2009 HR Derby; All-Star Team Additions; Jonathan Sanchez, First No-No of 2009

Joe Mauer accepted the position into the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis to fill in for Justin Morneau.

The 2009 Home Run Derby participants so far are:
Albert Pujols
Adrian Gonzalez
Ryan Howard
Prince Fielder
Nelson Cruz
Brandon Inge
Joe Mauer

I'm gonna predict that Pujols wins at home. The dude is a machine, and will hit homer after homer...

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Jayson Werth was added to the National League All-Star team. He will be replacing Carlos Beltran, who will miss the All-Star game because of an injured right knee.

Werth is batting .268 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs on the season. He also has 12 stolen bases.

On the American League side, Nelson Cruz was added to the All-Star team. He will be replacing Torii Hunter.

Cruz is batting .266 with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs on the season. He also has 13 stolen bases.

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Jonathan Sanchez threw the first no-hitter in 2009 by no-hitting the Padres. He had 0 BB, and 11 strikeouts.

Why wasn't it a perfect game? Uribe made an error on a short hop in the 8th inning, and the batter reached base.

It was the 13th no-hitter in Giants' history.

Congratulations to Sanchez! He pitched an amazing performance!

B.J. Ryan Released

The Blue Jays have released B.J. Ryan.

The former Toronto closer has been having command issues, and velocity issues, while often being injured. Toronto is still obligated to paying Ryan ten million dollars next year.

Ryan had lost the closer role to Scott Downs earlier this year, and Blue Jays' manager Cito Gaston came to a point where it was hard to find a time to pitch Ryan.

B.J. Ryan, 33, walked 17 in 20 2/3 IP with a 6.53 ERA this year.

Toronto also activated Scott Downs from the 15 day DL, and will return into the closer role.

Morneau Declines HR Derby Invitation; White Sox Acquire Pena; Kinsler, Sandavol Hold Final Vote Leads

Justin Morneau won't be defending his HR Derby title this year.

Morneau was asked yesterday if he would participate, and he declined. "I said I wasn't going to do it," Morneau said.

"I'd love to sit there and watch him just as a fan. I'd have the best seat in the house, sitting on the field and just enjoy watching my teammate, instead of sitting there having to be focused and not really get to enjoy the thing," Morneau said of watching Mauer in the HR Derby. Seems as if Morneau would rather just sit and enjoy the amazing experience, rather than defend his title.

There has been talk that Mauer may be asked to join. And he says it would be tough to decline the invitation.

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The White Sox acquired Tony Pena from Arizona in exchange for Minor League infielder Brandon Allen.

Pena, 27, has a 16-13 career record with a 4.08 ERA. He has seven saves and 63 career holds.

This year, he is 5-3 with a 4.24 ERA, and eight holds.

Allen, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter, was hitting .282 with eight home runs, 16 doubles and 43 RBIs in 62 combined games with Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte.

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You have until Thursday, 4 PM ET, to vote the final 2 players into the All-Star game.

The NL race, Sandoval currently leads the voting. Victorino is in 2nd place, Mark Reynolds in 3rd, and Christian Guzman in 4th.



In the AL race, Ian Kinsler currently leads the voting. Inge is in 2nd place, Chone Figgins in 3rd, Carlos Pena in 4th, and Adam Lind in 5th.

You can vote here:

2009 MLB All Star Game - St. Louis

The Major League Baseball All Star game is set for July 14, 7 days away. The rosters for each league have been released. They are, as follows:

American League
STARTERS

C Joe Mauer, MIN L/R
1B Mark Teixeira, NYY S/R
2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS R/R
SS Derek Jeter, NYY R/R
3B Evan Longoria, TB R/R
OF Jason Bay, BOS R/R
OF Ichiro Suzuki, SEA L/R
OF Josh Hamilton, TEX L/L

PITCHERS

P Andrew Bailey, OAK R/R
P Josh Beckett, BOS R/R
P Mark Buehrle, CWS L/L
P Brian Fuentes, LAA L/L
P Zack Greinke, KC R/R
P Roy Halladay, TOR R/R
P Felix Hernandez, SEA R/R
P Edwin Jackson, DET R/R
P Joe Nathan, MIN R/R
P Jonathan Papelbon, BOS R/R
P Mariano Rivera, NYY R/R
P Justin Verlander, DET R/R
P Tim Wakefield, BOS R/R

RESERVES

C Victor Martinez, CLE S/R
1B Justin Morneau, MIN L/R
1B Kevin Youkilis, BOS R/R
2B Aaron Hill, TOR R/R
SS Jason Bartlett, TB R/R
3B Michael Young, TEX R/R
OF Carl Crawford, TB L/L
OF Curtis Granderson, DET L/R
OF Torii Hunter, LAA R/R
OF Adam Jones, BAL R/R
OF Ben Zobrist, TB S/R

