Mid-season Awards: A.L. MVP

In what was intended to be a weekend worth of mid-season picks for major MLB awards, my laziness has stretched to three weeks.

That being said, I'm ready to post my selection for the A.L. MVP as the Cubs and Cardinals play us into this year's All-Star break.

For N.L. MVP, there was no uncertainty. Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was the obvious choice. The A.L. MVP isn't nearly as obvious.



A.L. MVP: Joe Mauer, Twins - Ernie Lombardi (1942) was the last catcher to win a battle before Joe Mauer. Since Lombardi, Mauer has won two batting titles. Despite having his worst game of the season (0-for-5 with four strikeouts) today, Mauer is hitting .373 heading into the All-Star break and leading the A.L. in batting average.

What's different in 2009 for the career .324 hitter is his increase in power. Mauer has hit 15 home runs at the midway point even though he missed the first month of the season. And before this year, his career high was 13 home runs.

Mauer leads the A.L. in OBS (1.090). He and Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist are the only two A.L. players with an OBS of 1.000 or greater heading into Sunday's games.

His 49 runs scored and 49 RBIs put him on pace to surpass 100 of each.



Runner-up: Justin Morneau, Twins - Morneau has put up strong numbers across the board and you could easily make the case that Mauer and Morneau should swap positions.

At the break, Morneau is batting .311 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI. He's second in the A.L. in RBI and tied for fourth place in home runs.

Mauer and Morneau have a nearly identical AB:HR ratio. Mauer has hit one home run per 16.07 at bats while Morneau has hit one home run per 15.9 at bats.

Honorable Mention: Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), Jason Bay (Boston), Mark Teixeira (NY Yankees), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay), Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), Torii Hunter (LA Angels)

See Cy Young picks: American League and National League.

Carlos Pena to replace Dustin Pedroia on All-Star team

Boston Red Sox second baseman is going to miss this year's All-Star game. A.L. manager Joe Madden named Carlos Pena as his replacement, per Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.

"I have to believe who ever leads the league in home runs normally belongs in an All-Star game," Maddon said. "And the fact he hadn't been on the team yet bothered me just a little bit, so for whatever reason, it all worked out well."

Pena leads the A.L. in home runs (24) and was one of the five finalists for the final A.L. All-Star spot. Despite the Rays' "Vote 'Los" campaign, Detroit's Brandon Inge won that honor.

Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler finished second to Inge in voting for the final spot. Pena finished fourth.

In addition to leading the A.L. in home runs, Pena is tenth in RBI (58) and is hitting .230.

Pena is one of the eight Home Run Derby contestants. He'll be competing against Nelson Cruz (Texas), Brandon Inge (Detroit), Joe Mauer (Minnesota), Albert Pujols (St. Louis), Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego), Prince Fielder (Milwaukee) and Ryan Howard (Philadelphia).

Other Rays' All-Stars include Evan Longoria, who will start at third base, and reserves Jason Bartlett, Ben Zobrist and Carl Crawford. See the full All-Star roster here.

The Hot Corner, 7/12 edition

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, who said "I didn't make the adjustments I needed to make," didn't make it out of a seven-run fifth inning for the Angels.

Alex Rodriguez hit two home runs (career #569 and #570) to pass Rafael Palmeiro, who says he's "not on that list," for 10th all-time on the career home run list.

A-Rod, who's not an All-Star for the first time since 1999, will have the opportunity to rest up. But he is tearing it up lately hitting .407 with eight homers and 22 RBI in his last 16 games.

Jeff Francoeur hit a two-run single in his first at bat as a Met.

The Mets have signed 29 of their 39 picks in last month's MLB First-Year Player Draft. The deadline to sign players in August 17th.

Ted Lilly got his 100th career victory as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 5-2. But the guys in the clubhouse tell Lilly, "You have 200 to go.''

Without Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup, the Nats are being creative. In the process, they beat the Houston Astros 13-2 last night.

The A's traded Jack Hannahan to Seattle for Double-A pitcher Justin Souza.

As Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star writes, "The Blue Jays are becoming the authorities in the AL East on walk-off losses." Last night, the Jays suffered their third such loss in the past 10 games.

Melvin Mora had the game-winning hit in the 12th inning against the Jays last night.

