Tonight the Yankees played the Texas Rangers, a possible preview of a first round playoff matchup, if the Rangers can win the wild card and the Yankees maintain the best record. The Rangers threw veteran Kevin Millwood against young gun Joba Chamberlain. Both looked like rookies in this one and this game was high scoring right off the bat. Both teams can swing the bat and playing in the friendly comfines of Yankee Stadium made for lots of pop and circumstance. Matsui had a 2 rbi double and Posada a 2 run HR both in the first to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead. Joba lost the lead by giving up a career high 7 ER in only 4 and change. The Yankees got a solo blast from cano to chip away, but before long the defecit was 5 runs, 10-5. The Yankees failed to comeback or show any fight...until the 9th.
In the 9th inning down 10-5, the Rangers went with Jason Grilli to face Johnny Damon. Damon singled and next up Teixeira walked. Ron Washington decided it was time for his closer and no more funny business. Frank Francisco came on to face Arod with 2 on and 0 out Texas still leading 10-5. Arod worked a full count and then walked. Bases now loaded the tying run on deck. Matsui was next and lines a base hit on an 0-2 pitch. Posada as the tying run and the bases still loaded hits a soft ground ball to third which was unplayable and goes as a hit. Bases still loaded now 10-7 and Cano up. Cano drills a hard hit single and its now first and second still 0 out and now 10-9. Hairston pinch runs for Posada and he's at second as the tying run. Swisher is up and the winning run at first. Swisher attempts to lay down and bunt and hits a pop out to Michael Young at 3B. Melky Cabrera comes up next and he hits a hard line drive to Andrus at short. Andrus makes the catch and then sprints towards second to try to double off Hairston. Jerry races back as well and Andrus wins the race by a nose making the double play and ending the game. Jeter had to watch the drama unfold with a bat on his shoulder while waiting on deck.
One could view this loss as just one of about 60 for the season. Joba didn't pitch well, the Yankees fell behind by 5 runs and the comeback was a good sign of good fight and good perseverance rather than failing to finish the job. I instead view this as a bad loss. This is a team that is fighting hard to make the playoffs and has played extremely well. This is a team that would come to NY for the playoffs and has no pitching. This is a team that should be beaten when the matchup is in NY, every time. This is a good team but their recent success shouldn't phase the Yankees. I think when down 8-5 the pen should have held them to 8. I think the Yankees should have been able to finish the job and gotten the necessary 10th and 11th runs. when you look at the 9th as a whole you say "4 runs!! they almost won!! What a comeback attempt." I think, "You had first and second nobody out and the last 6 batters had reached safely, how do you not get the runner from 2nd in." Good teams don't blow good opportunities like that, even if it came on the heels of the previous 6 men reaching. I don't like the Swisher bunt attempt. i don't get why Girardi thought after the first 6 guys had reached base safely, that they needed to start playing small ball. Especially Swisher who likely hasn't bunted ever. Melky then hits a line drive out and Hairston is in no-mans-land and gets doubled off. The fact that I was asking Melky to plainly strikeout so Jeter would be guaranteed an at bat tells you the confidence I have in Jeter. I love Melky and think he did a good job getting the bat on the ball and almost got a hit, but I think the Yankees win if Hairston isn't doubled off. Jeter would have gotten a hit, I'm positive. Don't ask me why or how I know this, don't even argue with me because I will not waiver in my opinion. Derek Jeter is the best hitter in baseball history--fuck yea I just said that--when the game desires him to get a hit. I've watched 13 seasons of a guy who NEVER fails when you put the game in his hands. Not to mention he's 30 for his last 55, get that. So I know you can say what a good try to win the game, but I'm looking at a bad loss vs a playoff team with late game failures not late game triumphs that cost the Yankees the W. This stings and bothers me tremendously...Tomorrow is a new day and they ought to win behind Andy, but you never know.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Little Consistency Please?
