The Holy Diamond

September 4th at the K

2009-09-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

My wife and I went to a Royals game this evening. It was my first visit to the K after the renovations. I tried to go a couple times in May, but they games were sold out. By September, that was no longer a problem. It was also dollar hot dog night with fireworks to follow the game.

The renovations are great. We checked out the KC baseball Hall of Fame. Not a lot there, but some decently cool stuff (including the World Series trophy). There's also a lot more to see and having the ability to walk all the way around the park makes it feel more like a modern stadium. They seem to have gone out of their way to include as many amenities for season ticket holders as possible. It's a good strategy, especially when season tickets account for like 80% of all tickets sold.

With the Royals it's often said that no one goes to the park for what's on the field. That's a bit of a harsh assessment, but it proved incredibly true this evening. We arrived in our "seats" just before the first pitch and we knew it would be a fun evening as a pair of teenagers were loud and engaged in the game sitting right in front of us. One was clearly a girl, the gender of the other was entirely clear to both Katelynn and myself, however we didn't agree on which gender that was exactly. Nonetheless, their crazy, lunatic rantings and adept feel for the game enhanced the experience.

The game itself was rather innocuous for the most part. Jared Weaver of the Angels allowed only one run over seven innings for the win, but ultimately was hit around pretty good throughout. The Royals' spot starter, Robinson Tejeda had a one hitter going through 5 1/3 and was relatively unhittable. However, he was removed in the 6th having thrown only 70 pitches - welcome to Royals baseball.

Things moved along smoothly, although both starters took their sweet time between pitches, which made for slow play. The hot dogs helped preoccupy the time. I had three before the game and two more by the sixth inning.

In the seventh, the Royals brought in their fourth (yes 4th) pitcher of the evening, a young Mr. John Bale. A promising talent, who has been on the DL for most of this season and only recently returned to action. After throwing one pitch, he crumpled to the ground in front of the mound and had to be carried off the field.

This led, almost immediately, to some sort of surreal post-apocalyptic reality. Dozens of concessionaires emerged from the concourses, making their way down the aisles with huge trays of dollar hot dogs handing them, free of charge, to any takers. Apparently, the Royals (currently 50-80) expected a larger crowd on a Friday in September, when it was 60 degrees and cloudy and had rained all day.

A number of little league teams in attendance managed to get their hands on whole trays of hot dogs. These foil wrapped beauties then began to rain all over the lower bowl. Thousands of hot dogs were flying through the air in all directions, then caught and tossed again. They were coming free of their wrappings in mid air and striking unsuspecting women on the side of the face.

Finally, one group of mostly drunk frat boys commandeered about a dozen tray of hot dogs and set up shop atop the visitors dugout and began chucking foil wrapped missiles at anyone who moved. This lasted until the police arrived and began to restore order. As I left to get a drink of water, people were still handing out piles of hot dogs (I got three more).

The game ended predictably. The Royals already had another guy warmed up in the pen when Bale went down (after one pitch); it's how we roll in KC. This guy (we found out later he was also the last uninjured pitcher on the roster, so another injury would have meant a few outs by the backup third baseman) walked the first two batters, allowed two runs and managed to escape with a 2-1 loss after the started dominated the first half of the game and the offense posted a lead. Typical Royals.

Almost everyone had left before the post-game fireworks bonanza, but things did not improve. The first volley of explosions was beautiful and impressive, but it was soon obvious that wind speed and direction placed the smoke from said fireworks squarely between the fireworks and the stadium. We spent the next fifteen minutes watching dark smoke with the occasional hint of red or green behind it.

Again, this is a professional sports franchise.

All in all, it was a fun evening and a good start to a busy holiday weekend. I saw a few innings of decent baseball, enjoyed a really great ballpark, ate nine hot dogs and am still alive.

Viva los Royals!

Rotten Roots

2008-04-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I know a double posting is against blog etiquette, but I thought this post from my personal blog belonged here as well. Enjoy.

The wife graciously gathered up some enthusiasm to attend a frigid baseball game with me last night, even blowing off a potential party with friends to freeze to death so I could enjoy $1 hot dog night. I'm not joking about the weather, after the sun went down in the third inning, it was about 34 degrees with 20mph winds. We had tickets to sit at the top of the upper deck, but settled about 40 rows back on the first level, under the roof in case of rain.

We were impressed by Kauffman Stadium's new addition, the largest HD screen in the world (at least until another park builds a bigger one). I was thoroughly excited to see a good young Royals squad take on a good young Twins squad, despite the rash of construction debris around the park. The atmosphere was great and even with the cold it felt like baseball season.

Now Kansas City has great fans and they're loyal, so this is not so much a knock on them as it is a knock on the state of fan-dom altogether these days. Bill Simmons noted last week that the incredibly knowledgeable, deft crowd at Golden State Warriors games has been so infiltrated by rich front-runners that they successfully executed the wave last week. FYI - the wave should be done only at pop concerts and political rally's; stay away from my sporting events!

So Gil Meche allowed five runs early in the game before settling down for a solid outing. In the fifth inning the Royals loaded the bases with only one out. Up to the plate comes Jose Guillen. Guillen was signed in the off-season for a KC-max deal of $55 million dollars. He was hired to hit Home Runs. Despite a .158 batting average early, there was a sense that this was the moment for which he was brought in.

As I prepared to stand and make some noise so as to cheer on our struggling newcomer, I looked around and no one seemed to care. An idiot could tell that Guillen needed some crowd love to overcome the cold and make something happen; even a base hit would be timely. The crowd remained indifferent and Guillen whiffed on an 0-2 curveball.* Two outs.

