Baseball

Last place awaits the loser of today's game in Arizona. The SHAME of it all. Padres fans deserve better than this, and yet quietly, the NOT fire sale is on again. It's been going on since the Padres traded future All-Star pitcher Fred Norman for a bag of used baseballs back in 1972.

In dealing dependable outfielder Scott Hairston to Oakland last week, the brass resent a message to the players that no one is safe. Padre players should not be surprised. That's how it's done here in San Diego. Here today, a Brewer tomorrow...

The teams that contend and make the playoffs are usually the teams that have the most well rounded and productive benches. A team is only as good as its weakest players.

It takes 25 men to win a championship. 162 games is a long season, spaced out over 180 days. The teams that do contend are able to do so because of a good bench. Everyday starters, despite the name, do not play 162 games per year anymore.

A's fans like myself really appreciate Andrew Bailey.

The rookie righthander has emerged from obscurity to become one of the best relievers in baseball this season. Using a devastating cutter/curveball combo, Bailey has carved up the American League with a 2.67 FIP.

That said, Bailey's not the best reliever on the team. And the guy better than him doesn't get nearly as much recognition.

Michael Wuertz has been the best reliever on the A's.

I know Bailey's got the saves and the flashier ERA, but bear with me.

Albert Pujols is good; almost as good as winning a million bucks.

But is he good enough to make baseball forget the dark times it has been through the better half of this decade?

That seems to be the million-dollar question. If Pujols sets the home run records, season or career, does he take a rightful seat on the throne as Home Run King?

We've seen this story before. A slugger blazes a pace with long balls, he denies using steroids or any other performance-enhancing drugs, and because baseball is desperate for a role model, we believe.

Since the All-Star Game is in part a fan popularity contest, there are other deserving players who didn't make the team. Since each team in both leagues has to be represented, there are players who make the team who don't really deserve it.

The Twins have seen both sides of these unfortunate outcomes. In 1987, despite having a playoff contending club that would later win the World Series, they had only one representative on the AL All-Star game team.

Before I begin, let me plainly state as clearly as possible, I hope I'm dead wrong about this.

My beloved San Francisco Giants are two full games up in the National League Wild Card race and only seven games behind the division and MLB-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, for as much credit as General Manager Brian Sabean should receive for not trading away his prime prospects, there should be just as much ridicule for the increasingly irritating game-to-game decisions.

In the past offseason, I thought about who were the top five pitchers in baseball. A while later, I realized there was a major omission in my list. Roy Halladay is not only undoubtedly in the top five, but he might be the best.

At one point, Halladay was extremely underrated. With all the talk of Cliff Lee making an unlikely run at the Cy Young award, Halladay was performing to his usual standards, finishing a close second.

Everyone knows that Halladay is good, but just how good is he?

The New York Mets find themselves in a rather messy predicament at the halfway mark of the 2009 season. As of now, one of baseball’s highest paid teams sits three games below .500 with a 39-42 record which is good for third place in the National League East behind the bargain basement Florida Marlins and the rival Philadelphia Phillies.