The Mets will likely start Oliver Perez to begin the second half.

Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado spent yesterday with a dozen Puerto Rican high school seniors.

Mets demoted Nick Evans to Triple-A Buffalo.

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes about change coming to the Orioles.

Juan Uribe on the error that made Jonathan Sanchez's perfect game a no-hitter: "I didn't feel good that I didn't make the play. I wanted to do something, I wanted to make the play, but maybe if I go back (on the ball), maybe it's a base hit. An error is better than a base hit."

Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti said of the no-no: "I waited for a while, let everybody else clear out and had a little cry. It was wonderful."

Tigers rookie pitcher Rick Porcello won't start again until June 22nd.

John Smoltz got his first win as a Red Sox starter.

The 'Stros will start Wandy Rodriguez in their first game after the All-Star break.

Nelson Cruz, the Rangers right fielder, said of the Home Run Derby: "You always dream about being in the Home Run Derby. I think I have a chance. I think I’m going to do well."

The Rangers fell out of first place in the A.L. West after losing to Seattle last night.

“I’ll never moan and groan if they want to put me at short,” said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

Justin Upton had a career-high four hits in last night's win over the Marlins.

Jake Fox might catch some as the Cubs second catcher with Geovany Soto on the DL.

Brad Radke is now a member of the Twins Hall of Fame.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said the White Sox might be willing to make a trade, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Growing up, White Sox rookie Gordon Beckham's favorite sport was football. ''As a child, he never dreamed of playing baseball in the major leagues,'' his mother told Carol Slezak of the Chicago Sun-Times. ''It was actually shocking that he chose [to pursue baseball in college].''

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times believes that the Dodgers shouldn't let Roy Halladay get away.

After shutting out the Marlins last night, Dan Haren's N.L.-leading ERA dropped from 2.16 to 2.01.

Rays catcher Dioner Navarro was hospitalized for tests after a foul tip off of the catcher's mask.

Marc Lancaster of The Tampa Tribune writes, "barring a significant injury to a player the Rays can't adequately replace internally, status quo seems the likely outcome."

The Pirates will stick with their rotation (Paul Maholm, Charlie Morton, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf and Virgil Vasquez) after the All-Star break, which gives all pitchers 10 days off.

Diamondbacks third baseman Mark Reynolds is on the verge of becoming arbitration-eligible based on his performance, which could be costly to the D'Backs in 2010.

Jonathan Sanchez throws first Giants' no-hitter in 33 years

It hadn't been done in 33 years.

John Montefusco was the last Giants' pitcher to throw a no-hitter (1976 in Atlanta).

Even though no Giants' pitcher has thrown a no-no during his lifetime, reigning N.L. Cy Young Tim Lincecum had a feeling that the Giants might be due to end the drought.

Per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lincecum said yesterday, "Someone might throw a no-hitter and it might not be the ace of the squad. It might be an unsung hero kind of guy. Anybody can do anything."

Jonathan Sanchez, who started in place of the injured Randy Johnson, allowed no runs, no hits and no walks. However, teammate Juan Uribe's error in the eighth inning means Sanchez will have to settle for a no-hitter.

"I think if you looked at the staff, he wouldn't be the one you picked," Bochy said. "He came out throwing 94-96 [mph]. He just had incredible stuff."

Sanchez, who only threw 110 pitches, struck out a career-high 11 batters.

Last night was the first start for Sanchez since June 22nd and his first win since May 25th.

On the season, the Giants have 13 shutouts, which lead the majors.

Ryan Braun "ticked off" GM Melvin

Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun was/is frustrated by his team's pitching. In turn, he has frustrated general manager Doug Melvin.

Speaking after the conclusion of the Brewers-Cubs series on Sunday, Braun said that the Cubs pitchers "threw the ball a lot better than our starters did."

Braun also said, "We're at the point right now where it would be important for us to go out there and acquire somebody."

Melvin didn't take too kindly to Braun's comments regardless of whether he's right or wrong.

"It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I'm not happy about it," Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday.

"To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off."

I couldn't agree with Melvin more. If you have a problem with someone, anyone, everyone on your team, tell them - not the media.

The Brewers are currently one game behind division-leading St. Louis and one game ahead of the Cubs.

Currently, the Brewers are ranked 24th on majors in team ERA (4.47).

