My Baseball Year

Beware, this blog entry may contain some serious spazzing out due to serious angst. Please be aware that most of it was written whilst under the influence of heavy sedatives due to various sports injuries and any responsibility for the content of this article is down to the pixies in my head.

I know it’s a little early to be writing some kind of memorandum on the year but I have been really slack on my entries of late so I feel like I owe some kind of explanation to the one or two people who still read this blog.

Its been a funny time. My first year playing in Richmond has been a real mixed bag with steady glove work (at least I think so) except for one foray at short on one of the many days when the side has been let down by guys not showing up. Its generally been a nightmare at the plate and I’m sure going into the season having mysteriously lost a stone didn’t help.

Thank God I’m still running the bases well and my Ty Cobb homerun (a single and then three steals) against Bournemouth was probably the highlight of my year but a gruelling schedule has taken its toll. All our home games were in the first half of the season and all our road games were in the second with only nine or ten players and me carrying my usual plethora of injuries (right knee won‘t bend, right ankle is the size of a softball, the left knee is always sore, the left shoulder has just died). All in all my usual enthusiastic psyche has taken a hit and I barely said a word to the oppositions third base coach last weekend (believe me, that’s a rarity as I talk to everyone down there).

I suppose I should have seen this coming. Life as a baseball fan in Britain has really gone downhill for me since the heady days of a few years back. In fact its never been the same since ‘The Ghetto’ closed (MSN’s baseball chat room). Back then there were endless barnies and general irreverence to be had with baseball fans of all nationalities and ages. Things could get irrational, violent and sometimes just silly and from time to time it would be truly enlightening and fascinating like the time someone came up with the truly original answer to the question of the second best first baseman of all time as Stan Musial).

Thanks to changes of job and a life of odd hours and general running around, I’ve managed to lose track of the Hatr’s (AKA Soxy) and Metzy’s of this world but at least I had the Five forums and, subsequently, the Baseballfan site. Alas, the more and more people have gotten involved in that, the more the opportunity for the masses to brainwash the few. Now the forums are full of likeminded people who agree on everything and the only time an argument or loosely based debate, is allowed to take place is when the Yankee and BoSox fans take over and do the whole ‘my team is better than yours’ type frivolities. At least the Five forums.

I used to love the endless debates and rhetoric of baseball banter but we are descending into a world of white noise furore about nothing.

Even the fantasy leagues are becoming a chore including the league that I’m the commish of. I tried to do something a tad different and it all ended up with people bitching about how it wasn’t the same old thing (I’m paraphrasing of course). I set up this site and called it ‘Spurious Baseball’ which tells you all you need to know about my feelings on toeing the line and maintaining status quo.

Scott Podsednik should have been AL MVP last year but no one would seriously contend my point of view because it was so obvious it should have been A-Rod or Ortiz because that’s what everyone else said it should be…oh and it also lands ourselves back into the comfy world of BoSox and Yankees which of course is what’s really important.

So I write this as a bit of a fed up baseball fan (I still consider myself a baseball nut) but I’m forced to ask why I bother nowadays? I’ve been involved in practically every attempt anyone’s ever had to start a British baseball fanzine and have willingly put up with the megalomaniacs who start them up. I always wrote things I believed in and I always conceded that I wasn’t always rational and certainly wasn’t always right and whenever possible I tried to be contentious, not take things for granted and try to have fun with it (I am most proud of my piece about Rick Ankiel for Strike UK, even if the guy whose site it was wrote a condescending and unnecessary intro to it).

So what is there in this environment for me? I’m the sort of person who will wear a black hat if everyone else is wearing white and I’m dismissed because I try to do things differently and no one seems willing to fight as a true fan of the game rather than just a fan of team.

We exist in a world that wants to know it’s right rather than looking away from black and white and seeing the multi-tonal grey area in between where it has nothing to do with right and wrong. Perception and interpretation are wonderful things to mess around with and if no one wants to challenge what most people take for granted then irrational nutcases like myself can’t help to find new truths or determine that the old ones were right all along. At least all angles would be covered and we might have some fun along the way and above all else this is supposed to be fun. That’s why they call it a game. Can’t we play again? It could be fun. It could be interesting. It could be grey. It could be just about anything.

Down The Stretch : NL

Its taken me a while to post this but here are my thoughts on who the movers and shakers in the NL are.

NL EAST

New York Mets

Well, I doubt anyone thinks they won't make the playoffs or win the East. The line-up has been superb with Jose Reyes looking the business at the top of the order, David Wright coming of age and my pick for NL MVP, Carlos Beltran, just looking like the most complete player in the game, but then we knew that anyway.

