The New York Yankees have been awarded the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and will host the Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008, during the final year that the ballpark will be open, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced at a press conference today at City Hall. Commissioner Selig was joined by the Mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg, and Steve Swindal, General Partner of the New York Yankees.

• The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be the 79th Midsummer Classic.

• This will be the first time in baseball history that an All-Star Game has been held in a ballpark in the final year that it will be open.

• It will mark the fourth time that Yankee Stadium has played host to the All-Star Game, joining 1939, 1960 (the second ASG of the season) and 1977, and it will be the eighth Midsummer Classic staged in New York City (Polo Grounds, 1934 and 1942; Ebbets Field, 1949; and Shea Stadium, 1964).

• The National League has a 2-1 advantage in the three previous All-Star Games played at Yankee Stadium, winning the last two contests. The American League won by a 3-1 score in 1939; the National League blanked the A.L. 6-0 in 1960; and the N.L. prevailed 7-5 in 1977.

Previous All-Star Games at Yankee Stadium

July 11, 1939 (The 7th ASG)

NL	0	0	1		0	0	0		0	0	0		1	7	1
AL	0	0	0		2	1	0		0	0	0		3	6	1

NL - Derringer, LEE (4), Fette (7)
AL - Ruffing, BRIDGES (4), Feller (6)
HR - DiMaggio
W - Bridges
L - Lee
A - 62,892
TOG - 1 hour, 55 minutes

July 13, 1960 (2nd; The 29th ASG)

NL	0	2	1		0	0	0		1	0	2		6	10	0
AL	0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	8	0

NL - LAW, Podres (3), Williams (5), Jackson (7), Henry (8), McDaniel (9)
AL - FORD, Wynn (4), Staley (6), Lary (8), Bell (9)
HR - Mathews, Mays, Musial, Boyer
W - Law
L - Ford
A - 38,362
TOG - 2 hours, 42 minutes

July 19, 1977 (The 48th ASG)

NL	4	0	1		0	0	0		0	2	0		7	9	1
AL	0	0	0		0	0	2		1	0	2		5	8	0

NL - SUTTON, Lavelle (4), Seaver (6), Reuschel (8), Gossage (9)
AL - PALMER, Kern (3), Eckersley (4), LaRoche (6), Campbell (7), Lyle (8).
HR - Morgan, Luzinski, Garvey, Scott
W - Sutton
L - Palmer
A - 56,683
TOG - 2 hours, 34 minutes

Dean Jones Jr. begins another exciting new feature here at BDD!

Each week, Dean will chronicle the top match-ups on the collegiate level around the nation. A “Series of the Week” will be featured with in-depth analysis and breakdown. Further, other key match-ups will be noted as “Other Interesting Match-Ups”.

After the conclusion of games in a particular week, Dean will post a recap for those who do not have the capability to access scores and highlights from the games around the country.

In the interest of time and lack of games in the first few weeks as the weather breaks and the season turns into full swing, I will combine the first two weeks into a single entry. Check our Dean's first NCAA Series of the Week Preview!

Some good reading material as we begin a new week:

- Geoff Young at Ducksnorts takes the field at Friarfest 2007 in San Diego. Watch as Geoff takes a lead, warms up in the bullpen, and assesses the damage from the dugout :)

- Ken Rosenthal has an interesting take on why the Rockies are looking to trade Todd Helton.

- Uh oh...it's not even Spring Training and 40% of the Marlins starting rotation is experiencing arm discomfort.

- FanGraphs has combined the CHONE, MARCEL, and ZIPS projections all in one spot. Pretty cool stuff. 

- A little football stuff not related to the Super Bowl...for those Cowboys fans who are trying to figure out who the new head coach may be, just stay tuned to Blogging the Boys for all the latest details!

- Looks like Jason Kubel is in great shape and ready to fight for the LF position in Minnesota after all.

- I'm starting to get excited about Spring Training...especially my trip out to the Cactus League

- Do I sense another round of collusion on the horizon? The commissioner is a little upset over the spending spree this winter.

- Do you think you or I would have the charges dismissed if we just apologized?

- Oregon State got off to a great start in defending their National Championship with a no-hit victory in Hawaii

- And finally, The Hardball Times has a nice new article that looks at how three projection systems rate some of the league's best hitters for 2007

Here is the list of league openings for this week.. Please contact the league directly and NOT BDD. Remember, for guidelines on submitting league openings, please read through the post here  Ads for Sim League Openings 

Strat-O-Matic Leagues  

League Name: Cooperstown Baseball League

Simulation Game: Strat-o-Matic

Web Site:http://members.cox.net/dshillen

Contact Name: Tony Mannino

Contact Email: tmannino@cisco.com

Description: The CBL is looking for serious and dedicated managers for its 2007 season. We have an active off-season. We are currently bidding on free agents. We are a thirty team summer league that plays from April to October. The league is split with an AL and an NL. Some of the features our league offers are: free agency, salary cap, Rule 5 draft, amateur draft, web site, and message board. We use the latest computer version. Net Play is optional. If you're bored of the usual 18-24 team leagues and want something totally different with the goal towards realism, join our unique league. If you have questions, please contact Tony at or visit our web site.

League Name: United League Baseball (ULB)

Simulation Game: Strat-o-matic

Web Site: http://flory.net/php/index.php?league=ulb
Contact Name: Doug Kalinousky
Contact Email: dnk@alum.mit.edu
Description: The ULB (United League Baseball) has four teams open. We are a 20 team netplay optional league, getting ready to start our preseason draft. The teams are at the cut down, 23 man size, preparing to draft to 35 players. We use up to 110% usage (PA/IP), playing a 162 game schedule broken into 15 two week phases. Currently we are realigning AL/NL and ballparks, so the teams should be able to pick either AL (DH) or NL (no DH) and any open ballpark (although if you act quickly, you can get into our ballpark draft).

