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The Home Run Derby is arguably the most exciting part of All-Star weekend. There are eight players participating in the derby this year which pits team Kemp against team Cano. 2011 Home Run Derby champion Robinson Cano will be looking to repeat this season.

Each of the players participating in the Home Run Derby has shown off their power stroke this season, but not all of them have gotten a chance to play a game at Kauffman Stadium this year.

All of the players have their own strengths and power alleys that have worked for them this year, but that might just lead to some long outs in the Home Run Derby this year. Each graph of home runs hit by Home Run Derby participants from this year will also show an overlay of Kauffman Stadium to show if the ball would have left the park there as well.

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Giancarlo Stanton was set to play in the 2012 All-Star Game, but with upcoming knee surgery, he will not only miss the game, he will also miss the next four to six weeks, according to The Miami Herald.

Replacing Stanton in the All-Star Game will be Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper. Harper will become the third-youngest player in All-Star Game history. The two that were younger than him were Bob Feller and Dwight Gooden.

Harper’s addition to the All-Star Game is a big accomplishment for him this early in his career and it should be fun to see how he performs.

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In the days leading up to the July 31st MLB trade deadline there will be a number of St. Louis Cardinals trade rumors that come up.

With rumors coming in fast and furious, it is hard to keep track of all of them. B/R is going to help you out with all of this. Bookmark this link as it will be used to report on all of the key Cardinals trade rumors that pop up through a number of different sources over the next few weeks.

Not only will all of the Cardinals rumors be easy to find, but insight will also be provided about what impact each potential deal could have on the Cardinals moving forward. Are any of the moves being talked about ones that could help the Cardinals reach the World Series for the second straight year?

The only way to find out is to keep coming back and checking out all of the Cardinals trade rumors.

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There will not be too many top-tier starting pitchers on the trade market this summer. Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels are names that there will be a lot of speculation about, but after them the talent level drops off.

Jason Churchill of ESPN (Insider required) has suggested that the Tampa Bay Rays could look to deal James Shields this summer in an effort to push themselves towards the playoffs. His logic is that the Rays have starters that can fill in for him and that they can address a need while picking up a prospect or two if they trade Shields.

While a trade like this seems to be very unlikely, there are certainly a number of teams that would be willing to pay what the Rays want in return for Shields.

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Baseball is America’s pastime, and fans cannot wait to get out to the ballpark to go and see games. Many teams have seen their attendance numbers increase over the past few seasons.

According to a press release by the MLB, attendance numbers are looking fantastic this year (via Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports). They are up 8.1 percent thus far.

There are a number of reasons why the game is more popular than ever.

Spending a summer night at the ballpark is always an experience, and it is good to see that more and more people are taking advantage of that opportunity.

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With the Philadelphia Phillies looking up at the rest of the National League East in the standings, they may make the decision to be sellers at the trade deadline this year. If this is the route that they choose to take, then the questions become which players would be willing to move.

One of the players that the Phillies may consider dealing this winter is Cole Hamels. He is going to become a free agent after the year, and one agent believes that Hamels will be able to get a deal with a higher annual value than CC Sabathia’s contract if he hits the open market (via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).

Buster Olney of ESPN has noted that there are a number of pros and cons to both trading Hamels and to keeping him. Trading away a player of Hamels’ caliber would bring back a few elite prospects, but the Phillies would lose almost any chance they had to re-sign him.

There is a way that the Phillies could free up some money that they could use to sign Hamels this winter. Joel Sherman of the New York Post has suggested that the Phillies could trade Cliff Lee and then choose to build around Hamels.

Lee has $75 million left on his contract for the next three seasons as well as a $27.5 million option with a $12.5 million buyout for the 2016 season. If Lee is dealt, that money could be shifted towards a new contract for Hamels.

There are other benefits of trading Lee. Dealing Lee would allow the Philadelphia Phillies to restock their farm system. The team has a farm system that ranks near the bottom of the MLB and the prospects acquired in any deal involving Lee would be the type of players that could make an impact in the major leagues sooner rather than later.

A potential issue arises if the Phillies try to trade Lee. He has a no-trade clause that includes nine teams (via NY Post). This could really limit the teams that the Phillies can try to negotiate with since some big market clubs that can afford Lee may actually be on the list.

Philadelphia is currently in a situation where they need to get younger. Their average age is 31.5 years old, and they need to focus on keeping their younger players and bringing in new talent.

Trading Lee will allow the Phillies to do this because they can go all out offer Hamels the money that he wants. Hamels will be in a position to serve an ace on the Phillies staff for years to come, and he will be a piece to build around.

There is also the chance that the Phillies trade Lee and then are unable to sign Hamels. The Los Angeles Dodgers could have Hamels at the top of their list this offseason and may be willing spend whatever it takes to sign him (via Twitter).

Philadelphia should try to sign Hamels to an extension in season if they deal Lee because there is a legitimate chance that the will lose Hamels if he hits the market. The Phillies would be in a very rough spot if they lost both Lee and Hamels.

Championship teams are ones that are not afraid to take risks. Without risks there are no rewards. If the Phillies want set themselves up for the future, they should deal Lee and then put all their effort into bringing Hamels back.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Almost every boy can think back to a time when he was young and played catch with his father in the yard or at the local baseball field. For many children, this helped spark an interest in baseball.

Some children were lucky enough to have their first catch with fathers who were also Major League Baseball players. Learning from someone who had a major league pedigree certainly helped these youngsters develop into good baseball players.

There were a number who would go on to follow in their father’s footsteps and reach the big leagues. Amongst the long list of father-son combinations to play in the major leagues, a few stand out a bit more than others.

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Could Ryan Dempster actually be the best player traded prior to the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline? According to David Schoenfield of ESPN.com, that may be the case. 

Not only does Schoenfield think that Dempster could be the best player dealt, but he also believes that teams should start pursuing Dempster now, as opposed to waiting until it is closer to the deadline.

Schoenfield has come up with seven different contenders he believes could be interested in acquiring Dempster this year. Additionally, Schoenfield provides possible trade scenarios.

This article will take a look at the potential contenders Schoenfield mentioned, as well as a few other teams that could be interested in him, and it also provides each team’s odds of acquiring him. 

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Prior to the 2011 trade deadline, a number of big names were on the move. That should be the case once again this year.

The trade winds have begun to pick up and more and more rumors have been flying around. A number of big names have already been mentioned as possible trade candidates this season.

Big bats like Hunter Pence and Kevin Youkilis could be dealt, and they will come with a fairly high price tag. Acquiring one of these players could be the piece that a team needs to make the playoffs.

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It is getting to the point of the year where MLB trade rumors are starting to pick up and more and more players are getting mentioned as possible trade candidates.

Most of the players that are mentioned in trade rumors will not be going anywhere, but their names will come up over and over again during the course of the next few months.

This article will debunk some of the trade rumors that are out there and let you know which trade talk you should not buy into.

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