Yesterday, I took to Twitter and asked one simple questions:

Is Joey Votto currently the best hitter in baseball?

Well, I didn't get many responses to the question. Maybe it was due to my meager following on the social media magnate, or maybe it was simply due to most people's inability to argue the point. Of the responses I received, I saw the names Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Melky Cabrera, and Billy Butler thrown out there.

Certainly, both Trumbo and Trout have been outstanding for the Angels thus far, with Trout producing a batting line of .344/7 HR/30 RBI/47 Runs/21 Stolen Bases and Trumbo kicking the tires with a line of .313/18 HR/50 RBI/35 Runs. Trout has the inside track on the Rookie of the Year award and many could argue that Trumbo could have won it last year.

Melky has been on fire in San Francisco, making the Royals regret trading him for Jonathan Sanchez by batting .351 and leading all of baseball with 106 (!) hits through 73 games in 2012. He's been close to the sole source of offense for the Giants and a key to their reentry into the NL West race.

Butler is sort of another story. I love the uptick in power from Country Breakfast, and I wish that Royals fans were giving the hometown hero more of a push for the All-Star game in Kansas City this year, but even so his .296/15 HR/46 RBI is more adequate than top of the heap. Hell, he's even surpassed as a DH by David Ortiz in Boston.

So that brings me back to Votto. Here are his stat lines and rankings:

Batting Average - .353 - 3rd in MLB

On-Base Percentage - .478 - 1st in MLB

Slugging Percentage - .643 - 2nd in MLB

Doubles - 32 - 1st in MLB

Home Runs - 14 - 22nd in MLB

RBI - 47 - 18th in MLB

Walks - 60 - 1st in MLB

The only holes in my argument for Votto are the home run and RBI totals, where his numbers seem pedestrian compared with the league leaders, especially the dinger total considering he plays in Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. However, his doubles are at such a rate that sooner than later, more of those will start flying over the wall than hitting it.

In regards to the meager RBI total, consider these stats. Of his 320 plate appearances in 2012, Votto has come to the plate just 81 times with runners in scoring position and only 145 times did he even have another runner on base. He has 9 home runs and 42 RBI with runners on base. If the Reds could put someone on in front of him, He'd likely be a lot higher in the rankings. Oh, and Votto is hitting .429 with 2 outs and runners in scoring position.

Needless to say, Votto makes the argument for himself. He'll figure prominently in the National League MVP discussion when the season ends and he is more than justifying the large investment the Reds made to keep him there long-term.

When the Yankees were able to unload A.J. Burnett on the Pittsburgh Pirates for two low-level minor-leaguers, it was seen as a steal for New York. Sure they were picking up more than $18 million of the $31 million remaining on Burnett's deal at the time, but they were getting rid of the mistake headache that was 34-35 over his three years in Gotham with a 4.79 ERA and 81 home runs surrendered. Burnett was never able to adapt to the pressures of pitching in Yankee Stadium and was combustive on the mound nearly two-thirds of his starts for the Yankees.

So naturally, he would be a competent and successful pitcher in Pittsburgh.

Okay, maybe we should strike that. He's been outstanding of late, railing off a streak of 8 consecutive wins and boasts a 9-2 record with a 3.31 ERA, 69 strike-outs, and only 7 home runs surrendered. He has been a key part of of why the Pirates are 5 games above .500 and threatening to vanquish their nearly two-decade long streak of losing seasons. As a matter of fact, only James McDonald (2.44) has a lower ERA among the starting pitchers in what is baseball's fifth best pitching staff to date in 2012.

Just food for thought, but right about now, I bet the Yankees are wishing they had an extra arm in the rotation.

Hello there Gabbers, and welcome to Sexy Action Sports Saturday with your old pal IHM. It’s F’IN hot around here the past couple of days… 97 yesterday and 95 today… and not exactly the kind of temps you want to be working in a warehouse in. I need to snag my ass an office job PRONTO… assuming that office has AC that is (how many offices have you honestly seen without AC, though). Long story short, I’ve spent the entire week sitting/standing in ball soup, and I’m ready for winter to get here already.

  Well, we’re down to just baseball now, and I honestly couldn’t be happier! The only thing going on this week outside of baseball was the NBA Draft, and, as has been the case for the past three years, the Pistons had the guy they wanted fall right into their laps, this time at #9 overall.

