The ballots are in and the coaches have made their decisions. The Major League Baseball all-star game roster (AL NL) is now official. Officially bias.
We should just call it the "all-favorites" game or the "all-I-might-want-to-trade-for-this-player-so-I'll-pick-him-for-my-team" game because there are plenty of players this season, like every season, that are getting disrespected by the product of a bad system and old-timers. Or, just hold it at the end of the season like football, which is how all all-star games should be. Frankly, the all-star game is getting more-and-more meaningless as the years progress. Some of the responsibility needs to be taken away from the coaches and into the hands of...well, statistics.
"But Dan, the all-star game isn't meaningless. It decides who has home field advantage for the world series!"
Correct! That is also unnecessary, but I can save that for another post.
Beef No. 1 - Derek Jeter playing...again. First of all, Asdrubal Cabrera is getting snubbed while still being on the team. Derek Jeter should be a reserve and not a starter. But if we're talking about snubs, what's wrong with Jhonny Peralta? Let's stack up the three shortstops side-by-side:
Derek Jeter - Batting Average - .260 / Home Runs - 2 / Runs Batted In - 20 / On Base Percentage - .324 / Slugging Percentage - .324
Asdrubal Cabrera - Batting Average - .291 / Home Runs - 14 / Runs Batted In - 49 / On Base Percentage - .341 / Slugging Percentage .496
Jhonny Peralta - Batting Average - .311 / Home Runs - 14 / Runs Batted In - 48 / On Base Percentage - .363 / Slugging Percentage - .538
I don't have some person vendetta against Derek Jeter. I think he's hilarious in those Gillette commercials. I just don't think he's deserves to play just because of his track record. The all-star game is supposed to be for the best players up until that point. Period.
Beef No. 2 - Tim Lincecum? Naturally. Matt Cain? Can't argue with that. Ryan Vogelsong? Can we get someone else's thoughts besides Bruce Bochy? The man must have slipped himself an Ambien and stayed up late with the National League bullpen selections because, to me, they don't make much sense.
Jonny Venters? How about Craig Kimbrel?
Tyler Clippard? Yeah, I know. The Washinton Nationals have to have a pick. But it would make more sense to get rid of Gaby Sanchez and give the Florida Marlins spot to Leo Nunez or Anibal Sanchez. Then make way for Michael Morse or Danny Espinosa who are both having breakout seasons.
And there are just so many better, more deserving things you could do with the Ryan Vogelsong's spot. Don't get me wrong. Ryan Vogelsong is having a great year with an even better story behind him. His spot would just be better served with arms like Tommy Hanson who has nine wins and a microscopic WHIP of 1.06 or Jhoulys Chacin whose managed to tally 92 strikeouts and post an 8-5 record. Impressive considering more than half of those wins have come in the thin air of Coors Field. Even Kevin Correia has unexpectedly pitched well. The Pittsburgh Pirates ace already has 11 wins before the all-star break.
Beef No. 3 - Carlos Beltran AND Jay Bruce making the team before Andrew McCutchen. This is what I mean when I say that the bias of coaches needs to be eliminated. The only reason I think Beltran made it over McCutchen is because Bruce Bochy has a shot at bringing the not-so-relevant New York Mets outfielder's bat to The Bay. Here are the numbers:
Carlos Beltran - Batting Average - .280 / Home Runs - 12 / Runs Scored - 44 / Runs Batted In - 54 / On Base Percentage - .370 / Slugging Percentage - .490
Andrew McCutchen - Batting Average - .291 / Home Runs - 12 / Runs Scored - 51 / Runs Batted In - 45 / On Base Percentage - .393 / Slugging Percentage - .491
Not to mention McCutchen's 15 stolen bases to Beltran's three. And Bruce? Well, he hits less often by about 20 points from each player. He has 18 home runs. All he does is hit the ball really hard and there's and event specially made for players like that. If you want him there then have Prince Fielder or David Ortiz draft him to one of their home run derby teams.
Beef No. 4 - What ESPN "experts" think about the picks. David Schoenfield writes "P.S.: Can we get rid of the rule that says the players have to vote in three relievers...Brandon League? Ugh." I'll give you a hint why he's in the all-star game. Because he leads the American League in the one category that relief pitchers want to lead. Still thinking? Okay, it's saves. Do we really hold the all-star game for the sake of watching Mariano Rivera come out every year to Metallica, throw 10-15 pitches and wave goodbye to the crowd as he heads into the dugout?
Call me crazy, but I watch the all-star game to watch talent, not to watch a majority of declining Hall-of-Famers reminisce about the good ol' days.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Mark Cuban will never own a baseball team
...or at least while the Selig administration is around, he won't.
