will also welcome Zack Wheeler back off the disabled list and to either the rotation or the bullpen for a full season. Curtis Granderson and David Wright will be back along with Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Conforto giving the Mets a young and energetic core.

Matt Harvey’s innings limit won’t be back for 2016 and neither will the innings limits for any of their starting pitchers. Yoenis Cespedes will not be back but I don’t think it was Cespedes alone that led the team to where they went this season. Maybe it was the confidence of having Cespedes in center field or batting in the middle of the order that brought the team together but it was not Cespedes alone. The Mets will have that confidence, and that chip on their shoulder from the World Series loss, and can use that and build on that for 2016.

As a fan of the New York Yankees it kills me to say it but the National League likely belongs to the New York Mets for a few more years. Don’t worry though, the state and city of New York still belongs to the Yankees.

My Thoughts on the Noah Syndergaard Situation

Noah Syndergaard has been the talk of the town the past couple of days on sports talk radio, the news, blogs, etc. after taking a lunch break during an intrasquad game in spring training. Boomer and Carton talked about it for what felt like an hour yesterday morning so I feel compelled to leave you with my thoughts on the 22 year old's “lack of judgment.”

First and foremost you don’t nickname a guy “Thor” and expect him to not have an appetite. Syndergaard broke a team rule by eating lunch during a game… an intrasquad game… during spring training. This may sound a lot like “practice? You talking about practice man?” but the same principal applies here. I thought things were pretty relaxed, laid back and not generally taken too seriously at this stage of the game. If that were the case then why can games end in a tie in the Grapefruit League?

Enough about Syndergaard, more on the captain of the Mets David Wright. Call me spoiled and call me bias but if this happened in the Yankees clubhouse under the Derek Jeter era we would have never heard about it. We also would have never had articles stating that Jeter, the CAPTAIN of the team, threw out a teammate’s lunch to “send a message.” That sounds an awful lot like bullying to me and awfully childish. The reports state that Bobby Parnell physically took the plate and threw it away but still, this is bullying and this is crap.

Syndergaard messed up, rookie mistake, but Wright and Parnell messed up more. This stuff, especially as a captain, never needs to get out to the media and it never needs to be handled in this way. This isn’t High School and Syndergaard won’t fit in a locker or a trash can because he won’t give you his chocolate milk so stop treating him like a child. But hey, it is the Mets we’re talking about here. What a joke. 

Let's See How Many Swings Will Be Ruined by Kevin Long

Just a quick look at the New York Mets depth chart and starting squad so we can see how many swings will be ruined by new hitting coach Kevin Long.

Curtis Granderson
David Wright
Travis d'Arnaud
Lucas Duda
Daniel Murphy
Wilmer Flores
Dilson Herrera
Juan Lagares
Matt den Dekker

This post had a lot of sarcasm behind it, unfortunately the Mets will probably lead all of Major League Baseball in hitting for a season or two while the New York Yankees continue to struggle. That's baseball and you can't predict it.

Derek Jeter #1 In Jersey Sales at Halfway Mark

The New York Yankees #2 jersey that is currently being worn by Derek Jeter is the top selling jersey in all of Major League Baseball as we head into the All Star break. Based on sales from MLB.com the captain has sold more jerseys this season than any other player, an impressive feat for the 40 year old.

Here are 14 other jersey sales that I found notable and interesting:

1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
2. Buster Posey,  San Francisco Giants
3. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
4. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
5. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
6. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
7. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
8. David Wright, New York Mets
9. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers
10. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
11. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Piratesd
12. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
13. Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners
14. Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees

Soriano's double helps Yankees win finale over Mets, 1-0

It looks like the Yankees have found Sabathia's replacement.

RHP Chase Whitley, a prospect making his major league debut, struck out four in a scoreless 4.2 innings tonight, as the Yankees earned a split in the 2014 Subway Series with a 1-0 win over the Mets. 

The victory, the Yanks second consecutive shutout one, wasn't necessarily pretty, as the Bombers collected just 4 hits in seven innings against Metropolitans starter Jacob deGrom.

However, they did manage to get the necessary big one in the top of the seventh, when Alfonso Soriano drove Brian McCann home with a line-drive double into the left center field gap.

Usually, that single trip around the bases wouldn't be enough to win a road game, but due to a perfect 2.1 frames of relief from Dellin Betances, in which he induced an Eric Young groundout to end a bottom of the fifth threat and struck out six, it was. New York's NL team did put men on the corners with two outs in the eighth, but thanks to David Robertson getting David Wright to ground out that rally was not successful. 

Anyway, in this evening's top of the third Whitley interestingly singled, the second day in a row a Pinstripe starter has done so. With Tanaka yesterday it was pretty cool, but with Whitley tonight it wasn't all that surprising, as #39 was apparently a slugger during his college days at Troy.

All Star Game Lineup

The lineups are in for tonight's 84th annual MLB All Star Game and they are as follows: 

1. Trout - LF

2. Cano - 2B

3. Cabrera - 3B

4. Davis - 1B

5. Bautista - RF

6. Ortiz - DH

7. Jones - CF

8. Mauer - C

9. Hardy - SS

1. Phillips - 2B

2. Beltran - RF

3. Votto - 1B

4. Wright - 3B

5. Gonzalez - LF

6. Molina - C

7. Tulowitzki - SS

8. Cuddyer - DH

9. Harper - CF

Game Thread: Home Run Derby

It is time for the 2013 Chevrolet Home Run Derby. Once again here is the lineups for the American League and the National League and may the best league win.

American League

Robinson Cano
Prince Fielder
Chris Davis
Yoenis Cespedes

National League

David Wright
Michael Cuddyer
Pedro Alvarez
Bryce Harper

Tonight's Home Run Derby Participants

American League

Robinson Cano
Prince Fielder
Chris Davis
Yoenis Cespedes

National League

David Wright
Michael Cuddyer
Bryce Harper
Pedro Alvarez

2013 Home Run Derby Participants Announced

The 2013 State Farm Home Run Derby participants for next Monday July 15th have been announced, well most of them anyway. Here is the list.

For the American League with captain Robinson Cano we have

Robinson Cano

Prince Fielder

Chris Davis

TBA

For the National League with captain David Wright we have

David Wright

Carlos Gonzalez

Michael Cuddyer

Bryce Harper

Should be fun to see Chris Davis and Bryce Harper take their turns at the plate. Michael Cuddyer is pretty underrated in my opinion but I cannot see him making a serious run for the victory in a bigger field like Citifield. I wonder who the TBA will be, which will be announced tomorrow, for Robbie Cano. Speculation and predictions from TGP thinks that it will either be Nelson Cruz or Miguel Cabrera so we will see when it is announced tomorrow.