Talk » Holliday? Where is Max Scherzer? Id be fine with Yadi

The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles begin a critical four-game series Monday at Camden Yards that will help decide the American League East crown. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Pistons Jersey .Boston comes off its first sweep of the rival New York Yankees in a series of four or more games in 26 years since June 4-7, 1990. The Red Sox now lead the division by three games and can further distance themselves from the Orioles, who split a four-game with the last-place Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend.I know our guys are going to be ready and I know Boston is going to be ready, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Theyre in a good spot. We knew coming out of spring training after watching all the things they did in the offseason they were going to be one of the favorites going in.With a young group of players in place like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr., the Red Sox have appeared re-energized in the second half of the season. Boston has managed several come-from-behind victories over the past month and that has only boosted its confidence.Its really fun to be a part of, Boston reliever Matt Barnes. This is a team that weve gone through struggles, not too many, but we know the capability of this team. This team never gives up. You kind of know from start to finish it never stops.The Orioles will try to set the tone for the series with Dylan Bundy (9-5, 3.88 ERA) in the opener. Bundy has been one of the anchors of the rotation since being named a starter earlier in the season. In his last outing, Bundy picked up the win against the Red Sox when he allowed three runs on six hits over 51/3 innings.Baltimore might have caught a break with the return of Darren ODay, who was reinstated Sunday from 15-day disabled list after recovering from a right shoulder rotator cuff strain. ODay, the Orioles setup man, pitched for the first time since Aug. 11 against the Rays and allowed a home run to Corey Dickerson on his first pitch.It was awesome to be back, ODay said. Be able to help the guys out Theyve been having a heavy workload down there. So to take one inning its helpful. Obviously the day was made even better by the win at the end there. It was a good day.Boston will counter with Rick Porcello (20-4, 3.12 ERA), who leads the American League in wins. Porcello lost his last outing against Baltimore 1-0 when he allowed a homer to Mark Trumbo in the second inning. That allowed the Orioles to take the key three-game series.While Boston sits atop the division, manager John Farrell expects his team to be in a fight to the final day of the season, especially with the amount of talent in the division. The Toronto Blue Jays are also within striking distance of the division lead.We dont anticipate anything different from here all the way out, Farrell said. This is going to be a hard-fought division right to the final game of the season. We fully embrace it. We fully expect it and were looking forward to the challenges ahead. Jose Calderon Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Mateen Cleaves Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Allen...Edition-Jersey/ .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals.There once was a time when every team in baseball deserved to have an All-Star to call its own. Unfortunately, that time was, oh, about 1957. Not now.So on Tuesday night, when the 2016 All-Star teams were announced, Eduardo Nunez wound up on this team -- as the Minnesota Twins mandatory rep -- but Carlos Correa didnt.And Alex Colome was on this roster -- as the Tampa Bay Rays designated All-Star -- but Aroldis Chapman wasnt.The Philadelphia Phillies had to have an All-Star, too, so Odubel Herrera will be jetting to San Diego. Not that he hasnt had a nice year. But Starling Marte wont be there (unless he wins the Final Vote nuttiness). And neither will Gregory Polanco. And thats just crazy.Now before I go on here and set the Twitterverse ablaze, I want you to understand where Im coming from. Im not writing this to dump ice water on Nunez, Colome or Herrera. Im genuinely happy for all of them. Theyre about to enjoy the experience of a lifetime. And I guarantee you that not so long ago, they never saw that coming.Nunez was once stuck behind that Derek Jeter guy in New York and didnt get a chance to play regularly until he was 29 years old. Colome is an emergency closer who probably would have finished about 18th on your preseason list of most likely Rays pitchers to make the All-Star team. And Herrera has now completed that improbable journey from Rule 5 pick to All-Star, which happens about as often as we launch a satellite to Jupiter.Im also not writing this to imply that I believe the Twins, Rays and Phillies should have their franchises wiped off the face of the baseball map. I obviously dont think that. I have tremendous respect for the history of those teams, the fans of those teams and the people who run those teams.So this isnt about them, even though I predict that about 750,000 people who wont bother reading this far will conclude otherwise. You know what this is about? Its about the All-Star Game. About what it means. And about what makes it great.Well, this just in: What makes it great isnt finding a way to cram a utility guy from a team 27 games under .500 onto the roster, only because somebody wearing that uniform has to be there.I laid out that scenario to a longtime baseball executive this week. Pointed out that Nunez, fine fellow that he is, was almost certainly going to make this team, but guys such as Correa and Ian Kinsler probably werent. The exec I was speaking with had an instant, heated reaction.That, he said, emphatically, would be wrong.And whats so wrong about it? Heres what: This is no longer just a show. No longer just three hours of yuks and big swings. No longer just ann evening for the best pitchers in the sport to see what kind of crazy numbers they can hang on the radar board. Chauncey Billups Pistons Jersey. And you know why?The. Game. Now. Means. Something.Doesnt matter how you feel about baseballs decision to use the All-Star Game to determine who gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Its a real thing. It has an actual impact on who rides on the parade floats. So why the heck arent the 36 biggest stars in each league about to line up on those foul lines Tuesday night?Well, they wont be. And wheres the logic in that?If it was just an entertainment thing, then who cares? the same exec vented. Put anybody you want out there. But if it matters, put the best players out there.This really isnt a complicated concept, is it? Does the sport want the game to count for something, or doesnt it? If it does, then the hallowed every team has to have an All-Star rule is dumb. Makes no sense. Doesnt fit the narrative.Big game. Huge game. Not just an exhibition game, like those other sports All-Star shows. This one counts! (Except for the part in which we overlook some of our biggest stars so other, less-deserving guys can go.)Where is Kinsler on that American League roster? Where is Adrian Beltre? Where is Dustin Pedroia? Where is Chris Davis? Where is Nelson Cruz? Those men are Stars with a capital S.Where is Brandon Crawford in the National League? Where is Matt Holliday? Where is Max Scherzer? Id be fine with Yadi Molina, because I understand the value of 12 years worth of brilliance. Id even be cool with Ichiro Suzuki, as he chases his 3,000th hit. Those gentlemen belong in an All-Star Game because they, too, are Stars.And if anyone ever elects me as the All-Star Roster Czar, I promise that I will always err on the side of star power. You want to make sure you continue to have the greatest All-Star Game in sports? Keep those stars coming. Its a star-driven society. Feed it.There must be other ways to acknowledge the best players on the worst teams in baseball besides giving them a real All-Star. How about, if youre on pace to lose 100 games on July 1, you get to send an honorary All-Star to the Midsummer Classic? He can wave to the crowd. He can get an invitation to the gala. He can hang out in the clubhouse. He just cant take up a spot that could be used on a more deserving luminary.Just follow my simple logic. You want the game to count? Send in the stars.And if you want someone there from every team? mused the exec quoted earlier. Send the mascots. ' ' '