Recent Observations by Kyle Butler

July is generally as dead as it gets in the sports world, so I don’t have one major sports story to focus on. So let’s change things up and just briefly touch on a few of the topics that are grabbing headlines.

1- Brett Favre: I’ve always been a big fan of #4, but enough already! Seems like every year Favre gets emotional, all but says he’s retiring, then sits around for 4 months before deciding to come back. This year was a bit different, as Favre actually did say he was retiring, but the rest was the same. Yep, he sat around for 4 months…but decided to come back again. Looks like the Packers are fed up, and I would be too. This guy is on pace for more farewell tours than Cher and The Eagles combined. If nothing else, I just wish Favre would go ahead and sign with somebody to save ESPN, who is obsessing over Favre like a teenage schoolgirl.

2- WNBA Fight: Anybody see this? The Detroit Shock and LA Sparks got into a brawl the other night. I was totally stunned! The WNBA season is currently in progress?! Anyway, not only did the ladies get into it, but former Piston bad boy and current Shock assistant coach Rick Mahorn appears to shove Lisa Leslie to the floor. If Vince McMahon is listening, this has future Wrestlemania PPV written all over it. The ironic thing is that while the WNBA will punish the players and coaches, this is by far the most publicity the league will get all year, and for a week anyway, expect the tv ratings to go up.

3- Bonds to Yankees: Well Barry “Bighead” Bonds still wants to suit it up in 2008, but hasn’t gotten a whole lot of interest from MLB teams. Now, a report surfaces that the Yankees might be interested in signing Barry for the rest of the season. This would obviously be a terrible idea for the Yankees, and the only person I can imagine who’d like it would be Alex Rodriguez. Bonds brings so much baggage with the surly attitude, and the perjury charges, and the cream and clear. With the press focusing on Barry, A-Rod can potentially sneak over unnoticed to Madonna’s place for her big 5-0 bash that looms in a few weeks. What a joke.

That’s all I got for now. July’s got about a week left, so be sure to wake me when it’s over.

The Great “Ham”bino Puts On A Show by Kyle Butler

It’s All-Star Weekend for MLB, and the eyes of the sports world are focused on Yankee Stadium for the midsummer classic. This year’s game is particularly important. Not only will it once again determine which league gets homefield advantage in the World Series, it will also put Yankee Stadium in the limelight one last time. “The House That Ruth Built” is in its last months, as the Yankees will move across the street to a new Yankee Stadium in 2009. The grand park has seen a tremendous amount of history over the years, most memorable of which have involved the home run. Babe Ruth’s 60th swat. Roger Maris’ 61st shot. Reggie Jackson’s 3 jacks in the 1977 World Series. So it was fitting on Monday night to see the Home Run Derby held at the old park for the first, and last time. Despite a relatively weak slate of sluggers, you had a feeling something amazing might happen.

Enter Josh Hamilton.

Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe Hamilton’s story. The former #1 draft pick was on the fast track to the majors when he became addicted to drugs and alcohol…an addiction much more difficult to master than the art of hitting a curveball. It appeared the young phenom was finished, but he persevered and beat his demons. Now in his 2nd season in the bigs, Hamilton came into Monday night leading the league with 95 RBI’s.

Just being at the derby would have been a great story considering his past. But Hamilton turned a great story into the type of story Hollywood can’t even approach. In the first round of the competition, Josh Hamilton hit 28 home runs. Not just cheap home runs…the kind that barely clear the fence. No, these were gargantuan, mammoth blasts, soaring through the night into Yankee Stadium’s upper deck in right. Three particular clouts flew over 500 feet, reaching fans who probably didn’t expect a ball to come within 50 feet of them all night. The 28 bombs were 20 more than anyone else hit in round 1, and also 20 more than the number of trips Hamilton made to rehab just a few years ago. Truly unbelievable.

Though he went on to lose in the final round to Minnesota’s Justin Morneau, the winner was undoubtedly Hamilton, the Raleigh native who had the Bronx fans on their feet chanting his name. It was a fantastic display of power in a stadium that has seen its share of it over the past 85 years.

Some Major All-Star Snubs by Kyle Butler

Believe it or not, the MLB All-Star Game is next Tuesday. I was starting to think we wouldn’t see it this year, considering that teams passed the actual midpoint of the season a week and a half ago. Thankfully, the Fox network promotes the game approximately every 3 minutes. I can also thank Fox for the 2,342 reminders that the game does in fact count.

Anyway, the All-Star rosters were announced on Sunday, and were naturally accompanied by controversy. This year’s picks weren’t as bad as years past (the selection of Mike Williams and his +6.00 ERA springs to mind) but still featured some glaring errors.

NOTE: These errors do not include players that were voted in by the fans. While Kosuke Fukudome, Manny Ramirez, and some others should not be starting the game, the fans picked who they want to see…and isn’t that the real point of the game?

1- Brian Wilson over Cole Hamels:  Look, I love the Beach Boys as much as the next guy, but did we really need Brian Wilson in the game? We could have had him sing the National Anthem instead. Ok, in all seriousness, Wilson (the Giants closer) leads the NL in saves, but his ERA is 4.37. Hamels is in the top 10 in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, and ERA. Plus, the NL has 3 other closers on the roster.

