Blog Posts For Tag: Mlb

This could definitely be a World Series the country could get behind. On one side there are the New York Yankees, the most hated team in baseball trying to win its first title since the 20th Century. On the other side are the Philadelphia Phillies, the defending champions trying to start a dynasty of their own. On both sides there are insanely passionate sports fans that could leave 108 miles worth of blood and guts between New Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

The National League, also known as Quadruple A baseball, looks like they will have few surprises as the final 50 or so games dwindle down in this awful August heat. Most of the divisions look pretty set no matter what the standings say about a team nipping at their heals. The only real question is who will win the Wild Card spot?

If you have doubts over my brazen predictions lets go through the three divisions first and clear the air.

Baseball has passed the 100-game mark, the trade deadline has come and gone, and the All Star game has once again ended in the American League’s favor. Now its time to deconstruct the American League and decide which teams have a chance and which teams are destined to fall apart

This weekend’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which honored former Boston Red Sox right fielder Jim Rice, former Oakland A’s and New York Yankees outfielder Rickey Henderson, and former Yankees and Cleveland Indians second baseman Joe Gordon, came and passed with some tears, some humor, and, of course, some controversy. While some may lament spoiling a moment that is meant to celebrate baseball with continued strife, perhaps it is best to discuss these larger issues when so many are listening. The two subjects that were discussed, or at least mentioned on ESPN and in newspapers across the country, were the Pete Rose and steroids.

The All Star game has passed, the pennant race has officially begun, and the trade deadline (July 31) is fast approaching. Any team with a chance to win their division or compete for the wild card is looking for ways to improve their chances, while any team that is more than 10 games out is looking to deal the soon-to-be free agents for some young arms and position players with potential.

As of the MLB standings right now, five American League teams are facing double digit deficits in the standings and truly have no hope of qualifying for even a Little League regional final and one AL team has already called it quits despite being just 9.5 games back (the most exciting thing for Blue Jays fans the rest of the season will be waiting to see who they get for Roy Halladay). The rest of the teams have some chance for the division crown or a wild card spot. These teams could all use something to shore up their chances and what follows is a quick grocery list of wants and needs for those remaining nine American League teams.

The first half of the baseball season is over and after Tuesday night’s All Star game the pennant race really begins. Well, as the pennant race begins, so must the quest for the MVP award and like the first place teams in each division, certain players already have a huge advantage.

It now less than a month until the All Star teams are announced, something I realized this weekend when I received a ballot at my baseball game of the season. I looked at the ballot and realized that I really did not have a clue who to vote for (even though I get to vote 25 times according to the MLB website). My attention has been waning as my favorite team has been busy dashing all my delusional spring training hopes. The only stats I really know are those for the players on my fantasy team, so I took about an hour and looked at the list of names and decided who actually deserves to make an appearance at the game and contemplated who many players will get voted on just because of rabid fans and name recognition.

I do not know if anyone noticed between news of Randy Johnson reaching 300 wins and the Braves dishonoring Tom Glavine, but this weekend the only two teams with winning percentages above .600 are playing. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have continued to play incredible baseball in the absence of Manny Ramirez, host the Philadelphia Phillies in a rematch of last season’s NLCS.

The American League is being dominated in the early season by shades of blue. Every division has a team clad in blue, in powder blue, in blue block lettering, or in a bright blue outline, leading the way. Each team, the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East, the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, and the Texas Rangers in the AL West, is surprised to be there. So which team will hold on to a little bit of Their Blue Heaven and which teams will come crashing down to Earth and be singing the blues by the time the pennant race really begins?

Woe is the Greeks. They have a mythology seemingly based on the gods’ series of one night stands (all those father-less children destined to perish in misguided quests just to get their father’s attention), they have had their greatest ruler defiled by Oliver Stone in the movie Alexander (a movie with Angelina Jolie and Rosario Dawson clad in revealing robes, yet the most intimate moments are between Colin Farrell and Jared Leto), they have endured an unwarranted attempt to turn My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which resurrected Joey Fatone’s career) into a television series, My Big Fat Greek Life, (and Fatone’s career began its downward spiral once again), and, frankly, have been nothing but bad for the beautiful game of baseball.

One of the most exciting things about the beginning of the baseball season is the first few weeks. I think they are kind of like he first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament. You get some real surprises at first before reality sets in and brings those hopeful teams and players crashing down to Earth. Here are some of my favorite trends that will come burning through the stratosphere over the next couple of weeks.

After a few months of wondering what was going to happen in this new season of MLB, opening day finally commenced yesterday. Of course this was simply game one for many teams (apart from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves who officially opened the season on Sunday night) in a long schedule that will give the winners 161 more chances to end their perfect season and losers 161 more games to find redemption. Still, to say that a few things did not surprise me would be a liar.

I have been one of the many baseball fans outraged by the Alex Rodriguez saga this summer, but sometimes it helps to back up and take a look at the allegations I have simply accepted as fact in the last few months. I have to really look at facts, our at least first hand encounters, and decide does A-Rod really deserve all the flak he has been getting.

My heart jumped when I realized that my latest move landed me in the cave of married friends’ duplex in Chicago without any means to watch March Madness. They did not want to get cable, which is cool, and meant to get rabbit ears at some time but never quite got around to it. I could have gone out and splurged on rabbit ears and that digital signal box but I really did not want to start feeding me television habit. So there I was stuck between my desire to watch endless hours of basketball and not wanting to spend needless money on something I was going to use for a couple weeks. Then I found that NCAA.com was streaming the games live and the heart murmur went subsided.

