Kuzul

Jimmy Rollins left Monday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after suffering an injury on a triple in the bottom of the fourth inning. According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop strained his left hamstring:

Although the curtain is closing on the 2014 regular season, Rollins believes that he’ll be back before the year is over, targeting sometime a little over a week away for his return, per Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News:

Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer thought that, all things considered, Rollins has played above expectations in 2014:

Coming back before regular season is out carries major financial weight for both Rollins and the Phillies. Gelb wrote in December 2013 that an $11 million vesting option would be wiped out if the 35-year-old finished the season on the disabled list. The option could come back in play, however, if a doctor finds him ready to go for the 2015 season.

With Philly cemented in last place in the National League East and holding no hope of making the playoffs, it will be interesting to see how Rollins’ recovery is handled. There’s no reason to rush him back to the field, and the team would possibly save money if it kept him on the shelf.

It adds a little intrigue into what is an otherwise dull road to the finish in Philadelphia.

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As mentioned earlier this week, I belong to the Baseball Bloggers Alliance where I serve as president of the category of the BBA that defies definition. While most of the 230 or so blogs in the Alliance are team-centric, this “miscellaneous” merry band of men and women (we’re working on a better designation) take a wider look at the national pastime.

The previous post announced Dusty Baker as our choice for the Connie Mack (manager of the year) Award. This time we selected the top National league rookie for 2010 season, the Willie Mays Award.

Using a 5-3-1 system for the top three choices, here’s the breakdown:

Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, 27 points (4-2-1)
Jason Hayward, Atlanta Braves, 25 (2-5-0)
Ike Davis, New York Mets, 5 (1-0-0)
Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals 2 (0-0-2)
Chris Johnson (Houston Astros),  Stephen Strasburg (Washington Nationals), Starlin Castro (Chicago Cubs) received one point each.

So, congratulations to Posey, who played 108 games for the Giants, batting a team-leading .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs to help them into the postseason.

Related articles

• MLB Playoff Prediction: 10 Reasons Buster Posey Will Be the NLCS MVP (bleacherreport.com)
• Giants: Dissecting rise of rookie Buster Posey (sfgate.com)
• MLB Rookie of The Year Power Rankings: Has Buster Posey Locked It Up? (bleacherreport.com)
• Posey not a cinch for Rookie of the Year (sfgate.com)

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Welcome back for this week’s edition of the NL Wire.

Last week’s edition was focused mainly on a group of older, somewhat grizzled veterans, so for this week, I decided to return to the fountain of youth, so to speak.

This week’s selections are focused on a trio of youngsters, two of whom are returning for another go-around with their big league clubs, while the other is in the process of transforming himself from a top prospect into a solid rotation contributor.

Check ‘em out…

Homer Bailey, SP – CIN – Owned in 27 percent of CBS leagues

Homer (the pitcher, not the poet) has been on quite an odyssey thus far in his professional career. He’s been given the opportunity to stick in the Cincy rotation for four seasons, starting in 2007.

At one point, he was a highly touted prospect who began his tenure in the Reds’ system at 18 after being drafted seventh overall in 2004. Prior to the 2007 season, Bailey was named the top prospect in the Reds’ farm system by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

Since then, very little has gone Homer’s way in the majors. His first shot came in June of ’07 after 12 starts for AAA Louisville, where he went 6-3 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. However, in only nine starts split between June/July and a September recall, he was 4-2 with a 5.78 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.  Bailey surrendered 43 hits in 45 innings and had an underwhelming K:BB ratio of 28:28.

His fortunes did not turn around until the tail end of the ’09. He finished the season with a 4.53 ERA in 113 innings with 86 K’s while posting a record of 8-5. Subsequently, he made the Reds’ rotation out of spring training, but his good fortunes came to an end. Bailey was forced to the DL in May, and the Reds considered moving him to the bullpen during his rehab.

However, a few weeks ago he was summoned back to the big league club and given another shot at the rotation. In his two starts since returning, Bailey is 2-0 and has allowed one ER in 13 innings with 10 K’s and only two BBs. He managed to lower his ERA by one full run in only two starts.

We can only hope that Homer has finally found his way at the ripe old age of 24 and that he continues his hot streak. Bailey has always had the tools to succeed but never seemed to stay on track long enough. As a fresh arm for the playoff-contending Reds, Bailey’s value is on the rise for this season (already up 12 percent this week) and surely for next season in keeper leagues.

