David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox (51-37) won the Home Run Derby tonight at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, topping Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins (42-46) in the final round by a total of 11 to 5. Ortiz seems like a nice guy and it was cool to see him win. It doesn't mean too much for the second half of the season, but it was fun to see all the players relax and participate and watch the Derby. Many of them had their kids on the field which was also cool. It was a very festive atmosphere and I always enjoy watching it. I liked how Ortiz said it was for the fans, he really seems to get it. He also gave a shout out to former Major League pitcher Jose Lima, who died earlier this year which was cool to see.
The All-Star Game is tomorrow night. Coverage starts at 6 p.m. MT on FOX. It's kind of a big deal in case you haven't heard. Here are the starting line-ups for both teams:
National League:
SS Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
2B Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves
1B Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
DH Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
3B David Wright, New York Mets
LF Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
CF Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
RF Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers
C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
SP Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
American League:
RF Ichiro, Seattle Mariners
SS Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
1B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
CF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
DH Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers
3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
C Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
LF Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
SP David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
For the full rosters, check out mlb.com. I'm really stoked for the big game tomorrow and I'm really pulling for a National League victory. It's about time I say.
As for my San Francisco Giants (47-41), I said that if they finished the last seven games of their road trip 5-2 that it would be successful. Well, 6-1 would be considered great. Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey, among others, carried the load for the offense and the pitching was solid during a four game sweep of Milwaukee (40-49) and taking two of three from the Nationals (39-50). I don't think I've ever seen a team play as bad over the course of a series as the Brewers did this week. They just looked awful and it made you wonder how they ever won games. I don't think they are as bad as they looked, although the Giants probably had something to do with that. It was good to go into the break on a positive note after that seven game losing streak and the Giants are right in the midst of the playoff races. Here's a look at the contending teams in the National League West:
W L GB
San Diego Padres 51 37 --
Colorado Rockies 49 39 2
Los Angeles Dodgers 49 39 2
San Francisco Giants 47 41 4
And now the National League Wild Card:
W L GB
Colorado Rockies 49 39 --
Los Angeles Dodgers 49 39 --
New York Mets 48 40 1
Philadelphia Phillies 47 40 1.5
San Francisco Giants 47 41 2
St. Louis Cardinals 47 41 2
So as you can see the Giants are only two back in the Wild Card and four back in the division. So there is definitely perfectly good reason for hope. I'm going to keep the faith alive. As for the Phillies, they had a very big four game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds (49-41) at Citizens Bank Park this weekend after dropping two of three to the Atlanta Braves (52-36). The Braves have opened up a 4 game lead on the Mets and 4.5 on the Phils, but it's hardly insurmountable. And the Phils are only 1 back in the loss column in the Wild Card hunt. They showed a lot of heart in sweeping the Reds in four very close games this weekend after a tough series against Atlanta to stay right in the thick of the race. I still think it will be an upset if they don't at least make the playoffs.
The Chicago White Sox (49-38) have been tearing it up and I'd have to say they are the hottest team in baseball. I think it's been 25 wins in 30 games now and they erased what was about a 9 game division deficit about a month ago to the Twins (46-42) and now the Sox lead the Tigers (48-38) by a half-game in the AL Central at the break. They are riding an 8 game win streak and that has followed closely on the heels of an 11 game win streak. It's too early to say for sure, but there is reason to believe that my preseason pick to win the division will be accurate.
The Texas Rangers (50-38) acquired star pitcher Cliff Lee from the Seattle Mariners (35-53) on Friday and Lee made his Rangers debut last night against the Baltimore Orioles (29-59). The Orioles won the game and swept the four game series in Arlington, but Lee gives the Rangers a legitimate number one starter and makes them the clear cut favorite to win the AL West. With Lee in the rotation and a potent offense, the team even has the potential to do some damage in the playoffs.
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