The problem for the Mets have almost come out of nowhere and its the rotation where Pedro has suddenly taken his customary sabatical to the DL and Tom Glavine's season (and career) looking under threat with a possible blood clot in his pitching arm.

The pen looks solid but would you be happy going into the playoffs with Steve Trachsel as your ace? If Pedro and Glavine are good for the playoffs then this lot are a good bet to go to the Series but without them they could get consumed by the likes of LA and St Lou.

Philadelphia Phillies

The line-up is still great, even without Abreu, and you can be sure Ryan Howard will get the odd vote on MVP ballots but the pitching is still Brett 'the wife beater' Myers and a bunch of guys held together by old chewing gum and damp twigs. It says a lot about the depth of the NL this year that this team is playing to the form of a .500 team but could still make the playoffs.

The Rest

Even the great John Schuerholtz and Bobby Cox have been able to keep the Braves in the race this year. The pen has been awful most of the year but has improved with Wickman and Baez coming in but even they can't help the rotation which has been Smoltz and a bunch of so-so guys. Chuck James has been ok in his rookie year but how disappointed am I in Tim Hudson? A 4.77 ERA is not good enough for a player of his ability.

Joe Girardi should easily be the NL manager of the year after his efforts with the best AAA club in the country. Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramirez look like being a very productive middle infield for years to come and both will be in voters minds for Rookie of the Year and what does it say about Scott Olsen, Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson that they've been able to keep the Fish close to .500 in their rookie seasons with Dontrelle Willis having a down year?

Poor Frank Robinson has had a tough year in Washington with almost all his set-up guys in the pen injured most of the year. With even a few of the likes of Ayala and Eischen available things might have been different and lets not even talk about John Patterson and how his absense has effected the rotation.

Alfonso Soriano has had an amazing year and if he were A-Rod he might have a chance at winning the MVP this year (wink wink) but Ryan Zimmerman was my pick for the RoY before the year started and he still gets my nod now. He's up there in most offensive catergories amongst rookies and there are few players who can compare to him defensively at third base. If it weren't for Scott Rolen, Zimmerman would be a lock to win Gold Gloves for the next decade.

NL CENTRAL

St Louis Cardinals

Albert Pujols was on pace to shatter every record in the book until he got injured and while he was on the DL no one could claw the Cards back so its hard to see anyone doing that now. There are still issues with regards to the rotation with only Carpenter really showing anything. Anthony Reyes is doing well but they need their veterans to start producing.

Trust me, the pen is getting better after a horrible start to the year for Izzy.

Cincinatti Reds

Props to rookie GM Wayne Krivsky who has found himself inexplicably at the front of the Wild Card race and has made a whole bunch of great pick ups to boost the bullpen and hasn't really given up much (lets face it, they didn't have much to give away anyway). And as for picking up Brandon Phillips...

Even with Bronson Arroyo coming back down to Earth, he and Harang look a very good one-two punch in the rotation and you know exactly what you're going to get with Junior and Dunn in your line-up. This team could well have more surprises in them.

The Rest

Yes, I am writing off Houston. Yes, even with Jason Hirsh joining an already great rotation and the addition of Aubrey Huff and the red hot Luke Scott and the incredible mediocrity in the Wild Card race. I just don't see who is going to step up and be the guy who takes them to the next level.

The Brewers still seem to have the guys to actually make the push and finally being able to call on Ben Sheets every fifth day should help (once he gets into the swing of things) but with Weeks done for the year and J.J. Hardy on the DL it takes much of the dynamic of the line-up and they probably have too much to do.

Hey everyone, guess what? Thats right Kerry Wood and Mark Prior have been injured most of the year and Juan Pierre has been a disappointment and the Cubs are nowhere me once again!! Who'd have seen that coming?

The Pirates pitching hasn't been that bad this year with Zach Duke and Ian Snell doing well and Paul Maholm rebounding from a truly wretched start to the year and its a shame that the D has been very bad and even Jason Bay hasn't been able to kick start an anaemic offence.

NL WEST

Los Angeles Dodgers

I thought this team were a year away but right now they are my favourites to go all the way to the Series in the NL.

The depth is incredible with the vast array of strong veterans and talented youngsters throughout and even Nomar and J.D. Drew actually healthy. Andre Ethier is a good shout as RoY and I've said for a couple of years that Russell Martin is the future of this organisation.