Man it would be fun to watch Mark Cuban jump onto the field after a close call and get thrown out of a game he's not even playing in.
But, I just don't see that happening. Cuban's most likely destination would be Los Angeles, in light of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's inability to pay out salaries. If that's the case, Cuban's best chance is to hope that McCourt heads off to bankruptcy court to try and get control of the franchise's fate. Then when he lost, the courts would start auctioning off the team to the highest bidder and Cuban might have a shot at winning. Then we'd get to see the comedic drama unfold as MLB commissioner Bud Selig began to challenge the outcome.
I'd love to hear McCourt's arguement to a court judge as to why he's qualified enough to own a team though. Like I said, when the payroll deadline rolls around next Thursday he's going to look like a perturbed Monopoly man.
Okay, so let's say McCourt doesn't go to bankruptcy court, he fails to make payroll next Thursday and MLB seizes control of the Dodgers, which will most likely happen. Can't Cuban just outbid everyone once MLB auctions off the franchise? Wrong. The Selig administration set a price and let people interview for ownership when the Montreal Expos were up for sale in 2002. It's not just about the money and I don't think Cuban is winning over commissioner Selig with his charm.
But wait. It's not only Selig's decision, right? Doesn't Cuban just have to get a majority vote by the other 29 team owners? True, but I can't see Cuban fitting in with the other kids. What I can see is Selig imposing his will and influence on the owners as he has done the last two decades. In other words, I'd be so bold as to say Rob Schneider would have a better chance at owning a team than Cuban.
At the end of the day, what do I know? If McCourt, savvying investing Fred Wilpon, Liverpool loving John W. Henry, Nazi party supporting Marge Schott, midget pinch-hitting Bill Veeck, bonus-giving for mustache-growing Charlie Finley and Nintendo can own baseball teams shouldn't an outspoken NBA champion be able to?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Better keep your day job
I was doing my normal web browsing routine today when I caught a video of Washington Wizards guard John Wall throwing out a first pitch last Friday before a Washington Nationals game. Then I thought, "I wonder what the top ten worst first pitches of all-time are?"
While I've never seen every ceremonial first pitch ever thrown, I've put together this pretty accurate compilation of the best mound meltdowns ever. Coming in at number
10. is this Tyrannosaurus rex throwing a baseball with his mouth. Just the idea of a grown man dressed as a T-Rex was enough to slip this into the list. They must have been struggling to find anyone that day, but it was still better than
9. this guy falling off the mound during the pitch. This would have made it higher up had it been something I cared about like
8. President Barack Obama throwing the first pitch before a Nationals game. Sort of reminiscent of Randy Johnson's pitch to John Kruk during the 1993 all-star game. At least those got over the plate, which is more than I can say about
7. Joan Steinbrenner's first pitch at the christening of the Yankees' new spring training field. Speaking of dribblers,
6. Carl Lewis' toss before a Mariners game was pretty pathetic coming from a nine-time Olympic gold medalist. I don't know which is worse; the throw or his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. His pitch was bad, but it wasn't worse than
5. Mariah Carey's infamous slow-roller in Japan. At least she walked away after one and didn't completely embarrass herself like
4. Adam Carolla did before a Dodger game. Carolla threw out the first three pitches of the game, killing his career K/BB ratio. He somewhat found the strike zone by the third pitch. I don't think
3. Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, could have hit the zone with 100 pitches. I'm just basing this off his ceremonial first toss before a Tampa Bay Rays game. His delivery was pretty solid as opposed to
2. Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinatti. His first pitch was horrible, but notice the blatant balk. That one came close to
1. radio producer Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate's horrendous hurl. Ouch. I bet he wishes he could get that one back. In no other stadium than Citi Field can a first pitch bean an umpire. With that being said, I still think the Mets could slot him to the fifth spot of the starting pitching rotation.
And there you have it. 10 of the most pathetic first pitches I've ever seen. With 4860 MLB games per season, I'm sure there are many more to come.
