Top 8 Trade Deadline Deals

You know, after years of seeing trades go all over the place, and teams go crazy at the deadline, it was a combination of weird and refreshing to see a deadline where nothing really happened. Sure, deals were made, and big stars were swapped, but nobody absolutely HUGE was swapped.

Still, like usual, I'll present the top 8 deadline deals, and share how it helps both teams, and declare a victor. Why 8? Because I couldn't find enough deals to make it 10.

8. Jose Veras to Detroit, prospects to Houston. Victor: Tigers. How it helps Tigers: gives them a nice closer to swap out for the faltering Jose Valverde. How it helps Astros: rids them of someone who was juuust becoming a star closer.

7. Ricky Nolasco to Dodgers, prospects to Marlins. Victor: as of right now, Dodgers. How it helps Dodgers: gives them another nice pitcher to add to the rotating cavalcade of pitchers. Besides, they just DFA'd Ted Lilly. Nolasco helped fill the hole. How it helps Marlins. Gives youth to a team loaded with it.

6. Robert Andino to Pittsburgh, prospects to Seattle. Victor: Pirates. How it helps Pirates: gives another quick infielder to a team prospering with a lot of those. Andino would be a nice fit there. How it helps Seattle: reinvigorates the farm system.

5. Ian Kennedy to San Diego, prospects to Arizona. Victor: surprisingly the D-Backs. How it helps the D-Backs: rids them of a struggling pitcher, and said pitcher's forthcoming expiring contract. Also,more prospects. How it helps Padres: helps a little bit with another middling pitcher to add to the pack.

4. Matt Garza to Rangers, prospects and Mike Olt to Cubs. Victor: Rangers. How it helps Rangers: Gives them another deadline success, and another arm to add to the surging rotation in Matt Garza. How it helps Cubs: gives more, younger support with Olt and the various prospects.

3. Bud Norris to Orioles, LJ Hoes and prospects to Astros. Victor: Orioles. How it helps Orioles: gives them help with the one problem they've been having, and that's PITCHING. Now someone other than Jason Hammel will be able to start games flawlessly for them, and Norris has made himself a name for that in Houston. How it helps Astros: Just what the doctor ordered: MORE PROSPECTS!

2. Alfonso Soriano to Yankees, prospects to Cubs. Victor: Yankees. How it helps Yankees: Gives another strong, powerful bat to a team that really needs one. Plus, returns a struggling star to where he made it big the first time. How it helps Cubs: Gives youth for the future.

1. Jake Peavy to the Red Sox, Avisail Garcia and prospects to the White Sox, Jose Iglesias to the Tigers. Victor: by a hair, the Red Sox. How it helps Red Sox: Gives one of the best pitchers of the late 00's to one of the best teams in baseball. Well done to the GM. How it helps the Tigers: If Jhonny Peralta is suspended for his steroid use, then it'll give one of the best young shortstops to one of the best teams in baseball. How it helps the White Sox: gives some of the most okay prospects to one of the worst teams in baseball. I got nothing,

Overall, victories for the Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers and Dodgers (as usual). I'm personally surprised that the Phillies did nothing, but I'm glad that Utley and Lee stayed put.

Custom Card of the Day: Kuroda Edition

This has been a crappy week to be a Yankee fan. First they land in fourth place again, then A-Rod gets faced with a pending suspension, and now Jake Peavy has just been shuttled to the Red Sox (in exchange for their only prospect worth giving a crap about). Thankfully, they didn't get our closer, so it's all good.

One of our best pitchers this year, because CC's slumping, is Hiroki Kuroda, and I'm so thankful he's doing so well. It's one of those things where he's in his late 30's, and he's still pitching like he's young. Bartolo Colon would be proud.

Still, I'm glad he's doing so well for the Yankees, and I'm glad that he's giving the spark that the Yankees need to keep the Blue Jays in last.

Coming Tonight- I forget who, but sometime today is gonna be a review of all the big trades. Jake Peavy, Alfonso Soriano and some other trades will make the list.

