More picks

For those of you none of you who read this thing, you have come to expect very low standards from this blog.  For future reference, if I give myself a deadline to write an entry on here, just ignore it.  I don't care if we're 2 weeks into the season already.  These were my picks from the get-go.  I will hold myself to the highest journalistic standards and give my picks as though nothing has happened.  I'm not going to give long and drawn out reasons for every one of my picks.  Just a few notes here and there.  I will say this is the longest post in the history of the blogosphere (probably not, but it's close), so just scroll down until you find your favorite team and then leave a comment telling me what I screwed up.  So without further adieu, here are the rest of my picks.  

AL Central - This is probably the most difficult division to pick.  Mostly because my knowledge of this division is admittedly scarce.  But also because each team has the potential to win the division while at the same time, they have the potential to finish dead last in the division.  The big time tossup comes at 3-5.

1. Minnesota Twins - They're strong every year.  Joe Mauer's return will be most welcome come May.

2. Kansas City Royals - A surprise team this year.  Coco Crisp is fitting in nicely and they have 3 of the best starters in the American League.

3. Chicago White Sox - I have no idea what to say here.  Carlos Quentin is good?  I'm sorry I've got nothin'.  The White Sox are easily the team I know the least about.  No idea why that is.  I'm sure that makes you wonder why I picked them third.  Good question.  Anyway, I guess I could mention that I watched a bit of the Sox-Tigers game the other day.  I noticed that they had Brent Lillibridge at 2B and Brian Anderson in CF.  To me, that leaves a lot to be desired.  A.J. Pierzynski is still their catcher and is still a giant ******.  It will be interesting to see what Bartolo Colon can do this year.  John Danks is fun to watch.  Hmm.. what else... 

4. Cleveland Indians - This team is an enigma.  I do like that they picked up Mark Derosa, but I think the Carl Pavano signing was in poor judgment and they gave Kerry Wood too much money to pitch 1-2 innings.  Hey!  Tony Graffanino is still playing baseball!  Good for him... good for him.

5. Detroit Tigers - This team has some major restructuring to do in the very near future.  Letting go of guys like Gary Sheffield had to be done but I'm sure it was like ripping off a band-aid.  Unfortunately, the Tigers have a few Gary Sheffields on their team.  I will say that I'm looking forward to seeing Rick Porcello in the bigs this season.  Hopefully they didn't rush him to the majors to the detriment of his entire career, but what option did they have?  

AL West - Another tough division to call.  It's hard to be objective with the difficulties the Angels have faced in recent weeks. 

1. Oakland Athletics - Can their talented young pitching succeed and hold up all season long?  This team, like its other AL West counterparts must get off to a quick start and bully up on the Angels early.  Look out for Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson to be future impact starters, if not right away.  It will be interesting to see what shape this club is in around the trade deadline and find out what the A's intentions are with Matt Holliday.  

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - They are facing a tough, tough road out of the gate with the loss of Nick Adenhart.  But I honestly had them picked 2nd before this tragedy.  I think they'll be OK and it wouldn't surprise me to see them in first come October.  I'm not so sure about repeating 100 wins though.  The sooner they can get Kelvim Escobar and Ervin Santana back the better.  Please note that this team is living on borrowed time and is banking on the Free Agent market for their future.  Adenhart was their #1 prospect by far.  Luckily for them, they have no want for money.

3. Texas Rangers - This club is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.  They have a lot of powerful bats in their lineup and in their farm system, as well as good young arms.  The Mark Teixeira deal allowed them to load up on top talent from the Braves organization.  A deal that, for what it won them, the Braves should have never made.  How they develop their young talent remains to be seen.  How they can give up on a guy with stuff like Edinson Volquez (who, in my opinion, was lacking one thing: a changeup.  How can you not teach a guy a changeup???) is beyond me.  

4. Seattle Mariners - It's great the The Kid is back in town.  It's great they have Ichiro.  It really is great they have Felix Hernandez (can you believe this guy's only 23??).  Outside of that, I'm not sure what they have.  This team is in major rebuilding mode.  Do look for Wladimir Balentien, a future stud.  Unfortunately for him, Griffey's going to get a lot of starts and at-bats over him.  But The Kid is back!!!!

NL East - Easily the toughest division in baseball.  I don't care about what people say about the AL East, this is the best division in that they have 4-team depth.  There are 4 different teams here that could be legitimate Playoff contenders.

1. Philadelphia Phillies - I like the Raul Ibanez signing, even though in retrospect, they probably paid him too much.  But who cares.  They had the money and they got the guy they wanted.  If they're down 7 games to the Mets this season, I don't look for a dramatic comeback.  But I don't think it's the Mets they need to worry about. (Side note: Shane Victorino is one of my favorite players in the game today).

