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By Sean Connolly

Last night after the Angels defeated the hopeless Yankees, the Angels decided to party like it was 1999 or 2002 when they won the World Series. If you knew nothing about the MLB and tuned into see the Angels’ celebration, you would have thought they won it all. The Angels usually are very reserved and emanate a professional attitude but last night they just let loose.

Give me your keys Torii

The leader of the outlandish celebration was of course, Torii Hunter. With champagne bottles bursting throughout the Angels dugout Hunter put on goggles and pretended to be Michael Phelps. Yeah, that’s right you heard me, he pretended to be Michael Phelps. He then created a dance called “the fish” that he dedicated to Michael Phelps. He then had this to say…

People would think this gets old — but it never does, I’ve been in some celebrations in Minnesota, and this one ranks right up there with any of them.We’ve got a 17-game lead or whatever, why celebrate like this? Because we’ve worked hard for it. Everybody’s swimming, dancing, going crazy. And it’s lasting a long time. These guys are awesome. They don’t want to go home.

Torii Hunter on Celebrating the Angels AL West Title

How about not celebrating like an idiot though. Doesn’t he realize that there are kids watching this fool swim through puddles of alcohol and beer cans? Have a little respect man.

MLB: Last Call!!

I think it’s time for the MLB to step in on this matter. How about using non-alcoholic beverages and showing that you are in fact role models and you do have people looking up to you. Listen, afterwards they can party and drink all they want, I don’t care, but when you’re being seen by millions of people and more importantly, kids at least pretend like you have some responsibility.

So, MLB please make the politically correct move and do something about this. If you’re not going to make them celebrate with only non-alcoholic beverages at least make a statement addressing the situation and the league’s views on alcoholic consumption in excess.

By Sean Connolly

Since his move to from the Indians to the Brewers and the National League, C.C. Sabathia has been unbeatable. Literally. He’s gone 9-0 with 4 complete games and hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. His last game was nearly a no-hitter after a controversial ruling on a hit in the 5th inning. He’s been the best pitcher in the league since he got here, but does he deserve it over Brandon Webb and Tim Lincecum?

The horse race has come down to Webb, Lincecum, and Sabathia. Webb has been looking for his 20th win for his last 3 starts and it seems dumb not to give the Cy Young to possibly the only 20 game winner in the National League. But, Webb has struggled in his last 3 starts, giving up at least 6 runs in each of them. Lincecum has shown the most talent and has been the most dominant but his numbers in the win column doesn’t show it. Sabathia has been remarkable, brilliant, unhittable and has had the most impact on his team compared to Webb and Lincecum.

I think that right there is why you have to pick Sabathia. He has turned the Brewers around and it seems like they will be a playoff team. I try to look at the Cy Young as the pitcher’s MVP. Which team would not be a contender without one of these pitchers. Lincecum and the Giants aren’t going to be a contender this season either way so I don’t think he should really be considered. Webb’s Diamondbacks play in the worst division in baseball and still struggle so he is needed.

But it seems to be that Sabathia has changed the entire dynamic of this team. They have a reliable pitcher in which they can chalk up a win on any day he pitches. If you want to use the ‘he didn’t play in the National League the whole year’ card, well at this pace he’s going to end up with like 14 wins any way so what more can you ask from the guy?

By Sean Connolly

Does he deserve it? Sure, his words were a little harsh and definitely shouldn’t have been said, but c’mon he’s the reason the Phillies are even in the playoff race in the NL East. He shouldn’t have been booed, right?Here’s where it all started, with these comments made by Jimmy Rollins…

There are times, like, it’s one of those cities … I might catch some flack for saying this, but, you know, they’re front-runners. When you’re doing good, they’re on your side. When you’re doing bad, they’re completely against you.

Jimmy Rollins on Philadelphia Phillies Fans on Best Damn Sports Show Period

Well, he ended up catching a lot of flack for saying that. And, in his first game since those comments he was booed immediately, starting from the announcing of the starting lineups. Every at bat by Rollins was seranaded with boos. Now, Jimmy Rollins was the Phillie Faithful’s favorite player last year, as his MVP season led them storming into the playoffs in the last month passing the stumbling Mets. So, they’re booing him now, doesn’t that mean he’s right, that they are in fact front-runners?

The answer is yes. Of course fans are front-runners in the sense that Rollins meant. Fans love you when you play well and hate you when you don’t, deal with it. And Jimmy Rollins isn’t playing well at all this year. After his .296, 30 HR, 94 RBI season last year, he’s hitting .263 with only 8 HR’s and 42 RBI’s. When you drop off that much after a season in which Phillie fans thought they were set for the next couple of years, of course they’re going to be mad.

I don’t think that Phillies fans should have booed him like they did but they do have a point. Rollins knew he was wrong when he was saying it, and even though he stuck his neck out for his teammates (statements were more about his teammates than himself), keep it in the clubhouse. If you don’t know how fans act by now you should seriously understand quickly because fans booing you every day can destroy one’s confidence and ruin a season.

By Sean Connolly

We’ve all witnessed the tabacle that was the Manny Ramirez trade in which the Red Sox traded away a first ballot hall of famer to the Dodgers in a three way deal for Jason Bay. That along with Favregate became the two stories of interest and absorbed sports television. Well, with those two situations settling down(somewhat) who’s to say the Manny situation won’t heat up again. And, the Yankees might be involved…how juicy.

Manny’s love affair with the Boston Red Sox which rewarded both with two championship rings and ended the horrid curse of the Bambino, came to an abrupt end in the middle of this season. The love was gone. And soon enough Manny was gone. The Manny saga became as soap operish(that’s right soap operish) as Favre’s retirement. The two sides bickered back and forth, dissing eachother through the media. I did not agree with the Red Sox getting rid of Manny, because he’s such a great hitter that you can deal with his drama. But, the Red Sox could not. So now he’s a Dodger.