  In the first round, they nabbed Andre Drummond, a 6’11” center out of UConn. The strange thing about this guy, outside of his 29% free throw percentage, is the fact that he actually re-classed himself and played his freshman year of college basketball when he should’ve been a high school senior. There is a pro and con to this… the pro is, you don’t have to expect a lot out of the guy for around three years… the con being, you’re not going to GET a lot out of this guy for around three years. I look at this kid and I see an Andrew Bynum type player… hopefully just a LOT smarter! Bynum didn’t really emerge until his third year, and I expect this guy to develop at around the same clip. Pistons fans, do not expect much more than 10-20 minutes per game out of this kid next season. If you do, you’re going to be disappointed.

   Later on in the draft, the Pistons got SF Khris Middleton out of Texas A&M, a guy I’ve heard next to nothing about, then got Kim English, a solid SG out of Missouri. Not sure about Middleton, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of English. He might just end up being a steal.

   Other teams I’d say did fairly well for themselves, New Orleans (hard NOT to do well when you have the #1 and #10 picks) by getting Davis and Austin Rivers out of Duke. I liked Boston’s draft… getting Sullinger and Melo back to back in the first round gives you some good, young size on the bench. I think the Rockets got the most underrated player in the draft picking Terrence Jones at #18, and the Thunder got a good player in Perry Jones III at the #27 spot. Overall, no major surprises this year… kind of a dull draft that went as many predicted.

   Point taken... NBA Draft not very exciting! 

  Hard to believe we’re already so close to the All-Star break in baseball. Good lord, this season did NOT turn out the way Tigers fans expected, same goes for the other heavily represented fan base around here, the Red Sox. But, as we reach the 2012 mid-summer classic hosted this year by the Kansas City Royals (beautiful ballpark, by the way), I’d like to share with you my starters for the game for both the AL and NL. Of course, any differences of opinion can be voiced in the comment section below:

AL

C- A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox- He’s one of the most hated players in the game, but the man is having one hell of a year on the south side. He leads all catchers in RBI, is tied for the lead with 12 home runs, and is hitting .278, all while calling games for one of the surprise best rotations in baseball. Joe Mauer or Matt Weiters could be the backups.

1B- Paul Kornerko, White Sox. He’s been injured as of late, but Kornerko is having another monster season for the pale hoes, and I just can’t find it in my heart to vote against a guy who has been screwed so many times before. Prince Fielder and Billy Butler are my reserves.

2B- Robinson Cano, Yankees. No surprise here, Cano gets the nod again. Despite my hate for the Yankees, you have to respect what this guy has been able to do in his career. I’ll make Jason Kipnis and Ian Kinsler my backups.

3B- Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. Cabrera has had his ups and downs this year, but still third basemen in the biggs with 62 runs batted in. He’s been better than expected defensively as well in his return to third base. Adrian Beltre definitely wouldn’t be a bad alternative for a starter, and Mark Trumbo deserves a spot on the team as well.

SS- Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians. We all know this guy gets it done in the field, but he’s also getting it done at the dish, hitting .291 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI. Jeter and either Andrus or Escobar get reserve roles.

OF- Josh Hamilton, Rangers. This guy is just on his own planet right now. Hitting .316 with 24/69 will get you on just about ANY All-Star team.

OF- Adam Jones, Orioles. He’s putting up big numbers on baseball’s biggest surprise.

OF- Mike Trout, Angels. This guy is putting up phenomenal numbers… much less for a rookie. A true five-tool player, Trout is sporting a .345 average with 8/32 plus 21 steals. Angel fans have a real reason to be excited for many, many years.

  Backup outfielders would be Alex Rios, Austin Jackson and Josh Willingham.

DH- Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays. Ortiz got the starting job from the fan vote, but Encarnacion is putting up similar numbers as part of an inferior lineup. Plus, there’s the whole steroids thing with Ortiz, which is why Braun isn’t on my NL team.

SP- Chris Sale, White Sox. This guy is 9-2 with a 2.27 ERA and 94 K’s… and he wasn’t even a starter on opening day. The rest of the rotation is rounded out by Weaver, Wilson, Verlander and Price.

