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.