The Beard Remains the Same, in Dodgertown

Back in December, when the Yankees were close to signing Kevin Youkilis, whom I had previously crowned the most infuriating player in baseball, I wrote a whole post on how weird it must be to have your team's greatest enemy join your own side. I liken this to seeing Ben Linus from Lost, the scummiest, evilest villain in the history of the show, suddenly start helping our heroes. It's incredibly weird, and it's incredibly hard to get used to.

Keeping that in mind, my Dodger fan friends much be feeling especially weird to see the man above joining their squad as of today, on a minor league deal.

Yes, I know that he might not be used as the closer, but Brian Wilson is still going to be a Dodger anyway, and many Dodger fans probably are horrified at this prospect. The same Brian Wilson who fanned all their batters while making bizarre yells for the fans is going to be joining their own squad, and I won't blame them if they can't fathom this. Imagine what I felt when Youk joined the Yankees. Hell, you could argue that he's still a Red Sox at heart, because he's barely played any games as a Yankee.

The question now is whether or not he'll be able to pitch the way he did in 2010 and 2011, or even 2008 when he got his first All Star nod. He's since had Tommy John surgery, but we know that that doesn't always lead to a full comeback(see: Wolf, Randy). So really, the Dodger just paid for a question mark, but hopefully he'll be able to get back into the game, and hopefully return to closing.

And I personally hope he keeps the beard.

Custom Card of the Day: Teheran Edition

In 2008, the Braves' pitching rotation consisted of people like Mike Hampton, Jorge Campillo, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Jair Jurrjens. Nevertheless, they finished fourth.

Then a funny thing happened. They remembered they had a farm system.

Now, some of the best young pitchers are on the Braves rotation, including Kris Melden, Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor and, of course, Julio Teheran, their rookie star this year. Teheran has been pitching consistently for them this year, having a few very nice games, and cementing their first-place status in the NL East (again).

Teheran is another example of how the Braves' farm system just whole-heartedly improved. Like, every year they were bringing up a new great player, and a new pitcher, and they were already being thrown into the rest of the MLB star statuses. People like Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Brandon Beachy, Andrelton Simmons, and now Teheran, are all homegrown, young talent.

And it's a far cry from people like Mike Hampton and Jo-Jo Reyes.

Coming Tomorrow- For some reason, the Yankees' ace.

Custom Card of the Day: Gordon Edition

Back in 2006, there was an entire blogosphere frenzy on Alex Gordon. Remember that? If not, Gordon was the original Strasburg Harper Yasiel Puig. Topps hyped him up like crazy, even to the point where they gimmicked his rookie card, sending set collectors and mojo collectors alike into a maddening tailspin.

Why was this card gimmicked? Why did Topps infuriate so many people by making a card more rare?

Topps tried this again with Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, gimmicking their rookies and hyping them up from here to Tuesday. But the difference between them and Gordon is that they are still going through the whole 'high class phenom' thing. Alex Gordon is different. There was a moment where Alex Gordon stopped being the ultra mega rookie, and started being just plain Alex Gordon.

Does that mean his cards are worth less than Harper's and Strasburg's. Slightly, but Gordon never did any of the huge things people thought he would when he was coming up, similar to Jeff Francoeur. Gordon's had a few All Star seasons, and for the most part, he's been a generally okay player. Nothing absolutely huge, but he's good, and he's a nice star.

I liken this back to when everyone thought Fred Lynn would be the next Yaz, and he ended up being...Fred Lynn, just a normal, okay player. The hype was all there, but the player didn't earn the hype.

Does that mean I don't think Alex Gordon is a good player? No, I think he's great. It's just odd that Topps and everyone in 2006 thought he would be huge come today. Maybe it'll be similar when Bryce Harper mellows out, and everyone will wonder what the hell garnered all that hype.

Coming Tomorrow- This Sunday I'll be seeing the Braves play the Phillies. For the sake of my team, I hope that this guy isn't pitching. 

Custom Card of the Day: Donaldson Edition

The A's are currently tied for the third-best record in baseball. And yet not a single analyst, commentator, sportswriter or whatever Joe Buck is has even mentioned it.

This isn't just a theme this year, it's a theme last year, or any year the A's have done well. The A's are one of those 'fly under the radar' teams, that don't make a lot of news, don't have a lot of big players, and are just good. Like, without any big stars or anything.