What a pick up Greg Maddux is looking too. You know he'll be of tremendous benefit to Chad Billingsley.

The only possible weakness could be the bullpen which has suffered some injuries to key guys but thats not to say they aren't a solid group.

Arizona Diamondbacks

There is no more compelling team in baseball right now for me than Arizona as they have set loose a whole bunch of their blue chippers. Carlos Quentin has FINALLY got the call up and along with Stephen Drew and Alberto Callapso who could be THE double play combo in the NL for a while (I apologise for liberal use of capital letters).

Alas I don't think they will make the playoffs with Brandon Webb a good bet right now for the NL Cy and he's all alone, more or less, in that pitching staff. Livan Hernandez seems to be looking more like himself of late but the bullpen is less than inspiring.

San Diego Padres

What has happened to Jake Peavy this year? He and his chums in the rotation have looked very average this year, even with the Petco effect in place. Of course Linebrink and Hoffman continue to nail it down in the pen but you'd expect more from the front end of that staff.

Offence? We no need no stinking offence. Of course Mike Piazza has had a bit of a renaisance offensively and Josh Barfield has really added a spark but they are never going to light it up with half the games in that cavernous park of theirs.

Colorado Rockies

At the beginning of the year I said there was a lot of pitching talent on this team but because of the Coors effect it would all come to nought. Right now Colorado has given up fewer earned runs than any team in the NL and even with sub-.500 records, both Jeff Francis and Jason Jennings deserve Cy Young considerations for what they've done in that uniform as they both have ERA's easily under 4.00. Now if only they could get some consistent offence...

San Francisco Giants

The defence and pitching has been solid but the only reason you can really say they are still in contention is because you never can tell if Barry Bonds will explode or not. Admittedly he looks a shadow of his former self this year and has a whole lotta stuff hanging over him off the field but he's still one of the few guys who can win games by himself. Right now there are plenty better teams than San Francisco.

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Down the Stretch : The AL

Well, we’re heading into crunch time so now seems like a good time to see who’s ready to make the move.

AL East

Boston Red Sox

Boston didn’t really make any big moves at the deadline but sit in pole position in the east.

The duo of Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett have stayed healthy and allows the team to avoid big losing streaks and coupled with the great infield D and another MVP type season from Big Papi the Sox have to feel good about their chances.

New York Yankees

They got Abreu at the deadline which should make their already potent offence even better whether he regains his power stroke or not. Elsewhere the pitching remains unconvincing with Randy Johnson still not clicking and Mike Mussina doing well but not great. Chin Ming Wang has been the most consistent of the starters but he’s far from being a guy you fear facing.

The Yankees probably have more latent talent than any club in the Majors right now and you can’t help but be impressed by how well they’ve done with all the injuries to key personnel. They could easily bring it all together and win it all but they could also play .500 ball and see the other contenders get away from them in a tough AL.

The Rest

The injury to Alex Rios couldn’t have come at a worse time for Toronto and the apparent unrest in the club house also doesn’t bode well. They’ve had a strong year and Halladay and BJ Ryan will likely both get attention on the Cy Young ballot but its tough keeping up with Boston and New York.

Baltimore are blooding some young pitchers and should be an interesting team to watch but they are way out of it…where has Nick Markakis’ power gone?

E6 Upton is up in Tampa and playing third now so that‘ll be an adventure. As per usual it’ll be interesting to see who gets called up for a cup of coffee (Delmon is restless). It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Evan Longoria get some time with the way he’s ploughing through the system.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers

I still think Detroit will hit a wall soon as their young guys run out of steam but they have just played so well and their pitching staff has been so awesome that if they do hit the skids they’ll be so far ahead they’ll make the playoffs anyway.

You have to feel sorry for Justin Verlander as the season he is having would usually see him as a shoo in as the Rookie of the Year in the AL but Papelbon and Liriano are going to make the competition tough.

Chicago White Sox

As with the Yankees all the parts are here to win it all but whereas the Yankees have been hit by injuries, the ChiSox, particularly the rotation, have just looked hung over from last year. Mark Buerhle in particular has been well under par and right now doesn’t look like one of the best pitchers in the game…which he actually is (no, really he is).

The line-up still is plenty potent enough to see them through to the playoffs with Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye as good a 3-4-5 combo as anywhere in baseball and Joe Crede is also hitting the ball well which might see him get the Gold Glove he has deserved the last couple of years (hitting shouldn’t count for that but it does).

