Kuzul

Ever since the 2002 MLB All-Star Game debacle, rules have been put in place that make no sense, like linking the outcome of the game to the ever-important home field advantage in the World Series.

Additional rules have been added years later like bumping the roster size up to 34, using a DH in every single game, and pitchers who started on Sunday cannot be used during the All-Star Game. 

While the MLB All-Star Game has lost a lot of credibility, it’s still an incredible event recognizing those have had a brilliant (first half of the) season.

Here is what the complete 34-man rosters for the American and National League should look like. The Red Sox and Yankees will obviously push some deserving people off unfortunately (i.e. Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia) due to popularity, and it’s a shame. The game should be based on a meritocracy, not popularity.

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Jayson Werth’s 7 year/$126 million contract has done many things to the baseball world—shocked it, confused it, angered it, and mocked it.

These types of contracts usually haven’t caused players to live up to the ridiculous amount of money that they are paid.

Here’s who has and hasn’t lived up to the massive cash.

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Josh Hamilton is an amazing baseball player. He had an amazing year. His story is amazing.

But his winning the MVP is a joke, an absolute joke. It spits in the face of MVP precedent.

He only won the award because of his popularity and his rehabilitation story. He missed a month of baseball. Josh Hamilton was not the most valuable player in the American League in 2010.

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Remember this picture White Sox fans? It’s the reason Paul Konerko is a White Sox legend. At the end of arguably his greatest professional season, Konerko is now a free agent.

The White Sox just also just met with Adam Dunn’s agent. Is Dunn a potential replacement for Konerko in Chicago? If so, would it be a smart move for the White Sox?

Here are the pros and cons of the White Sox replacing Paul Konerko with Adam Dunn.

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It’s yet another awards season. The latest awards given were the Rookies of the Year. Obviously, there is controversy with awards given, especially the rookie ones.

It’s hard to objectively judge, especially with rookies, as some play in substantially fewer games. It’s one of those awards where any position can win.

Without further ado, here are the 30 best rookie seasons in the past decade.

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Being great baseball players aren’t all that Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera have in common. Both have had dark incidents in the past, but one’s rehabilitation success has gotten more attention than the other’s.

We all know the story of Josh Hamilton by now. The former overall No. 1 draft pick’s life was falling apart as he was dependent on drugs and alcohol. He was out of the baseball limelight. Then his wife and grandmother convinced him to surrender to God. He had been, at least for a while, successfully rehabilitated. 

“There are no coincidences when God’s got a plan. It’s nothing I did except try to make the right choices and let God take over from there. There’s one solid and permanent way out of it, and that’s finding the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting Him,” said Josh Hamilton.

In 2008, Josh Hamilton dominated baseball. He led the league in RBI and put on a magnificent performance during the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium. The story of Josh Hamilton was told repeatedly throughout the year, and subsequent years.

Everything he does garners media attention.

He was on the front cover of Sports Illustrated with the caption, “The Unbelievable Josh Hamilton: His True Story.” He was elected to the All-Star Game in 2009 despite only starting 38 games (while batting .243) in the first half of the season.

He even wrote a book chronicling his tragic and heroic events. Even when Hamilton avoids drinking, it gets more attention than a relapse. 

Let me make this clear: Obviously, Hamilton’s story is amazing.

But is it so attention-worthy? Better yet, why is it more attention-worthy than Miguel Cabrera’s rehabilitation success?

Flashback to the last week of 2009. The Detroit Tigers were on pace to win the AL Central. Their star player and real only offensive threat, Cabrera, was in a slump.

The Tigers were up three games in the division over the Twins with 10 games to go. Over the last 10 games of the season, Cabrera batted .237 and the Tigers were forced into a 163rd game with the Twins, which they lost.

Miguel Cabrera had a drinking problem, and he admitted it affected his performance on the field. It affected him at the worst possible time—during a close pennant race that was his team’s to lose.

Now, Cabrera hasn’t had a drink since Oct. 3, 2009. Alcohol rehabilitation has saved his life, and his performance on the field couldn’t be better. Considering the circumstances in which his supporting cast is weak, Cabrera is having an amazing offensive season.

He, like Hamilton did in 2008, is leading the league in RBI (126). He is also second in home runs (38) and third in batting average (.328).

So why hasn’t Cabrera’s successful rehabilitation gotten the same amount of attention as Hamilton’s? Cabrera had already established himself as one of the best players in the league before his problem was discovered and cured. That would seem to warrant more attention, not less.

It’s not that one’s performance was better than the other’s. Cabrera has better numbers now than Hamilton in 2008.

So what’s the difference?

It’s the God factor.

Like it or not (I sure don’t), religion permeates throughout sports. We see it with football prayer circles in almost every NFL game, and we see it in baseball as tons of players point up to the sky after a big play.

But Hamilton talked about it.

Sure, tons of players thank God in interviews, but Hamilton was pushed into the spotlight with his amazing abilities and that gave him a platform to tell his story about how he turned to God.

That massively contributes to his popularity and media attraction. Why else would “Josh Hamilton Doesn’t Take Part in Champagne Celebration” be a newsworthy headline?