Eric Young, 2B – COL – Owned in 10 percent of CBS leagues

EY2 was summoned from AAA Colorado Springs on August 14 and has started every game since. He had a previous stint for the Rockies in ’09 that lasted 30 games, but he was in the starting lineup only 11 times. The speedster led all minor leaguers back in ’06 with 87 stolen bases, but at 25 he is hardly a top prospect.

Throughout his minor league career, Young’s batting average has hovered between .290 and .300 and his OBP between .359 and .407. In addition, he’s been a legit stolen base threat, compiling 303 SBs in five-plus seasons. He’s been a consistent run-producer, scoring over 100 runs twice and driving in as many as 63 runs. Needless to say, he’s a well-seasoned minor leaguer ready for an opportunity.

The Rockies would like to get a long look at Young through the rest of the season and give him that long-awaited opportunity. They are hoping he can be the spark plug and offensive catalyst teams look for in the leadoff spot.

In 10 games since his recall, Young has 12 hits, five stolen bases, and a .293 average. His on-base percentage is a respectable .341, and he has been crushing right-handed pitching with a .417 overall batting average in 19 total games this season.

Young is garnering attention in mixed leagues as well as NL-only leagues. His ownership will jump to 18 percent next week but is still low enough that he’s flying under the radar in most leagues. Whether you play in a rotisserie league or a H2H points league, Young can be a valuable contributor down the stretch. He will be firmly entrenched in the leadoff spot and will be playing his home games at Coors Field, where he’s hitting .333 on the season.

Bud Norris, SP – HOU – Owned in 22 percent of CBS leagues

David Norris, more commonly known as “Bud” in baseball circles, was previously considered the top pitching prospect for the Astros. He was drafted in the sixth round in 2006 and got his first taste of the majors in 2009. That audition lasted only 10 starts before he was shut down to prevent injury after logging 175 combined innings.

Bud did manage to garner national attention when he was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year after leading the league with a 2.63 ERA. In 19 starts he posted only four wins, but he had a 112:53 K:BB ratio in 120 innings to add to his league-leading ERA. His performance clearly earned him a shot at the Astros’ rotation to start the ’10 season.

Norris has had a rocky season thus far for the lowly Astros. In 18 starts he has only five wins and a 5.42 ERA to go along with his mediocre 1.50 WHIP. On the bright side, he has 108 K’s in 99.7 innings. Norris seems to struggle the second and third time against the opposing lineup, posting a 5.86 ERA versus 3.69 the first time through.

Norris appears to be turning the corner as of late, going at least six innings in seven straight starts. In his last three starts, he hasn’t allowed more than two runs and has thrown in a 14 K effort against the Pirates. Since the All-Star break, he is 4-1 with a 4.14 ERA and 43 K’s in 43 innings with an opponents’ batting average of .232.

It’s time to strike while the iron is hot and pick up Norris. He’s putting together a nice run of starts and has logged slightly less than 100 innings. He’s in no danger to be pulled from the rotation, as the Astros have very little left to play for this season. Norris should be a mainstay in the Astros’ rotation for years to come.

Honorable Mention

Joe Blanton, SP – PHI – Owned in 40 percent of CBS leagues

Blanton is 4-1 since the break with a 3.63 ERA. He has 44 K’s in 52 innings and is a solid starter for a playoff-contending team with a potent offense.

Randy Wolf, SP – SF – Owned in 50 percent of CBS leagues

Wolf is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in the month of August and a 20:6 K:BB ratio over that span. He seems to be finally finding his groove in Milwaukee.

Blake DeWitt, 2B – CHC – Owned in 13 percent of CBS leagues

DeWitt has been hitting leadoff for the Cubs recently and is batting .338 with three HRs in 22 games since his trade from LA. He’s batting .304 since the break—solid production from the 2B position.

Written by Rosti Satanovsky exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter @TheSportsFariah

Follow us on Twitter for more updates @TheFantasyFix.

___________________________________________________________

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Why Tony Romo & Philip Rivers Should Lead Your Fantasy Team
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2010 Fantasy Football’s Most Under & Overrated Running Backs
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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Giants got off to yet another promising start to the game, as Torres led off with a solo home run. The Giants would only tack on one more run in the game, though (Pat Burrell solo homer), as they suffered an 8-2 loss to the Phillies.

