Baseball Hall of fame time.. Shame on you

Every year at this time I rant about the voting of the Hall of fame in baseball. They rarely get it wrong but over the last few years they have left me puzzled.  Today some sports writer announced that he would not vote for anyone who played in the steroid era. What?  He made the same proclamation in 2012.  I don't want to say his name because he is the typical anonymous sports writer that annoys me when voting for these honors comes around.  He is one of these bitter writers who enjoy this power. His one vote was revealed and the person he voted for is Jack Morris.  When did the steroid or p.e.d. period begin?  The 1980's? Jack Morris pitched from the heart of the 80's into the mid to late 90's. He pitched in the 1991 World Series. Remember game 7?  10 inning masterpiece against Atlanta?  Sometimes I think people say things to get on television or to get their 15 seconds of fame. I wonder if he isn't the only one thinks that way.
Greg Maddux should have been a unanimous choice. He has several Cy Young awards, 350 plus wins, 18 gold gloves. He has a world series title. He has appeared in several post season games. He revolutionized his position. He made P.e.d. users look silly. He is the greatest pitcher in the national league over the last 40 years. What a joke. Tom Glavine  should be a high 90 percent guy too. Craig Biggio should have gotten in last year. Mike Piazza too. Neither men had any steroid or p.e.d. allegations tied to their names. Frank Thomas too. Mike Mussina had a ton of wins and probably could have won 300 if baseball mattered to him. He won 20 games in his last season as a Yankee. We know that Clemens and Bonds are going to have to wait. Jeff Bagwell just didn't do enough. Jeff Kent will eventually get in in a few years, but not before Biggio. Biggio has 3000 hits.
I am anxious to see how it all shakes out. I wish I had a vote. I would take the honor seriously. Jack Morris is in his final year of eligibility. He deserves some love. He pitched on two championship teams in Detroit and Minnesota. He won 20 games 3 times. He was the ace of his staff. Was his career better than Dave Stewart who never gets a lot of votes? The answer has to be no. Stewart s knock is he pitched for the Oakland A's team that is link to p.e.d. use.  Was his career better than Bert Blyelven who got in last year? I think it was. Blyelven was consistent but never spectacular. Morris was a horse. He faced every teams best pitcher. There is no criteria. Put Morris and that opens door for Mussina, Stewart, Tommy John. Curt Schilling too. He is a whole new argument. I love baseball. I wish them all luck...

You CANT HAVE It BOTH WAYS..

Robinson Cano just broke the bank in Seattle. Everyone has an opinion. Yankee fans are sad he is gone, but glad that the Yankees didn't give him the key to the kingdom. Baseball is the king of the long term contracts, where players can't possibly be great for 10-12 years. The Dodgers are about to make Kershaw the richest pitcher in history. He is 25 and clearly the games premier hurler. Mike Trout at age 21 has been runner up in the m.v.p. balloting the last 2 years. Strasburg, Fernandez in Florida, Machado in Baltimore, Bryce Harper, Harvey in New York if he comes back healthy are all going to cost teams hundreds of millions of dollars. The only player in recent memory that has lived up to the big contract is Derek Jeter. Jeter had a long hall of fame career and captained five teams to titles.  Pujols did not get the big contract until he left St. Louis. Cabrera has a ring from his Florida days but all he does is rake. Manny Ramirez delivered for Boston two rings. Chipper Jones made it to the playoffs every year. Mike Piazza had a productive career with the Mets. Carlos Beltran did as well.
Here is my point. Media and fans complain that there is no loyalty in sports. Dustin Pedroia might be the last to be on a team for his entire career and get a payday.  David Wright for the Mets might be another. Tulo out here in Colorado? Maybe. Buster Posey? Joe Mauer? The point is you have to pay to keep people around. Seattle has gotten rid of Arod, Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey  Jr., Ichiro!!!! They don't know how to pay for loyalty and commitment to excellence. It is a disgrace that those guys bounced around as much as they did. Jacoby Ellsbury should have been a RedSox for life. Todd Helton may not have won a title but he was a vital part of the growth of baseball in Colorado. Jeff Bag well and Craig Biggio were the reasons to watch Astro Baseball. You can't blame the players. They don't want to leave. Cano wanted to be another Jeter. Long term deals keep fans coming to the stadium. You know when healthy if your star player is going to be there everyday if possible.  Pujols in St Louis. You knew he would hit 3rd and play first. Jeter, Ripken Jr., Helton would be at their positions. Owners make millionaires out of average players and now the world hates a sport where showing longtime loyalty is a foolish gesture ?  I stopped liking the Yankees and became a lifelong Met fan when the Yanks traded away Reggie. I almost abandoned the Mets when they let Strawberry go.  I guess if Peyton Manning and Brett Favre can change teams then anyone can. No one wins in all of this. Unless you are a fair weather fan and can cheer for anybody, then this sports world is for you. Don't cry to me about loyalty anymore. I guess I will be a met,dodger, mariner,angel, yankee, red Sox ,rockies, tigers fan. Go team!!!!

