Written by Marc Jenkins | 13 July 2010

On a rainy and dreary Tuesday morning in New York City word spread like wildfire through the Big Apple that the greatest owner in professional sports history, George M. Steinbrenner III had suffered a massive heart attack and passed away at his home in Tampa, Florida. The Boss (a nickname given to him due to his hands on approach and decision making) left this world just 9 days following his 80th birthday (July 4, 2010), two days after another New York Yankee legend Bob Sheppard (Yankee Public Announcer for 56 years from 1951-2007) passed on as well and on the morning of the 81st Annual MLB All-Star Game.

 



Steinbrenner got his start in business by taking over the family shipping company (Kinsman Shipping) in 1957 from his father and within a few years began a new company (American Shipbuilding Company) which constructed many ships for cross seas importing and exporting. Before he went into owning professional sports franchises he was an assistant college football coach Northwestern University (1955-56) and Purdue University (1956-57).

 

In 1960, Steinbrenner got his start in the world of owning a professional sports team when he purchased the Cleveland Pipers of the ABL (American Basketball League). During the 1961-62 season the Pipers would win the ABL title (giving The Boss his first of many pro sports titles) however the league would fold just in 1962 just months into his second season as owner. This was just the beginning for Steinbrenner owning a championship...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 13 July 2010

For 25 years now the Home Run Derby has captivated and captured baseball fans attention on the day preceding the MLB All-Star Game. Every year the excitement reaches an extreme level once the eight combatants are announced and they begin to swing for the fences. Players let a variety of standard baseballs as well as special colored ones that donate money being giving to charities or other worthy causes, fly over the walls in grand fashion much to the delight of everyone in attendance.

 

The Home Run Derby is Major League Baseball’s version of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest; an event in the middle of the season before the All-Star Game that is intended on showcasing some of the game’s biggest names individual talents with the entire world watching. Over the past few years both contests have seen the popularity diminish and a major reason why is because the mega-stars aren’t competing which naturally takes some of the luster off of these events.

 

The Slam Dunk Contest isn’t truly detrimental to a player (besides the fact that they could possibly injure them self) however the Home Run Derby is.

 

The Home Run Derby Effect is for real!

 



It seems as if every year following the Derby, the winner seems to have a downward second half of the season in statistical categories such as hits, homers, runs batted-in, batting average and OPS. Some may attribute it to the second half being the dog days of August in the middle of the pennant races and players are...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 08 July 2010

The official midway point to the 2010 Major League Baseball season is now here and with it comes time to hand out all of the first half hardware and honors to the players, teams and managers who have earned them and have a great shot at picking up the actual accolades at the end of the season.

 While the American League has played out slightly predictable everything but what was expected has taken place in the Senior Circuit. The two-time defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies aren’t handling business as usual out of the gate, the woeful New York Mets are in serious division contention, out-of-nowhere the Atlanta Braves look very good the Cincinnati Reds are bashing the baseball on their way to unpredicted winning and the San Diego Padres entire pitching staff is something special to watch.

Here are The Go’s 2010 National League Mid-Season Awards:




MVP: Joey Votto – Cincinnati Reds First Baseman

In just his third Major League season Joey Votto has destroyed National League pitching and in the process catapulted his Reds to the top of the NL Central. Votto is hitting .318 with 21 homeruns, 60 RBI, 92 hits, 56 runs scored, 47 base-on balls, seven stolen bases and an 1.017 OPS. Votto is amongst the NL leaders in all of the Triple Crown categories and has the highest OPS in the entire league.




Cy Young: Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies Starting Pitcher




Over the first half of the 2010 season Ubaldo Jimenez is putting together one of the...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 07 July 2010

The official mid way point to the 2010 Major League Baseball season is now here and with it comes time to hand out all of the first half hardware and honors to the players, teams and managers who have earned them and have a great shot at picking up the actual accolades at the end of the season.

 

The Junior Circuit has seen its share of tremendous action including the New York Yankees picking up where they left off in 2009, the Boston Red Sox surviving an early slump and rash of injuries, the Tampa Bay Rays playing as they did a few seasons ago, The Minnesota Twins opening up their new ball park in grand fashion and the Texas Rangers surprising everyone and dominating in the AL West.

Here are The Go’s 2010 American League Mid-Season Awards:





MVP: Robinson Cano – New York Yankees

Second Baseman For several years many in-and-around the Majors have said that Robinson Cano has all of the tools to be one of the best hitters in the game someday……it appears that day has come. After 82 games this season Cano is hitting .342 with 16 home runs, 55 RBI, a .959 OPS, 110 hits, 22 doubles and scored 59 runs. Aside from just the raw numbers Cano has put up he has also carried the middle of the Yankee lineup while Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira struggled out of the gate.