Matt Cain did a decent job, pitching six innings and giving up only two earned runs. A Mike Fontenot error, however, would lead to a Jimmy Rollins three-run homer that the Giants never answered.

It’s hard to know where the blame is for the Giants’ poor month of August. They are 7-9, and their starters have not won any of the last 14 games.

Is it a coincidence, though, that this skid comes with the arrivals of Jose Guillen and Mike Fontenot, who are obvious defensive downgrades from Huff in right field, Ishikawa at first base, and Sanchez at second base?

Or should the blame be placed on the pitchers? How are they honestly to be expected to get outs with Burrell in left and Guillen in right covering minimal range (not to mention Pablo Sandoval’s rapidly decreasing range at third and the fact that no other Giants second baseman can cover the range that Freddy Sanchez covers)?

The fact of the matter is, the defensive downgrades that come with Guillen and Fontenot greatly outweigh their offensive upgrades (even though I don’t feel that Guillen is an upgrade over Ishikawa offensively).

The Giants won 20 games in July, behind a hot Buster Posey, reliable Torres and Huff, Burrell, and their usual great starting pitching. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…” Thanks for fixing it, Brian Sabean. Thanks so much.

Of course, Lincecum needs to get his act together. Huff needs to get his act together. Other than that, all signs point to Guillen and Fontenot as the source of the Giants’ struggles. I was right with my original instinct—these were unnecessary acquisitions.

The Giants have a chance at making the playoffs. Fontenot and Guillen need to go on the DL, though, for that to happen. The Giants’ defense is pathetic. And is their offense really that much better? They scored just two runs off of  Joe Blanton. They’ve scored seven runs in the last three games.

As it stands, the Giants are two games back in the wild card, which is a manageable deficit. The division is quickly slipping out of their grasp, however, as they are six games out.

Notes:

Running statistic: Giants’ runs allowed per game with Guillen in the starting lineup – 8.33, record with Guillen in starting lineup: 0-3.

Buster Posey is now 6-for-12 in the two-spot. He appears to be starting yet another hitting streak, but it’s not helping that Huff isn’t hitting behind him.

Fontenot has made errors in two consecutive games. I think the saying goes, “A run saved is a run earned.” I’d rather have Freddy Sanchez out there saving the Giants runs with his defense, then Fontenot as a minimal offensive upgrade which is costing the Giants runs.

The Giants have hit four home runs in the last two games, all of them solo home runs. Pat Burrell has hit two of them, and guess who bats in front of him…Aubrey Huff. Aubrey Huff has carried this team thus far, and needs to continue if the Giants want to make the playoffs. Especially if he’s batting behind Posey and in front of Burrell.

Pablo Sandoval was 0-for-4. His week of magic has come to a halt.

Affeldt had a miserable return: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER. In his defense, though: 1) the defense behind him sucks, and 2) he was pitching at Citizens Bank Park.

The Giants have allowed 17 runs in two games to a Phillies team that is playing without Ryan Howard. Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, the Giants make the playoffs. How are they supposed to contain a lineup with Werth, Howard, Utley, Victorino, Domonic Brown, and Jimmy Rollins in the postseason, if they couldn’t contain them with Howard out of the picture?

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The St. Louis Cardinals came in to Cincinnati to claim back first place in the division from the Reds. They may have done much more than that.

It wasn’t even close. In the three game series, the Cardinals outscored the Reds 21-8.  Forget about the infamous basebrawl of game two—the Cards hit the Reds hard and often.

This could be the single most pivotal point in the season for the Reds. How they react, bounce back, or fade away between now and September 3rd will determine the whole season. 

Why September 3rd? 

That’s the next and last time these two teams will meet during the regular season. If the Reds can stay within three games either way, the September 3rd three-game series will replace this series as THE series of the year.

If they pull away between now and then, all the better. If they fade back by three to six games…that would be their last chance to get back in it.

The Reds can do it. They have an exciting team and an offense to be proud of. On top of that, for the most part, their pitching has been pretty good overall. 