Wild card baseball keeps us riveted until the end

The Wild Card in Baseball keeps us Riveted until the end of the season..

One of the biggest critcisms of baseball is that the season is too long. There are 162 games that is spread out over 7 months. Most baseball fans dont have a problem with the amount of games but with the length of them. This year Major League baseball decided to implement another game so that the wild card could be significant and more teams would have a chance to get into the post season. Last year, Boston and Atlanta endured collapses that ransacked the Red Sox organzation and humiliated the Braves. Both teams had sizable leads over Tampa and St.Louis and lost them on the last day. This year in both leagues 4 teams had a chance to get into the postseason with 5 games left to play. The Dodgers, Cards, Braves, and Brewers were chasing down the final spots. In the A.L. the Angels, A's, Rays, and Orioles were doing likewise.

In the N.L. the Braves had clinched one spot with a week to go and they had their sites set on trying to win the division. The Nationals however had other plans and were able to get it done without the services of Steven Strasburg. The Nats decided to rest Strasburg who was coming off of Tommy John surgery and the teams put him on an innings limit. The Cardinals won the other spot after the Dodgers suffered a back breaking loss to the Giants. The previous night the Dodger had rallied in the ninth inning averting elimination and most of us thought that they could use that momentum to forge a one game playoff. It did not happen.

In the American League, the Orioles and A's emerged as the two teams that were trying to upset the divisions that they are in. The Yankees and Rangers had been in first place all year and only the Yankees were able to topple the Orioles. The Athletics defeated Texas three straight head to head, which not only eliminated the Angels and Rays, but ascended them to the top of the A.L. west. This accomplishment is extraordinary if you consider that the A's have the lowest payroll of contending teams and no star pitcher. The A's have 18 players that make less than a million dollars. Only 12 players make over a million on the entire roster. Bob Melvin is the clear cut manager of the year for what his team achieved.

The wild card is significant this year because the winner of the play in game gets to host two games against the top seed which will put extra pressure on that top seed to win one game on the road or sweep all three games at home. The Yankees and Nationals are the top seeds. The two first round games pit the Atlanta Braves against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals and the second game pits the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. The Rangers/ Orioles matchup is intriguing because both teams can score runs at any time and in bunches. The Orioles were 30-9 in one run games this year which is off the charts. The Orioles have won 15 straight extra inning games including winning earlier this season in 19 innings in Seattle. Texas's Josh Hamilton is looking for some vindication after he "flubbed" a routine fly ball that allowed two runs to score in the Oakland game that turned out to be the game in which the A's won the division over the Rangers. Hamilton also hit 4 home runs ina game this year against the Orioles in May.

In the N.L. the Braves are playing to allow certain first ballot hall of famer Chipper Jones an opportunity to prolong his career. The Braves this year were 5-1 against the Cards and are throwing Chris Medlin who does not know how to lose. the braves have 23 straight starts of Medlins and clearly he has been the best pitcher in baseball since August. The Cardinals are used to this role of playing spoiler based on last season's heroics. They not only roared through the playoffs with clutch pitching performances but David Frese is a "walkoff" hitting machine. Ask the Rangers in the World Series about his prowess.

