Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

As of this morning - if the Red Sox went just .500 the rest of the way (62-62) that would give them a total of 88 wins for the season. That would mean the Yankees would have to go 70-54 (.565 winning percentage) the rest of the way just to tie. Of course I don't think the Red Sox will be a .500 team the rest of the way out - I just wanted to illustrate the hole the Yankees have gotten themselves into... As part of the deal that transferred ownership of the Atlanta Braves to Liberty Media - they basically guaranteed to keep the Braves competitive by not reducing payroll. Supposedly payroll could stay the same or increase but not be reduced. The Braves have $6.5 million coming off the books in Bob Wickman next season. I wonder if that money could be used to bump Andruw Jones' existing $13.5 million contract enough to keep him in Atlanta? The Braves may also be able to structure the contract to take advantage of the money that will come off the books from Mike Hampton's contract after next year.... The choice for 3rd base in the NL for starter for the NL All-Star team will be interesting. Miguel Cabrera is probably the best hitter but he plays for a small market and still doesn't have the name recognition he deserves. David Wright is a great player and he has gotten as much press exposure as any player in MLB but he's not having a great season. Chipper Jones is the veteran star having a resurgent season (.301 BA 10 HR and 24 RBI) but will he get the sentimental vote? Ryan Zimmerman and Arimis Ramirez will also garner lots of votes. It will be interesting to see how the voting goes... It's tough for a Red Sox fan to admit but there will be no such drama in the AL voting for 3rd base. You can put A-Rod's name in pen on the line-up card now...