First off, we here at TBF extend our deepest condolences to Shannon Stone, the fan who flipped over the fence and died last Thursday at the Athletics-Rangers game. Stone and his family, especially his young son who was with him, remain in our thoughts and prayers, as is Josh Hamilton, who threw the ball Stone was trying to catch. A truly sad occurrence that hopefully will not be repeated.
Albert Pujols is truly The Machine. Coming back from an injury in 3 weeks that was supposed to keep him out until August? It'll be difficult for the Cardinals to keep him in their uniform if they're not willing to put up the kind of money he deserves. Maybe he really should be the 300 Million Dollar Man (I can just see it now, a Cubs executive pitching to the owners: Gentlemen...we can rebuild this franchise...we have the technology).
Roy Oswalt's still out of the Phillies rotation, and they seem to be doing just fine without him. In fact, since he went on the DL, the Phils have won 8 of their last 12, 2 of which were won by the better Roy. He's supposedly the unsung hero of the Big Phour, but it clearly should be Cole Hamels, who's almost been pushed to the background since the arrival of the Roys and Cliff "Bronx Kryptonite" Lee's glorious return. But my doctor said I need to watch my blood pressure, so I won't go into further detail about my intense dislike of Oswalt.
For the second straight year, and the second time in the past 16, the National League has managed to best the American League in the 82nd All-Star Game, powered by a 3-run shot off of Rangers starter C.J. Wilson by none other than Prince Fielder, the Brewers first baseman who's mounting a very impressive campaign that we've entitled "Hey, There's More Than One Talented, Powerful First Baseman In The National League Who's Headed Into Free Agency After This Season!!" Also making headlines regarding the All-Star Game and break: the Mets traded troubled closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers, a deal that was finalized during the game, and he will share duties with the existing closer John Axford, while Jason Isringhausen has been tabbed as the new closer in Flushing...Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano beat out Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to win the Home Run Derby, and a further emotional level was added in that Cano's father, Jose, was the pitcher for him...adding more fuel to the trade talk fire, Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran flew out to Phoenix for the ASG with the Giants, who've long been rumored to go after him in free agency this season, but according to Beltran, there was no talking about that (meanwhile, Giants closer Brian Wilson stated that Beltran would be a great fit for the team).
Just to really blow everyone's mind, here's a nice little tidbit to end this installment of Brief Expositions: today, July 16th, right after the beginning of the second half when division races begin to heat up...the Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for first place in the NL Central with the Cardinals, and the Brewers are a half game back of both of those teams. Just let that simmer in your head for a little while.
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