2012 Home Run Derby

Dating back as far as I can remember, the Homerun Derby has been my favorite part of the All-Star festivities. The simple fact is this: Forget about pitcher's duals, forget about diving snags, hell, forget about walk-off base-hits; the single most exciting thing in baseball is the HOMERUN. It has so many nomenclatures to define home runs: Homers, Taters, Longballs, Goin Downtown, and my personal favorite, GOODBYE MR. RAWLINGS!  As per the rules last season, each league has a captain with players whom the captain has personally chosen. Lets take a look at this year's participants that will be competing in the 2012 Homerun Derby, live from Kauffman stadium on Monday, July 9th, televised on ESPN at 5pm PST.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

Captain: Matt Kemp ~ Dodgers

Lots of questions surround whether or not the injured Matt Kemp, who is the captain of the NL Derby squad, on whether or not he was even going to participate in this years Derby. He says he's participating, so I'll take him at his word. The 2011 Derby held in Arizona was not kind to Kemp; he managed only 2 dingers and was out by the first round. While Kemp certainly isn't the favorite for this year's HR Derby, don't count out the 2nd best player in baseball (only to Texas' Josh Hamilton.)

Carlos Gonzalez ~ Rockies

Gonzalez is a 30/30 threat (30 HRs, 30 Steals) this year, but his selection by Captain Matt Kemp has left a few folks (myself included) scratching their heads. He's one of baseball's best five-tool players, but he isn't cut out for the Home Run Derby's style. That means he's the type of hitter who hits line-drives, rather than the lofty "rain makers" that are more of a requirement for a Homer contest. Look for Gonzo to be out by the end of the first round.

Carlos Beltran ~ Cardinals

Beltran is having a stellar first half and is already approaching his homer total of 2011; despite being the elder statesman of the Derby at 35 years old. Don't forget, Beltran knows Kauffman Stadium VERY well; he played there for 6 years of his career.  This is Beltran's first Derby, and for good reason: He's a line-drive, contact hitter who wasn't built for Derby success. I look for Beltran to make it to the 2nd round of the Derby and then he'll be eliminated.


Andrew McCutchen ~ Pirates



"Cutch" replaces my personal favorite to win, Giancarlo Stanton of the Fish.  Stanton went down with a knee injury, and Andrew McCutchen has taken his spot in the Derby.  Cutch is having the best half-season of his career and is killing the ball.  He's leading the Pittsburgh Pirates in their best season in 20 years, en route to hitting 18 home runs. Look for Cutch to be in the finals with a great performance.


AMERICAN LEAGUE

Captain: Robinson Cano ~ Yankees

As much as it pains me to stay objective in this article (my hatred for the Evil Empire is palpable), I have a hard time not giving Cano the credit he deserves.  He has one of the sweetest swings this baseball fanatic has seen since Griffy Jr. and Cano is the returning champion after edging out Adrian Gonzalez by one homer in the final round of the 2011 Derby in Arizona.  He has 20 home runs on the season, including a season-long 440-foot go-ahead shot to center against the New York Mets which leads me to believe that the AL has the distinct advantage in this contest.

Mark Trumbo ~ Angels

I was surprised when Cano chose Mark Trumbo to help represent the American League. This could be due to the fact that he is kind of a "face in the crowd" when compared to the other superstars that are participating in the Derby.  Because this is Trumbo's first selection to participate in the Derby, look for an early exit; which has nothing to do with his stature (6’4”, 220-pounds) or his ability. The Derby is a different breed of competition that requires a hitter to step away from their normal swing in place for a slight uppercut and a need to "kill" the ball due to the fact that a batting-practice fastball doesnt have the velocity of a "game" fastball.  Some people in the media are picking Trumbo as the "darkhorse," but this fan doesn't believe the hype. Look for a 2nd round exit from Trumbo.

Jose Bautista ~ Blue Jays

"Joey Bats" didn't fair very well in last year's competition (only 4 HRs), but look for a complete 180 degree turnaround this year.  He may not have done particularly well last competition, but you can't ignore the fact that he is tied for the major league lead with 27 home runs in 85 games.  I would not be surprised to see Bautista in the finals, but he is not my overall favorite.

Prince Fielder ~ Tigers

This man-child is my favorite to win this year's HR Derby.  It is almost as if God himself sat in heaven and thought, "I'm going to create a human whose sole purpose will be to crush baseballs into the stands." The 275-pound monster is a former derby champion, and look forward to much of the same in Kansas City. Some of his detracters state that he does not have the stamina to win the derby again, as he is a few years older than the last time he won the contest.  Prince owns the 24th-longest homer in the big leagues this season at 456 feet. Fielder only has 15 homers this season, but look for him to equal, or best that total in the first round.  I fully anticipate the finals to be Prince Fielder vs. Andrew McCutchen.

