The AL defeats the NL in All Star Game

The American League defeated the National League in the MLB All Star Game on Tuesday night.  The game took place at Great American Ballpark in Cincinatti, Ohio and the final score was 6-3 AL.  Pete Rose was a story as he was an analyst for Fox for the game but also got to be on the field and mostly cheered as part of the Franchise Four promotion.  The guys that stood out pitching wise were Dellin Betances from the Yankees pitching for the AL and Aroldis Chapman from the hometown Reds and pitching for the NL.  Jacob deGrom also dominated from the Mets striking out the side and only throwing ten pitches.  Felix Hernandez and David Price each pitched perfect innings for the AL and Price had two strikeouts and Hernandez had a strikeout.  Chris Archer and Glen Perkins gave up the earned runs.  Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Francisco Rodriguez and Mark Melancon gave up the earned runs for the NL. 

Andrew McCutchen had a hit and an RBI for the NL.  Jhonny Peralta had a hit and an RBI, the NL only managed six hits.  Ryan Braun hit a triple, McCutchen hit a homerun and the NL was 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.   

Mike Trout led off the game with a homerun and he was named the MVP for the second straight year.  He is the first player in the history of MLB to ever win back-to-back All Star MVP.  Josh Donaldson had a couple of walks, Manny Machado had a hit and an RBI and Prince Fielder had a hit and two RBI.  Lorenzo Cain had two hits and an RBI, Brian Dozier had a hit and an RBI.  Cain and Machado each hit a double and Trout and Dozier each hit a homerun.  The AL was 3-6 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Cain and Holt each had a stolen base and Donaldson and Britton each committed an error. 

In the first Trout hit a solo homerun to lead off the game and give the AL a quick 1-0 lead.  In the second Peralta tied the game at one with an RBI single.  In the fifth Fielder hit an RBI single to give the AL a 2-1 lead.  Cain hit an RBI double and it was 3-1 AL.  In the sixth McCutchen hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 3-2 AL.  Machado hit an RBI double in the seventh and it was 4-2 AL.  Fielder hit a sac fly to make it 5-2 in the seventh and in the eighth Dozier hit a solo homerun to make it a 6-2 game.  In the ninth Crawford hit a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-3 but that would be the final score.  MLB will take two more days off before resuming play and the nominal second half on Friday.  The AL will have home field advantage in the World Series as a result of the All Star victory. 

The NL wins the 84th MLB All Star Game in a blowout

The National League defeated the American League by the score of 8-0 on Tuesday night in the All Star Game. The game took place at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Justin Verlander started for the American League and pitched poorly in his one inning of work. Matt Cain started for the National League and pitched well in his two innings of work. Melky Cabrera won the MVP award for the game. Pablo Sandoval his teammate with the San Francisco Giants also had a good game for the NL. Derek Jeter had a hit in two plate appearances. Jeter has the most hits of any Yankee ever in the All Star game and is also batting 440 career in the All Star Game. The National league has now won three straight All Star games and they will have home field advantage in the World Series. 
Verlander pitched an inning giving up five runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He took the loss in the game. Joe Nathan and David Price each pitched a perfect inning. Matt Harrison of the Texas Rangers didn’t pitch so well either. He gave up four hits and three runs in an inning of work. Jered Weaver walked a batter in his scoreless inning, Chris Sale gave up two hits but no runs in an inning of work including a strikeout and Ryan Cook pitched a perfect inning including two strikeouts. Jim Johnson and Fernando Rodney each pitched a perfect inning.

Cain won the game for the National league. He gave up a hit and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Gio Gonzalez pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout, Stephen Strasburg gave up a hit and a walk in one scoreless inning and Clayton Kershaw pitched one inning giving up two hits and a walk. Dickey pitched an inning giving up a hit and striking out one, Cole Hamels pitched a perfect inning and Craig Kimbrel struck out the only two batters that he faced. Aroldis Chapman had a walk and a strikeout in 1/3 of an inning, Wade Miley gave up a hit in 1/3 of an inning and Jack Hanrahan struck out the only batter that he faced. Jonathan Papelbon got the final out of the game, it was the only batter that he faced.

Jeter had a hit in two at bats. Robinson Cano had a hit in two at bats, Mike Trout had a hit and drew a walk and Joe Mauer had a hit in his only at bat. David Ortiz and Mike Napoli each had a hit in two at bats. The hits were all singles for the AL. They were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Trout did have a stolen base.

Matt Holliday did have a hit and an RBI in his only plate appearance. Chipper Jones in his final All Star Game had a it in his only appearance, Cabrera had two hits and two RBI and McCutchen had a hit in two at bats. Ryan Braun had two hits and an RBI, Sandoval had a hit and three RBI and Dan Uggla had a hit and an RBI. Rafael Furcal had a hit, Braun had a double and Sandoval, Furcal and Braun each had a triple. Cabrera hit a homerun and the National League was 3-8 with runners in scoring position. They left five men on base.

