NL Finally Wins All Star Game

As seen on Phillies Nation.

The National League won the All Star Game for the first time since 1996, a year where the game was played at Veterans Stadium and Ricky Botallico was the Phillies only representative. Charlie Manuel led the 2010 NL All Stars to a 3-1 victory over the star studded American League.

Ubaldo Jiminez and Josh Johnson each pitched two superb innings. The American League scored their lone, unearned run against Hong-Chih Kuo.

Aggressive base-running by Scott Rolen eventually paid off. Brian McCann provided the knock with a three-run double with two outs in the seventh. Phillies fans have seen this so many times from McCann, so it was different being on the other side of a McCann clutch hit. McCann was ultimately named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Ryan Howard served as the designated hitter for the National League. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout against David Price. Howard also grounded out.

Roy Halladay pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits and striking out one. Manuel may have misused him in the situation. Instead of bringing Halladay in earlier, Kuo was brought in. Halladay was forced to warm up twice.

Jonathan Broxton closed the doors to secure home field advantage for the National League. Overall, it was a well-played game. In the year of the pitcher, it was only fitting that the All Star Game was dominated by brilliant pitching performances.

David Ortiz was the Home Run Derby Champion.

Limping Into the Postseason

Most of the teams that have already clinched a postseason spot aren't exactly playing good ball right now. Here are the records over the last 10 games (Saturday's night games not included):

Yankees: 7-3
Red Sox: 4-6
Angels: 5-5, Last 20: 10-10
Phillies: 4-6, 3 game losing streak
Cardinals: 3-7, 8-12 last 20
Dodgers: 3-7, 5 Game losing streak, Last 20: 10-10
Rockies: 7-3, 5 Game winning streak

If the Tigers win the division, they aren't exactly on a roll either. All the NL division leaders each recently went on a 5-5 stretch.

The only teams that are hot right now are the Yankees and Rockies. It could be argued that because the regulars are not playing, teams aren't winning. However, most of the NL teams have been fighting for home field. The Red Sox were in a bad slump before they clinched.

Also, it is not good to enter the postseason cold. For those being rested, long layoffs are not always good. Remember the Rockies in 2007? Their hot 21 of 22 streak carried into October, however they had a long break between the NLCS and World Series. It backfired and they lost to the Red Sox. It's okay to give a player rest; a day here, a day there. It's a long, tiring season. But sometimes too long can be trouble. If a player is slumping it may help, but if they're playing good ball, then it may turn into a problem, taking that player out of their rhythm.

Most of these teams are hopping into the postseason on one foot.

American League Wins Again

The National League lost for the twelfth time since 1996. With the 4-3 win, the American League will gain home field advantage during the World Series.

The American League took a 2-0 lead in the first inning off Tim Lincecum. Lincecum was backed by poor defense. The NL had three chances for a double play, but Albert Pujols made an error and David Wright made a bad throw. Also, nobody covered first base on a relay from short.

The NL got it back in the second inning. David Wright blooped a single off Roy Halladay and Shane Victorino (1-for-2, R) singled. Yadier Molina's two run double tied the game at two.

Prince Fielder's pinch hit double gave the NL a 3-2 lead in the second. However, Joe Mauer tied the game at three in the fifth with a RBI double of his own.

In the seventh inning, it looked like Brad Hawpe had tied the game. But Carl Crawford robbed Hawpe of a home run, leaping and reaching over the fence. It was Barry Bonds/Torii Hunter-like.

In the top of the eighth inning, Curtis Granderson led off with a triple. He scored on Adam Jones' sacrifice fly to give the AL a 4-3 lead.

With two on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Ryan Howard (0-for-1, SO) had a chance to tie the game, or possibly give the National League the lead. Joe Nathan struck him out on a check swing.

Mariano Rivera complete the save, his fourth in All Star Game history. The game lasted only 2 hours and 31 minutes, the fastest All Star Game since 1988 (2:26). Carl Crawford was named the MVP after his fantastic, game-saving catch.