Minnesota Twins

Up until recently I was really liking the Twins chances of winning the Wild Card and getting to the World Series but with Liriano going on the DL with elbow problems things don’t look quite so rosy.

Of course they still have Johan Santana who is still as dominant as ever and they are also getting steady performances from the back end with Carlos Silva and Brad Radke. Then they have Justin Morneau having a breakout year and providing the club with the big bopper they’ve been missing the last couple of years. Then you bring in Joe Mauer who is looking for a batting title and Luis Castillo setting the table and you know they are still in the hunt…although having Liriano back would definitely help.

The Rest

Cleveland have been a huge disappointment (I’m so understated) as they have missed a lot of the guys who made their pen so good last year and have generally been sloppy in their play. It is good to see Kelly Shoppach, Andy Marte, Jeremy Sowers and newly acquired Shin-Soo Choo getting playing time as they could all fill big holes on that line-up for next season.

I know this sounds weird but I would say that things have gone quite well for the Royals. Of course they are in last place and we all knew that would happen but Billy Butler has looked excellent in Wichita, Zack Greinke seems to be getting his head back in gear in Omaha, they’ve shed some high priced drift wood and they managed to sign #1 draft pick Luke Hochevar so what more could they really have asked for?

AL West

Oakland A’s

Even without Rich Harden the pitching has been superb all year for Oakland but it’s the age old problem of scoring runs that has stopped them leaving everyone out west eating their dust. You just have to look at the corners where Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher are the only barely passable bats for their positions and Bobby Crosby just hasn’t produced either. In summary, they score fewer runs than the Royals.

Their pitching will definitely keep them in the race but they need their hitters to step up or the Angels to implode to win the division because the Wild Card isn’t coming from this division.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of The United States of America of the Earth in the Solar System

Hey everyone, its John Lackey and he’s wondering if it would be OK if people voted for him for the Cy?

Bartolo Colon, Jered Weaver (for now) and the rest of the rotation are finally chipping in and the bullpen is looking solid but the Angels have just been so sloppy this year. In the field they are making easy plays look difficult and are just making terrible decisions and that’s also evident in their base running (even though they lead the league in stolen bases I don't want to know how many times they've made stupid outs trying to advance) and those are not typical characteristics of a Mike Scioscia team. If they can start playing smart ball then the division is theirs.

Texas Rangers

They needed pitching at the deadline so they went out and got Carlos Lee…it’s a plan I guess. What that move does is give the Rangers a great offence (well maybe I should say more great or greater), even with Mark Teixeira not quite showing the thunder we know he has.

The bullpen had problems early on but have come around with Akinori Otsuka closing but questions are still there with the rotation and picking up Kip Wells is either going to be an insane work of genius or just insane. He has shown promise in his young career…just not in the last two years. Maybe it’s a sign of the confidence they have in the first of the DVD boys to be promoted (Edinson Volquez)?

The Rest (well that’s Seattle then)

Seattle aren’t far out but they just have too many good teams already ahead of them.
Ichiro has been his usual superb self and Felix Hernandez has had a fine rookie campaign (can you believe I heard someone go off on one about how much of a let down Felix has been? HE’S ONLY 20!!).

What would the Mets give for Kazmir now?

In 2004 the worst trade in recent history took place when a confused (and one would think psychologically unstable) management team at the Mets decided that they should trade their number one prospect.

New York foolishly believed they had a shot at a World Championship so in a logic defying moment proceeded to trade one Scott Kazmir to the Devil Rays for pitcher Victor Zambrano and young relief pitcher Bartolome Fortunato.

The baseball world scratched its head and looked on perplexed.

What were they doing?

First of all the Mets had no chance of a World Series in 2004, and it was so clear that they were being robbed by Tampa that I am surprised Met fans didn't actually file a police report.

Salt was poured into the wound when Zambrano actually arrived in New York injured and made just three starts before he went to the DL for the rest of the season.

Fast forward two years and what do you have?

The Rays sit dead last in the Al east and the Mets seem to be heading to the post season - and how they could do with their young prospect back.

Kazmir is in his most dominating season yet. The young Rays pitcher has silenced his critics and lived up to his expectations already notching 139 strikeouts and 10 wins.
Zambrano is still a fussy pitcher with good stuff but little control and Bartolome Fortunato has faded into obscurity.

I'm sure New York would be willing to offer some nice players to Tampa to re-attain Kazmir's services but it's not going to happen.

Kazmir's year has been so successful that the Rays have put him on the "untouchable" list and have told everyone to keep their greasy mitts off of him.

