Joey Votto – Now that you’re an All-Star, Home-Run Derby?

Over the past week it looked like Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto(notes) would be snubbed from the All-Star Lineup but the final fan vote has sent him through to the 2010 All-Star Game. Votto was not shy about promoting his candidacy for the All-Star team with a Vote Votto T-shirt campaign.

 Fan vote all-star hopefuls around the league deployed similar campaigns like Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and teammates who sported “PaulieWood” t-shirts, and Nick “Swish-ilicious” Swisher used a commercial to seal his spot on the All-Star team.


Votto made a strong case for an All-Star bid in the past two weeks has been playing outstanding. His most recent homer before the announcement was a deep shot that landed on the “Big Apple” in dead centerfield off New York Mets ace pitcher Mike Pelfrey

Regarding the All-Star Selection Votto said,

“I didn’t expect all the attention, I didn’t expect that it would be this big. I appreciate all the votes and everything, but it became a popularity contest, which is not really up my alley.”

When asked about fans who voted many times over he remarked,

“They must really like Cincinnati Redsbaseball and want to see a lot of guys go to the All-Star Game … or they have a lot of e-mail addresses” – Votto didn’t crack a smile. This all was a little overwhelming, particularly a year after the most trying one of his career.” READ MORE

National League All-Star manager Charlie Manuel witnessed Votto’s skills Thursday when he hit his league-leading 22^nd home-run against the Phillies. Votto is currently batting .314 and has an NL-best with.417 on-base percentage and NL-best .595 slugging percentage.

Can we start talking about Joe Johnson? Or do you still think Jimenez Wins 25+ Games

Over the past few weeks I have had the fortune of catching several of Josh Johnson's (notes) starts and without a doubt he is not getting enough attention. Johnson is the type of pitcher that can lead a rotation, bullpen, and team. The only problem is Johnson pitches for the Florida Marlins, nevertheless, Johnson still holds a record of 9-3 and would be my pick for National League starting pitcher of the 2010 All-Star Game. 


Colorado Rockies, pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez(notes) continues to dominate and will start this years All-Star Game for the National League.  He has began to stumble as of late but the Rockies have saved him with some come form behind victories.

National League manager Charlie Manuel has a tough decision on his hands, Jimenez or Johnson?

Who should get the ball first for the likely two innings of starting pitching. Neither pitchers will pitch this Sunday so both will be eligible for the start.


Y!Sports Big League Stew post BLS poll: Should Johnson or Jimenez get the NL's All-Star start?  Makes a case for both Jimenez and Johnson.

‘The case for Jimenez:  He dominated the first two months of the season and his total of 14 wins leads either league. He has posted a 4.34 ERA in seven starts since May 31, but his ERA is still only 2.27 — good for fourth in the NL — and his WHIP weighs in at 1.07. Jimenez also has the early season no-hitter to his name and the hype over his fastball may be something that fans will tune into watch.

The case for Johnson: He's dominating right now. Johnson leads the league in ERA (1.70), ERA+ (246) and WHIP (0.96) and boasts K/9 and K/BB rates (9.1, 4.39) that are superior to Jimenez's rates (8.2, 2.43). In his seven starts since June 3, Johnson has a 1.04 ERA. His stats are much better than his 9-3 record indicate.’

Season-High Home Run Total Set at 47 HRs Wednesday

This Wednesday’s slugfest was a valiant attempt to break the all-time high major league record of 62 homers hit in a single day across the major leagues. The attempt fell short though, but did set a new season-high amassing 47 homers by the nights end

Helping rack up these home runs were

Washington's Adam Dunn(notes) had a career day hitting three homers on Wednesday

Mike Stanton's(notes) a free agent I have blogged about also homered Wednesday and the ball was caught by an empty catcher's mitt in the bullpen.

So who didn’t take part in Wednesday’s Home-Run Derby Preview?

The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels was the only game Wednesday that did not see a home run hit.

*On July 2,2002, the day the all-time record was set there was also only one other game that did not to contribute to that day’s home run total (Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox).*

Other notable homers included:


Danny Worth's first career big fly for the Tigers and Matt Stairs' 20th career pinch-hit blast, tying Cliff Johnson's all-time mark. 
Chris Iannetta hit the second walk-off homer for the Rockies in as many days.

Evan Longoria’s homer was a deep shot that would have been gone in any ballpark was his first since June 15.
All-star hopeful Nick “Swish-ilicious” Swisher backed his All-Star candidacy with a blast.