Tommy John and a Second Chance

Mention the name "Tommy John" to anyone who watches Sportcenter and they immediately know that it means that a pitcher had some kind of operation in order to elongate the pitcher's career and "fix" their throwing arm. "Tommy John" surgery is the common name for Ulnar Collateral Replacement Surgery and there are a litany of pitchers, both professional and amateur, have had this procedure. Most people, avid baseball fans included, don't know the specifics of what Tommy John is and what it entails. Let's delve into the history and application of Tommy John Surgery and discuss just a few of baseball's superstars who have had this surgery:



Tommy John Surgery, or UCR surgery, is defined as a surgical graft procedure in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body; often from the forearm, hamstring, hip, knee, or foot of the patient) or from a cadaver doner (see diagram left). The procedure is common among collegiate and professional athletes in several sports, most notably baseball. Basically in non-medical terms, a person blows out or rips the ligament in their elbow and has it replaced by a shiny new one; much like blowing out a tire and putting on a new one.

I chose this particular subject, because the Major League leader in ERA, Brandon Beachy of the Atlanta Braves, tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John last week. The procedure was first performed in 1974 by Dr. Frank Jobe, who today serves as a Special Advisor to the LA Dodgers, and is named after former major league pitcher Tommy John; whose 288 career victories ranks seventh all time among left-handed pitchers.

The necessity of the Tommy John surgery became prevelant due to the wear and tear a pitcher goes thru during the longest season in all of sports; 162 regular season games, plus spring training and the postseason. The UCL can become stretched, frayed, or torn through the repetitive stress of the throwing motion. Anyone who has ever thrown something extremely hard and then felt soreness in the ebow region has placed stress on the UCL; now imagine throwing a baseball thousands upon thousands of times.

Back to the procedures namesake, Tommy John; Thirty-seven baseball seasons have passed since the very first UCL replacement surgery. John was 31 years old with 124 wins and 11 seasons under his belt. He never threw heat like Strasburg or Smoltz, instead he relied on a bottom-out sinker that forced ground balls. But the three pitchers, as well as many others who have undergone UCL reconstruction, have one thing in common: a mechanical flaw in the timing of their deliveries that causes the arm to lag behind the rest of the body, putting extra stress on the shoulder and elbow. The very nature of how a baseball is thrown by a pitcher (overhand, rather than the ergonomically correct underhand) generates enough force on each pitch to rupture the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. To throw a baseball properly, a pitcher must get into the right position at the right time with the right succession of movements, like dominoes falling.

After John's procedure in 1974, he spent the entire 1975 season recovering. At the time when John came back in 1976, he posted a 10-10 win/loss record that, at the time, was considered miraculous. Tommy went on to pitch until 1989 and posted 164 wins during that period. Having personally known Sandy Koufax, who had retired in 1966 at age 30 after a short but brilliant career, that a damaged UCL meant you were done. With this successful surgery, and subsequent recover, it effectively gave all pitchers hope that if the most important ligament in their throwing arms were to give way, their career was not necessarily over.

Despite the inevitable year-long stint on the DL that rehab from the surgery requires, teams and pitchers seem to barely flinch at the diagnosis of a compromised UCL. "It's become an accepted side effect of the job," says George Paletta, the Cardinals' head team physician and orthopedic surgeon. That's because the surgery works; 92 percent of elite pitchers with reconstructed UCLs return to their prior level of competition for at least a year.

The list of Tommy John surgery recipients include: Deion Sanders (strangly NOT a pitcher), Jamie Moyer (the 76 year old who was demoted to the minors by the Rockies a few weeks ago), John Smoltz, Stephen Strausberg, Kerry Wood, Eric Gagne, Tim Hudson and a whole laundry list that reaches into the hundreds. Soon to be added to the list of successful UCL replacement surgeries will be Brandon Beachy of the Atlanta Braves (God willing).

God-given genetic superiority and freakish athletic ability often help those with less-than-ideal pitching mechanics make it to the majors, which is why you will find shockingly few exemplars of pitching mechanics on Tuesday Night Baseball. "Everyone knows smoking is bad for you, yet people still smoke," says Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild. "It's the same with pitching. I've seen guys who don't have great mechanics pitch for a long time. The body adjusts."

Until it doesn't, then a consultation and ultimately "Tommy John Surgery" courtesy of Dr. James Andrews (doctor to the athletes et al.)

Here is a top 10 list of pitchers who have had successful Tommy John surgeries courtesy of Sports Illustrated:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1103/mlb-tommy-john-surgery/content.1.html

King Albert, and the Halo's Checkbook

Albert Pujols has shocked the baseball world in snubbing a 9 year deal worth reportedly $190 million to stay with the 2011 World Series Champs, the St. Louis Cardinals (which incidentally would make King Albert the 4th highest paid 1st baseman in the Majors) to sign a deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for 10 years and $254 million (thus making him #1 at 1b); yes, those Angels. What I am having a hard time fathoming is the fact that the Angels owner, Arte Mareno paid $184 million for the ENTIRE FRANCHISE! For us regular white/blue collar folks this is like Monopoly. I cannot help but think of Dr. Evil say he wants "ONE HUNDRED MILLION CRILLION BILLION DOLLARS!" If you average out Pujols' contract to reflect just how much money he makes per game you come up with just under $155,000 dollars a game...let that sink in for a moment.

