It’s the halfway point of the baseball season and time for the usual mid-season awards. God save us from irrelevance. All stats as of July 3.
Managers of the Year
Baseball and the state of Florida go together like chewing tobacco and Pastelitos. With a combined home attendance that would rank 11th in the Major Leagues, the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins are the least seen biggest surprise stories of the year — minus the Mets 3 a.m. firing of manager Willie Randolph. Joe Maddon’s Rays have pulled the worst-to-first turnaround and have proved with a three-game sweep of Boston, that they are no streaky team days away from a second-half collapse. Tampa is led by their pitchers, who are fourth in ERA, third in WHIP and fifth in saves. For a team that has averaged 63 wins over the last six season, it’s a near miracle. Florida’s aboutface is nearly as impressive.
The Marlins finished the 2007 campaign 20 games below .500 and survived the loss of their best player, Miguel Cabrera, and all-time winningest pitcher, Dontrelle Willis. Manager Fredi Gonzalez has kept pressure on the Phillies with a pitching staff boasting the league’s third-worst team ERA and a team batting average ranked No. 11.
AL Rookie of the Year
With 15 home runs and a name strangely similar to the San Antonio Spurs’ most photographed season ticket holder, Evan Longoria has been a big part of Tampa’s plan to unseat Boston and New York. And he’s done pretty well. Longoria leads rookies in home runs, slugging percentage and OPS. Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury has given Boston outfield speed and production at the top of the lineup (55 runs scored, 35 stolen bases) they have been looking for since the departure of Johnny Damon. Joba Chamberlain has done well for himself (2-2, 2.22 ERA in 52.2 innings pitched) but his value has been artificially inflated by typical New York hype. Longoria wins. His team has the best record in baseball and he plays a critical position while taking over Cabrera.
NL Rookie of the Year
Kosuke Fukudome became a cult hero in Chicago when he hit a game-tying home run in the season opener and a game-winning double two days later. Since then he hasn’t done anything to question that devotion with 56 runs, 52 walks, a .290 batting average and a .397 on-base percentage. Fortunate for the Cubs, Fukudome has gotten help from fellow first-year player Geovany Soto. The 25-year-old catcher has put up the offensive numbers (31 runs scored, 23 doubles, 13 home runs, 50 RBI and a .287 batting average), but it is his ability behind the plate that has the really impressed Cubs’ pitchers and manager Lou Pinella. As good as both these players have been, they aren’t team leaders. Jair Jurrjens leads the Braves’ starters in ERA, is tied with Tim Hudson in victories — with three fewer losses — and is second in strikeouts-per-inning.
AL Cy Young
The American League has not had a reliever win the Cy Young since Dennis Eckersley did so with the A’s in 1992. Mariano Rivera could be the next. Although the Bronx Bombers are sitting in third place, seven-and-a-half games behind Tampa, the righthander is having one of the best seasons of his career. At the break he has 22 saves with a 0.96 ERA and 42 strikeouts against only three walks. Cliff Lee has been nearly perfect (11-1) for the underachieving Indians and has walked just 17 batters in 111.2 innings. He’s sixth in strikeouts (90), second in ERA and has a batting average against of .236. Justin Duchscherer’s 1.91 ERA is worth mentioning as is Francisco Rodriguez’s 34 saves and 1.93 ERA, but this is a two-horse race with Lee grabbing the lead after registering 29.7 percent of his team’s total victories
NL Cy Young
Brad Lidge has been the National League version of Mariano Rivera (19 saves, 0.79 ERA), but like his AL counterpart he’s a third wheel on a twin-tire vehicle. Brandon Webb’s league-leading 12 wins is also worthy of note, but it’s a virtual tie between two good pitchers on two bad baseball teams. Tim Lincecum has won 25 percent of the Giants games and Edinson Volquez as done the same for the Reds. They occupy the first two National League spots in ERA and strikeouts, have identical WHIPs and have kept opposing hitters near the Mendoza line. Give the nod to Lincecum. He’s won 90 percent of his decisions while playing on a slightly worse club than his nearest competitor.
AL MVP
As the Cy Young awards have come down to two pitchers, the American League MVP is down to two teams — Chicago with Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye and Texas with Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley. Quentin is tied for third in home runs (19) and RBI (61). He is seventh in OPS and runs scored and 11th in slugging percentage. His teammate has matched his home runs, is tied for seventh with 57 RBI, ninth in runs scored and has a .301 batting average. Texas counters with Hamilton joining the 19 home run club while driving in a league-best 82 RBI. Kinsler is No. 1 in runs scored (74), second in batting average (.323) and fourth in stolen bases. Milton Bradley is hitting .320 average with league-topping marks in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS. It’s Kinsler by a nose. The second baseman is the complete player. He hits for average, has speed (23 stolen bases and third in triples), hits for power (27 doubles and 13 home runs) and has even drove in 50 runners from the lead off spot.
NL MVP
Chipper Jones (.391), Albert Pujols (.348 and 26 strikeouts), Chase Utley (23 home runs, 66 RBI) and Dan Uggla (23, 58) can all make cases for the award that sits firmly on Lance Berkman’s mantle. Houston is five games under .500 and without Berkman they’d be looking up at Pittsburgh. All he has done is lead the league in runs (74), slugging percentage (.692) and OPS (1.140). He is second in doubles (27) and RBI (68), batting average (.358), third in home runs and on-base percentage and has even stole 12 bases.
There was a time when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was entertaining must-hear TV. Flung into a world of sterile sound bites and PC-ladened non-comments, Guillen’s honesty and take-no-prisoners approach to public speaking kept a nation starving for characters and truthful commentary begging for more. In the meantime, he also led the long-suffering Sox to their first World Series title in 88 years. Now, three years and a thousand tirades later, the act has grown stale and unwelcomed as his managerial star continues to fade.
Guillen’s most-recent four-lettered assault on professional conduct came last week when he agressively whined to a reporter about the city’s apparent disinterest in his underachieving team. He slammed Cub fans and anyone else who dared not to bow before the mighty, sub-.500 Sox. In a 39-second clip that actually runs closer to 35 seconds in total rant time on ESPN.com, the White Sox manager is bleeped out 13 times — many of which were of double and even triple length — while quoting TWIB notes not often replayed on the Baseball Bunch like ... “@#*&! everyone. We’re horse*#@!! and we’re going to be horse*#@!! all our lives. No matter how many World Series we win, we are the $&*!# of Chicago. We are Chicago’s $&*!#.”
If Guillen’s #### attacks were kept out of ear range within the clubhouse or limited to only undefined individuals or groups, the comments would be easier to ignore. However, since he continues to use the public platform that his position allows to crudely attack those he feels beneath him — which means everybody — or those who dare to question his seemingly self-imposed encyclopedic knowledge of the game, it’s become intolerable. Just as Chicago-Sun Times columnist Jay Mariotti discovered in 2006.