Major League leader and Toronto Blue Jay Jose Bautista legged out an inside-the-park homer for his 22nd on the season.

Curious about Major League Home Runs Hit on July 2, 2002
 On July 2, 2002, teams combined to hit 62 long balls breaking the one-day Major League record for home runs. The previous record was 57 and it was set on April 7, 2000. Here are the players who contributed to this record setting / historical day: READ MORE

T.I.P.S. for Thome, Barnes, Alvarez, and more…

Past Week’s top 20 (Yahoo! standard 5 x5 leagues)

1. Albert Pujols(notes)
2. Rafael Furcal(notes)
3. Adam Wainwright(notes)
4. Jim Thome
5. Carlos Gonzalez(notes)
6. Octavio Dotel(notes)
7. Clint Barmes

8. Joey Votto(notes)
9. Vladimir Guerrero(notes)
10. Ricky Nolasco(notes)
11. Torii Hunter(notes)
12. Felix Hernandez(notes)
13. Hanley Ramirez(notes)
14. Michael Bourn(notes)
15. David Wright(notes)
16. Andres Torres(notes)
17. Carl Crawford(notes)
18. Matt Kemp(notes)
19. Dexter Fowler(notes)
20. Sean Rodriguez(notes)

*All stats were up-to-date as of 7/5.

I wanted to highlight two Trends this week, making the 4-spot on the top 20 Jim Thome and the Minnesota Twins and in the 7^th spot Colorado Rockies Clint Barnes.

Jim Thome should be available in most yahoo leagues and could be a nice addition to your lineup as a  backup utility player.

Brad Rysz, RotoExperts.com said this week,

Let Thome be your Homie …
With two homers Saturday, Jim Thome(notes) passed Harmon Killebrew for 10th all time on the home run list. The slugger has gotten some extra playing time recently and has earned a regular slot in the lineup now that Michael Cuddyer(notes) has moved to third and Nick Punto(notes) is manning short. Even when J.J. Hardy(notes) returns, it seems that Punto will be the odd man out, not Thome.

And about Clint Barmes(notes),

(He) has done his part in minimizing the damage. Barmes was the seventh-ranked player last week, hitting .400 with two homers, seven RBIs, and eight runs. Barmes, who is shortstop and second-base eligible, now has seven homers and 41 RBIs on the season.”

I have mentioned in many blogs the name, Pedro Alvarez. A young third basemen for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have quietly developed a team full of young superstars including fellow teammates: outfielder Andrew McCutchen and catcher Carlos Santana.

In this weeks T.I.P.S., Pedro Alvarez is listed as one of two Suggestions:

Add Pedro Alvarez(notes) …

When Alvarez was called up in mid-June, his ownership skyrocketed as one of baseball’s best prospects and was expected to hit immediately upon arrival. Instead, Alvarez struggled and fantasy teams bailed on him as quickly as they scooped him up…READ MORE

Nearing the All-Star Break: Corey Patterson and Rebuilding the Orioles, Pelfrey, and Quentin

 The Baltimore Orioles have a long-term plan to revamp and reimage the organization falling just short of cleaning house top to bottom.

With  Felix Pie(notes) back in the lineup and buzz surrounding a Ty Wigginton(notes) trade starting up,  Corey Patterson(notes) may not be in an Orioles uniform for much longer. Patterson however has been on a complete fantasy tear over the last 25 days sporting a .344 AVG., 14 Runs, and 11 Steals. For nervous or considering fantasy owners, Patterson should still get regular at-bats as the DH and will be the first outfielder off the bench to fill for absent starters.

I want to highlight two other players mentioned in Closing Time: Corey Patterson and the rebuilder's dilemma by Scott Pianowski. New York Mets starting pitcher/All-Star Mike Pelfrey and the spirit of the “SouthSide” Chicago White Sox outfielder Carlos Quention.

Mike Pelfrey(notes), has been a strong performer on my fantasy team but a bad trend is setting in and it is time to let him go. After Pelfrey’s start this Sunday I plan to drop him from my lineup, and pickup OF Carlos Beltran who will be returning from the DL following the All-Star break and starting in Thursday and Fridays games next week. On Pelfrey, Closing Time report said, (He) continues to limp to the first-half finish line – the Reds knocked him for seven runs on Monday. He's now allowed 21 runs over his last five turns, with a mediocre nine strikeouts against 11 walks. You probably should rest him on the weekend when he faces the Braves.

