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July 11, 2007
STAR POWER: The Red Sox had it in last night's All-Star Game (projo.com), as Josh Beckett was the winning pitcher (Boston Herald), Mike Lowell had a hit and scored a run, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless eighth in the A.L.'s 5-4 victory over the N.L. (AP via projo.com) Jayson Stark breaks down the night on ESPN.com.
EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES: Ichiro Suzuki was the MVP (AP via projo.com) -- his two-run, inside-the-park homer in the fifth inning put the A.L. ahead to stay -- and he'll soon have more good news to celebrate: He's about to sign a five-year contract extension with the Mariners. (Seattle Times) The Times' Larry Stone thinks Ichiro should have his own TV series, since he continues to stage a series of ''Can You Top This?'' events.
BAFFLED: It's been 11 years since the National Leaguers won one of these things, and they don't understand why the American League has their number. (AP via projo.com) Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal thinks the streak will end next year, since ''[the] A.L. has just about run out of ways to torture the N.L.'' But SI.com's Jacob Luft thinks last night was a simple case of Jim Leyland outmanaging Tony La Russa.
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT, BROTHER: Albert Pujols isn't too happy that he sat on the bench the whole game, a decision made by La Russa, his own manager. (AP, via projo.com)
HURTING PAPI: David Ortiz thinks he'll need knee surgery at season's end. (Boston Herald) He says the problem, which occurred while fielding bunts after batting practice at Yankee Stadium earlier this year, may have led to the quad and leg soreness that has hampered his power production.
WE ALL NEED A LITTLE CHAD JOHNSON IN US: Jonathan Papelbon tells AOL Sports that when he's on the mound ''it's not Jonathan Papelbon pitching, it's Cinco Ocho pitching. I get a little revved up some times, and Cinco Ocho doesn't know how to control himself when he's out there.'' Johnson, the Cincinnati Bengals' talented but eccentric wide receiver, calls himself Ocho Cinco; apparently, Papelbon wanted to avoid a copyright controversy. Baseball Musing's David Pinto thinks Jonathan Killington Closer would be a better nickname.
THIRD, AND CLIMBING: The Red Sox are the third most-popular team in baseball, behind the Yankees and Braves, according to a recent Harris poll. It's their highest ranking ever; they were fourth in 2006. The least popular team? The Toronto Blue Jays. Interesting note: The Mets, the second-popular team in '06, plummeted to seventh this time around.
YOU ASKING ME? Good luck getting an answer from Bud Selig as to whether or not he'll be there when Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. (AP via projo.com)
FIGHTING WORDS: Derek Jeter says there's ''no question'' the Yankees can catch the Red Sox in the second half. (New York Post)
LET'S BET ON IT: In Las Vegas, odds on the Yanks winning the World Series -- they were the preseason favorites at 7-2 -- have dropped to 15-1 (New York Post). Still, that could indicate people still believe the Yankees could make a comeback. ''Toronto has basically the same record as them and Toronto is 250-1,'' said Jeff Stoneback, the sports book manager at MGM Mirage. ''Obviously people have a lot more faith that the Yankees have the potential to catch fire and go on a run here.'' John Avello, director of race and sports operations at Wynn, also believes bettors will flock to them if they get on a hot streak in the second half.
MEET THE NEW BOSS: The new favorite to win the World Series? The Red Sox, who are 11-5 at Mirage and 4-1 at Wynn.
ACCORDING TO WIN SHARES . . . The MVPs at this point of the season are Vladimir Guerrero in the American League and Eric Byrnes in the National League. (hardballtimes.com) The Red Sox' co-MVPs are David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis.
NOTABLES: The interesting tidbits out of the Red Sox list: Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett both have 10 Win Shares, which place them in a tie for 11th among all starting pitchers (with, among others, Derek Lowe) . . . Coco Crisp (9 Win Shares) is having a better year than Manny Ramirez (8), which shows that WS obviously accounts for defense . . . Jonathan Papelbon (7) is in a tie for ninth among all relievers . . . Wily Mo Pena and Doug Mirabelli -- confirming the suspicions of many angry fans -- have contributed nothing to the Sox so far; both have 0 Win Shares.
WHAT OF THE YANKEES, YOU ASK? Alex Rodriguez (19 WS) is their MVP, with Derek Jeter (15) second and Jorge Posada (11) third. (All stories hardballtimes.com)
'A MODEST PROPOSAL': Ex-Astros pitcher and manager Larry Dierker thinks major-league umpires are so bad at calling balls and strikes that MLB should let Questec do it.
WHISPERS: Torii Hunter, who can be a free agent at the end of the year, admits he's thought about playing for the Yankees (New York Daily News). Just what they need, another 33-year-old (which is how old he'll turn in July of '08) center fielder . . . It appears Lastings Milledge is about to get the call from the Mets (New York Daily News) . . .
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