A-Rod & His Milestone
 
Alex Rodriguez used PED’s.  He cheated. Steroids helped him hit the ball farther and his body to recuperate faster. What they didn’t do is improve his ability to hit the ball in the first place; he was already really good at that.  The New York media’s handling of Rodriguez’s reaching of the 3,000 hit milestone was an exercise in vengeful pettiness.  The tabloids did the unthinkable and made A-Rod look sympathetic to the public, which I’m sure was not their intent. 
 
This season Rodriguez is doing something no one would have thought possible of him, he’s blocking out what everyone else is saying and just playing baseball, and hitting the ball very well, almost All Star level well.  Rodriguez, along with Mark Teixeira have carried the Yankees offense this season putting the team within a game of first place at the All Star break.  What more can he do?  Even in interviews he has shown humility and answered baseball questions like a kid would, or at least another big leaguer who didn’t have a million skeletons in the closet.  I’m giving the man props for the 3,000 hit milestone; well-done Alex, well done. 
Pete Rose & His Side Show
 
With the mid summer classic to be held in Cincinnati this year Pete Rose saw his chance at redemption and a way back into the fold with Major League Baseball.  What he didn’t see coming that almost anyone else could have was that little notebook stuffed away in the evidence boxes the feds keep in a basement somewhere.  You just knew that baseball had this packed up its sleeve ready for some reporter to find less than a month away from the event. 
 
This will effectively end any comeback attempt he may make for the Hall of Fame or for an open door back into the game as a team liaison.  It was like someone in the Commissioner’s office was just waiting for him to make enough noise that he gets his foot in the door a bit with an invite to the All Star game and then BAM!  Rose bet on baseball games, games he played and managed in, never to lose mind you or this wouldn’t even be a discussion and he would never have gotten as far back as he did.  Most don’t care about that but I do as a fan of the game, if he was putting guys in who couldn’t hit a pitcher to make a few extra thousand dollars that might be the lowest thing you could do as a professional.
 
My prediction is that he will be allowed to show up at the All Star game and then be told to go back to purgatory until he passes away.  At this point it will probably take another 10 years but he will be added to the Hall at that point. 

The top 5 teams in the big leagues right now:

  1. St. Louis Cardinals- Just keep on chugging along, pretty much unbeatable at home 29-7.
  2. Washington Nationals-  Scherzer wasn’t thought to be a need in the offseason but where would they be without him?  Best pitcher in baseball right now.
  3. Kansas City Royals- Their starting pitching worries me long term but with that bullpen? Built for October cliché plays here. 
  4. San Francisco Giants- These guys are making up ground on the Dodgers in short order thanks to Buster Posey’s swinging a hot bat and a solid road record of 21-15. 
  5. Baltimore Orioles-  It took them longer than expected to get hot this season, and Adam Jones even missed about a week but seem to be hitting their stride getting some pitchers back from DL helps. 
The bottom 5 teams:
 
  1. Miami Marlins- Stanton’s injury opens the door for the team to deal veterans Prado, Latos, Haren, and anyone else interested teams call about. 
  2. Chicago White Sox- Probably the most disappointing team this season in all of MLB.  Manager Robin Ventura probably won’t last past the trade deadline. 
  3. Colorado Rockies- Perpetually spinning the wheels with the pitching staff.  Hitters can’t carry you every game.
  4. Milwaukee Brewers- Battling the Phils for 1st pick in next year’s draft. Start trading people!
  5. Philadelphia Phillies- If your manager steps down due to frustration with the teams play it tells you he’s trying and dignity is not lost.  On the bright side the front office officially added Andy MacPhail to the fold to oversee the trades of Cole Hamels and company. 

ALL Star Roster Predictions

Bruce Bochy and Ned Yost will manage the NL and AL squads at next week’s All Star game in Cincinnati.  One thing is for sure, they will have some tough decisions to make on their lineups as there will be no DH available.  As usual the pitching will be difficult to prognosticate as several deserving candidates may pitch the day before and thus be ineligible to pitch in the game itself.  That said here are my rosters for each league with the starters listed first at each position:
 
AL Roster
Catcher: Russell Martin, Stephen Vogt
1B: Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols
2B: Jason Kipnis, Jose Altuve
3B: Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Mike Moustakas
SS: Jose Iglesias, Xander Bogaerts
OF: Mike Trout, Adam Jones, Lorenzo Cain, Brett Gardner J.D Martinez, Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz
Pitchers: Dallas Keuchel, Felix Hernandez, Sonny Gray, Chris Archer, David Price, Chris Sale, Collin McHugh, Glen Perkins, Huston Street, Brad Boxberger, Zach Britton and Wade Davis.
 
NL Roster
Catcher: Buster Posey, Derek Norris
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Dee Gordon, Kolton Wong, D.J LeMahieu
3B: Todd Frazier, Nolan Arenado
SS: Jhonny Peralta, Brandon Crawford, Jean Segura
OF: Bryce Harper, Justin Upton, Andrew McCutchen, A.J Pollack, Joc Pederson, Starling Marte, Ben Revere,
 
Pitchers: Mac Scherzer, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, Shelby Miller, Jacob DeGrom, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal, James Shields, Jeurys Familia, Mark Melancon, Drew Storen.