Josh Donaldson is one of the nobodies on the A's, and he couldn't be less of a nobody.

(rereads sentence)

Yeah. Right.

He's a consistent third baseman, who's a solid hitter, plays his position well, and brings spark to the lineup. He's one of the pieces that's helping the A's right now, and this is definitely his breakout season.

How long the A's hang on is beyond me. It'd just be nice if they won it and the Rangers didn't.

Coming Tomorrow- the first in a series of preplanned customs, as I'll be on vacation for the next week or so. For that reason, the Football Rip might go on hold for a few days. But tomorrow's custom will be a perennial star for a squandering team.

Football Rip for the Masses! Part 2- Panini Totally Certified

Continuing with our daily dose of football cards that are open to any prospective wanters, our next box is of 2012 Panini Totally Certified, another set I wasn't familiar with. However, it's another high end premium set, based around game useds, autos, and glossy base cards. I think it's one hit per pack, and 6 packs.

Pack 1-

 

Base Cards: Fred Jackson, Jim Plunkett, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Bush.

I like the base cards, how cool they look. The player selection is pretty nice, as it mixes in current players with lesser known former players, like Plunkett over there.

Our first game used of the pack is a pretty good one, of Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens. I have to say, this is a pretty nice one, compared to everything I pulled out of the Topps one. Very nice.

As you can see, it's numbered to 99. Which is pretty nice.







Pack 2-

Base Cards: Percy Harvin, Aaron Rodgers, Tim Brown. Wow, another nice retired player.

 

Parallel- Jim Plunkett. This is a pretty nice one, as Plunkett is a well revered QB for his performance in the 1980 Super Bowl.

Also, this one's #'d to 199, which is nice.

Game used: Okay, it's a good player, but it's still Miles Austin of the Cowboys. This marks a Giants relic, a Cowboys relic, and zero Eagles ANYTHING.

 

Pack 3-

Base Cards: Rod Smith, Jim McMahon, Brandon Marshall and Hakeem Nicks. The first two are more examples of great choices for a set like this.

Autograph: Rod Smith of the Broncos. This is actually pretty nice. It's not on card, but it's a nice auto of a great player. And...





It's numbered to only five copies! That's actually pretty awesome.

 

Pack 4-

Base Cards: Bernie Kosar, Darren McFadden, Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch. Again, great selection.

And...another redemption. This one for Jorvorskie Lane of the Dolphins. Not as good as some of the other hits, but still pretty good, I guess.

 

Pack 5-

Base Cards: Marcedes Lewis, Drew Bledsoe, Ben Roethlisberger and Cris Carter. Great selection again, as Carter's a Hall of Famer (now).

 

and then...oh my gosh, not another one...

My game used/auto here is YET ANOTHER DAVID WILSON. Combined with the Archives one from last month, and the Triple Threads one from yesterday...that makes THREE. THREE DAVID WILSON GAME USEDS I'VE PULLED. I'd be madder if they were all the same card, but still...THREE!

 

Pack 6-

Base Cards: Ray Rice, Michael Turner, Andy Dalton, Fred Davis.

Game Used (and this is a pretty nice one)- A stitches in time relic of Roddy White, Steve Johnson and Hakeem Nicks, all three very nice players. This is a really nice one.

AND...it's numbered to 34. This was a nice one.

 

Overall, I'm very pleased with the results of my Panini box, as they far exceed the high end Topps. If you want actual stars like Ed Reed, and legends like Rod Smith, then get a box of Panini something.

 

Again, if anybody wants any of the cards featured, just lemme know, and after all the packs are posted, they'll be sent. Don't know if I'll post any tomorrow, but you never know.









Football Rip for the Masses: Part 1: Triple Threads

So yesterday, I set up my big-time contest/anti-group break/football giveaway thingy for this year, which consists of four boxes I received recently, scaling the heights of football card buyership from basic (flagship Topps) to vintage (Topps Archives) to premium (Panini Totally Certified) to ultra-premium (Topps Triple Threads). Today, I'm gonna start with the most premium, so we can get it out of the way for anyone winning to sweep in here for the cards.