While I've never seen every ceremonial first pitch ever thrown, I've put together this pretty accurate compilation of the best mound meltdowns ever. Coming in at number
10. is this Tyrannosaurus rex throwing a baseball with his mouth. Just the idea of a grown man dressed as a T-Rex was enough to slip this into the list. They must have been struggling to find anyone that day, but it was still better than
9. this guy falling off the mound during the pitch. This would have made it higher up had it been something I cared about like
8. President Barack Obama throwing the first pitch before a Nationals game. Sort of reminiscent of Randy Johnson's pitch to John Kruk during the 1993 all-star game. At least those got over the plate, which is more than I can say about
7. Joan Steinbrenner's first pitch at the christening of the Yankees' new spring training field. Speaking of dribblers,
6. Carl Lewis' toss before a Mariners game was pretty pathetic coming from a nine-time Olympic gold medalist. I don't know which is worse; the throw or his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. His pitch was bad, but it wasn't worse than
5. Mariah Carey's infamous slow-roller in Japan. At least she walked away after one and didn't completely embarrass herself like
4. Adam Carolla did before a Dodger game. Carolla threw out the first three pitches of the game, killing his career K/BB ratio. He somewhat found the strike zone by the third pitch. I don't think
3. Charlie Crist, former governor of Florida, could have hit the zone with 100 pitches. I'm just basing this off his ceremonial first toss before a Tampa Bay Rays game. His delivery was pretty solid as opposed to
2. Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinatti. His first pitch was horrible, but notice the blatant balk. That one came close to
1. radio producer Gary "Baba Booey" Dell'Abate's horrendous hurl. Ouch. I bet he wishes he could get that one back. In no other stadium than Citi Field can a first pitch bean an umpire. With that being said, I still think the Mets could slot him to the fifth spot of the starting pitching rotation.
And there you have it. 10 of the most pathetic first pitches I've ever seen. With 4860 MLB games per season, I'm sure there are many more to come.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
LeBron Shames
I like to start this post off with this comprehensive diagram that represents some very extensive analysis of this years NBA Finals.
Now that that's out there, I'd like to formally and politely ask the media to stop comparing him to Michael Jordan -- for now.
We all know what LeBron James is capable of, but I don't see how the media can compare a player to someone of Jordan's stature before he even retires.
James has been under a lot of scrutiny for his performance in this years Finals. What confuses me is why he keeps apologizing. James had to clarify his post-game comments after Game 6 by saying they were "interpreted different than what I wanted. Everybody has to move on with their lives and I do, too...I wasn't saying I'm superior to anyone."
I think one of the problems is that he feels the need to keep explaining himself -- further perpetuating the idea that he's done something wrong. Just because you criticize someone doesn't mean your opinion is always credible. Look at DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson was arrested for public intoxication just eight days after saying James "checked out" in the fourth quarter of Game 4. A professional? Technically. Credible? You be the judge.
Shifting sides here, I'm glad Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks finally got one. Especially at the expense of not having to hear Mark Cuban's voice the entire time.
Jason Kidd finally gets the elusive chip after 17 years and three shots at it. Why haven't we been reminded that Kidd beat his wife while we're taking cheap shots at people?
Try to keep your head up LeBron. Because remember, criticism is only for people who are still on the ground.
Now that that's out there, I'd like to formally and politely ask the media to stop comparing him to Michael Jordan -- for now.
We all know what LeBron James is capable of, but I don't see how the media can compare a player to someone of Jordan's stature before he even retires.
James has been under a lot of scrutiny for his performance in this years Finals. What confuses me is why he keeps apologizing. James had to clarify his post-game comments after Game 6 by saying they were "interpreted different than what I wanted. Everybody has to move on with their lives and I do, too...I wasn't saying I'm superior to anyone."
I think one of the problems is that he feels the need to keep explaining himself -- further perpetuating the idea that he's done something wrong. Just because you criticize someone doesn't mean your opinion is always credible. Look at DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson was arrested for public intoxication just eight days after saying James "checked out" in the fourth quarter of Game 4. A professional? Technically. Credible? You be the judge.
Shifting sides here, I'm glad Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks finally got one. Especially at the expense of not having to hear Mark Cuban's voice the entire time.
Jason Kidd finally gets the elusive chip after 17 years and three shots at it. Why haven't we been reminded that Kidd beat his wife while we're taking cheap shots at people?
Try to keep your head up LeBron. Because remember, criticism is only for people who are still on the ground.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
New York's State of Mind
I consider myself a pretty diehard New York Mets baseball fan. It's in my blood, after all.
My mother was a screaming fan during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when the ball went through Bill Buckner's legs. My father was covering the game for the Associated Press at the time.
My brother almost got killed walking out of Dodger Stadium with my mother after Game 3 of the 2006 first round series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets completed the sweep of L.A. that night. Well, I don't think his life was actually endangered, but they were still verbally accosted by drunk Dodger fans. And we all know what can happen if you pick a fight with drunk Dodger fans...
Needless to say, the current state of the Mets has become one of the saddest stories in baseball to me.
Even Family Guy is taking shots at the Mets.
With all the controversy surrounding Mets owner, Fred Wilpon, and Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, it's hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Madoff's ponzi scheme is widely consider the largest investor fraud of all-time with $65 billion collected from the scheme. Madoff pled guilty to 11 federal felonies in March of 2009. His realease date is sometime around 2159.