2. Florida Marlins - This team is for real.  They have the best young talent no one has ever heard of (Average age: 26.2).  The saying goes that this team is like locust (or some kind of bug) - they swarm every 6 years.  It looks to me like the joke is giving way to the truth.  When this team unloads, they never fail to reload big.  If they can play some defense and their bullpen can weather the storm of an entire season in the toughest division in baseball, this team is legit.  They're either my NL East #1 or my Wild Card favorite.  I can't say enough good things about Hanley Ramirez or Jeremy Hermida.  Jorge Cantu (Why the Reds let this guy go for nothing, I'll never know.) is a favorite of mine, too.  Look out for stars-in-the-making Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and Chris Volstad to keep this team in contention.  Emilio Bonifacio has proven to be a very exciting leadoff man.  

3. New York Mets - It is true that the Mets improved over the off season with Putz and K-Rod.  But when you're bottom 4 starters are John Maine, Ollie Perez, Mike Pelfrey, and Livan Hernandez it might not matter if you have the best setup man and closer in the game.  Johan can't pitch every day.  They have an outstanding, albeit aging, lineup of superstars (add Gary Sheffield to the mix).  People love Jose Reyes, but if he were playing in Kansas City, he would be very forgettable.  Guys who are legit and fun to watch are Ryan Church, David Wright, and (possibly overrated, but still an amazing talent) Carlos Beltran.  Look out for Daniel Murphy to have a big year, too.  If he plays up to his potential, Jerry Manuel is going to have a tough time finding a spot on the field for Sheff. 

4. Atlanta Braves - The Braves could be a Cinderella story by season's end.  They have some seasoned veterans and some promising young guys (Schafer, Jurrjens).  This club will definitely raise some brows during the course of the year.  Hopefully, they can manage Chipper Jones' playing time well enough to keep him healthy the entire year.  The Derek Lowe signing was huge and I think they dodged a major bullet when Ken Griffey, Jr. opted for Seattle.  We'll see how Kawakami performs as well as Javier Vazquez and up-and-comer Jo Jo Reyes.  This team is surprisingly young as well with an average age of 27.8.  Pushing them into their upper 20's are the ages of most guys on the bench and some of their older starting pitchers.  

5. Washington Nationals - #5 with a bullet.  This team is bad.  They need a closer like nobody's business, just to name one.  They do have some encouraging talent in their farm system and hopefully they'll sign highly touted prospect Stephen Strasburg.  It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.  I don't care what people say about Adam Dunn, he is a valuable asset to any club.  A lot of times, we like to pick on things players don't do well and forget about what they do well - and in Dunn's case, very well.  He's going to walk a ton and you can put him down for 40 HR this season.  From a Reds fan perspective, I have to note that the first step in the right direction for this club was firing Jim Bowden.  The scandal that took him down was as painful as it was embarrassing for the Nats, but it was probably the only way this joker was going to get run out of town.  It's usually a good thing when you can get a noose from around your neck.  

NL Central - my our favorite division.

1. Chicago Cubs - You would have to be an idiot not to pick this club to win the Central.  On paper, they're clearly a cut above the rest.  Granted, on paper the Yankees are too, so we'll have to wait and see.  But the Yanks aren't playing in the NL Central and we're not talking about them anyway.  Zambrano's a beast, the rest of the rotation looks strong. I'd love to have Carlos Marmol on my Reds.  Ramirez is nasty at 3B. Soriano, though streaky, is red hot when he's on.  What remains to be seen is how the bullpen will perform, how Fukudome will (or won't) rebound after a terrible second half last year, and how bad of a decline is Derrek Lee in?  Also I must mention, I was skeptical when I heard the Cubs had signed Milton Bradley to be an everyday player.  The guy couldn't stay healthy in the AL where he saw minimal time in the field and was used largely as a DH.  So far so good though.  Another note  worthy of mentioning is the state of the Cubs farm.  According to Baseball America, it's not good.  I hear a lot of rumors of the Cubs trading for Jake Peavy which begs the question, who do they have to trade for him?  Without trading away a key major league piece or a few draft picks, I have no idea.  However, if you've been waiting over 100 years for a World Series title and you feel your one piece away, I'm sure you're just about ready to give up whatever it takes, and I can understand that.  Sortof.  
Maybe Jacob would like to chime in at a later date on his favorite ball club.  He could provide some better in-depth analysis than I ever could.  

2. St. Louis Cardinals - The Cards are always competitive even when you think they have no chance at all.  They are the most underrated team in Major League Baseball, in my opinion.  If Chris Carpenter stays healthy enough to be a factor, this team will compete for the division.  I'm constantly amazed at how Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan can take another teams trash and turn them into a 14 game Cy Young contender.  Or they'll take a busted pitching prospect and convert him into an All Star CF.  It's amazing what they can do.  If I were a washed up veteran on my last Major League hurrah, I'd love to get picked up by this club.  They'd find another five award winning years in me.  The moral of the story is, never count out the Cards.