Submitted for your approval, 2012 Topps Triple Threads:

 

Two packs, but two packs full of numbered base cards, and mojo hits in every pack. I should probably get into this one quickly.

 

Pack 1:

Base cards: Wes Welker, Dan Marino, Troy Polamalu, all numbered to 989. It says a lot when even the base cards are numbered.





Hit Number 1: for the Cardinals, a rookie swatch of Michael Floyd (sorry for the bad quality), and it's numbered to 36. I only wish that Michael Floyd was actually someone I had heard of. Still, if anybody likes Michael Floyd and/or the Cardinals, say something in the comments.

 

While only slightly more impressive, out second hit was at least a rookie I had heard of. For the Colts, rookie T.Y Hilton, a game used/auto numbered to 99. At least this one's slightly better, though it is a rookie, which Topps sorta brings in droves when it comes to game used. Still, if there are any takers, go right ahead.

 

Two more numbered cards round out the pack. Jason Pierre-Paul is numbered to 310, while DaMarco Murray is numbered to 99. And it's two teams I can't stand, too.

 

Pack Two:

Base Cards: Antonio Gates, Hakeem Nicks and Brett Favre, all numbered to 989. It's very weird to see Brett Favre in a Vikings jersey. Like, they know he played for another team, right?

The first hit of pack two is a gigantic swatch of David Wilson, of the Giants. Okay, this is very funny because about a month ago, I ripped a box of Archives football, and my hit was a David Wilson game used. Well now, here's my second David Wilson game used card. And I don't even collect the guy!

Of course, it wouldn't be a Topps product without one of those nasty redemptions. I've never gotten one of these before, so I'm new to this experience, but I see that it's a Dwayne Allen, which makes this the second Colts relic of the box, which is kinda nice.

 

Beanie Wells is numbered to 170, and Steve Johnson is numbered to 310. Two solid players to round out the packs.

 

So that's 1 box out of 4, and there go 4 mediocre but still high quality hits. If anybody wants anything shown in this post, it's all up for grabs. Remember, there's more stuff I'm showing off in the next few days, so keep watching. 





 









Custom Card of the Day: Cabrera Edition

Asdrubal Cabrera is one of the premiere shortstops in baseball, and he has been ever since he had the unassisted triple play in 2008. I feel like his name is always destined to come atop lists of the best AL shortstops, because that's kinda what's supposed to happen.

Of course, being that it's July, trade rumors are sweeping around the coast and putting teams in a mad frenzy (you'd think it was the stomach bug or something). And naturally, being as Cabrera's contract is nearly up, and he plays for a team that isn't exactly affluent, his name's being passed around.

I'd like for him to stay on the Indians, though I'm not entirely sure that this will happen. So, I'll at least prepare the teams I DON'T want Asdrubal Cabrera to land on:

• Cardinals. Sadly, this team is highest in the debate. For some strange reason, even if they already have two trusted shortstops, they're in the running to snag Asdrubal Cabrera. Okay, because that reasoning totally makes sense. I mean, not only do you have a still-good Rafael Furcal, but don't they have Daniel Descalsco as well? And also, evidently they're using Pete Kozma in there as well. Those are TWO good shortstops, plus an injured Rafael Furcal. Why would they NEED Asdrubal Cabrera? Is it like a Detroit thing, where they're just getting them to block everybody else from getting him? That dick move doesn't always work, guys, especially if you have THREE BACKUPS ALREADY.
• Red Sox. I know they wouldn't have a reason, but I still don't want them to grab him last second.
• Nationals or Braves. Because things are bad enough for the Phillies as it is.
• Rays. Just because it might happen out of absolutely nowhere.
• Tigers. Because they have enough stolen unnecessary players.
• Astros or Marlins. For his own sake.
• Yankees, in that matter. I know we're desperate and money-grubbing, but really, we don't want to stunt his growth by bringing him over here. Besides, we're already got a pretty good shortstop.

So yeah, that's my thing on Asdrubal Cabrera. He better not land in any of those places, especially St. Louis.

Coming Tomorrow- A nicely timed breakout by a former catcher in Oakland.

