Notes During the Break - A-Rod To The White Sox?

Where will A-Rod play his baseball next year? The man who Barry Bonds says will ultimately hold the all-time HR record is seen as likely to leave the Yankees after this season.

Today's (NY) Daily News took a look at places Rodriguez may be playing next year and one Central Division foe - the Chicago White Sox - figures prominetly in the mix. The paper put the odds at 8-1 that A-Rod will play for the Sox, the same odds the paper puts on Rodriguez staying in New York.

Chicago is the fourth most-likely place A-Rod will land next year, according to the paper. At 4-1 odds, the Angels are picked as most likely to land the slugger. The Indians? They're (not surprisingly) not on the list. Check it out the reasons behind the ratings here.

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It'll be Dan Haren, not C.C. Sabathia (or Justin Verlander for that matter), who'll start for the A.L. in tonight's All-Star Game. Manager Jim Leyland chose Haren because he pitches across the bay in Oakland. Probably a good choice. CC said as much and his catcher, Victor Martinez said he was just glad he didn't have to be the one to decide. PC answers to be sure, but why get worked up over nothing.

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Speaking of getting worked up over nothing, how 'bout that Home Run Derby? I never even turned on the TV. I enjoyed the event when it was new and lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. Now it runs for about three hours and Chris Berman's mouth runs right along with it. Grady Sizemore wisely declined a chance to participate. With his 91 Ks in 346 ABs so far this year the last thing he needs is to be messing with his swing. Unfortunately Grady says he might do it next year if he's asked with enough advance notice.

Bud Shaw had some interesting thoughts on the Derby this morning, saying the last thing baseball needed in San Francisco (home of Barry and BALCO) was to call attention to the HR. As a joke he suggested a rundown contest instead. See which player can stay in a rundown the longest. Sounds more exciting that the Derby to me.

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Not much to be found on the Futures Game. The only full game story I could find was on Forbes.com of all places. That story mentions one Tribe farmhand - pitcher Chuck Lofgren, who got to play in front of the home folks:

Cleveland's Chuck Lofgren, a Bay Area product who went to the same high school as Giants star Barry Bonds, pitched a scoreless second inning for the U.S. team, striking out Freddy Sandoval. Lofgren also was an accomplished hitter at Serra High School, hitting 10 homers as a junior to tie Bonds for fourth most in a season at the school.

"I lived out my dream and got to strike someone out," Lofgren said. "It was a great experience, especially for someone who grew up here. It was the best feeling of my life, even better than when I was drafted." - the A.P. on Forbes.com