So as much as most people don't like the wild cat format, you cannot dispute how riveted most of has been because of the importance placed on these games in September. Would the right teams have gotten into the playoffs this year? That is up to your interpretation of what the "right " teams are. Chipper getting onelast chance on the big stage is pretty cool and would have happened based on last years format. Baltimore and Texas would have had to have a one game playoff to determine who was in. who would not have been excited to see that. Next year the format will change and they will probably be more games added. If they are exciting like the season has been, I am all for it...

My favorite month of the year is September..

September 1st is New Years day to me.  I feel like the fall months of the calendar year is a time for rejuvenation and rebirth.  Enough of that nonsense, the reason why I love September is that College football and pro football commence, MLB pennant races heat up, U.S. Open tennis, and usually there is a great fight to watch.  The Nascar season winds down as the NHL gets started.  I cannot get enough of sports as you all know and if I had multiple televisons where i stay I would have a game on every channel. This September is no exception.  The college football season got off to a crazy start with blowouts, shocking results and Alabama showing us what a defending champ is supposed to do ona neutral field.  USC won as well and they really need to get to the title game and save college football.  We cannot have a seventh year in a row with a champion coming from the same conference..  It hurts college football because there is no growth in the game.  USC plays a completely different style of football than most of the SEC teams and their style of football translates better at the professional level.  Every year we keep hearing about pro teams wanting quarterbacks who can run and throw but at the end of each season, the Super bowl champ has quarterback that is pocket passer who can read coverages and pick defenses apart.  In fact only Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers who could also pocket pass well, have won super bowls.  Both of those qb's run well and could move out of the pocket.  Big Ben moves well in the pocket but he is not considered a running quarterback.  If you look at SEC football most of the teams run a a form of the Florida Gator offense from the shotgun and depend on their quarterbacks to either run or pass.  Geogia and Alabama this year have gone back to a little more traditional offense so they may be the exception.  Most of the nation runs that Florida offense.  The big difference between the SEC and the rest of the nation is the physical play on the defensive line.  When you dont have a fullback to help you block because you are in the shotgun single back set, your plays get blown up in the backfield.  Michigan could not get out of the backfield. Alabama and LSU make you play physical football and most schools do not have the schemes to handle these behemoths one on one.  So I am rooting harder than i ever to try to get a USC vs. SEC champ title game. Oklahoma showed me nothing on Saturday against UTEP.
The NFL starts with the Cowboys and Giants on Wedsnesday and the Cowboys are banged up and really don't know what to expect.  This season will either be a coming out party for new eleite teams or the same stuff different day.  I like Houston alot.  They have a soft schedule and a team that has a lot build on.  Foster, Johnson, Schaub,Daniels have to stay healthy on offense.  Wade Phillips has a fast defense who are hungry for a title.  The Patriots have the easiest schedule and would crave another shot at the Giants to give Brady his 4th ring.  The NFC is loaded.  At least 6 teams have the ability to win the title.  Packers, Giants, Niners, Saints, Eagles, Falcons, Bears, Lions, Cowboys can win in anyone's stadiums at any time if healthy. Should a wacky season.
The pennant chase in baseball has just gotten interesting. The Yankees are bailing water off of their ship.  They are so beat up and hope that returning star players like Arod and Andy Pettite will give them the boost to rejuvenate their season.  The Orioles are for real and the Rays have the best pitching. The Angels spent alot of money to get to the post season and succeed.  This series with Oakland will is important because they must take care of head to head games in order to gain ground.  The Tigers and White Sox just played an epic series where the Tigers earned a sweep.  Detroit has the veteran players to get this done based on pitching.  The White sox can hit homeruns but can they play to outscore their opponents or out pitch them?  The National League the intrigue is just as high.  The Dodgers created a Yankee style payroll  to win now.  They lose to too many bad teams though and I dont think they can get it done.  Billingsley was their hottest pitcher and he may be shelved for the season if shot in the arm does not work. Kemp needs to find April's magic and lead this team to the promise land.  Nationals are shutting down Strasburg and seemed poised to stay at top of N.L. east.  Chipper Jones final month as a Brave will make it interesting as the Braves don't want him to go out a loser.  After what happened last year, the Braves are going to make every team earn 27 outs.  The Reds are the real deal and if the game goes to bullpen, the game is over. Chapman is a beast.  Can you imagine facing a guy who throws 105 miles an hour in cold weather? Ouch babe..
U.S. open tennis is in its final week and Serena and Maria are on a collision course. So are Federer and Djokovic. Andy Roddicks surprise retirement announcement has buoyed ratings but tonight could be his demise.  DelPotro hits a big ball and can overpower most opponents.  Andy must serve well and steal a few concentration lapse games from Del Potro in order to advance.  I will blog about Roddick later this week.  Tennis lost Kim Clijsters last week as the young Brit robson showed some flashes of brilliance.  Robson also defeated Li Na.  Also there are two italian women playing in the quarters for the first time at the U.S. open.  Serena is lurking in their quarter if she beat Ivanovic and after winnin 6-0 6-0, in her last match she is driven to reclaim America's prize.
Chad Dawson wants to be a star in boxing, but his fights leave you not wanting to see him fight anymore.  He beat Hopkins in an unspired performance but Hopkins is like 50.  Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. are about to get it on soon as well and we shall see who is the pound for pound best middleweight is.  Martinez is the gold standard but Chavez, Jr. is unbeaten and has grown up right in front of out eyes.  Also Jones and Machida will be explosive in MMA. I know everyone wanted Jones to fight Sonnen but this fight will have some great moments.
Denny Hamlins win last week gave him four for the season and he wants this title real bad.  The story is whether or not Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch qualify for the playoffs.  This weekend in Texas will be exciting.  Gordon had the car last week to win but could not catch Hamlin on the last lap after the restart. Busch has had a quiet season. Normally right now he has had a few wins and has ticked off some other drivers.
Did I mention Golf?  The Ryder Cup is in America this time around and Hunter Nahan wants revenge.  Mcilroy is number 1 in the world but Tiger is starting to re discover his form on the weekends.  Yesterdays perfomance on the final will give him a ton to build on as the season ends.  Both are now vying for player of the year honors.  Two events left for the Fedex cup.
I COULD TALK ABOUT MORE..
HOCKEY WILL DIE if THEY LOCKOUT THE PLAYERS...
NOW YOU KNOW WHY I lOVE September?