Next up, the wunderkind, 22-year old Billy Butler, the savior of the franchise and owner of a nine game hit streak (the Royals had only played nine games to this point). The guy came into the game batting .400 and he's built like Babe Ruth. If any situation could get the Royals faithful (and you have to be faithful to come out on a night like this) hopping, nothing would (we'll see the horrible truth of how wrong I was in a moment). Indeed, there were a few more cheers, but nothing noticeable, even as Billy refused to swing at a borderline pitch on a 2-2 count. Only after the outfield scoreboard said "noise" nine times did any sort of emotion come out. Still no one stood and Billy grounded out to the pitcher.

I was about to chalk this all up to the cold and the fact that people just don't know baseball like they used to, when a 90 foot HD Garth Brooks appeared on the outfield screen and invited us to "stand up and sing," which all 16,000 people around us proceeded to do, carrying on with the second verse of "I've Got Friends in Low Places" even after Garth left the screen, drowning out the announcer's call of the next inning.

I've never been in a situation like that before. I really thought my head would explode, not from anger, but from sheer surprise. I've had the luxury of seeing baseball games at a lot of places. Nothing will ever top the camaraderie of singing along with the crowd at Fenway Park (which needs no visual prompts, by the way) to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline in the late innings. However, that crowd also stands and cheers with ungodly volume when any Red Sox pitcher gets two strikes on a hitter.

There's a lot of reason why living in Kansas City has rubbed me the wrong way, but after that display, the next 14 months cannot come quickly enough.

For Shame!

*Guillen took two hard rips and fouled the first two pitches back to the media booth above home plate. He then proceeded to swing about fifteen seconds too early on the third pitch. I quite playing baseball in fifth grade due mostly to embarrassment, but even I know that if you're down 0-2 with the bases loaded, you better expect a breaking ball way off the plate. $55 million well spent, guys.

That's why it's the funny bone, not the common sense bone.

2008-03-06T20:41:00.000-08:00

Can anyone explain to me why on earth Albert Pujols is opting to wait on having the inevitable surgery on his injured elbow? He will need the surgery eventually, there is no way around that because there is a 'high grade tear' in the ligament. Yet instead of having it this year, thus getting started with the recovery process as soon as possible, he is postponing it, apparently until it is absolutely necessary.

So, this year, the Cards will have Pujols, and yet even if he is performing at 100% the team still has practically no chance of making serious noise in their division, much less the league at large. By doing things this way, Pujols is creating the possibility that if perhaps the Cards improve before next year, they may have to attempt to compete without their best player. It also becomes possible now that he will injure his elbow more seriously than it is already injured. Can anyone offer me reasons why it makes sense for Pujols to wait? Is it purely a delusion that the Cards can compete this year? Granted, their division may be the weakest in baseball, but it still isn't as weak as the Cards. And even if they somehow compete in their division they don't have a legitimate shot at success in October unless there are significant changes on the team before the trading deadline. I'm lost here.

Silence Becomes Us

2008-03-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Several days ago I read this article on ESPN.com by TJ Quinn. Basically Quinn calls out managers like Torre and LaRussa for going along with the 'Code of Silence' in baseball while not doing anything to stop the steroid issues from continuing to grow. He even declares with certainty that while loyalty played a serious part, it was winning that motivated these men to do what they did.

I'll never cease to be amazed by the human tendency to look for a scapegoat, all the while ignoring any responsibility we hold ourselves. We look for others we can blame and criticize, while never looking at what role we might have played, where we might be complicit. The silence of managers who certainly knew what was going on cannot be ignored, yet how can a member of the media call anyone out for silence regarding this issue? Are we really to believe that it was possible that there were those who thought in 1998 that Sosa and McGwire were are large as they were naturally? Yet where was the voice of sportswriters that year? Yet somehow Quinn and his peers are not responsible, they can simply sit back and snipe at all those involved in baseball who held their tongue during what will forever be known in sports as the 'Steriods Era.'

How can anyone say the managers are more responsible for keeping silent than anyone else? In reality, anyone who was even associated with baseball during that era holds some responsibility, including the masses of fans who bought tickets to watch giants like McGwire, and after that year Bonds, swing bats that looked like toothpicks in relation to their massive arms.

Yet, it is sexy to take shots at men who are respected, men like Torre and LaRussa. Thus, they are now the evil culprits who made the whole steroids era possible, certainly not the writers and reporters who covered the sport throughout this era, many who never typed a single word about the odd explosion in size of men during years that jumps like that simply don't happen naturally. Personally, I just have trouble finding additional fault in the managers for being loyal to men who they saw as friends and peers, and for being afraid of the resulting exile from Major League Baseball that would have taken place had they stabbed their players in the back by outing them in public.

Also, in the case of Torre, much has been made of the large number of players mentioned in the Mitchell Report who played for him at times (although as Quinn points out, many of these players did so for a very brief period of time). Let's not forget that Radomski and McNamee were in the Mets and Yankees clubhouses, thus leading to most of the players listed being former Yankees and Mets. If the men giving names had worked in the Cubs and White Sox clubhouses, the numbers would be equally skewed. And for LaRussa, there should be much more concern about the pattern of alcohol problems in the Cardinals clubhouse than about his silence (in which he was joined by every other manager and sports writer) regarding steroids.