It hasn't felt like a Yankee-Red Sox rivaly yet, and maybe that's what October is for. Today the Yankees got pounded 14-1 and nothing about today was a good sign. Yesterday it was 20-11 Yankees and almost everything (except some minor bullpen players) looked good. That has been the story this year. The 9-5 Red Sox edge in the season series has been that way through 8 straight wins and then 5 straight losses and then today's win. It doesn't seem like we have seen two great evenly matched teams yet. Today it was Tazawa shutting down the Yankees and Burnett getting rocked...huh? Previously Burnett had been dealing and was matching with Beckett in a showdown that went 15 innings. Clearly that was a clase game on the scoreboard but the Red Sox had their best pitcher on the mound and only managed 4 hits, and that was their high for the series.
Right now I'm wondering where these two teams are headed. I'm going to be frank because why play this bullshit game and talk about the Rays and Rangers like they are legit threats for the postseason. Cut the crap, the Yankees will win this division and the Red Sox will be the Wild Card team. I'm fairly certain the Yankees will stomp Detroit and The Red Sox who have always bested the Angels will advance as well. This leads to a playoff matchup we are all salivating to see in October. The matchup that created tons of hysteria in 03 an 04 which were epic series for both teams. 03 was capped off by a mammoth game winning, walk off solo HR for Aaron Boone in the 11th inning in game 7 of the ALCS. 04 was the drama of 4 straight wins for the Red Sox after being down 3-0, each win coming in great fashion (for Sox fans). This year may or may not be the same. I think these two teams will meet in October and I think these are the two best teams in the AL. I think the Angels are damn close, but if Boston gets some things together, they are deadly. The lineup is undeniably good, 2nd best in fact (to the Yankees). Their starters aren't deep like they should have been, but they have 2 aces in the top of their rotation, Beckett and Lester. If Wakefield/Bucholtz/Dice-K emerge as a legit 3rd option, this team could be dangerous.
The same could be said for the Yankees, who have 4 legit pitchers, a great pen, and a fantastic offense that also fields extremely well. That is why for a few weeks now I have said the Yankees are the best team in baseball and should win the World Series if all stays well. I am curious which teams will show up in the playoffs, because if Boston and the Yankees are at their best (neither team has been during any of their series) this could make for a historic and memorable matchup. I am excited because it is the first time in a long time I feel like the Yankees will be there when it matters, not may, but will be there. For the last 7 years I'd say, maybe more, I felt that the Yankees had a legit chance to win it all, but were not the favorites. Not since the late 90's were the World Series a realistic goal. This year the Yankees should be there and will be if they stay healthy and keep this ball rolling. I just wonder if Boston gets right and meets us on the last step of the way, will we be able to do what we must and get over that hump. It's been since 2003 that we made it to the Series and 2000 since we won, that's too long for me to wait. I hope this year changes that and I hope we play Boston on the way because we need to beat the best to be the best, and for a change I'm confident of our success vs them. They should be fearing us, not us fearing them.
Back to the present, we finish the series tomorrow vs Boston in Fenway at 8pm with CC vs Beckett, a crazy fun matchup. I think we should be able to put up a good fight, certainly a pitcehrs duel is in effect (maybe one team won't get double digits). I think a win would be great to take the series for future confidence sake, but I think everything the Yankees needed to do to win the division was done in the 4 game sweep and Friday's win. 5.5 or 7.5, either way we are looking way back in the rear view mirror and I'm not worried for once.
Right now I'm wondering where these two teams are headed. I'm going to be frank because why play this bullshit game and talk about the Rays and Rangers like they are legit threats for the postseason. Cut the crap, the Yankees will win this division and the Red Sox will be the Wild Card team. I'm fairly certain the Yankees will stomp Detroit and The Red Sox who have always bested the Angels will advance as well. This leads to a playoff matchup we are all salivating to see in October. The matchup that created tons of hysteria in 03 an 04 which were epic series for both teams. 03 was capped off by a mammoth game winning, walk off solo HR for Aaron Boone in the 11th inning in game 7 of the ALCS. 04 was the drama of 4 straight wins for the Red Sox after being down 3-0, each win coming in great fashion (for Sox fans). This year may or may not be the same. I think these two teams will meet in October and I think these are the two best teams in the AL. I think the Angels are damn close, but if Boston gets some things together, they are deadly. The lineup is undeniably good, 2nd best in fact (to the Yankees). Their starters aren't deep like they should have been, but they have 2 aces in the top of their rotation, Beckett and Lester. If Wakefield/Bucholtz/Dice-K emerge as a legit 3rd option, this team could be dangerous.