3. Cincinnati Reds - This is where things get iffy.  The reason I put my Redlegs in 3rd and not 4th is because I believe in our starting rotation and I don't believe in that of the remainder of the division.  The Reds are going to struggle mightily to score runs, which only a few years ago, one would have thought to be insane.  I think they have an outside outside outside chance of contending this year, but a lot of guys are going to have to have career years.  Bruce, Encarnacion, Votto, Taveras, etc. - they're going to have to over-achieve.  I like our chances in the not-so-distant future.  There's a lot of good young players down on the farm for Reds fans everywhere to get excited about.  As for Edwin Encarnacion, I think this means he'd better sh-t or get off the pot because there are multiple stud 3B prospects waiting for their numbers to be called.  It will be interesting to see what strides the aforementioned players will take as well as guys like Volquez and Cueto.  It should be noted also that the success of this club largely depends on the performance of ace Aaron Harang.  He had a pitiful year in '08 but I fully expect him to rebound.  It wouldn't hurt if he could get some run support out of his teammates.

4. Milwaukee Brewers - Many experts have this team either winning or finishing a close second in the Central.  I think they're seeing a mirage of last season which showed this team riding the coattails of CC Sabathia into the Playoffs.  Ben Sheets was also a big factor in their squeaking by the Mets for the Wild Card.  Neither of these guys are with the club today and neither one's shoes have been filled with viable replacements.  Yovanni Gillardo and Manny Para are certainly the future of the club, but right now, they're no CC or Sheets.  Those two were definitely made better by other in that they both fit the 3 and 4 starting slots well.  I think that placing the weight of this clubs success or failure on either of these guys is unfair but, unfortunately, the Brewers didn't have much of a choice.  Furthermore, if you can knock Jeff Suppan or his friends out early or midway through a ball game, you stand a darn good chance of pulling out a win.  In a similar case as the Mets, it doesn't matter if you have Trevor Hoffman at the end of your bullpen if you can't take a lead to the 9th inning.  They have a fantastic lineup.  Opposite of the Reds, if this rotation can over-achieve, they can win a few ball games.

5. Houston Astros - This team is in trouble.  Their lineup is aging rapidly while their ownership has shown little interest in replenishing the talent on the farm.  (Needless to say, when I learned the Reds had traded Jeff Keppinger for a PTBNL, I didn't get too excited to find out who it was).  They have made cheap draft signings and have had similar returns on their investments.  What little talent they did have was traded away for the elderly Miguel Tejada.  Outside of Roy Oswalt, I have no idea what this club plans to do in order to win now or have sustained success in the future.  I wouldn't be too surprised to see this club passed by the Pirates when this season is all said and done.  

6. Pittsburgh Pirates - Unlike the Astros, I truly believe Pirates fans have a reason to be hopeful about the future.  Maholm is a stud (and is proving it thus far this season), Nate McClouth could be a perennial All Star, Nyjer Morgan is a bona fide leadoff man.  He gets on base frequently and has the speed to steal some bags.  He looks like he's on speed when he's at the plate though... all jittery and whatnot.  Anyway, look for Andrew McCutcheon to make an impact shortly and if Pedro Alvarez doesn't pan out at 3B, then F this team, they're going nowhere.

NL West 

1. Los Angeles Dodgers - It's been said over and over again, but having Manny back makes all the difference.  The Orlando Hudson signing was brilliant, as well, and should not go unnoticed.  Matt Kemp and Russell Martin are quality guys, too.  The only "ifs" about this club is pitching.  Not sure how that's going to hold up, but they have the good fortune of playing in a pretty weak division.  

2. San Francisco Giants - The Giants are going to be an interesting team to watch this year.  We'll see how the Cy-Young-ace-who-looks-like-he's-14 Tim Lincecum will do as well as the veteran-who-looks-like-he's-old-as-dirt Randy Johnson.  I hope to see Randy Johnson pitch before he calls it quits.  It doesn't matter how old he is, he's still fun to watch.  This team is full of over-paid, aging veterans and I'm not sure what to make of that.  It's interesting to think, though, if they wouldn't have made the Barry Zito blunder, they might have had enough cash to throw their hats into the Manny Ramirez circus this off season.  Anyway, look out for Pablo Sandoval to make a splash this year and for pitcher Madison Bumgarner and catcher Buster Posey to be impact players in the future.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks - This seems like a down year for the D-Backs.  They need Brandon Webb and Dan Haren to be their old selves in order to contend.  I'll be quite honest, outside of those two guys, I don't know much about this club.  Sorry.

4. Colorado Rockies - I'm not sure I know what to say about this team aside from the fact that they have the ugliest jerseys in baseball today.  (Particularly alternates 2 and 3).  I will say that I'm a big fan of Chris Ianetta.  I think this guy's a future star.  

