FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
MLB on FOX’s Second Half Begins Saturday Afternoon @ 3:30 PM ET
Rosenthal & Morosi Hand Out Mid-Season Awards
MLB SECOND HALF SWING BEGINS THIS SATURDAY – Fresh off a successful All-Star Game; MLB on FOX kicks-off its second half of the 2012 season with three afternoon matchups. The Mets and R.A. Dickey travel to Atlanta to face Chipper Jones and the Braves. Looking to put the pressure on the NL Central-leading Pirates, Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals face off with Joey Votto and the Reds in Cincinnati. In Baltimore, Buck Showalter’s Orioles look to continue their strong season in the second half as they tangle with Jim Leyland’s Tigers.
Coverage begins with the FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Greg Amsinger, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac.
For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.
GAME
New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
Turner Field – Atlanta, GA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: R.A. Dickey, RHP (12-1, 2.40 ERA) vs. Tommy Hanson, RHP (10-5, 3.71 ERA)
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Thom Brennaman & Tom Verducci
Great American Ballpark – Cincinnati, OH
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers: Lance Lynn, RHP (11-4, 3.41 ERA) vs. Mike Leake, RHP (3-6, 4.01 ERA)
Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles Kenny Albert & Billy Ripken
Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Baltimore, MD
MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Providence, Seattle, Tampa, Washington
Probable Pitchers: Max Scherzer, RHP (8-5, 4.72 ERA) vs. Wei-Yin Chen, LHP (7-5, 3.93 ERA)
MLB ALL-STAR GAME SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTION JUMPS DURING MID-SUMMER CLASSIC Last night’s MLB All-Star Game on FOX was in full-swing not just on the field but in the social media space too. Once players were no longer competing in the game, they interacted with fans via Twitter and Facebook while completing other media obligations before returning to the bench. All-Star Game comments increased by 257% compared to Twitter & Facebook activity during last year’s Mid-Summer Classic (807,603 vs. 226,461), according to Bluefin Labs. The #ASG hashtag was used in 245,362 social media comments, making it the most-trended term for the broadcast (30.4% of all comments). Throughout the game, nearly a dozen players stopped by the social media room to answer questions from official MLB Twitter & Facebook accounts and interact with fans during the game.
MOROSI & ROSENTHAL DELIVER FIRST HALF AWARDS – FOXSports.com MLB writers Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal discussed which MLB players through the first half of the season are their favorites to win league MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year.
· Morosi on National League MVP race through first-half: “In the National League MVP race, I’ve got to go with Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. I love Joey Votto with that sweet left handed swing but Andrew McCutchen has the Pirates in first place with basically no lineup protection.”
· Rosenthal on National League Cy Young: “R.A. Dickey, my goodness. Not only is he throwing that knuckle ball and controlling that knuckle ball but he is getting strikeouts with it. His WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) is down. It’s incredible what he’s doing when you look at it from a statistical standpoint. R.A. Dickey is a very worthy choice for the NL Cy Young.”
· Morosi on Rookie of the Year honors in American League: “Ken and I are part of the BBWAA, we should actually petition the folks there to just take Mike Trout out of the American League running for Rookie of the Year because it’s so obvious that it’s going to be him. Frankly, he’s obscuring what is a very good rookie class with Will Middlebrooks, Jared Parker, Tommy Malone, and Yu Darvish. There are a lot of guys there that would be in the mix but Trout is blowing away the competition.”
*For additional analysis from Morosi & Rosenthal, click here: http://on-msn.com/NmrXLG
WHO CAN CHALLENGE POINT’S LEADER DUNGEY IN MOTOCROSS SERIES? – Heading into the seventh of 12 stops on the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, 2010 Champion Ryan Dungey (Belle Plain, MN) leads the overall standings, more than 70 points ahead of second place Mike Alessi (Victorville, CA). Dungey has won four stops on the tour and will have a home town advantage when the tour resumes in his home state at the Spring Creek National in Millville, MN, Saturday, July 14. Live coverage begins on FUEL TV at 2:00 PM ET as the network telecasts the first 250 Class and 450 Class motos.
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