Here are how the rest of the Phillies fared:

Chase Utley: 0-for-2 (groundout, fly out). He made a couple spectacular plays at second base.
Raul Ibanez: 0-for-2 (groundout, pop up)
Jayson Werth: 0-for-1 (strikeout). Made a fantastic catch in centerfield.

Utley Takes Over All NL Vote-Getters

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley took over Albert Pujols' overall lead in National League votes with 2,273,355.

Pujols still leads all first basemen, with Ryan Howard about a million votes behind.

David Wright continues to lead all third basemen followed by Ryan Zimmerman, Chipper Jones, and Pedro Feliz.

Hanley Ramirez isn't too far behind leader Jimmy Rollins. Rollins only leads Ramirez by about 80,000 votes.

Yadier Molina continues to earn votes at the catchers position leading Brian McCann, Jason Kendell and Carlos Ruiz.

Raul Ibanez stays in first among outfielders, however the race is very tight between Ibanez, Ryan Braun, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, Shane Victorino, and Manny Ramirez (who dropped to sixth). All are within a few thousand of each other.

In the American League, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis are barely 1,000 votes apart. Justin Morneau is still hanging in there.

Ian Kinsler leads reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia in the voting. Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer, and Evan Longoria each have a substantial lead at their respected positions.

Jason Bay, Josh Hamilton (who is injured) and Ichiro lead the oufield in a tight race.

NL All Star Balloting Update

It's no surprise Chase Utley is leading all second baseman in the all star voting with over 1.7 million votes.

However, it may be shocking that Jimmy Rollins has taken the league among National League shortstops. Yes, the same Jimmy Rollins who is batting just .222 with 3 HR and 18 RBI. Yes, the same Jimmy Rollins who has a .261 on base percentage, .322 slugging percentage and .583 on-base plus slugging percentage. The same Jimmy Rollins who oh by the way had four 2-0 and three 3-0 counts coming into Sunday's game.

To his credit, he has played gold glove type defense, but come on people. Look at is numbers. I understand if he is a fan favorite but is he really all star worthy over Hanley Ramirez who is batting .332 with 8 HR and a .939 OPS in the same amount of games as Rollins?

One leader who is all star worthy is Raul Ibanez who took the lead in the NL outfield. Ibanez leads Ryan Braun with 1,415,493 votes. Carlos Beltran follows Braun.

Albert Pujols leads all first baseman with Ryan Howard still in the mix. David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman are putting up a close race for third base. Pedro Feliz is fourth. Carlos Ruiz is fifth at the catcher's position with Yadier Molina leading the way.

Players of the Week: April 13-19

For the American League, Ian Kinsler and Zach Greinke shared Co-Players of the Week. In the National League, Andre Ethier earned the award.

Last week, Kinsler hit .556 with 2 HR, 4 doubles, a triple, 9 runs, and 6 RBI. His on base percentage was .500 and his slugging percentage was .864, a 1.364 OPS. Not only did he lead the majors in average, but also led in hits, 15, extra base hits, 7, and runs scored.

Kinsler had a career night on April 15, Jackie Robinson day, when he went 6-6 and hit for the cycle, two rare feats in one game. He became the first player in the modern era to hit for the cycle and get six hits.

In two starts last week, Greinke pitched 14 scoreless innings, going 2-0, including one complete game shutout. He currently leads the American league with 26 strikeouts.

Ethier, of the Dodgers batted .391 with 12 RBI, 4 HR and scored 8 runs. He slugged 1.000.

Ethier's teammates Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley and Orlando Hudson were runners up for the award.

Year In Review: All Star Break

The All Star Break put the first half of the season behind, moving onto the second half. Although just 2 Phillies participated in the mid-summer classic, the All Star Break had a lot of significance for the Phillies.

Chase Utley participated in the 2008 Home Run Derby, hoping to follow Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard's footsteps. Utley finished with just 5 home runs, not moving past the first round.

It was Josh Hamilton who stole the show at Yankee Stadium as fans cheered his name. Hamilton, a feel good story, bouncing back from a drug problem, returned to MLB, and broke Bobby Abreu's HR Derby record.

