Five Most Over-Rated Stories from the First Half

Every year, there are some stories that dominate ESPN and Blogs everywhere, that leave several of us scratching our heads. The following are the 5 stories that got the most hype for the least amount of reason, and why all five of them are dying right now.


5. The Chicago Cubs Season
Okay, the Cubs have not been good. They've not been anywhere close to as good as their payroll would lead you to believe. But despite their offensive deficiencies, they ended the 1st half of the season with a .500 record (43-43) and were 3.5 games behind the 1st Place Cardinals. They have plenty of time to catch the Cardinals, especially since Pujols is most likely going to get the Barry Bonds Treatment the rest of the year. I'm not saying they're going to get to the World Series, and I won't even guarantee they'll make the playoffs. But for as much bad publicity as this "terrible" team has gotten over the last two months (a time period largely spent without their best hitter, Aramis Ramirez) they are right in the thick of things in a weak NL Central division. Remember, no one cares how you get to the playoffs, it is what you do once you are there.

4. The All-Star Game
For the last seven years, the All-Star game has "counted" for something. On the face of the story, it seems to have worked. We had gotten to a point where All-Star players would rather have 3 days off in the middle of the season instead of playing in the Mid-Summer Classic. Putting some sort of emphasis on the game has clearly brought the star players back out, but the fact that the winner gets home-field advantage is not only absurd, it is almost irrelevant. It is absurd in the sense that whichever team has the better regular season record should be granted home-field advantage in the playoffs irregardless of extenuating circumstances. It's irrelevant based on the World Series winners since it happened. The American League has had home-field advantage since 2003, and has only won three of the six World Series Titles in that span (Red Sox - 2004, White Sox, 2005, Red Sox, 2007). One would imagine, if HFA was so important, the AL would have more than half of the victories since 2003. Let me tell you what I know about the World Series. The best team from both leagues doesn't always make it there, but the best team in the World Series almost always wins it. I know that sounds like a Madden-ism, but let me explain. Baseball is a lot different than other sports. If a team gets hot, they can be close to unbeatable (i.e. The Rockies two weeks ago.) But this doesn't apply in the World Series. There is too much focus on these seven games. If you're the best team, you're capable of taking 2 of 3 games @ home, and 2 of 4 on the road, plain and simple.

3. The Red Sox Starting Pitching
Oh, the depth! Please. As much press as the Red Sox have gotten for their starting pitching, they're really only a slightly above-average pitching staff. The Red Sox currently have the 7th best ERA in baseball, 2nd best in the AL. But they are less than .1 points ahead of the White Sox, and only .01 better than the Rays. They are 17th in innings pitched, which will eventually tax their bullpen. They are also a very mediocre 15th in BAA, making their players behind them work harder. On top of that, we've heard so much about Smoltz, (who is over the hill), Buchholz, (who is unproven) and Brad Penny (who they are trying to trade). Buchholz has all the talent in the world, but that doesn't always translate to big league success. There is a reason they've become a major player in the Halladay sweepstakes recently.

2. The New Yankee Stadium
"Deep fly ball...way back...It's gone!"
We have heard this about three times as much as we did at this point last year in Yankee Stadium. My question to you is: Who cares? Yeah, it is a terrible thing for Yankee pitchers on your fantasy team. Yeah, it may have ended Chen-Ming Wang's effective career. But really, it's not an advantage for either team playing at the stadium, and the fact that this story is getting this much press is ridiculous. An AL Ballpark in a hitter's era is giving up a lot of home runs? What else is new? Get over it, Yankee bloggers. It is officially a non-story.

1. Steroids
A-Rod. Sosa. Manny. The list goes on. This is why it should end. Jose Conseco estimated that 80% of players used steroids in the late 90's - early 2000's. What might be even more shocking is most of his thoughts published in his book "Juiced" have been proven correct. This means if you think a player may have been 'roids at one point, you're probably correct. "Innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply in this situation. It is time the MLB came out with the list of players who admitted to taking Steroids on the Mitchell report, regardless of the short-term effects. If not, every time a good offensive player retires, his name will come up in steroid controversy. The MLB needs to wash their hands of this, once and for all.