MLB
According to New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon last season, an important factor for him is for his ballclub to play “meaningful games in September”. Unfortunately, these words did not ring true for him then. But as we speak, the Metropolitans are actually still hanging around in the National League Wild Card race.
Even though it is still early in the month& the Mets have currently dropped four straight, they are playing important games in September.
At the beginning of the 2005 season if someone heard that the Cleveland Indians would be better than the Yankees, that person would be laughing their head off. But no one on the Yankees is laughing now, seeing as that has come true. But it’s not really something that the players can fix. Guys like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter have had amazing seasons but that’s not enough to put the Yankees in the playoffs.
It’s September, which means it’s crunch time for Major League Baseball. It’s the time of year when players give that extra effort to help their respective teams get into the playoffs. This September will be an exciting month, with both wild card races already going down to the wire. Here is how it will be played out in October.
“All great things come to an end,” however clichéd and unoriginal it may sound, it’s true. Even in baseball: players age, teams rebuild–it’s an inevitable cycle.
While high-market clubs like the Yankees and Red Sox may have more flare and sizzle than lowlier, modest clubs like the A’s, it’s teams like the A’s who avoid lengthy, piteous rebuilding stages because they consistently maintain a nucleus of young talent and don’t spend frivolous dollars on over-the-hill, washed up veterans.
It comes down to promoting from within–maintaining a zealous, fervent farm system of young guys who are committed to winning. The teams that do that will never be out of contention.
The following clubs will be talked about long after the Yankees and Red Sox recede into mediocrity.
Here are the latest power rankings after the MLB’s 22nd week. Criticisms and questions are always appreciated.
By Paul Burgarino
I know it’s only August 5th, and there are still two months of pennant chase left, but why not start thinking about the A’s in the Fall Classic. Although it is premature to talk about any sort of postseason run while the centerfield at McAfee Coliseum is in tact, the A’s recent success has captured the attention of teams around the leagues and had fans dreaming at night of the possibiliity.
Everyone knows the George Steinbrenner likes to meddle. That has been one of his trademarks, ever since he took control of the Yankees. But it’s not only his involvement in the team’s day-to-day affairs that has gotten him in trouble. He has been suspended for paying gamblers to get dirt on his players, for making illegal contributions to campaigns, and then there was the fact that the Boss called one of his players a “fat pussy toad.” One of baseball’s most colorful executives, it’s no wonder that a man like George Steinbrenner, owns a team like the New York Yankees.
Just five months after proclaiming to a congressional panel, “I have never taken steroids. Period,” Rafael Palmeiro has become the seventh domino to fall to the new MLB steroid testing policy. While other notable players have been revealed as users, such as Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, Palmeiro’s case is the most unusual as he had nothing to gain and everything to lose.
For more stories by Kent Summer, check out 3rdand10.com
For a hard rocking guy who blows his eardrums out listening to heavy metal, David Wells actually made sense. His blasting of commissioner Bud Selig, while not publicly approved, was one of the most accurate takes on baseball’s exceptionally weak commissioner. From talking about Selig’s lack of an iron fist on the steroids issue to the 2002 All-Star game that was declared a tie, Wells seemed to utter his first words in a while that have hit the bulls eye.
By Steven Weingarten
The unthinkable has happened; the Mets are no longer lingering around the 500 mark. Please somebody pinch me. Wait that might not be strong enough, please somebody kick me! Are the Mets really 1 1/2 games out of the wild card and six games above 500?
Yes they are, and this Met fan is all over that bandwagon. I’m kidding, I have been an extremely loyal Met fan this year. And yes, I have written several articles bashing the organization, but you would only understand if you were a Met fan. More importantly the Mets record is 11-1 when I go to games so I might be attending more games in the very near future. Just call me Nelson (Pedro’s lucky charm during the 2004 season). They got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell! Sorry, I meant wins.