And, as I’m sure most of you are aware of, the Reds have the “easiest” schedule during the second half of the season. But lest you forget, (or just didn’t know), the Cardinals have the second “easiest” schedule…

Regardless, it’s going to be either really fun or really painful to watch what happens the next several weeks.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The NL Wire – A look into some worthy roster additions

This week’s edition features some up-and-coming pitchers as well as some names you may have heard of already but have never considered as a worthy additions to your fantasy squad. It may be time to take a flier on these guys, especially if you need to fill some holes for the stretch run or if you’re looking for a few keeper prospects.

Thomas Diamond, P – CHC – Owned in 0% of CBS leagues

The former Sun Belt Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year and 2004 first round draft pick of the Rangers is going to get a look by the Cubbies—hopefully to fill one of their back-end rotation spots. By trading Ted Lilly to Oz where he can hang with Dorothy, the Cubs opened up a spot to get a glimpse (hopefully) of the future. In addition to Lilly’s trade, Carlos Silva’s premature departure from his last start (irregular heartbeat) and his unclear status leaves a void in their rotation. 

Diamond was used exclusively as a starter by Triple-A Iowa this year and has already thrown 108 innings in 21 starts. He has posted 104 K’s with an ERA of 3.16 and a WHIP of 1.22 in those starts. 

He was impressive in his first major league outing and lived up to his billing as a strikeout pitcher. He rung up ten Brewers in six innings, but the Cubs offense could not back him up. Diamond ended up taking the loss while the Cubs dropped yet another one-run game and now stand at 13-25 on the season in those games. Diamond will get a second shot at his long-awaited first victory this week against Cincinnati on Sunday. As long as he remains in the rotation, Diamond is worth a flier in deeper fantasy leagues and without a doubt in all keeper leagues.  

Barry Enright, P – ARI – Owned in 13% of CBS leagues

Enright quietly moved into the Diamondbacks’ rotation and represents the winds of change out in the desert. As Arizona looks to build for the future (again), they have assembled an arsenal of young arms in Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson. Enright was summoned to the big league club in June and has done an admirable job of holding down his rotation spot. In six starts he has a 2.77 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP with a 25:13 K to BB ratio. Unfortunately the D’backs have not put him in position to win very many games and therefore, he has two wins to show for his efforts. 

Enright showed plenty of promise in his ascent through the minor leagues compiling 346 K’s in 431.3 innings with only 92 free passes allowed. In two+ years as a starter in the minors, he has improved on his ERA from 4.42 to 3.98 to 2.89 (1.03 WHIP) before his call-up this season.  

Enright has given up three earned runs or more only once this season and went eight innings a few weeks ago against the anemic Mets offense with a season high eight K’s. There is surely enough promise here for the former second round pick of Arizona to ride him through this season and next season in keeper leagues.  

R.A. Dickey, P – NYM – Owned in 56% of CBS leagues

Unlike most of the other players mentioned here, Dickey is far from a rising star or a top prospect. Everyone knows the saga of the 35-year old journeyman knuckleballer. Dickey bounced between the bullpen and starting rotation in the AL (Twins, Mariners, Rangers) for quite a few years. Last year he posted the lowest ERA of his career for the Twins, a less than inspiring 4.63 to go with a robust 1.62 WHIP. In 34 games (one start) Dickey had 42 K’s to go along with 30 bases on balls.  

He signed a minor league deal with the Mets and put up decent numbers for the Triple-A Buffalo affiliate this year. In eight starts he had two complete games; a 2.24 ERA along with a miniscule 1.04 WHIP. If that’s not convincing enough, he had a mind-blowing 37:8 K:BB ratio. It was only a matter of time before he was called up to replace one of the many struggling Mets starters.  

That time came back in May when most scoffed at the notion of wasting a roster spot on Dickey (including yours truly). But all he has done since is to solidify his spot in the rotation with a number of impressive performances (most recently a 4-hit/0 ER 8.1 inning outing against STL).  Dickey is 7-4 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 64:28 K:BB ratio in 99 IP (15 starts—averaging almost 7 innings per start). It’s time to forget history and hop onboard the Dickey express if he’s still available in your league.  

Honorable Mention:

Aaron Heilman, RP – ARI – Owned in 8% of CBS leagues

De facto closer in Arizona since Chad Qualls was traded to TB and Juan Gutierrez was placed on the DL. He has a respectable 3.30 ERA with 37 K’s in 49 IP and has been more solid as of late.