Further, I'm also really sick of the attention being paid to the steroid issue in baseball as compared to the complete and utter absence of attention being paid to players in other sports. Wouldn't Quinn and other members of the media be to blame for this shaping of the story? Let's not pretend that when it comes down to it, it is the media that shapes the news. There isn't actually some qualitative difference between a football player using steroids and HGH and a baseball player who uses the same substances. But according to the media one would never know it. Bonds and Clemens use steroids and their reputations are irrevocably damaged. Shawn Merriman does the same thing and you'd never know it happened for all the attention it gets now. Where are the accusations against respected coaches in the NFL like Parcells and Dungy for their obvious silence in regards to what is obviously significant HGH and Steroid use in the NFL? Or is it not obvious? Perhaps football players were able to reach their massive sizes and recover from injuries quickly without any outside help and baseball players are just somehow lesser human beings as they fall prey to the desire to perform at a high level at any cost.

I personally don't feel there is any higher level of responsibility for coaches in any sport to break their silence and thus betray the players on their teams. Obviously Quinn differs in his view, and would rather men like LaRussa and Torre, and thus Parcells and Dungy, sell their friends down the river so they could feel self-righteous in their feeling of integrity.

This sentiment has been shared by many before, but it is time to move forward and try to figure out the way out of this mess. Continuing to look for those to blame is pointless. The use of steroids and HGH is so massive in scale the it is outright absurdity to expect to know the individuals to blame. It was obvious that players were using performance enhancing drugs, it was even more obvious to players, managers and writers who had significant access to clubhouses and training rooms. Those of us who are simply fans knew, and we know now that many of the athletes we still love and root for have used or are using. We're all to blame, and that truth gets us nowhere, it's simply time to decide where to move next. (As an aside, the decision of where to go next should be handled by the MLB and the fact that Congress would even consider ignoring much more serious problems to carry out trials and probes investigating cheating in a GAME is the height of insanity).

The use of performance enhancing drugs is widespread. It's naive to believe that any professional sport is immune, or that somehow our favorite team happens to be the only one where everyone is going out there and playing clean. Everyone knew for a long time before it became a big story, or in some sports, everyone knows and it hasn't yet become a big story. This is true, and the questions can no longer be "Who knew?", "When did they know?" and "Who is to blame?", the only remaining question simply has to be, "Where do we go from here?"

Maybe Next Year

2008-02-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to pick the Mariners to win the AL West. I live in Seattle now, the idea of heading downtown to the playoffs to watch Erik Bedard or King Felix face off with some AL foe in October baseball is an appetizing thought. Sadly, when presented with the facts I just couldn't make the jump.The M's played above their heads throughout last year, probably outperforming even how they would have projected the season themselves. Yet, 88 wins is nothing to sneeze at and after that they added one of the American League's best pitchers in Bedard. The 1, 2 punch of Bedard and Hernandez, with elite closer J.J. Putz at the back of the bullpen, had me dreaming of the possibility that the M's might take down the Angels to win the crown in the West. This dream will certainly continue throughout the season, but for the purpose of this post I just can't predict it. After the three players listed above, and the perennially amazing Ichiro, the team is simply full of holes. There are plenty of players who might play well this year, but few that can be counted on to perform at a high level.

The Angels on the other hand, while you might not consider any part of their team the best in the League, bring together a strong rotation, bullpen and lineup to create a balanced attack that will probably net them another trip to the playoffs.

Perhaps this offseason, combined with last, will hurt the team in years to come, as the unwise deals with aging OF coming off career years comes back to bite them, but this year that shouldn't factor in, and they'll probably even get some bang out of their buck for a bit.

So, this year I regret to say that my prediction for the AL West Division Champs is not my hometown M's, but instead the geographically confused Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians
West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Pick(s)

2008-02-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Scott has challenged me to make a public declaration of picks so we can laugh at each other's futility as the baseball season unfolds. I'm more than happy to accommodate. I am also in the beautiful position of going second and responding to his picks. This will allow me to make some risky choices and still feel good about them because I have the excuse of "we can't make every pick the same."

I am going to make picks by league and avoid the wildcard predictions (Scott got that move very right). I'm also going to throw in a couple of sleeper picks, not necessarily teams that might challenge for playoff spots, but teams that will outperform expectations. Without further ado:
American League

Boston Red Sox - I know Scott went with this one too, but for me it came down to bullpens. I think the Yankees have the better line-up (especially with Matsui at DH full time and Cabrera playing everyday), and the starting pitching is relatively even (I have more faith in Hughes and Kennedy). So it comes down to bullpen and the Yankees didn't do enough to improve their lot.

Detroit Tigers - This is one that I'm a little worried about. I have a lot of faith in Jim Leyland to keep the ship running smoothly no matter the personnel, but I also recognize that Dontrelle Willis is going to be a huge bust in the AL. That being said, I like their rotation a lot (Cleveland's peaked, as a whole, last year) and the bullpen upgrades are just what the doctor ordered.

Anaheim Angels - I love the manager and the owner and the vibe this team has created in Anaheim. They have talent and focus, but they don't get too worked up about it. The pitching will only improve over last season and they've added a few much needed bats to the line-up. That being said, this team also has the biggest chance of imploding, not because of a lack of talent, but just because sometimes things don't work out in baseball. The Angles give off that vibe for me.

AL Sleepers - The Oakland Athletics have a stealthly good team this year. Billy Beane will tell you that the Haren trade was an attempt to reload for 2009, but this team could put things together and if the Angels slip, don't be surprised if this squad is in the hunt. I also think the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will surprise some people. They won't be in the hunt for the playoffs, but they may just steal third place in the AL East. The rotation is legit, if young, and we saw last year than the line-up has fire power.

