The worst part about the All-Star break is that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 An obvious point I know, but one worth mentioning.\u00c2\u00a0 Without baseball, my summer evenings are empty.\u00c2\u00a0 My mind wanders, and all my questions are left unanswered.\u00c2\u00a0 So, I figured I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d try to answer some of the questions about the second half of the 2009 season that have kept me up at night.<\/p>\n
1.\u00c2\u00a0 Why was the Homerun Derby so long?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have no rational explanation for the length of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s derby.\u00c2\u00a0 It lasted longer than the All-Star game itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Airing the movie \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Gandhi\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in its entirety would have taken less time than the Homerun Derby.\u00c2\u00a0 It would have been more entertaining too.\u00c2\u00a0 If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to take four hours to run through a derby, maybe it should be revised.\u00c2\u00a0 Or just give the contestants aluminum bats.\u00c2\u00a0 That would be fun to watch.<\/p>\n 2.\u00c2\u00a0 Milestone question: What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more likely: Joe Mauer hitting over .400 or Albert Pujols winning the Triple Crown?<\/strong><\/p>\n To answer the question directly, Pujols has a better chance of winning the Triple Crown simply because Mauer has the same chance of hitting .400 as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Orphan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has of winning an Oscar.\u00c2\u00a0 What Mauer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing is incredible.\u00c2\u00a0 However, for his career, Mauer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a .302 second-half hitter.\u00c2\u00a0 Time for a little math:<\/p>\n The first half of 2009, Mauer hit .373, a 10.7% increase on his traditional .337 average prior to the All-Star break.\u00c2\u00a0 Even if we apply that 10.7% increase to Mauer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s .302, he winds up with a .334 batting average between now and the end of the year.\u00c2\u00a0 That means, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll hit approximately .354 for the year.<\/p>\n Remember, though numbers are helpful, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not always right.\u00c2\u00a0 Mauer could hit .400, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to battle his own career tendencies, the brutal beating he takes behind the plate, and pressure mounting exponentially with every day, should he make it to September a stone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s throw away from Ted Williams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 extraordinary accomplishment.<\/p>\n That being said, Pujols is in the running to be the first winner of the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967.\u00c2\u00a0 At this time, Pujols is running away with the homerun and RBI categories, by 8 homers and 9 RBI, and his .332 batting average is in spitting distance of Hanley Ramirez\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s .349.\u00c2\u00a0 A player winning the Triple Crown is something that has never happened in my lifetime.\u00c2\u00a0 I would love to see it.<\/p>\n 3.\u00c2\u00a0 Will my fantasy team, The Tao of Dai Chi, compete for the playoffs?<\/strong><\/p>\n No.\u00c2\u00a0 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to talk about it.<\/p>\n 4.\u00c2\u00a0 Will Pedro Martinez win at least five games with the Phillies?<\/strong><\/p>\n Also no.\u00c2\u00a0 Pedro was the best pitcher of his generation.\u00c2\u00a0 Hands down.\u00c2\u00a0 However, he just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have enough anymore to effectively pitch deep enough into games to record a win.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite receiving support of 4.55 runs per start in 2008, he went 5-6 in twenty games.\u00c2\u00a0 Unless the Phillies use him in long relief and he can swoop in and grab some wins when Rodrigo Lopez or Jamie Moyer blows up, Martinez will probably only back into a handful of wins.<\/p>\n 5.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that our cable provider has given us the MLB Network, will my fianc\u00c3\u00a9e leave and cause me to be single by the end of September?<\/strong><\/p>\n I sure hope not.\u00c2\u00a0 But between the new HDTV we received as an engagement present, the MLB Network, and the inception of the football season, September\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be the touchstone of our relationship.\u00c2\u00a0 Every evening, the MLB Network airs \u00e2\u20ac\u0153MLB Tonight: Roundtripper,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which features \u00e2\u20ac\u0153live look-ins, updates, highlights, reporting and analysis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d from the likes of Al Leiter, Sean Casey, and Barry Larkin.<\/p>\n Basically, by leaving the TV on, I can watch every important moment of every game, and listen to experts analyze the situations and their results.\u00c2\u00a0 Add that to unending hours of football and baseball on the weekends, and who would blame her if Karen was gone by October 1?<\/p>\n Of course, I could just turn off the TV.<\/p>\n