| 16 July 2010
If you're like me and have been distracted by the World Cup and LeBron-gate over these past few weeks, you were probably shocked to learn that baseball's midway point is already upon us.
So to help you get into the swing of things as we head toward the playoffs, here are 50 Reasons To Be Excited For The Second Half of the season...
1. Major League Baseball Home Run Leader, Jose Bautista: So are we sure George Mitchell caught everyone who was using steroids? Just asking.
2. The Hope That The Cardinals Make An Unexpected Run To The World Series: Just to see Tony LaRussa managing the 2011 All-Star game in Phoenix.
3. The Ongoing Texas Rangers Bankruptcy Trial: You knew things were bad when reports came out last week, that Nolan Ryan was opening a lemonade stand.
4. David Wright and “The Situation”: I don’t care if the Mets end up making the playoffs or not. This video clip will always be the highlight of their 2010 season.
5. The White Sox Resurgence: Question: We always hear about Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein, but why doesn’t Kenny Williams ever get credit for being one of the elite GM’s in baseball? This roster has been made over more times than Joan Rivers face, yet here come the White Sox again, closing in on another division title.
6. The Pittsburgh Pirates: Going on 14 straight sub .500 seasons and counting. Well at least Pittsburgh still has that Roethlisberger guy… Umm, never mind.
7. The Summer of Strasburg: Strasburg has sold more jersey’s in six months than anyone ever has as a rookie. I don’t care what the experts say, he should have been on the All-Star team.
8. Cubs Pitcher Carlos Zambrano: I mean at this point I feel like it’d be cruel to pile on. So instead, just insert your own joke here.
9. Josh Johnson: No joke to make here, the dude is just filthy. My only wish is that I got to watch him pitch more often.
10. My First Trip to Camden Yards: Which is scheduled for next week. Anyone have any suggestions?
11. My First Trip to the new Yankee Stadium: Which is scheduled for sometime before the end of the summer. Anyone have tickets they want to give away?
12. The Bobby Cox Farewell Tour: Anyone want to chip in on a fruit basket?
13. Miguel Cabrera: If he wins the Triple Crown, does that mean we can’t make anymore jokes about last year’s.23 blood alcohol content?
14. Baseball’s Continued Pitching Revolution: Which, just for the record, I pointed out about a full month before the rest of the national media.
15. Jon Lester’s Starts: He throws hard, throws strikes, is efficient, and that cutter is deadly. Watching him pitch has been my favorite part of this Red Sox season so far.
16. Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Starts: Take everything I just said about Lester’s starts and flip it around. I don’t care if he’s pitching relatively well this year. He’s slow, boring and has set the game of baseball back 20 years. I hate the guy.
17. My Preseason Prop Bet That Mark Reynolds Would Lead the Majors in Home Runs: Let’s just say I got good odds. Let’s just say if he comes through, I’m buying everyone their own Mark Reynolds bobble head. Let’s just say nothing, since gambling isn’t really legal in this country.
18. The San Diego Padres Run Toward a Division Crown: Look on the bright side Padres fans: Even if they don’t make the playoffs, well, you still live in San Diego. Which means you’ve already got the rest of us beat.
19. Chan Ho Park’s Bowel Movements: Will he survive the entire second half without another case of explosive diarrhea? Stay tuned to find out.
20. Kendry Morales’ Broken Leg: I still haven’t decided who that broken leg was more damaging too: The Angels, or my fantasy team.
21. New Blue Jays Shortstop Yunel Escobar: Gotta love Buster Olney’s story from Thursday of when Escobar wished one of his Braves teammates a Happy Birthday, and the guy responded by saying that the only gift he wanted was for Escobar to play hard that night. Hmm…I wonder why he got traded?
22. The Patterson Brothers: Corey plays outfield for the Orioles. Eric was called up to the Red Sox before the All-Star break. Now we finally know what it would have been like if Chris Gwynn and Craig Griffey had been brothers.
23. Because Thanks To Baseball: We can finally stop talking about LeBron.
24. Corey Hart: I don’t care about the home runs. Doesn’t he just look like a fun guy to hang out with?
25. The All-Star Game’s Record Low Ratings: Once again proving my theory that the only thing dying at a faster rate than baseball is the porn industry.