The same could be said for the Yankees, who have 4 legit pitchers, a great pen, and a fantastic offense that also fields extremely well. That is why for a few weeks now I have said the Yankees are the best team in baseball and should win the World Series if all stays well. I am curious which teams will show up in the playoffs, because if Boston and the Yankees are at their best (neither team has been during any of their series) this could make for a historic and memorable matchup. I am excited because it is the first time in a long time I feel like the Yankees will be there when it matters, not may, but will be there. For the last 7 years I'd say, maybe more, I felt that the Yankees had a legit chance to win it all, but were not the favorites. Not since the late 90's were the World Series a realistic goal. This year the Yankees should be there and will be if they stay healthy and keep this ball rolling. I just wonder if Boston gets right and meets us on the last step of the way, will we be able to do what we must and get over that hump. It's been since 2003 that we made it to the Series and 2000 since we won, that's too long for me to wait. I hope this year changes that and I hope we play Boston on the way because we need to beat the best to be the best, and for a change I'm confident of our success vs them. They should be fearing us, not us fearing them.
Back to the present, we finish the series tomorrow vs Boston in Fenway at 8pm with CC vs Beckett, a crazy fun matchup. I think we should be able to put up a good fight, certainly a pitcehrs duel is in effect (maybe one team won't get double digits). I think a win would be great to take the series for future confidence sake, but I think everything the Yankees needed to do to win the division was done in the 4 game sweep and Friday's win. 5.5 or 7.5, either way we are looking way back in the rear view mirror and I'm not worried for once.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Yankee Dominance
The New York Yankees are the best team in baseball. Not only am I stating my opinion because over the last few weeks they have demolished every opponent, but they now carry the best record in baseball. They also carry the largest lead for any team in their division, 6.5 games. The Yankees continued their utter destruction last night in Seattle when they got a game winning HR by Mark Teixeira in the top of the 9th in a 2-2 game. After tacking on another run, Mariano came in and shut the door on the Mariners for the 2nd win in a row in this series. They had previously won on Thursday night behind the Yankees 11 run offensive explosion and CC's 8 innings of 1 run ball and season high 10 strikeouts. Pettitte matched CC last night with a season high 10 Ks of his own in a very good performance. Pettitte struggled out of the gate with 3 consecutive hits to start the game, but bared down and finished the inning and the game strong with 6 innings of only 2 runs. Although Pettitte pitched well, again he left the game tied or behind, the story of the second half for him.
Andy's last start before the break was a loss to the Angels and he gave up 6 runs and his ERA ballooned to 4.85. Since then, he has had 6 starts and has given up only 9 runs in 39 2/3 innings, that's posting a 2.05 era in that span. He recorded quality starts in 5/6 starts and in the one non quality start it was the pen that let up all his runners left on base. His era has dropped from the 4.85 mark to 4.09 now. He also has struck out 8, 7, 8, 6, 4, and 10 batters in his 6 starts in the 2nd half, thats 43 in 39 2/3 innings. Despite this resurgent Andy, he has only 1 win to show for his efforts and 5 no decisions, although the Yankee have won 3/5 no decision games. Pettitte is giving the Yankees the pitching length and success that they need right now as both Mitre and Gaudin are in the rotation and cannot provide either consistently.
Even with Mitre in the rotation and now Gaudin, and a multitude of injuries (Arod, Jeter, Posada, Gardner, Rivera) the Yankees are playing their best ball of the season right now. The front end of the rotation is as strong as ever, the lineup is scoring runs in bunches especially in late inning pressure situations, and the bullpen is no longer a weak point, but a strength. Brian Bruney pitched last night in a tie game and looked good, he might have brought himself back into the old form which will be crucial for the pen. Aceves is continuing to play great and of course Hughes and Rivera. Not to mention Coke and Robertson who have been doing a fine job and are young up and comers with good stuff. The Yankees look poised to continue to sweep crummy teams and make a play at the best overall record in the AL. With the way they are going now I can only hope they stay at this level because this bodes well for October. They continue play tonight in Seattle at 10 with Mitre on hill. It'll be for 5 in a row and 11/12.