The Hot Corner, 7/4 (PM) edition

The Braves have promoted two top prospects (Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman) to Double-A affiliate Mississippi.

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was back in the lineup and hit the game-winning single in the 12th inning.

The Braves are concerned about center fielder Jordan Schaffer's wrist.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella will move Alfonso Soriano to sixth and Kosuke Fukudome to the leadoff spot.

Cards slugger Albert Pujols says Reds pitcher Homer Bailey has "electric stuff."

Dodger Manny Ramirez hit his first post-suspension home run.

Reds pitcher Micah Owings only allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings while homering in the second inning to help his cause in the Reds' 5-2 win over the Cards.

Despite allowing the 300th career home run for Adam Dunn, Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson pitched well today allowing only three hits in seven innings.

Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer made his 600th career start.

Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is likely to land on the DL as an MRI shows he has a right shoulder strain and bursitis.

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum extended his scoreless innings streak to 23 innings.

Last, but certainly not least, R.I.P Steve McNair, who was shot and killed today. He was one of the toughest and classiest players ever.

Adam Dunn hits # 300

Washington Nationals slugger Adam Dunn has hit his 300th career home run today.

He hit the home run off rookie phenom Tommy Hanson, who had a scoreless innings streak of 26 before Dunn's homer.

Dunn becomes the fifth fastest player to reach that milestone (4,145 at bats). The only four to reach that milestone quicker are Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Ralph Kiner and Harmon Killebrew.

On May 26th, Dunn recorded his 1,000th hit against the Mets.

Mid-season Awards: A.L. Cy Young

There is a lot of baseball left to be played this year - roughly, half the season.

That being said, I made my pick a couple of weeks ago for N.L. Cy Young based on all the games played (pitched) up to that point. While I may or may not change my choice (see who here), I'm back at it to pick his A.L. counterpart.

Later this weekend, I will pick my Mid-Season A.L. MVP as well. (Click here to see my N.L. MVP.)

Drum roll please ...

A.L. Cy Young: Zack Grienke, Royals - Grienke got the season off to a perfect start with 38 scoreless innings to begin the season. Although Grienke has hit a bit of a rough patch (losing three of last five decisions), he still leads the majors in ERA (2.00) and is one of only five 10-game winners in baseball.

He has five complete games, which also leads the majors. He is second in the American League in strikeouts (120).

The Royals recent slide has knocked them 11 games out of first in the A.L. Central and has put them 13 games under .500. In the games Grienke (10-4) doesn't get the decision, the Royals are 23-42.

Runner-up: Roy Halladay, Blue Jays - It doesn't get much better than Halladay. He began the season with 13 straight starts of 7 innings or more. In addition, Halladay has thrown three complete games trailing only Grienke.

He's one of only five pitchers to win 10 games on the season. He's third in the A.L. in ERA (2.56) and has given up the fewest walks (14) of pitchers who have thrown 100+ innings. Grienke is the only other player with fewer than 20 walks (19)and 100 innings pitched.

Honorable Mention: Edwin Jackson, Felix Hernandez, Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander, Matt Garza, Nick Blackburn (MIN), Jered Weaver, Kevin Millwood, Josh Beckett

Check back later this weekend for my A.L. Mid-Season MVP

Rafael Palmeiro: "I'm not on that list"

In March 2005, Rafael Palmeiro famously testified at the congressional hearing on steroids: "I have never used steroids. Period."



In August 2005, when he was suspended for ten games by MLB for using the banned substance stanozolol, he modified his statement. He said, "... I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period. ... "

Palmeiro, who ranks tenth all-time on the career home run list (569), still says (during an interview with ESPN) that he only took a B-12 (not steroids).

And that he goes on to say that he's "never taken anything" and he hopes that the infamous list of 104 players, which contains A-Rod, Sammy Sosa and 102 others, is released since, as he says, "I'm not on that list."




Since Palmeiro says so, it must be true (roll eyes). Period.

Son of Jim Leyritz: "Mommy, don't come out of your room"

Former Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz is a mess.

Leyritz, who maintains his innocence, faces a September trial for the drunk-driving accident that tragically took the life of Fredia Ann Veitch at the end of 2007.

In May, he checked himself into a psychiatric ward after threatening to kill himself.

