As baseball gets set to return from the All-Star break on Friday, here are five story lines to keep an eye on:
1. The Deadline
We very well might have already seen our biggest trade of the season, by virtue of the July 5 deal that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Cubs to Oakland in return for a package highlighted by Addison Russell. But there figure to be more deals before the July 31 non-waivers transaction deadline, and then a few more in time for the Aug. 31 deadline to qualify for a team’s postseason roster. Tampa Bay’s David Price remains the biggest catch, with Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee, San Diego’s Ian Kennedy, Philadelphia’s Marlon Byrd and Minnesota’s Josh Willingham other available chips.
2. The Rookie Slugger
Jose Abreu of the White Sox has 29 home runs, putting him in position to challenge the all-time first-year player record of 49, set by Oakland’s Mark McGwire in 1987. The Cuban native also leads the major leagues with that total, and no rookie has ever taken the home-run crown for himself. In ’87, McGwire shared the crown with the Cubs’ Andre Dawson, and all the way back in 1906, the Brooklyn Superbas’ rookie Tim Jordan clubbed 12 homers to share the major-league lead with Harry Davis of the Philadelphia A’s.
3. Hat Trick?
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is one of two active pitchers to own a pair of Cy Young Awards, with Tim Lincecum of the rival Giants the other. While Lincecum hasn’t been elite in a few years, Kershaw — snubbed as the NL’s All-Star Game starter by St. Louis manager Mike Matheny, who went with his own guy Adam Wainwright — is very much in the running for a third trophy and a second consecutive, after recently finishing a run of 41 scoreless innings. The last time a pitcher won his third Cy Young honor? In 2000, Arizona’s Randy Johnson and Boston’s Pedro Martinez each captured his third; Johnson won the next two, as well. Both are in line to be first-year Hall of Fame inductees next January.
4. Don’t Ya Know the Mariners?
While Robinson Cano’s former team treads water at .500, his current club leads the hunt for the second AL wild card, which would be the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2001. Cano has compensated with a power loss by getting on base more; All-Star Game starter Felix Hernandez is making a run for a second Cy Young Award; All-Star third baseman Kyle Seager has given Cano some help offensively; and Fernando Rodney is closing games at an All-Star level, too. The M’s will try to acquire an outfield bat to supplement their cause.
5. The Search for Buzz
This has been a stinker of a baseball season so far, hasn’t it? The World Cup, LeBron James and the Rangers rank among the many sports stories that have kept the summer game off the radar. Will one player or one team get people talking again before the regular season wraps up? Or will we have to wait until the playoffs for the general public’s attention to be fully captured?