Columnist Dean Juipe: Scrappy Expos tantalize impartial fan

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, July 9, 2002 | 10:21 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

With the All-Star Game tonight in Milwaukee, every baseball fan is entitled to compile his or her midseason report. Here's mine:

I've never been to Montreal but the Expos are close to becoming my favorite team. Always cast in an underdog role due to their lack of high finances, this year the Expos are young, scrappy, talented, 46-41 and have the manager of the year in Frank Robinson. I hope they make the playoffs and I hope it's not their last season in Montreal. ... The other team pinpointed for contraction a year ago, the Minnesota Twins, has stabilized its financial situation and has dodged the hangman's noose. ... If baseball insists on eliminating two teams, Tampa Bay and Florida should go.

For a guy who hit only .180 in an abbreviated stint in the majors two years ago, New York Yankees second baseman Alfonso Soriano has come such a long way that he has to be considered a serious AL MVP candidate. Aside from his .315 average, Soriano leads the league in stolen bases and is among the leaders in runs, hits and home runs. ... There had been whispers that Greg Maddux might be slipping at 36, but now that he's 8-2 with a 2.81 ERA and coming off a three-hitter Sunday, those notions have been dispelled. ... Is there a more courageous player than Texas DH Rafael Palmeiro, the Viagra pitchman?

I'd like to see estranged San Francisco teammates Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds just go ahead and duke it out, as they occasionally threaten to do. I'm tired of Bonds' haughtiness even from this distance. ... Neither Bonds nor Sammy Sosa nor anyone else will rewrite the home run record this year, which is fine with me. Bonds, however, is making a run at Ted Williams' on-base percentage record of .553 set in 1941. Bonds is at .571. ... Williams' son, John, has overstepped his bounds in trying to have his just-departed father's body put on ice, as he's attempting to do. By all appearances, there's nothing to indicate the Splendid Splinter wanted to be preserved in such a manner or have his DNA sold, as the younger Williams plots.

Arizona may not even win its division, but its pitching tandem of Curt Shilling (14-3) and Randy Johnson (12-3) is so overwhelming that the D'backs are an automatic threat to win the World Series. ... Only the Yankees could pick up an outfielder the caliber of Raul Mondesi and a pitcher such as Jeff Weaver at midseason without it costing them a significant player. What a lineup -- and now they have six formidable starting pitchers. ... Pudge Rodriguez is 30 years old and has a lot of miles on him, but someone will meet his asking price when the Texas catcher becomes a free agent this winter. ... Is there a more impressive record than Atlanta's soon-to-be 11 straight division championships?

Despite a history of eight work stoppages since 1972 and the negative vibrations that are in the air, I just can't see the players striking. ... I can, however, see them agree to steroid testing in a trade for some collective bargaining concession they would find worthwhile. ... The AL has only one really disappointing team, the Indians, while the NL has at least three in the Mets, Astros and Cubs. ... As exciting as the All-Star Game might be, it's easy to see why a few veterans have chosen to skip it in exchange for some R&R at home. ... There's no value in betting on the favorite, so take the AL at a plus 110 tonight.