I wonder that if that horrible trade in 2004 will come back to haunt the Mets this season.
I think they are going to the World Series and if Kazmir was in their rotation they would certainly have three solid starters with Pedro and Glavine.
Without him, or another pitcher of his calibre, I fear they could be dominated by any of the contenders who take the American League.
The Mets certainly seem to have paid a big price Zambrano and Fortunato but they may end up paying an even bigger price come October.

Braves Bolster Bullpen (Hooray for Alliteration)

Its been said before but it bares repeating, John Schuerholtz is a genius of a GM. It may have taken a while but Atlanta have finally patched up the back of their bullpen and have given up practically nothing to get it done.

Wickman may be at the end of his career but he has a proven track record closing out games and that goes right into this season and with the depth of young catching talent in the system (McCann was an All Star this year and Saltalamacchia looks like being better) they were able to let go of Maximiliano Ramirez who has some good upside but a long way to go.

Time can only tell if the Atlanta brain trust has pulled it out of the fire again.

Boo A-Rod?

OK, before I start I feel I must start by saying I don’t like A-Rod. I don’t like the way he seems to worry so much about how people feel about him which only serves to make him appear a little fake. Now, I dare say he’s a perfectly pleasant and inoffensive guy who no doubt does good work for charitable organisations but the world of sport is a fickle place, especially when it comes to the world of the fan, and I don’t like A-Rod.

Just recently Yankee fans have taken to booing Rodriguez and I ask the question, why? Any fan of a team wants their boys to succeed and A-Rod was the MVP of the league last year so you can’t say he’s deadwood and even though I don’t like the guy I can’t deny that he is one of the very best players in the game so why boo the guy? Its ridiculous, he may have the personality of the fluff I find in my belly button but he’s always a good bet to finish amongst the leaders in every offensive category that matters and while no one is worth the money he gets paid, few get as close to that as he does.

What do people really want from him? Does he have to be a mixture of Rickey, The Wizard and The Babe? Newsflash people, no one will EVER be that. Is he the next Mike Schmidt? Is it fair to really expect that from someone? Can’t people just look at the things he does rather than constantly try to fit him into some kind of predetermined notion of what they think he should be? As much as my friend Neil wants to believe A-Rod is a Gold Glove calibre fielder, he really isn’t but then again he’s not awful and he doesn’t really need to be that good because he’s there to be an offensive juggernaut and players should be used to their strengths.

I could understand if it were road fans who were booing him or if A-Rod had gone out and said how much the Yankees suck (if he said that I think his overall popularity might sky rocket) but for his own fans to boo him is ludicrous. I don’t see Twins fans getting on Santana’s back or Braves fans getting on Smoltz. Besides, there are too many big profile players on that roster that the performance of one guy shouldn’t be the be all and end all for that team.

Yankee fans, show some class because I don’t want to be defending Yankee players, especially ones I really don’t like.

Final Votes For All Star Game

So the bulk of the All Star teams have been selected and the fans get to pick the last of the players who will represent their league. The National League is fairly straight forward with a Nomar Garciaparra playing much like he did when he was winning batting crowns (except for the D). Many, including myself, thought that Nomar was well passed his best and he has certainly been dishing out the humble pie. He is a fairly obvious choice and it really says a lot about the process that a Bobby Abreu with a sub-.500 slugging percentage is even on the ballot. The Phils should plug him into the leadoff spot or deal the guy.

The AL selection is a lot tougher. The idea that we have to select one of Francisco Liriano, Travis Hafner and Justin Verlander because none of them are in the team already is crazy, especially when Mark Redman is there just because we need a Royal. Even Ramon Hernandez probably feels bad because he’s having a career year and a Pudge Rodriguez on the wane gets voted in ahead of Joe Mauer.

I really want Justin Verlander to be there mainly because I had him pegged as the Rookie of the Year before the season started and it’d be nice to massage my ego a bit. What you can’t deny is that 10 wins by the All Star break for a rookie is just outstanding and The Tigers wouldn’t be where they are without him. Having said all that, as good as Verlander has been Liriano has been better and right now he might be the best pitcher in baseball. A sub-2.00 ERA, a WHIP below 1.00, almost five times as many strikeouts as walks and well over a K an inning and you have mini-Santana and the guy who must be voted in.