Football Rip for the Masses!: Intro

About a week ago, a mystery package from a mystery contact came into my possession. I'm going to continue to withhold my contact's name, for the sake of the remainder of his mission. But either way, I got a package from my mystery contact, without any prompt, or any forward info.

My first action was to make sure the box wasn't ticking.

It wasn't.

I eventually opened the box, and these are what I took out of the package.

 

 

For those of you curious, those are hobby boxes of Topps Flagship, Topps Archives, Topps Triple Threads and Panini Totally Certified, from last year (2012).

 

Now, I spent a few days mulling over what I would do with these boxes. I mean, obviously I would rip them, but would I hold some sort of group break, or contest? Would I greedily keep them all for myself? Would I smash them together to see which box holds up?

 

Actually, none of them. I was going to do a group break, but I felt like I'm too young, inexperienced, and lazy for that sort of thing.

 

So, here's what I'm going to do. Over the next few days, I am indeed going to show you what came out of these boxes. A lot of nice stuff might be found. Now, being that this isn't a group break, I'm not going to be automatically sending out these cards for multiple people.

 

HOWEVER...

 

If you, fair reader, see anything among the assorted ripped boxes that you would like, then make your voice heard in the comments of the coming post. Be it base cards, inserts, autos, game-useds, dummy cards, whatever- if you want it, ask for it, and it can be yours.

 

And because I'm generous, because I'm a nice guy, you can ask for multiple things from multiple posts. If you see something from one box that you love...and then you see that there's another card from another box that you just have to have, I'll put them both into a total at the end of the week, and I'll send them out in the same package. Especially if there's somebody in this group break that's very well represented when it comes to game useds.

 

So there it is. It's sort of a contest, sort of a group break, sort of a simple way to get awesome football cards. Anyway you look at it, it's a great deal.



Custom Card of the Day: Segura Edition

I feel it's kinda nice that Jean Segura is blossoming out in Milwaukee, being that this time last year he was trying to blossom out in Anaheim.

I mean, with all the prospects that are gonna get tossed around like tennis balls in the next few days, you have to wonder which ones are gonna land on the ground, and which ones are gonna go over the gate and into the highway. Jean Segura's one of the ones that made it, thankfully, but there are people like Mike Olt that are just question marks right now.

People ask what would happen if Jean Segura didn't get traded to the Angels for Zack Greinke. I'll say this: he would have been traded for somebody else soon anyway. Segura didn't fit in that roster, and I don't think somebody that young and speedy really fit in that lineup of gargantuan gods. So really, it was better for him to be traded somewhere that the city's biggest star would be taken out eventually.

Not much else to say tonight.

Coming Tomorrow- A shortstop for an AL Central team who is in danger of being traded.

Who says you can't go home? Me.

It's the end of July, and you know what that means?

No, not for the Pirates to choke again.

That's right, trades are brewing, not unlike liquor at Oktoberfest. And because they're kinda awful (see Sunday's appropriate post), the Cubs have really been the most at fault during the week. They've already lost Matt Garza, sending him to the Rangers (a mecca for deadline-dealt pitchers) for a few prospects and Mike Olt, whose potential has faded slightly now that he's a Cub.

Now I'm hearing that Alfonso Soriano may be next, and that's interesting in itself. However, he's looking to rejoin my team.

And...I really don't know what to think about that.

For a while, Soriano was one of my favorite players. And when he joined the Cubs in 2007, he was coming off a great season with Washington. That 2007 season was just as good, and I was excited at that point that he was doing well outside of the Yankees. It really saddened me that he kept getting hurt and sliding farther downhill every season. I can say that he's doing slightly better this season, but that's in comparison to the last few seasons.

If he joins the Yankees again, he's not gonna be the same guy we gave up for A-Rod. He's gonna be more in the category of a DH, which is kinda what makes up 1/3 of our team. I mean, he'll be a good addition to our series of rotating aging outfielders, and he'll be good off the bench, but I don't think he'll perform as well as he did for the us back in the early 2000's. I don't know if this is gonna work for us. I just don't.