NL

C- Carlos Ruiz, Phillies. A major league high .365 average to go with 11/43 makes Ruiz my choice behind the plate. Molina and maybe Posey are the backup(s).

1B- Joey Votto, Reds. Votto is having another MVP type season. He’s hitting .349 with 14/47. Pete Goldschmidt and Adam LaRoche are the backups.

2B- Brandon Phillips, Reds. Phillips is still the class of the NL at second base, hitting .289 with 10/46. My backup is Jose Altuve of the Astros.

3B- David Wright, Mets. Wright is just behind Ruiz at .364, and adds 9/49 to his stat line. David Freese is the backup.

SS- Ian Desmond, Nationals. Desmond is only #4 among NL short stops in average, but his 13 homers and 41 RBIs give him my vote. Starlin Castro and Jed Lowerie are the backups.

OF- Carlos Beltran, Cardinals. .312, 20/59 out of a guy not many teams wanted to take a chance on.

OF- Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies. .338, 17/56 for a guy who has an MVP award under his belt on a better team.

OF- Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. The Tigers played the Pirates twice this year… I’m glad we don’t play them again because of this guy. He’s hitting .336 with 14/48 and 14 steals.

   My backup NL outfielders are Giancarlo Stanton, Andre Ethier and Jason Kubel.

DH- Melky Cabrera, Giants. BOB, did you think I forgot your boy? We’re playing this thing in KC, so somebody gets that lineup spot, and in my eyes, it’s Melky.

SP- R.A. Dickey, Mets. Dickey is a sure-fire Cy Young winner if he keeps this pace up. Just amazing for a knuckleballer. Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Cole Hamels, Madison Bumgarner, Lance Lynn, and Matt Cain round out this rotation in a tough National League for starting pitchers. A lot of guys having great years in the senior circuit.

  There’s my All-Stars Gabbers, who did I leave out, snub, whatever the hell you want to call it? Let me know what you think.

   Before I go, surprise surprise, another Lion gets arrested. This time, cornerback Aaron Berry, yeah, go back to your broke, miserable lives Aaron Berry, got popped for a DUI. Still waiting for his stupid facebook apology that was obviously written by a lawyer… sure that’s coming soon. Get it the fuck together, Lions.

  That’s what I’ve got for this week, ladies and gents. Thanks as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Have a great weekend Gabbers.

I would like to begin by giving kudos to the Arizona Diamondbacks Aaron Hill who, last evening in Milwaukee, hit for the cycle for the second time in eleven days and became the first player since Babe Herman to hit for the cycle twice in the same season.  Babe did it in 1931 so, for those who are counting, it has been 81 years since it last happened.  An even rarer feat (it has never happened) of two players on the same team hitting for the cycle may have been denied by a fan who interfered with a ball that Paul Goldschmidt hit down the third base line in the 9^th inning, giving Goldschmidt a ground rule double and getting the fan ejected from the game.  Had Goldschmidt made it to third base on that hit, he also would have also hit for the cycle. 

It appears that three teams will be burning down the house for the rest of the season in the National League West, where San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Arizona are fighting for two playoff positions.  After being 14 games out at the beginning of June, the Diamondbacks have cut it to 4 games after having a tremendous month (16-9 with a game remaining).  The Dodgers have lost 10 of the last 11 games and need their superstar Matt Kemp to come off the disabled list to lead them on the field again.  San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum seems to be getting his dominance back, and although the Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher Daniel Hudson is out for the season, pitching phenom Matt Bauer has appeared on the Diamondbacks’ roster from the minor leagues just in the nick of time.

There has been some recent talk about the upcoming All Star Game and some rookies who belong on the team.  If I had to vote on one rookie for each league, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (8 HR, 32 RBI .342 BA) would get my nod in the American League and starting pitcher Wade Miley of the Arizona Diamondbacks (9-3 2.19 ERA) my National League vote.  The reason for these selections is simple, the Angels and the Diamondbacks are fortunate that these two rookies are on their teams.  They are their teams’ heart and soul thus far this season.