26. Braves Pitcher Jair Jurrjens: Who is easily one of my top five favorite Curacaoan born right handed pitchers of all time.
27. This Old Alex Rodriguez Youtube Clip: Which really is the gift that keeps on giving…
28. Mitch Talbot: I know, I know, he sounds like someone who should be selling you life insurance (“Hi, I’m Mitch Talbot, your local State Farm agent”) instead of pitching every fifth day for your team. But ask Indians fans and they’ll all tell you the same: He’s one of their few bright spots they’ve had this season.
29. Darnell McDonald: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. He’s easily my favorite Red Sock ever with a neck tattoo.
30. Carlos Beltran’s Return And The Effect It’s Had on Mets Fans: Some are happy to have him back. Some aren’t. Some want him sent out of the country. It’s divided Mets nation like nothing since Keith Hernandez’s appearance on Seinfeld.
31. Roy Halladay Potentially Pitching In the Playoffs: Look, I’m not a Phillies fan, but the guy has paid his dues. I’m just hoping he gets a chance to pitch on baseball’s biggest stage this postseason.
32. Dallas Braden’s Grandma: Easily one of my top three favorite grandma’s of all-time, behind only my own and Marie Barrone.
33. The Chicago Cubs: You know it’s been a tough year when Marlon Byrd’s game saving defensive play in the All-Star game is the highlight of their season. Who’s ready for some Bears football?
34. Dontrelle Willis Signing A Minor League Deal With The Giants: And if this doesn’t work out, I’m going to try and sign him to my company softball team for our playoff run.
35. Neftali Feliz: He throws hard, with a nasty slider and is second in the American League in saves. And the first time I saw the Rangers closer I thought to myself, “This guy is like a character out of a bad baseball movie.”
36. Buster Olney: Admit it, you don’t sleep as well if you don’t get a little Buster on Baseball Tonight before bed.
37. Brett Gardner’s Receding Hairline: I know, there isn’t a faster guy in baseball. And I know, he’s come out of nowhere to have a great year. But every time I see Gardner in the dugout with his hat off, I can’t help but giggle.
38. Cliff Lee In Texas: Poor Cliff, the guy has logged more travel miles than George Clooney in Up In The Air these last two years. I’m just glad he’s back on a contender, and that after last year’s World Series, we’ll probably see him pitching again this September.
39. Ubaldo Jimenez: Forget his 15 first half wins. Forget his pursuit of 25-30 for the season. Isn’t Ubaldo just a really, really cool name? I feel like my life would be so different right now if my name had been Ubaldo. What? Just thinking out loud here. Sorry.
40. Jason Heyward: I don’t know what I can say about the kid that hasn’t already been said. Other than that he's doing wayyyyy bigger things than I was at 20.
41. B.J. Upton’s Mohawk: I’d say it’s got to be one of the top five mohawks in pro sports right now. No?
42. The San Francisco Giants Offense: The only thing I’ve seen uglier of late are John Daly’s British Open pants. Well, that and Tim Lincecum.
43. Speaking of Bad…: Look kids, it’s the Houston Astros!!
44. Jeremy Hellickson: The righty is considered to be the best prospect in baseball, yet can’t get a shot with the Rays because their pitching has been too good this season. Nice problem to have huh? Either way, we’ll see Hellickson by September. I guarantee it.
45. The Makeshift Sox: Pedroia’s out. Victor Martinez is out. Varitek is out. Beckett is out. Ellsbury is out. Clay Buchholz is out. And Dice-K just won’t go down. Yet the Red Sox keep winning. How much longer can they keep this going?
46. Denard Span: Or as I like to call him, “The most fun outfielder to watch in baseball.”
47. Jim Leyland: Any manager who still sneaks cigarettes between innings is just fine by me. And if Leyland gets the Tigers into the playoffs, we’ll really have to consider him for AL Manager of the Year.
48. Josh Hamilton For AL MVP?: After everything he’s been through, what can I say, I’m rooting for the guy.
49. The Seattle Mariners: Only because I haven’t mentioned them yet. Then again, is there anything worth mentioning?
50. The Yankees Winning Another World Series?: It pains me to say, but until someone knocks the crown off their heads I’m sticking with the Yanks to win it all.
What are you excited for??
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