In 2005, Bobby Abreu had 18 HRs coming into the HR Derby before absolutely putting on a clinic in the derby. He went into a complete tailspin after that by only hitting 6 HRs in the second half and never really getting his form back after struggling in 2006 and so far in 2007.
Last year, Ryan Howard won the derby and kept up an amazing pace to hit 30 HRs in the second half.
So will Vlad by winning the 2007 HR Derby emulate Abreu or Howard. I would guess this will be more of a springboard for him. He only has 14 HRs currently which is very low for him. I imagine he'll hit close to 20 HRs in the second half to finish with 30-35 for the season.
But the bigger question is why does the HR Derby have to last so freaking long? I blame ESPN for dragging that thing out last night. It was painful how slow it moved. I found myself thoroughly bored after the first round. I think something needs to change to spice the derby up a bit. I am still trying to figure out what that is. I really appreciate the charitable contributions by State Farm and all, but that really has no impact on the viewers and fans. What can we do to make this interesting again....or is it reaching the Dunk Contest status in the NBA in that all hope is lost?
Here's hoping for a great All Star game tonight and an NL win for once!
2 comments:
Sorry but the AL will win again. That is unless the NL leaves Peavy in for 100 pitches.
Well one of these years the NL has to win just out of pure luck if nothing else.
Post a Comment