Thank God the Dodgers keep taking some of the watchdog role of the media away from the Mets.
My concern though; what is Wilpon doing to help?
A couple months ago, Wilpon released a feature article in Sports Illustrated and another story in The New Yorker. Both articles were most likely a publicity stunt so that Wilpon could publicly explain himself for the catastrophe of prior events.
I find it hard to believe that someone who says, "I don’t know s*** from shinola. I never bought a stock in my life. That’s not what we’re good at." finds it completely fine to suggest to no less than 483 people to invest in Madoff's fund. It's not like accidentally recommending a bad movie. The risks are more serious than falling asleep out of boredom.
The New Yorker article was even more mind-boggling. I can understand what he was trying to do in Sports Illustrated, but his quotes in The New Yorker sounded like a petulant child who was bullied. And his bullies were Carlos Beltrán, David Wright and José Reyes. Let me sift through the 12 page article for you and pull of the juicy details.
On Beltrán: “He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.”
On Wright: “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
On Reyes: “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.”
Then he proceeds to call the Mets a "sh****" and "lousy" franchise further down the article. Way to be optimistic Fred. Not sure what he was trying to accomplish with all that, but Reyes must have heard him.
Reyes is currently leading all National League batters with a cool .346 average. He is only second in baseball behind Adrian Gonzalez, who is batting .347. Reyes leads MLB with 11 triples, is third in steals with 22 and has an on base percentage of .389. Those are pretty gaudy numbers. I'm sure someone out their will pay him Carl Crawford money. Maybe even Wilpon, by the end of the season.
Tune-in later as I will probably be complaining more about the Mets throughout the season.
My mother was a screaming fan during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when the ball went through Bill Buckner's legs. My father was covering the game for the Associated Press at the time.
My brother almost got killed walking out of Dodger Stadium with my mother after Game 3 of the 2006 first round series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets completed the sweep of L.A. that night. Well, I don't think his life was actually endangered, but they were still verbally accosted by drunk Dodger fans. And we all know what can happen if you pick a fight with drunk Dodger fans...
Needless to say, the current state of the Mets has become one of the saddest stories in baseball to me.
Even Family Guy is taking shots at the Mets.
With all the controversy surrounding Mets owner, Fred Wilpon, and Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, it's hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Madoff's ponzi scheme is widely consider the largest investor fraud of all-time with $65 billion collected from the scheme. Madoff pled guilty to 11 federal felonies in March of 2009. His realease date is sometime around 2159.
Thank God the Dodgers keep taking some of the watchdog role of the media away from the Mets.
My concern though; what is Wilpon doing to help?
A couple months ago, Wilpon released a feature article in Sports Illustrated and another story in The New Yorker. Both articles were most likely a publicity stunt so that Wilpon could publicly explain himself for the catastrophe of prior events.
I find it hard to believe that someone who says, "I don’t know s*** from shinola. I never bought a stock in my life. That’s not what we’re good at." finds it completely fine to suggest to no less than 483 people to invest in Madoff's fund. It's not like accidentally recommending a bad movie. The risks are more serious than falling asleep out of boredom.
The New Yorker article was even more mind-boggling. I can understand what he was trying to do in Sports Illustrated, but his quotes in The New Yorker sounded like a petulant child who was bullied. And his bullies were Carlos Beltrán, David Wright and José Reyes. Let me sift through the 12 page article for you and pull of the juicy details.
On Beltrán: “He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.”
On Wright: “A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
On Reyes: “He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money. He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.”
Then he proceeds to call the Mets a "sh****" and "lousy" franchise further down the article. Way to be optimistic Fred. Not sure what he was trying to accomplish with all that, but Reyes must have heard him.
Reyes is currently leading all National League batters with a cool .346 average. He is only second in baseball behind Adrian Gonzalez, who is batting .347. Reyes leads MLB with 11 triples, is third in steals with 22 and has an on base percentage of .389. Those are pretty gaudy numbers. I'm sure someone out their will pay him Carl Crawford money. Maybe even Wilpon, by the end of the season.
Tune-in later as I will probably be complaining more about the Mets throughout the season.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Opinions full of Posey
To my three followers, I apologize for the hiatus. Last semester of school has been a killer. Now I am here in Sweden with a lot of free time and will be writing a lot more for this blog.
Over the next few days, I will be writing about a few topics that have gotten me into very heated discussions. I'll try to cover each topic in the order of which it has come to light, publicly.
The first issue I'd like to touch on is that of Buster Posey's season-ending leg injury.
