Melky Cabrera Suspended 50 Games

San Francisco Giants left fielder Melky Cabrera was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The 28-year-old Dominican was enjoying a career year before the suspension. His .346 average was second in the National League, and was setting personal highs on-base percentage and slugging.

Cabrera expanded his followers when he was named the All-Star MVP this season. His 60 RBIs are second on the team currently tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. His 10 triples and 25 doubles lead the team.

The switch-hitter’s statistics improved drastically for Kansas City in 2011 after spending 2010 with the Atlanta Braves. He jumped from 4 to 18 home runs, batting .255 to .305, slugging .354 to .470 and driving in 42 runs to 87 runs.

Cabrera did not dispute his suspension: “My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. … I am deeply sorry for my mistake.”

The midseason addition of Hunter Pence’s bat becomes much bigger now as several Giants hitters will now find themselves batting higher in the order. The Giants are smack in the middle of a pennant race and it will be interesting to see if they can outplay the Dodgers or earn one of two wild card positions.

The Big Guy

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Matt Garza

The Cubs starting pitcher got the win in a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete the 3 game sweep. Garza went 7 innings giving up 0 runs off 5 hits while striking out 7. Garza got his 5th victory of the season and is now 5-7 with a 4.02 ERA.

Stephen Strasburg

The Washington Nationals starting pitcher got his 10th victory on the season in a 4-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. Strasburg went 6 innings giving up 0 runs off 6 hits while striking out 7. Strasburg now has a 2.66 ERA with 135 strikeouts on the season, and is just 2 wins behind R.A. Dickey for the lead in wins in the NL.

Ben Sheets

The Atlanta Braves starting pitcher got his first win in nearly 2 years after a 6-1 victory over the New York Mets. Sheets got his first start after coming off injury that has kept him out of the league for the past 2 seasons. Sheets is homing to help the the Braves make a push for the top spot in the NL East.

Andrew McCutchen

Despite the 1-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, McCutchen went 3-4 on the night to stay hot. McCutchen had 2 singles, a homer, a run scored, and a RBI on the night to extend his hitting streak to 6 games, with 14 hits during this span. McCutchen is now hitting .371 with 21 homers, 119 hits, and 64 RBIs on the season. MVP anyone.

Martin Maldonado

The Brewers catcher, Martin Maldonado went 3-4 in the Brewers 4-1 victory over the Pirates. Maldonado had a single, 2 doubles, and an RBI on the day. Maldonado is now hitting .285 with 3 doubles on the season for the Brewers.

Cole Hamels

The Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher got his 11th victory on the season with a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Hamels went 8 innings giving 1 run off 6 hits while striking out 7. Hamels is now tied for 2nd in wins in the NL with 11, and is 4th in strikeouts with 125. and innings pitched with 126. Hamels is 11-4 with a 3.04 ERA on the season.

Buster Posey

The San Francisco Giants catcher, Buster Posey, went 3-4 in the Giants 3-2 victory over Astros. Posey had 3 singles, and 2 RBIs in Sunday’s game and is now batting .297 with 11 homers, 16 doubles, and 47 RBIs on the season.

Matt Cain

The Giants starting pitcher, Matt Cain, got his 10th victory on the year over the Houston Astros. Cain went 6.1 innings giving up 2 runs off 5 hits while striking out 6. Cain improved to 10-3 on the year making him 6th in wins in the NL, 2nd in innings pitched(126.2), 6th in the NL in strikeouts(124), 5th in ERA(2.56), and 1st in WHIP(0.96). Cain is a definite candidate for cy young.

Aroldis Chapman

The Cincinnati Reds closer, Aroldis Chapman, got his 13th save of the season in a 4-2 victory over the St.Louis Cardinals. Chapman improved his ERA to 1.70 on the season with 79 strikeouts. Chapman struck out the side Sunday night, and now has 20 strikeouts over his last 8 innings.

The Bad

Hanley Ramirez

The Marlins 3rd baseman, Hanley Ramirez is went 0-4 in the Marlins 0-4 loss to the Nationals. Ramirez struck out once, and now has 5 strikeouts over the last 3 games, and just has 4 hits over his last 33 at bats giving him a .246 average for the season. 

Johan Santana

The New York Mets starting pitcher, Johan Santana, got his second straight loss Sunday against the Braves. Santana went jsut 5 innings giving up 6 runs off 8 hits.Santana has now given up 21 hits and 13 runs over his last 9.2 innings thrown. Santana has a 6-6 record with a 3.59 ERA on the year.

Pedro Alvarez

The Pittsburgh Pirates 3rd baseman, Pedro Alvarez, went 0-3 in the Pirates 1- loss against the Brewers. Alvarez has 3 strikeouts, giving him 7 strikeouts over the last 3 games. Alvarez is just 7- 31 over his last 10 games giving him a .226 average on the season.