Spring Training Report Dates

Pitchers and Catchers is one of the best pair of words that could be uttered. It is a sign of spring and it means that the great game of baseball is back. I know it means a lot of different things to different people and you can find some of that here on the offical MLB website. I know I am certainly ready for spring training, the end of winter and the excitement of a new season. The New York Yankees are World Champions and that always brings out all the cries of the rich getting richer and the need for a salary cap. The great thing about baseball though is everyone starts fresh in spring training and has big dreams no matter what the situation is. Here are the report dates for pitchers and catchers. American League Baltimore- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Boston- Feb 20th, full squad on Feb 24th Chicago White Sox- Feb 21st, full squad on Feb 26th Cleveland Indians- Feb 23rd, full squad on Feb 26th Detroit Tigers- Feb 19th, full squad on Feb 23rd K.C. Royals- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Los Angeles Angels- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Minnesota Twins- Feb 22nd, full squad on Feb 27th New York Yankees- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 24th Oakland Athletics- Feb 21st, full squad on Feb 26th Seattle Mariners- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Tampa Bay Rays- Feb 19th, full squad on Feb 24th Texas Rangers- Feb 19th, full squad on Feb 24th Toronto Blue Jays- Feb 22nd, full squad on Feb 26th National League Arizona Diamondbacks- Feb 20th, full squad Feb 24th Atlanta Braves- Feb 20th, full squad on Feb 23rd Chicago Cubs- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Cincinatti Reds- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Colorado Rockies- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 26th Florida Marlins- Feb 20th, full squad on Feb 24th Houston Astros- Feb 20th, full squad on Feb 24th Los Angeles Dodgers- Feb 21st, full squad on Feb 26th Milwaukee Brewers- Feb 22nd, full squad on Feb 27th New York Mets- Feb 20th, full squad on Feb 25th Philadelphia Phillies- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Pittsburgh Pirates- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd St. Louis Cardinals- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd San Diego Padres- Feb 19th, full squad on Feb 25th San Francisco Giants- Feb 18th, full squad on Feb 23rd Washington Nationals- Feb 21st, full squad on Feb 26th

Rookie of the Year Awards announced

The Rookie of the Year awards were announced this afternoon and the winners are. Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins won it in the National League. He is a leftfielder and Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey won it in the American League. I was wrong on both, I had picked Elvis Andrus to win it in the American League and Tommy Hansen in the National League. I guess you can say both were a bit of a suprise as they weren't the favorites to win the award. Elvis Andrus finished second in the AL voting and J.A. Happ finished second in the National League. Chris Coghlan had a strong second half as the Marlins leadoff hitter. He batted 321 with 9 homeruns and 31 doubles in 128 games. He also scored 84 runs and drove in 47. He was called up in May and led NL rookies in batting avg, runs, hits, total bases and on base percentage. He was the third Marlins player in 7 years to win the award. The others were Dontrelle Willis in 2003 and Hanley Ramirez in 2006. Andrew Bailey was 6-3 and had 26 saves. He led the AL rookies with a 1.84 era. He is the 8th A's player to win the award which ties them with the New York Yankees for most in the AL. Bailey made the team out of spring training and got an oppurtunity to close due to injuries and made the most of it. He was the A's lone representative in the All Star Game in July. Congratulations to both of these guys who worked hard and deserve it, it is nice to see some new stars coming up and lets hope they continue to work hard and respect the game.

A look at the MLB playoff races

The New York Yankees have a comfortable 6 game lead in the AL East over the Red Sox. I spend most of my time focused on the Yankees so I am going to go through the rest of baseball. AL Central- The Detroit Tigers are in first place ahead of the Minnesota Twins. The White Sox are now 5 1/2 games out. The Twins have been hot, they usually do well in September so watch out. I still think the Tigers will hold on but it could get interesting. AL West-The Angels have a 5 game lead over the Texas Rangers. I would think the Angels are safe, they just aquired Scott Kazmir to bolster their pitching staff. He is having a tough year but when he is right he is one of the best young pitchers out there. Seattle is having a pretty good year suprisingly but they are 10 games back so I don't see them making a run. AL Wild Card- Boston has a firm hold of the wildcard at 3 1/2 games ahead of the Texas Rangers. Tampa Bay is 5 games behind. Tampa Bay is playing Boston at home starting tomorrow and then in Fenway about a week later. I can see Tampa making a run but they better win 2 out of 3 this week. NL East-Philly the defending champs have a 8 game lead over the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. NL Central- St Louis has a 10 game lead over the disappointing Chicago Cubs. NL West- The LA Dodgers have a 6 game lead over suprising Colorado and San Francisco. There really aren't good races in the NL. NL Wild Card- Colorad and San Francisco are tied 3 1/2 ahead of the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves and 5 1/2 ahead of the Chicago Cubs. This will be a great race to the end with so many teams in play for the wildcard.

Baseball-around the league

I wanted to do this yesterday but didn't get a chance. I know it is early and it doesn't necessarily mean much but the Toronto Blue Jays are off to a 5-1 start, the Red Sox have started slow going 2-3 barely hanging on today for their second victory. The Orioles have the offense and can score runs on anyone but I don't think their pitching will hold up. The Cleveland Indians are 0-5 and come to the New Yankee Stadium next week, Cliff Lee the Cy young winner has looked bad in his first 2 starts. The Anaheim Angels know how to win and play the game the right way, when you watch them it just doesn't matter who is hurt they plug guys in and just play that team game and drive you nuts. The Seattle Mariners look like they will be better but that isn't saying much and the Texas Rangers have a potent offense but can they get any pitching?? The Kansas City Royals are a sleeper pick for many but I don't think they have a good enough offense and their pitching isn't great. The National League has the East looking good, you figure the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will be there but the Braves look much improved, pretty good pitching and the Florida Marlins look good, a lot of fun to watch. The Marlins are my sleeper pick. The Chicago Cubs look stacked but they are a cursed team, Alfonso Soriano has 3 homeruns already. The Houston Astros are just bad and Albert Pujols is still a monster having 7 rbi tonight. The San Francisco Giants have scored more runs in the beginning of this season then they scored in a month last year. The Padres are not a good team and the Dodgers are lucky to be in a weak division but seem to be the best team out there with Manny Ramirez.