Andy's last start before the break was a loss to the Angels and he gave up 6 runs and his ERA ballooned to 4.85. Since then, he has had 6 starts and has given up only 9 runs in 39 2/3 innings, that's posting a 2.05 era in that span. He recorded quality starts in 5/6 starts and in the one non quality start it was the pen that let up all his runners left on base. His era has dropped from the 4.85 mark to 4.09 now. He also has struck out 8, 7, 8, 6, 4, and 10 batters in his 6 starts in the 2nd half, thats 43 in 39 2/3 innings. Despite this resurgent Andy, he has only 1 win to show for his efforts and 5 no decisions, although the Yankee have won 3/5 no decision games. Pettitte is giving the Yankees the pitching length and success that they need right now as both Mitre and Gaudin are in the rotation and cannot provide either consistently.
Even with Mitre in the rotation and now Gaudin, and a multitude of injuries (Arod, Jeter, Posada, Gardner, Rivera) the Yankees are playing their best ball of the season right now. The front end of the rotation is as strong as ever, the lineup is scoring runs in bunches especially in late inning pressure situations, and the bullpen is no longer a weak point, but a strength. Brian Bruney pitched last night in a tie game and looked good, he might have brought himself back into the old form which will be crucial for the pen. Aceves is continuing to play great and of course Hughes and Rivera. Not to mention Coke and Robertson who have been doing a fine job and are young up and comers with good stuff. The Yankees look poised to continue to sweep crummy teams and make a play at the best overall record in the AL. With the way they are going now I can only hope they stay at this level because this bodes well for October. They continue play tonight in Seattle at 10 with Mitre on hill. It'll be for 5 in a row and 11/12.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Goodbye Boston
People talk about a rivalry between Boston and New York, not this year. The Boston Red Sox had the New York Yankees number for the first 8 games and it looked like there would be little competition for the Sox for the division. It appeared as though there was no heated rivalry between these teams because it was so one sided. The teams play basically at .500 in their history and yet this year it was all Boston, until this weekend. The Yankees finally showed Boston that they were ready to play this year and that they are the team to beat in the AL east. With a 4 game sweep of the Sox, the Yankees jumped out to a 6.5 game lead on the division, with only 50 games to go. A lead that may or may not hold, but certainly looks promising for Yankee playoff hopes.
The Yankees welcome AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and most recently Teixeira and Swisher to the Yankees-Red Sox clash. AJ had been dominant against Boston in his career, but struggled early this season in his 2 starts. Friday he brought his A game and helped the Yankees win in 2-0 walk off fashion. Saturday Sabathia pitched and pitched great, the first time he had played so well against Boston. Today it was Teixeira who came up in the 8th in a 2-2 game. Damon had just tied the game on a solo hr and Teixeira followed with a bomb of his own, which put the Yankees ahead for good. Swisher came up later in the 8th with 2 on and 2 outs and drilled a single up the middle which provided very critical insurance runs. Both Swisher and Teixeira are new to the Yankees (as with Burnett and CC) and all played instrumental parts in this 4-game sweep, although have yet to be part of the rivalry because there still is no rivalry. We haven't seen the typical nail biting games with Boston. We haven't seen the Boston team that would always fight back and make you worry the whole game. Instead we saw 31 consecutive scoreless innings and a hurt and weak opponent not worthy of a rivalry.
The Yankees have looked like a totally different team than the team that struggled vs Boston early in the year and this team has the makings like the World Series teams in the late 90s. This is the best Yankee team I have seen since 1998. I think that they have all the right pieces and anything short of the WS is a failure. The Yankees have looked SO dominant since getting A-rod back and even more dominant since the All-star break. So good that when the Yankees gave up a 2-run HR to Victor Martinez to blow the lead in the 8th, I wasn't breaking a sweat. I told my father and my friend that the HR would happen (random accurate prediction), but then proceeded to suggest that the Yankees would get it right back in the 8th. The Yankees lead the league in come from behind wins and have a tremendous track record of scoring off opponents' bullpens late in games. It is because of this that I never worry that this team is out of the game and I always have hope. Hope is great thing and I have much of it, hopes that this team will bring a title to NY. They have the right pieces, they just need to focus and play like they did vs Boston this weekend. One thing I can say for certain, Boston no longer scares me this year, the only team that's gonna stand in this team's way is the Angels. So goodbye Boston and leave your dignity in the Bronx!!