5. San Diego Padres - When you see a club send out guys like Walter Silva and Brian Giles as starters, you have to know something's wrong.  Peavy will probably end up with another NL club this season, but not necessarily.  They don't have to trade the guy since I'm pretty sure he's under contract for the next 3 years.  However, it's apparent the club is going into complete rebuilding mode with the new ownership coming in and they're wanting to officially start from scratch.  Removing Peavy's salary from the books would likely be a top priority.  I heard someone mention the other day concerning Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays that they can replenish nearly their entire ball club just by trading him to another team.  I think the same is true for the Padres and Jake Peavy, but probably to a lesser degree.  Heath Bell has been fun to watch (and listen to on Baseball Tonight) this season.  

Well there you have it, folks.  I've wasted all of two hours dribbling out this nonsense that no one is going to read.  I apologize for the length of this entry.  This post is as long as I am bored.  That should give you an idea of what my day's been like.  Enjoy!

My picks. (Not March Madness)

It has been entirely too long.  It doesn't help that nobody reads this thing.  I still like to write and I want to get better at it so I'm going to do my best to continue.  I've been thinking a lot about this upcoming season and listening to everyone elses Division picks and predictions so I've decided to put in my opinions on the '09 season for what it's worth (nothing).  I originally thought I could sit down and bang out something about all 30 teams in one sitting.  Wrong.  So here are my AL East picks for 2009.  I'll try to do a different division every so often with the goal being to finish before Opening Day. 

1. Tampa Bay Rays - They didn't make a ton of moves this offseason, but they did pick up Pat Burrell - a nice addition in my opinion.  Other than that, they really had no need to.  Don't think last season was a mirage or a one-hit-wonder.  This team still has a load of talent all across the diamond - and in the farm too.  David Price will be an immediate impact and guys like Tim Beckham and Wade Davis are sure to be part of the Rays sustained success.

2. Boston Red Sox - I wouldn't be surprised to see my 1 and 2 picks flip-flopped at the end of the season.  Regardless, the AL East #2 will be the Wild Card winner.  This is an intelligent, well managed organization that makes smart decisions with their money - even though they probably have room to blow some cash like the Yankees.  Brad Penny brings them some low risk insurance in the bullpen and Justin Masterson can provide help in long relief and spot starts.  They're going to love when they look out to left field and see Jason Bay and not Manny Ramirez this entire season.  They won't miss him.  The rotation is great and they have a lineup that could easily carry them to the Playoffs.

3. New York Yankees - They have a phenomenal rotation, of course.  CC and AJ on the same team will be formidable, to say the least.  Tex is a valuable addition to the lineup, as well.  They're my #3 because we've been through this song and dance with this team before.  Last season, one of the most interesting pieces of trivia was to learn that the Yankees infield made more money than the entire Rays club put together.  This just goes to show you can't always buy success.  For an organization that equates success with winning World Series titles, they haven't had much lately.

4. Toronto Blue Jays - Can you believe the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series in '92 and '93?  Hard to believe.  No one ever seems to talk about that.  Anyway, it's tough to be a Blue Jays fan.  This is a team who will probably be above .500 and have a fine record as records go.  The problem is, 86 wins is only going to land you 4th place in the AL East whereas 86 games (last year) would win the NL West and keep you in contention in most other divisions.  The Jays need to see a healthy year out of Vernon Wells to have a prayer of a chance.  Outside of Roy Halladay, I have no idea what fans have to look forward to in 2009.  Just be glad you're not the...

5. Baltimore Orioles - This team is going to be bad for a while.  They looked good for a period of time last season as they were attempting to outrun reality, but it finally overtook the O's.  I will say I like some of the moves they have made.  I think they made quality decisions on trying to lock in guys like Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis to long-term deals.  These are legit cornerstone players you can build around.  O's fans have to be excited about seeing highly-touted prospect Matt Wieters with the big league club this season.  Unfortunately, it's not their lineup that's worrisome.  Last season they didn't have one starting pitcher finish above the .500 mark.  Clearly that's the issue they're trying to address down in Fort Laurderdale as I type.  They have brought in Koji Uehara and Adam Eaton, among others, in an attempt to shore up the rotation.  Not sure that's the answers I'd be too thrilled about were I a certified resident of "Birdland."  (Birdland is apparently what they refer to their fanbase as.  I, personally, think it sounds like a really lame tourist trap along Route 66 or something.)  However, I have to say the Orioles have some nice young pitching talent in the farm who will hopefully bring this club back to respectability in the future.  I would liken the Adam Eaton and Rich Hill signings to when a pitching coach takes an extended visit to the mound to buy time for his bullpen to get loose.  They're just bridging the gap between now and the future.

There you have it, folks.  So let it be written, so let it be done.