It would be wrong to talk about the nominees and not wax lyrical about Travis Hafner who has once again been prodigious in the heart of the Indians line-up but I guess he’s destined to be the rough diamond waiting to be cut and dazzle the baseball world in many a pennant race during his career. It is the plague of playing in middle-America rather than in the big cities that someone with this much ability fails to be plugged in automatically. At least we don’t have the Russian roulette of hoping the worthy get in ahead of a Yankee or BoSox player this year.

Get Well Soon Mr Gammons

Peter Gammons has undergone surgery after suffering from a brain aneurysm and is listed as being in good condition (all things are relative I guess).

Gammons is one of the few truly great baseball writers of the modern era and really hearkens back to the glorious writers of years past like Shirley Povich and Hugh Fullerton. The warmth of his words might not be so apparent in his tv appearances for ESPN but few writers seem to truly 'get it' like he does. He treats it like a game rather than a business, a friend instead of just a simple subject matter.

Unsurprisingly there is has been an overwhelming wave of support from all corners of baseball wishing him a speedy recovery and we at Spurious Baseball certainly would like to add our voices to that cause. There has been so much lore written about this great sport and that lore has turned into poetry in the hands of the great sports writers and in this turbulent time we need more poetry from Peter Gammons.

Get well soon.

Royals Getting Brave?

Its draft time everyone and with the #1 pick the Kansas City Royals showed us all what the plan is for the new regime. By selecting pitcher Luke Hochevar they have gone for someone who is almost the finished product with a variety of power stuff that could have seen him go #1 last year but of course that was curtailed by the infamous Scott Boras.

The Dodgers drafted Hochevar last year with the 40th overall pick and threw a lot in his direction but they never quite managed to get him to ink the contract and you have to think KC will have a similar battle on their hands.

If KC are willing to break the bank then its not too hard to think that they intend to go into a three to five year plan as they hope to build a rotation around Greinke and Hochevar and seak to complement Alex Gordon in the line-up. It might not be much but it's a start.

Rocket Sets Record For Un-Retiring

In perhaps the least surprising surprise of the season, Roger Clemens has re-signed with the Astros for a whole lotta semolians.

Some foolhardy folks seemed to think he might end up in New York or Boston but this really was the only move he was likely to make. With his ‘arrangement’ that he doesn’t have to turn up to the ballpark every day like any other player and the advantage of being close to home and family, it was unlikely to really work anywhere else.

The Rocket will continue his Hall of Fame career at first in A ball where he will briefly be united on the field with his son and then is scheduled to move up a level each start, assuming everything goes well. In fact the only concern in bringing back Clemens this far into the season is how quickly he regains his sharpness because we all know how vigilant he is with regards to his conditioning. I don’t know what he’s been up to since pitching in the WBC but it will be hard to really come in and be the pitcher Clemens is expected to be (and the pitcher he’s being paid substantially to be) without having that Spring Training-esque opportunity to get back in sync with his team mates and dust off the cobwebs.

Of course the ultimate litmus test down the line will be if Houston manage to get to the playoffs (why else would you make such an investment?) and even if Clemens pitches well (a repeat of last year is a bit much to ask) and, as predicted, Pettitte and other players up their game, I still find it hard to see them going back but, as much as I dislike Clemens, having him on board certainly won’t hurt their chances.

Bye Bye Bairdy

Well, the architect of futility has finally been replaced as Allan Baird is to be usurped by Dayton Moore and if anyone is in a position to finally get something started with The Royals, it’s the former assistant to The Braves GM John Schuerholtz who might be the best there is today.
Moore won’t take over the full time job until after the upcoming draft but many will be looking very closely at what The Royals do with the #1 overall pick. That will give everyone an indication as to whether he will emulate what The Braves have done in recent years and build from the bottom up, or will they look to try and pick someone who can make an impact within the next three years?

He certainly doesn’t have a lot to work with as the farm system lacks more than maybe a couple of guys who could eventually make an impact and the big league roster has the recent acquisitions of overpaid guys who are way passed their prime (Baird’s final legacy) and the most promising pitcher in terms of ability and up side is out indefinitely with what can only be described as psychological problems he might never come back from.

Basically, the club is a mess and a long, long, long, long, long way from where they were maybe fifteen to twenty years ago and they really need to look at practically every other team in their division and how they’ve developed their talent from within if they are to scrape themselves off the very bottom of the MLB ladder. Dayton Moore has a reputation as being a very savvy character and he’ll need to be to meet this ‘challenge’.

What you trying to prove?

First of all I would like to congratulate Barry Bonds on hitting home run number 715 and overtaking the babe to take the number two spot on the all time home run list.