Abreu set a record hitting 24 home runs in round one of the 2005 Home Run Derby, totaling 41 HR bringing home the victory. Hamilton broke Abreu's record clobbering 28 home runs in one round.

Unlike Abreu, Hamilton did not come home with the victory despite hitting the most home runs during the derby with 35. Justin Morneau won the HR Derby as the number of home runs cleared for the third round.

Hamilton decided to keep hitting in the 2nd round, which may of cost him, tiring himself out. Hamilton's 3 HR in the 3rd round was short to Morneau's 5 in the last round. If remembered, Morneau will be known for the victory, but Hamilton will be known for stealing the show.

The All Star Game followed the Home Run Derby. Chase Utley started at second base for the National League for the third straight year. Utley received the most votes in the National League with over 3 million. Utley just fell short to Alex Rodriguez for most in MLB. Brad Lidge also made the team, however a deserving Pat Burrell didn't make the team, losing the Final Vote.

Utley was 1-3 in his 2008 All Star appearance. Also, during the HR Derby, Utley cured on live television for the first time after being booed by the New York faithful.

The game was back and forth, with the NL getting on the board first. Down 2 in the 7th, J.D. Drew homered to tie the game at 2. The NL gained the lead, but gave it right back up in the 8th. Nate McClouth threw out Dioner Navarro in the 11th inning to prevent the AL from winning. The game went as long as 15 innings, when Michael Young hit a sacrifice fly to end the game.

Young hit the sac fly off the Phillies pitcher, Brad Lidge, his only loss of the season. Lidge was very much tired out at the time of his appearance, throwing over 100 pitches in the bullpen, very unusual for a reliever. Instead of pitching him earlier, Clint Hurdle, the NL manager, decided to wait to pitch him. Many pitchers were used, and Lidge appeared in the 15th inning, receiving the loss.

It did not factor into his regular season stats, although it cost the National League home field advantage for the World Series with the loss. Or did it? The Phillies wound up making the World Series, and after 2 games in Tampa Bay, the Phillies had 3 games in a row at Citizen's Bank Park, which was enough for the home field advantage. Ironic indeed. I'd say the All Star Game loss ended up turning into a save for Lidge.

In 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Charlie Manuel will be managing that All Star Team.

NL MVP

In mid September, Swing and a Long Drive discussed who should win the National League MVP. Similar to our NL Cy Young breakdown, the stats have altered a little, but not nearly enough to change minds. Our pick was Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was named the 2008 Most Valuable Player.

The race was closer than it probably should have, but Pujols won and that is all that matters. Pujols' 369 total points, 18 first place votes, beat out the Phillies Ryan Howard who totaled 308 points with 12 first place votes. Also like the NL Cy Young Award, other players should have been ranked higher or lower on the list. However, Pujols is the winner.

Pujols finished the 2008 season with a .357 AVG, 37 HR, and 116 RBI. He had a .462 OBP, .653 SLG, and a Major League leading 1.114 OPS. He scored 100 runs and only struck out 54 times.

In 2006, Pujols led his team to a World Championship while Ryan Howard's Phillies just missed the playoffs. Instead of Pujol's taking the MVP trophy home, Howard took it. This year, Howard and Pujols switch roles.

After Howard was named the MVP, Pujols stated this:

"I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't
deserve to win the MVP."

Well, I guess Albert changed his mind. Either way, he was totally deserving of the MVP.

QUOTE SOURCE: AOL.com

Gold Gloves

The 2008 National League Gold Glove winners have been announced today. Here are the winners:

C: Yadier Molina, STL
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD
2B: Brandon Phillips, CIN
3B: David Wright, NYM
SS: Jimmy Rollins, PHI
OF: Nate McLouth, PIT
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM
OF: Shane Victorino, PHI
P: Greg Maddux, LAD

This is Maddux's 18th Gold Glove, his 5th in a row. He has won 18 gold glove in 19 years. Maddux plans to retire, according to his agent.

