Major League Baseball
AL
The Boston Red Sox are sitting on top of the American League standings after 43 games with a sparkling .697 winning percentage. Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield have been untouchable this summer. Add to that Curt “Bloody Sock” Schilling, Dice-K, and closer Jonathan Papelbon and you have the best pitching staff in the AL. Boston will be facing the surprising second place Baltimore Orioles for a 3 game set. Look for Boston to continue their winning ways against the O’s.
The Toronto Blue Jays are on a 9 game losing streak and given that their number 3 starter, their left fielder, catcher, setup man, and closer are all on the DL people are actually calling it a season in Toronto. B.J. Ryan is scheduled for Tommy John surgery and will not be available until spring training next year. The Jays depth is paper thin and they simply cannot compete with all these key players injured. As we’ve heard year after year around here, there’s always next year!
NL
In the National League Barry Bonds is closing in on Hank Aaron’s home run record of 755 career home runs. Barry is just 10 home runs shy now. It will be interesting to see how many pitchers actually give him a chance to hit the ball. Nobody is going to want to be known as the pitcher that gave Barry Bonds the all time home run record. In a poll by ABC News and ESPN, 37 percent said they are rooting for Bonds to break Aaron’s record, while 52 percent said they hope he falls short and 11 percent had no opinion.
PGA
The Players Championship started Thursday and will run through the weekend. Looks like Phil Mickelson is enjoying his time at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Phil carded a 5 under 67 in the first round to be tied for the lead. Defending champion Stephen Ames had a 5 over 77 which essentially puts him out of the tournament and he would be lucky just to make the cut. Tiger Woods also had a tough day with the swirling winds carding a 3 over 75, but everyone knows Tiger isn’t out of a tournament until the 18th hole on Sunday.
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