National League

Philadelphia Phillies - The Mets are the sexy (and probably smart) pick. They have Santana now, who will no doubt break all sorts of records this year. The rest of the starters are all a little suspect to me. They all have the chance to be very, very good, but they also have the chance to stink. The Phillies have some young guns ready to prove themselves and a line-up that thrives on coming from behind. They're just built to repeat the September soul-crushing they laid on the Mets last season.

Chicago Cubs - I really wanted to pick another team in this division to win, but the rest of the squads are just sad. The Cubs proved last year that they could win the division even when they played poorly and their competition has gotten worse. I doubt they'll make many waves in the playoffs, but they should be there without much trouble. They may even be fun to watch for a change.

San Diego Padres - I feel a bit like a cheater here. Scott asked me a week or so ago who he should pick in the NL West and I said, "Arizona, hands down." They acquired Dan Haren to give them among the strongest pitching staffs in baseball and they were coming off a division win and a tough race to boot. However, the line-up has always been a bit suspect. Could they get lucky and win the division while being outscored two years in a row? The Padres have an almost equally good rotation and a much better line-up. My only complaint will be that now Peavy and Haren will face off a gazillion times a year and I have both on my fantasy team.

NL Sleepers - I only have one pick here. I expect most every team in NL will do about what everyone expects them to do, with one exception: the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know, I know, this team has been the bottom of the barrel for a while now, but check out the roster. They have talented pitchers and solid (although mediocre) hitters; they play in the most god-awful division in baseball and have nothing to lose. I don't think they'll challenge for the playoffs, but don't be surprised when they finish ahead of a couple teams.

Back to the Future

2008-02-19T18:40:00.001-08:00

Well, as you'll have noticed from the last post, there's a new contributor in town. I'm glad to have Ryan's thoughts included here. I am sure there will be plenty of situations where we wholeheartedly agree, such is the case with his first post on Pettitte. I also look forward to the instances where we disagree and can counter one another's posts with a post of our own.

As I continue to make my predictions for the upcoming season it is probably important now that Ryan is present to point out that these are opinions are entirely my own, that way if they turn out to be a disaster there is no egg on Ryan's face. Although if he's in the business of humiliation perhaps he'll make some picks of his own as well.

I've had a dilemma as I've pondered who I would pick to win the American League Central Division. I know the Tigers are the sexy pick right now, but I'm not sure I buy into it yet. The Cabrera trade was a big one, no doubt about that. He'll provide a remarkable amount of offense next year. The Renteria deal is a big one as well. I still just don't know if they'll score thousands of runs the way some analysts seem to be imagining. Perhaps they're as good, but are they really better than the recent Yankees lineups? Are they really as scary as the 2004 Sox lineup?

Cabrera is a sure bet barring injury. Renteria will offer solid production as long as he doesn't revert to Fenway form (although as he comes back to the American League are we sure that won't happen?). Mags will be solid, but will he really duplicate last years numbers? Let's say all three of those players play up to potential. After those three we have to expect Sheffield to stay healthy all year for the first time in what seems like a decade, we need Pudge to keep from aging for yet another year at the game's most demanding position... this lineup does have a lot of depth, but it has more question marks than people are letting on.

There is also the question of pitching. Once you get past Verlander there are question marks there too. Bonderman and Robertson still need to prove themselves to be consistent from year to year. And don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see Dontrelle get it back together, he is easily one of the most likable personalities in sports, but you can't bet on a guy who has struggled of late to get it in gear by making the dreaded NL to AL switch.

Normally I would point out the wisdom in picking a team with a possible powerhouse for an offense and a fairly suspect rotation to win the division because history shows us that more often than not offense wins divisions, pitching wins championships; why do you think the Yankees can dominate a division only to lose in the first round of the playoffs (this is also why they charged back last year and almost won a division after spending two months early in the season throwing High A and Double A pitching against the likes of the American League East). However, that rule only works when your offense has significant strengths that the divisions other contenders don't have. Last time I checked the Indians still feature a lineup that includes Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, and Travis Hafner. Sizemore is great as it is, and at any moment he could break out and cash in on all that potential, becoming a perennial MVP candidate (if you don't believe me, just ask Peter Gammons).

Then, while Cleveland can at least compete with Detroit's offense, I'd give them the advantage in pitching. It's tough to write off a 1,2 punch like Sabathia and Carmona next year.

Anyway, all that to say that, while this is certainly the pick thus far most likely to come around and bite me in the ass, I'm picking the Indians to win the division again. Call me crazy, or wait in the weeds to mock me when the Tigers run away with it all, but this is my pick.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Cleveland Indians

The Fine Line of HGH

2008-02-19T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I am a new contributor to The Holy Diamond. I have to give Scott a measure of thanks for allowing me to express my baseball related thoughts here, in the most appropriate of venues.

I've spent some time listening to the press conference held by Andy Pettitte at Yankees' Spring Training yesterday regarding his past use of HGH and his Congressional testimony. For those who aren't hip to the news, Pettitte is a pitcher who has been mentored by one of the all-time greats, Roger Clemens. Clemens has come under so intense scrutiny recently over alleged use of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and steroids to prolong his floundering career in the late 90's and early 00's.

Clemens has adamantly denied the allegations, but he, along with Pettitte and some others were called before Congress to testify under oath. During his interview, Pettitte admitted to a limited HGH use in an attempt to recover from an injury. Pettitte had been told by Clemens that he also used HGH. Years later, when steroids became a big issue, Pettitte asked Clemens what he would say if anyone asked about steroids. According to Pettitte, Clemens denied ever having told Pettitte that he used banned substances.