For the Phillies representatives, this is the second for Rollins, and first for Victorino. Wright and Beltran have also won multiple awards.

Other Award Winners previously announced:

Roberto Clemente Award: Albert Pujols

Hank Aaron Award:

NL: Aramis Ramirez
AL: Kevin Youkilis

Delivery Man of the Year: Brad Lidge

MLB Cluth Preformer: Carlos Zambrano

In other Phillies news, third base coach Steve Smith was fired. So Taguchi was also released from the Phillies.

As we now know, Barack Obama will be the next president, but the Philadelphia Phillies recieve 470 votes for the election. And then I found out there was an actual guy by the name of Phillies.

The Cy

Now that the NL MVP has been discussed, who deserves the National League Cy Young Award?

Brandon Webb leads the league in wins with 21. Does that make him the NL Cy Young? Absolutely not.

Wins are a bad stat to use. A pitcher could win every game, but allow ten runs in 5 innings. On the other hand, a pitcher could pitch a complete game, allow only one run, and still earn the loss. It's a team stat. It's all about the run support.

However, Webb also has some pretty good numbers.

At 21-7, Webb has an ERA of 3.26. He struck out 170 and has a WHIP of 1.19. Opponents are batting .241 against Webb.

But do his numbers match Tim Lincecum? Tim Lincecum is my pick for the Cy.

Linecum's 10.14 K/9 beat out Webb's 7.19 K/9.

The sophomore is 17-4, with the San Francisco Giants, a weak team. His ERA is 2.46, the league leading among NL starting pitchers.

To go along with that, Lincecum currently leads all of baseball in strikeouts with 243.

He is 5th in the league in innings pitched with 215.2. His WHIP is 1.15 and opponents are hitting just .220 against the righty.

Johan Santana, Ryan Dempster and Cole Hamels, should all finish behind Lincecum in the voting, but ahead of Webb.

CC Sabathia could also be in the top voting, due to his dominance after the trade from Cleveland.

In 217.1 IP, Santana's ERA is 2.65. He struck out 187, and his WHIP is 1.17.

Hamels has an ERA of 3.10. He struck out 189 and his WHIP is 1.08

Dempster, who moved from the bullpen to the rotation for the Cubs, pitched 196.2 innings. He has an ERA of 3.02 and a WHIP of 1.22. He struck out 182.

What about Brad Lidge? Well I will tell you about Brad Lidge.

Lidge has only pitched 65.1 innings. His ERA is a minuscule 1.93 and a WHIP of 1.19. He struck out 84 batters. He has struck out an amazing 11.57 batters per 9 innings.

However, relief pitchers do not pitch enough innings, in my opinion, to qualify for Cy Young contention. Rolaids Relief Man of the Year? Yes. He'd be my pick.

There are some other pitchers I didn't mention who may be in the voting, but nobody comes close to "The Franchise."

The Real MVP

Could the Phillies go back-to-back-to-back in the Most Valuable Player Award? Chase Utley was the favorite earlier in the year, but Ryan Howard's name is the one that keeps being mentioned. Could Ryan Howard win the MVP? Yeah. Should it happen? Absolutely not.

Look, I'm a die hard Phillies and Ryan Howard fan, but I'd be the first one to tell you that Ryan Howard does not deserve the MVP Award in 2008.

New York Met, Carlos Delgado's name has also been coming up in the MVP talks. Well, to tell you the truth, nor Howard or Delgado are even the MVP on their own team.

If Ryan Howard were to win the MVP Award, it would not be the first time a Phillie undeservedly won MVP. Jimmy Rollins undeservedly won the MVP last year. I'm happy for Jimmy, but no way he deserved it over Matt Holliday or even David Wright.

Ryan Howard won the award in 2006. In 2006, I believe he deserved it rightfully so, although many folks disagreed and felt Pujols should have won it.

A similar outcome could happen this year. Ryan Howard winning the MVP, and Pujols getting snubbed once again.