If you aint cheatin' you aint trying right?

I wasn't going to comment on the latest ahtlete to be taken down by the PED's epidemic but I feel that I am in the minority.  I feel like everyone, everything, anyone, and anything is under suspicion.  I feel like Joe McCarthy is alive and well and I really thought that we were smarter than this.  First it was Carl Lewis making comments about the Jamaican Olympic team.  He did not accuse anyone in particular for doping but he questioned the practices used by their doping commission.  This enraged Usain Bolt, as it should have, and it has enraged me.  There is nobility in being a fined tuned machine that can play sports without the use of supplements, cortizone shots, and PED's. If you can go through your entire career without those things then you are truly special. I am going to tell you why this topic infuriates me so. 
Melky Cabrera got in trouble for having elevated testosterone levels.  he failed i guess a test and he even apologized for what he did.  I listened today to every sports pundit and Cabrera got hammered for his stupidity.  He has been called stupid by every person because he is going to be a free agent next year and could have made himself a chunk of change next year.  He was leading the National League in hits and runs.  He was the M.V.P. of the All star game. He was a candidate for league M.V.P. He blew it.  I get it.  I looked back at Melky's career statistics and yes he is having a season to remember.  Shouldn't he be?  He is in his baseball prime years. He is 27 years old.  He has been in the major leagues since he was 20.   He had 201 hits last year in Kansas City.  He hit over .300 for the first time in his career.  When was with the Yankees as a full time player he hit .280 and .273.  When he changed leagues and played with the Braves yes he hit only .255.  Doesn't that happen to every player who changes leagues?  Pujols right now is hitting .280's in his new league.  Prince Fielder does not have 20 home runs yet in his new league.  Adam Dunn went from a guy who was averaging 40 plus homeruns a season to barely 15 last year.    The point I am making is that I am so tired of sports pundits telling us that PED's are the reason for success in sports.  I am tired of people telling me that all it takes to succeed in sports is an injection, a pill, a sports drink.  They tell us that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports.  No one is going to tell you that there is a study where they can prove that PED's make you an all star player. No one is going to tell you that because they would sound stupid if they did.  Why did they not make Bobby Estella, Marvin Bernard, Jay Gibbons, Jeremy Giambi special players?  These guys were already displaying a skill set that only a small percentage of the population has.
  Some people are even saying that the reasons that they are more no hitters in baseball these days is that no one is taking PED's anymore and therefore the players can't hit.  Not the fact that there are more pitchers who throw 95 miles an hour than ever before.  King Felix throws 97. Phil Humber tops at 94.  Matt Cain the same.  More pitchers rely on two pitches that baffle hitters.  The fast bast sets up evrything and the a secondary pitch that looks like a fastball but actually is a changeup or slide piece.  Justin Verlander throws 100.  Ubaldo Jimenez throws 100.  Yes Jered Weaver and Johan Santana threw no-no's and barely throw 91. They know how to really pitch.  Whatever happened to the argument that good pitching beats good hitting? If you look around major league baseball teams today pitchers are not nibbling anymore.  Pitchers throw strike one at a more alarming rate.  Nolan Ryan demands that his pitchers finish what they start or they cant pitch for him.  GIVE THE PITCHERS SOME DAMN CREDIT FOR ONCE!!!
Now the one argument that people make is that PED's get a player back on the field faster or they keep him on the field longer without injury.  What the heck then is a cortizone shot if it is not a PED?  If Dwayne Wade did not get a shot in his knees he would not have been able to play in the NBA finals.  Mike Miller of the Heat could not get out of bed without a cortizone shot. Why is cortizone legal and why is Adderal illegal?  I can name so many athletes who come on television and talk about how cortizone shots have prolonged their seasons or careers.  I will research more about cortizone and will retract all of these statements if I determine that the affects of cortizone is not a PED.
I am not in denial about the uses of PED's in sports.  I just question what is a PED and what proof is there that definitively shows the reason why one person does something.  We dont anything about the previous generations in sport because they clearly were bionic or super human.  Athletes today cant practice in the heat, they suffer injuries to their legs running bases, they cant pitch more than a 100 tosses in a game.  You can say whatever you want about Bonds or Clemens, Sosa or Manny. They still had to hit the ball or throw the ball in a area where no one could either hit or catch it.  The rules are the rules... The Giants need to be fined because they seem to have had a lot ofplayers who get caught doing these things.  All this shows me is that the ol' adage of if "you aint cheatin' you aint tryin'" is still alive and well.  I guess it is back to the drawing board...

the woes of baseball..