Essentially, Pettitte made a sworn statement that, while not implicating Clemens, doesn't make him look so good. Now there is this "debate" about whether Pettitte should have spoken out. Apparently baseball's unwritten players "code" precludes speaking about the indiscretions of other players. Pettitte has defended himself by saying that he would not lie under oath.

Andy Pettitte has long been my favorite living player. He's been a bastion of morality and an outstanding individual throughout his career. For this reason I was upset to hear that he stooped to this level, even if it was a one time mistake. There is really no excuse for succumbing to this kind of pressure other than the age old defense of human nature.

Pettitte has chosen not to take the easy way out. He has not hid behind lies and excuses in an attempt to shade his guilt. I greatly respect his choice to speak the truth, one that could not have been easy and may come at a great price. He, among so few, has stood up for integrity when society decries the virtues of its heroes.

There is no way to know exactly how Clemens will respond. Pettitte stated his wish that the friendship would continue, but past action leads me to believe Clemens won't respond in kind. It's a tragic scenario when one must choose between integrity and friendship. I am only consoled by the notion that a true friend would understand the tension inherent in the decision and be strong enough to walk through it together.

This is a difficult issue to consider. On the one hand, I would rather celebrate all those professional athletes who have had the integrity to avoid banned substances entirely. On the other, I want to honor one flawed man who has had the courage to stand up for what's right, even if he failed the same test once before. Which is the more difficult challenge? I pray I will never know, but also for the strength to do as Andy Pettitte has done when I inevitably find out.

A New Empire?

2008-02-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

If anyone is actually paying attention they may wonder why I am making the jump from the NL to the AL without making a pick for the Wild Card. The reason for this is mostly that as futile as it is to make picks in general, Wild Card picks are a completely different level of futility... at least in the NL (the AL has traditionally made it easier because most just pick whoever they didn't pick to win the AL East, but that won't necessarily work this year). So, I am putting off the Wild Card picks until last, perhaps I'll just give a rundown of the major contenders for the race instead, we'll see.

So, while I put off the hardest picks I will instead make what is the easiest pick in my opinion: The American League East. This is both the division I've given the least thought, as well as the one I most hope to be wrong about as I pick the Boston Red Sox to start a streak of their own a year after ending the Yankees consecutive division title streak.

A team deserves respect after winning the World Series. The Red Sox are the Champs until someone can knock them off, and with a pool of young players among their core who might just play at a higher level this year than they did last year there's no reason to pick against the boys from Fenway.

Granted, they only won the division by 2 games last year, which wouldn't have been enough if it weren't for the Yankees struggles to find a pitcher with an unprecedented rash of injuries early on. But the bottom line is that the Sox did what they needed to do to win, and the Red Sox have made a habit of doing that while winning two World Series Championships in four years.

There are certainly some question marks with youth at key positions in the rotation as well as the reality that Josh Beckett has to defy odds to put up another season as statistically impressive as last year. I didn't list Schilling's injury as a factor because I don't think it will weigh too heavily when all is said and done. Yet, while these questions are legitimate the Yankees and Blue Jays have even more question marks; with the Yankees relying entirely on mostly untested youth in their rotation and the Jays needing to prove themselves as a serious threat before they can be seen as such.

So, while I hope to be wrong, I pick the Sox to win the AL East.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks

AMERICAN LEAGUE
East: Boston Red Sox

Snake Bitten

2008-02-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

As this series of prediction posts continues the next division on tap is the National League West. This is a pretty remarkable division in that it wasn't long ago that this division was the joke of the Majors, the National League Worst. Yet the teams of the West have been developing talent, making sound baseball decisions, and within the next few years could become a standard setting division in baseball. With the powerhouse rotations in Arizona and San Diego, the remarkable line-up in Colorado, and the potential for growth for the Dodgers under Joe Torre things are looking up for the boys out West. I don't mention the Giants in that conversation because in spite of some promising young pitching they'll be in a rebuilding phase for a bit.

All the information listed above leads to some trouble on my part deciding who my pick is to win the division. There are plenty of variables involved, like the health of Mark Prior, the potential for the D-Backs to struggle offensively again this year, or the strange magic out in Denver last year. Yet when I look at the division it seems the Diamondbacks make the most sense. They won the division last year by the thinnest of margins, .5 game ahead of the Rockies and 1.5 games ahead of the Padres, and this year they'll be adding Dan Haren to their rotation to work with Brandon Webb. The potential for Haren this year is remarkable considering his brilliance in the AL and the normal bump in production for pitchers when they switch to the senior circuit. That, coupled with the expected progression of the youthful bats in the lineup such as OF Chris Young, point to a strong chance the Diamondbacks can build on their surprising division win last year.

Now, I certainly don't make that pick with a ton of confidence. I don't expect the Diamondbacks to run away with the division as my friend Ryan does. While the Diamondbacks have brilliant pitching lets not forget the Jake Peavy/Chris Young (no relation) combo pitching over at Petco. And if Chris Prior can defy the odds and stay healthy it could be the Padres running away with the division as Adrian Gonzalez provides more than enough offense to win with that 1,2,3 punch. Yet I'm not about to make my pick relying on the health of Mark Prior, although it could happen, stranger things certainly have.

So, the picks thus far are:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs
West: Arizona Diamondbacks

Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

2008-02-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

There isn't much distance between the Cubs and the Brewers in terms of geographic location, they are separated by a mere 90 mile drive along I-94. Come October, the same could be the case when you take a look at each team's regular season performance.

Last year I predicted the Cubs to win the division, and they did so, but not before making it seem virtually impossible by under-performing offensively for much of the season, as well as taking quite a while to discover themselves as a team. The Brewers are an exciting young team that impressed last year and could only get better, having given the Cubs more than a run for their money by leading the division for much of the year before fading late.