Ian Desmond, SS – WAS – Owned in 31% of CBS leagues

Possesses a decent mix of power and speed for a SS (7 HR’s/9 SB’s). Batting .370 over his last eight games after putting up 3 HR’s/12 RBI/3 SB’s in July while batting .300.

Tom Gorzelanny, SP – CHC – Owned in 36% of CBS leagues

When Big Z went AWOL, Gorzelanny was thrust back into the starting rotation. Since then he has four W’s in six starts with 33 K’s. Overall as a starter he has six W’s and 3.63 ERA with 82 K’s in 86.2 IP.   

Written by Rosti Satanovsky exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. You can follow Rosti on Twitter @TheSportsFariah for more great NL Only advice!

Here are some more articles that will not self-destruct in 10 seconds…

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The trade deadline has come and gone and the Reds stood still, opting to go forward with what they have. 

I’d like to take a look at the lineup and batting order, using what they have, and examine how it might be better in the second half than it was in the first half.

We know this team has some pretty good offense, they rank among the top in the league in most of the major offensive categories.

But they also have some not-so-good offensive peculiarities: They lead the league in shutouts, that is, they’ve been shut out 12 times already.

Though they have so far been able to come from behind and win a lot of close games, it’s also a little alarming that they HAVE to come from behind so often and have had so many close games.

So, what do they need to do to improve with what they have now? Some would argue that they should continue on like they have been all year. If it’s working, don’t mess with it.

But I think there are a few things they could and should do to make their offense a little better.

Cabrera is not a top-of-the-order hitter. Well, maybe he was at one time, but he’s not this year. He should be moved down in the order…way down.

His backup, Janish, is known for his strong glove and weak bat, but in limited use this year, he’s actually doing well at the plate.

I wouldn’t say he should replace Cabrera on the depth chart, but I’d definitely give him more playing time than he’s been getting.

The Reds also aren’t really getting the offensive production they need from the centerfield position.

Stubbs is getting most of the playing time, and though he has speed and a bit more power, his .230-ish average and .300-ish OBP really hurts.

I’d like to see Heisey get more playing time. He’s unproven at the MLB level, but after almost 85 at-bats so far he’s hitting .286 with an OBP of .365.

I say switch the depth chart and put him as the starting centerfielder and use Stubbs as the backup and stop-gap for those defensive substitutions and pinch-hit double switches when you’re bringing in the relief pitchers.

Here’s the batting order & lineup I’d use:

CF – Chris Heisey
2B – Brandon Phillips
1B – Joey Votto
3B – Scott Rolen
LF – Jonny Gomes
RF – Jay Bruce
  C – Ryan Hanigan/Ramon Hernandez
SS – Orlando Cabrera
  P – Pitcher

Gomes’ spot in the batting order is fairly interchangeable with Hanigan/Hernandez depending on who’s catching for the Reds at the time and who the opposing pitcher is, but I think I’d leave the rest of it alone for the most part.

It gives our No. 3 through No. 6 hitters protection on both sides, and our leadoff spot has protection behind him.

I’d use Stubbs and Janish for as many pinch hit and spot start opportunities as I could.

There’s also Cairo and Nix on the bench and in the September call-ups, the Reds have some talented guys in the minors who might help.

Then again, maybe the Reds will pick up someone from the waiver wire…

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Let’s continue with summing up the wild first-half of the MLB season, by looking at the National League.

One thing is for sure, the NL is no longer “the other” league in baseball. The NL is providing plenty of drama and talent to compete with their AL counterparts.

NL EAST:

The hottest team in the NL is the first place Atlanta Braves. Braves fans finally have something to cheer about. After a sluggish start to 2010, the Braves have been on fire once everything started to click.

Rookie sensation, Jason Heyward who was voted an All-Star but due to a deep bruised thumb will not participate. Thus far, the 20-year-old Heyward has 13 doubles, three triples, 11 home-runs, 45 RBIs, 42 walks and five stolen bases. The Braves strong pitching staff lead by Tim Hudson has made this team a real force.

Coming in second are the New York Mets, who are four games behind. Right on the Mets heels are the 2008 and 2009 NLCS champion Philadelphia Phillies who are just a half-game out.