 And this on a man possessed, Carlos Quentin:

Quentins Catch Monday vs LAA Angels - Tori Hunter in the FIRST INNING!

“If you can figure out Carlos Quentin(notes),maybe it's time to move into more lucrative endeavors, like picking lottery numbers. He's clubbed 10 homers over the past five weeks (including two on Monday) after a horrendous opening quarter, but the homer binge in June was surrounded by a lot of curious stats – his strikeout rate went up, his line-drive rate went down, and his ground-ball rate went up. His HR/FB clip was rich in June, as you'd expect, but Quentin wasn't lucky anywhere else, carrying a mere .231 average on balls in play. Looking at the last two years, Quentin is starting to look more and more like a three-category player, someone that can give us power and runs scored but will be a drain in the other two standard categories. Home runs generally carry clout in trade talks, and with that in mind, now is probably a good time to peddle his recent power surge."

Who moves first – Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt?

So what does Seattle Mariners ace Cliff Lee think about the possibility of becoming a Minnesota Twin?

Nothing yet, but you can read the latest news on Cliff Lee and the Twins in,

Report: Twins offer top prospects Ramos and Hicks for Cliff Lee

by David Brown  posted for Big League Stew a Y!Sports Blog.

No matter how excited me may get for a Cliff Lee trade as teams gear up for the 2^nd half of the season and their playoff runs we cannot forget what is stated properly in this Big League Stew blog,

“Lee might be the best pitcher in the majors, but even the best can't guarantee a World Series championship. He was great for the Phillies last season and they still finished second to the Yankees.”

However, strengthening their bullpen with another closer and a new ace in their starting rotation could make them the favorites in the AL Central ahead of the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.

Mariners would be offering up Cliff Lee and who?

David Aardsma – Twins possibly may also want closer David Aardsma.

For Ramos and Hicks –who are they and what do they offer?

Wilson Ramos – is just 22, and has already has sipped coffee in the majors (earlier this season, when Joe Mauer(notes)was sidelined) and projects to be the best power hitter in the system. With catcher Joe Mauer being a perennial all-star and beloved by Minnesota it is unlikely that Ramos will be able to amount to more than an expendable asset in Minnesota, which works out well for a Cliff Lee trade.

Aaron Hicks – an outfielder is even younger, 20. This young prospect has struggled in Class A Beloit the Past 1 ½ seasons but did have a .900 OPS in rookie ball. “Baseball America says Hicks has the best strike-zone judgment and is the best athlete in the system, and projects him as a big-league right-fielder by 2013.”

*** The real question is how many additional wins can trading for Cliff Lee bring the Minnesota Twins this postseason and World Series.***

Just Wish Braden was Better

 The Dallas Braden and A-Rod story might be one of the greatest and funniest moments in baseball history. I’ve loved every minute of the fiasco, from A-Rods invasion of Bradenia to Braden’s perfect game and now to the “GET OF MY MOUND” t-shirts for sale in Oakland

Before Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game earlier this season he said of the A-rod mound incident,

“He will know who I am” and now printed on tees “Get Off My Mound!”  Read More

Just an awesome story, right? I mean we want to root for the tough guy who stood up to one of baseballs biggest and most arrogant superstars. 

But Braden apparently isn’t a fan of these new shirts.  In response to Braden’s apparent concerns, Jim Leahy, the team’s director of marketing, said in a statement:

"We regret that Dallas has expressed concern in regards to the 'Get Off My Mound' T-shirts that are being sold throughout the stadium. The organization created these shirts in response to numerous fan requests and made them to generate interest in this series. The shirts represent the competitive nature of the team, which Dallas epitomizes, and were intended as a fun way to engage the fans. We will speak privately with Dallas about this to clarify our position and make sure we have a clear line of communication going forward."

A-Rod seemed to take the shirts better than Braden, saying,

"I hope I get a cut [of the profits]," Rodriguez joked. Or half-joked anyway. 

And at least one of A-Rod's Yankees teammates was wearing the T-shirt on Monday.

"I won't mention who it was, but he plays left of [Derek] Jeter," Rodriguez said, meaning Robinson Cano(ntes).”

Somehow out of the loop?

Read “Dallas Braden blasts A-rod for breaking unwritten rule” 

Read “Braden and union don’t approve of “Get off my mound T-shirts”