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Ian Kennedy is one of the top prospects in baseball right now. He has played extraordinarily throughout his career at all levels. All levels except one. In his “second chance” in the bigs, Kennedy failed miserably, lasting under three innings. The Angels’ batters were all over him and he wasn’t able to catch a break. It is still early in his career and he will certainly have more shots at proving himself, but sadly when -if- he breaks through is unknown.

For the Yankees this is devastating news, as we really needed him to do well in place of Joba. Hopefully this was just a one night thing, but looking at Kennedy’s performances thus far this year, we can’t count on it. Currently, we are still in third place, but are now 7 games behind Tampa. With the season flying by, we really need to pick it up and start winning soon if we want to make the playoffs. Joba did tell reporters recently that he plans on being back later this month, but until then we really need Rasner, Kennedy, and Ponson to pretty well as a unit.

Even after the outcome of this season is decided, the Kennedy question will still exists (unless he is able to make a quick turnaround of course.) How long will it be until we see IPK develop into a major league pitcher?

Last night’s home run derby was certainly one for the ages as it was the first and last at Yankee Stadium and Josh Hamilton continued his inspirational comeback with an amazing night. He ended up coming in second since the last round resets the home run count, but I think in the minds of most he was the true winner. Even Justin Mourneu, who officially won, admitted that Hamilton was the big show of the night.

The 27-year-old Ranger hit home run after home run in the first round, breaking Bobby Abreu’s record of 24 by 4. Not only that, but most of those blasts were far and high, going to the back of the stands on a regular basis. The crowd was going crazy and chanting “Ha-mil-ton, Ha-mil-ton, Ha-mil-ton.” The star of the night later said that the sights and sounds of the fans at Yankee Stadium chanting his name like that sent chills through his body. Who would have seen this coming just one year ago?

It was a truly spectacular event and for those who haven’t seen footage from it, you really must. It was a great derby, one that will be remembered for years and one that is certainly very fitting for the last year at Yankee.

Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa. What do all of these players have in common? They all hit atleast 600 home runs in their major league careers. The league has been around for over a century and we have only had five individuals hit 600. They played in different eras with different circumstances, but they all did it.

Ken Griffey Jr. is currently one home run away from joining the exclusive 600 home run club. He is on the verge of completing one of the toughest feats in baseball, yet the chase to 600 has been quieter than ever before. The media hasn’t followed the chase as closely as they recently did with Bonds and Sosa and because of that the feeling of something historical happening just isn’t there. Adam Dunn recently expressed his unhappiness with the situation saying, “I don’t get it, don’t get why people aren’t stoked about it. I can’t find a word for it, how bad it is.”

I for one, completely agree with Dunn. Ken Griffey Jr. deserves more attention than what he is getting. So why isn’t he getting the glamor he should be getting? There are a few reasons behind this, starting with Griffey’s character. The Reds’ star is a very modest and uncontroversial guy. He is genuinely just a good person. He never speaks out, he never does anything bad, he just keeps playing the game that he loves. Sadly, it is controversy that creates buzz in this modern world of celebrities going to rehab and Ozzie Guillen ranting about how he doesn’t like the GM. Griffey just doesn’t create controversy.

Maybe the reason for the lack of coverage also has to do with Griffey’s slowdown in recent years. It has been four years since he hit 500 and the chase for 600 has gone on for a bit more than some expected. I don’t think that should be an excuse though because at the end of the day he has still done it.

Griffey deserves to be treated just like those who hit 600 prior to him. He deserves to have more people talking about him and praising him. So why don’t we? As baseball fans I think that we should all be excited for this historical happening, regardless of what team we root for. Don’t you think he deserves the credit for such an extraordinary task? For those of you who have blogs or websites about baseball, take a moment to write about Griffey and commemorate him on this wonderful achievement. This is really a rare happening and we can’t forget that.

Is this still the MLB? It really hasn’t seemed like it so far this season. We are almost a fourth of the season through and the Rays are in second place in the AL East! Even more surprising is that the Marlins, the team that basically sold all its hope is currently leading its division by more than two games. Oh yea, and the Mariners who were supposed to be one of the better teams this year is currently in last place, with a record of 15-25. I thought I was done, but wait! The Tigers, who spent a load of cash this offseason are also last, with a 16-22 record. Some critics expected them to be the top team in the MLB for god’s sake! Their division rivals, the Indians are fairing so well either with a .500 record. Back in the reigning NL champions, the Rockies are 15-23 and only one game from being tied with the worst record in the majors. And then of course there are our Yankees, who aren’t boding so well thus far either. All I can say to all this is wow, just wow.

If you had predicted that we would be hear 40 games in then you really are a genius because I don’t think anyone else saw this. Now the end-of-season standings probably won’t be like this, but for some teams they just might be. I hate to say it, but the Rays really have a chance to keep up this style of play because their young pitchers are just throwing phenomenally. Let’s just hope that our guys can start pulling something together like they did last season.

Our sluggers should start hitting soon and I think the pitching staff will have some bright moments in the near-future as well with Darrell Rasner stepping up nicely and Moose and Wang doing good. Pettitte is bound to start being clutch soon enough and that just leaves one more spot. It is currently filled by Kei Igawa, but I’m not expecting much from him. Hopefully IPK or Hughes will be back soon with their troubles behind them. We can definetely pull through, especially when the Rays’ young guys start making mistakes.

Ok, back to the speculation on which teams will end in the other direction come October… The Marlins are not going to last. The only reason they are doing this well is because of an offensive surge and as we all know offense can’t carry a team. On the defensive side of the ball their guys have been making too many mistakes and it will eventually catch up to them.