When I was a kid I used be a huge fan of the Houston Astros.  They had a pitcher named J.R. Richard who could throw a baseball faster than the speed of light.  I loved him because being that my name Richard Harris Jr., I always felt that his name was my name spelled backwards or creatively.  His career was cut short because of injuries and he ended up homeless living under a bridge in Houston.  Drugs got to him and he is a sad tale of the vices that can come about due to no guidance or hope.  I bring him up and the Astros because they are in hell.  This franchise is one of the few franchises left never to win a world series. They have maybe 1 or 2 hall of fame players.  Craig Biggio will be the first Astro player to get in as a bonafide Astro next year.  I know Nolan Ryan played for them and so did Joe Morgan but Ryan is more recognized as a Ranger and Met than he is as an Astro.  Joe Morgan, do I really have to say what team he is more recognized as? 
This current team has literally gutted its roster and got absolutely nothing in return.  They have lost or traded away Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee, Wandy Rodriguez, Micheal Bourn, just to name a few names and got prospects that could hit water if the fell out of a boat.  The Astros have lost games this year that defy logic after they have made comebacks to actually win them.  Last night against the Nationals, they fought hard to tie game at 2 and then blow the game in the 12th inning and then get a guy hit a ball 385 feet to the wall on a line and only to have it caught.  They have played 11 extra inning games this year and have not scored in extra innings.  They do not have a walkoff win this season.  The Oakland A's have 13 walk off wins.  They are 4-36 since June.  What has happened to this team since they went to the World Series in 2005?  That team had Carlos Beltran, Andy Petttitte, Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt, Biggio, Brad Lidge.  All of those players were All star quality.  They picked up Kaz Matsui from the Mets and he fizzled.  I could not tell you a single players name on this current roster.  I don't even know who the manager is on this team.. They have literally drained the oil off of this Texas ranch and have left the fans of Houston wondering what the Hell is Going on?  How could things have fallen off so badly? This team had Lance Berkman who is now a Cardinal?  They had Randy Johnson, Mike Scott, Mike Hampton, Joe Niekro!! The Astros always put out a pretty positive product. 
There are no injuries to vital players.  There are no super studs coming up from the farm.  This team needs a miracle.  I look around baseball and I see Cleveland just ended an 11 game losing streak.  They have had an excuse.  They have injuries to their star players and they literally have not had the lineup that they envisioned staring the season in a while.  They have talent to fix some of their problems.  San Diego has a triple A club playing in the league right now and they fight hard on a nightly basis.  They have given up a lot of its best players but I guess Bud Black really knows how to get the most out of what little he has.  They have no player with more than 12 homeruns and they give every team fits. (ASK the METS).  Even Minnesota who has players trying to regain some past form, have shown signs of ability and that they will be back next year.  Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer are not playing at 100% yet and when they do, the Twins will be back.  Houston has shown a fighting spirit and heart but they just dont have the tools to compete right now in the big leagues.  They are on pace to win 51 games which would be the worst record since the 68 season.  This is crazy to me.  The Nationals, Pirates and Tampa Rays who were perennial cellar dwellers are contending for post season berths and the Houston Astros are contending for the number 1 pick in the draft.  Oh have the mighty fallen....

Were talkin baseball

The trade deadline is gone.  Today is August 1st.  The first place teams are the Yankees, Reds, White Sox, Giants, Rangers, and the Nationals.  The only real surprises in that grouping are the White Sox and Nationals.  Will there be a summer swoon that hits all of these teams?  I think so.  The Yankees have lost four games in a row and they have a ton of injuries that could affect their chances of winning a title.  The Nationals and White Sox have pitchers who are treading in waters that they have never been in and already have shown signs of fatigue and breaking down.  Chris Sale for the White Sox is being rested for arm fatigue and he is their best pitcher.  Steven Strasburg got bombed last night by the Phillies and his inning ceiling is getting closer.  