Unfortunately, what Jacob and I feared would happen with this blog has already happened, to a degree.  We have let it sit for almost two weeks with nothing new posted.  We're sorry for that, but we can't help but doubt if anyone is reading anyway.  If you are reading, feel free to comment. 

Enough with the pity party, let's talk some baseball. 

I would love to sit here and type all day long about the Reds, but there's not too much to report on that front.  Here's a brief summary, just in case you're interested.

Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto and Pedro Viola are probably going to play for the Dominican in the WBC.  (We won't know officially until 6PM tonight when the rosters are reveled.)  I didn't think Cueto would be selected at first, but it looks like that's what's going to happen now.  Viola's decision confuses me a little bit.  He's a young guy and you would think a young, largely unproven guy would elect to stay behind and try to make some good impressions on the Reds coaching staff.

Let me take a swing...

...At the dead horse again. 

I just want to clarify that I agree with Stephen about the annonymous part staying annonymous.  It's just hard for me to feel sympathy about it for a couple reasons right now.

1. The best player in baseball that most everyone thought was clean, tested positive for PEDs and AFTER HE TESTED POSITIVE arrogantly denied he ever even felt tempted to take PEDs.  That was of course before he got caught.  Now hes on his knees to the american public.

2. This is the BIG one.  The Players Union had MLB by the b a l l s so tight that they forced MLB, who keep in mind is the governing body, to settle for an "annonymous survey" for drugs that WERE AND ARE AGAINST THE RULES of MLB.  It's damn near criminal that they got away with this.  Granted, MLB dragged their feet many times in addressing PEDs, but once they decided to do something about it, the players association used their stroke to delay penalties because they KNEW how rampant the use was.  This survey was a joke and insult to any baseball fans intelligence. 

I'm sorry, It's incredibly hard to feel sorry for anyone that tested positive in this survey and I just think it's time to be honest with the fans. Just release the names. Let everyone move on.

Speaking of moving on....I'm extremely tired of hearing all these old players, who truth be told probably juiced too, tell me how bad all this is for baseball and how we need to move on and put it behind us.  I firmly believe that we as baseball fans cant just sweep it under the rug. This is THE era I grew up in. I'm gonna be tellin my grandkids about it.  IMO, if a player has tested positive, I want to know about it. If it tears down the game for a while, so be it.  Baseball is bigger than a player, or a record, or even an era.  I think most fans would be more likely to put it in the past if the air had been cleared as much as possible.

Thats all for now

Jacob 

 

Beating the Dead Horse Known as A-Rod

steroids.jpgI agree with my counterpart on pretty much everything he said in his post earlier, with the exception of a couple things.  Mostly, I just want to add some more thoughts I've had about the topic.  Hopefully, after this, we can all drop this and talk about actual baseball.  I have been thinking a lot about the A-Rod story since it broke.  I've listened to a ton of arguments from experts, analysts, and players and I'm still coming up with conflicting opinions.

First of all, many debate as to what effect steroids has on a player's game.  Some say it doesn't add power but it does allow one to recuperate faster.  Others maintain that it does, in fact, give you an added bump in the power department.  My point is, we obviously don't know what the effects are or aren't or how they help.  Since these guys chose to take steroids, we don't know the extent of the steroids affect on their numbers.  Therefore, the numbers are indeed tainted and I don't want to hear this defense that "it just helps you recoup, it doesn't help you're skill, these guys had to be good to begin with, blah blah blah, etc., etc., etc."  Yes, they did have to be good to begin with which is why it is blows my mind when I wonder why in the hell did these guys do this?  What does PED stand for?  Performance Enhancing Drugs.  If you need a further definition, these drugs enhance the player's performance.  Enough said.

Second of all, it doesn't matter whether these drugs simply help one recover or they do give an added boost in performance (I believe most were taking multiple forms of steroids to accomplish both).  The fact is, it is cheating and it gave these guys an unfair advantage over their teammates, their opposition, and let's not forget about those who went before.  These guys are a disgrace to Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, and the like.  These guys did it the right way.  They let their true abilities be known without any performance enhancers.  In my opinion, Hank Aaron is one of the biggest losers in the steroids debacle.  

Thirdly, I believe baseball has been placed on a pedestal when it comes to purity.  Shawn Merriman of the Chargers can get busted for using an illegal substance, pay his 5 game penalty, and go on his way and nothing is ever mentioned of it again.  As if Shawn Merriman is one of only a handful players in the National Football League juicing.  I'm not that naive.  However, A-Rod comes out and admits his guilt and baseball is no longer the beacon of athletic purity it once was?  Come on.  If you think guys in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and whatever other sport you want to throw in there aren't using, then you need to wake up.