If it happens, I'll be happy that we get him back. If it doesn't, then I'll just hold out for a younger player getting traded to the Yanks

Custom Card of the Day: Pena Edition

This guy just got DFAd. So I'm gonna talk about him.

Every guy has one of those players that they hate simply because they only hit well against their team. Ellis Burks was like that, because he'd hit .250 against the rest of the league, and .350 against the Yankees.

Carlos Pena was like that during his tenure with the Rays. Specifically last season. The first few Yankees-Rays series', he would hit, like, 9 homers against us, and then he wouldn't perform at all for the rest of the season. And it was infuriating, because you'd see him for the rest of the season hitting pathetically, and then he'd come back to Yankee Stadium and beat us down.

Thankfully, he hasn't played the Yankees at all this season, which means he did pretty terribly this season. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that he plays for the worst team in the league, but also, he's at the end. He doesn't have much left, and he sank pretty low just by joining the Astros. So now he's without a team, and he might not get picked up (unless the Yankees are really friggin desperate), and now it's sad cause he doesn't get to hit against the Yankees.

So yeah. That's me prattling about Carlos Pena for a few paragraphs.

Coming Tomorrow- Probably that Brewer I promised yesterday.

Custom Card of the Day: Wood Edition

Travis Wood is only significant right now because he's one of the few Cubs who aren't doing terribly right now. In other words, he hasn't gotten the hint.

I mean, it was a bit infuriating for everyone (or just me) when Travis Wood pitched a near-no-no against the Phillies a few years back. But now he's actually pitching well for Chicago. In fact, him and Garza are both pitching well, yet it's Garza that's likely going to be traded by the end of the month, because...well, why not?

If the Cubs hold onto Travis Wood, he'll at least finish out the season knowing that he didn't completely suck, and that he did better than he did in 2012, and that he totally outdid Samardizjia, or however you spell that.

Coming Tomorrow- Another Milwaukee Brewer. Yeah. I know what place they are in the division. Deal with it.

Custom Card of the Day: Wilson Edition

I don't have a lot to say today, because I'm gearing up for a likely high-posting day tomorrow, that should have been today. So I'm leaving you with this custom of CJ Wilson, who isn't having the greatest season in the world, but at least he makes for good photography.

Coming Tomorrow- Most likely a surprisingly-blossoming starter for a doomed team. And also a looming contest-group-breaky thing that might happen.

Custom Card of the Day: Tejada Edition

That feeling of surprise that's arising upon viewing this custom? Well, that's a three part feeling.

1. Surprise of the fact that Miguel Tejada is on the Royals.
2. Surprise of the fact that Miguel Tejada is still playing.
3. Surprise of the fact that the Royals are still a team.

I mean, it is truly shocking. The Royals have just been a tiny little blip on the radar of the AL Central, in between the war of the Indians and Tigers. A lot of people might have forgotten that Tejada's still on the Royals. Yet, that really speaks volumes in terms of the team's quality. When Miguel Tejada is still employed by a team, you know they're in trouble.

Do I think that Miguel Tejada will remain on a baseball club by this time next year? Probably not. However, I'm at least glad that he's still out there.

Coming Tomorrow- Well, I've got a doozy of a posting day tomorrow, and it involves a package I got in the mail from an ultra-secret contact, that contained card-related projects. And that I'll definitely get to, because it might turn into a group break, contest, or SOMETHING.

In terms of customs? Expect an Anaheim Angel.

Custom Card of the Day: Pence Edition

You know what's weird?

Exactly one year ago, Hunter Pence was playing for my team.

In his tenure with the Phillies, Hunter Pence proved himself to be a fun, energetic, and consistently awesome player. Unfortunately, Philly fans didn't really get a chance to fully embrace Pence-mania, as exactly a year after he joined the team, he was traded to the Giants for Nate Schierholtz. No, not 2013 Nate Schierholtz. 2012 Nate Schierholtz. So the Phils were screwed.

Now, Hunter Pence is playing...relatively well. He's in no way matching his numbers, or his awesomeness levels, with the Phillies, but he's still playing well for the Giants. And I know that he wasn't really considered for any All Star play, but as he was having a regular Hunter Pence season, a lot of people were having really, really nice seasons.