After questioning in a column the handling of reliever Sean Tracey, who was demoted after refusing an order to hit a batter from his irate manager, Guillen responded with an all-to-typical tirade that contained more bleeps than the Flavor Flav celebrity roast. “What a piece of *#@!! he is. @#*&! F**!,” he was heard to say.
Allow me to jump off track for just a moment.
Wasn’t there a time when roasts were for those who accomplished something more than being involved in the nastiest realty show hookup in TV history? Granted, Flav was once a part of hip-hop royalty, but even in that role he served more as comic relief to Chuck D’s though-provoking lyrics and perfect delivery. Then again, Flav does deserve something beyond penicillin for his death-defying coital romps with Bridgette Nielson.
Back to the subject at hand.
Even in his “apology,” Guillen still managed to describe the columnist as “a piece of *#@!!” To be fair, Mariotti has had run-ins with others on the White Sox staff, and he has been criticized for what some feel is taking cheap shots at Guillen and other team members. Even if this was the case, Guillen has been way out of line in his criticisms of the columnist and anyone else who has raised his ire over the last few years.
Major League Baseball, fans, the media and especially Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Ken Williams have not only put up with his egotistical raving, but have actually encouraged it with steadfast support. Reinsdorf once actually suggested that Guillen is a Hispanic Jackie Mason. After viewing Caddy Shack II, it appears that the owner may not be far off. Both come across more sad than funny.
Like the journalists, fans and corporate sponsors who flock to John Daly telling him how fun-loving and interesting he is, Guillen’s support has manifested itself into an addict’s ignorance of responsibility where all fault always lies somewhere else. Baseball, though this would be a first, has to stand up and demand better behavior.
The league did add its two cents after someone displayed a few inflatable lonely hearts club love dolls with strategically placed bats in the locker room, but declined to address the topic of a manager who simply refuses to conduct himself in any sort of a professional manner. For the record, the league did not come down on the Sox for their creative use of inspirational software calling it a club matter, but at least they had an opinion.
Not since Larry Craig relieved himself in a Minneapolis
airport bathroom while humming the opening score to La Cage Aux Folles has the
cloak and dagger world of titillating, back door investigations taken such an
unusual turn. Last week, Jose Canseco found himself face to face with
baseball’s Keystone Kops of steroidal investigators in the private reading room
of a Manhattan Barnes & Noble.
Canseco was at the bookseller peddling his latest version of
Chicken Soup for the Vindictive Soul when he was approached by investigators
who have been tasked by Bud Selig to flush out any wrong-doers, so long as they
don’t reside in team or league offices.
Canseco was escorted to a second floor restroom where two
security guards blocked the entrance from anyone wanting to spend a few quiet
moments with French impressionist paintings. Once inside the tiled dome of
silence, the investigators picked
Canseco for information about steroid use while setting up possible
future rendezvous to help baseball determine whether or not St. Gregory was
correct in his belief that a secure camode was indeed the best place for
uninterrupted reading or that the St. Gregory Hotel and Suites in Washington
D.C. really does have luxurious bathrooms as reported by tripadvisor.com A
spokesperson for his publisher Simon & Schuster confirmed that Canseco
would be hitting future rooms of repose in Boston, Chicago, L.A. San Diego,
Oakland and San Francisco.
Citing a universal rule of men’s room conversation that
limits discussion among even the closest of allies to little more than a nod
and a possible “Sup” with absolutely no vertical eye movement, Canseco’s
attorney Robert Saunooke said he was in shock at the meeting. An appropriate
response but one that suddenly degraded and becomes a bit unnerving when,
according to Florida Today, Saunooke disturbingly added, “I’ve got goose
bumps.” Possibly so did the 150 people waiting in line to purchase Canseco’s
list of Big Names, Big Liars, and his Battle to Save Baseball, but unlike
Canseco’s legal counsel they weren’t being confined to a room where the biggest
recreational activity is playing water hockey with a urinal cake.
What exactly is baseball’s interest in Jose after all these
years remains to be seen. They gave him a wide berth after the publication of
his first book even after it proved to be unsettlingly accurate. He’s testified
before Congress and talked with George Mitchell during his investigation into
the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs, but until now he has had no official
dealings directly with Major League Baseball. Maybe Selig is finally paying
attention. Maybe he just wants to play Alex Rodriguez for a day and make a run
at Canseco’s former wife or at least be an observer at the next Jessica
Canseco/Debbie Clemens #### comparison party where no talk of steroids ever
occurred. No word yet on whether Magglio Ordonez also tried to go through the
former Hooters waitress' drive through but the smart money on league interest
involves squashing any future editions of Jose Canseco's Baseball Camp.
In 1989, the mulleted, stuttering slugger tried to keep his
athletically challenged students awake with such expert advise as “hit the ball
harder” and “aim for the middle of the ball.”
And while Canseco may never be mentioned with Ted Williams
or Charlie Lau when discussions arise about the masters of hitting theory, he
did recognize the importance of nutrician and developing a proper athletic physique. In a performance more
wooden that anything William Shatner could have conjured up Bill Foran, a
former strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami, warned the
kids about the dangers of steroids as Canseco nods in agreement while conjuring
up images of the Moscow Music Peace Festival which brought together the likes of
Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue to promote a drug-free Soviet Union.
Even if Canseco’s next trek into the world of literary
prowess finds no bidders for "One More Dead Horse to Kick: A Final Grab for
Cash," he’ll always have Manhattan.
With the positively mediocre preseason predictions for the 2007 season designated shredder food, it’s time to once again wade into the unpredictable future that is the 2008 Major League Baseball season.
AL East
While the New York Yankees will put a lot of hurtin’ on pitchers, this division belongs to the Red Sox. The team is loaded offensively with Manny, Big Papi and Mike Lowell, but for the team that scored the third most runs in the league, it’s the pitching staff that separates them from the Yankees and every other team in the AL. Boston led the league with a 3.87 ERA last season and boasts two Cy Young candidates and enough depth that their fifth starterr was good for 12 wins. Even if the staff struggles, which could very well happen as the long season took its toll on Daisuke Matsuzaka while Curt Schilling battled injuries and age, their offense and bullpen will get them into post-season play. And that’s where it will get scarier for AL teams because of the Sox top four relievers racked up 46 saves and a combined era of 2.05.
AL Central
A year ago the Tigers were one win behind Boston for the best record in baseball at the All-Star break just to have it collapse as injuries devastated their pitching staff and cost DH Gary Sheffield a large part of the second half. Though pitching remains a concern, a similar break down is unlikely as this team will simply bash its way to the division crown. Defensive improvements will also help if for no other reason than moving stone-handed shortstop Carlos Guillen to first but hitting will be the star of the show. The Tigers’ likely batting order for 2008 hit .302, .341, .265, .363, .320, .296, .330, .280 and .285 a year ago. Included in this onslaught was 168 home runs in the pitching-friendly park and 762 RBI. Don’t be surprised if Miguel Cabrera wins the AL MVP award.
