A few things hanging around out there today:

• Today marks the day in which we'll know which league will have home field advantage in the World Series. Whatever your stance may be on the issues -- I happen to think it's absurd, for the record -- the winner of tonight's All-Star game earns that advantage. It's an advantage that causes certain minds to wonder how 2011 would have ended if the AL had somehow secured home field in the World Series.
• If you haven't seen yet, I have a piece up on the home page about what I feel is Bud Selig's incompetence. Feel free to share your thoughts over there. Or don't. Or do.
• Nolan Ryan talks about the potential (or not) of Manny Ramirez being a legitimate option for the Rangers this season.

I can’t say that he isn’t [an option]. You have to take him into consideration because there’s just not a lot of [right-handed hitters] out there and if somebody has one, they usually are overpriced this time of year. So it’s hard to say.

• Word from the MLBPA is that suspensions related to the current Biogenesis investigation aren't likely to be served this season, which is good news for the Rangers and could be good news for Nelson Cruz provided he cares more about how he finishes this season as opposed to the overall effects such a suspension would have on his earning power moving forward. Either way, the hope remains that Cruz will be able to stick with the club through any potential playoff run.
• Eric Nadel talked during a radio interview about Yu Darvish and the media.

He’s so closed to the media that we don’t know where his mind is ever. He’s clearly miffed. You don’t really know if he’s miffed at the media or if he’s putting on a show. But he seems be carrying on something of a feud with the media over his pitch selection. But we really don’t know what this guy is thinking. You’re just completely guessing. In my opinion, the guy has been very disappointing in that he hasn’t come up big when he’s had leads. The Rangers haven’t scored runs for him his last eight or nine starts. They scored a boat load of runs for him in his first eight or nine starts. Don’t be afraid to win a game 2-1. You’re supposed to be the ace of the staff, and he has not pitched like that for me.

So there's that. I've wondered for a few weeks about what the perception is of Darvish in the media, and while I didn't imagine it being quite this much of a perceived "feud", it has seemed that his pitching has suffered from trying to prove something. Maybe this DL trip his just what he needed to get ready for ace-like performances in the second half of the season.