There is, of course, a mind-bending level of stupidity entailed when jeering your home team’s best player. The reasons are often varied, and always retarded. Maybe you’re angry he makes more money than you, even though you could never do his job, not in a million years, which is why, of course, he makes more money than you. Maybe a jilted sportswriter told you not to like him, and you followed like a trained seal, clapping for a biscuit, [Do seals eat biscuits?] overwhelmed by the titanic brainpower of literary heavyweights like Woody Paige. Maybe he had a rough playoff series and made you cry, emotionally scarring you for two whole days. Whatever… the reasons are secondary, anyway.
Category: MLB
MLB
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The Other Dark Knight
Economic struggles are hitting Americans hard – even the rich ones. There are millionaires out there who now only have six houses to go home to at night – and worst of all, some of them are unemployed too!
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NYC and Yankees Redfine Crookery
It was revealed that NYC on behalf of the NY Yankees, is seeking relief from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to receive a special waiver from a law that the IRS amended in 2006 concerning the amount of tax-exempt bonds that may be allotted for the public financing of sports stadium facilities. And any net gains will come at the expense of taxpayers.
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The Frustration of 2008
You may hate to say it, but if you’re a Yankees’ fan you may just have to swallow some pride and admit it. Yesterday’s 11-4 loss to the Angels may have been the “nail in the coffin” for 2008. Out in Anaheim for a three-game set, a place the Yankees never seem to be able to win at, Ian Kennedy started the series off Friday night pitching much as he had the entire season in the majors: in losing fashion. A day game Saturday and Yankees manager Joe Girardi called on home-town kid Dan Giese, looking desperately for a win from a starter in a rotation that looks like it has been put together entirely from chance. Ironically, Giese pitched the game of his life in front of many of his family members, surrendering a lone solo shot to Mark Teixeira in the 6th inning before leaving having only given up three total hits to baseball’s best team. He was then forced to watch and hope the Yankees bullpen could hang on for three more innings. Oh, how quickly things change…
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Chicago Cubs Midseason Review
We have reached the midway point of the 2008 Cubs season and the season has gone about as well as any of us could have hoped. Great pitching, solid clutch hitting and contributions from every player has led the Cubs to the top of the National League Central and tied for the best record in baseball with the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem of California of the United States of North America of the Planet Earth.
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The Curse of Caroline
A weird thing happened. Two weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Rays were on top of the world. They were the cute story of baseball’s first half – even getting a bandwagon all to themselves. This latest development made me gag, but before I was even done heaving, something had changed. The Rays seven-game winning streak didn’t just end; it got obliterated. Tampa Bay limped into the All-Star break like Lieutenant Dan, losing not only seven games in a row – but also the lead in the AL East. In the middle of this unpredictable slump, I tried to figure out what had changed. My father had a pretty good suggestion – so let me share a short fable with you.
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Past and Present
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the live filming of “Costas Now”. For those of you who have not seen the show it is hosted by Bob Costas and usually he has several panels on the show to discuss many different sports topics. Last nights show was all about “The State of Baseball.”
The momentum builds now, we can practically touch and taste the heightened tension, as Mike Lowell’s rage literally lifts him skyward, and Ryan Braun icily eyes down a game deciding moon shot, preening as he plays an action movie assassin. Oh yes, the merciless dog days have arrived.
God bless us, everyone.
For there are trades to celebrate, executives to excoriate, victories to relish and heinous losses so hellish… prepare for sensory overload, a hypnotic season’s mysteries unwinding by the inning. In Spring Training, the contenders and pretenders gathered, surrounding palm trees swaying, whispering the impossible. Reality intervenes in April, the distilled winter chill slicing and dicing through the Opening Day pomp and circumstance, delivering winners and losers, preparing us for the grind ahead. What has happened to the thirty elite? Who rises or falls, disappoints or enthralls?
Shall we consider:
In Major League Baseball, fans, players, and managers have the ultimate say in who plays in Baseball’s Midsummer Classic. Unfortunately, the fans are oftentimes ignorant and vote for random players based on absurd characteristics.
For example, I recently asked a female peer about her pick for AL starting Shortstop, in which she chose Derek Jeter instead of Michael Young. I inquired about this, and her response was, “Derek is so hot.” I countered and said that Derek Jeter was ranked 29th out of 30 in range, he is batting .282, and Michael Young outperforms Derek Jeter. There is no match. The best shortstop in the American League this season is Michael Young. She said, “Oh, I don’t care. He’ll marry me when he retires and I get older.” I said to her, “Well, if A-Rod hooks up with Madonna, then anything can happen. Good luck.” (It might be important to add that she submitted her vote multiple times, and this is rigging the All-Star voting system because many people are doing this.)
The players often vote for the first person whose name is yelled out in their clubhouse. They would vote for their friends and refrain from voting for rivals or unknown players. Managers have very little say in this process, yet, they seem to be the only ones that care about the All-Star selection process. In total, the fans pick approximately 10-11 players, the players themselves choose approximately 15-16 players, and the manager fills out the rest of the roster.
My thoughts on the selection process are relatively simple- it is useless. They should have the people that care vote for the All-Stars (baseball writers, announcers, executives) and base voting off of statistics and value. The same writers that vote for the Hall of Fame should be the ones who have the ultimate say in Major League Baseball’s All-Star Voting.
I recently read an article on ESPN written by Josh Hamilton. It was from last year when he was with the Cincinnati Reds and I suspect after last nights home run derby I won’t be the only one who read it nor will I be the only one writing something about a truly remarkable person.