Before I get to A-Rod, I want to say that I hate hearing people say things like "I don't care about all this off-the-field stuff, let's just play baseball."  That's nice.  Really, it is.  But if you just want to ignore the steroids issue or Joe Torre's book, or anything else perceived to be "negative, off-the-field bull crap," then you have to ignore the positive, too.  So until you're willing to say, "I don't give a damn what charity you're supporting, Jimmy Rollins.  All I care about is baseball and what happens on the field."  Don't tell me you don't want to hear about the Joe Torre book or the A-Rod interview or the Barry Bonds trial.  You have to take the good with the bad.

Now to Alex Rodriguez.  I agree that it was good for A-Rod to come forward, but if you believed everything this guy said, you're an idiot.  This day and age, you can hardly believe anyone and that has created quite a cynical American culture.  I think he was well coached by his PR people and possibly even Scott Boras.  He had a couple days to go over exactly how to respond to different questions, and a guy like Rodriguez, who is so interested in his self image, wasn't about to screw up here.  

I am having a hard time believing he used from 2001-2003.  That's a long time to use and just quit.  It's also a very convenient timeline.  Like Jacob said, he happened to quit using just before it became punishable.  Right.  I also don't believe that he had no idea what he was using.  You're going to let someone inject something into your a-- and you don't even know what it is or what it does?  Right.  

A-Rod acted like he was glad this finally came out and he could come clean.  Do you honestly think that he would have fessed up if this information had never leaked?  I highly doubt it.  He, like most people, are sorry as soon as they get caught.  Many times, they're only sorry that they got caught.  I'm not God, so I don't know which is true for Alex Rodriguez.

It is good the information came out.  Here's where I differ with Jacob.  I think it came out in a wrong and unfair way.  After hearing the whole story and thinking a lot about it, I don't think that it should have been leaked this way.  Not that I at all justify what he, or any of them, did or that I am disappointed it came out.  The reason I disagree with how it came out is because it was understood by the players that this was anonymous and was to remain anonymous.  It is wrong to tell someone one thing and then to do another.  While in college, everyone was given a survey to gauge the incoming freshmen's moral ideas.  We were to not write our names on the surveys, answer them honestly, turn them in, and that was to be it.  What if I wrote down that I had had sex with multiple girls and had some sort of disease or whatever (I didn't and I don't - this is just for the sake of the argument).  (That may not sound like a big deal to you with your college experience, but I went to a Christian university and it was a big deal.)  What if a couple of years later, the "anonymous" information about my promiscuity and my nasty STD leaked out to the student body and now everyone knows about it?  Would I be p-ssed?  You better believe it.  Would you be p-ssed?  I can't imagine that you wouldn't be.  I would be furious.  My reputation would be gone.  Now wouldn't this be great information for girls I would like to date in the future.  Yeah, it would be.  But the fact remains I was "hoo-dooed" by this "anonymous" survey.  

Now, should we know the names of the remaining 103?  I'm not sure.  On one hand, A-Rod's already been mentioned, so why not go on and list the rest so we can lynch mob them too.  If this was done in the name of the purity of our sport, then why not purify it as much as possible.  How many pitchers do you think are on that list?  No one ever talks about them.

On the other hand, I still believe that this was supposed to be an anonymous survey for MLB to see if they needed to raise the bar on drug testing.  They got their results and did raise the bar.  Perhaps this information has served its purpose and shouldn't be leaked.  If MLB and the Player's Union made an agreement with each other and the players, they should honor it.  

In the end, who is the loser?  Poor "who"?  Poor A-Rod?  Poor fans?  Poor Texas Rangers?  Maybe we should feel sorry for the Hall of Famers who did it the right way.  Poor Hank Aaron.  No.  Poor baseball.  The game is the one who comes out as the biggest loser thanks to A-Rod, Clemens, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, and the laundry list of other players who have disgraced this beautiful game.  These guys want in the Hall?  A place reserved for those whose numbers have helped the game?  These guys belong in a Hall reserved for quite the opposite.  A hall of guys who, despite what they say, have no respect for the game, who lie, who cheat, who would do anything to climb the statistical ladder.  These guys belong in a much different place than Cooperstown.


A-Rod comes clean or does he?

First off let me say that I'm glad that ARod admitted that he cheated.  I feel its great for the game.  Honestly, for the fans to really put the juiced era in the past, I think the game has gotta be torn down to an extent.  Like Curt Schilling said today, release the other 103 names that tested positive in the survey in 2003.  I know that it was supposed to be confidential, but it would be good for the game.  These guys are public figures and make more money than they should.  Theres no reason they can't take a little public humiliation if they tested positive.

That said, I can't help but not be convinced completely by ARod.  He and his "team" aka Scott Boras who we know isnt the best guy out there had 3 days to come up with some PR work.  ARod basically got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  We just dont know how long it was in there.  If you tested positive in 2003 of course you're not going to say you used any after that, especially when he could still recieve a penalty if he admitted using in 2004(when major league steriod penalties came into effect).  Him going to Texas in 01 gives them the "perfect" motive to start juicing.  It also gives him room to say that he didn't make the big leagues or become a super star by juicing. 