Both teams look poised to return in 2008 with another strong season, and if Homer Bailey progresses the way he might the Reds could be players in the picture as well. And I suppose Tejada could make a difference on the Astros, but I wouldn't say its likely.

All this points to what could be another exciting year in an up and coming division. About all we know for sure is that the Pirates will almost definitely finish in last place barring mass injury or death striking another team in the division.

My pick is going to be a repeat from last year, as I'm going with the Chicago Cubs. It wasn't an easy decision for me, but I think Zambrano will show improvement over last year and the offense will perform more like I expected it to throughout last season. It just seems to me that there are too many big bats in that lineup, in the friendly confines of Wrigley, to not rebound from their lackluster performance last season. And as much as I love Prince Fielder, I'll need to see more consistency from Rickie Weeks before I feel that lineup can challenge the likes of Soriano, Ramirez, and Lee down the interstate. Not to mention the huge injury risk the Brewers need to deal with in the form of Ben Sheets, as well as the question as to whether Eric Gagne can find healing for his shattered psyche after doing everything within his power to keep the Red Sox from winning the World Series last season.

So, my pick is for the Cubs to raise another division flag, giving themselves yet another chance to sink or swim in the playoffs.

So, for those keeping track at home, my picks thus far are:
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East: New York Mets
Central: Chicago Cubs

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

2008-02-12T23:41:00.001-08:00

Here it comes folks. Spring Training is almost here, and right behind it the regular season in all its glory. It's time for another season of the surprising, such as the Rockies remarkable surge and the Mets epic collapse, and the not so surprising such as strong seasons by the Red Sox and Angels.

Basically, attempting to predict what will happen throughout a baseball season is futile, pointless, impossible, and practically guarantees humiliation for anyone who tries. With that in mind, I'm going to use the next few posts to make my predictions division by division, and then anyone who reads this blog can rub it in my face if I pick against your team and I turn out to be woefully wrong.

To start off I'll begin with the National League East.

After the Santana trade, which was a remarkable coup for the Mets when they were able to cash in on the way the Twins woefully overplayed their hand in negotiations with the Yankees and Red Sox, I'm going to have to go with the Mets to win the division. No surprise here, I suppose the vast majority of analysts will pick the Mets, but the outcome is far from a foregone conclusion.

While one would be crazy to look at the prospect of Santana in the National League as good news for anyone but the Mets, there are plenty of concerns for Mets fans who have to be feeling some paranoia after last year. For example, there is the reality that the Mets' scary lineup has several key pieces who are only getting older (Delgado, Alou, Castillo), and the Phillies have a young lineup that's only getting better. However, when it comes down to it, guys like Reyes, Wright and Beltran will be able to provide enough offense to win in the NL with a rotation that has Santana and Pedro (who can still win in the National League when healthy) at the top.
They were almost able to do it last year and that was before replacing a quickly deteriorating Tom Glavine with the best pitcher in baseball, period.

So, while the Phillies should have a say in how things go down, my first pick of the 2008 Season is for the New York Mets to bring some healing to Queens after last season 's debacle and head to the playoffs as Division Champs.

Witch Hunts and Double Standards

2008-01-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a looooooong hiatus. It was unavoidable, but I suppose it is just as well because the current offseason has been a depressing one. The talk has been of steroid use and HGH and tarnished legacies as baseball continues to get the short end of a double standard in sports. Shawn Merriman uses performance enhancing drugs and it is barely news for a week, a baseball player uses and his world comes tumbling down around him. With Clemens now accused it becomes likely that the best hitter and pitcher of my lifetime thus far seem to have been using, if the allegations are in fact true. I am no fan of the personalities of Clemens or Bonds, but it is still frustrating as a baseball fan to see it all come to this.

In large part the way that Selig and the rest of baseball are trying to get clean is unfair. Every honest report indicates that the owners, Selig included, knew what was happening all those years, and now that they are losing face they are conducting witch hunts to try to clean up their legacy. It isn't that I think those who cheated don't deserve to have history remember that, it's just that reports such as the Mitchell report seem biased in that they only implicate players close to one or two men. So, since the two men who provided the bulk of the testimony for the Mitchell report happened to work for the Yankees and Mets, most of the players whose names came up played for the Yankees and Mets. If the two men had worked for the White Sox and Cubs the same would be true for those two teams. Sadly, what is clear now is that the use of performance enhancing drugs has been widespread and rampant for some time... then again I suppose that has been clear for a while now.

If it weren't for all the steroid/HGH news that has dominated the baseball scene this would have been a pretty fun offseason thus far. While, even as a Yankee fan, I am getting sick of hearing about where Johan Santana may or may not land (as a baseball fan I think it is probably best if he doesn't end up on either team, but that is best saved for another blog in the event it actually happens), there has still been a return in baseball of the old fashioned trade, we've seen a lot of players change uniforms thus changing the landscape of the game and most importantly we've seen an important player like Jake Peavy actually looking to stay with his small market team, indicating that at least a few teams are running an honest business rather than pocketing huge amounts of stadium revenue and revenue sharing.

Unfortunately, the shadow of performance enhancing drugs will hover over the game for a long time to come, which for people like me is frustrating indeed.

Home Run King* Indicted

2007-11-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

I don't really have time to make another post, but there is just too much going on to avoid it.

