All Douche Bag Team

I was bored at work today and my friend challenged me to make a line up of the biggest douche bags in baseball. I decided to one-up him and make a 25-man roster. This may not be the most loved team but it would sure win a World Series if the players were at their best. The only stipulation is that they played from 1993-on. This way I could give a fair assessment of how big of an asshole these guys really were.

Here is my roster. Please don't throw any batteries at them:

Manager: Tommy Lasorda
1B Coach: Tony LaRussa
3B Coach: Lou Pinella
Bench: Don Zimmer

Starters:
C: AJ Pierzynski
1B: Rafael Palmiero
2B: Jeff Kent
SS: Jose Reyes
3B: Alex Rodriguez
LF: Barry Bonds
CF: Milton Bradley
RF: Jose Canseco

Bench:
C: Mike Piazza
IF: Mark McGwire
IF: Alberte Belle
OF: Darryl Strawberry
OF: Gary Sheffield
OF: JD Drew

Starting Pitchers:
1: Roger Clemens
2: Brett Myers
3: Curt Schilling
4: Carlos Zambrano
5: David Wells

Relief Pitchers:
RP: John Rocker
RP: Ugueth Urbina
RP: Kyle Farnsworth
RP: Guillermo Mota
RP: Billy Wagner
CL: Francisco Rodriguez

NL Loses Again

For the 13th year, the National League has failed to beat the American League in the mid summer classic. For the third straight year, the NL lost by one run. Curtis Granderson of the Tigers hit a triple to left in the eighth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones of the Orioles to give the AL the 4-3 lead and win.

The NL hasn't won since 1996 at Veterans Stadium. Since then, they are 0-12-1 (the tie came in 2002 in Milwaukee. With yesterday's win, the AL will receive home field advantage once again in the World Series. I still believe that home field advantage should go to the team with the best record in baseball.

All five Phillies got to play as Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino started and Jayson Werth replaced Victorino and Howard pinch hit. Utley had a great game in the field despite going 0-2 at the plate. Ibanez also went 0-2. Victorino made the most of his appearance, going 1-2 with a base hit and then scoring the game tying run (at two) in the second off an error. Werth came in and struck out but made a great running catch in center to ironically bail out Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. Howard struck out on a half swing trailing by one with runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth.

Here's the official box score:

Swept Again

Comcast Sportsnet had a great poll up but they missed one option. The question: what is the cause of the Phillies' struggles? A. bull pen inconsistency; B. Cole Hamels' struggles; C. Raul Ibanez's absence; D. Jimmy Rollins' struggles. I would love to add: E. All of the above.

The Phillies are 4-14 in their last 18 games. In those last 18, the bull pen has blown countless saves and pitched absolutely terrible. In games when the Phillies would be trailing only a run or two, the bull pen would surrender multiple runs to put the game out of reach. A part of this is due to the starters not going at least seven innings and that is completely draining the bull pen.

Ryan Madson has been the most dreadful of relievers. Since June 16, he's given up nine runs in seven appearances (6 2/3 innings). He has blown three saves. Madson isn't the only pitcher struggling as Hamels, who hasn't won a game since June 4, has been terrible. In his last five starts, he's 0-3, averaging less than six innings a start. He's given up 19 runs on 44 hits and 8 walks in 27 2/3 IP. Those are not numbers you want from your ace.

After being benched for four games, Rollins came back to go hitless in the first two games of the Braves series until Thursday night when he had two hits, snapping an 0-28 drought.

Tuesday: In a seesaw battle, the Phillies blew a 4-3 lead in the eighth and gave up a walk off hit in the 10th. Martin Prado capped his 4-5, four RBI game with the winning hit as the Braves won 5-4.

Wednesday: Jair Jurrjens took a no hitter into the seventh as the Braves dominated the Phillies 11-1.

Thursday: After tying the game up at two in the sixth, the Braves scored three in the eighth off Madson to win 5-2. JA Happ went seven strong, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out five.

Series MVP's:

ATL: Martin Prado: 7-12, 4 runs, 2 doubles, HR, 6 RBI

ATL: Matt Diaz: 7-11, 4 runs, double, HR, 3 RBI, SB

Next Series: New York Mets (39-39; 17-22 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (39-37; 13-22 at home)

We all know how big the Mets series is. It's the start of their final 10 game home stand going into the All Star Break. The Mets lead the series 4-3 but the Phillies have won the previous two. The Phillies can win the series still but at this rate, I am afraid of a sweep or series loss. Luckily Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez have hit some rough patches. I have nothing more to say.

Pitching Probables:

7/3: Hernandez, L (5-3, 4.04), Lopez, Ro (0-0, -.--)

7/4: Nieve (3-1, 2.25), Moyer (6-6, 6.05)

7/5: Santana, J (9-6, 3.34), Blanton (4-4, 5.08)