Like I said before, I admire him for saying he used, but the timing is too convenient for me to give him the complete benefit of the doubt.

Jacob

Volquez + Gun = Oh Crap

This just in from Redleg Nation and C. Trent Rosecrans.  A video has been added on YouTube of Edinson Volquez and friend speaking to someone with a video camera from Volquez's car.  At one point in the video, the passenger reaches in the console and reveals a handgun.  

Here's the video:


I assume this video is from the Dominican and I have no idea what the gun laws are there. I have heard a number of people say that carjackings take place often in the Dominican and Voltron might be a big target considering who he is. I just hope that he doesn't do anything stupid. Although, I think he already has done something stupid by letting someone video him with a gun in his car. I'm all about the right to bear arms and carry a weapon. I own a few guns myself. But I'm not an MLB pitcher making a lot of money. Another thing Volquez may want to consider is how actions like this might hurt him and his future. He has a lot to lose.

Let's hope this isn't a big deal and that this doesn't hit the fan. If he were playing in for a bigger market club, this would probably be front page news on MLB.com. I expect Voltron has already received a call or two from the Reds front office. Let's hope they can convince him to exercise a little better judgement in the future.

Thoughts on the WBC

wbclogo1.JPG

I've been thinking a little bit about the World Baseball Classic today.  I have yet to make up my mind on how I feel about it.  On one hand, you have teams competing against each other for national pride and bragging rights.  And with the Olympics shutting baseball and softball out of the games from now on, it's nice to have something like this.  And to make it "better" than the Olympics, you have your "Dream Teams" playing against each other instead of prospects filling out your US roster, since it happens in the off season and not during the latter half of the regular season.  

On the other hand, you have the possibility of injuries that could hinder otherwise playoff bound MLB clubs.  Many experts think that guys, especially pitchers, throw themselves out of whack when they are placed in hostile, highly competitive environments earlier than they're used to.  You have guys making big time throws months before they normally feel comfortable doing so.  I guess it all depends on the person.  No two people react the same way.  It also depends on how the individual has trained in the off season.  The same could be said for the All-Star game, though.  However, the All-Star game takes place over the course of one weekend, whereas the WBC could last two weeks for some people.  

The debate depends on what you think about this: are the players first loyal to their clubs and secondly to their countries, or visa versa?  I'm leaning towards the former and thus, leaning against the WBC.  I think that a players responsibility and loyalty must belong to whomever is paying their bills.  Many of them have signed major contracts which were given to them in hopes that they would help their ball club win the World Series, not so they could win the World Baseball Classic.  I believe that if a club wants to, they should be able to deny their players to play in the WBC.  I, for one, want my team to be healthy come Opening Day and I don't want anything hindering them from being ready to go.  Furthermore, I think it is important that they are familiar with their team.  How can a guy like Wilkin Castillo compete for a big league position if he's playing in PetCo Park while the Reds are playing the Twins in Sarasota?  I could be missing something here.  I could be totally off base and I would appreciate being corrected if I'm wrong.  The last thing I'll say about this debate on the WBC is that if Joey Votto or Edinson Volquez or Johnny Cueto or any Reds starter is on their country's roster and he gets hurt and is out for any extended period of time, I will be so incredibly p-ssed off and I will never forgive the WBC.  If it were me (and this is easy for me to say because it will never be me), I would say, "Thanks, but no thanks.  It's nice to be recognized by my country and it would be lovely to help you guys out and bring home the gold (or whatever it is they bring home), but my first priority is helping my MLB team win the World Series and I don't want anything to keep me from accomplishing that goal."  And to go off on that tangent a little more... Did you, as a child dreaming of big league stardom, ever imagine yourself in the bottom of the ninth inning, bases loaded, down 3 runs with a full count and hitting a grand slam to win the World Baseball Classic or the Olympics???  NO!  It's the World Series, people!  That's what it's all about!

I figured while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and post the 17 members of the Reds organization who are currently on the provisional WBC roster.

1. James Avery - CAN
2. Wilkin Castillo - DOM
3. Francisco Cordero - DOM
4. Johnny Cueto - DOM
5. Jerry Hairston Jr. - MEX
6. Ramon Hernandez - VEN
7. Yen-Wen Kuo - TPE
8. Kyle Lotzkar - CAN
9. Luis Machuca - PAN
10. Luca Panerati - ITA
11. Matteo Pizziconi - ITA
12. Alexander Smit - NED
13. Juan Carlos Sulbaran - NED
14. Willy Taveras - DOM
15. Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette - CAN
16. Edinson Volquez - DOM
17. Joey Votto - CAN

First of all, I had no idea the Reds had so many guys in their organization from so many different places, most of whom I had never heard of.  I didn't know the Reds had ever signed an Asian player and no idea of any Dutch or Italian players.  So that much was interesting to discover.  Now I know this is just provisional, but I can't imagine Team Canada going into the WBC without Joey Votto or the Dominican club not wanting Edinson Volquez.  I also have no idea who will be managing these teams.  They will be the ones determining how much or how little each player is used and they will be in charge of pitch counts, innings, at bats, etc.