AL West
Provided that John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Scott Shields have no lingering effects from their injuries, the Angles will win their fourth division title in five years. The Mariners, with the addition of starter Erik Bedard, will make it a close, but the Angles should be able to pull this one off. In addition to strengthening their pitching staff with Jon Garland, the Angels finally found some offensive help for All-Star Vladimir Guerrero. The outfield of Garret Anderson (.297, 16, 80), newcomer Torii Hunter (.287, 28, 107 and 18 stolen bases) and Guerrero (.324, 27, 125) gives Los Angeles the firepower to weather early season pitching problems. Hunter’s addition also means better defense and more production out of the DH spot with Gary Matthews Jr. (.252, 18, 72, 18 stolen bases) being relieved of fielding duties.
NL East
If you think the Mets season-ending collapse won’t happen again, well, you’re right. But even with Johan Santana, it will hardly be a cakewalk to the division title because, surprisingly, pitching could be their downfall. Offensively the team is set with some of the best young hitters in the game, but outside of the possible 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner, the staff has holes. Pedro Martinez did post a 2.57 ERA a year ago but it was in only five starts and he hasn’t really put it together since 2005. He’s also 37 years old. John Maine is young and had a break-out year in 2007, but he’s no lock to repeat. Likewise for Oliver Perez, whose 15 wins last year were more than his combined totals in the three previous seasons. The bullpen is solid with Billy Wagner, but as a unit the relief corps pitched 500-plus innings a year ago and could falter if once again asked to carry such a load. Any bump in the road, and the Phillies will once again take over.
NL Central
Milwakee’s rotation is short and they have a retread at closer. The Cardinals’ starting five will be a piecemeal project while Matt Clement, Mark Mulder, Joel Pineiro and Chris Carpenter slowly come off the DL over the next few months. That leaves the Cubs as repeat winners of the division and it isn’t totally due to the shortcomings of others. A year ago Chicago had the second best team ERA in the league. Carlos Zambrano has a fine backup in Ted Lilly, who won 15 games last year and has reduced his ERA each season for the past three years. Rich Hill is in his third year, and though he has struggled this spring is a lock at No. 3. Hitting looks to improve with the addition of highly regarded import Kosuke Fukudome and promising catcher Geovany Soto, who hit .389 in 12 games last year.
NL West
Good luck picking what has been baseball’s tightest, but hardly best, division over the past few years. A year ago three teams finished within one-and-a-half games of each other, and No. 4 made the biggest off-season move by bringing in arguably baseball’s best manager. San Diego had the best staff in the league last year with Arizona coming in at No. 4. Unfortunately, neither team could hit worth a lick finishing at two final spots on the board. Colorado and Los Angeles finishing atop the hitting category, but couldn’t match their two interdivisional rivals in pitching. Flip a coin if you must, but with solid starting pitching, an outstanding closer, the signing of Andruw Jones and a young and talented James Loney who — at the time of this writing — was hitting .331 during spring and the Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League West.
AL Playoffs
Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland
Even with Chien-Ming Wang fronting the rotation and Joba Chamberlain likely to move into a starting role, the Yankees’ long-in-the-tooth pitching staff is finally too much to overcome. Cleveland, a 96-game winner last year, beats Boston and Detroit out powers L.A. to set up a American League Central showdown for league supremacy.
NL Playoffs
Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia
The deeper Dodgers get past Philly while Chicago provides some hope after a century of failure by defeating the Mets and getting to the division finals.
World Series
Detroit’s lack of bullpen strength becomes obvious as the team cannot hold its early leads and Cleveland moves on to the World Series to play Los Angeles as once again the Cubs suffer another season of disappointment.
Indian fans, who themselves have suffered through 50 years of losing, celebrate their team’s victory at the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame.
Where else are they going to go?
Job Wanted:
Broken down slugger with bad knees and defensive liabilities is seeking a high paying job with a contending team. Will only bat third and requires two lockers, La-Z-Boy recliner, large screen TV — off limits to teammates — and private trainers with run of the locker room. Does not play well with others and may need time off to fight bogus charges and assassination attempts to character. Will also blame others for personal shortcomings. Only serious offers need to apply. Contact Jeff Borris or Donald Fehr with concessions.
With the Major League Baseball season just a week away, Fehr is concerned that the game’s all-time leading home run hitter, Clearasil-user and friend to the oppressed is still without a job. So astonished by the development is he that he’s looking into the matter to see if the Major League clubs have come together to purposely keep his man out of the game. No word yet from the union head on whether the player’s health, popularity or his possible future residency in the Hotel de Vertical Sunlight has had any adverse affect on Bonds’ contract status. Tampa briefly discussed bringing him aboard and Cardinal manager Tony LaRussa endorsed the idea of Barry replacing another former lumbering long ball specialist who has since gone into hiding. Unfortunately for baseball’s resident genius, the notion was shot down faster than Mark McGwire with a bottle of Winstrol.
Bonds’ only value is to an American League team with a hole at DH that is looking for a big bat to get them into the playoffs. This rules out every team in the East as only Boston and New York are playoff bound with neither in need of extra fire power and poorer defense should they decide to put him elsewhere. Detroit will crush its way to the Central title and needs relief help. Cleveland is secure with Travis Hafner while the White Sox have Jim Thome and a psycho manager who reserves the role of dugout buffoon to himself. After moving Johan Santana, Minnesota now boasts a pitching staff that returns only one starter — Kevin Slowey, 4-1 — with a winning record. Bringing Bonds on board would only satisfy the requirement of losing by a closer margin. The Angels are the best team in the West and were already the majors’ sixth-best run producers before Torii Hunter was signed. Seattle, on the other hand, was seventh in the American League in scoring and could use another bat but lacks cash after the Mariners committed $100 million to Ichiro Suzuki. The Bay Area still loves the ornery former left fielder and Billy Beane is an OBP fan, but the A’s are going nowhere.
But the future is not totally bleak for the future Hall of Famer. The Lake Elsinore Storm, a Class-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, has put forth an offer to Bonds in it’s media relations department. In the not-to-be-taken-seriously memo offering Bonds the “cushy media job,” Storm general manager Chris Jones said, “We just think the way he has handled the media with such grace over the years that he would be a perfect fit in our media relations department.”
No word yet on if Barry is considering the position.
It shouldn’t take long to see if Roger Clemens’ three-day whistle stop tour of the nation’s capital — which included meetings with 24 hill residents — will have its intended effect. If we take Rep. Tom Davis’ (R-Va) comment at face value that “someone is lying in spectacular fashion about the ultimate question,” then the next step in Clemens vs. McNamee is an investigation by the justice department. Such results, however, are not always available in the city with an #### lobbyist fetish.
Going after Brian McNamee would be simple. He’s a nobody with no friends, and punishing him for soiling the name of the Republican favorite would be easy. But proving he did so would be much tougher faced with corroborating statements from former clients. Clemens, while easier to prosecute, is safer from the threat of possible prosecution because, well, he’s Roger Clemens.