Second of all I would like to instruct the world's media and any baseball fans who have a problem with Bonds to wake up and smell the Vino.

Seriously, I'm fed up with hearing "he's so arrogant", "he is a bad role model", "he is a drug user" etc etc etc. What if he is all these things? He has just hit number 715 and there is nothing you can do about it.

Do you know what I think? I think you are all scared.

I think you're scared that because this man has surpassed the Babe with his home run record that it will somehow endanger the legacy of Mr Ruth.

I think you're scared that Bonds has somehow cheapened Ruth's career and nothing could be further from the truth. The media, the fans, and indeed Barry himself has made sure that he will never be remembered as the enigmatic and revolutionary player that Ruth was.

Bonds' manner with the media and subsequently the way those behind the cameras portray him means that he has become the symbol for everything that is wrong with the game.

If you hate Bonds, then fine, go ahead and hate him, but reiterating the same points over and over again will not take away the fact that he has hit more home runs than the biggest player to ever play the game.

It's futile and petty to keep preaching to the converted.

One hundred years from now it may well be the case that every statistic that the Babe ever achieved could be completely destroyed by better players but we all know that it won't really mean a thing.

No one could ever take away what the Babe means to the game and what he did for the sport. His legacy will live on and will remain one of the biggest chapters in the book of baseball.

So please all you Bonds haters, shut up, you've made your point and the vast majority of us agree with you.
If you really don't like Bonds stop giving him all the publicity and attention that he wants.

Colorado v Toronto : Whoop-Dee-Doo

Its that time of year again and interleague play is upon us which means another diatribe on how much I hate it.

What is the point of interleague play exactly? In most games its a two game swing as you not only win but cause someone else in your league to lose, thus doubling your advantage. When teams like New York and Boston play this becomes even more significant but when you have The Yanks playing The Mets all you get is a win, you don't press home any advantage against a rival.

Basically, interleague play is just a gimmick. It doesn't actually add to MLB, all it does is boost PR with the handful of big local matchups, but for every Bay Area or I-90 match up there are a dozen Colorado/Toronto or Boston/Philadelphia games that no one really cares about but are merely there for the sake of interleague play. Also, so much is made of the ChiSox v Cubs but do you really think the Sox would rather beat the Cubs or do over the Twins, Indians or Tigers?

Another thing we lose out on are the non-divisional rivalries. Because of the added fixtures involving teams in the other league, sides with old rivalries based on decades of competition either in the old two division scheme or post-season play, don't see each other as much as they maybe would if interleague play didn't exist. Being a Toronto fan its bad enough the Leafs don't play the Wings too often anymore but the Jays don't face the Royals that much and those games always used to be interesting (well, when the Royals weren't the worst team in baseball at least).

I know that people will talk about how attendances are always high during interleague but is there a practical benefit to it? Does anyone else miss the lack of a track record to look back on when teams match up in the World Series? I know free agency means that a lot of players have spent time in both leagues and there is a level of familiarity anyway but its not the same as two teams being familiar with each other. Also, the World Series used to be the best team in the AL playing the best team in the NL but now that is slightly sullied because you are not just going to face teams from your league but a selection of teams from the other and who knows how good or bad your luck will be in terms of who you get to play? You think the likes of St Louis and Houston aren't grateful for games against KC? Similarly, you know Washington and Florida aren't best pleased with seeing the Yankees and BoSox. Its all a crap shoot. If we're going to have teams play interleague then why not just go the whole hog and have everyone play everyone at least once? Its the only way we can make this fair as right now the schedule is always going to benefit some teams more than others and do we want Wild Cards decided by virtue of one team having to play Florida and one getting San Francisco? I'd rather the playing field be level.

So whats so good about interleague play? It messes up the schedule, skews the standings, cheapens the World Series, takes away from more traditional rivalries and generally ruins the balance of play but I guess so long as there are bums on seats and the people of New York are happy then its OK.

How's Delmon Doing? He's Very Lucky

Delmon Young has been suspended for 50 games for his petulent bat throwing antics and all I can say is he's very, very fortunate thats all he got. He also has to do some community service too (50 hours) but is this really the sort of message we want to send out? I'm sure it won't help ease the friction between minor league baseball and the minor league umps.

I have long been a fan of Mr Young and have been going on and on for a few years now as to just how good he could be (I did the same thing with Rick Ankiel so a jinx may be in action) but even I can't believe he wasn't done for the year. Not only has he thrown a bat at an umpire but he also has a history of bad conduct towards the officials and he needs someone to really give him an attitude check before he blows his career away before its even started.

