Preview/Prediction

Four games—that's how far back the Marlins are off the Phillies at the All-Star break.

It's also how many games the Marlins will play against the Phillies in Miami to start the second half. 

For the Marlins to be contenders, they need to win this series.

Splitting simply will not be enough.

Four games is hard to make up, especially with the Phillies playing the way they have as of late. The Marlins have the best chance of making up ground when the two teams go head-to-head.

I have teetered back and forth over whether I want the Phillies to bankrupt the farm system to bring Toronto Blue Jays ace pitcher Roy Halladay to town.

Upon doing research, my answer is yes.

I did not weigh the pros and cons of losing Kyle Drabek, the linchpin on the part of the Phillies end of the deal. Nor did I look at Halladay's age, his last loss, or whether I thought the Phillies could win the National League East, then go through the playoffs to even reach the World Series.

Nope. I turned to what I usually depend my arguments in life. I turned to history.

There is no such thing as a "do or die" series or game until a team's magic number is terminated. 

And literally speaking, there is really no such thing as a "do or die" sporting event—with the possible exception of Colombian soccer.

The Giants are in rebuilding mode, and the team is winning.  Now is the time for a push for the playoffs and moving forward next year.  I understand Bochy will probably keep trying different players at various positions, but now that the Giants have proven they are playoff contenders, the lineup now is good.  With the players they have now, here is a suggested starting lineup:

C: Molina (Whiteside has proven a good backup until Buster Posey comes up).

1B: Ishikawa—Great defense, offense is picking up.

Jon Lester (7-6, 4.16 ERA) takes the hill tonight against Brian Bannister (6-6, 3.87 ERA), as the Red Sox try to apologize to their fans for losing a 4-0 lead last night.

The bullpen, which until recently has been phenomenal, has been laying a few more eggs the past few weeks, especially during this home stand. It is almost single-handedly responsible for the Yankees catching up in the standings.

All star snubs Kevin Millwood and Jared Weaver, will face off in a crucial division matchup in Los Angeles tonight.  Millwood of the Texas Rangers, and Weaver of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will face off for the second time this season, the Rangers winning the first meeting 9-7 on July 1st. 

June 6, 2006.

Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins sat comfortably in forth place in the American League Central, 11.5 games behind the first-place Tigers.

Their record was 25-32. They had lost three in a row and had been outscored by 41 runs on the season.

Fast forward to the end of the year and Minnesota not only won the division by exactly one game over the Tigers,. 

The Twins lead the division for all of one day—the day that mattered.

Tomorrow will mark the 223rd anniversary of this country. At the time, the Continental Congress entrenched itself in heavy debate with concern to the hostilities which had developed between the Crown and its thirteen colonies.

The Congress decided the only recourse left was irrevocable separation from its mother country.

So independence was declared in Philadelphia but, more importantly, so was all out war.

John Paul Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting today that the Minnesota Twins are interested in three Pirates: 2B Freddy Sanchez, closer Matt Capps, and lefty setup man John Grabow.

The Giants number one prospect Madison Bumgarner just won again, but you know what? What else is new with this kid?

Madison Bumgarner is quickly becoming the David Price of this year and his numbers continue to show why the Giants regard him so high.

Let's take a look at his numbers between Advanced Single A and Double A.

W-L: 9-2

ERA: 1.63

CG: 1

IP: 77.1

SO: 66

Pretty spectacular numbers if you ask me.