Can Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and the rest of the players in the Biogenesis case get suspended already. And, sorry nobody cares about your fantasy team taking a big hit when your guy gets put on the shelf for at least 50 games. It is taking away from the great baseball we have seen during the first half of the 2013 season.
This really annoyed me when I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on Monday morning and the first thing they talked about was Alex Rodriguez. Instead of reporters asking the current All-Stars about their achievements during the first half of the season they were asking them about players on the Biogenesis report.
Who cares.
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Davis and Miguel Cabrera both have at least 30 HR's and 90 RBI by the All-Star break, this has never happened before during the live ball era (93 years).
Cabrera is trying to do something no one else has ever done: win the Triple Crown in back-to-back seasons. Only two players, Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams, have won it multiple times. At the break Cabrera leads the American League in average (.365) and RBI (95) and is second in HR's (30).
Cabrera is trying to do something no one else has ever done: win the Triple Crown in back-to-back seasons. Only two players, Rogers Hornsby and Ted Williams, have won it multiple times. At the break Cabrera leads the American League in average (.365) and RBI (95) and is second in HR's (30).
Clayton Kershaw is the first lefty to have an ERA under 2.00 at the break since Randy Johnson did it in 2000 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kershaw is on pace to be the first pitcher since Greg Maddux to have the best ERA in the majors for three consecutive seasons (1993-95).
Yasiel Puig has cooled off a bit since his historic debut, but he single-handily got the Dodgers back into contention. Los Angeles has the best record in the National League since Puig was called up on June 3. He was the first player since 1949 to post a two-homer, five-RBI game within his first two career games. He is the first player ever to win "Player of the Month" in his first month in the big leagues.
Wait...
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We aren't done with Puigomania.
His .436 average in his first month is the highest in MLB history. Only Joe DiMaggio had more hits (48) during his first month in the big leagues than Yasiel Puig (44). He enters the All-Star break with an impressive .391/.422/.616 batting line. I'll be nice and do the math for you, that equals a 1.038 OPS. He has eight home-runs, 19 RBI, and 28 runs in 38 games. He is truly a five-tool player, and as Vin Scully said, he is the first player he can remember that utilized all five-tools within his first week of being called up.
A lot of people are comparing Puig to another young stud who fishes not too far from Dodger Stadium: Mike Trout.
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There is another starter in the All-Star game under the age of 22, marking the third time ever in the mid-summer classic. The other two times this occurred was in 1953 with Eddie Mathews and Mickey Mantle, and in 1956 with Al Kaline and Frank Robinson. For those of you counting at home these four Hall of Famers combined for 2,033 home-runs, 64 All-Star appearances, 12 World Series rings, and five MVP's.
Can Mike Trout and Bryce Harper live up to that?
That's a clown question bro.
Or is it?
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"The Phenom" has been banged up this year and has missed over one-third of the season. He plays the game with aggression and passion, which is great for baseball. He has shown his importance to the Nationals because they are 16-21 in his absence and 32-26 in games he's played in. Harper is one of the most exciting players to watch in the majors, and like Trout, he still isn't close to reaching his potential. The kid can't even buy a beer, and don't ask him if he will when he travels to Canada, we remember how that went.
We've already talked about "Puigs", "Trouts", and "Phenoms", oh my.
Wait. There is another young stud that pitchers are in fear of:
Manny Machado.
The Baltimore Orioles All-Star third baseman can finally buy a beer. He turned 21 nine days ago and hopefully he avoids "Johnny Football" in the Big Apple, he doesn't want to get "dehydrated".
Before I get to his MLB stats I want to go back to high-school real quick. During his senior season he batted .639 with 12 HR's and 68 RBI in 29 games. Nobody even does that in Little League.
Okay back to the big leagues.
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It is huge for the game of baseball what these young studs are doing. From the mid-to-late 1990's the steroid era was creeping in. Now in 2013 it is still in the picture but Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Yasiel Puig are making the transition that much easier. They are proving you don't have to be on the juice to make the game entertaining.