Leyritz said, "I'm not crazy, and I'm not suicidal. I've never had a problem with alcohol. Until you've been in my shoes, don't judge."

However, Leyritz isn't helping his defense.

Thursday morning, he was arrested for allegedly hitting his ex-wife, who wrote a check out of his account (against his wishes). She claims it was for back child support.

He claims that she was drunk and hurt herself in order to frame him.

"I got knocked around and I ran out the door," Karrie Leyritz, 41, told the Daily News. "I don't remember every detail."

And, according to an article in this morning's Daily News, Austin Leyritz, their 14-year-old son, called to warn his mother.

"Mommy, don't come out of your room," Austin warned Karrie Leyritz in a phone call as he and his father returned to the house. "Dad is crazy mad."

What are the chances that Jim Leyritz stays out of the news from now until his September trial?

The Hot Corner, 7/4 edition

Fielding and (lack of) hitting - not pitching - led to Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir's first-ever loss in his home state of Texas against the Rangers.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki ended an 0-for-16 streak with a double and rolled his ankle. However, he should be o.k.

Shin Soo-Choo hit two home runs and drove in seven runs in a 15-3 win over the A's last night.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum will face Houston's Russ Ortiz today. It was Ortiz (or, more specifically, his ailing elbow) that paved the way for Lincecum to be called up.

Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm says, "I'm perfectly fine to pitch. I just need to make better pitches."

Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez was a scratch last night with tightness in his lower back.

In addition to Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers got Claudio Vargas back. Manny was welcomed back, but he went 0-for-3.

Nolan Ryan doesn't expect the Rangers to be sold until after the season.

The return of Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is delayed by at least one day.

A's to give Brett Anderson two days extra rest (again).

Yesterday's 5-0 loss to the White Sox was the Royals sixth time being shut out this season and their fourth consecutive game of scoring two runs or less.

Joe Posnanski sums up Friday's Royals game with one word: "Depressing."

The Tigers won in 16 innings against the Twins. Placido Polanco delivered the game-winning hit.

Adam Dunn's next home run will be his 300th. He hit his 299th last night.

Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez was eligible to come off the DL yesterday. But "he still feels something in there," according to GM Ruben Amaro Jr., per Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Alfonso Soriano will return to the Cubs' lineup after two days of rest, but it won't be in the leadoff spot.

Will Kurt Suzuki be an All-Star? A's broadcaster Ray Fosse thinks he's "deserving" of a spot.

And Josh Beckett thinks teammate Tim Wakefield deserves to be an All-Star.

White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin will play three innings tonight for Triple-A Charlotte.

Phillies pitcher Rodrigo Lopez, who was pitching his first game since 2007, got the win for the Phils.

Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom began throwing yesterday and is upbeat.

Angels pitcher Ervin Santana struggled in his return from the DL.

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsusaka is heading to Fort Myers (FL) on Monday to strengthen shoulder.

Will Baltimore call up Chris Tillman, who threw 7 2/3 shutout innings Friday, soon?

Business as usual for Albert Pujols, who hit a grand slam in the eighth inning last night.

Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet had a fifth inning he'd like to forget.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi says using Phil Hughes and Phil Coke in the eighth inning was to allow Brian Bruney to rest. He insists Bruney is still the set-up guy.

The Mets might start Oliver Perez on Wednesday.

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada missed a second straight game.

Is Mark Teixeira the Yankees' best defensive player since Don Mattingly?

The Hot Corner, 6/30 edition

Could the season (and career) for Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, who is in Colorado to get a second opinion on his knee from the doctor that invented microfracture knee surgery, be in jeopardy? The Mets are optimistic that Beltran won't need anything as drastic as microfracture surgery.

Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards got a second chance to throw out a first pitch at the Dodgers-Rockies game last night.

Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier hit his fourth walk-off home run of the season last night.

A pair of Phillies, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez, are the leading All-Star vote-getters for their respective positions while Ryan Howard trails Albert Pujols at first.

Of all Red Sox players, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun would "steal" Jason Bay for the Orioles, if he had his choice.

Maybe he should steal Jon Lester, who improved to 8-0 all-time against the Orioles last night.

Orioles manager Dave Tremblay expects Cesar Izturis back in late-July, but Izturis hopes to be back sooner.