The Reds have a history of slowing down in August and then ramping it up again in September.  The dog days of summer take their toll when the temperature is over 100 in Ohio.  The Rangers have played in consecutive World Series but are now facing team turmoil as the not has the injury bug bitten them in their rotation but they are messing with Josh Hamilton by moving him around in the lineup because his number have come back to earth.  The Giants don't make earth shattering moves and believe in their pitching to catapult them over the Dodgers.  Recently however, the Dodgers embarrassed them in San Francisco by shutting them out in back to back games and sweeping a pivotal series.  I wonder how many people think that a world champion will come from these 6 teams.
The team that is playing the best baseball right now has to be the Oakland A's.  They have just completed a month where they went something like 20-4. They had 7 plus walk off wins in July.  They swept the Yankees in Oakland for the first time in years. They are within four games of the Rangers for the division and history says that August is their month.  You saw moneyball right?  Their only problem is that the team that they are also chasing has probably the A.L. MVP on it and a former 3 time N.L. MVP in Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.  The Angels made a great move in getting Zack Greinke to bolster their rotation and getting Vernon Wells back as a spot player and DH, theyhave so many ways to beat people.  I just wish they would leave Trumbo in one place in the lineup and let him eat.  Trout has been spectacular and the home run he hit last night is still travelling.  No one is talking smack about Pujols as his number are starting to catch up.  He still is due a two week homer binge and after hitting two last night he could be ready to take off.   The Detroit Tigers are also lurking.  They have the lineup to compete with anyone but don't have the consistent staring pitching after Verlander.  Verlander lately has not been great and he is struggling against the good teams.  Cabrera is doing what he normally does but he needs Delmon Young to wake up.  The Rays need Longoria back for their lineup has gone stale.  They made no moves at the tradeline believing that they have enough to at least get in to the wild card.  Boston also needs to consistency and to have their full lineup for about two weeks just to see if they can make some noise.  Don't sleep on the Red Sox.  The Yankees could have buried them last weekend and may have given them life.
The National League is less complicated than the American League. The Dodgers made smart moves to help an offense that can't score runs.  Hanley ramirez and Shane Victorino are proven offensive stars and if the can catch lightning in a bottle for three week maybe they can surpass the Giants and get in a s the division winner.  Arizona was floundering like they are now last year and then got real hot and wound up in the playoffs. They have won the last two against the Dodgers and have that look in their eyes again like they want a piece of the N.L. pie.  The Pirates have quietly come back to earth.  A.J. Burnett near no hitter last night shows me that he is for real this year and I bet the Yankees wish they had him now. The Pirates dont have enough offense and should look into getting Andrew McCutcheon some help at some point.  The Braves are trying to do it for Chipper.  I need another week before I can assess them.  Ben Sheets has been a god send.  Tim Hudson has found his split and sinker.  They scare me for some reason.  The Cardinals are too injury hit and really are unpredictable. I wont dignify the Mets or Phillies issues.  The Brewers and Marlins are baseballs biggest disappointments.
So who do I think is going to be the five teams in the post season from each league?  The A.L. will have Yankees, Tigers, Angels as division winners.  Oakland and Boston will be wild cards.  That's right Texas fans, your Rangers are going to fade away as these other teams get healthy and better.  In the National League I think it will be Washington, Cincinnati, L.A., and the wild card will be Atlanta and San Francisco.    I will do my awards before the season ends but right now the Cy young award are Weaver and Dickey.  The MVP's are Trout and McCutcheon.  Manager of the year would be Davey Johnson and Mike Scosia.  Trout and Harper rookies of the year.  Comeback player of they year is A.J Burnett in the N.L and A.L I would give it to Justin Morneau.   Tim Kurkjian last night said the World Series would be between the Dodgers and Angels.  That would be a a spectacle.  As I evaluate who I think will be in the post season, I dont think that that is a bad selection of teams.  I agree the World Series based on today will be Dodgers and Angels....