The Ugly

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost 7-2 Sunday against the Padres thanks to 5 errors on the day. This was a season high in errors for the Dodgers, and the3rd baseman Hairston Jr. had 2 errors in the same innining. The Dodgers are now 48-42 on the season, leaving them 1.5 games out of first.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have won just 1 game over their last 14 games, and are now officially the worse team in the NL. The Houston Astros are now just 33-56 on the year. Many of the problems come from the bats. The Astros are ranked 23rd in runs, 24th in batting average, 25th in on base percentage, and 25th in slugging percentage. Also on the rubber side the Astros rank 27th in ERA, 16th in quality starts, 27th in WHIP, and 28th in batters average,

Coach Tom

Coach Tom’s National League All Star Team

Here are the starting all stars for the National League, and who i believe deserves to be starting for the National League

Coach Tom’s Cacher- Yadier Molina, St.Louis Cardinals

Actual Catcher- Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

The Giants catcher Buster Posey will be starting in the 2012 all star game despite not being first in a single category offensively or defensively. Lets compare my all star to the actual all star. Posey’s average .303, Molina .309. Posey’s hits 77, Molina 82. Posey’s doubles, 15, Molina 15. Posey’s homers, 10, Molina 13. Posey’s RBIs, 42, Molina 45. Posey 1 stolen base, Molina 7. Posey, slugging .480, Molina .513. Molina leads all catchers in every offensive category but 2, and also is above Posey in all but 1 defensive category. Molina should be your N.L. starter.

Coach Tom’s 1st Baseman- Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Actual 1st Baseman- Joey Votto

The Cincinnati Reds 1st baseman Joey Votto has proven himself to get to his 3rd all star game in his career. Votto is ver deserving of the starting role after going  .350 with 93 hits, 50 runs, 33 doubles,  14 homers, 47 RBIs, and 60 walks. Votto leads 1st baseman in virtually all offensive categories including obp .471, slugging .632, and ops 1.103. Fans got it right when voting for former MVP Joey Votto to represent the N.L. in the all star game.

Coach Tom’s 2nd Baseman- Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks

Actual 2nd Baseman- Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves

This is my biggest snub in all the all star starters. Dan Uggla is batting .234 on the season which puts him 9th between all 2nd baseman in the N.L. while Aaron Hill is batting .300 which leaves him second. Hill and Uggla lead 2nd baseman with 11 homers on the season, and Hill has 86 hits to Uggla’s 64 which again is 9th between N.L. 2nd baseman. To add to Aaron Hills great year, not only being in the top 6 in all the offensive categories, Hill made history of his own becoming the first player in over 100 years to hit for the cycle 2 times in the same year. Most interesting stats are the runs created, 51.4, runs created per 27 outs, 6.61, and isolated power, .213 lead all 2nd baseman. That fans got this one terribly wrong in my eyes.

Coach Tom’s 3rd Baseman- David Wright, New York Mets

Actual 3rd Baseman- Pablo Sandoval, San So  Francisco Giants

This is another pick that was a no brainer for me and concluded to me that fans have no brains. So the Mets David Wright is leading in every offensive category except homers this season with 53 runs scored, 98 hits, 26 doubles, 50 RBIs, 48 walks, .354 average, .447 on base percentage, .560 slugging, and 1.006 ops. This is by far Wright’s best start to a season and it’s not like Sandoval is even close in statistics with Wright. Sandoval is 10th or worse in every category besides average, which technically he hasn’t had enough bats to even qualify for. So sad how someone as in David Wright can blow the competition away, yet doesn’t get rewarded.

Coach Tom’s Short Stop- Willie Bloomquist, Arizona Diamondbacks

Actual Short Stop- Rafael Furcal, St.Louis Cardinals

With short stops looking rather weak this year, Willie Bloomquist would be my starting short stop if I were choosing the starting lineup. Bloomquist is batting  .295 on the season in comparison to Furcal’s .276. Most staggering is that Bloomquist is peaking over the last month hitting .341 in June, while Furcal has been on the down slope hitting just .150 in the month of June. To boast his numbers Bloomquist has just 3 errors on the season, 4 better than Furcal who is sitting at 7. Bloomquist should be starting and couldn’t even find his way on to the all star team as a reserve let alone a starter. Fans got it wrong all over again.

Coach Tom’s Outfielders- Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates, Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants, Carlos Beltran, St.Louis Cardinals.

Actual Outfielders- Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers, Melky Cabrera, San Francisco Giants, Carlos Beltran, St.Louis Cardinals.

Lets start with what we agree with and that is Melky Cabrera, LF for the Giants. Cabrera is hitting .352 with 111 hits, 16 doubles, 7 triples, 7 homers, 39 RBIs, 10 stolen bases,and 23 walks on the season. Well deserving to start in the all star. Matt Kemp would be starting if it wasn’t for his early season injury to his hamstring. Kemp was batting .355 with 12 homers and 28 RBIs before being injured on may 30th. Andrew McCutchen will being starting and is still very well deserving of the start as he is hitting .355 with 101 hits, 17 doubles, 4 triples, 15 homers, 52 RBIs, and has the Pirates just 1 game out of first place. The last spot is Carlos Beltran. Beltran is hitting .308 with 84 hits, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 20 homers, 63 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases on the season. Beltran’s consistant play throughout the season have left him far above any other right fielder in the National League.

So here’s both my views and America’s views on who should/is starting the all star game for the N.L.