2- Jose Reyes over Miguel Tejada: The Mets shortstop got off to a slow start, but has kicked it into high gear of late. He’s ahead of Tejada in runs, hits, doubles, triples, stolen bases, and batting average. Plus, Reyes allegedly had to be restrained from punching former Mets star Keith Hernandez last week. I don’t know if Hernandez mistook Reyes for Kramer on “Seinfeld” and spit on him, or if Reyes is just sick of those stupid “Just For Men” commercials and finally lost it. Either way, Hernandez probably deserves to be decked. Reyes belongs in the All Star Game either way.

3- Jon Lester or Mike Mussina over Scott Kazmir:  Please don’t think I’m hating on the Rays here. What Tampa has done is nothing short of phenomenal. Kazmir is the Rays’ best pitcher…but he’s only made 12 starts this season! I think his spot should go to Lester. The young lefty pitched the game of the year when he no-hit the Royals, and an All-Star selection just adds to a tremendous comeback from cancer. Mussina also deserved a slot. Left for dead last season, “Moose” has 11 wins, a solid ERA, and is one of the main reasons the underachieving Yankees still have life in the AL East.

-and last, but most certainly not least-

4- Just about every AL Catcher over Jason Varitek:  Jason Varitek has been a terrific catcher for the Red Sox for many years. That said, he has as much business being on this team as a 3 month old sandwich. Varitek is hitting an abysmal .215 with 7 HR’s and 27 RBI’s. A better case can be made for AJ Pierzynski, Ivan Rodriguez, Rod Barajas, and about 5 other AL catchers. It seems like a blatant case of favoritism from manager Terry Francona, but apparently Varitek was picked by the players. I’m not sure what the players saw in the Boston catcher. What I saw was a lot of whiffs, which is what the players did by selecting Varitek.

Despite these snafus, it should be a great game. Enjoy it!

MLB Power Poll 7/2/08 by Kyle Butler

Here’s the latest MLB Power Poll with games played through Wednesday July 2nd.

AL EAST

Tampa Bay: (1)  The team with the best record in baseball only has one player hitting above .300. Amazing!
Boston: (3)  JD Drew very kindly woke up from his 3 yr hibernation, but the Sox miss Big Papi.
NY Yankees: (13)  At 38, Mariano Rivera is more unhittable than ever. Too bad the starters can’t say the same.
Baltimore: (15)  I don’t know most of these guys. Adam Jones? When did Pacman start playing baseball?!
Toronto: (18)  Hoping to spark team, Jays bring back former manager Cito Gaston. Who’s next…Joe Carter?

AL CENTRAL

Chicago WS: (6)  Team has about as much speed as Rosie O’Donnell, but South Siders still leading Central.
Minnesota: (9)  Twins stellar bullpen, and Justin Morneau are keeping them in the hunt.
Detroit: (12)  One of these days, Tigers might remember how to pitch. When that happens, watch out!
Kansas City: (24)  Royals aren’t in the basement?! What in the name of Mark Grudzielanek is goin on there!
Cleveland: (26)  Tribe not sure what to do with CC Sabathia. Here’s an idea…make him your DH.

AL WEST

LA Angels: (4)  The team with the 2nd best record in the AL has zero players hitting over .300. Good grief! 
Oakland: (10)  As the weather heats up, usually Oakland does the same. Keep an eye on the A’s.
Texas: (14)  Josh Hamilton grabs the headlines, but Ian Kinsler’s actually having a better all-around year.
Seattle: (29)  NBA’s Sonics are leaving Seattle for Oklahoma. Fans probably wish the M’s went with them.

NL EAST

Philadelphia: (7)  Ryan Howard on pace for 40 HR, 135 RBI, and mindblowing 225 strikeouts!!!
Florida: (11)  Nothing ugly about Dan Uggla’s first half stats: .289-23-58.
NY Mets: (17)  Apparently a 137 million dollar payroll won’t buy you a title…or division…or winning record! 
Atlanta: (21)  Braves have lost an astounding 23 consecutive 1-run games on the road dating to last year.
Washington: (27)  Ryan Zimmerman leads Nats in HR’s…not surprising. He’s only got 8…most surprising.

NL CENTRAL

Chi Cubs: (2)  Kerry Wood has turned into a dominant closer for the Cubs, who need Zambrano and Soriano back.
St Louis: (5)  Cards have taken a whole mess of former relievers and somehow made them effective starters.
Milwaukee: (8)  The Beer Men are 3rd in the Central, but would be 1st in either of the other two divisions.
Houston: (19)  Shawn Chacon released after choking the Astros GM. We’ll just call him Sprewell from now on.
Cincinnati: (22)  It’s great that Adam Dunn has 20 HR’s, but shouldn’t he have a better average than Paul Bako?
Pittsburgh: (23)  Pirates pitching is awful. Maybe Steelers will let them borrow Ben Roethlisberger.

NL WEST

Arizona: (16)  Best of a pathetic lot. Seriously. The Orioles would be in 1st place in this division!
Los Angeles: (20)  You’d think a team with 9 former All-Stars would be doing a little better than this.
San Francisco: (25)  In Year 1 of the post-Bonds era, nobody on Giants on pace to hit a mere 20 homers.
Colorado: (28)  Home run numbers substantially down for Rockies. Not surprisingly, so are the win totals.
San Diego: (30)  If this is the final year for Maddux and Hoffman, it’s a shame it’s on a team this awful.