Email Doug: dnk@alum.mit.edu if you are interested and want to get more info and a copy of the constitution and the available team rosters.

League Name: Ultimate Strat-O-Matic Baseball League
Simulation Game: Strat-O-Matic
Web Site: http://www.the-usbl.org/

Contact Name: Don Ervick or Rob McQuown (of BDD fame!)

Contact Email: Midlanddog@chartermi.net or robmcquown@yahoo.com
Description: Is Jim Hendry an idiot?  Is Billy Beane a genius?  Can you do better??? The USBL is the most realistic Strat-O-Matic league you’ll find!  Free agency is approaching after a successful first season, and three (3) qualified candidates will be allowed to enter the league and try their hand at managing all the ins and outs of a team.  You’ll have to consider things like which minor leaguers should be protected on your 40-man roster, whether to buy out the last year or two of arbitration on your young stars, which free agents to bid on, and how much to offer them.  Oh, and in addition to your 40-man roster, you’ll have a minor league system equipped to handle up to 110 prospective youngsters.  That’s right – 4500 players are on teams in USBL!  But don’t worry, free agent bidding starts in January for the 2007 season (April-October), followed shortly by the 1^st-year player draft, and you can add some fresh blood to your team.  Each manager gets $95MM/yr in revenue (+/- penalties and bonuses)… how will you spend yours? 

League Name:  USF LEAGUES
Simulation Game: STRAT-O-MATIC
Web Site: http://usfleagues.net
Contact Name: Jason Goldberg, USF Leagues Commissioner
Contact Email: usf@rogers.com
Description: The USF Leagues is a group of Stratomatic Leagues using the latest version of all Stratomatic computer game products (Baseball, Football, Hockey & Basketball).  The USF Leagues vary in size from 12 to 24 General Managers.  The USF Leagues vary from retro to modern day style.  Some USF leagues include a salary cap while others are your typical keeper league with an annual rookie draft.  The USF leagues feature a regularly updated website and a private group forum using EZ Board.  Each USF League operates in a series of blocks which are played one at time.  Deadlines for each block are no shorter than 1 week per league.  Each league plays a full schedule of games to match the actual sport (ie., Football = 16 games, Baseball = 162 games etc.).  There are a total of 100+ USF members in all eight (8) leagues combined with many members participating in more than just one league.  If you are looking for an excellent way to participate with Stratomatic game products in a competitive but friendly environment then look no further than the USF Leagues!

The USF is always looking for solid, dedicated GMs when openings come up.  If you are someone that is reliable and has excellent communication in this type of league environment we would like to hear from you!  There is an application on our main website to complete and email back to me.  Thank you for looking!

Jump on over and vote!

1) Who is the top prospect in baseball today?

- Alex Gordon

- Philip Hughes

- Homer Bailey

- Delmon Young

- Brandon Wood

2) What is your favorite baseball web site (besides BDD of course!)?

- MLB.com

- Baseball America

- Fox Sports Baseball featuring Ken Rosenthal

- The Hardball Times

- Baseball Prospectus

- Baseball Musings

- Baseball Think Factory

- Other

I have closed the two recent polls and here are the results:

1) Who were the big winners of this off-season?

- Chicago Cubs (95 votes - 29.5%)

- Boston Red Sox (76 votes - 23.6%)

- New York Yankees (69 votes - 21.4%)

- Los Angeles Dodgers (47 votes - 14.6%)

- San Francisco Giants (19 votes - 5.9%)

- Chicago White Sox (16 - 5%)

Total votes - 322

2) Does Bert Blyleven belong in the Hall of Fame?

- Yes (234 votes - 80.7%)

- No (56 votes - 19.3%)

Total votes - 290

I can't say the results are all that surprising, but I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.

The New York Yankees announced today that they have signed free agent infielder Miguel Cairo to a one-year Major League contract. To make room for Cairo on their 40-man roster, the Yankees designated RHP Matt DeSalvo for assignment.

The Boston Red Sox today announced that the team has officially signed free agent outfielder J.D. Drew to a five-year contract extending through the 2011 season.

The Minnesota Twins announced today that former third baseman Gary Gaetti, the 1987 ALCS Most Valuable Player who helped lead the Twins to their first World Series Championship, and Director of Minor Leagues, Jim Rantz have been elected to the team’s Hall of Fame. Gaetti and Rantz will become the 17th and 18th members of the Twins Hall of Fame when they are inducted during special on-field pre-game ceremonies, Saturday May 5th (Rantz) and Sunday, August 19th (Gaetti).

The Chicago White Sox agreed to terms on a one-year, $1-million contract, which includes a 2008 club option, with free agent outfielder Darin Erstad.

The Detroit Tigers announced yesterday that the club has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with lefthanded pitcher Joey Eischen and invited him to major league camp.

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda will be inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame.  On Sunday, January 28, Lasorda will enter the Hall as part of the inaugural class at the Anaheim Hilton.  Lasorda, who is already enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, is being enshrined into the CSHOF for his contributions to California throughout his 58 years of service with the Dodgers.  This induction marks the eighth Hall of Fame in which Lasorda will be enshrined. 

The Seattle Times is reporting that according to sources, the club has reached an agreement with Jeff Weaver's agent, Scott Boras, on a one-year contract with a base salary of slightly over $8 million. With incentives, Weaver will reportedly have a chance to earn $9.4 million.

An industry source confirmed the deal is done, pending a physical by Weaver, and is likely to be announced on Monday.