east coast bias??? what is that?

What I love most about being out here on the West Coast is listening to the bitterness people have about the east coast in sports. Can we help it? All of the major sports teams that matter most are located on the east coast. The NBA sucks if the Celtics aren't good. The Major League Baseball sucks if the Yankees or Red Sox stink in baseball. Even if the Mets suck baseball sucks for me. In football, when the Giants matter, the NFL is better. Despite what all of the Cowboy and Patriot fans think. In hockey, the 1994 playoff run by the Rangers put hockey on the map in this country. Detroit may win every year, but I guarantee you that if the Rangers win the cup this season, ESPN will buy the hockey package back because it will be devastated that it allowed their championship run go uncovered. The Lakers and the USC Trojans are the only show out here. Every year USC loses a winnable game and takes them out of the national championship picture. Kobe Bryant keeps the Lakers relevant out here even if he doesn't win championships because he is compelling t.v. He is the closest person to emulate Micheal Jordan so people enjoy watching his rise and fall. A month ago, the Red Sox and Angels played a game in Boston and the umpire seemed to be intimidated to make a call and it cost the Angels the game. Right after the game someone from the Angels said that the know of two parks where umpires wouldn't make that call. He didn't specify but we know he meant Boston and New York. Though he may right and based on what we have seen in the post season with bad calls helping the Yankees win a couple of games, what can we say. When the Bulls were winning championships, most people felt that they got a lot of calls that benefited them. Micheal Jordan only fouled out of one playoff game to my knowledge. Nowadays, people are saying that the university of Florida is getting that treatment. The two bogus calls against Arkansas that helped put Florida in position to win Saturday have people talking down south.
I guess the lesson here is win championships or have the media centers in the country located on your neck of the woods and then you can dictate to the world what you want. The fact that A-rod is delivering really shuts up people all over he country. When Mark Sanchez was winning for the Jets, he was the second coming of Joe Namath. In fact CBS out here has aired every New York Jet game this season. I know Sanchez went to USC, but the Chargers and Raiders play out here too. I know most of you think that I am biased being from New york and basically just trumpeted the New york area teams like a cheerleader, but you know what i say to be true. Even right now as the New york Knicks are struggling, the NBA is wishing that somehow some way that the Knicks can somehow win enough games to make the playoff. Or They are hoping that next season the Knicks could sign either Lebron James or Dwanye Wade. Amare Stoudamire would look great in a Knick uniform. The papers in New York would have a field day. The old joke about the east coast bias was based on the fact that many of the newspaper reporters would not stay up and watch the ends of games on the west coast so they seemed only interested in sports on the east side. Then Earvin "Magic" Johnson took over the west coast in basketball. Wayne Gretzky became a King and people began caring about west coast hockey Ken Griffey Jr. made me care about the west coast sports scene in baseball. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice made the west coast relevant in football after the Raiders started to flounder. Great players have been out here and have made the west coast relevant but i will take the energy and passion of the east coast any day of the week..

