It’s a sad day for baseball fans, it would seem. At least for a lot of people, the discussion is about the report that David Ortiz has used performance-enhancing drugs and is one of the 104 people listed on the 2003 list. This list just keeps leaking more people as we go forwards and eventually it seems like they’ll have to release all the names. Meanwhile, Ortiz maintains his innocence, including that he didn’t know that he tested positive and will ask around about what it was that he tested positive for. He has this reputation that he wants to uphold, where people say that he’s one of the best players and one of the purest. All his accomplishments will now, fairly or not, be called into question due to this situation. We would like to not believe it, but sometimes you can’t get away from it.

It seems unlikely now. Yesterday there was a report that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was considering reinstating Pete Rose to the MLB. This would have given him the chance to be voted into the Hall of Fame because he’s the all-time hits leader for baseball. But his legacy is more based on his baseball betting scandal that got him banished from the sport over 20 years ago. He was obviously hoping to make it in, but unfortunately it looks less likely now. Yesterday, the report was that Selig was reevaluating it, but today a source came to ESPN and said that Selig’s thinking hadn’t changed in any way on the matter. Of course, they would always say that, but since the source was anonymous, it seems even more probable that Rose will remain away from the baseball world. I don’t actually want to take any kind of position on it but it’s a rather touchy matter. I also don’t know all that much else about it, but I can see why a reevaluation might be appropriate, just to be sure.

The problem: the perfect game was for the other team, the Chicago White Sox. Their ace Mark Buehrle was not only unhittable yesterday, but he was completely unflappable, unwalkable and unimperfect. Most of those aren’t words, but you get the idea. He pitched a 9 inning perfect game. No hits and no walks. The Rays had a rough series against the Sox, falling behind each game and only catching up once the entire time. They started out their road trip well, but the Sox were surprisingly tough. And then they ran into Mr. B, who was trying to make up for a bad performance in the last game against Minnesota. And did he ever. It’s hard to imagine a time when Chicago fans were more excited about baseball, especially at this point in the season.

Matt Holliday became the most popular guy on his team last night with a large hit in the 7th inning. He hit the game-tying grand slam that every player dreams of getting at some point in his or her life. It’s was a lot of fun to see him get into that kind of groove, especially after he’d already hit a two-run homer earlier in the game. This makes last night’s game one of the best of his career, with 6 RBIs. Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s were able to use those home runs to return from a 10 run deficit over the course of the game and win 14-13 over the Minnesota Twins. It’s almost like they were making an homage to the moon landing, with rocket-like hits again and again. It’s always good to have the dullness of summer shifted by a crazy game like this!

The All Star Game happened and it was very entertaining. As usual, the American League won, giving probably the Red Sox home field advantage in the World Series. Meanwhile, there are some moves happening where teams are trying to get themselves up to par in their divisions. After that, we will be hoping to see some great competition in some of the divisions, particularly the eastern divisions of both leagues, though the central divisions have the potential to be really exciting. Half the season is gone already but it’s going to be even better this second half. It will give us an idea which teams will be able to get a run going and get a playoff berth. Get ready!

Tonight we will get to see the best in the MLB jumping into the world of the All Star Game. It’s going to be a fun day for everyone involved. But for the players, there’s a certain responsibility they feel playing this game. It does determine home field advantage in the World Series in October. But they used to get really excited whenever they won, even before the extra bonus was added in 2003. The National League will be trying to beat out the American League for the first time in about 12 seasons, which is apparently a difficult thing to do. You can imagine that the American League has more sluggers and a certain amount more pitching. They definitely have more competition in some of their divisions, especially in the East. Anyway, it will be a great game with some of the best players showcased. Get ready!

Charlie Manuel will have to think long and hard about his situation at first base for the All Star Game. Albert Pujols is a local favorite and a strong player. Obviously, the hometown crowd would love to see him play the whole game. But the All Star Game never works that way. It’s very rare that anyone ever plays the entire game. This is done partly to minimize the risk of injury, but also to make sure that the crowd gets to see everyone play, and so that everyone gets the chance to play. But at the NL first base position, we see that there will be 4 possible players. None of them are better than Pujols, but one of them is a St. Louis native, and the other ones have very good playing ability too. Manuel will be thinking about this situation to try to arrive at an equitable solution while also giving his team the best chance to win the game.

For the 80th annual All Star Game in St. Louis in just a week, it’s going to be one very entertaining night. Albert Pujols got the most votes in the National League, so he will be at the top of a team, while playing in his home city. There are 3 St. Louis Cardinals players on the All Star team this year, so they’re expecting to get some big cheers when they take the field. For the AL team, Derek Jeter got the most votes. He said that if you are a player in the MLB, you want to play in the All Star game. If a baseball player tells you he doesn’t want to play in the All Stars, then he’s lying, according the Jeter. It’s going to be a nice battle, where about half the players were selected by fan voting and the rest are chosen by the two managers, Charlie Manuel and Joe Maddon, of the Phillies and Rays respectively.

The All Star voting has begun and is actually concluding fairly soon. Will the teams look like they did last year or will they be really different? It’s going to be a great time for everyone to see the best in baseball. We have heard that Red Sox players are getting further ahead this year and it’ll be interesting to hear what the results are soon. How about Youkilis and Teixeira battling it out for the AL first base starting position. Beyond that, it’ll be very interesting for us to see the American League and National League players go at it. They will be battling it out for honor and for the World Series homefield advantage. Keep up on this story, because the results will be out very soon!