It's hard to imagine paying someone $25 million per season to play a kids game and hit home runs, especially when we all know that Pujols is likely on the descent down the mountain top of his Hall of Fame career. This certainly leads to futher speculation of just how many years he will still be able to put up the kind of numbers that warrant this kind of contract. This becomes especially true when his mitt starts to wane, at that point he'll certainly become the highest paid DH in history, subsequently elongating his career at least until his early to mid 40s. This is a very sore subject for a baseball purist of my ilk, I LOATHE the DH, I think it cheapens our pastime and waters down all the power numbers in the junior circuit (AL). Alas, that is a topic I must devote an entire article lambasting such an asinine, unnecessary part of such a perfect sport.

Forget about the money for a second. Pujols is the best, most consistent hitter in baseball and maybe the best right-handed hitter in the history of the game. The only other right-handed hitter in Albert's league was Jimmie Foxx of the Golden Era of Baseball (from 1925 to 1945.) There's little debate that Pujols, who has finished in the top five in MVP voting 10 times in 11 seasons—is one of the all-time great players. Paying him more money than anyone else in the game (or anyone not named A-Rod) is what we had to expect when he became a free agent.

Pujols business aside, the Halos signed another "huge" name in CJ Wilson, formally the ace of the AL Champion Texas Rangers. I put HUGE in quotations, because Wilson was the biggest free agent SP available, his numbers can be deceiving; granted he had a good record in '11 (16-7) overall with the Rangers he finished a paltry 8 games over .500 (43-35). Nolan Ryan and Co. decided a run of the mill #2 starter is apparently worth $77 million; if that doesn't prove the MLB treats real life capital the same as they would if the cash were Monopoly money, nothing ever will. Below I have linked the press conference video of Angel's GM Jerry Disoto describing these two blockbuster moves.

Brave Stars on the Move? Survey Says: Probably

Both Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado appear to be the proverbial worm dangling from a hook for the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are attempting to garner trade interest to fill a couple glaring holes in the Braves 25 man roster; namely landing a top-tier pitcher to compliment ace Tim Hudson, and finding a suitable shortstop that can provide adequate pop with the bat while playing above average defense. At a glance, one might question why a team with such raw, young talent hasn't pushed the Braves to the next level. The answer to such a query is in fact, that the Braves are indeed young, and thus, immature; and that, sports fans, is the answer to the 10 million dollar question: WHY ARE WE NOT THERE YET?

Perhaps I'm wrong, and quite possibly off base, but I truly believe in a few years, fans will look back on the 2011 season and say: "We took our lumps, but we were young and it taught us more than winning it all." Of course I'll say this after the Braves have hoisted the World Series trophy above their collective heads. Delusional as I may be, the Braves may be on the edge of becoming one of the most dominant teams in baseball, and could be just one trade away.

That being said, some in the Braves' fan camp think its pure lunacy to trade away our #2 starter in Jair Jurrjens. JJ is a potential ace if he can figure out a way to avoid the injury bug, because a large reason for the Braves' reluctance to hold on to Jurrjens is his history of injuries. He suffered from injuries during much of the second half of the season after dominating the prior half. Remember when people were appalled that JJ was snubbed from starting the 2011 All-star game? His chances at the Cy Young were demolished by his injuries last season, and much of his 2010 season was disrupted for the same reason. While Jurrjens has the potential to become one of the best pitchers in baseball, this could be prevented by his inability to stay healthy.

Martin Prado has flashes of brilliance while flashing the leather. But as equally good Prado is with the glove, he was equally as BAD in 2011. Granted, a staph infection sidelined the left fielder for a good chunk of this past summer, but when he was activated from the DL he was a mere shell of what he was before the All Star break. I'm not condemning the man for being unlucky enough to contract staph in his right calf, he's a lifetime .293 hitter, hes young, and hes got quite a few good, possibly great, years ahead of him. That being said, last season he hit .260 and managed only 66 runs and 57 RBI. It is possible that Prado's offense is overvalued, and he may struggle to hit as well as before. If this is the case, then he may not be too important to the Braves. If the Braves make a trade for an outfielder or a shortstop, his contributions to the team may be unnecessary, and the Braves will still be in good shape.

A very important portion of this off season equation is that neither Prado nor Jurrjens are making a large amount of money. However, considering both players are arbitration eligible in 2012 and their skill level is becoming higher each year, keeping them around could become very expensive. For this very reason, trading them away could save the Braves a fair amount of money. If the Braves do use Prado and Jurrjens to make a large trade, the money they would save could go towards a long-term contract for the player they get out of the deal. Also, by getting rid of these contracts, the Braves could use this money to sign an expensive free agent. Along with declining the option on Nate McLouth and trading away Derek Lowe, this extra money can help the Braves improve their team and send the Bravos to the happy hunting ground!