Normally I would be appalled by the rampant East Coast bias that has an undeniable imprint on ESPN and many other major publications and media outlets. However, with three number teams in March Madness, the return of the NFC East to the forefront of competitive football ball this last fall, and after a  quick look at the divisions throughout Major League Baseball I simply cannot blame the networks. Even though the MLB season has yet to begin I can already rank the divisions pretty confidently and found that the East is king this year.

This weekend not only signals the beginning of the March Madness, but it also marks the final playoff games of the World Baseball Classic and the beginning of the MLS season. The sad reality is that I do not care about either one. I do not care about the WBC because I have 162 games of MLB baseball in front of me and that is a lot of baseball to care about. I simply do not know why I cannot get myself to care about the MLS though.

Back in the 19th century the Netherlands surprised the world. They were a small country with more channels than natural resources, yet they built a Dutch imperial empire that dominated parts of Brazil, South Africa, southern India, and Indonesia. Now the year is 2009 and the little country has again upset the world, this time keeping the Dominican Republic out of tournament play in the World Baseball Classic.

Terrell Owens left America’s Team for a team he dubbed North America’s Team. While some might be amused by this clever turn of phrase, many more are surprised by the decision to play in Buffalo for Dick Jauron, the place offense goes to die. In retrospect, the last couple of years have actually been a pretty dynamic and shocking time for us in the sports world. Owens decision joins the ranks of these other sundry moments that have kept me on my feet in the last couple years.

If the Los Angeles Dodgers thought the pressure was on when they spent all winter trying to deal with Greed Master General Scott Boras, then they need only wait until the season begins to find a whole new boulder thrust upon them smashing a few vital organs.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, between suicidal thoughts, once said that intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. According to this definition, Chicago Cubs fans must be geniuses.

First the pitchers and catchers reported. Then the rest of the position players came to camp. Now, on this fine Wednesday, the first exciting, but meaningless games begin.

New York Yankees fans will get the chance to heckle A-Rod in the Grapefruit opener, Chicago Cubs fans will reset the doomsday clock, and everyone else will practice making pitchers cry on the mound. Tomorrow morning baseball “enthusiasts” will read there first box scores since October 28, 2008, back when Bush was president and Philadelphia was rewarded with a team that did not let them down.

Before baseball season begins it has become tradition to wait for Brett Favre to decide whether or not he will retire. Word is in that he has decided to retire. Of course, we all remember that last season he told his agent the same thing. Then he found that he could still throw the ball around with some zip with a bunch of high school kids, decided to comeback, and cause the Packers a gigantic headache, sabotaging Aaron Rodgers transition into the starting quarterback role.

The Chicago spring tease is on and the snow that was frozen into impenetrable blocks of polar ice blocks is finally begin to melt and all I can think about is baseball, baseball, and baseball. I feel like ignoring the return of the steroid scandal (I thought that tumor was benign) and daydreaming about the bleacher seats and the box scores.

Pitchers and catchers have about a week to report for spring training. This means that the season will soon be starting. That also means that anybody waiting to make predictions until the free agent pool whittled down is really out of time. I am sure a few more of these guys will be signed before the season starts (I am assuming Manny Ramirez will end up accepting a short-term deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers) and I am sure after the first round of pennant crippling injuries a few more will find a home, but it has come time to bit the bullet and make a few regular season predictions.

There is something about the fall of an institution or a person that is bigger than life that elicits such strong emotions. There is never any middle ground. It is always a reveling in an almost tyrannical vindictive showcase of fire and brimstone or an intense lament complete with blind nostalgic prose. If the documents released in the Barry Bonds perjury case are even slightly damning then I would be prepared to grab a pitchfork and join the other villagers in a mad riot on the way down to the steroid laced steel gate of his mansion.

Last season the Tampa Bay Rays came out of nowhere with god-like pitching, a little bit of power, and a whole lotta speed to shock every Yankees fan and die hard Red Sox faithful and win the American League East. They had the right elements and they came together at the right time. The club ultimately lost the World Series but still managed to shock the baseball-verse.

The American League East just got a little more interesting. The Tampa Bay Rays are well on their way to completing a deal that will bring Pat Burrell to Florida for just $16 million over two seasons.

So I am writing the 2009 MLB Season Previews. I know it might be a little early, but apart from the always entertaining Manny Ramirez sweepstakes that apparently nobody is buying into, many of the major pieces are already in place. Yes a few worthy pitchers are left and a few good bats are there, so maybe we can call this an early, early season preview.

I firmly believe that the world of Major League Baseball revolves around Scott Boras. The agent has plundered the salaries of every team. In fact I do not consider you to be a professional baseball team until Mr. Boras of the Scott Boras Corporation has reamed you in the offseason.

Now I thought the Yankees got the memo about the recession. The memo read that everybody is supposed to be trying to save a little money and hold back on the spending spree.

So I actually thought that New York baseball was dead. Ok, maybe not dead, but definitely in decline. The New York Yankees were letting go of most of their high priced free agents walk. They were loading up on younger talent like Xavier Nady and veterans like Nick Swisher. These players were going to help with a few wins, but the big spending days with star-studded lineups were over.

Albert Pujols is the player of the hour. This week he was named the NL most valuable player. What a season he had – batted .357, 37 home runs, and 116 RBI’s in 148 games. Not only was he named most valuable player with these great stats but he did all that with an injured right elbow that he struggled with for most of the season. In fact there is a chance that he might need a complete reconstruction of the elbow.

Major League Baseball has two leagues and those two leagues have two different teams that first come to mind. The American League, the dominant league so far this century, has long identified with the New York Yankees. But, as the times have changed, so has the Yankees fate.