Alright. Let's take a break and see who wins the awards for the first half of the MLB season.
American League
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Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
Rookie of the Year: Jose Iglesias
Manager of the Year: John Farrell
National League
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Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
Rookie of the Year: Shelby Miller
Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle
Right before the All-Star break we saw the back-to-back NL Cy Young winner from 2008-2009 return to form. Tim Lincecum threw 148 pitches and recorded his first career no-hitter. He is the first pitcher to throw a no-no at Petco Park. "The Freak" finally had his swag back and was pitching with a great amount of confidence. His slider was wicked, changeup was dancing more than Chris Brown, and his fastball command was finally back. If Lincecum can regain his form the Giants instantly become a very dangerous team again. They have won two of the last three World Series all because of pitching. This year has been a total 180 for the reigning champs. They enter the break with the 20th ranked ERA in all of baseball and have the fourth worst team ERA in the National League. Luckily for the Giants, the National League West has been mediocre at best. San Francisco enters the All-Star break eight games under .500 but only 6.5 games back of first place in the NL West. You have to think Matt Cain will be the old Cain in the second half of the season. Ryan Vogelsong is coming off the disabled list soon and Madison Bumgarner has been one of the best pitchers in the game, this team is far from done.
One thing I have learned over the last three years: never count out the San Francisco Giants.
If you want to talk about a surprise team in 2013 look no further than the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates haven't finished with a record over .500 since Barry Bonds played there. Yeah, that was in 1992. Pittsburgh has the second best record in the majors and it's because of pitching. Entering the All-Star break they are tops in the majors in ERA (3.07), shutouts (13), and opponents batting average (.225). Jeff Locke has been one of the best stories in baseball this season. Clayton Kershaw is the only pitcher in the National League who has a lower ERA than Locke's 2.15 earned run average. He went 16 consecutive starts without being handed a loss before the Oakland Athletics beat him for the second time all season. Locke is 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA this season and was named to his first All-Star game.
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Clay Buchholz has the best ERA among all starting pitchers (1.71) and is a perfect 9-0 this season. It is remarkable the Red Sox have the best record in the AL considering they have used three different closers this year. If they sure up the back end of the bullpen the rest of the American League has a lot to worry about. Also, how about John Lackey this season. He is only 7-6 this year but his 2.78 ERA is fourth in the American League. The Red Sox might be the most balanced team in the majors.
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Oakland's second highest paid player, Yoenis Cespedes, put on a show at Citi Field in route to winning the 28th home-run derby. Cespedes went 71 at-bats without a homer heading into the derby. Most people think the derby negatively affects hitters heading into the second half of the season, but this might have the opposite affect with Cespedes. He has been off to a slower start this year in his second full season in the bigs with a .225/.293/.420 batting line with 15 home-runs and 43 RBI.
Bartolo Colon is having one of his best seasons at the age of 40, posting a 12-3 record with a 2.70 ERA. His name is one the biogenesis list of players who were supplied by Anthony Bosch so he could be serving a suspension in the near future. Luckily, the A's have depth in the rotation and they went through the same scenario last season and still found a way to win the American League West.
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While most the talk has been about who is on the Biogenesis list this past week we are losing focus on the players who have done their job to make this America's pastime. It might be years from now until we know the game of baseball is finally clean again, but that shouldn't take away from what we are witnessing.
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Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Yasiel Puig, Paul Goldschmidt, Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina, Joe Mauer, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Adam Jones, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia, Freddie Freeman, Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Troy Tulowitzki, and so many other great position players don't deserve steroids being the centerpiece of the talk during the All-Star break. It takes away from what so many great players are doing on natural talent and hard work.
I hope five years from now we don't have to go through steroid talk again, but baseball in an unpredictable sport, for the good and the bad. I just hope youngsters like Machado, Trout, and Harper can show young kids you don't have to be on performance enhancers to produce at a high-level and make the game entertaining.
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