Still, he gives the Giants some nice performance, and as long as they keep him around, it's all good. And if they feel like trading him...Philly needs a little help. Just saying.

Coming Tomorrow- His last numbers were with the 2011 Giants, which he was released from. Now he's having slightly better days with a slightly worse team.

Custom Card of the Day: Felix Edition

The season is half over. We've already been through 3 and 1/2 months of major league play, and there's 2 and 1/2 months left. So it's technically not half over, but still...same idea.

So far, there have been some pretty great teams in the Pirates, the Braves, the Red Sox and the Cardinals. Will they hold up for another few months? It's too early to say, but I'd prefer seeing the formers clinch than the latters.

So why, if I'm going on about all these teams and things, did I post a card of Felix Hernandez? Because, if anything, Felix is gonna be the constant. Where as teams, players, divisions and other elements will be inconsistent and wavering, Felix Hernandez will continue to strike out batters regardless of his team's pole position, and he will continue to be one of the most consistent pitchers in both leagues.

Unless he gets injured, which better not happen, Felix will end the season in the same position as when he started: still one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Coming Tomorrow- I have a billion on deck, but I realized today that, since I've always had customs on deck, I never had a need to ask for requests, which is what I'm about to do right now. So if anybody has any suggestions of who I should customize next, that I haven't already this season, feel free to suggest away, and I'll gladly whip one up.

As for tomorrow, it'll probably be an ex-Phillie who's playing very well for San Francisco.

And, your MVP

Remember when Cal Ripken played his last All Star Game in 2001, and they gave him one last MVP, knowing it'd be his last one?

This was take two of that, featuring an equally beloved figure, Mariano Rivera. For his sake, I'm glad the AL won, and I'm glad he got to help finish off one last All Star Game, especially given last season. Now, all that remains is to finish out the season strong, and maybe spend a few more times making Enter Sandman sound awesome.

Congrats to the AL, and Matt Harvey should be ashamed of himself for injuring Cano.

Tonight's All Star Game: Starting Lineups

Because it's one of the most important days in baseball, I feel the need to immortalize today's starters, by showing the customs of each member of each team's lineup.

First, the AL:

Batting first, for the American League, left fielder for the Anaheim Angels...MIKE TROUT!

Batting second, second baseman for the New York Yankees...ROBINSON CANO!

Batting third, the third baseman, from the Detroit Tigers, and the reigning MVP....MIGUEL CABRERA!

Batting cleanup, the first baseman, from the Baltimore Orioles...CHRIS DAVIS!

Batting fifth, the right fielder, from the Toronto Blue Jays...JOSE BAUTISTA!

Batting sixth, the designated hitter, from the Boston Red Sox...DAVID ORTIZ!

Batting seventh, the centerfielder, from the Baltimore Orioles...ADAM JONES!

Batting eighth, catcher for the Minnesota Twins...JOE MAUER!

And batting last, the shortstop, from the Baltimore Orioles...J.J. HARDY!

Starting on the mound, for the American League, from the Detroit Tigers...MAX SCHERZER!

And now, the NL:

Leading off for the National League, second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds...BRANDON PHILLIPS!

Batting second, the right fielder, from the St. Louis Cardinals...CARLOS BELTRAN!

Batting third, first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds...JOEY VOTTO!

Batting cleanup for the N.L., the third baseman for YOUR NEW YORK METS...DAVID WRIGHT!

(Five minutes go by so the fans can stop applauding).

Fifth in the lineup tonight, the left fielder, from the Colorado Rockies...CARLOS GONZALEZ!

 

Batting Sixth, catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals...YADIER MOLINA!



Batting Seventh, shortstop for the Colorado Rockies....TROY TULOWITZKI!

Batting Eighth, the designated hitter, from the Colorado Rockies....MICHAEL CUDDYER!

And batting last for the NL...the centerfielder, from the Washington Nationals....BRYCE HARPER!

Starting on the mound for the N.L. tonight, from YOUR NEW YORK METS...MATT HARVEY!

(applause for an hour)

As for tonight's game, hopefully it'll be a well fought matchup for both sides, and I hope I'll have a good time watching it.