National League
STARTERS
C Yadier Molina, STL R/R
1B Albert Pujols, STL R/R
2B Chase Utley, PHI L/R
SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA R/R
3B David Wright, NYM R/R
OF Carlos Beltran, NYM S/R
OF Ryan Braun, MIL R/R
OF Raul Ibanez, PHI L/R

PITCHERS
P Heath Bell, SD R/R
P Chad Billingsley, LAD R/R
P Jonathan Broxton, LAD R/R
P Matt Cain, SF R/R
P Francisco Cordero, CIN R/R
P Ryan Franklin, STL R/R
P Dan Haren, ARI R/R
P Josh Johnson, FLA L/R
P Ted Lilly, CHC L/L
P Tim Lincecum, SF L/R
P Jason Marquis, COL L/R
P Francisco Rodriguez, NYM R/R
P Johan Santana, NYM L/L

RESERVES
C Brian McCann, ATL L/R
1B Prince Fielder, MIL L/R
1B Adrian Gonzalez, SD L/L
1B Ryan Howard, PHI L/L
2B Orlando Hudson, LAD S/R
2B Freddy Sanchez, PIT R/R
SS Miguel Tejada, HOU R/R
3B Ryan Zimmerman, WSH R/R
OF Brad Hawpe, COL L/L
OF Hunter Pence, HOU R/R
OF Justin Upton, ARI R/R

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The AL has won every all-star game since 1997 (tie in 2002). I could see the NL winning this year, however, I am predicting the AL to win. Why? Simple. Two of the players who were voted to start in the OF for the NL, Carlos Beltran and Raul Ibanez, are on the DL. While Ibanez has expressed his interest in playing in the game, who knows how he'll do after his time off. If he picks up where he left off, perhaps he can lead the NL to victory. It's gonna be yet another All-Star game that is won by 1-2 runs, and I'm taking the AL...5-3.

Don't expect another Inside-the-park-HR from Ichiro, or a starting pitcher to strike out the side in the 1st inning (happened only once, when Pedro Martinez did it in 1999), but don't count out a memorable moment that may occur, either.

Your predictions?

Backe Placed on Waivers

The Houston Astros placed right-handed pitcher Brandon Backe on waivers today.

31 year old Backe was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA in 13 innings for Houston this season. Backe was shocked after being designated for assignment, and did not want to play for the Astros anymore if that were to happen. He rejected assignment to AAA Round Rock, and will likely become a free agent and obtain all of his 1.5 million dollar salary after 3 days.

Astros Take 2 of 3 From Detroit; Backe Left In Shock; Hampton Returns

I was able to go to all three games at Minute Maid Park this weekend against the Detroit Tigers. Boy, what a fun time I had. It was awesome.

On Friday, Detroit got off to a fast start, earning a 4-0 lead in the first two innings. However, the Astros held them scoreless the rest of the game.

Then, the Astros scored two in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-run double by Tejada, and then scored one more in the sixth, and two more in the 8th thanks to Zumaya hitting the strike zone as often as a David Eckstein home run. Astros won the game, 5-4. There were fireworks after the game.

Saturday, everything went well. Paulino pitched an amazing game with a 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, and 9 K line. Paulino set a new personal career record for most strikeouts in a game.

Astro bats were hot throughout the entire game, busting in five runs in the third with help from a Matsui two-run HR. Astros finished off with 13 hits and eights runs, winning 8-1.

Sunday was a bit more disappointing. In the fourth, Hunter Pence laced a double down the line. Keppinger scored from second, and Lee scored from first on the hit. However, a fan reached down and tried to catch the ball, which resulted in a ground rule double for Pence, forcing Lee back to third, and an automatic ejection of the fan.

Pudge then struck out, leaving Lee left to hang on third. That fan cost us a run! And it came back to haunt us...Valverde comes in for the save with a 3-2 lead. Gets two outs, then walks Thames.

Inge comes up, Valverde makes a mistake with a fastball up the middle, and Inge takes advantage, crushing the ball over the Crawford Boxes for a two-run HR giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

Rodney then finished the game off, only giving up one hit to Geoff Blum. Had that fan not touched the ball, the game would have been tied, heading to extra innings...

Houston could have swept, but Inge capitalized on Valverde's mistakes. Other notes from Houston:

- Brandon Backe was designated for assignment...and was completely shocked.
"It's kind of a shock to me," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I got to talk to my agent. To be honest with you, hopefully another team picks me up and I get to the big leagues. I don't know. We'll just have to take it one step at a time. I've never been in this situation before. It's something new to me. I'll just see what comes about."

Backe will likely not start for Houston ever again.

- Cecil Cooper is contemplating a tough choice out in Houston. Mike Hampton is scheduled to return from the 15 day DL and start Tuesday against San Diego, leaving Russ Ortiz and Brian Moehler fighting for one spot.

2009 Houston Astros: 1-4

Happy Easter to all.

Sunday, April 12, 2009
Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Wandy Rodriguez vs. Kyle Lohse
Busch Stadium
1:15 CT