 

Cy Young: Pick one of seven extremely worthy candidates, I honestly can’t choose one, can you without home team biases.PLAYERTEAMGPGSIPHRERBBSOWL
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David...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 02 July 2010

The 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star is scheduled to place on Tuesday, July 13 in Anaheim at Angels Stadium. The All-Star Game is a chance for the fans to see all of their favorite players in a dream scenario all on the field together at once; some playing on the same team other squaring off against one another.

 

The All-Star has tons of benefits for fans and players alike including the dream scenario situation and home field advantage for the winning league during the World Series. However there is one major problem with it; many times the wrong players are selected based on popularity and the players who are having the best first halves to the season get passed over and snubbed.

 

Here at The GO we have decided to make two starting lineups for what should be the actual lineups when the game begins in less than two weeks. Here is The Go’s 2010 American League and National League All-Star teams which are made up of players who are having the best first half of the season at the respective positions in their respective league.

 American League




1B – Justin Morneau Minnesota Twins

Morneau is having an incredible first half in 2010 hitting .349 with 16 homers, 52 runs batted-in, 95 hits, 168 total bases and a 1.063 OPS.

 

2B – Robinson Cano New York Yankees




Cano is the early favorite right now for AL MVP as he leads the majors in hitting (.353) and also has 16 home runs, 54 runs batted-in, 108 hits (leads majors), scored 56 runs, racked up 180...

Written by Svetlana Sforza | 02 July 2010

 

Amid the confusion of perfect games versus not, the birthdays of Andy Pettitte and myself, and the host of injuries to Chase Utley and the Orioles' pride, this seemed like the perfect time to deliver the wrap-up for the month of June.  The National League East has shown themselves to be fierce competitors.  What's not so enigmatic are the standings in the American League East and Central, with obvious power in the Yankees and Twins lineups.  What about the West? The NL division actually proves itself as the most competitive.  On the player's level, I'm certain we're all curious to see the deserving get snubbed and the popular receive 'honors' at the All Star Game this-and every-year.

In the NL East, you have the Braves sitting on top, where they sat for many years before the Phils decided to place their crowns above their heads.  Could Chase be the reason why Philadelphia is faltering slightly? Or does Atlanta display their pitching power behind the dominance of Hudson and Hanson so well? I'd also like to recognize Kris Medlen for expertise in that category.  But watch out, the Mets seemed to have regained their chemistry and team bonding, as they are 8 games over .500 (winning percentage).

There's no mystery as to why Minnesota is first in the AL Central, and New York in the East; just look at their power.  Between Morneau and Mauer, the new M&M boys (with Maris and Mantle being the original ones) you feel the opposing pitcher's dread as he approaches...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 01 July 2010

With the 2010 MLB All-Star approaching in less than two weeks the focus on the diamond will be solely on the game’s top players and biggest names; however that will quickly shift to the hunt for the postseason during the second half of the regular campaign. Every year leading up to July 31 both the Senior and Junior Circuit are filed with teams who feel they are just one or maybe two moves away from making a legitimate run at the title. Since the inception of the Wild Card in 1995 there seem to be more teams who are buyers than sellers during this player and prospect bartering frenzy.

 

This season won’t be any different either!

 

Entering play on the June 30, there are just eleven total teams that appear to be completely dead-in-the-water and ready to begin to dump salary as if it were really weight on a ship attempting to stay above sea level. Baltimore, Kansas City, Cleveland, Oakland, Seattle, Washington, Milwaukee, Houston, Pittsburgh, Arizona and the Chicago Cubs are all willing to begin a Major League fire-sale in exchange for the 18 (Florida is the one team in limbo that could go either way) other teams who believe that they are truly contenders top Minor League prospects.

 

Here are some of the biggest names that could be departing from one of the eleven teams listed above before the calendar changes to August.

 

The Baltimore Orioles are underachieving and will probably look to move right handed starting pitcher Kevin Milwood as well as infielders...

Written by Marc Jenkins | 14 May 2010

See Ya Soon Stephen Strasburg

By now every Major League Baseball fan, follower, analyst, player, manager and front office worker has heard the name Stephen Strasburg, but what many don’t realize is that he will absolutely make his Big League debut before this season’s All-Star break.

 

For those of you who don’t know about Mr. Strasburg allow me to fill you in quickly about the six foot four inch, 220 pound, right-handed fire-baller from San Diego, California who is just 21 years old and already being heralded as the possibly the greatest pitching prospect of all-time. During his three seasons at San Diego State University, Strasburg racked up a 22-7 record along with seven saves, allowing just 43 earned runs, 144 hits, five homeruns, and 50 walks while striking out 375 batters in 243.1 innings of work. In his sophomore season Strasburg struck out an amazing 23 batters in a game versus the University of Utah and in his junior season he struck out 16.1 batters per nine innings while walking only 1.6 batters per nine innings and posting a 0.77 WHIP.