The Yankees welcome AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and most recently Teixeira and Swisher to the Yankees-Red Sox clash. AJ had been dominant against Boston in his career, but struggled early this season in his 2 starts. Friday he brought his A game and helped the Yankees win in 2-0 walk off fashion. Saturday Sabathia pitched and pitched great, the first time he had played so well against Boston. Today it was Teixeira who came up in the 8th in a 2-2 game. Damon had just tied the game on a solo hr and Teixeira followed with a bomb of his own, which put the Yankees ahead for good. Swisher came up later in the 8th with 2 on and 2 outs and drilled a single up the middle which provided very critical insurance runs. Both Swisher and Teixeira are new to the Yankees (as with Burnett and CC) and all played instrumental parts in this 4-game sweep, although have yet to be part of the rivalry because there still is no rivalry. We haven't seen the typical nail biting games with Boston. We haven't seen the Boston team that would always fight back and make you worry the whole game. Instead we saw 31 consecutive scoreless innings and a hurt and weak opponent not worthy of a rivalry.
The Yankees have looked like a totally different team than the team that struggled vs Boston early in the year and this team has the makings like the World Series teams in the late 90s. This is the best Yankee team I have seen since 1998. I think that they have all the right pieces and anything short of the WS is a failure. The Yankees have looked SO dominant since getting A-rod back and even more dominant since the All-star break. So good that when the Yankees gave up a 2-run HR to Victor Martinez to blow the lead in the 8th, I wasn't breaking a sweat. I told my father and my friend that the HR would happen (random accurate prediction), but then proceeded to suggest that the Yankees would get it right back in the 8th. The Yankees lead the league in come from behind wins and have a tremendous track record of scoring off opponents' bullpens late in games. It is because of this that I never worry that this team is out of the game and I always have hope. Hope is great thing and I have much of it, hopes that this team will bring a title to NY. They have the right pieces, they just need to focus and play like they did vs Boston this weekend. One thing I can say for certain, Boston no longer scares me this year, the only team that's gonna stand in this team's way is the Angels. So goodbye Boston and leave your dignity in the Bronx!!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Yankees - Red Sox
Last night Alex Rodriguez became a hero in the Bronx after hitting a walk off 2-run HR in the bottom of the 15th inning. The home run was the first run of the game, giving the Yankees a 2-0 win, the second in a row in this 4 game series and a 4.5 game lead over the Red Sox in the division. The story of the game was not Alex's HR, it was the pitching. A.J. Burnett went for the Yankees and Josh Beckett went for the Red Sox. It was the third time this year that there guys squared off against each other, and unlike the previous outings, both we on fire. Burnett allowed only 1 hit through 7 2/3 innings and struck out 6. Beckett managed 7 scoreless innings himself, and the game went to the bullpens tied 0-0. Both bullpens were masterful and the game continued on into extras. Inning after inning the game wore on and neither team was able to scratch across a run despite some good opportunities. Finally A-rod belted one into the night after 5 hours and 33 minutes of baseball to end the 15 inning sharade. In typical yankee walk off fashion, Burnett pied A-rod in the face to the delight of the home crowd.
