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Tuesday, July 15, 2003
What's hot, what's not for All-Star

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By Dan Shanoff
Page 2 columnist

If you find yourself at a cocktail party -- or by the water cooler or at the bar or across from someone on a first date -- and you want to wax wisely about the state of Major League Baseball at the All-Star Break, the conventional wisdom is very simple: "We're all talkin' 'bout Dontrelle Willis." You can't go wrong with that as your analysis.

But if you're looking for a few hip catch-phrases to throw in the mix, use the list below of what's hot and what's not in baseball at the break to fuel your conversation:

WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT AT THE ALL-STAR GAME
Category	Hot	Not Hot
One-name phenom	Dontrelle	Rocco
Bandwagon team	Red Sox	Twins
Roto monster	Carlos Delgado	Derek Jeter
Icon	Italian Sausage	Rally Monkey
Breakout hitter	Melvin Mora	Josh Phelps
Hat	Pinwheel	'Trucker'
Closer	One	By committee
Due for hardware	Manny Ramirez	Roger Clemens
Historical homage	500 HR	300 W
Trade bait	Sidney Ponson	Frank Thomas)
Villain	Underachievers	Free-spenders
Already sick of...	Pujols hype	Dontrelle Mania
Managerial mind	Felipe Alou	Art Howe
Fan problem	Drinking (Cause)	Storming field (Effect)
Bat incident	Hitting mascots	Corking
Pitching duo	Prior-Wood	Schilling-Unit
Dream WS scenario	Cubs-Red Sox	Braves-Yankees
Asian import	Hideki Matsui	Kazuhisa Ishii
Wonderpitcher	Esteban Loiaza	AJ Burnett
Endorsement deal	Credit cards	Trading cards
Medical situation	Corey Patterson's ACL	Mike Piazza's groin
Bronx zoolology	Torre in	Torre out
Brothers	Giles	Giambi
Road-trip destination	Wrigleyville	San Juan
Bill	James	Beane
Clutch closer	Eric Gagne	Any Red Sox reliever
No. 1 starter	Roy Halladay	Any Tiger
Movie subject	Stat heads	Rookies
Rivalry	Twins-Royals	Piniella-Salon
Player fashion statement	Flat-brim hat	Chains
Wily GM	Ken Williams	Jim Bowden
Prospect	Joe Mauer, Twins	"K-Rod," Angels
Player angst	Beanings	Steroids
Just-say-it, don't-get-it Saber-stat	"EQA"	"OPS"
Jersey	Mark Prior	Sammy Sosa
Relocation	Mon to DC	Mo to NY
Seats	Fenway stools	Shea crap

It wouldn't be a Hot/Not list without a few picks from Page 2 to carry you through the rest of the season:

PAGE 2's PICKS
Category	Hot	Not
NL East	Braves	Phillies
NL Central	Cubs	Astros
NL West	Giants	Dodgers
AL East	Red Sox	Yankees
AL Central	White Sox	Royals
AL West	Mariners	A's
NL Wild Card	Phillies	Mets
AL Wild Card	A's	Twins
NL MVP	Mark Prior	Albert Pujols
AL MVP	Manny Ramirez	Alex Rodriguez
NL Cy Young	Dontrelle Willis	Russ Ortiz
AL Cy Young	Jamie Moyer	Roy Halladay
NL Rookie	Dontrelle Willis	Hee Seop Choi
AL Rookie	Hideki Matsui	Rocco Baldelli
World Series Champ	"New Saber" Red Sox	"Old Saber" A's

Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "Daily Quickie" commentary appears every weekday morning.

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