With the recent announcements of first Michelle Beadle and now Erin Andrews leaving ESPN, I am having a hard time thinking of any reasons why I want to watch that cable channel anymore.  These two are damn good looking sports reporters, unlike Skip Bayless, Colin Cowherd, Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, Merrill Hoge, and Steven A. Smith, who all should be on ESPN Radio only (or in some cases not seen or heard). 

There appears to be one big winner in the new four team college football playoff system and it is not the fans.  The winner would be Jerry Jones and his new Cowboys Stadium.  I can almost guarantee that future National Championship games will be played there regularly.  I am glad that the old BCS is gone, but I cannot be happy with any event that has Jerry Jones involved in organizing it.  The recent Super Bowl XLV comes to mind.  It was a total disaster in my estimation.

Hello and welcome to a special Friday edition of deep thoughts. It seems like forever since I have written a blog. I had a work emergency two weeks ago and was out of town all day Tuesday. Thanks to Johnny Monkey and Frag for filling in for me the past two Wednesdays. My son received an invitation to a baseball tryout called Area Code. Eight MLB teams across the country have tryouts and select a team of 25 to 30 players. The regional tryout my son attended was at Baseball USA in Houston. If you have been to Houston in the summer, you know that heat and humidity are the norm. What we experienced on Tuesday is difficult to describe. It has been very hot the past few days, but normally, Houston is cooled somewhat by the gulf breeze. At the 8:00 am sign in, there was little breeze…so I figured we were in for a long hot day. Blake got signed in and we settled in to try watch the tryouts. Although these tryouts were sponsored by the Texas Rangers, there were many college scouts in attendance. Players were divided into to OF/3B/1B/C. OF’s were hit balls and threw to 3^rd and home. Middle infielders were hit balls at 3B and threw to 1st.  1B were hit balls and threw to 3B. Each throw was clocked with radar guns. Catchers were timed throwing to 2B.  This is called "pop time". I had Blake just under 1.80, but the official time was 1.9. There were a few guys that threw 88 across the infield. Blake threw 78 to 2B, which is fairly good. I suspect out of 30 catchers that Blake was 3 or 4. The top throw by a catcher was 87 and the kid committed to Texas threw 84, which is amazing considering that you don't get a stride or a crow hop...just receive, pivot and let it fly. 

I saw some really impressive young pitchers. You could always tell when a highly rated prospect was throwing as dozens of guns appeared to clock each pitch. Chicks may dig the long balls, but scouts dig heat. The harder the pitchers threw… the more activity among the scouts. One of the pitchers that Blake plays HS ball with was clocked at 92. He made he team, I think. Maybe one day pitchers will be judged on how they pitch and not how hard they throw.

Hitting was more or less a home run derby. Blake has been working very hard at staying on the ball and hitting the outside pitch to the right field gap. He hit well, but I must admit that he did not come prepared with good wood. We recently bought a new BBCOR bat, but did not realize that he would need a wood bat for the tryout. Oh well, sometimes you just have to hit what you have. There are some very talented young guys out there. I think Blake understands now how much work he has ahead of him.

I had to share one last experience that we had Monday evening. After checking into the hotel, we went to get a bite to eat. There is a chain in Houston called Papa…Papadeaux is seafood, Papasitas is Mexican food, Papas is BBQ. This group has done a great job of establishing a great product at every restaurant that I have visited. After ordering our food, we waited for our food. Then we waited some more. After 40 minutes, I began to look around and realized that there was no food coming out of the kitchen. Our waitress came over and apologized for the delay. She had no reason for the delay, but was sorry. I said we have an early morning and in 10 minutes we would have to go somewhere and eat a burger. The manager came over to apologize and let us know that it would not be much longer. She sent the waitress back to make us a special they call “floor guacamole”. The waitress wheeled this big cart over and started peeling avocados. Since I love guacamole, I did not complain. By the time she was finished, our food was there. I have to admit that the food was fantastic. Blake and I had tenderloin fajitas with shrimp stuffed with crab. Damn was it good. Julie had a chipotle salmon that she said was the best she had ever had. Apparently the kitchen was working two cooks short…instead of three, they had one. All I know is that when they opened the door to the kitchen, it looked like someone had been shooting fireworks. That poor guy was busting it. I have to say, it was worth the wait. What really sets this chain apart was what the manager did…she came by to let us know that the meal was on her. She said, “we are better than that”. Please come back and we will do better next time. You can be sure that I will go back.