Most who have testified before such a body aren’t able to name-drop about a deer-blind phone call of support from a former president who just happens to belong to the same party as those roasting his antagonist. Nor do they have questioners falling over themselves to expound the heroic acts of a man who tossed a ball for a living.
Rep. Dan Burton left little doubt regarding his allegiance as he railed against McNamee saying, “Roger Clemens is a titan in baseball and you with all these lies, if they are not true, are destroying him and his reputation. Now how does he get his reputation back if this is not true, and how can we believe you because you’ve lied and lied and lied and lied.”
What was expected to be nothing more than popular topic-posturing turned into a partisan love fest where each side praised the particular enemy they’d prefer to sleep with, but the Republican from Indiana wasn’t the most pathetic member of the Beltway circus.
No, the prize for biggest suck up does not go to the congressman who allegedly threatened Major League Baseball with an investigation after a group including Democratic party spend-thrift George Soros made an initial play for the Washington Nationals. That honor actually goes to a trio of GOP blowhards who treated Clemens like an NRA lobbyist.
Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) displayed photos of Clemens to show how his body had not changed over the years saying, “You appear to me about the same size in all those photos. It doesn’t appear [your] size changed much.” The photos, by the way, were exactly the same as those in a 62-page document Clemens’ team gave to reporters prior to the hearing. The honorable representative from the great state of North Carolina also grilled McNamee if he planned to write a book and sneered at him saying “We'll see about that,” when he answered no. Fortunately, Foxx solidified her claim as an impartial observer by being seen giving Debbie Clemens a hug following the proceedings.
Joining Foxx on the Clemens appreciation committee was Carolyn Maloney (R-N.Y.), who thanked him for his service to the New York Yankees and, maybe most pathetic, Rep. Eleanor Norton, who commented “All I can say, Mr. Clemens, is I’m sure you’re going to heaven.”
While the Republican side of the committee did the most to steer clear of contesting Clemens on the inconsistencies of his testimony, to be honest the Democrats had their share of sucking up as well. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) admitted the big right-hander was “one of my heroes” while discrediting Clemens’ testimony. William “Lacy” Clay (D-Mo.), who could have been one of Foxx’s lap dogs, asked what uniform he’d be wearing upon induction to the Hall of Fame
Who the hell cares.
With a nation at war, gas prices choking the economy and gulf state residents still in need of a place to live more than two years after a massive storm left them homeless, it is unconsionable that a group of elected officials, whose job it is to take care of such problems, would put aside such meager concerns in order to suck up to an athlete who seems to have adopted the Pete Rose defense — arrogantly lie while the evidence mounts.
“No matter what we discuss here today, I am never going to have my name restored,” said Clemens channeling the all-time hits king. “I know a lot of people want me to say I took steroids and be done with it. But I cannot in good conscience admit to doing something I did not do, even if it would be easier to do so.”
Though Burton claimed to have seen no evidence that Clemens used steroids in his attack on McNamee, he should have heard enough to question why the Rocket was allegedly getting shot up with Lidocaine for various injuries after Dr. Arthur Pappas, the medical director for the Boston Red Sox for 25 years, told investigators the drug is used only as a local anesthetic mostly in combination with other injections that include, according to a New York Daily News article, steroids. Burton is correct that there was no smoking gun but there are plenty of powder burns to raise the su####ion of anyone actually concerned with getting at the truth.
With baseball being exempt from the nation’s anti-trust laws, Congress has some oversight into what is going on and, to be fair, if it weren’t for their grandstanding nearly three years ago, baseball would not have a drug testing program, the Mitchell report would not have been instigated, and Bud Selig and Donald Fehr could continue to hide behind their clouds of lies. So maybe some good could become of the hearing.
But if this is where it ends, at least we have the magnanimous Clemens to help us through the dark times.
“If I am guilty of anything it is of being to trusting of everyone, wanting to see the best in everyone, being too nice to everyone.”
From our good friends at Hendricks Sports Management, where
billable hours is not just an accounting term but a way of life, comes the
third installment in the Roger Clemens defense strategy that has so far
produced a predictable interview and an uninformative, slime-covered, secretly
recorded phone conversation. The latest submission, the 49-page “Analysis of
the Career of Roger Clemens,” further shows Clemens’ defense team will leave no
dollar unturned in its half-assed approached to defending its client.
The report in itself is not bad. Chock full of colorful
graphs and tables, the crunch of numbers, categories and comparisons are enough
to drain the brain of any amateur sabermatrician. And that is exactly the
point. Innocence through confusion. Bury the opposition behind a mountain of
data. It worked for O.J., and it worked for Capitalist Records in its suit
against Chef over ownership of Stinky Britches.
Hendricks Sports Management has wisely employed the
Chewbacca defense. It is asking the members of the supposed jury in the court
of public opinion to deliberate and conjugate the Emancipation Proclamation to
determine if charges leveled against their client makes any sense. Johnny
Cochran would have been proud.
The first real good flood of information appears on Page 10
in the form of a table that breaks Roger’s seasonal ERA margins — a comparison
of the Rocket’s ERA to league averages — into six tiers. No explanation is
offered as to why the authors chose six categories instead of two, 12 or 24.
The text below the table states that Clemens produced nine “average-to-good”
years, nine years of “superior” performances and six years “at the highest
levels.” Below that is a three-#### line graph to better illustrate the ups
and downs of his career. It looks nice, in a high school term paper kind of
way.
According to the report, Clemens’ best years were over in
1999, and “While Clemens pitched at a high level of quality at different points
throughout his career, the quality of his pitching declined as he reached his
late 30s and early 40s.”
Not exactly a winning endorsement for a free-agent pitcher,
who at the end of the season still had not yet ruled out another return to the
game. But if any suitors were to call upon the still-unattached pitcher, it
would take no time for the boys at Hendricks to produce another report
extolling the virtues of the man who between the ages of 41-43 won 38 games
while posting a 2.40 ERA.
The report is correct in saying that Clemens’ career was
lengthened by his ability to learn new pitches and his adoption of a fitness
routine following his shoulder surgery in 1985. No matter what the level of
artificial help, if any, a pitcher uses, long-term success depends on
continually learning new ways to get a batter out and being in shape.
Nolan Ryan, Clemens’ friend and hero, whose career was
examined in the report and who is by far the best litmus test for Clemens,
stressed fitness and intelligence his entire career. Ryan survived 27 years of
big league punishment not through chemical help, but by changing his pitching
style and reducing the burden on his arm and shoulder by developing and
maintaining leg strength. The report uses that fact in support of Clemens. It
is the strongest argument in a paper that goes from viable to confusing to
flat-out wrong.
The confusion comes on the final page where a document
titled, Exhibit A, makes the claim that if Clemens pitched for the Rangers
instead of Houston in 2005, he would have finished the season with a 24-3
record and an eighth Cy Young. How this has any bearing on the Rocket’s case is
a complete mystery — especially with the authors’ disregard for wins as an
accurate measure of a pitcher’s individual ability.
