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I know it's only July 2nd, but there is plenty going on with the Majors to talk about, so why wait?

First off Manny Ramirez is set to rejoin the Dodgers on Friday for a series against the Padres.  Since Manny starting serving his suspension the Dodgers didn't seem to lose a beat going 29-21 in his absence thus far, while Juan Pierre is having his best season in years, batting .322 thus far with 22 stolen bases in just 71 games.  Trade rumors have been circling around Pierre, but given his high salary, and the production he could provide to the club even without starting everyday, I don't see the Dodgers moving him.  The Dodgers at this point have to be considered the favorites to win the National League Pennant, and considering the play of the Red Sox this year, it could set up a World Series match up of the ages as we could very well see Manny in Dodger blue playing at Fenway Park in October.

Joe Mauer continues to be in the middle of what could wind up very well being the greatest offensive season ever put up by a catcher.  As of this post he is batting .392 with 14 home runs, and 44 RBI's.  Even though Mauer missed the better part of a month this year he still has to be considered the front runner to win the AL MVP award.

In the National League Albert Pujols is simply tearing the cover off the ball.  He already has 30 home runs adn 77 RBI's in just 79 games, and triple crown talks could heat up as he is currently third in hitting.  There hasn't been a triple crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski did in it 1967, and while Albert clearly has a chance there is still alot of baseball yet to be played.  There have been many instances in history where guys have been pitched around just to avoid giving them the triple crown, most famously Dave Parker in 1978.  History may be on Albert's side though as the last National League player to win the triple crown was Joe Medwick in 1937, himself a Cardinal.

The trade deadline is later this month, and the hot stove is about to heat up as we approach the July 31st deadline.  Already we've seen two big deals as the Indians sent Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals, while the Pirates traded away yet another star player, sending centerfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta.

The big names to look out for in the next month I'd say would be Matt Holliday, Nick Johnson, Jarrod Washburn, George Sherrill Adam Dunn, Cla Meredith, and of course Jake Peavy.  Others also worth noting of keeping an eye on are Brad Penny, Jeff Francoeur, and Erik Bedard, although despite the rumors with these players I doubt they will be on the move.

Update:  Apparently Jake Peavy may not be going anywhere as I've just learned he could possibly miss another 8 to 12 weeks, meaning he will not be traded before the July 31st deadline if this is true.

The fire sale in Washington is on.  The Nationals recently made a move that kind of took me by surprise sending troubled but talented outfielder Lastings Milledge, and the thus far disappointing Joel Harahan to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the popular Nyjer Moran, and Sean Burnett.  Expect virtually everyone on that Washington team to be on the trading block with the exception of Ryan Zimmerman, and a few of the pitching prospects they had, as they hope to undo the mess former GM Jim Bowden left during his tenure in D.C.  For those wondering Bowden is currently under investigation by the FBI for withholding bonuses from Latino ballplayers.  Bowden is also one of the few figures in sports who I've yet to hear as much as one positive thing said about him by the media.

To continue with the Nationals number one overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg remains unsigned with the club.  The move will have just as much of an effect on baseball as it will the Nationals, as both the owners and the Players Union are keeping a close on how much Strasburg signs for, and it will no doubt be an issue the next time the CBA comes up, as small market teams are having more and more difficulty signing the best players in the draft due to the large bonuses being demanded by the top talent.  As for Strasburg he has a much hype as any player to ever come up, and there's no doubt his first start in the Majors will be one of the biggest events in Washington baseball history if and when it happens.

I love Ozzie Guillen.  When asked about why the attendance was so much higher against the Chicago Cubs then it was against the Dodgers Ozzie gave an answer that only he could come up with.  Instead of saying the obvious answer that while the Dodgers are a great team, they aren't the cross town rival the Cubs and it should be expected that given the proximity of the two teams it would be one of the toughest tickets of the year.  No, Ozzie didn't say that, or anything close to it, instead he said this, quote "Because our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans...  They know we're ****....  Cubs Fans will watch any game at Wrigley Field, because Wrigley Field is just a bar."  Who else but Ozzie would come up with a response like that?

Speaking of teams playing like ****, they've been alot of dissapointing teams this year.  The Cubs, Mets, Angels, White Sox, and Phillies have all fallen flat on their faces thus far this year, as all of those teams are currently in division dog fights.  Others like the Braves, Rangers, Giants, Marlins, Mariners, and Reds have all stepped up to fill the void, and are all in playoff conention as of today.

The Colorado Rockies are at it again.  After going 18-28 under Clint Hurdle, they've gone 23-9 under former Dodger and Pirates manger Jim Tracy, and are right in the thick of the Wild Card hunt.  Much of that '07 World Series team is still in tact, and the only thing that seems to be holding the Rockies back at this point is their bullpen.  The Rockies have some trade bait to offer, and if they can sew up that bullpen they could really become a World Series contendor.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set for later this month as on July 26th the Hall of Fame will honor 3 new players, as Joe Gordon, Jim Rice, and this year's big player Rickey Henderson will all be enshrined alongside the legends of the past.  Personally I'm looking forward to Rickey Henderson's speech more then any other player in history.

The All-Star game is just around the corner as well.  I'll have more on this as the game approaches but for now I'll just post who I think should be the starters as of today at each position.

Amerian League
C Joe Mauer
1B Justin Morneau
2B Ian Kinsler
3B Evan Longoria
SS Jason Bartlett
OF Carl Crawford
OF Torii Hunter
OF Ichiro Suzuki
SP Zack Grienke

National League
C Brian McCann
1B Albert Pujols
2B Chase Utley
3B David Wright
SS Hanley Ramirez
OF Ryan Braun
OF Matt Kemp
OF Raul Ibanez
SP Tim Lincecum

Obviously there's other who a great argument could be made for including Pedro Sandavol or San Francisco, and Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston, so don't think just because I didn't name players like that I haven't taken notice.

I'm also going to try to have my top 100 players list finished by the all-star break although I've fallen a bit behind lately, and I'm not going to shortened the articles just to get it in on time.  If I don't finish it by July 14th then so be it.


-- Edited by pmoehrin on Thursday 2nd of July 2009 09:20:47 PM