Remember steroids?

I remember before the baseball season got underway, the world was coming to an end because A-rod's name was on the list of 104 players who tested positive for banned substance in 2003. Barry Bonds' name was supposedly on the list and so was Sammy Sosa. Everyone was soooo happy that two of the names on the list were of people who the media loved writing scathing articles about. Then Manny got suspended and everyone was up in arms again that all of these ballplayers cheat. Then it was "Big Papi" and everyone said that is why he went from a singles platoon hitter to "Mr. automatic" in clutch situations. His homerun numbers were microscopic at the time and the entire baseball community was devastated. Then a funny thing happened on the way to October. He started hitting homeruns and Sox fans were rejoicing that he has not gone into the tank like Manny has for the dodgers. In fact since June he has the most Home runs hit in the American league. NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT STEROIDS ANYMORE!!! Why? Is it because Big Papi is so well liked that the media is trying to protect him and his achievements? Is it because the media is afraid to find out that Pujols, Jeter or Adrian Gonzales may be on them and they don't want to lose more fans as the football season is getting into high gear? All you have to do is watch Sportscenter and know how football is already surpassing baseball as America's past time. Or is it that maybe the media realizes that fans don't care if these guys take substances any more. Winning baseball fills the seats not homerun hitters!!! it is stunning to me that steroids seem so 2008 and not 2009.

The reason why in my opinion is simple, if you are liked you get a pass in sports. Period. David Ortiz is so well liked in Boston that he would have to kill a Kennedy in order to be hated.. He does so much for charities and the community in Boston that he is revered like a senator. Plus every player in the league loves him. How many times to you see before a game him hugging an opposing player. No pitcher ever throws at him. They used to call Sean Casey "the mayor" because he socialized with all of the opposing players at first base and did not stop talking from the 1st inning to the 9th. Ortiz must be the governor. He embraces everyone. Not only that, he tried to get major league baseball to reveal what he took and they refuse so he looks like a victim. He spoke out last week reaffirming his stance that any player who fails a test today should be banned for life for the simple stupidity of taking steroids.

The sad thing is that the A-rod reason for taking steroids is the most honest baseball reason in this tragedy.. Yes he went on 60 minutes and lied to Katie Couric, I know this. The reason i say that is he said simply" i took steroids because i was trying to live up to the contract that I just signed". Can you imagine being paid 252 million dollars and really being terrible at what you do? Can you imagine if he was on the disabled list for half the season each year since signing the deal how much flack he would have taken? He stinks during the postseason everyone has commented on that. Maybe the drugs wear off at the end of the season. who knows... But if he was liked like Giambi and Ortiz the press may have given him the same pass as they have.. The sad fact is that A-rod and Manny both are not having typical years for them which is giving their critics more ammunition to criticize them. To this date no one has ever said taking steroids helps you hit a baseball. Steroids don't tell you what pitch is coming and how to decipher if a pitch is a two seam fast ball or four seam. A split or a change-up.

So the moral of this story boys and girls is be to liked, respected, and revered. your life will be made a hell of lot easier.