About Time!!

At last after over four years of limbo and abuse the Nationals/Expos have finally got a new owner as a group headed by real estate moguls Theodore and Mark Lerner secured the team for a reputed $450m.

The group will likely take full control of the team after the owners have their quaterly meetings on the 17th and 18th of May.

Maybe now the team can actually look to build upon the young nucleus they have and put the infrastructure back together so they can get back to being the organisation that produced the likes of Randy Johnson and Moises Alou amongst many others.

How is Delmon Doing? Not Good

Spurious favourite Delmon Young was a bit disappointed when he didn’t get his call up last September (wild understatement) and he might have to wait a while longer for his trip to Tampa and he’s only got himself to blame.

In a game in Pawtucket, Delmon was rung up on a called third strike which he wasn’t happy with and glared at the blue refusing to leave the batters box. After taking a couple of backward steps back to the dugout he was tossed from the game but took it in his stride and flipped the bat at the ump catching him in the chest.

Unsurprisingly the uber-prospect has been suspended indefinitely and after bumping another ump (pretty sure it was a different guy) last May you have to wonder how hard the league will come down on him?

Kendrick Gets a Shot

With Maicier Izturis on the DL, Howie Kendrick has been given a shot at the Bigs.

Not one for a walk but he knows how to hit and has been a big part of a strong start to the season for the Salt Lake Bees. Kendrick is hitting .386 after a truly torrid start that had him comfortably above .400 for much of the season so far so he might be moving up whilst on a slight downward turn.

It's unlikely he'll get many starts at second and as soon as Izturis returns a return to the PCL is likely but anyone who has had his approach to hitting compared to Tony Gwynn (I don't think anyone would actually say he's actually the next Gwynn) certainly warrants some attention and you just never know what might happen.

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Is This The Beginning of Something?

Well, we're a week or so in and what can we read into this young season?

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that so far there have been no real surprises. The Yanks, BoSox, ChiSox and Cards have all started solidly and the Marlins and Royals have started badly. Anyone could have seen that coming.

Detroit got off to a hot start behind the work of Chris Shelton but of course that seems to be cooling off now the champs have come to town. Similarly Milwaukee have lost the three after winning the first five but what was most surprising about that was how they seem to be doing ok without staff ace Ben Sheets.

Colorado have done well against their division rivals with a lot of input coming from Garrett Atkins who won the player of the week honours and is obviously feeling the pressure of Ian Stewart being on his coat tails. Stewart was simply inhuman during ST and is merely polishing off the rough edges down in Tulsa right now. He has cooled off considerably and is merely batting .308 with a .419 OBP and .692 slugging.

The thing I always look for at the beginning are the rookies and especially with so many vaunted prospects busting through this year.

My picks for rookie of the year in both leagues have had mixed results with Ryan Zimmerman getting his first career homerun off Billy Wagner to tie the game in the clutch but has yet to really find a rhythm and Justin Verlander pitched a stellar seven innings in the first start and then gave up seven against Chicago. I still hold high hopes for both.

Conor Jackson has continued where he left off in the minors posting a less than impressive slugging percentage for a first baseman but a freaky high OBP. Kenji Johjima has looked more Ichiro than Kaz Matsui thus far but so far the pick of the rookies has been Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez has been dynamic at the top of the young Marlins line-up and it's always impressive when a guy can post a .697 slugging percentage without hitting any homeruns. With the way the Marlins are set up this season there will be plenty of opportunity for guys like Ramirez, Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida to show what they can do.

Of course all this statistical analysis (if this even qualifies as that) is a bit redundant so early in the year but it is always fun to see how silly some peoples numbers are. Right now I'm getting a lot of laughs at how Howie Kendrick seems to go 2/5 every night but his average is going down (.452 at present)!! I still find it amusing that a AAA club can have an infield sporting guys of the claibre of Kendrick, Kendry Morales, Dallas McPherson and Erick Aybar but then thats life at Salt Lake. They might have to make room for Brandon Wood soon (by the way his OPS is a mere 1.319 at the moment).

Of course the one thing we can say about the season so far is that it can all change very quickly (come on, how long do you think Pujols' average will be below .320?) but I leave you for now with my pick for the top performance of the young season. On Wednesday the Frederick Keys had four guys combine on a no-no down in Salem against the Avalanche with Russell Petrick, Jeff Montani and Casey Cahill sharing four innings in relief of Radhames Liz who went five innings striking out 13. Not a bad way to start your season, eh?