Things go from weird to wrong at the end of the analysis of
the report, as the authors list 31 Hall of Famers who pitched into their 40s as
a way to show how unspectacular Clemens has been.
The problem is that not every pitcher mentioned actually
pitched into their 40s. According to baseball-reference.com and
baseball-almanac.com, Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson,
Walter Johnson and Robin Roberts all finished their careers at the age of 39.
Four more (Chief Bender, Carl Hubbell, Ferguson Jenkins,
Herb Pennock) pitched only one year into their 40s. Three others (Dennis
Eckersley, Satchel Paige and Hoyt Wilhelm) were relievers and one, Cy Young,
pitched in an era so long past that any comparison is highly suspect. That
leaves a total of 26 pitchers to safely judge Clemens against. A nice number,
but hardly the landslide of evidence suggested in the report. But how does
Clemens compare to his earlier colleagues?
With a minimum number of four years pitched in their 40s,
(Clemens toiled for five) the list get narrowed down to Grover Cleveland
Alexander, Steve Carlton, Red Faber, Jesse Haines, Phil Niekro, ####lord Perry,
Nolan Ryan, Warren Spahn, Don Sutton, Dazzy Vance and Early Wynn as the only
“... noteworthy ... Hall of Fame pitchers (who) pitched into their 40s.”
The verdict? Clemens leads them all in winning percentage,
earned run average and WHIP.
Clemens is arguably the best of all time, a first ballot
Hall of Famer. But this report does nothing to support his claims of innocence.
As the media tongues wag incessantly about the names contained in the Mitchell report, the bigger story of what the report fails to address — that the commissioners’ office most likely operated with full knowledge of steroid use among the players — is being lost amid the debate over whether or not Roger Clemens cheated.
This should come as no surprise, as Mitchell did exactly what he was hired to do — that is, to go after players while shielding the league from any real responsibility. True, 16 members of the commissioner’s office were among the 700 people interviewed by the former senator, Red Sox consultant and Florida Marlins board member, but the report makes no conclusion to baseball’s culpability into the whole sordid affair.
Any hope that Mitchell would put the magnifying glass to league leaders was quickly dashed by the title: Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal use of Steroids and other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.
Mitchell’s instructions were quite clear. “On March 30, 2006, the Commissioner of Baseball, Allan H. (“Bud”) Selig, asked me to investigate allegations that a number of players in Major League Baseball had illegally used steroids and other performance enhancing substances.” (Page 13)
While any reasonable person would conclude that an investigation into the drug culture of a business should include a careful look into any involvement by the management of said business, the Mitchell Report carefully stays away from any such indictments. However, evidence within the 409 pages show a pattern of behavior that seems to have existed in every Major League clubhouse that could not have been missed by Selig and other high-ranking members of the league.
Reports of steroid use in baseball began to surface shortly after Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was busted for using steroids to help him win the 100-meter gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. That same year, Jose Canseco was taunted by fans in Boston after speculation in the media first linked the power-hitting outfielder to performance-enhancing drugs. In a Washington Post article, writer Thomas Boswell described Canseco as “the most con####uous example of a player who has made himself great with steroids.” (p. 109) Boswell made this statement the same year that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa made their historic — and most likely tainted — assault on the single season home run record.
A year later, Canseco’s assistant, David Valdez, was found with a gun and alleged steroids in his luggage at the Detroit Metro Airport. Valdez said that he admitted to the gun charges to spare Canseco embarrassment about the steroids. He explained that the steroids belonged to him, not Canseco, but Valdez added that he did not know the pills he was carrying were steroids at the time of his arrest. (p.111)
At the time, baseball distanced itself from the growing controversy with a statement saying that “baseball would not investigate Canseco’s possible steroid use because baseball had ‘no information about his usage or the usage of any other player in the major leagues.’” (p.110)
If Selig didn’t know about steroid use in the game, he must have been the only one. While discussing Canseco’s book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, former manager Tony LaRussa told 60 Minutes Wednesday in 2005 that “ when Canseco played for Oakland, he ‘would laugh about the time that other guys were spending [in the gym] and how he didn’t have to, because he was, he was doing the other helper. He was having help in a different way. You know, the easy way.’” (p.112) The report also quotes Dave McKay, an Oakland coach from 1984 to 1995, who told the Toronto Sun, “We had one guy who talked about steroids, and that was Jose … The most common question I was asked was: ‘I won’t get too big, will I?’” (p.113)
Both men denied their earlier statements when questioned by Mitchell, but the investigator said, “Neither LaRussa nor McKay shared their concerns with the Oakland front office, however.” According to La Russa, “I thought, what’s the use? So I didn’t say anything.” (p.114)
Of course, Canseco wasn’t the only user and more stories crept to the surface over the next 10 years without much serious action by the league, even though reporters noted the su####ions of such insiders as then-Padres’ general manager Randy Smith, Montreal Expos GM Kevin Malone, Reds general manager Jim Bowden and Hall of Fame hitter Tony Gwinn, who the report quotes as calling steroids “the big secret we’re not supposed to talk about.” (p.119)
In 1998, Detroit Tigers pitcher Todd Jones wrote in his column for the Birmingham News about the use of steroids and amphetamines in Major League Baseball, saying, “In my time in the big leagues, I’ve never seen anyone take steroids. But I have seen teammates come to spring training 40 pounds heavier, then tell me: ‘Not me, man, I used creatine.’ Yeah, right!”
Even with this circumstantial evidence, Selig still claimed that “if baseball has a problem, I must say candidly that we were not aware of it … It certainly hasn’t been talked about much.” (p. 119)
Selig seems to contradict his earlier statement in an article by then Los Angeles Times reporter Bob Nightengale, who reported that the issue had been discussed among the owners at a meeting 18 months earlier and that no one had any evidence that steroid use should be a concern.
Mitchell says, “In some incidents, club personnel did not report evidence to the Commissioner’s Office of a player’s possible involvement with performance enhancing substances but instead simply disposed of the evidence.” (p.134)
This seems like a big risk, considering that since 1991 the league’s drug policy stated that “If any club covers up or fails to disclose to [the Commissioner’s] office any information concerning drug use by a player, the Club will be fined in an amount up to $2 million, the highest allowable amount under the Major League Constitution.” Mitchell goes on to say that “many club personnel told us that they were not aware of the policy.” (pgs. 340-341).
This is not to suggest the people Mitchell talked to were lying, but it does make one question how a club could be so careless with a rule that carries such a large fine.
The Mitchell Report is not without merit. The report is an obviously exhaustive look at the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, and the photocopied checks to alleged dealers are quite convincing. The page 64 statement that says, “After the Associated Press reported in August 1998 that Mark McGwire was using androstenedione, a steroid precursor that was legal at the time, sales of that supplement increased by over 1,000 percent” forever puts an end to any questions regarding how the actions of pro athletes filter down to throughout society.
