AL Tops NL In All-Star Game Pitcher's Duel

USATSI

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

On Tuesday night, Citi Field held its largest crowd ever for the 84th MLB All-Star Game where the American League won a pitcher’s duel 3-0. It was nothing like All-Star Games of recent memory as the pitchers dominated the game throughout; the two star-studded lineups managed to combine for only 12 hits in the game. No player had multiple hits and only two walks were issued.

Bold MLB Second Half Predictions

Barton Silverman/New York Times

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

The first half of the MLB season and All-Star break are officially behind us. The American League will have home field advantage in the World Series thanks to a 3-0 victory over the National League in the Mid-Summer Classic. With the second half set to get underway Friday here are some bold predictions for the remainder of the MLB season.

Alex Rodriguez will return and hit double-digit home runs for the Yankees…And they will still miss the post season and finish last in the AL East.

MLB First Half Power Rankings

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

With the MLB Season reaching its midpoint and the All-Star Break, let's take a look at where each team stands. Here are GothamCitySportsNews' First Half MLB Power Rankings:

1) St. Louis Cardinals (57-36) – Looking like the class of MLB again. The rotation is strong again with Adam Wainwright leading the way. The lineup is balanced with Carlos Beltran returning to form, and the team is loaded with All-Stars and seemingly with no weak spots. The Cardinals look poised for a strong second half and postseason run.

2) Pittsburgh Pirates (56-37) – The surprise team of the first half for the third year running. A dominant bullpen and some help for Andrew McCutchen in the lineup should end their streak of losing seasons. Would really benefit from adding a bat and another arm in the bullpen as Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli each appeared in over 40 games so far.

3) Boston Red Sox (58-39) – The best record in the AL at the halfway point is not something many people expected out of the Red Sox. Adding Matt Thornton to the bullpen before the break will help but expect more moves from Boston before the deadline passes.

4) Tampa Bay Rays (55-41) – The Rays are currently the hottest team in baseball. On June 23rd they were in last place in the AL East only two games above .500; since they have gone 16-4 and sit atop the wildcard standings. A tough start to the second half looms though with a 10-game road trip through most of the AL East with stops in Boston, Toronto and New York.

5) Oakland Athletics (56-39) – Oakland is getting it done this season uncharacteristically; it is the hitting not the pitching that has carried them thus far. Even more surprisingly it is not Yoenis Cespedes, fresh off his Home Run Derby victory. Cespedes has struggled in the first half but will look to use the momentum from his derby victory for a better second half.

Metta World Peace Signs with Knicks

http://www.bloggerstobenamedlater.com

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

After being passed up 14 years ago in the 1999 NBA Draft for Frederic Weis, Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, is finally returning home. After being released via the amnesty clause from the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night, World Peace agreed to a two-year contract with the New York Knicks. The deal is worth approximately $1.6 million per year with second year being a player option. The Knicks used the remainder of their mini mid-level exception to bring World Peace aboard.

Week in Review: First Half Awards Show

Everyone's favorite radio hosts Kenny (@teapester725) and Nick (@ziggy26x) are back on the Bob Sullivan Show (@BobSullivanShow) after a little bit of a hiatus. For the month of July there will be a little bit of changes with the BlogTalkRadio account so for the time being the shows will be shorter and possibly more frequent. For this show Kenny and Nick break down the first half of the MLB Season and hand out some awards; some more prestigious than others. There is also a little bit of All-Star talk mixed in as well. Keep an eye out for other shows they will be hosting in the near future as a mid-show week breaking down the All-Star festivities and a second half outlook should be on the docket. Follow the link below to listen to the whole show.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-bob-sullivan-show/2013/07/14/week-in-review-with-kenny-and-nick

Yankees Lose Final Game Before Break

sport.yahoo.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 14^th, 2013

Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees Post Game Recap

Final Score: Twins 10 Yankees 4

The New York Yankees lost the rubber game of their series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in the final game before the All-Star break. The loss moves the Yankees to (51-44), which is six games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the AL East.

The Twins wasted little time getting to Yankees Starter C.C. Sabathia, who got his eighth loss of the season. A two-out rally in the second inning got the Twins a quick 2-0 lead on the Yankees, as Jamie Carroll and Pedro Florimon both had RBI singles. The third inning was tough for the Yankees on defense, which didn’t help Sabathia, who should have been well out of the inning before he allowed a three-run home run to Aaron Hicks, which was his eighth of the season, making it a 5-0 game. A bad fourth inning would end Sabathia's day, as the Twins got three more runs on Morneau infield single, which scored Carroll, and then an error by Lyle Overbay allowed to more runs to score. Sabathia went just four innings allowing eight runs, three of which were earned on eight hits and two walks.