Baseball

In the midst of the All-Star Break and with the MLB trade deadline fast approaching, baseball fans are given time to look back at the first half of the season.

At this point, we can all begin to reasonably determine which teams are in contention for the playoffs and may have a shot at a World Series title.

But on the other hand, we can also weed out the teams that have stumbled their way through the season, and will have have better luck stockpiling and reloading for the years ahead.

With the Midsummer Classic come and gone, it is time to look at the Fantasy All-Stars for the first half.

Rather than simply listing the top-ranked players, we are going to take a look at those who have greatly outshone their preseason rankings.  It is these type of players that fuel a winning fantasy team. 

If you are the owner of these players, this might be your chance to "sell high" if you believe they can't keep up their performance during the second half.

CATCHER

The Yankees stumbled into the All-Star break by dropping three straight games at Anaheim and are now 2-12 against the Angels and Red Sox, two teams New York will need to beat this October if it wants to capture a 27th World Series title.

But the Bombers still have the third best record in baseball at 51-37, lead the wild card by 2.5 games, and are just three behind Boston for the AL East lead.

So who is making the grade and who could use some extra help after class as we enter the dog days of summer?

The Chicago White Sox currently have a pitching prospect named Carlos Torres.

White Sox fans, I'd forgive you if you've never heard of him. Non-White Sox fans, I'd be shocked if you have.

Carlos Torres was ranked the White Sox's 25th best prospect coming into the year by Baseball America. 

Torres is 26, and he's a member of the rotation of the White Sox's Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. He didn't reach Triple-A until a few months shy of his 26th birthday, which is part of the reason why scouts aren't thrilled with him.

Here we are, Wednesday, July 15, also known as the slowest day in the sports year.

Historically, the day after the MLB All-Star Game is the slowest sports day of the entire year.

There are no major sports playing today. None.

Perhaps you care a lot about summer league basketball? Maybe European football (soccer)?

The New York Giants lost their third consecutive game on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1934, when they dropped the first game of a doubleheader to the cellar-dwelling Reds at the Polo Grounds.

The loss cut the defending World Champions' lead over the rained-out Cardinals to three games.

The Reds Win in the Tenth Inning

Reds' right-hander Benny Frey dueled the Giants' Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons for nine innings. Neither hurler yielded a run, but in the 10th, the visitors scored twice off Freddie.

The Mets are six-and-a-half games behind the Phillies (and of course also trail the Marlins and Braves) and are also six-and-a-half back in the wild-card race (and have seven teams ahead of them), so it may take a miracle or at least wishful thinking for them to make the playoffs.

But here are 10 reasons why the Mets should at least have some hope going into the second half of the season.

Trades. The complexity is unbelievable, yet the goal is simple. Throughout the years, thousands of trades have taken place. In some situations, a trade works out great for both teams involved. For example, prior to the 2008 season, Josh Hamilton was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Edinson Volquez. Hamilton played fantastically in 2008, hitting .304 with 32 home runs and 130 RBI's, which led baseball.

Honestly, I went looking for the Saturday Night, Live skit simply because of the tie in to the theme of the article (I'll get to that).  Then I watched it and realized the implications are treacherous as well as infinite.  I'll leave it to the reader to make the leaps because I'm as tired of typing the phrases as you are of reading them.

Besides, the performances make no subtle statements.

The Philadelphia Phillies have confirmed the acquisition of super pitcher and three-time Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez Wednesday.

The move sends a big message to the division and gives a huge shot in the arm to the Phillies.

Martinez sports a lifetime 2.91 ERA and a very impressive 214-99 record. His travels have included the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, and Mets.