The Mitchell document serves its intended purpose of exposing those who used steroids and how they were obtained.
Unfortunately, it would have been much better if the league conducted on honest investigation and not one designed to protect the commissioner and other league brass.
The only thing guaranteed when the members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America turn in their Hall of Fame ballots is that hype will be more valued than talent, hitters will take a back seat to sluggers, grudges will be held and changes in the game will cause the worthy to be left out.
Not that this should come as a surprise. As we have reported in this space, great careers do not guarantee easy admission. It took Al Simmons — 307 HR, 1,827 RBI, .334 average and 2,927 hits — eight election cycles to make it. For Harry Heilmann — .342 average, 1,539 RBI and 2,660 hits — it was an 11-year wait. Even Rogers Hornsby had to wait. After hitting 301 home runs and a career .358 batting average, Hornsby was named on only 17.6 percent of the ballots in 1938 and none the year before. He eventually made it in 1942.
The ballots were sent this week.
Hall of Famers
Bert Blyleven — His career winning percentage of .534 is more a testament to the teams he played for then his ability on the mound. Over his 22-year career, the six teams he played for won .501 percent (1826-1820) of their games. His 3.31 era puts him in the category with Hall of Famers Lefty Gomez (3.34), Ferguson Jenkins (3.34) and Don Sutton (3.26), but he was a much better strikeout pitcher with 3,701 Ks— fifth all time.
Andre Dawson — One has to wonder how long the Hawk would have to wait if he hadn’t played his first 11 years in Montreal. Dawson is one of six men in baseball history who have hit at least 300 home runs (438) and stole 300 bases (314). He drove in 1,591 RBI, won eight Gold Gloves in nine years and was the National League MVP for the last place Cubs in 1987.
Rich Gossage — In the days before relievers became closers and when saves were actually earned, Gossage was a terrifying presence on the mound who victimized hitters with a devastating fastball. Though his 310 saves currently ranks him 17th, at the time of his retirement only three men had recorded more. Add in his 2.05 ERA over a 10-year span — not including his one season as a starter in 1976 — and his numbers reach legendary status.
Jim Rice — Rice didn’t play very long (16 years) and didn’t exactly endear himself to the voters — this will be his 14th year on the ballot — but what he did on the field through out the 1970s and ’80s was exemplary. Rice finished with 373 home runs and 1,451 RBI during a time when 35 home runs and 100 RBI put players in positions to lead the league. Rice finished first in home runs three times and RBI twice. He was the American League MVP in 1978 and for his career averaged 30 home runs, 113 RBI and hit .298.
All-Stars (Close calls)
Mark McGwire — A big hitter who thrived in era of offensive explosion, Big Mac was a average-at-best fielder with no speed and mediocre batting average (.263). Eighth all time with 583 home runs, McGwire is loved by fans and writers who see him as one of the saviors of the national game. At least they did until his embarrassing testimony before Congress.
Jack Morris — Morris was the winningest pitcher in the ’80s and one of the game’s best big game performers. His 3.90 ERA is a bit high, but his 254 wins, 2,478 strike outs stand out in an impressive career. One of the last ironman pitchers, he tossed 175 complete games while averaged 241 innings pitched. His 14 opening day starts is the most since Walter Johnson.
Tim Raines — In his first year of eligibility, the slap hitting, base-stealing wizard will make voters think. His 808 stolen bases (fifth all time), 2,605 hits, 1,571 runs (46th) and .294 average deem serious consideration. Compari-sons with Hall of Famer Lou Brock are favorable. Brock tops Raines in stolen bases, runs, hits, doubles and triples. Raines leads in home runs and RBI. He also struck out less, was caught stealing fewer time and walked nearly twice as much.
Lee Smith — Though Smith benefited from playing in the modern era of relievers, finishing first in games finished and second in saves says something. He was either first or second in saves eight times, won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award three times and was named to seven All Star teams.
Starters (Solid, but …)
Harold Baines — Good hitter who stock piled numbers over a long career. 384 home runs, 2,866 hits, 1,628 RBI resulted in 5.3 percent of the vote last year.
Dave Concepcion — The light-hitting middle infielder with a slick glove (five Gold Gloves) and 321 stolen bases was a not-so-poor man’s Ozzie Smith.
David Justice — His 305 home runs, 1,017 RBI, 929 runs and a career .279 average made for a good, but not great career. His mistreatment of Halle Berry also costs him BIG TIME.
Don Mattingly — Over a six-year span, Donnie Baseball was one of the game’s best, averaging 26.6 home runs, 114 RBI, 96.8 runs while hitting .326. Over the next six years he never hit more than 17 home runs or drove in more than 89 runs and his average plummeted 40 points.
Dale Murphy — The two-time MVP was the face of the Atlanta Braves during the 1980s. From 1978 to 1989, Murphy averaged 149 games played, 88 runs scored, 29 home runs, 88 RBI and a .269 batting average. His five Gold Gloves attest to his overall athletic ability.
Robb Nen — Effective while he lasted, his 314 saves ranked 15th all-time. Career cut short after only 10 seasons.
Dave Parker — Between 1975 and 1979, the Cobra never hit lower than .308 and averaged 22 home runs and 98 RBI. The seven-time All Star bounced back in the ’80s, but never completely regained his form. His totals — 2,712 hits, 339 home runs, 1,493 RBI and three Gold Gloves — show just how good he was and what could have been.
Alan Trammell — Neither a hitter like Cal Ripken Jr. nor a glove man like Ozzie Smith, Trammell carved out a long career as second best at both. His four Gold Gloves, .285 batting average and 185 home runs would have set a standard in almost any other era.
Bench Players (Nice careers)
Brady Anderson — Cal’s best friend went from 16 home runs in 1995 to 50 a season later. Any guesses how?
Rod Beck — Popular player saved 286 games in 13 seasons.
Shawon Dunston — Role player through 18 MLB seasons.
Chuck Finley — Five-time All-Star was a quality starter who won 15 games seven times.
Travis Fryman — Four All-Star games in first six years hinted at talent. Out of baseball after 13 years.
Tommy John — More famous for the surgery that bears his name. Won 288 games in 26-year career.
Chuck Knoblauch — Rookie of the Year and All-Star second sacker in Minnesota crumbled under the pressure in New York.
Jose Rijo — Solid pitcher whose career was cut short by injury.
Todd Stottlemyre — Won two World Series with Toronto.
Did first-half spill over to October? Let’s find out.
American League Comeback Player of the Year
At the turn: After near banishment, Sammy Sosa lit up the first half with 14 home runs, 63 RBI and 35 runs scored.
At the finish: Coming back from playing in only 39 games in 2006 to hit 25 home runs and 75 RBI would have been enough for Gary Sheffield to win in most years, but 2007 was no ordinary season. Sosa hit only .221 in 2005 and was out of baseball in 2006, but the former favorite son of Chicago proved doubters wrong with 21 home runs and 92 RBI while hitting .252.