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

                                 8:00 am check in. It was only 92 then. After lunch, it was 108 all day. What a broiler of a day...

                                                           The guy in the black is a scout for The University of Missouri.

                                                                             Blake with the catcher's preparing to hit.

                                                 This was half of the catchers. The others were sent to catch bullpens.

                                                      On the way home. Not bad for driving and taking a picture at 70 mph.

                                                                            This was one of Fitzpatricks victims...

 I have been thinking about the mess at Penn State in the aftermath of the Sandusky trial. I know that many are calling for heads to roll at Penn State but I doubt that the NCAA has the stomach or the nads to do anything. So much attention has been given to this incident that I have tried to take a step back to try to determine how this was allowed to happen. As I pondered this…I realized that this is not the first time that a cover up of this magnitude has happened. It has not been that long ago that the Catholic Church had a problem with priests abusing young boys and then trying to cover up the act. I stumbled upon an article about Donald Fitzpatrick. If you are a very astute baseball fan, you may recognize this name as the former Red Sox clubhouse manager. I was stunned to read before Sandusky…there was Fitzpatrick. What? I never even heard about this. In truth, it was creepy how similar these two predators were. They used the glory of a sports program to draw young boys in and then abused them. The Red Sox covered these acts, just as Penn State attempted to do. One of the clubhouse boys that had been abused told Red Sox home clubhouse manager Vince Orlando that Fitzpatrick had abused him for the previous three seasons. Orlando fired the boy. According to two sources that requested anonymity, a player encountered Fitzpatrick in the shower with a clubhouse boy. Like McCreary, he went to the team instead of the police. Fitzpatrick kept his job. The question that screams in my brain is…why? How do good people allow such evil to continue? Is the scrutiny of reporting a predator too great? While we all are horrified to read about Sandusky, what really scares me is that it will probably happen again. How do we change our culture to prevent this? I guess the reality is that we have to fight this one battle at a time. Perhaps Penn State must be made an example of so that schools, teams and companies get the message. I think this is necessary, but I wonder if the NCAA is even the right group to bring the hammer down.                                       

Here is the link to this article, there is much more that I did not cover:

http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201111/another-era-and-another-sport-sex-abuse-scandal-still-inflicting-pain-today

So, we are finally going to have a playoff in D1 football. Although I wish they would have opted for an 8 team playoff, I certainly like the 4 team format over the BCS. In most years, how many teams really "deserve" to be in a playoff? One of the complaints that so many had regarding a playoff is that the playoff would make the regular season meaningless. It appears that strength of schedule will be a big component of selecting teams. Guess what this means? To me, this means that the Big East and ACC will have little chance of having teams in the playoff. What this means to me is that there will be more movement. B.O.B suggested a Notre Dame to the Big 12...that really makes sense when you think about it. The Big 12 could add Florida State and Notre Dame and have a conference that would rival the SEC. Notre Dame is not stupid, they see what is happening and a move to the Big 12 would do nothing but help their recruiting. We shall see what happens, but thank goodness we finally have a playoff. Any bets on how long it will take before this becomes an 8 team playoff? $$ is the driving force in college football and they are leaving billions on the table with only 4 teams in the dance.

                                                                              The Dodgers need Kemp to get well quickly...

Before I close, I had to remark a bit about MLB. Have you noticed what has happened in the NL West? The Giants just swept the Dodgers to tie them for the lead. In all of the years of playing, the Dodgers have never been shut out in a series by the Giants. Three games…not one run. Lincecum finally pitched like we all expected him to. If he is finding his groove, this division race will be a battle. I am still not convinced that Harvey’s DBacks are out of the race. A young phenom made his debut tonight against the Braves. Although he did not pitch long enough to get the win, he looks like he will be a keeper. For those of you thinking the Yankees are going to run away and hide…Sabathia and Pettitte both landed on the DL this week. Red Sox lost a tough one tonight, but I have a suspicion that they are not out of the race. Have you noticed that the Rays are falling and can’t seem to get up? When is Longoria due back? They really need his bat, leadership and defense.

That’s all I have this week, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to take with you:

When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like Grandfather did -- not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...