Does Manny want to be a Dodger? Of course not. He doesn’t want to be in the National League where the best pitchers in the world are. He doesn’t want to be in the least talented division in major league baseball in the NL West. He wants to be in the American League where the balls fly out of ballparks. He wants to be in the American League where he can get back at the Red Sox. And, maybe, just maybe, he wants to be the face of a new stadium. A new Yankee Stadium.

If you don’t believe me look at this coming from the New York Post…

According to people who have spoken to the eccentric outfielder since he was dealt to L.A. on July 31, Ramirez wants to sign a free-agent deal with the Yankees this offseason and get 19 chances a year to punish Boston.

George A. King III, New York Post

Ramirez becomes a free agent at the end of this year’s World Series. Brian Cashman may be in risk of losing his job by then because with the way the Yankees are playing right now, the Yankees won’t be the ones in this year’s World Series. Now, what’s the one desparate move that could save both he and the Yankees which will bring enormous crowds to the new Yankee Stadium? Putting one of the Yankees arch rivals in pinstripes and pitting him against his former team. You can’t make this stuff up…well I just did so I guess you can, but it would be awesome, right?

By Sean Connolly

I tried. I tried my hardest to watch this year’s Hall of Fame inductions but I just couldn’t do it. Honestly I’d rather watch paint dry than listen to Dick Williams drone on about old baseball stories.

The thing is, there aren’t any inductees that I watched growing up, so it means nothing to me. I appreciate all that Goose Gossage and his mustache has done for the sport of baseball, but it just isn’t enough for me. The thing is, you can’t respect someone who gets into the hall on default. Just because there wasn’t any body better available.

And another thing, there are 6 inductees this year…and 4 of them aren’t alive. Why weren’t these guys inducted earlier. The best part is hearing these guys speak so why do we have to wait until they’re dead to commemorate what they’ve done. The voters need to be aware of these things and be able to put these guys in before it’s too late.

The only good thing about this weak class being inducted this year, is that it’s the last for a while. Now, we get to see recent heroes get put in. Next year I’ll watch it, but for God’s sake, can it be on a channel better than ESPN Classic?

By Sean Connolly

So we’ve hit the mid-season point and a lot has changed since the beginning, but the question is will this be how it ends. Both Chicago teams, Cubs and White Sox, stand alone in first place in their respective divisions. The Mets’ season has started just as disastrous as it ended last year and the Yankees, well they’re just hanging around waiting for a trade like always. But the big surprise of this season has to be the Twins and the Rays.

Big Surprises

For a team to lose the best pitcher in baseball and get nothing good in return to be 1.5 games back in their division is astounding. The Twins have played it very quietly this season and have made themselves into contenders in the American League. Their ten game win streak came to a close this past Saturday but they easily bounced back with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. They have a solid, young team with one of the best closers in the game in Joe Nathan. Don’t be surprised if you see this Twin team in the running for the A.L. Wild Card or even the Central Division.

The biggest surprise of the season has the be the Tampa Bay Rays though. They have shocked the American League, putting up a 49-32 record at the mid-way point and have established themselves as a legitimate threat in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, the American League East. Throughout this season people have been calling it a fluke and that it’s just luck, but with half the season gone they are atop the A.L. East and have the players to catapult them into the franchise’s first post-season. They are also beginning to bring in bigger crowds and have been rumored to possibly bring in one of the game’s biggest stars in Ken Griffey. If the Rays can complete a trade for Griffey this team will have to be considered one of the best teams in baseball.

The Second City in First

Is this their year? The Chicago Cubs have finally fielded a team that may be able to get past the curse. But that’s what they think every year. This year is different though. The Cubs have one of baseball’s most potent all-around threat in Alfonso Soriano, and are led by a fiery coach who simply knows how to win in Lou Pinella. The Cubs have the best baseball team with a record of 49-33 and are playoff bound and possibly World Series bound. As for the other side of town, the White Sox have surprised some critics and stand atop a very difficult A.L. Central with a record of 46-35. Ozzie Guillen and his team have played great baseball in a division that was etched in stone by many writers that the Detroit Tigers would win. The White Sox have a powerful team that can score at any moment, and are possibly one trade away from having a team capable of making a significant impact down the stretch.

800 miles east of Chicago sits millions of disappointed New Yorkers. The Mets are crumbling again behind poor management, poor upper management, and poor play on the field. They’ve lost their manager in Willie Randolph in an absolute fiasco that ate up thousands of headlines, and the players such as Jose Reyes, and David Wright, have yet to prove they are as good as their paycheck. Speaking of overpaid, in the Bronx the Yankees are having yet again another unpredictable, chaotic season. New skipper, Joe Girardi hasn’t shown New York much with a 44-38 record sitting 5.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. Injuries of Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, and M.V.P Alex Rodriguez have hampered the Bombers’ season and have yet to prove that they the best in the bigs as they should be. A trade is looming in New York that could make or break these Yanks but with the tumultuous season they’ve had so far, Bomber fans should consider themselves lucky to only be 5.5 games out.

So with that said I’ll give you the second half predictions with who I think will end up in the playoffs come the end of the regular season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST- Boston Red Sox

CENTRAL- Detroit Tigers

WEST- Anaheim Angels

WILD CARD- Tampa Bay Rays

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST- Philadelphia Phillies

CENTRAL- Chicago Cubs

WEST- Los Angeles Dodgers

WILD CARD- St. Louis Cardinals