As for the other NL team, the Rockies, I think they will end the season out of the playoffs. I expect them to start rebouding soon enough and they’ll probably finish above .500, but I don’t see a playoff berth happening. It is pretty clear that the D’ Backs are taking the division and looking at the way the Cubs, Cardinals, and Astros are playing, the Rockies will have a tough time squeezing out the wildcard. You also have to remember that the Mets, Braves, and Phillies will remain contenders for playoff spots until late as well. I just don’t see it happening for Colorado again, sorry Todd Helton.

Now, back to the AL. In the Central I think we will be seeing the Indians take it again. Their pitching and defense is great and they have much of the same dominant team as last year. The Tigers on the other hand don’t. They have upgraded their bats and starting pitching, but neglected relief and without a good bullpen they aren’t going to get far.

In the AL West, the Mariners currently sit 8.5 games behind divison leader Oakland! Billy Beane has done a terrific job with managing the team and I think this could be the year they make it back to the playoffs (notice I said I think it could be, not I think it will be). I’m not putting my money on them just yet though because the Angels as always are also a very strong team, especially with new addition Torri Hunter. I really don’t know who will take the division, but I do believe that the Mariners will have a tough time getting ahead of both the A’s and Angels. I would still give them a chance, but it will be tough to overtake Oakland and Anaheim, and I really don’t think the wildcard is going to the West. It would be great to see a neck-in-neck battle between the three in September.

The surprising start is bound to make things most exciting, especially during the end of the season. Some great baseball is ahead of us…

What do you think about my predictions? Do you agree or disagree and why? Please comment, I would love to hear all of your opinions.

This is a good one. Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of our favorite third baseman, A. Rod., said in an episode of YESterdays that her husband fainted during the birth of his first daughter. Apparently Alex Rodriguez “is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation.” That is just funny because most of us picture him as the strong player he is on the field. Sometimes it is good (and entertaining) to see the other side of players’ lives. If you want to see/hear more on Rodriguez’s fainting watch the episode, which airs tomorrow night on YES.

Reference: Yahoo Sports

The David Ortiz jersey that was thrown in the cement of New Yankee Stadium in an attempt to curse the Yankees was auctioned off on Ebay in an auction that ended today at 12:30. The jersey fetched an astounding $175,000 and the Yankees have decided to donate the money to the Jimmy Fund, a cancer charity. At least some good came out of Gino Castignolli’s (the construction worker who threw the jersey in the wet cement) action. The winner of the bidding will also get a pair of Red Sox game tickets and a new jersey with the latest artifact from the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry.

The rumor of the Red Sox jersey being thrown under the concrete at the new stadium have been flying around for a few days now. The Yankees decided to investigate and some construction workers believed that it was done by some goon (hes actually been involved in some big criminal schemes) named Gino Castignoli who worked at the stadium for one day. They had a ballpark estimate of where the shirt would’ve been and with a few other workers they used jackhammers to dig in the area. Turns out there was a jersey there. I’m not really a superstitious person, so I didn’t care anyway, but for those Red Sox fans who are this is a slap in the face. They couldn’t even manage to hide a jersey under some concrete without the word spreading out.

Useless story, but we got some entertainment from it. Hank Steinbrenner, later said about Castignoli:

“I hope his coworkers kick the $hit out of him…It’s a bunch of bull$hit”

I swear, the whole McNamee-Clemens thing keeps getting more and more like a couple breaking up. Today, Brian McNamee has put all of Clemens’ old things up for auction. Objects include a signed baseball which was going for upwards of 4k this afternoon, several hats and uniforms, and pictures of Clemens, Pettitte, and Canseco. McNamee added his own little touch by signing the memorabilia, so that all of those hardcore PED fans (because there are so many right?) can have a keepsake for the ages. Well, atleast McNamee is giving the money to charity.

Today it was revealed that the Yankees will be putting a 5,925 square foot HD Diamond Vision scoreboard in the new stadium. It will be Major League Baseball’s first true high-definition scoreboard. The Yankees decided to go with the Diamond Vision brand due to their long relationship with Mitsubishi (which dates back to 1983, when the company installed the first Diamond Vision screen in baseball for the Yanks.) The new screen has 8,601,600 LED lamps and is almost 101 feet wide and 59 feet tall! Compare that to the current scoreboard and your jaw will really drop. The scoreboard that sits at the current Yankee Stadium has 486,400 LEDS and measures 24.9-inches X 32.8-inches. Just imagine how big the new one is compared to that. It is going to be awesome. The scoreboard will be able to simultaneously show several things including the score, videos, and different stats all in brilliant HD. The Yankees definetely went all out on this one, as this is the latest and greatest out there at the moment; I am sure it cost a pretty penny, but then again with current ticket sales they can afford it.

Some economy experts may argue that the United States is heading towards or is already in a recession, but the Yankees are in anything but a slowdown at the moment. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Today the Yankees announced that they have already sold a record-breaking 3.8 million tickets for the 2008 season! That is 400,000 more than they had sold at this time last season. And all this with the highest ticket prices in Yankee history (they are the highest whether or not you consider inflation as well.) It is crazy, but then again it is also history. It is the last year at the great Yankee Stadium and it is something which most Yankee fans, including me, would pay a lot to be a part of. No one is really happy with the price hikes, but when it comes to the facts the truth is that baseball is a business.

I think it is pretty obvious that this will be the eighth year in a row where home attendance grows for the Yanks. At current rates this will also be the most profitable season for any baseball team ever. This will also be good for the sport, as the Yankees get more press coverage. Other teams may also benefit due to the revenue sharing agreement, so that should make some owners happy (cough -Marlins owner- cough) This season will certainly be a memorable one for everyone including fans, team owners, and the MLB.

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