National League Comeback Player of the Year
At the turn: Dimitri Young didn’t just lose his job with the Detroit Tigers, his whole life unraveled with a divorce, depression, substance abuse and a guilty plea in an assault case.
At the finish: Young’s second half performance proved the first three months were no fluke. The Nationals’ first baseman hit a career high .320 with 13 home runs and 74 RBI. Most importantly he got his life back together and was able to mend some fences with his previous employer.
American League Rookie of the Year
At the turn: Daisuke Matsuzaka came into the league with a bullpen full of hype and in the first half he didn’t disappoint, racking up 10 wins with a .233 batting average against mark to go along with 119 strikeouts and only 39 walks.
At the finish: Not Dice-K. Since the mid point, the high priced import went 5-6 with a 5.19 ERA to open the door for Dustin Pedroia and Tampa’s Delmon Young. Young bested Pedroia by 21 hits, five home runs and 43 RBI. However, the Red Sox second baseman topped out in runs, walks, batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and OPS. He walked more than he struck out and was 85 to the good over Young in the K department. Red Sox fans rejoice.
National League Rookie of the Year
At the half: About the only thing Hunter Pence failed to stockpile in the first half of the season were saves. At the break, Pence led all rookies in doubles, triples, on-base and slugging percentages. He was even second in the league in batting (.346).
At the finish: You’d have to think of yourself as snake bit after turning in first year numbers like .291, 24 home runs, 99 RBI and 104 runs scored and not picking up some post season hardware. But that’s what happened to Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki. He just happened to come along at the same time when Ryan Braun went nuts with 34 home runs, 97 RBI and 15 stolen bases go to along with a nice .314 batting average. He also beat T-squared in slugging, OBP and OPS.
American League Manager of the Year
At the turn: Eric Wedge took a talented Cleveland team to within one game of the top of the Central while winning 12 more games than the year before. The Mariners surprised everyone by combining a 49-36 start that included an 18-9 record in May with the shocking resignation of manager Mike Hargrove, while Mike Scioscia had to deal with an injury-plagued team.
At the finish: This is a toughie. Scioscia had to be a circus performer trying to keep his hit-and-run ball club in contention, while Joe Torre had to weather through two of the most renching months in recent memory. Though Torre has every hitter money can buy, his pitching staff was a mess, but he held the team together and nearly caught the Red Sox. Torre was great, but Scioscia was just a tad better. The Angels do not bludgeon teams into submission, which makes it even harder to push across runs when the parts are constantly changing. To tie the Yankees in victories while scoring 146 less runs is impressive. To do it with so many players on the DL is even more so.
National League Manager of the Year
At the turn: Sure the Brewers have some serious talent, but a young team needs direction and Ned Yost guided his youngsters to the division lead. Out of the gate it seemed that the Cubs had once again traded money for losses, but a 21-13 finish before the All Star break rescued their season.
At the finish: Congratulations to the Phillies for hanging around long enough for the Mets to implode. Nice job, but not award-worthy. A season ago the Chicago Cubs were an undisciplined mess and finished with the worst record in the National League. This year they are the Central Division champs. Lou Pinella may be tougher than a $2 steak and can wear out a welcome in no time, but the guy knows baseball.
American League CY Young
At the turn: Oakland’s Dan Haren was a stud in the first half recording 10 wins against two losses while placing first in ERA (2.20) and BAA (.202) and second in WHIP (.98). His 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio was also impressive.
At the finish: Haren came back to Earth a bit in the second half and Josh Beckett (12-2, 3.44 at the break) just got better. Though Boston will always be the Manny and Big Papi show, Beckett anchored the team fight against the encroaching Yankees by winning four of five games in September. He was also Major League Baseball’s only 20-game winner to go along with a 3.27 ERA to just edge out Cleveland’s C.C. Sabbathia.
National League CY Young
At the turn: San Diego’s playoff hopes were completely tied to its deep pitching staff, and with Jake Peavey’s 10-1 start they were right on track.
At the finish: Though the Padres were edged out by the Diamondbacks and Rockies, it doesn’t take away from Peavey’s performance. All the right-hander did was lead the National League in wins, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings.
American League MVP
At the turn: With the Tigers leading the American League Central and Magglio Ordonez hitting .370 with 35 doubles, 68 runs scored and 69 RBI, he got the nod over A-Rod and the struggling Yankees.
At the finish: In 2003 Barry Bonds won the NL MVP without finishing in the top 25 in RBI. Stats don’t always tell the entire story, but this year they did. Alex Rodriguez was simply a monster. All he did was lead the league in runs (143), RBI (156), home runs (54), total bases (376) and OPS (1.067) He also hit .318 and the Yankees nearly caught the Red Sox. That’s not just an MVP season — it’s a Hall of Fame season.
National League MVP
At the turn: Although we shouldn’t expect to see Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder at any father/son picnics in the near future, he surely had to make Daddy proud of his first-half stats. Fielder led the league in home runs (27), was second in slugging percentage (.604), tied for third in RBI, fifth in OPS and sixth in runs scored.
At the finish: Whether or not you believe Matt Holliday was safe in their one-game playoff against the Padres, it hardly matters — the Rockies’ leftfielder came through all season. Colorado went 19-8 in September, including winning 12 of 13 in the final two weeks of the season. Holliday had career highs in nearly every statistical category while leading the league in hitting (.340), total bases (386), doubles (50) and RBI (137). He was also third in runs scored and fourth in home runs.
Call it the week of four angry men — eight fewer than needed to really get the dander up of jurors No. 3 and 10, but enough to recognize the need of Henry Fonda’s enlightened intelligence.
Oklahoma State’s head coach Mike Gundy got things going with a three-minute-20-second post game tantrum over comments made by Daily Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson about Cowboy quarterback Bobby Reid. Carlson suggested that coaches had lost confidence in the player, and that he may not have the guts to tough out minor injuries or the confidence to perform under pressure. She quotes Reid from an article by another Oklahoman reporter, Andrea Cohen, in which he talked about his pregame nerves.
“I get sweaty palms. I get the butterflies in my stomach. I sweat lot,” he said then. “I’ve been playing this game for 15 years. And I can honestly say every game I’ve played in, I’ve been nervous. It’s not so much me being scared; I just get to a point where I start worrying about a lot of things I can’t control.”
At the press conference, Gundy glared at someone, obviously Carlson, and screamed how it was unfair to attack a “kid,” and likened his feelings to that of a mother having to help console a child who was teased for dropping a pass in a pickup game or because he was fat. He went on to say that three-fourths of the information was untrue and called it fiction. Unfortunately, when queried by Carlson about what facts she had gotten wrong, Gundy declined to offer an example saying, “I don’t have to.” Good retort.
In a week of overheated macho bullcrap, this was the worst. A head coach at a large university talks about the impropriety of criticizing an adult old enough to vote, drink and walk a post in Iraq, all the while screaming at a woman in a manner that could be construed as a physical threat. At one point Gundy shouts, “… come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40! Write something about me or our coaches, don’t write about a kid that does everything right.”
