Who's Hot Who's Not
Who's Hot
M&M'S
Nats outfielder Michael Morse tied a franchise mark with a homer in four straight games, including a walk-off last Friday. And out West the suddenly mighty Mariners took two of three from the Yankees. With just three losses since May 13, Seattle (26--26) is 1½ games back in baseball's tightest race.
TEENAGERS
Jordan Spieth (right), 17, shone at the Byron Nelson and was four strokes off the lead before fading on Sunday. In Paris, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 19, stunned Vera Zvonareva, creating a French Open quarterfinals without a top three seed for the first time ever.
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
The German speedster took the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, his fifth victory in six races this season. The Formula 1 points leader (143) has been the pole sitter in all but one race, but as he clarified after his latest win, "I'm not a god. I'm only a normal person."
CRAWFORDS ON FIRE
After a horrendous April (.155 BA, one HR), Boston's Carl Crawford (right) is finally heating up: He was 11 for 22 last week with seven extra-base hits. And in San Fran, recently called up Brandon Crawford became the sixth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his debut.
Who's Not
BUTTERFINGERS
Thanks to an MLB-leading 43 errors, Houston (19--34) had baseball's worst record and had dropped 10 of its last 14 games through Sunday. But the Astros' defensive plight isn't their only problem: They rank 29th in homers and walks, and their pitching staff has served up an NL-worst 61 dingers.
TWENTY-SOMETHINGS
J.R. Hildebrand, 23, had about 200 yards to go before smashing into a wall at Indy; Wayne Rooney, 25, didn't play terribly in the Champions League final, but he didn't carry Man U to victory, either; and White Sox lefty John Danks, 26, is off to baseball's worst start (0--8) of 2011.
MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
Since returning to F1 last year, the seven-time world champ's 18th season on the track has been shaky: He's ended two races early and has yet to finish higher than sixth. On Sunday he bowed out on Lap 33, dropping him to 11th in the standings, the worst start of his career.
DODGER STADIUM ABLAZE
Just another touch in a terrible season, a storage area in the first base side upper deck at the Dodgers' digs caught fire last Saturday night during a game against the Marlins—and then again on Monday morning. Authorities were still seeking a source for the fires on Monday evening.
SI PLAYERS MLB POLL
WHO IS THE MOST OVERRATED PLAYER IN BASEBALL?
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 3B 18%
Joba Chamberlain, Yankees RP 12%
Derek Jeter, Yankees SS 7%
Jayson Werth, Nationals OF 4%
Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox RP 4%
FAST FACTS
A-Rod and Chamberlain filled the top two slots in the same poll last year but in reverse order.... Yankees OF Nick Swisher also received 4% of the vote.... Of the top 14 active vote-getters, all but three play in Boston, Chicago or New York.... Combined, the five players above have made the All-Star Game in 57% of their seasons.
Based on 185 MLB players who responded to SI's survey
Facebook Fan Picks
45%
DEREK JETER, YANKEES
17%
DAVID ORTIZ, RED SOX
15%
ALEX RODRIGUEZ, YANKEES
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ANDREW RICHARDSON/CAL SPORT MEDIA (ASTRO)
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PATRICK GREEN/SOUTHCREEK GLOBAL/ZUMAPRESS.COM (SPIETH)
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VALDRIN XHEMAJ/EPA (VETTEL)
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EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES (CRAWFORD)
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MIKE MCGINNIS/CAL SPORT MEDIA (WERTH)
THREE PHOTOS
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