First off is the reality that Barry Bonds seems destined to continually reclaim his throne as most hated player in sports. Just after it seemed Arod might be poised to take the throne amongst baseball players, Barry gets indicted. Surely it can't come as any surprise to anyone, aside from only the most delusional citizens of San Francisco. The man obviously used steroids and just about anything else he could find that might be injected, ingested, or rubbed on his body in the hopes of stealing the spotlight back to himself. For those who don't know, the story seems to be that in 1998 as the Big Mac/Sosa battle was going on, Barry started pouting that they were getting all the attention while he was winning all the MVP awards. So, as the story seems to go, Bonds confided in friend Ken Griffey Jr. that he was going to start cheating right along with Mark and Sammy. The story is a hard one not to believe. Here is some evidence:

Young Barry Bonds - '98 Bonds - '04

Go ahead and ask any doctor you'd like how common it is for a man to put on that sort of muscle in his late 30's, it just doesn't happen. If Barry had simply taken the Giambi route and fessed up we might have been able to forgive him, at least a little. Instead he lied in court, he lied to the press, and he continues to act like the world owes him something for being Barry Bonds. He will continue to play the 'scapegoat' card, implying that the reason everyone hates him is because he's black. Now I would certainly never imply that there isn't a race issue in this country, there is a huge amount of racism that still exists in America, including in sports (I'll blog on that sometime soon). Yet it just isn't the case when it comes to the fans hating Barry Bonds. If Ken Griffey Jr. were the one who just broke the record the sports world would still be celebrating in jubilee, support can be seen in an article my friend Ryan wrote for the Burnside Writer's Collective. If only it could have been Griffey, if only he'd had the career we all dreamed he would have when he was just a kid with a million dollar smile and the most beautiful swing in baseball. But alas, it wasn't Griffey, until Arod breaks it Bonds will hold what used to be the most cherished record in baseball. A record that is now more like the ugly scar that points to past betrayal.

The sad thing about the whole indictment itself is that as a baseball fan a big part of me just wants the Barry Bonds saga to be over, but instead this is going to make sure that Barry is on Sports Center every night. I on the other hand don't want to be a part in continuing to give this story legs, even amongst the small number of people who read this blog, so consider this sentence the last you'll read from me directly on the subject of Barry Bonds.

Human After All

2007-11-15T21:24:00.001-08:00

For all my problems with him, I can't say I'm disappointed to have Arod back in pinstripes. While he has yet to prove himself in the playoffs, and perhaps never will, at least he'll provide the offensive production needed to get to the playoffs consistently. It's pitching that wins once you are there anyway. As has been well documented throughout the baseball world, Scott Boras (Arod's agent) misread the market in a profound way, but it goes much deeper than that. Scott Boras the 'super-agent' with the super-ego has been dealt the first major blow of his career. I won't go into great detail because you can read about this reality in any number of places, but it brings a certain amount of joy to my heart that Dr. Evil has finally been served a fair serving of humble pie. As I already mentioned, he misread the market, he humiliated his star client, and in the end lost money for Arod (and himself). Since the Yankees lost the help they previously had from the Texas Rangers in paying Arod's contract they refused to go as high as they were offering Arod before he opted out. So in addition to the fact that it solidified him even further as one of the most hated players in all of sports, it also cost him millions of dollars when all is said and done. Fortunately for Arod, his image will be helped by the reality that he bypassed Boras to get word to the Yankees that he wanted to stay in the Bronx and never flinched at the idea of taking less money than was originally offered. I don't envy Arod should he slump at any point early in the year, this certainly didn't help a player whose relationship, whether it is fair or not, has never been particularly solid with his hometown fans. Hopefully, for the Yankees sake, Girardi can be as effective as Torre was in minimizing the negative effect Arod might continue to have on the clubhouse.

It makes sense for Arod to come back. I was pretty surprised to begin with when Arod opted out without even negotiating with the Yankees. For a man who has a tremendous amount of ego and understands his place in history as a ballplayer he must have some idea of the legacy he would leave as a player without any true team. To retire as a member of the Angels, having played on 3 other major league clubs, as he enters the Hall of Fame with an A on his cap is certainly impressive, but not as impressive as staying with the Yankees. Now he will be the best player on the team as the Yankees open their new stadium, he will break every record imaginable in pinstripes, and whether the fans warm to him or not, will be remembered along with the plethora of other players who played for the Yankees and must be mentioned in the conversation of 'The Best Ever'. The fans have been fickle regarding Arod thus far, but what it really comes down to is the post-season. If Arod can start playing well in October all will be forgiven and Arod will be a hero. Yet, if he continues to leave runners on base, strike out like it's his job, and turn from a regular season offensive powerhouse into a gaping hole in the lineup once the leaves turn he will continue to suffer the tension of restless fans. Either way, he'll be getting paid well for his effort, if not quite as well as he might have.

the argument against cabrera.

2007-11-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

With Arod likely out of the picture the New York Yankees have a much talked about hole to fill at third. Obviously no one will match the regular season productivity Arod offered, but it won't be tough to top Arod's post-season production should the Yankees make it, so at least there's that. The many names to be in the Yankee rumor-mill of late include Joe Crede, Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltre, and Scott Rolen. However one of the sexiest names on the list is Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would add power and run production to the Yankees line-up in the post-Arod era and the Yankees should avoid going after him unless the price is remarkably cheap. Perhaps that last sentence seems a bit counterintuitive, but I stand by it... for now.

I write about my reluctance to see Cabrera in pinstripes knowing I may full well come to someday eat my words. The talent that can be seen every time Cabrera steps up to the plate is undeniable and he would only get more dangerous with the protection the Yankees lineup would offer. Yet for all his talent Cabrera comes with an awful lot of baggage. He has continued issues with his attitude and even more importantly with his weight and that should raise red flags for any team considering to pay for his services with top-flight prospects that just may flourish while Cabrera moves closer and closer to the 300 lb. club.

