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Albert Pujols hit his 450th career home run in a win over the Mariners on Thursday. Is he finally coming around?

• dollarbill8: "You knew Albert was going to get going. He'll still hit .300 with 30HRs and we'll call it an off year, that he is losing a step, hahahaha"
• shufelt: "Look out - his slugging percentage is almost .360! I like Pujols, but his season so far is incredibly bad......I didn't see this coming."
• skylers79: "Great accomplishment for him and their pitcher but as of right now he is considered a waste of money with his numbers. Sort of like Jose Reyes....waste of money with his numbers too. He needs to drastically up his game and fast"
• Shademan2: "So will the Angels end up paying Albert more or less than $1,000,000 per home run?"
• Teresa2992: "here is no way he is going to be able to perform up to the amount of that contract in my opinion. He is still a good players and has a few years left, but I think the Angels overpaid."
• pholtos: "I see Pujols is finally starting to see AL pitching all right now."



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David Ortiz lashed out at perceived criticism of his leadership ability after a Red Sox win put the team back at .500. Is this just a temporary outburst?

• randallroberson: "If you don't feel respected in Boston Big Papi, demand that the front office trade you to Cleveland. We would throw a parade for you down Carnegie Ave. before you played a game."
• doorhingedude: "He's making 14.5 million dollars this year, sounds like respect to me."
• oconnor2114: "Yanks fan here...I think he is right. Papi and Pedoria have been the glue of this team the past 3 years. You can't count on anyone else consistenly. Not sure what he is trying to do with his comments though. I for one, have a ton of respect for this guy."
• edross22: "Ortiz and Dustin are definitively the leaders of this team. So as long as your team sees you as a leader forget about the rest Papi. I really see you as a leader, you are showing it in the field and off the field. "
• zimmerolls: "The fans know Ortiz offers huge leadership to the team. He walks the talk. It's the ridiculous media that portrait it as something different and discount it. Ask the fan on the street and they will tell you the leaders on this team are Papi and Pedroia."
• rnewmanjr1: "Ortiz does make some good points. But as far as he himself getting respect. That is wrong. He has been put on a pedestal for years for a good reason. His problem is after years of playing in Boston his skin has gotten thinner and he sees everything as an insult"



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Indians closer Chris Perez has called out fans in Cleveland due to the fact that the team is last in attendance despite being in first place in the AL Central. Is he justified?

• gateslikeisiah79: "I honestly don't know what happened to the Tribe. But to be last in attendance with a first place team is a freakin joke. And the fans can't blame the weather because it has been pretty nice this year. "
• Seat42F: "Current ownership won't spend money. Has nothing to do with this team being in 1st place. Cleveland fans showed up en masse when Jacobs was the owner and opened his checkbook. No name MLB rosters with bottom third payrolls never draw regardless of where they are in the standings."
• FanofBears420: "He should be happy for the position he is in, no more, no less. To imply fans of any sport org. have any sort of obligation too attend overpriced sports games, is mostly arrogant and maybe a little pretentious. They owe the fans, blindly, to win, regardless of attendance."
• pietro169: "If MLB owners want to get attendance up they should INVEST IN THEIR TEAM. Like it or not the people of Cleveland are NOT DUMB. We have watched the Dolans trade away cy young winners in CONSECUTIVE years. Guess how many other organizations have done that .... NONE!"
• T.O.G.M.S.17: "not sayin its right, but fans wanna see runs. you want to attract more people, then make a more attractive product. this team is one of the worst in runs scored at home. we need at least one more solid bat and then we can talk playoffs with these guys. "
• Alex2323002: "I think Perez has an interesting strategy that could work. I would now pay to heckle him mercilessly all game."



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Brett Lawrie was ejected after his helmet hit umpire Bill Miller in the hip after Lawrie slammed it to the ground. Should he be punished further?

• ericwingard: "'passion' plus stupidity = suspension. "
• ibanez77: "Two terrible calls, and the ump will not be disciplined or otherwise held accountable for them, but the player will be held responsible for his reaction. Throwing the helmet was over the top, but I'd be pissed too. "
• joebud258: "Lawrie deserves to be suspended for throwing his helmet--that's the reality. But that is the sort of thing that can happen when an ump makes one bad call then intentionally makes an even more obviously horrendous call so he can teach the player a lesson. "
• 70champs "I think both of those pitches were balls, but showing up an umpire is never going to help your cause. And while I doubt Lawrie intended to hit him with his helmet, he deliberately spiked it in his direction. Pete Rose got a 30 day suspension for bumping an umpire. Lawrie should get 10 games, minimum. "
• rponulak24: "While Lawrie was definitely out of line, that ball was nowhere close to a strike. Funny that a player will get suspended for doing something wrong, but nothing will happen to the ump whose WRONG call caused Lawrie's outburst."
• Jareddspence: "Lawrie was completely justified in his actions. Terrible calls should be challenged. He threw his helmet at the ground, not at the ump, it happened to hit the ump. He was going to be ejected immediately for challenging strike three, so why not make a good argument and yell and make your point. "



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Did you know that the Boston Red Sox have the fourth-best offense in all of baseball? It's true. You can totally look it up if you don't believe us. That's a pretty good offense! It's just that the pitching is, well ... less than stellar. Only the Minnesota Twins have a higher team ERA, and considering Clay Buchholz is looking to avoid being the only pitcher in history to give up five runs or more in seven consecutive starts tonight, don't look for that ranking to be set in stone. It's officially gotten bad in Boston, as ace pitcher Josh Beckett was booed on Thursday night after bring lifted in the third inning. Is this as bad as it gets for the Red Sox?

Have the Red Sox hit rock bottom?