This game was a crucial win for the Yankees. The Yankees went into this 4-game series vs Boston ahead 2.5 games in the standings, but 0-8 against Boston on the season. This can be looked at two ways. The first is the obvious way, wow the Yankees cannot beat the Red Sox this year and that is a problem if they intend to make it anywhere this year. The other interesting thing to look at is, the Yankees are somehow still in first going into this series despite the 0-8 record vs Boston, meaning they must be doing significantly better vs the rest of the league than Boston, which means if they can find a way to get some wins vs the Red Sox, they will create some separation in the division. That is exactly what is happening. The Yankees took the first game of the series behind some spectacular offense, which might have ended John Smoltz's career. Smoltz was signed in the offseason by Boston and missed the first 2 months coming back from surgery. He had been struggling all year and on Thursday night gave up 8 earned runs in only 4 innings. Following the start the Red Sox designated Smoltz for assignment and it is unlikely another team will try to sign him. Back to the Yankees, after winning on Thursday they showed that they could finally beat Boston and got the monkey off their backs. Last night was a great hard fought win which continues to be a staple of this Yankee team, late inning drama. This Yankee team is finding ways to win games in all sorts of ways and as a fan you never lose hope and you never count this team out. 15 inning of scoreless pitching is a remarkable feat and shows the Yankees starting pitching and bullpen are finally getting straightened out.
Before this series began there were talks of the Yankees taking 3/4 or possibly sweeping, becuase this is a different New York team and a different Boston team as well. The Yankee tea that went 0-8 against Boston was missing Alex Rodriguez, had a shaky bullpen, and had unreliable starting pitching. As of today the Yankees have the best record in baseball including fantastic 1-4 starters, a great pen, and the best offense in baseball. Not to mention the addition of Teixeira which brings increased defense all around. The Red Sox right now are without Jason Bay, Dice-k, and Wakefield. Their starting pitching although deep, is struggling mightily. Their bullpen is as good as ever and proved so last night, but the offense is sluggish. Their 5-9 hitters last night all had batting averages under 250. Ortiz, Drew, Varitek, Reddick, and Green/Woodward. The Yankees are so far taking advantage of being the hotter team and should continue that today at 4 with CC on the hill. The Yankees are trying to prove they aren't just the hotter team, but the better team.
This game was a crucial win for the Yankees. The Yankees went into this 4-game series vs Boston ahead 2.5 games in the standings, but 0-8 against Boston on the season. This can be looked at two ways. The first is the obvious way, wow the Yankees cannot beat the Red Sox this year and that is a problem if they intend to make it anywhere this year. The other interesting thing to look at is, the Yankees are somehow still in first going into this series despite the 0-8 record vs Boston, meaning they must be doing significantly better vs the rest of the league than Boston, which means if they can find a way to get some wins vs the Red Sox, they will create some separation in the division. That is exactly what is happening. The Yankees took the first game of the series behind some spectacular offense, which might have ended John Smoltz's career. Smoltz was signed in the offseason by Boston and missed the first 2 months coming back from surgery. He had been struggling all year and on Thursday night gave up 8 earned runs in only 4 innings. Following the start the Red Sox designated Smoltz for assignment and it is unlikely another team will try to sign him. Back to the Yankees, after winning on Thursday they showed that they could finally beat Boston and got the monkey off their backs. Last night was a great hard fought win which continues to be a staple of this Yankee team, late inning drama. This Yankee team is finding ways to win games in all sorts of ways and as a fan you never lose hope and you never count this team out. 15 inning of scoreless pitching is a remarkable feat and shows the Yankees starting pitching and bullpen are finally getting straightened out.
Before this series began there were talks of the Yankees taking 3/4 or possibly sweeping, becuase this is a different New York team and a different Boston team as well. The Yankee tea that went 0-8 against Boston was missing Alex Rodriguez, had a shaky bullpen, and had unreliable starting pitching. As of today the Yankees have the best record in baseball including fantastic 1-4 starters, a great pen, and the best offense in baseball. Not to mention the addition of Teixeira which brings increased defense all around. The Red Sox right now are without Jason Bay, Dice-k, and Wakefield. Their starting pitching although deep, is struggling mightily. Their bullpen is as good as ever and proved so last night, but the offense is sluggish. Their 5-9 hitters last night all had batting averages under 250. Ortiz, Drew, Varitek, Reddick, and Green/Woodward. The Yankees are so far taking advantage of being the hotter team and should continue that today at 4 with CC on the hill. The Yankees are trying to prove they aren't just the hotter team, but the better team.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Steroids in Baseball
Steroids has attacked baseball far worse than the mosquitoes attack my skin on a summer day (this summer has been so bad!). Steroids is like the plague that travels from rat to rat infecting the public and people just want to run the hell away. Steroids is something that will forever be linked to baseball and will forever taint the game itself. Although there are steroid users in football and in other sports, when you think steroids you immediately think baseball. There are a few reasons for this, the first is Bud Selig's inability to send a clear message about steroids. It wasn't illegal for a while and when it finally became legal the punishment was, 10 games? Ha, nice try Bud, but that doesn't stop anyone. All these government investigations and anonymous and confidential reports just shows me that this is a complete disaster. This ties in with the other major reason for baseball and steroids being forever linked. Baseball is a game of history and stats. The only way we can compare legends of the past is by looking at their achievements and comparing them to today's greats. Stats like, all time home run leader and all time RBI leader, are crucial to the make up of baseball. It is something that all players and fans want to see be achieved with dignity, not through cheating. It is with this that we cannot just cut ties with what has happened and say, "forget it, lets look forward with a new drug testing policy and anyone who used steroids, o well. That was then and this is now." Although to be honest I kind of want to hear that.