Mets David Wright is back on his game again and Mets fans are starting to believe again. Jose Reyes and the nifty Angel Pagan make-up a solid line-up. It’s the pitching that will dictate their future.

Hopefully, the Mets won’t give-up and pout if the Phillies squeak past them down the stretch. It would not be the first time, so the Mets have to stay mentally strong.

The Phillies, like the Red Sox are injured all-around. However, they are getting their stride back as of late, so count them out. The 2009 Yankees were exactly where the Phillies are now.

The Marlins (10 back) and Nationals (13.5 back) have fallen to the back of the pack. Still both ball-clubs have bright futures. The Marlins have young ace Josh Johnson and hard-hitting and headed Hanley Ramirez.

The Nats have prodigy pitcher Steven Strasburg. Strasburg is on a 110 innings limit for good reason and already has the hottest selling jersey in all of MLB.

NL CENTRAL:

The Cincinnati Reds are the real deal. Featuring a deep line-up with the newly awakened Scott Rolen, Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Drew Stubs, and Jay Bruce. They have a arsenal of talented arms, as Travis Wood almost threw a perfect game against the Phillies just last week.

The St. Louis Cardinals, just like their AL counterparts the Minnesota Twins, have owned this division for quite a few seasons. Manager Tony La Russa has made some questionable calls this season, considering the Cards awesome pitching and great hitting.

Surprisingly bad play by the Milwaukee Brewers has put them 10.5 games out, along with the Chicago Cubs.

The Houston Astros, at 13.5 back still stink, but they are not the worst.

Last place is cemented again by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are 18 games behind.

The Cubs should look just across the city for some inspiration from their rival White Sox. Giving up is the Cubs motto. But, haven’t the fans earned a post-season berth by now?

NL WEST:

The San Diego Padres have lead the West pretty much from the start of the season. The pitching gets questioned a lot due to an arm-friendly Petco Park, but it is completely irrelevant considering they have the best ERA in MLB in away-games.

The Padres have the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies both two back from stealing first-place. Both the Rockies and the Dodgers are steadily getting back to playing consistently good baseball, so the Padres can’t miss a beat.

The San Francisco Giants are still in this race as they trail the Padres by four games.

The “freak” aka Tim Lincecum was the Cy Young last year, but his velocity is down this season. Lincecum fast-ball is gaining some speed again so things look to be on there way up. Maybe trading Bengie Molina was not the best idea for a pitching staff that is now struggling.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have the younger Upton, who is destined for greatness. Not sure if that will happen while in Arizona, a team 17 games back, but they can start to look towards 2011.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Over the past week or so, SeatGeek has worked on our version of a MLB midseason report—ticket style. We took a comprehensive look at how each team’s ticket sales on the secondary market have been, and we power-ranked each team based on the transaction prices for tickets for each team. Here’s links to what we’ve done:

• Midseason Ticket Report – AL East
• Midseason Ticket Report – AL Central
• Midseason Ticket Report – AL West
• Midseason Ticket Report – NL East
• Midseason Ticket Report – NL Central
• Midseason Ticket Report – NL West

As the second half of the season commences, we wanted to look at the top 15 games from this point on, as determined by the highest average transaction price for tickets for the game. Not surprisingly, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are involved in almost every one of the top games for the second half of 2010.

Each game of the Red Sox last series in New York at Yankee Stadium (from September 24 – September 26) and the Yankees last series in Boston at Fenway Park (from October 1 – October 3) is included in the top fifteen, as well. Also, every game in the top fifteen takes place between teams in the American League.

Don’t forget to enter our contest to win a MLB player tee or tickets to a game of your choice by correctly predicting on SeatGeek’s Twitter or Facebook where Alex Rodriguez is going to hit his milestone 600th home run.

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Also, be sure to look out for our prediction of where A-Rod will hit HR number 600 at the end of the week, and make sure you follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek and ‘Like’ us on Facebook !

This article is also featured on the SeatGeek Sports Blog

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Every Summer there is a great deal of controversy surrounding who was left off the MLB All-Star rosters.

This year is no different, as the National League roster is littered with controversial selections. Players like Omar Infante, Yadier Molina, and Michael Bourn have all had fine seasons, but there are many analysts who believe they could be easily replaced by players who were left off of the roster.

Here are the top 10 snubs from the National League roster this year.

Begin Slideshow