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If you find yourself at a cocktail party -- or by the water cooler or at the bar or across from someone on a first date -- and you want to wax wisely about the state of Major League Baseball at the All-Star Break, the conventional wisdom is very simple: "We're all talkin' 'bout Dontrelle Willis." You can't go wrong with that as your analysis.
But if you're looking for a few hip catch-phrases to throw in the mix, use the list below of what's hot and what's not in baseball at the break to fuel your conversation:
WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT AT THE ALL-STAR GAME |
Category |
Hot |
Not Hot |
One-name phenom |
Dontrelle |
Rocco |
Bandwagon team |
Red Sox |
Twins |
Roto monster |
Carlos Delgado |
Derek Jeter |
Icon |
Italian Sausage |
Rally Monkey |
Breakout hitter |
Melvin Mora |
Josh Phelps |
Hat |
Pinwheel |
'Trucker' |
Closer |
One |
By committee |
Due for hardware |
Manny Ramirez |
Roger Clemens |
Historical homage |
500 HR |
300 W |
Trade bait |
Sidney Ponson |
Frank Thomas) |
Villain |
Underachievers |
Free-spenders |
Already sick of... |
Pujols hype |
Dontrelle Mania |
Managerial mind |
Felipe Alou |
Art Howe |
Fan problem |
Drinking (Cause) |
Storming field (Effect) |
Bat incident |
Hitting mascots |
Corking |
Pitching duo |
Prior-Wood |
Schilling-Unit |
Dream WS scenario |
Cubs-Red Sox |
Braves-Yankees |
Asian import |
Hideki Matsui |
Kazuhisa Ishii |
Wonderpitcher |
Esteban Loiaza |
AJ Burnett |
Endorsement deal |
Credit cards |
Trading cards |
Medical situation |
Corey Patterson's ACL |
Mike Piazza's groin |
Bronx zoolology |
Torre in |
Torre out |
Brothers |
Giles |
Giambi |
Road-trip destination |
Wrigleyville |
San Juan |
Bill |
James |
Beane |
Clutch closer |
Eric Gagne |
Any Red Sox reliever |
No. 1 starter |
Roy Halladay |
Any Tiger |
Movie subject |
Stat heads |
Rookies |
Rivalry |
Twins-Royals |
Piniella-Salon |
Player fashion statement |
Flat-brim hat |
Chains |
Wily GM |
Ken Williams |
Jim Bowden |
Prospect |
Joe Mauer, Twins |
"K-Rod," Angels |
Player angst |
Beanings |
Steroids |
Just-say-it, don't-get-it Saber-stat |
"EQA" |
"OPS" |
Jersey |
Mark Prior |
Sammy Sosa |
Relocation |
Mon to DC |
Mo to NY |
Seats |
Fenway stools |
Shea crap |
It wouldn't be a Hot/Not list without a few picks from Page 2 to carry you through the rest of the season:
PAGE 2's PICKS |
Category |
Hot |
Not |
NL East |
Braves |
Phillies |
NL Central |
Cubs |
Astros |
NL West |
Giants |
Dodgers |
AL East |
Red Sox |
Yankees |
AL Central |
White Sox |
Royals |
AL West |
Mariners |
A's |
NL Wild Card |
Phillies |
Mets |
AL Wild Card |
A's |
Twins |
NL MVP |
Mark Prior |
Albert Pujols |
AL MVP |
Manny Ramirez |
Alex Rodriguez |
NL Cy Young |
Dontrelle Willis |
Russ Ortiz |
AL Cy Young |
Jamie Moyer |
Roy Halladay |
NL Rookie |
Dontrelle Willis |
Hee Seop Choi |
AL Rookie |
Hideki Matsui |
Rocco Baldelli |
World Series Champ |
"New Saber" Red Sox |
"Old Saber" A's |
Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "Daily Quickie" commentary appears every weekday morning.
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| THE HOT LIST | |
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