A lot has been said, from both standpoints, about the maliciousness and intent of Scott Cousins football hit on Buster Posey. Someone get that man an NFL contract. Safeties never wrap up in the NFL anyway, but I digress.
This baseball fan says, 'get over it.'
This type of thing happens every year. It's a shame that people have blown it so out of proportion because it was Buster Posey. I bet if this happened to Eli Whiteside, people wouldn't have made as big a stink out of it. Sorry Eli.
Look, I get it. Buster Posey is good for baseball. The game will no doubt suffer from his injury, but there's nothing in the rulebook saying Scott Cousins can't try to score through someone that gets in the way.
What bothers me even more is that MLB is making such a huge deal about considering to implement new rules to protect the catcher. Then why is Pete Rose's crash into Ray Fosse in the 1970 all-star game considered one of the greatest moments in all-star history according to MLB.com (see for yourself)? The collision caused Fosse to separate his shoulder. It's considered the greatest moment because it was a great play and was indictative of how Pete Rose approached baseball.
Then, Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, instigates more controversy by publicly telling his starting catcher, Kurt Suzuki, to stop making plays in front of the plate. I won't pick on Billy Beane too much though. It's probably hard to fire the best man at your wedding.
After all that, the San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean has the audacity to say, "...if I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy." about Cousins in the media. Speak for yourself. As if the man hasn't been vilified enough. I find it wildly unprofessional for anyone to wish bad fortune like that on somebody, especially if you generally manage a major league baseball team.
Reality: Posey was out of position and in the way. As a catcher, you should never be fielding a play like that from your knees. If you want to protect your poster child from plays like that happening that badly, then put him at first base.
Another reality: Scott Cousins isn't as thin as the foul line. So if you're standing in the vicinity of the base path, in front of the plate, then you will get hit. Bottom line. It was not malicious a play.
I hope that Posey has a healthy recovery and at least returns to full strength by next season. But don't make Cousins the bad guy for playing baseball the way it's supposed to be played.
Over the next few days, I will be writing about a few topics that have gotten me into very heated discussions. I'll try to cover each topic in the order of which it has come to light, publicly.
The first issue I'd like to touch on is that of Buster Posey's season-ending leg injury.
A lot has been said, from both standpoints, about the maliciousness and intent of Scott Cousins football hit on Buster Posey. Someone get that man an NFL contract. Safeties never wrap up in the NFL anyway, but I digress.
This baseball fan says, 'get over it.'
This type of thing happens every year. It's a shame that people have blown it so out of proportion because it was Buster Posey. I bet if this happened to Eli Whiteside, people wouldn't have made as big a stink out of it. Sorry Eli.
Look, I get it. Buster Posey is good for baseball. The game will no doubt suffer from his injury, but there's nothing in the rulebook saying Scott Cousins can't try to score through someone that gets in the way.
What bothers me even more is that MLB is making such a huge deal about considering to implement new rules to protect the catcher. Then why is Pete Rose's crash into Ray Fosse in the 1970 all-star game considered one of the greatest moments in all-star history according to MLB.com (see for yourself)? The collision caused Fosse to separate his shoulder. It's considered the greatest moment because it was a great play and was indictative of how Pete Rose approached baseball.
Then, Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics, instigates more controversy by publicly telling his starting catcher, Kurt Suzuki, to stop making plays in front of the plate. I won't pick on Billy Beane too much though. It's probably hard to fire the best man at your wedding.
After all that, the San Francisco Giants GM Brian Sabean has the audacity to say, "...if I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy." about Cousins in the media. Speak for yourself. As if the man hasn't been vilified enough. I find it wildly unprofessional for anyone to wish bad fortune like that on somebody, especially if you generally manage a major league baseball team.
Reality: Posey was out of position and in the way. As a catcher, you should never be fielding a play like that from your knees. If you want to protect your poster child from plays like that happening that badly, then put him at first base.
Another reality: Scott Cousins isn't as thin as the foul line. So if you're standing in the vicinity of the base path, in front of the plate, then you will get hit. Bottom line. It was not malicious a play.
I hope that Posey has a healthy recovery and at least returns to full strength by next season. But don't make Cousins the bad guy for playing baseball the way it's supposed to be played.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Jim Rome on UCSB March Madness 2011
I'm usually not much of a NCAA basketball fan, but the last couple of years I've started getting into it.
I've been doing the brackets and following the teams because honestly, college basketball is just more exciting. Guys are really playing for something and not weighed down by fame and fortune.
Plus, it's fun watching UCSB get a ticket to the dance. Just ask Gaucho alumni Jim Rome. He knows what goes on in Santa Barbara.
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