Give credit to Howard, he is on a roll right now. Same with Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado. They have both gotten hot at the right time. However, neither should be named MVP. The season started in April, not after the All Star Break. Pujols has been good all year.

The first debate that usually comes up in MVP talks is the letter "V". Valuable. Since Pujols' Cardinals might not make the playoffs, why should he be MVP? Is Pujols hurting the Cardinals? Certainly not. Is it Albert's fault his teammates aren't preforming and doing their job? Certainly not. The Phillies missed out on the playoffs in 2006, and Howard still won it. Playoffs shouldn't matter.

Ryan Howard has a Major League leading 45 homeruns and league leading 136 RBIs. That's about the only case you can make for Howard. Howard beats Delgado, who has 35 homeruns with 104 RBI. He also beats Pujols, who has 31 homeruns and 101 RBI.

There's a huge downside to using RBIs on determining how good a player is. RBIs are a team stat. In order to get more RBIs, you need more men on base. Is it a certain players fault if he doesn't have as many RBIs because his teammates are not on base for him?

Runs work the same way. Howard has scored 95 runs compared to Pujols' 91 and Delgado's 85. However, each have to rely on their teammates to get a hit so they can score.

Howard's batting average is .249. He has raised it a lot since the beginning of the year when he was batting under the Mendoza line. Delgado is batting .263.

Let's also not forget Howard's 190 strikeouts compared to Pujols' 51. A 139 difference! Sure, an out is an out, but when you make contact you have a better chance to get on base in case of an error or miscue by the fielder. Delgado is up there in strikeouts with 114.

Also, Howard's on-base-percentage is .335. Delgado has an OBP of .345. That's extremely low. Pujols' overall average is higher than both of their on base percentages. Pujols' average is .357 and his OBP is .461.

Pujols' .645 slugging percentage is greater than Howard's .537 SLG and Delgado's .508 SLG.

Put OBP and SLG together and you get OPS. Pujols OPS is a MLB leading 1.106. Howard's OPS is .873 and Delgado is at .854.

Each aren't a threat to steal bases, but Pujols has 6 steals compared to Howard and Delgado's one steal each.

Remember how I said Howard and Delgado aren't even the Most Valuable Players on their own team? That is because Utley of the Phillies and David Wright of the Mets have both been better. You can even make a case for Jose Reyes.

Utley and Wright are even, or close to even in almost every category.

Utley has been inconsistant all year, but has put up better numbers than Howard. He is batting .289 with 31 HR, and 95 RBI. His OBP is .377. His SLG is .533. His OPS is .910.

Wright is batting .290 with 31 HR, and 114 RBI. His OBP is .386. His SLG is .534. His OPS is .920.

Both are putting up better numbers than Delgado and Howard, outside of run production.

Factor in defense, and all the players I mentioned have better defense than Howard.

Personally, I don't like to use errors because you have to get to the ball to make an error. Some players will range over to get to a ball, miss it, resulting in an error. On the other hand, another player won't even make an attempt at the ball. Since the fielder did not get any leather on the ball, he will not be charged with an error. Would you rather have a guy who makes an effort all the time, and makes a mistake here and there? Or would you want a guy who doesn't make an effort?

Errors are a judgemental stats. The official scorer determines whether to give the guy an error or not. It's simply an opinion.

However, from watching both play, Pujols' Gold Glove type defense is much better than Howards. Pujols' throws to second are almost always on the money.

There are even more players I'd put ahead of Howard and Delgado. Lance Berkman should be second behind Pujols.

Berkman has a .322 AVG, with 28 HR and 100 RBI. Berkman has a .426 OBP and .586 SLG. His OPS is 1.012.

Matt Holliday should also be in contention.

Holliday is hitting .325 woth 25 HR and 84 RBI. Holliday has a .411 OBP, and .546 SLG. His OPS is .957.

Compare those guys to Howard, and each have Howard beat.

There are plenty of others you can make a case here, but my case is done. I'm not trying to bust on Howard. He has improved all year, and has put together a solid year. However, there are players who have been better. Howard is not the 2008 Most Valuable Player.