Coach Tom

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Joel Hanrahan-

The pirates closer got his 20th save of the year in a 5-4 victory vs. the Phillies Thursday night. Thursday’s save gave Hanrahan his 5th save in a row, and has blown just 2 saves all year, in which the Pirates still got the victories in both. Harahan is 3rd in the N.L in saves this year with 20. Hanrahan is   3-0 with 35 strikeouts in just 30 innings pitched, and has a 2.10 ERA on the season now.

Bryce Harper

The Nationals outfielder went 2-6 in Thursday’s loss over the Colorado Rockies. Harper had a single, a homer, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBIs improving his average to .282 on the season. Harper’s 8th homer of the season came in fashion of the game tying homer to lead off the 9th inning. Harper had 7 hits in the 4 game series and is on his way to a rookie of the year award at age of just 19.

Tyler Colvin

The Rockies center fielder improved his average to .307 on the year after a 4-6 game vs. the Washington Nationals in Thursday’s 11-10 victory. Colvin had 2 singles, a triple, a homer, leaving him just a double shy of the cycle, and 5 RBIs on the night. Colvin’s 5 RBI night was a career high  and the triple was just his 12th of his career.

Chris Young

The Diamondbacks center fielder only went 1-4 on the night, but his one hit got him on the good list for just one reason. Young’s homer came in the 9th inning with 1 out when the game was tied 3-3 at the time. Young’s 7th homer of the season ended up being the game winning run in Thursday’s 4-3 victory over the Braves. Young’s homer gave the Braves closer, Craig Kimbrel his first blown save on the season.

Alexi Amarista

The Padres 2nd baseman went 1-1 in a pinch hit roll Thursday night in a 11-3 victory over the Houston Astros. Amarista had a career day in just one swing giving him his 1st career homer, grandslam, and most RBIs in a game at 4. Amarista is hitting just .233 on the season.

Andrew Cashner

The Padres starting pitcher got a no decision despite throwing a no-hitter into the 7th inning. Cashner went 6.1 innings while giving up 2 runs on just 2 hits and striking out 9. Thursday’s outing was Cashner’s first role in the starting spot on the season and he now has a 3.63 ERA on the year.

David Wright

The Mets 3rd basemen went 2-3 in the Mets 3-2 victory over the Dodgers. Wright had a single, a homer, 1 runs scored, and 2 RBIs Thursday. Wright is now batting .361 with with 9 homers and 49 RBIs on the year.

Madison Bumgarner

The Giants starter improved to 10-4 on the season in Thursday’s 5-0 victory over the Reds. Bumgarner went 9 innings giving up no runs off just 1 hit and striking out 9.  This was Bumgarner’s best start of the season and now has a 2.85 ERA with 92 strikeouts on the season.

The Bad

Todd Frazier

The Reds 3rd baseman went 0-3 in a 5-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Frazier dropped his average to .258 after a 3 strikeout game Thursday night. Frazier has just 5 hits over his last 10 games and has lowered his average by 20 points during that stand.

Clinton Barmes

Despite the victory for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barmes average dropped to .196 on the season. The Pirates shortstop went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts Thursday vs. the Phillies. Barmes is just 7-32 over his last 10 games which has actually raised his average 8 points.

Nationals and Rockies pitching

In the Nationals and Rockies 11-10 game there were 34 totals hits and 22 runs. Lets start with the Nationals. Edwin Jackson went just 3 innings giving up 8 runs off 10 hits. Tom Gorzelanny went 2 innings giving up 2 runs off 3 hits. Now the Rockies pitching. Josh Outman went 3 innings giving up 5 runs off 5 hits. Josh Roenicke went 3 innings giving up 4 runs off 4 hits.

Dan Uggla

The Braves 2nd baseman went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts in the Braves 4-3 loss. Uggla is now 0-10 over the last 3 games dropping his average to .235 on the season.

The Ugly

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are now 43-34 on the season after dropping their 5th in a row and their 9th of their last 10th. The Dodgers were sitting in first place before their lossing ways and now sit 1 game behind the soaring Giants. The Dodgers have scored just 15 runs over their last 10 games while giving up 41 runs.

Coach Tom

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

With only 2 games in the N.L. todays recap of Thursdays game will be shorten

The Good 

Carlos Gonzalez- The Rockies center fielder homered again Thursday against Houston going 3-4 with 3 runs, a double, and 3 RBIs to go along with his homer. Gonzalez torched the Astros pithing going 11-18 with 4 home runs, 3 doubles, and 8 RBIs. Gonzalez raised his batting average 27 points to .332, making him 5th in the N.L. in batting aveage.

Aramis Ramirez- Ramirez went 2-3 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs including his 5th homer of the season. Ramirez got off to a slow start of the year, but over the past 10 games he has raised his average 28 points to .246.

The Bad

Bud Norris-  The Astros starting pitcher could only manage 1.2 innings giving up 9 runs off 7 hits and 3 walks. This was by far Norris’s shortest outing of the season.

The Ugly

Los Angeles Dodgers- The Dodgers have now lost 4 in a row and have lost Kemp to the dl yet again.

Coach Tom