Carlson may have gone overboard suggesting Reid was soft because his mother was feeding him chicken before the team’s charter flight prior to the game, or that he showed disconnect from his team by laughing on the sidelines as they were losing to Troy, but whatever errors she made failed in comparison to Gundy’s actions. It’s fine to stick up for your players, but it is simple cowardice to verbally attack a woman without even having the guts to discuss any perceived errors in her reporting. Gundy said he questions what this country has become when stories like this can be written. If Gundy really wants to discuss the direction of the nation, he should look no further than the 81 percent of 11,686 respondents to a television poll that said Gundy acted appropriately or the 98 percent of the 1,400 e-mails the school got in support of the coach.
It’s amazing to think that the namesake of the company that brought us such peaceful playtime activities as Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Hi #### Cherry-O and the My Little Pony Memory Game could be such a hyper-aggressive, short-fused powder keg. But Milton Bradley has been just that during his time in the Major Leagues. It could be that Bradley is just not wired correctly or that he has more in common with Trouble, Battleship, Aggravation and the designed-to-be-unstable Jenga. Whatever the reason, something was bound to go wrong when Bradley met Mike Winters.
Baseball let this happen. By allowing its officials to get into verbal altercations with players and managers, the league has created a caste of elitist officials who believe they can never miss a call and are in the right to shout down any descending opinion. Or in this case, to stir up trouble between a player and the home plate umpire by telling the umpire that the player had thrown a bat at him following a called third strike.
In every other sport, officials are supposed to be the invisible, non-emotional interpreters of the rules. In baseball they are part of the show. That’s why this incident happened. For far too long Winters and others umpires have been an unregulated force of confrontation. While Winter’s guilt is obvious, we would be remiss to think that Bradley didn’t have a hand in the encounter.
After the game Bradley admitted that his past behavior has been a problem, but that he had no intent of harming Winters and that he just wanted the first base umpire to hear what he had to say. No matter how contrite Bradley may have sounded after the game, he still had to be restrained by first base coach Bobby Meacham and manager Bud Black. That’s one physical discussion.
Atlanta corner back DeAngelo Hall rounds out the fourfecta with his sideline tirade at head coach Bobby Petrino and an assistant.
Being that the coaches were to blame for his three penalties that included two personal fouls during a single possession, Hall decided to straighten things out. So did Petrino, slapping him with a $100,000 fine. By this time we’ll know if he was forced to sit out an entire quarter due to his transgression. The discipline is a joke. Apparently, his behavior is bad enough to cost him some cash, but not bad enough to risk putting a game on the line. Hall filed an appeal with the union, saying he felt the punishment was unjustified. As a manner of scale, he may be right. With his signing bonus, Hall will make $2.46 million this season which means he earns $38,437. 50 per quarter. Therefore, Hall is playing 1.6 quarters for free. Fight the power!
Talk about a lot of work for nothing. In 1892, while pitching for the Chicago Colts, “Wild Bill” Hutchison could manage only a .500 record even with a 2.74 era. A season after winning 25 more games than he lost, Hutchison could only muster a 36-36 mark while pitching a back-breaking 622 innings. Between 1890 and 1892, Wild Bill averaged 595 innings pitched. It may be why he only lasted nine years in the league.
To: National Baseball Hall of Fame
Subject: Ichiro Suzuki
Dear sirs,
You might as well get the engraver started. The outline for the plaque is written and you just need to fill in the blanks.
Better known by his first name, Ichiro, the speedy outfielder reached the 3,000 hit plateau faster than anyone in baseball history finishing with (__) hits. A winner of (__) batting titles, he hit (__) with (__) stolen bases during his (__) year career. In 2001 he was named the American League Rookie of the Year and MVP after hitting .350 with 56 stolen bases. Three years later he became baseball’s single-season hit leader with 262. The (__)-time All Star was also one of the best defensive players of his era winning (__) Gold Glove Awards and known for a strong and accurate arm. Suzuki was a legend in his native Japan prior to arriving in the United States. In eight seasons with the Orix Blue Waves, Suzuki complied a .353 career batting average.
The question is not if, but when Ichiro Suzuki will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The answer is five years after retirement when he’s first eligible. He’s a certain first ballot guy, who at the age of 34 appears to have another 10 productive years ahead of him if he so desires. The only thing that could derail him in his chase for 3,000 is an injury — always a possibility for any athlete, but one that should be of little concern for the man who keeps himself in tremendous physical condition and who has only missed 15 games in his first six complete seasons.
Serious talk about Suzuki’s future in the Hall began in 2004 when he hit a career high .372 while establishing a new single season hit record that Hall of Famer George Sisler established 84 years prior. Since then he has just added to his legacy as not just one of the best players of his era, but as one of the best players of all time.
In July he became the third fastest to reach 1,500 hits behind Sisler and another Hall of Famer, Al Simmons. Ty Cobb, a rather decent hitter in his day, is fourth on the list.
On Sept. 2, Suzuki joined Wade Boggs and Wee Willie Keeler — two more Hall of Famers — as the only men in the history of the game to have seven straight 200-hit seasons. Keeler holds the record with eight, and would anyone bet against Ichiro’s chances of tying and then passing Keeler?
During his short time in the Major Leagues, Suzuki has won six Gold Gloves and has been named to seven All-Star teams. He has two batting titles, has finished no lower than second in hits in any one season and no lower than fifth in stolen bases. This season has been more of the same. As of this writing Suzuki has 203 base hits, 37 stolen bases, is hitting .352 and is playing Gold Glove quality defense in center field.
The only thing missing from Suzuki’s resume is the one thing that will be most difficult — a serious run at .400. If anyone has a shot at reaching the mark that was last broached by Ted Williams in 1941, it’s the guy from Kasugai, Japan. Suzuki’s bat control is unparalleled, which allows him to foul off pitches until he gets one he can deposit behind the infield. His speed is a huge factor allowing him to bunt for base hits and to leg out any misplayed ball in the infield. He’s got everything needed to succeed except for patience at the plate.
For all his amazing ability with the bat, Ichiro walks very little and strikes out too much. Since his rookie season with the Mariners, Suzuki’s best year for free passes was in 2002 when he drew 68. Since then he’s only gotten within 20 of that mark on two occasions. And while his average of 64 k’s per season does nothing to threaten Adam Dunn, it’s too many compared with his walk totals. Unfortunately, those are two things that’s he’s going to need to improve on to reach a mark that has only been hit 28 times by 15 different men. At his current pace of averaging 682 at-bats per season, Suzuki would need 273 base hits — or 48 more than the norm — to reach .400. That’s just not going to happen, so he’s going to have to cut down on his at-bats. Since 1900 only three men have hit .400 with more than 600 at bats.
Ichiro may not become No. 16, but no matter. He’s hall-bound and just waiting for the official invite.
