I hope he never plays again. I hit my A-Rod fatigue/hate a few years ago and now I just wish he would go away.

Thank God Scherzer lost. Not that I was rooting against him, because, personally, I've always liked him, thought the Tigers hosed the DBacks when they moved him, and am glad he's been so good.

But...I'm sick and tired of hearing how he's so good because he's undefeated, when Scherzer himself has stated several times his win loss record is more of a fluke than anything of his doing because of so many other factors taken into it.

And fuck me, but is the All Star break here yet? The Padres have looked fucking awful for two weeks plus now. The starting pitching is abysmal, the bullpen, and the few good arms that are in there, are taxed because no one can go more than 5 plus innings, and the offense has been abysmal.

Also, cue the silly "the Freak is back" talk that is surely to follow after the no hitter.

I hope we see ARod again. I have a hard time seeing the union allowing MLB to suspend anyone without any real, tangible proof of drug use outside of testimony of a desperate, dire drug pusher who only agreed to talk to MLB officials when getting to the end of his rope.

To be honest, while I condemn the use of PEDs, I try my best to be objective with the players that use them. I don't think PEDs or lack thereof change who ARod was destined to be. Baseball is an extremely specialized skill driven sport. PEDs are not going to improve plate discipline, plate selection, swing path, footwork, etc. Those are skills that are developed and maximized with a combination of immense talent and hard work. PEDs don't effect those. The only thing anyone can factually say PEDs effect is strength and endurance. After that, it's speculation with zero evidence to say otherwise.

Now, with that said, I again state I'd love to see Alex Rodriguez again. He's one of the greatest infielders of all time, would have been the greatest offensive shortstop of all time, and can still be an above average contributor, IMO, if/when he eventually gets back.

Arod is done I think. I really think his body is too broken down and fragile at this point.

Well, he's playing now. He's not going to be great defensively, but, if his hips are healthy, he can contribute. Jeter has been "done" defensively, for years, and his bat has still played. I think ARod can still contribute. He's gotten far enough to play, I don't see why he can't make another step and get back to the bigs.

I realize I just don't like ARod the guy, but I'll be damned if he is even a contributor. He can play, sure, so can Marwin Gonzalez and Will Rhymes. ARod will not be a boon to the Yankees if he comes back, it's a gut feeling.

And I apologize for my lack of hard, scientific evidence.

Lol, it's okay. The way you feel about Arod, I feel about Barry Bonds. Hated that guy.

In better news, Crush Davis just went yard. 37 on the year. Holy fuck. Cabrera has 30. Cabrera has been every bit better this year than he was last year, further proving that the triple crown is a context dependent fluke that Cabrera had zero influence over, therefore making it dumb to vote him MVP simply because of it.

The MVP debate may get even hotter this year than last year. Trout had two blatant disadvantages; he didn't hit for as much power as Cabrera and he missed a month because the Angels are stupid.

This year, Miguel Cabrera is blowing everyone out of the water with a ridiculous 367/458/678 slash line. That's absolutely amazing. Davis' avg/obp is great (313/391), but it's not astoundingly so. His 708 slugging is another story. That's Babe Ruth territory.

Josh Johnson can fuck right off

<font color=goldenrod>Fucking awesome seeing Syndergaard and Montero starting opposite each other in the Futures Game. Can't wait for them to hit the big leagues at some point next year.</font>

Hey Vito, you have any info on how Syndergaard has improved over the course of the season to this point? I have read he needs work on throwing a consistently solid off speed or breaking pitch, but info seems limited.

I never expected CC Sabathia to have a down year like this.

Other than being a bit more homer prone this year, CC's current line of numbers are pretty much in line with what he's typically done during the course of his career. Not really having a down year, just a bad start for him, today.

<font color=goldenrod>Syndergaard's change-up and curveball have both improved. Not big league ready yet but the numbers following his Double A promotion suggest improvement. His best pitch is still his heat, which he can throw between 96 and 98 but he uses his 6'6" frame to create a downward plane on the pitch, really helping out with getting ground balls. He's also been working on a slider.

He still doesn't turn 21 until next month. His heat is electric but I imagine Alderson won't be rushing him. I'm figuring around June/July next year he'll get bumped up to Triple A and MAY get a September call-up in 2014. Otherwise they'll hold off on debuting him until a month or two into 2015.</font>

<font color=goldenrod>I don't see Rafael Montero being called up this year, either - although he's more big league ready than Syndergaard. The Mets already have a 40 man roster crunch so I think they'll let Montero finish the year in Triple A and start there again next year.

I think the Mets may already have their 2014 rotation in place, actually. Harvey, Wheeler, Niese, Gee, and Hefner. All under team control for next year so barring somebody being moved in a trade for a bat I think they'll all be back. Gee and Hefner in particular have quietly been outstanding the past month and a half.</font>

For all the issues they have had with guys like Davis, the Mets' pitching looks really, really bright. Harvey is the number 2 pitcher in the National League, and he's barely been around for a year. Wheeler is going to be a 1a for them, and Neise, Syndergaard, etc will fill in a very deep back end of the rotation.

<font color=goldenrod>Some more All Star Game changes. Jeff Locke and Jordan Zimmermann scratched on the NL side, replaced with Mark Melancon and Sergio Romo. Freddie Freeman will also miss the game but a replacement has not yet been named.

Justin Verlander will not pitch in the game, and Leyland replaces him with Chris Tillman. Guarantee Leyland didn't look any further than Tillman's 11-3 record, has an ERA pushing 4. Derek Holland sits at home again after just shutting down Leyland's Tigers.</font>

McCann is replacing Freeman.