Also, if you're Team USA, why would you want to wear a hat with this logo on it:  

usalogo1.JPG

I'm sorry.  Maybe I'm being too critical, but this looks like something our US Hockey Team would be wearing.  Nothing about this logo says, "This is where Abner Doubleday created this sport.  This is our National Pastime and baseball is serious sh-t to us.  We are the best team in the world and you should be very afraid."  It says nothing of the sort.  It says, "We're Americans, we're flashy and we have a new spiffy logo to prove it.  You can buy a hat with this logo on it for $36.  We're pretty sure we're going to lose early to Japan or the Dominican." 

That's just what I think.  What about you?

 Stephen

Ballpark website and news

So I was surfing the net the other night looking at some old ballparks and I stumbled across a very cool website everyone should check out. 

http://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/index.html

It gives you a history of each stadium along with pictures and my favorite feature: the ability to see how the demensions of each park have changed over the years.  Ebbets Field for example had unbelieveable demensions when it opened in 1913.  It was an astounding 503 ft from home plate to the deepest point of the park in center field and 419 feet to the left field foul pole.  For someone who has been around today's home run happy parks, it can be hard to fathom a park that big.  By the time Ebbets Field saw its last change in 1948, it was a very small ballpark, even by today's standards, with the farthest point 393 ft. from home plate to center field and the closest 297 ft. at the right field foul pole.

 

In other ballpark news, the Marlins have released photos of the stadium they hope to build in Miami.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/874452.html

Personally, I don't care for the look of the stadium at all, but it is better than playing in a football stadium.  My biggest problem with it is the location.  It's supposed to be located on the site of the recently demolished Orange Bowl Stadium in Little Havana.  I had the chance to attend a football game there and lets just say it's not the best part of town.  Had the game been at night there's no way I would've felt safe there.  Now I'm sure that they are hoping this project will shape the neighborhood into something nice, but I think it's an unrealistic expectation.  The Marlins already have enough problems with attendance, the last thing they need is something that drives away even more folks. 

posted by Jacob

 

 

 

 

11 Days, 20 Hours

Stephen here.  11 days and 20 hours before Pitchers and Catchers report to spring training.  I'll be honest, the lull in baseball and end of college football has caused me to watch sports I've never spent much time in.  I watched some of the Australian Open the other day.  Congrats to Serena Williams, by the way.  I've also been tuning in to some NBA and College basketball.  Something I never do until March.  (As far as the NBA goes, something I haven't done since... the mid 90's).  Still, none of these comes close to baseball for me.  Not even the NFL (Cardinals by 3).  Needless to say, I'm pumped for a new season of baseball.  

One of the things I love about spring training is that you get to see players maybe you won't see for a long, long time.  Many guys you'll never see in a big league uniform.  You also get to see your team go up against teams they would never face outside of inter-league play (which I hate) or the World Series.  It seems like the Reds are playing either Boston, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, or the Yankees every other day.  If you're fortunate enough to be able to make a Spring Training game in person (I've been to three), you'll soon discover the other facets of it that make it great.  For one thing, there's no better time to be in Florida than Spring.  The weather sucks up north and it's perfect there, you pay $10 for seats you could only inherit during the regular season, and you get to personally scout the rising stars in your organization.  It's fantastic and I wish I could make it to Sarasota this year.

It's also a great time for another of my favorite hobbies.  Autographs. 

I know it seems childish to some and lame to others, but I love it.  I always have.  I love sports memorabilia and I getting signatures in person is WAY better than through eBay or buying it through some other means. 

That brings me to my final bit.  Like I said before, I'm into signatures.  Today, I got my first "through-the-mail" success.  And it was from none other than Brandon Phillips.  He signed a card I sent last week and I was (forgive me for using the word "pumped" again) pumped!  Lame or not, I'm a huge BP fan and an even bigger Reds fan, so this was great.  I'll try to keep you filled in on my future big successes in the autograph department.  Signatures in person are much better, I know.  But through the mail has to be next.  

Anyway, that's all I have for now.  Not much baseball talk yet, per se, but once the season really gears up, we'll try to cover it like we know how to do.

Here's a link to my signature.  I tried to upload it neatly straight into the post, but it was abnormally large.  I'm not too computer savvy, so until I figure out how to knock down the image sizes of my own pictures, I'll just have to settle with this.  


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