I think Ortiz's name coming out as part of the 2003 sports illustrated survey shows us truly nothing. That study was conducted in 03 to see if there ought to be a drug testing policy and it showed that there should be because so many people who participated came up testing positive. It was taking in confidence that the names would not be released and therefore we cannot penalize anyone on that list. We can change our opinions of them as players knowing they used steroids, but we shouldn't know those names to begin with. Anyone with half a brain knew Ortiz and Manny used steroids. Everyone knows the obvious steroid users just from the sheer increase in head and arm size in a matter of years. We all know Ortiz went from never having hit 20 Hrs as a Twin and never having 400+ at bats to 40 and even 50 Hrs and 600+ abs as a Red Sox. It's something that tainted this era of baseball because this will be known as the steroid era. Anyone who is putting up Hall of Fame type numbers may not get in for being linked to steroids. This may be unfair to those who aren't steroid users but are legitimate home run guys. Ryan Howard for example has yet to be linked to steroids (it will come with time) and he is crushing 40 and 50 a year. He may get 500 or more on his career and it would be a shame if he were witheld from the Hall of Fame or even looked negatively upon just because of the time he played. I also guarantee there are many players who are steroid users and just have not been caught. I'm not mentioning any names, but I bet there is a long list of players who used steroids and never got caught. What about them? It's hard to look back at all these records and achievements and sift through to find the clean and the dirty ones. It's hard to differentiate the legitimate accomplishments and the not so legitimate ones.
The talk about steroids will never die and for that reason baseball is in trouble. Baseball wants to remove steroids from the conversation of baseball. If you are a baseball enthusiast you want the link between the two to be removed and not to return. You only want to hear about it when someone fails a test today and is suspended. You want baseball to be strict on its steroid policy to the point where any user is literally screwed. Make steroids a hanis offense and test for it arly and often. Remove it from people's minds immediately and make it something that will never again happen. A full season's suspension or expulsion from the game. NO NEED FOR SECOND CHANCES. Why give someone a second chance when this is the most blatant form of cheating and everyone playing the game knows how bad steroids are and knows the ridiculous crap baseball is going through about steroids. Any kid at 15 years old right now playing in high school thinking about being drafted and playing in 5 year should say, fuck steroids I can do this on my own. If you use steroids I don't want you in my game, I want you out of baseball, that's it. You cheated, they didn't (the rest of the league), so...get the fuck out. Makes perfect sense to me. Then you can show everyone in the world that you are taking this steroid stuff seriously and you can then start to look back if you would like and decide who makes it to the Hall of Fame and who's records will stand and such. For now it just seems like MLB is ok with steroid use because they understand how home runs draw fans and money and therefore any means to increase revenue is a good thing. Until this policy changes and until priority number 1 is to remove steroids from baseball, MLB will be looked on negatively and will always be tainted in some way.
