Derek Jeter has a new line of men’s grooming products heading to stores soon to compete with you. The first item is a Derek Jeter cologne that will bear the name “Driven”. I’m sorry, but if more than 5% of the people who buy these products live 200 miles or more outside of the greater New York area then you really must get a life. I know I don’t want to smell like a sweaty Yankee shortstop nor do I know many others who want to either.

Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies has now hit safely in 32 games straight after hitting a single today off the Florida Marlins. Utley has a long way to go until we really start to get excited, but it is very impressive nonetheless.

George Steinbrenner continues to show each year that he is not afraid to spend money to better his team. Yesterday the Yankees picked up Bobby Abreu from the Phillies along with starting pitcher Cory Lidle. The Yankees traded away four minor league players to the Phillies in return for Abreu and Lidle. New York’s need for pitching and a productive bat in their depleted outfield motivated them to take on Abreu’s hefty contract, hoping he can help them catch first-place Boston in the AL East. We have seen these big moves over recent years with the Yankees before the trade deadline, but it hasn’t paid off in a big way. I suspect come October the hopes and dreams of a World Championship for the Yankees will merely be the hope it comes in 07′ because they will not win it this year.

Things continue to look worse and worse for the National League of MLB. It has been a blue moon since the National League won a world series (8 years to be exact…I think) and they were completely ripped to shreds this year in Interleague play. They also had not won an All Star game in the last nine years (they did tie one – LOL) coming into the “game that counts” last night in Pittsburgh. Remember it counts now because the winning League gets home field advantage in the World Series. MLB wouldn’t actually give that to the team with the best record throughout the year would they??? Anyway, it was the ninth inning and Trevor Hoffman had two outs and up 2-1 so things looked great right? Wrong! In a matter of minutes Paul Konerko hit a single, Troy Glaus hit a ground rule double and Michael Young hit a triple and the American League was up 3-2. Then they bring in Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth and it’s a done deal. It is an ugly thing right now for the National League and unless the Mets really step up there is no chance in H#LL that a National League team can win the World Series.

The St. Louis Cardinals suffered a huge setback today after Albert Pujols strained his right oblique muscle. The injury occurred in the second inning today against the Chicago Cubs when Pujols was chasing a pop fly ball off the bat of Aramis Ramirez. Pujols will be reevaluated tomorrow, but is expected to go on the DL and could be gone for up to six weeks. Pujols is having a MONSTER year with 25 home runs and 65 rbi’s to date. It’s a shame this had to happen because I want so bad for someone to break Bonds home run record and Albert is just the man who could concur such a record. Hurry back Albert!

Roger Clemens just hit black gold aka Texas tea yesterday with the Houston Astros. The two came to an agreement for Clemens to pitch the rest of the year for $22 million. I was shocked initially because he didn’t sign with the Red Sox or Yankees, but more shocked at the price tag. The Astros do NOT have a chance at the World Series and in my opinion will be lucky to make the playoffs. Their offense is down right atrocious and they have marginal picthing at best. I know Roger is the biggest thing going and he will help the Astros, but the cost to get him and supporting cast around him do not add up. Clemens will be very happy with his bank account after the season and that will be about it! The Astros on the other hand will regret making this deal in the long run.

The hullabaloo over Barry Bonds hitting his 714th career home run and tying Babe Ruth is now over. This will only lead to even more build up for him passing Ruth and moving into second place all alone, but not here at Sports Underground. I only want to point out, as I like to do every chance I get, what a classless act Barry Bonds is and will continue to be. A 19 year old young man named Tyler Snyder was the person who caught Bond’s homer yesterday in Oakland. Snyder quickly left the game with his souvenir because I’m sure he was worried about someone attempting to take the record tying ball. When Bonds was told Snyder is an A’s fan, he cracked back with: “I, um, forgive you. If he doesn’t like me, give me the ball.” Another wonderful example that Barry Bonds is the equivalence of pond scum!

All the talk in the baseball world has been about Barry Bonds and his attempt to pass Babe Ruth’s home run record. Stonecoldjz hit on this earlier in the week, and for the most part, I agree with him. Let’s forget about the fact that it’s not even the MLB record. Instead, let’s talk about the ball itself. MLB has made it crystal clear they have no intentions of making a big deal about it if and when Bonds passes Babe Ruth. As a matter of fact, until today, there were no plans to even put special markings on the ball to verify it’s authenticity. But Bob DuPuy, MLB’s chief operating officer, decided there was no good reason not to add the markings to the ball. So today, a shipment of balls will arrive in Philadelphia and the officials will use the balls when Barry comes to the plate.

The only good reason I can come up with to use these balls is to keep there from being a controversy after the ball goes into the stands. And with controversy, comes even more media coverage. To be honest, I’m tired of hearing about it. So I’m all for getting the special balls in play. When Bonds moves into SECOND PLACE, NOT FIRST, the clowns in the stands will be able to identify the ball, and sell it for an unreasonable amount of money. It’s SECOND PLACE PEOPLE!!!

“Until Barry or anybody else gets close to Aaron, I think that’s really going to be the big thing. … Nobody remembers who finishes second,” Al Kaline, who hit 399 career homers, said before teeing off Friday.

I wonder what the other real Hall of Famers think about this. Well, Harmon Killebrew, #8 on the HR list, and others are fairly uncomfortable talking about it.

“If they’re doing something that is an illegal situation, that’s different,” Killebrew said Friday. “That’s why I say there’s a cloud over baseball right now. You hate to point any fingers at anybody because you don’t really know for sure.

So I guess until he breaks the SECOND PLACE record, I’m just going to have to deal with it. Crap!

I was really hoping this day wouldn’t come, but the train is coming down the tracks very quickly.  Barry Bonds currently has 712 home runs and needs two to tie Babe Ruth and three to pass the ultra legend.  The man is one helluva a baseball player and always has been well before the steroids era.  I know there will always be a huge cloud over all the records Bonds will or has achieved due to roids, but I hope more than anything else people remember the magnitude of his awful personality.  Barry is an absolute 100% A-HOLE and no matter what he does I will always tell my kids that he was VERY overrated and not worth his salt.