Hamilton’s story is one that should be told, but Cabrera’s story is equally good even though it’s not getting the same attention as Hamilton’s despite both players performing head-and-toes above the rest of the American League.

Life is about second chances, but why are we only getting one chance to hear a good story?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2010 Major League Baseball season is winding down. Here is who should win the major awards for each league and who will actually win the awards.

For each league, I’ll examine the Most Valuable Player awards, Cy Young awards, Rookie of the Year awards, Silver Sluggers, and Gold Gloves.

Also included is the fringe players who should also be considered for the awards.

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“I can’t say for sure, but all signs point to not soon. It’s not good.”

That was Josh Hamilton’s response to the question of when he will return.

Flash back to 2008. It’s late August, and Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox breaks his wrist.

Usually, we would say that injuries are a normal part of the game.

This was unusual though, because Quentin was the leading AL MVP candidate at the time, having already belted 36 home runs and driven in 100 RBI.

Now it’s 2010, where a similar situation has happened. To many, the MVP race is between Josh Hamilton, whose Rangers have functionally clinched a playoff spot, and between Miguel Cabrera, whose Tigers have faded due to injury.

Now that Hamilton is going to be out for a prolonged period of time, and with Miguel Cabrera continually producing, the MVP award is Cabrera’s to lose.

Miguel Cabrera was having a better season than Josh Hamilton anyway, but voters like to hold the award hostage to somebody from a team in the playoffs.

Take a brief look and compare the two sluggers’ stats:

Hamilton: .361 avg, 31 HR, 97 RBI, 1.049 OPS
Cabrera:  .336 avg, 33 HR, 110 RBI, 1.064 OPS

And this is with Miguel Cabrera playing on a team where the next best players are rookies. The Tigers have lost key players in Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Guillen, and Brandon Inge for parts of the season, and it has clearly taken a toll on them.

What makes Cabrera unique is that he never stops producing. And with Hamilton’s prolonged injury, we’re going to see a big gap in the numbers between Cabrera and Hamilton. And Cabrera should be awarded the AL MVP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

CC Sabathia leads the American League in wins. And now he’s been tagged as the front runner for the 2010 American League Cy Young award.

His wins are pretty, but he certainly hasn’t been the best pitcher in the American League. The 7.67 runs the Yankees give him in support per game have certainly helped his Win-Loss numbers. Sabathia has given up five earned runs in three of his decisions where he either got a no-decision or win, because the Yankees offense bailed him out.

Now I’m not trying to say CC is not in the running. He is definitely one of the top candidates, but he is not the top candidate. His numbers speak for themselves: 18-5, 3.14 ERA, 160 K/62 BB, 1.23 WHIP, and two complete games.

Who are the candidates that should be ahead of Sabathia?

1. Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners) has been on arguably the most disappointing team in baseball this year. He has been constantly robbed of wins. In eight of his starts, Hernandez has given up two earned runs or less while getting the loss or no-decision. King Felix should easily be at 16 wins by now. Unfortunately, he won’t get as much consideration as he should because of his win-loss record. His numbers are pretty good though: 10-10, 2.47 ERA, 192 K/56 BB, 1.11 WHIP, and five complete games.

2. Trevor Cahill (Oakland Athletics) is the latest All-Star gem out of Oakland’s fine starting pitching rotation. Cahill, too, has been robbed of wins, either via a loss or no-decision in four of his appearances that he gave up only two earned runs or less. He’s first in the American League in WHIP and second in ERA. The only thing that might hurt him is his lack of innings pitched (155.2). Take a look at his numbers: 14-5, 2.43 ERA, 88 K/46 BB, 1.00 WHIP, and one complete game.

3. Cliff Lee (Texas Rangers) hasn’t performed as well as many thought he would in Texas, but his overall numbers this season are too good to ignore. He, tied with Cahill, leads the American League in WHIP and he has thrown the most amount of complete games in the American League. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is historically great. His numbers for the season are: 10-8, 3.26 ERA, 156 K/12 BB, 1.00 WHIP, and seven complete games.

4. Clay Buchholz (Boston Red Sox) leads the American League in ERA. Like Cahill, he will be hurt by his low amount of innings pitched (146.2). However, he has dominating for Boston and should at least be in the discussion. Buchholz has been especially dominating later in the season, when it counts, and even he was rob of a couple of wins early in the season. Buchholz’s numbers are: 15-5, 2.21 ERA, 101 K/55 BB, 1.18 WHIP, and one complete game.

Jered Weaver (Los Angeles Angels), Jon Lester (Boston Red Sox), David Price (Tampa Bay Rays), and C.J. Wilson (Texas Rangers) are other candidates who should be considered just as much as CC Sabathia. The thing is, CC Sabathia keeps on winning and with that Yankee offensive support machine, he will likely take home his second Cy Young award, even if he doesn’t deserve it.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The MLB All-Star Game is dumb. People use it to note a player’s credentials in their careers, even though it only measures half of a player’s season,

So why don’t we look at second-half stars? Here are the best players per position in each league in the second half of 2010.

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