If the Yankees are only looking for a temporary replacement at third with Cabrera, and pay accordingly, then this could be a good deal to make. Cabrera can at times make the brilliant play at third, scattered in with the boneheaded gaff from time to time as well. However his weight issues tend to point toward the reality that Cabrera has little future at the hot corner and will need to shift to first, or perhaps even to DH, within the next few seasons. The ratio of brilliant to boneheaded plays will continue to move in an ugly direction if a team stubbornly keeps Cabrera at third, so if the Yankees look at Cabrera's age and expect to be trading for their third-baseman of the future they would wind up overpaying and Cashman will be forced to admit, in the immortal words of George Oscar Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake."

However, if the Yankees can pay the right price for Cabrera, understanding that he would be the team's DH some time inside the next two seasons then perhaps he's worth the gamble. It's always possible he will continue to produce at a high level in spite of his weight and that Girardi will be able to keep Cabrera from disturbing the atmosphere of the clubhouse too severely turning Cabrera into the Yankees' version of Manny Ramirez, yet that is a huge 'if'. The reality is that Florida will likely expect quite a lot in return for a player widely known to be one of their remarkably talented young players, and while the price may turn out to be justified, I don't think the Yankees should take that chance.

In the end the likelihood of Cabrera coming to the Bronx will probably be forestalled by the insistence most teams seem to have that the Yankees include Hughes in any big deals, something the Yankees have proven unwilling (and wisely so) to do. Thus, it is possible this post is moot from the very beginning. Either way, the offseason is underway which is always one of my favorite parts of following baseball, kind of like watching the trailers when you go to the movies. So, let the rumors, trades, signings, and second-guessing begin!

No I in Arod... but there should be.

2007-10-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

There isn't much I could say about Arod and Boras choosing Game 4 of the World Series as the day to declare that Arod was opting out of his record setting contract to pursue free-agency that Peter Gammons and Buster Olney haven't already said, so here is a link to Buster's story.

You can't blame Arod for leaving, it seemed he was never going to truly win over Yankees fans because it appeared he was never going to perform well in October, at least not while wearing pinstripes. What you can blame Arod for is the way he opted out. For a player who has been downright awful in post-season play he certainly has a high estimation of his own worth. Apparently Boras sees there must be some team out there who feels Arod is worth $30 million a year. I can't say I agree.

Managerial Musical Chairs

2007-10-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Goodness gracious. With all that's going on around the world of baseball these days it's difficult to decide what to write about as my first ever Holy Diamond post. I suppose it makes sense to just go with the topic at the forefront of my mind, in this case that happens to be all this manager hullabaloo.

It appears likely that Grady Little will be fired as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers to be replaced by recently unemployed Joe Torre. As a Yankee fan, the idea of Joe Torre in another uniform again is a sad thought to be sure. However, for some reason, perhaps my own fondness for the Dodgers, I'm glad for this tremendous opportunity for Torre. Joe deserves to be a part of the game until he decides it's time to hang it up and suiting up in Dodger blue is far from a consolation prize. If this is true it could be very good news for Dodgers fans. Say what you will about Joe Torre's ability to manage a bullpen, but he brought a level of class back to a Yankee team that had lost the mystique of what it meant to put on pinstripes. Joe Torre is more than a great manager, by all accounts of any who know him (Gary Sheffield excluded by cause of insanity) he is also a wonderful human being. I'm happy that Joe Torre, a kid who grew up in Brooklyn, just might be able to land another of the premier jobs in the game. In related news it appears likely according to Buster Olney (who is frequently right about these things) that Don Mattingly will follow Torre to LA should he be officially hired by the Dodgers. I suppose it is easy to understand why Mattingly is leaving the Yankees, being that he was passed over for a position he desired from the moment he signed up to be Hitting Coach. Yet as understandable as it may be it certainly doesn't make it any easier to take. It's a sad reality that Mattingly should wear anything but pinstripes.

Yet, as sad as Mattingly in another uniform may be, I think the Yankees made the right choice in selecting Joe Girardi as their new manager. He knows the game, he's a brilliant man, and even back in his days as a member of the team during the dynasty he was frequently the one calling team meetings and standing up when something needed to be said. Although for his many differences from Torre a lack of class can't be listed as one of them. While various front office execs from the Marlins organization took anonymous pot shots at Girardi after they fired him for having the nerve to win National League Manager of the Year in his first season, he remained silent and refused to fire back. As a former catcher Girardi has experience working with pitchers in a myriad of situations, which as ESPN reported went a long way in the interview process to make Joe the frontrunner. By all accounts Girardi was the candidate that Yankee GM Brian Cashman gave his seal of approval, and I trust Cashman. Even his mistakes are rooted in logic and can be understood. Also, lets not forget to ponder how different the Yankees might be if Cashman hadn't been thwarted in his attempts to sign Vlad Guerrero when The Boss swooped in and signed Sheffield on his own, that just being a microcosm of how things used to work in Yankeeland. Now Cashman seems to have much more say in what happens, which is what gives the Yankees a large stable of young talent, especially young arms, and in Florida Joe Girardi proved that he can be trusted to get the most out of future superstars.
As a side note, or perhaps as the dream of a poorly recovering greedy Yankee fan, shortstop Hanley Ramirez has a wonderful relationship with Girardi and tearfully thanked him after winning National League Rookie of the Year. I certainly wouldn't complain about the prospect of a remarkably talented star on the rise who happens to have a friend in the Yankee clubhouse. C'mon... a guy can dream.