Baseball

Well, here at the halfway mare, debate is brewing about the best statistical players at each position.

Most of the larger debates focus on hitters and starting pitching, but I want to take a look at one of the most important guys on the roster: the closer.

These ninth inning wonders are the guys that are the final piece in most victories during the season, and some of them have punched their ticket to St.

Meet Jorge de la Rosa.

Jorge is a left handed starting pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. His fastball resides typically in the low 90's. His off-speed offerings include a plus change and slider. His curveball has potential if he can fix its release point. He strikes out over a batter per inning and costs only ("only" used loosely) $2 million.

Why is de la Rosa so available? Well he is 5-7 with a 5.14 ERA and the Rockies fifth starter.

In my last article, I said that Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Riccardi would never trade Roy Halladay to divisional rival. Now it seems like he is ready to dangle his best pitcher in the division.

Rumor winds begin to swirl now that Halladay is all but gone in Toronto and the Blue Jays GM will now begin to listen to offers and if the right one comes along, he would pull the trigger.

Now, the Yankees aren't just the only team involved in this. There are plenty of teams who will be vying for Halladay's services.

By now most Brewer fans are well aware of the words exchanged between Ryan Braun and GM Doug Melvin. I can guarantee that also, by now, Melvin and Braun have had a private meeting at Miller Park to hash out any misconceptions about what was said.

The Brewers will take the field tonight as if nothing happened, and any player interviewed about the topic will surely reply with, "it's not a big deal" or "it is what it is." Basically, the same tired cliches sports fans always have to put up with.

Take away fan and player voting and managers deciding. Forget the rule that every team has to be represented. Instead, leave it to me to pick the squads for the midsummer classic.

I won't be sentimental. I won't choose fan (or my own) favorites over deserving players, even if the latter are jerks. I'll refuse to pick players based on past performance; rather I'll only select major leaguers who performed at an all-star level in the first half of the 2009 season. I will simply look at statistics and leave emotions out of it. (Sorry, Jermaine Dye.)

For one day, the spotlight dimmed a bit.

With Raul Ibanez spending a day in Reading, PA for a rehab assignment, Kyle Drabek had a little attention taken away from him yesterday.

Make no mistake, however: There were still plenty of people at the ballpark to see Drabek.

Plenty of fans. Plenty of scouts. Plenty hoping that very soon, Kyle Drabek will become one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball.

At just 21 years of age, he is noted as the top pitching prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization.

Ready to get Bombed?
Is your idea of having fun getting drunk with your buddies and not caring what goes on in the field? We ranked all the ballparks for you to aid you in your quest.

We rated each Major League ballpark in five categories: percent of people in the city who drink (no one likes to drink alone); ballpark consumable liquid offering (beer); friendliness of the people (everybody loves new drinking buddies); and post game options / public transportation (The CHG hates Drunk Drivers).

Here are the best major league ballparks to get bombed…

Don't trade Roy Halladay, Blue Jays.

Not for the sun, the moon, and half the stars.

Maybe to the Yankees if they offer you CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes. Or for an equivalent offer from another team. But not otherwise, because he is the "sine qua non" (without which not) of your playoff chances.

I have been one of the people that believes your team has a legitimate shot at the playoffs, if not this year, certainly next. You got off to a good start, then faltered, mainly against (weaker) National League teams. A better "draw" next year might see you through.

What a week Cub fans!

Two weeks ago this was the most apathetic team I had ever seen, and now they are actually showing life! I think they actually want to win!

What a good feeling this is! I can’t stop using exclamation points! The Cubs are good again!

After last season’s dominance, I did not expect to be this happy to be two games over .500. But ever since Lou made some adjustments to the batting order, the team has shown signs of life.

If an NFL or MLB team ever needed a player, who do they look for? They go into the Twins or Vikings organizations.

Through the years, Minnesota franchises have done very well in bringing up great players only to let them walk and become superstars in other places.

Most notable is David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.

For six years, the Twins groomed Ortiz to be their designated hitter. After his best season with the team in 2002 where he hit 20 home runs and 75 RBI's, they let him go to the Red Sox.