The last point I want to make is in regards to the 104 players who participated in the anonymous SI survey in 03. That was confidential and those players should not be mentioned by name. A-rod, Manny and Ortiz have been mentioned but that doesn't mean that all the other names ought to be. I think those 3 being revealed is wrong because it makes them stand out when they were not the only ones. Not to remove them of blame but I'd say at least 50% of the legaue was using steroids at the time and to single these guys out when they were guaranteed security, is not fair. Now it seems like to make it fair everyone should be revealed, but that violates their security as well. Baseball made another mistake revealing only a few names. This drip drip drip way of revealing roiders just makes this whole controversy continue and always points back to tainted stats and records instead of the great things that go on each day in baseball. a great game is being ruined by DUMB executives and commissioner. Bud get your shit together my man cause I can't take people abusing my sport.
I think Ortiz's name coming out as part of the 2003 sports illustrated survey shows us truly nothing. That study was conducted in 03 to see if there ought to be a drug testing policy and it showed that there should be because so many people who participated came up testing positive. It was taking in confidence that the names would not be released and therefore we cannot penalize anyone on that list. We can change our opinions of them as players knowing they used steroids, but we shouldn't know those names to begin with. Anyone with half a brain knew Ortiz and Manny used steroids. Everyone knows the obvious steroid users just from the sheer increase in head and arm size in a matter of years. We all know Ortiz went from never having hit 20 Hrs as a Twin and never having 400+ at bats to 40 and even 50 Hrs and 600+ abs as a Red Sox. It's something that tainted this era of baseball because this will be known as the steroid era. Anyone who is putting up Hall of Fame type numbers may not get in for being linked to steroids. This may be unfair to those who aren't steroid users but are legitimate home run guys. Ryan Howard for example has yet to be linked to steroids (it will come with time) and he is crushing 40 and 50 a year. He may get 500 or more on his career and it would be a shame if he were witheld from the Hall of Fame or even looked negatively upon just because of the time he played. I also guarantee there are many players who are steroid users and just have not been caught. I'm not mentioning any names, but I bet there is a long list of players who used steroids and never got caught. What about them? It's hard to look back at all these records and achievements and sift through to find the clean and the dirty ones. It's hard to differentiate the legitimate accomplishments and the not so legitimate ones.
The talk about steroids will never die and for that reason baseball is in trouble. Baseball wants to remove steroids from the conversation of baseball. If you are a baseball enthusiast you want the link between the two to be removed and not to return. You only want to hear about it when someone fails a test today and is suspended. You want baseball to be strict on its steroid policy to the point where any user is literally screwed. Make steroids a hanis offense and test for it arly and often. Remove it from people's minds immediately and make it something that will never again happen. A full season's suspension or expulsion from the game. NO NEED FOR SECOND CHANCES. Why give someone a second chance when this is the most blatant form of cheating and everyone playing the game knows how bad steroids are and knows the ridiculous crap baseball is going through about steroids. Any kid at 15 years old right now playing in high school thinking about being drafted and playing in 5 year should say, fuck steroids I can do this on my own. If you use steroids I don't want you in my game, I want you out of baseball, that's it. You cheated, they didn't (the rest of the league), so...get the fuck out. Makes perfect sense to me. Then you can show everyone in the world that you are taking this steroid stuff seriously and you can then start to look back if you would like and decide who makes it to the Hall of Fame and who's records will stand and such. For now it just seems like MLB is ok with steroid use because they understand how home runs draw fans and money and therefore any means to increase revenue is a good thing. Until this policy changes and until priority number 1 is to remove steroids from baseball, MLB will be looked on negatively and will always be tainted in some way.
The last point I want to make is in regards to the 104 players who participated in the anonymous SI survey in 03. That was confidential and those players should not be mentioned by name. A-rod, Manny and Ortiz have been mentioned but that doesn't mean that all the other names ought to be. I think those 3 being revealed is wrong because it makes them stand out when they were not the only ones. Not to remove them of blame but I'd say at least 50% of the legaue was using steroids at the time and to single these guys out when they were guaranteed security, is not fair. Now it seems like to make it fair everyone should be revealed, but that violates their security as well. Baseball made another mistake revealing only a few names. This drip drip drip way of revealing roiders just makes this whole controversy continue and always points back to tainted stats and records instead of the great things that go on each day in baseball. a great game is being ruined by DUMB executives and commissioner. Bud get your shit together my man cause I can't take people abusing my sport.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