•  
  58%
  Yes
•  
  42%
  No

(Total votes: 5,431)

Who do you blame the most for the Red Sox's struggles?

•  
  23%
  Ownership
•  
  4%
  Ben Cherington
•  
  24%
  Bobby Valentine
•  
  50%
  The pitching staff

(Total votes: 84,682)

Who has been the biggest disappointment in the Red Sox's starting rotation so far?

•  
  77%
  Josh Beckett
•  
  23%
  Clay Buchholz

(Total votes: 5,224)

What do you make of the Red Sox's 5.29 team ERA?

•  
  20%
  Temporary fluke
•  
  80%
  Sign of things to come

(Total votes: 56,627)

Did any of you have Josh Hamilton on your fantasy teams last night? Congratulations -- you can take the rest of the week off. No need to worry about matchups or injuries or any of that. Hamilton gave you (and the Rangers) a week's worth of production with a four-homer game in Baltimore on Tuesday night. Hamilton is the first American League player to go 5-for-5 with four home runs in a game, and the first to total 18 bases in one contest. He actually came close to hitting five homers, but he narrowly missed a hanging curveball in his third at-bat. That would have been unprecedented -- no major leaguer has reached the five-homer plateau in a game.

Will Josh Hamilton win the AL MVP award this season?

•  
  66%
  Yes
•  
  34%
  No

(Total votes: 54,601)

How many home runs will Josh Hamilton (14 HRs) hit this season?

•  
  3%
  Fewer than 30
•  
  32%
  30-39
•  
  51%
  40-49
•  
  14%
  50 or more

(Total votes: 59,417)

Which was more impressive?

•  
  72%
  Josh Hamilton's four home runs in a single game
•  
  28%
  Philip Humber's perfect game

(Total votes: 159,613)

Where will Josh Hamilton be playing at the start of next season?

•  
  80%
  With the Rangers
•  
  20%
  With another team

(Total votes: 54,509)

Closers aren't supposed to be dominant for extended periods of time, but most closers aren't Mariano Rivera. The Yankees relief ace was still his usual unhittable self this season, until a freak injury during batting practice resulted in a torn ACL and an uncertain future. Rivera's 2012 season was supposed to be his last, but Yankee fans likely expected an extended farewell tour, where the great Rivera would enjoy a slew of richly deserved accolades as he approached retirement. Rivera's season may be over, but will he let his career end like this?

Has Mariano Rivera thrown his final pitch?

•  
  57%
  Yes
•  
  43%
  No

(Total votes: 36,336)

How big of a hit will the Yankees' World Series hopes take if Mariano Rivera is out for the season?

•  
  67%
  Huge hit
•  
  33%
  Moderate hit

(Total votes: 120,519)

Realistically, can a closer ever be the most valuable player on a typical MLB team?

•  
  50%
  Yes
•  
  50%
  No

(Total votes: 61,752)

His older brother almost had one back in the day, but Jered Weaver's no-hitter wasn't broken up in the late innings by a fly ball to right field like Jeff Weaver's was in 2002. Weaver's no-hitter is the second so far this season, trumped only by Philip Humber's perfect game. Humber's result might have been rarer, but Weaver's future seems brighter -- he's the Angels' ace and much more likely to follow up on his success. Is he a truly elite pitcher?

Where does Jered Weaver rank among MLB pitchers?

•  
  18%
  Top five
•  
  47%
  Top 10
•  
  29%
  Top 20
•  
  7%
  Not in the top 20

(Total votes: 47,320)

Which is more surprising?

•  
  26%
  A no-hitter and a perfect game already occurring this year
•  
  74%
  Albert Pujols still homerless

(Total votes: 164,498)

Will the Angels (10-15) make the playoffs?

•  
  54%
  Yes
•  
  46%
  No

(Total votes: 4,947)

Bryce Harper is already thrilling fans with his outfield play -- he should have had two asissts at home already, if it weren't for a dropped ball and a missed call. Is his arm already among baseball's best?

• mrdonscott: "I saw that throw in person. It was so sick."
• Rep the 315: "There might be 5 left fielders in MLB who can make that throw. Very impressive. Sure, Rick Ankiel has a better arm, but he was also a pitcher. Kinda comes with the territory."
• tylerkerwinhull: "He doesn't even have the best arm on his team. If that's Rich Ankiel in left he is out by 10 feet."
• Tiggeroo13: "Dude was OUT at home, 'DOA' all the way the ump blew the call, PERIOD end of discussion, dude was out!"
• dtigersfan21: "The crowd definitely did buzz before and even louder after the throw many giving him a standing ovation. It was a great throw by a young kid, one that the average left fielder is NOT making."
• shadowofomoic: "The sad thing is, the only highlight even a little worth showing was him throwing to home plate and the dude being safe. WOW THATS AMAZING!"



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Albert Pujols ended April with no home runs -- his current homerless streak extends to 29 games, counting last season. Will his power outage continue?

• markpringle2003: "We know that in baseball the numbers usually come around, however Pujols is 32 years old...not terrible for baseball...but it makes me wonder if things will even out for him so that he's worth what they are paying him. "
• jooo83: "The Angels overpaid for Albert Pujols but one bad month doesn't prove anything."
• MrMacross: "Based on last season's numbers, I figured he was in the decline phase of his career, but I didn't expect him to have a month this bad so quickly into his Angels career."
• sonnysdesign: "happened to Ortiz a few years back. all the talk of "over the hill, release him" .still ended up with 30 or so. All forgotten now."
• pcproam: "If the Angels were winning this would be moot. AP has been on base EVERY game this year. He quietly had a 10 game hit streak. The Angels are junk. Bullpen is junk. AP will be fine. "
• bmyfive: "This will prove to be one of the worst free-agent signings in baseball history."



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