Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Enough Already!  How long does Pete Rose have to pay a debt to society?  He has already admitted guilt and said he was wrong for betting on baseball.  Yet the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame continues to snub debate on when the all-time hit leader will be inducted.  Is Bud Selig going to wait until he dies?  Everyone knows that Pete Rose belongs in Cooperstown to take his rightful place amongst the other legends of the game.  He made a mistake, he paid a price, he deserves to be rewarded for what he accomplished as a player. 

In my humble opinion, there are people who are members in the Hall of Fame who have probably done worse.  Constantly drinking (Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin) is not a good message to send to the kids.  Steroid abuse is the hot button right now, the abusers will probably never get in because they altered their bodies to enhance performance.  Pete Rose did not need substances to accomplish anything in baseball.

Granted, he is cocky and hardheaded.  Ray Fosse probably hates him to this day.  But when you are the central cog in something called a Big Red Machine, you deserve some praise when work ends.  Think about it.  He was simply the best hitter of our lives, maybe of all times.  How do you keep the blueprint out of the museum?  Especially for something that happened after he accomplished what he had to for acceptance into this elite fraternity. 

This argument has been hashed and rehashed over a twenty year span.  The common sense of the whole shouting match revolves around whether or not it is time – yet.  I hope baseball does not make the mistake of waiting for Pete to die before they put him in.  In closing, Pete Rose was not the third gunman in the grassy knoll, he didn’t receive sexual favors from interns, and he didn’t kill his wife.  Pete Rose belongs, and his nomination is sadly long overdue.

Bonus: Mark Shapiro will bring in someone for the playoff push. That someone is going to be Roy Halladay. Another long reach here, but the Blue Jays are going to be unloading salary when they are eliminated by the break this year. Cleveland will look to add one more big arm for the push!

It really has not happened yet. A team has yet to lose one of their best players to injury as a result of playing in The World Baseball Classic. It is going to happen one of these years and it will change the format of this international tournament.

The first place you are going to see a difference is in player contracts. When a free agent comes to a team, you are going to start noticing lingo stating that a said player must not play in these types of tournaments. I’m sure Donald Fehr and the gang will fight this, but simply put, if I am paying someone $10 million per year, I should be allowed to say whether or not that player can participate in such events. It is already in contracts that players can’t water ski, ride a motorcycle, chop wood, etc.

This tournament hurt almost every pitcher who participated in 2006. It will be interesting to see of this trend continues. In my opinion, it is important for a pitcher to go to spring training and slowly build stamina over 40 days to endure the rigors of an entire MLB season. Historically, pitchers who get hurt in the Spring, rarely have a complete and/or productive season. By pushing a pitcher like Roy Oswalt to throw an extra twenty pitches against Venezuela, you are not doing the Astros any favors.

I love watching these games. It is like a mini all-star game for most teams. Cuba and the Asians have their own talent pool. The Domenicans, Americans, Venezuelans, Canadians, and Puerto Ricans, are loaded with contracted major league talent. The players like to skip school to play in it, the fans love it, but somewhere mid to upper management cringes and loathes what this tournament can potentially ruin for a whole team with one injury. It hasn’t happened yet, but when it does, look for the new format called The World Amateur Baseball Challenge.

The Cleveland Indians just spent plenty to sign Mark DeRosa to be their new third baseman. DeRosa banged a two-out two-run triple in the fourth inning last night putting the USA back in the game. If DeRosa pulls his groin sliding and misses 3-6 weeks, how happy is GM Mark Shapiro with the tournament? Thank goodness that did not happen, but wait for it, it’s going to.

In breaking news last night, Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers closed in on a potential deal.  The contract looks like a two-year, $45 million that is almost finalized.  Manny’s agent, Scott Boras, is still downplaying the agreement.  Manny is supposed to fly to Los Angeles today to get his physical and meet with the brass of The Dodgers.  Look for a deal to be finished before the regular season.  Don’t get me wrong, the two-year $45 million is something that will stay in place.  Boston fans will tell you that Manny will do all he can to avoid Spring Training.  He wasn’t as bad as an Indian, then again, he wasn’t as “in demand”.  Manny Ramirez can’t stand practicing in March, plain and simple. 

Which Manny is going to show up in LA this season?  There could be the spaced-out version who forgets how to run the bases that we saw in Boston and Cleveland.  There could be the “I don’t have to push myself” version that we got a healthy dose of in Boston last season before the trade to LA.  Then there is the jump on my back while I carry us Manny, which only comes out in contract years.  I predict we will see a combination of hop on my back and spaced-out this season.  I will also predict a couple of trips to the DL.  If nothing else, baseball fans should know how lazy this talented player is.

Manny’s numbers for this upcoming season?  He will probably hit about 35 HR’s and have 100 RBI in 500 or so at-bats.  Look for his error total to be through the roof, I will guess double digits by August.  I’m not a hater of Manny Ramirez, but as someone who respects the game I can’t see giving a part-time mental case a full-time gift of $45 million in two years.

Hat tip goes to: The On Deck Circle
Extra Assist goes to: NESW Sports