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Breaking away Midseason musings and notes from the All-Star Game
The Mariners appear to be intensifying their search for a hitter who can bat second in their lineup, behind Ichiro Suzuki. They like Dmitri Young of the Reds and have inquired about Juan Encarnacion of the Tigers. The perfect fit would be Shannon Stewart of Toronto, but the Blue Jays would be more inclined to move Jose Cruz Jr. Meanwhile, Seattle will recall John Halama from Class AAA and put him back into the rotation. The M's had demoted him so he could work on getting movement back on his sinker. "That's what he's done," manager Lou Piniella said ... Phillies general manager Ed Wade knows about the little black book in which manager Larry Bowa is making notations about his players' work habits. Wade, however, said he hasn't read it or talked specifically about it with Bowa. "Maybe I'll see it after the season," he joked. Wade praised Bowa for changing the culture in the Phillies' clubhouse: "Bo's not going to settle for anything less than winning," Wade said. "His goal is to go undefeated and to play that way every night." Oddest souvenir at the All-Star FanFest: the $35 Bobby Valentine All-Star bobblehead doll. It nods to all the other bobbleheads that they will be on the All-Star team, barring anything crazy, of course ... Oddest honest admission on the All-Star Game media notes, referring to the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award given to Cal Ripken for breaking the record for consecutive games played: "The award has previously been given to him but never actually presented."
Where have all the premier center fielders gone? Until Mike Cameron of Seattle was added to the All-Star team, Bernie Williams of the Yankees was the only true center fielder to be named to the squad. Get used to Ripken and Tony Gwynn being linked to one another. They'll go into the Hall of Fame together in 2007. Besides, when asked to identify a memorable All-Star experience, each of them coincidentally chose a moment that involved the other. Ripken recalled hitting a home run in 1991, when he was named All-Star MVP for the first time. The ball sailed over Gwynn's head. Gwynn mentioned the game in 1993 when he scored the winning run from first base. It was Ripken who made the relay throw home on the play. As strange as it is that Cincinnati was 10-31 at home in the first half, remember that the Reds started 5-5 at Cinergy, leaving them 5-26 at home since. The Reds haven't won two consecutive home games all season. Here's what Houston's Craig Biggio said to Kansas City first baseman Mike Sweeney during a recent series: "I hope you get 70 doubles and break the record." Said Sweeney later, "I know he meant well, but I don't think about statistics or breaking the record. It's really the last thing on my mind. I don't play this game for numbers." Sweeney reached the break with 35 doubles, more than the 30 he hit all of last season, and enough to put him on track to break the major league record of 67 set by Earl Webb in 1931. Sweeney did say, though, that a prototypical double -- a hard shot into a gap -- is his goal as a hitter. "I just try to put a good swing on the ball. I try to hit a double every time up," he said. As much heat as he took for selecting seven Yankees, AL All-Star manager Joe Torre still thinks the World Series managers should pick the All-Star reserves. "If that's one of the perks you get for going to the World Series, fine," Torre said. "All things being equal, you're going to take your own guy [over someone else]. If they're deserving, why punish them by not taking them?" Torre did say he favors expanding the rosters from 30 to 35. The Twins' Eric Milton showed class when Torre needed to keep one starting pitcher out of action at the All-Star Game so he'd have someone to call on if the contest went into extra innings. Torre was debating whether Milton or teammate Joe Mays should be the one held in reserve. "Let Joe pitch," Milton told Torre. "He's had the better year."
Beane not giving up on A teamThe trade for Ron Gant was the first tipoff. The Athletics aren't ready to concede anything. Forget about Oakland jettisoning free-agents-to-be Johnny Damon, Jason Isringhausen and Jason Giambi -- at least for the next two weeks. The A's still believe they are in the thick of the wild-card hunt. "I get a kick out of all these trade rumors I keep reading about," general manager Billy Beane said. "We're actually playing much better baseball. I think our pitching is as good as anybody's right now. We'll see what happens, but right now I really like the way this team is playing." Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder all turned in spectacular starts in their last outings, giving rise to the notion that Oakland can ride its frontline starting pitching -- as Minnesota, the Yankees and Seattle have done in the AL -- over an extended run. The offense has been percolating now that Damon has found his groove and Gant can only help what's been disastrous production behind Giambi in the No. 4 spot. Remember, Oakland started the season in an 8-18 hole, including a 1-5 mark against Seattle. Since then the A's are 34-25. Oakland plays 12 of its first 18 games out of the break at home. After series against the Dodgers and Rockies, the A's play seven games against Kansas City and five against Minnesota. By then, Beane will know for certain if he was right about his hunch that his team seems poised to take off. If he's wrong, he'll have a few days to start unloading players.
Yankee ingenuitySay what you want about the Yankees' filthy-rich resources, but more All-Stars came out of their minor-league system than any other team's. Here are the best and worst franchises in terms of 2001 All-Stars produced. (International professional free agents were not counted. Newbie franchises Arizona and Tampa Bay, who had none of their picks in the game, were excluded from the worst list.
The Best
The Worst Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci covers the baseball beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his weekly baseball mailbag.
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