Halfway Through Baseball Season...

Who has been the best Pitcher in Baseball? Who has been the best hitter in Baseball? How about the best team in Baseball? Here are my picks.

BEST PITCHER
BRANDON WEBB,ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Brandon Webb, the 2006 National League Cy Young Award Winner, continues to pitch like an Ace for the Diamondbacks. Webb leads the Majors with 12 wins, and he has just a 3.21 ERA. The secret to Webb is that his sinker is his best pitch. The sinker is meant to produce a lot of ground ball outs, and Webb does that often. While Webb has shined, his team has not. The Diamondbacks lost to the Marlins, putting them right at the .500 mark. With Arizona stagnating, and Joe Torre's LA Dodgers just 2.5 games back of Arizona, with the Colorado Rockies, last season's National League Champions, trying to rediscover last season's magic, and San Francisco being carried by the young phenoms of Noah Lowry and Tim Linsecum, Arizona had better watch their back, because the rest of the NL West isn't far behind them.

BEST HITTER
CHIPPER JONES,ATLANTA BRAVES

Chipper Jones is just a few points shy of batting .400 here before the All Star Break. Chipper has also hit 16 homeruns and driven in 46 Runs. Chipper and Mark Texiera have kept the Braves in competition with the Florida Marlins for the NL East Lead. Chipper may take his .394 average to Yankee Stadium, as Chipper may start for the National League in Next Tuesday's All Star Game, if his quad injury isn't too serious.



BEST TEAM
TOO CLOSE TO CALL!

The Tampa Bay Rays again have the best winning percentage in Baseball. The Boston Red Sox became the first team to 50 wins, and the Chicago Cubs and Anaheim Angels are neck and neck with a .598 winning percentage. For the Rays, Red Sox and Cubs to increase their World Series Chances, they need to get above .500 on the road. Watching the Red Sox and Cubs on the road, they both did not play well at home. For the Cubs, there's no excuse. They're still in their home city and they get swept on the South Side of Chicago. Say what you want about Ozzie Guillen, he knows how to get his players to win. He knows how to motivate his players. Ozzie is a World Series Winning Manager, something the Cubs only dream they could have.

BEST SUCCESS STORY
JOSH HAMILTON, TEXAS RANGERS

Josh Hamilton, no doubt has been the best success story in Baseball in 2008. Due to Drug addictions, From 2002 until 2006, Hamilton did not play baseball at all.
Hamilton was a Rule 5 pick of the Cubs in the 2006 draft. Hamilton was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds for cash. Hamilton became a great story in 2007, his first full season in Baseball. Hamilton was traded from the Reds to the Rangers for Edison Volquez, who is among the league leaders in strikeouts and ERA. Hamilton has given up his addiction and has rediscovered his God-Given talent. Hamilton has hit 19 homeruns at the All Star Break for Texas, as many as he hit all of last season with Cincinnati. Josh Hamilton will continue his storybook season at Yankee Stadium, as Hamilton will be the starting Centerfielder for the American League at the All Star Game.

I'LL BE ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK.
Hopefully, I'll be near a computer soon so I can update this blog soon, as I'll be on the road all this week.

Cubs Defeat Pirates 7-1 in Pittsburgh

Cubs Starter Ted Lilly struck out six batters, and was one of seven different players to collect an RBI, as the Cubs posted a 7-1 win Saturday night over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With the win, the Cubs are guaranteed an above .500 record at the All-Star break. A year ago, they were 34-54 at the midway point. The Cubs have gone 22-11 since June 3, the best record in baseball in that stretch.

MLB All Star Rosters Revealed

Click on the video to see a promo for the 2007 Major League Baseball All Star Game.




Here's the rosters for the All star Game, which will be on July 10th in San Francisco.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starters

Pos Player B/T

C Ivan Rodriguez, DET R/R

1B David Ortiz, BOS L/L

2B Placido Polanco, DET R/R

3B Alex Rodriguez, NYY R/R

SS Derek Jeter, NYY R/R

OF Vladimir Guerrero, LAA R/R

OF Magglio Ordonez, DET R/R

OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA L/R

Pitchers

Pos Player B/T

P Josh Beckett, BOS R/R

P Dan Haren, OAK R/R

P Bobby Jenks, CWS R/R

P John Lackey, LAA R/R

P Gil Meche, KC R/R

P Jonathan Papelbon, BOS R/R

P J.J. Putz, SEA R/R

P Francisco Rodriguez, LAA R/R

P C.C. Sabathia, CLE L/L

P Johan Santana, MIN L/L

P Justin Verlander, DET R/R

Reserves

Pos Player B/T

C Victor Martinez, CLE S/R

C Jorge Posada, NYY S/R

1B Justin Morneau, MIN L/R

2B Brian Roberts, BAL S/R

SS Carlos Guillen, DET S/R

SS Michael Young, TEX R/R

3B Mike Lowell, BOS R/R

OF Carl Crawford, TB L/L

OF Torii Hunter, MIN R/R

OF Manny Ramirez, BOS R/R

OF Alex Rios, TOR R/R

OF Grady Sizemore, CLE L/L

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Starters

Pos Player B/T

C Russell Martin, LAD R/R

1B Prince Fielder, MIL L/R

2B Chase Utley, PHI L/R

3B David Wright, NYM R/R

SS Jose Reyes, NYM S/R

OF Carlos Beltran, NYM S/R

OF Barry Bonds, SF L/L

OF Ken Griffey Jr, CIN L/L

Pitchers

Pos Player B/T

P Francisco Cordero, MIL R/R

P Brian Fuentes, COL L/L

P Cole Hamels, PHI L/L

P Trevor Hoffman, SD R/R

P Jake Peavy, SD R/R

P Brad Penny, LAD R/R

P Takashi Saito, LAD R/R

P Ben Sheets, MIL R/R

P John Smoltz, ATL R/R

P Jose Valverde, ARI R/R

P Billy Wagner, NYM L/L

Reserves

Pos Player B/T

C Brian McCann, ATL L/R

1B Derrek Lee, CHC R/R

1B Albert Pujols, STL R/R

1B Dmitri Young, WSH S/R

2B Orlando Hudson, ARI S/R

2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT R/R

SS J.J. Hardy, MIL R/R

3B Miguel Cabrera, FLA R/R

OF Matt Holliday, COL R/R

OF Carlos Lee, HOU R/R

OF Aaron Rowand, PHI R/R

OF Alfonso Soriano, CHC R/R

Barry Bonds got the final starting Outfield spot, surpassing Alfonso Soriano on the final day of voting. Barry gets to play in the All Star Game in front of his fans.

The All Star Game is July 10th in San Francisco.