<font color=goldenrod>Makes sense. Gives the team a 3rd catcher in case an injury happens and doesn't give the Braves fans the shaft.</font>

Pffft. Why have millions of people vote, get a guy in, then, when the guy gets hurt, not put in the second man in the running? I want Puig in the AS game damn it. He's on a tear, people obviously want to see him there, and it's a great way for MLB to continue to showcase it's ridiculously young up and coming talent.

I wanted Ian Desmond to win that final vote thing really badly

love that guy

I like Desmond, but, oddly enough, short stop in the NL is a pretty solid bunch, at the moment, with Tulo, Desmond, Cabrera and Segura. Unfortunately, Desmond's the odd man out, even though he deserves to go.

There's a ton of snubs, though. Evan Longoria and Josh Donaldson are both having better years than Manny Machado, and neither are going. The All Star game being a popularity contest hurts players, sometimes.

All Star stuff is boring.

In other news, went to the game today and JV pitched a gem. Had a no-no going for 6.2, ended up with a 7.0 1H 3BB 3K line. Excellent game, my voice is gone after yelling MATT TUIASOSOPO for 3 hours straight.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Was told Valdespin had a confrontation with Terry Collins and called the manager a &quot;c - - ksucker&quot; and demanded to be placed on the DL.</p>&mdash; Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPost_Mets/statuses/356590265609367556">July 15, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm guessing Collins will now send Valdespin to bat and tell him to lean into one. That relationship went down the toilet the minute Collins ran him up to bat knowing Valdespin was going to get plunked. Way to protect your players, you twit.

<font color=goldenrod>Collins hates Valdespin. His refusal to play Valdy every day in the first two months when he was shit hot says it all.

But then again Valdy does some really stupid shit when he plays. Lapses in concentration. And his teammates don't respect him. There's a reason not a single Met lifted a finger when he got plunked.</font>

Acid reflux?

<font color=goldenrod>Midseason Awards

NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, ARI. The heart and soul of the first place Diamondbacks lineup. Great all around numbers and a shitload of power. Knew he had potential but didn't know he'd be this good.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, LAD. Sub-2 ERA at the break to go along with the expected strikeout totals. I LOVE Matt Harvey and think he should start the All Star Game in NY, but Kershaw has been slightly better.

NL Rookie of the Year: Jose Fernandez, MIA. I don't care that the Marlins suck. What this 20 year old kid is doing having never pitched above Single A before this year is astounding. I imagine he'll be shut down by September and Shelby Miller will pass him, but still what a great first half.

NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle, PIT. This is really a no brainer. The Pirates have been good in the first half the past couple of years, but nothing like this. If the Pirates make the playoffs, he's a lock to win the award.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Marlon Byrd, NYM. Never thought Byrd would be the second best hitter in the Mets lineup. .267/15/50 at the break. Way better than I ever expected and there haven't really been any other clear-cut candidates.

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera, DET. His numbers are just fucking ridiculous. Can't even begin to imagine what they'll look like at the end of the year. No disrespect intended to Chris Davis, who's right behind him. Still feel like Davis is bound to slow down at some point but it'd be sick to see him go for the HR record.

AL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, DET. Tough choice between him and Felix Hernandez. I don't put a lot of stock in the wins stat, but 13-1 through 19 starts looks sexy. Beyond that, he's got the second lowest WHIP in the league and a boatload of strikeouts. Could see King Felix passing him by before the year is up, though.

AL Rookie of the Year: Cody Allen, CLE. Ugh, can I just leave this blank? Nothing against Mr. Allen but a set-up guy winning ROTY just feels weird. But really as I look up and down the AL there haven't really been any impressive rookie seasons. Now that Profar's back in the big leagues maybe he'll take it over.

AL Manager of the Year: Terry Francona, CLE. Again this seems to be a bit of a no-brainer. He's done a great job of turning the Indians around and keeping them right on Detroit's ass in the AL Central.

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Mariano Rivera, NYY. I don't know why I didn't pick him in my pre-season predictions really. I always assumed he'd be great again, I guess I just sorta looked past his injury. I figured an everyday player like Lance Berkman would have a good campaign and win the honor but it hasn't happened. Mo should get this as a parting gift.</font>

Jason Grilli could be considered a comeback player of the year

Here's a report from the Futures Game for Noah Syndergaard by Keith Law for you Vito

Syndergaard started for the US in the Futures Game and "didn't disappoint," per Keith Law (ESPN Insider Only). More deets:

- Easy 93-97 velo
- Very clean arm action w/ no trouble repeating
- Threw a couple of solid-average curveballs with good two-plane break and some depth
- Size and delivery point to durability

<font color=goldenrod>That would be dumb. He had a very solid season last year for the Pirates. He wasn't their closer, but he had a good year as a set-up guy.

Comeback Player is meant to be for people coming off of really shit years or injuries.</font>

<font color=goldenrod>So fucking stoked for him.</font>

John Farrell and that wacky ass Red Sox team might have something to say about that.

I think Farrell's gotta get the edge for now. Being that it is just a "midseason award" though Francona would get some consideration. But let's see the Tribe keep it up through August, where they traditionally fall apart.

I think the Red Sox still had a really talented roster going into the year, and in general I has a hard time seeing the team being a massive disappointment again. The Indians meanwhile I thought could be a sneaky team but was nowhere near as confident as I was with the Red Sox being better.

For the year-end award it's gotta go to Francona if the Tribe make the playoffs. But if they fade, Farrell is a good choice.

Matt Harvey and Max Scherzer are your starters for the All-Star Game.

HAHAHAHA

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/V0D8V0dCbf8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<font color=goldenrod>Well...at least Wright got more than Cano.</font>

Manager of the year should be changed to "Manager that made a shitty team surprisingly competitive award."