With Monday’s Home Run Derby and Tuesday’s All Star game kicking off the week, the baseball season is ramping up for its end of the summer push. And if there’s one thing we love most about every sport, it’s cheerleaders. And believe it or not, baseball actually has cheerleaders! Don’t believe us? Well, just take a gander at these smokin’ hot gals, and you’ll have a whole new reason for singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.

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Earlier in the week, COED took a look at the “Top Five Future Superstar Hitters Of The MLB,” and now it is time to preview the future of the sport on the mound.  With Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Mike Mussina, Greg Maddux, and Tom Glavine sipping on some tea, kicking back and counting retirement money, we’ll take a look at the top five starting pitchers that are 25 years or younger who are sure to be the next generation of staff aces.

(Note: We are ignoring any pitchers who haven’t been around for at least one full season, so sorry David Price fans!)

5.  Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners – 23 years old

King Felix came up to the Big Show back in 2005 at the age of 19 and has shown flashes of brilliance ever since.  While his 43-38 career record may not turn heads, consider that fact that he’s been playing for an awful Seattle team that has shown penchant for losing more than 90 games.  His stuff dominates at times, as evidenced by his career 8.11 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.

4.  Zach Greinke – Kansas City Royals – 25 years old

Greinke was supposed to be the next big thing when he came up as a 20 year old in 2004.  However, he struggled with injuries and emotional problems and never fully realized his potential for super stardom. Now, he is building on his positive 2008 season and has been as strong as they come this year.  In his first 7 starts, he has a 6-1 record, a 0.50 ERA, 4 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 59 strikeouts in only 53 innings.  His one loss was a 1-0 complete game loss in Anaheim.  Wow.

3.  Jon Lester – Boston Red Sox – 25 years old

Jon Lester is quickly becoming the staff ace for the Boston Red Sox. His journey began in 2006 where he posted a respectable 7-2 record, but was later diagnosed with lymphoma.  Two years later, he pitched a no-hitter against the Royals, won the final game of the 2007 World Series, and has been dominant with a career 29-11 record.

2.  Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies – 25 years old

If you want to look at the one person who was most responsible for ending the championship drought for the city of Philadelphia last year, look no further than the lanky lefty California native, Cole Hamels. Hamels was electric in the postseason, being named MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series to go along with his perfect 4-0 record.

1.  Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants – 24 years old

Tim Lincecum won the 2008 NL Cy Young award in only his second year, becoming the first to do so since Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen accomplished the feat back in 1985, a year after he was born. Lincecum is nicknamed “The Freak” for his long stride, crazy mechanics, and ability to wear out the radar gun despite his small frame.  He led the majors in strikeouts in 2008, posting an 18-5 record to go along with his 265 strikeouts.  This year, he is continuing where he left off with a 3-1 record and 58 strikeouts in his first 44 innings.

Honorable Mention:
Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins – 25 years old
Chad Billingsley – Los Angeles Dodgers – 24 years old
Joba Chamberlain – New York Yankees – 23 years old
Francisco Liriano – Minnesota Twins – 25 years old
Edison Volquez – Cincinnati Reds – 25 years old

This Saturday marks the highly comical return of Carl Pavano to the decimated Yankee rotation.  With the Yanks sitting six games out of the Wild Card spot and just over a month to play, will he provide enough of a boost for the Bronx Bombers to reach the playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive year?  Or will he only provide enough to boost his own personal checking account this off-season?

The timing for Pavano’s latest comeback attempt is convenient enough to weasel yet another lucrative contract offer out of another team looking for starting pitching depth – something that all 30 teams are interested in.  If he comes on strong in the final five weeks of the season and shows flashes of returning to his 2004 form, will another team pay a hefty salary in hopes that he can anchor the number two or three spot in their rotation? (more…)

Tonight against the Florida Marlins, Ken Griffey Jr. has joined a class more elite then the mile high club. Only 5 other players have ever reached the exclusive 600 home run mark and 2 of them (Bonds and Sosa) cheated to get there.

Now that Griffey has reached the historic mark of 600 home runs let’s dip into the COED archives and take a look at some of the game’s young studs to predict who’s next to make a serious run at 600+.

After all, 600 is the new 500 or is it?’

COED Presents: Young Players Likely To Hit 600 HR’s

After a topsy-turvy season, the New York Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Cleveland Indians. Historically, outside of baseball, Yanks losing to Indians is irony at its best.

The Indians will move forward to face the red-hot Boston Red Sox for the ALCS.

The question on everybody’s mind: what is the future of Joe Torre and the Yankees?

The answer: if George Steinbrenner isn’t happy, nobody’s happy.

Steinbrenner has mentioned on many occasions that Torre would be replaced if the Yankees were eliminated in the early stages of the playoffs; that day has come.

The top prospects to replace Torre would be Florida Marlins’ magicmaker Joe Girardi – he took his team from rock bottom to a respectable middleground with rookies and a low payroll – or Larry Bowa, the Yankees current third-base coach.

No matter what happens to Torre, nothing can tarnish his 12-year legacy: 4 World Series titles in his first 5 years of coaching the Yanks, 2-time AL Manager of the Year, etc.

With that said, go Red Sox!