AL Central

The best players in baseball don't always make the All-Star teams. It's a fact of life that we have come to accept.

And yet, each year, we (or at least, I) are shocked by the idiocy of the fan, player, and coach selections. With all of the slumping stars, humdrum homers, and straight-up head-scratchers that end up filling out the rosters, it's hard not to keep thinking about the deserving players who got left off.

I feel terrible for the players who are sitting in their living rooms this All-Star Break, watching their inferior peers being honored on national TV.

With all the talk seemingly centered around guys like Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, another big name that will make its rounds around the rumor sheets is current Washington Nationals' first baseman Adam Dunn.

While Dunn has made it well known that he would rather not be traded and would like to sign a contract extension with the Nationals, the likelihood of that seems slim to none at this point.

ESPN's Buster Olney talked about Dunn losing interest in signing an extension over the last few days and cited the fact that the Nationals have no sense of urgency to get anything done.

Not only that, b

Let's face it: The AL Central is the Minnesota Twins' division to lose, and they did just about everything they could to lose it in the last month or so before the All-Star break. The starting pitching was atrocious and the offense faltered. 

So what should the Twins do? With Mauer and every starting pitcher besides Pavano underperforming, it's looking pretty rough. I've got a few ideas to entertain:

Trade for Dan Haren or Ted Lilly

This is the second in a series of decade-by-decade looks at the greatest double-play combinations of all time. If you haven't read the first one, you should go here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/411082-up-the-middle-the-top-10-doubl...

The 1980's were a decade of double plays. It started in 1980, when "The Bad News Bears: Double Play" was released, to little fanfare (it was much worse than the original).

Last Thursday, Justin Verlander said he didn't feel he was snubbed from the All-Star Game.

But due to outings by All-Star starters like New York's C.C. Sabathia, Verlander was given the nod to represent Mo-Town in the mid-summer classic.

Verlander's numbers are comparable to those voted in, but during the process, his numbers weren't up to par, he said. Verlander had an 8-5 record, and a 3.85 ERA. He explained how peers and managers select pitchers—position players are placed by fan-vote.

With the All-Star break not getting here fast enough, the Twins have fallen from decent to mediocrity. Their once potent lineup has now proven to have many more holes then it let on and has given the Twins a lot to gather in their three days off.

An optimist would say the Twins play better in the second half. However, one shouldn't bank on such thoughts because the pure fact that Minnesota's starting rotation has fallen to an atrocious level.

A Rotation in Decline

It was what everyone suspected as soon as Jake Peavy walked off the mound with his right arm barely moving in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels. Jake Peavy is gone for the season.

Friday, it became official as Peavy said he will have surgery on his detached right shoulder muscle (latissimus dorsi) on Wednesday. He hopes to be throwing by spring training early next year.

Doctors told Peavy the procedure must be done, but his career is not in jeopardy.

Freddy Garcia has been the most consistent Chicago White Sox starters in 2010 with a 9-3 record and has only lost once since April 15th.  He has won nine of his last 10 decisions and has been a big part of the White Sox turning their season around, helping them to move into second place in AL Central as of last night.

The Chicago White Sox were 24-33 a month ago today on June 8th. On that date, they were nine games under .500, nine and a half games behind the first place Twins in the AL Central, and six games behind the Tigers.

Many choices in the 2010 All-Star Game were validated through various ways over the last few days.  And all season.

And one major snub will be validated for the same duration.

The Chicago White Sox have surged back to contention in the American League Central.  Great hitting by the likes of Paul Konerko and others, paired with the unbelievable pitching of the starters and bullpen alike, have the Sox 20-5 over the last 25 games.

As we approach the All-Star break, the Minnesota Twins are sitting in third place after a 6-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

The Twins are only a game and a half out of first.

This doesn't sound bad, but expectations are high and anything besides a deep playoff run would be a disappointment.  

The problem is that this was supposed to be the year the Twins put everything together.