One night after Yankees closer Mariano Rivera recorded his 500th save, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon tied Mike Stanley for the Sox' all-time saves record (132).

Who's better: Goose Gossage or Mariano Rivera? Goose says Mo is.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum pitched a two-hitter against the Cardinals and has thrown three complete games in his past four starts.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy says of Ryan Sadowski, who got a win in his major-league debut on Sunday: "Right now, he's in the rotation."

In his return from the DL, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was welcomed back by getting only two hits and one run in support from the offense.

The Astros have sent down Wesley Wright to make room for Mike Hampton.

Brandon Backe was waived by the Astros.

Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello had his shortest outing of the year against the A's, who ended a five-game losing streak by beating the Tigers.

Tigers pitcher Fu-Te Ni struck out three in 1 2/3 innings in his debut Monday.

In seven relief appearances, Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes has an ERA of 1.50 and opposing batters are hitting .122 against him in that span.

The Reds, who are .500 (37-37), are only three games back.

Mike Lowell's return? Friday or the DL?

The Rangers called up outfielder Julio Borbon, who went 0-for-3 last night.

Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar pitched another nice game last night.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen doesn't want to get "so optimistic, so excited and pumped up" by the White Sox recent success - 10 wins in last 14 games - and end up with a broken heart.

Cubs pitcher Rich Harden got his first win last night since May 12th.

The Cubs might get Aramis Ramirez back for a four-game series against the Cardinals next week.

Going from third to sixth in the batting order, Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley might get a couple days of rest as well.

Carol Slekak of the Chicago Sun-Times asks if this is the "last stand for Lou" Piniella.

Are you smarter than a Cubs' fan?

You are if you're a White Sox fan. At least, that's according to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella noted the surge in attendance at U.S. Cellular Field when the cross-town rivals played each other this weekend compared to the 22,000 that showed for the Dodgers-White Sox series.

Why?

Of course, the never-shy Guillen had the answer:

"Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans," Guillen said. "They know we're [expletive]."

Guillen said Cubs fans will watch any game at Wrigley Field because "Wrigley Field is just a bar."

I'm not a Cubs fan. Or a White Sox fan. But how can you not love Ozzie?

Milton Bradley back in lineup

A day after being sent home by Cubs manager Lou Piniella, Milton Bradley was back in the Cubs' lineup in the three hole.

But Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune asks the question: Do the Cubs regret signing Bradley?

As Rogers points out, the Cubs bypassed other free-agent outfielders, such as Bobby Abreu, Raul Ibanez and Adam Dunn, in favor of the hot-tempered Bradley. Last year, Bradley hit .321 with 22 home runs in Texas and led the A.L. in on-base percentage (.436).

Bradley signed a two-year contract worth $20 million. Once Bradley plays in 75 games this season, the deal becomes a three-year contract worth $30 million.

According to the Associated Press, Piniella and Bradley have made up.

"I apologized for the last comment I made, told him he knows in the context I meant it," Piniella said. "But I also told him that just can't continue, to have shenanigans that we've put up with. I told him he's going to hurt somebody, he's going to hurt himself."

"No, man, I don't have a problem with Lou at all," said Bradley. "Initially I was just a little shocked at how everything happened suddenly. But it's something I have to deal with."

So far this season, Bradley is struggling as are the Cubs (35-35) in general. Bradley is hitting only .237 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.

If the struggles continue, this probably won't be the last confrontation. Then again, if the struggles don't continue, this probably won't be the last confrontation.

C.C. to start Friday

The Yankees will give the ball to C.C. Sabathia tomorrow night against the Mets, per Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News.

Sabathia had a 30-pitch bullpen session in Atlanta that went well.

"I was able to get loose, I was able to get extended and everything felt good," Sabathia said. "I cut it loose at the end and didn't feel anything. I feel like I'll be fine."

"As long as I'm fine, I'm ready to go," Sabathia said. "I proved that to myself and to those guys today, so I expect to get my full dosage of whatever it is on Friday. I'm looking forward to pitching and trying to shake it up a little at the plate."

Sabathia, who left his last game after 28 pitches, has won five of his past six decisions and has an ERA of 3.71. Sabathia is fifth in the A.L. in innings pitched (102).