Like the Slam Dunk competition in the NBA, the Home Run Derby has gone the way of drying paint. Watching it on TV is pretty terrible, but then you get people actually paying money to go watch glorified batting practice for what I guess would be a ton of money. But I think most people, aside from baseball purists, we have grown tired of the derby.
Even in most years when they had great homerun hitters like McGwire, Sosa, Griffey and Bonds it was painful to watch. Now we have guys like Evan Longoria, Grady Sizemore and Dan Uggla, who don't typically hit home runs.
The only two bonafide home run hitters in the derby are Justin Morneau and Lance Berkman, and they are even marginal guys. The typical big home run guys like Ortiz, Ramirez, and everymans punching bag A-Rod are going to be watching it because they have realized how terrible this event is.
Then you get people ripping on A-Rod for missing the derby. Does't this guy already have enough problems with the New York Media. He is in a no win situation by entering the derby. If he does well, the media will say it was the derby, lets see him in September or October, and if he puts up a single digit total and gets bounced in the first round, people will say its the same old A-Rod.
The only people who think the derby is great are the ones sponsoring the event or if you are a fan of one of the contestants. Other than that, no one really cares.
If you like it fine, but seeing marginal hitters hit bombs off of some pitching coach just doesn't do it for me.
I was just sitting down reading a story from a web-site yesterday only to find that there was somone in Ohio who wanted to ban all star games. Normally I don't react to what somone is saying, but this really bugged the hell out of me.
Here is the link to the article if anyone wants to see for themselves. In this article he is talking about kids younger than 10 years old.
If you dont have time to read it, let me give you the coles notes version. Bascially what is being said is that the writer of the letter wants to ban the all-star game because it shatters a person self-confidence and can bruise the kids ego.
Then he compares it to school and says that if a kid is learning numbers and letters quicker, do we call then "special" or "gifted". Then he compared the all-star game to taking a vegetarian to a fancy steakhouse and or a person on a strick diet to a buffet.
Next he says all these games do is reward the kids who have developed quicker, then he got rediculous and said that all-star games with children at a young age can lead to injuries with extra games and practices. I'll use a direct quote and he says "They take a toll on young bodies and lead to an avalanche of overuse injuries."
Then he goes on from there talking about how you should take a stand and help in the fight to ban all-star games in general, or something along those lines.
I don't know what to say after something like this. This was written by the guy who wanted the great institution of the "Participant" trophy installed at every youth sports league in North America. Whenever someone wants their child not to feel upset by belittleing other accomplishment bugs me to no end.
This letter was probably written by a parent who thinks their son or daughter when they are signed up for sports is going on to better things even though they can't tie their own shoes yet. Then when their child got passed over for an all-star team, they are just so upset and they use the old addage of if I can't have it no one can.
Then he proceeds to damage his stance on the issue further saying that it can lead to a bruised ego when a child is passed over for an all-star team. If your kids who is younger than 10 years old knows what an all-star team is unless he is watching the peofessionals, you have missed the point. A 10 year old isn't going to be drafted tomorrow so whether or not he makes an all-star team should be irrelevant.
Next we have the overuse injuries comment. You know what else provides overuse injuries to kids, playing video games for hours on end and eating bag after bag after bag of chips. That also adds to the kids being severely overweight and less interested in sports.
At least when kids are playing sports like baseball, basketball and football, they have a goal to strive for in being a great player, who is better -yes some kids are going to be better and it is not based solely on whether or not they have developed some are more skilled than others- than other players on their team.
Why should somones accomplishments be torn down to make other feel better about themselves?
I say that all-star teams are great because the ones who are passed over will try harder and they will try to become a better player. Being dissappointed builds character in a person and isn't that more important in raising a productive member of society. When kids get dissappointed at a young age, they learn how to persevere and get beyond road blocks.
If you don't teach a kid dissappointment at a young age what is going to happen when s/he hits middle age and goes off sulking when he didn't get a big account at the law firm s/he may work at. It motivates them to become better at what they are doing and gets them working harder to achieve that goal.
Nobody celebrates mediocraty and by banning the all-star game, that is exactly what you are doing. You saying that everyone is equal, which in many cases, like sports and life, they are not. If you say to a kid that everyone gets a trophy for participating, the kid will be conditioned to think that way their entire life.
Listen to a lot of recruiting stories for big college programs. Not everyone can go to USC, so when teams play USC, there is a little extra motivation to try and beat them to show them what the missed. Ian Johnson, runningback at Boise State was passed over at UCLA, and has gone on to become one of the best runningbacks in college football. What may have motivated him to this level, somone telling him he was not good enough. Johnson was passed over on an all-star team and went on to great things in spite of his situation.
If you remove the all-star game you will be a lot more harm than good, by raising a nation of soft people, like the ones on American Idol who think they are excellent even though they are probably the worst on the planet, everyones great accomplishments will be downgraded and belittled to make everyone appear equal. No one is equal or we would all be playing professionally.
I learned this concept when I was playing minor hockey and was passed over for an all-star team. It motivated me to become a better player and then I kept moving up in levels. When I got to my highgest level that gave me an incredible sense of accomplishment and I felt good about my self.
If there was no all-star game, maybe I wouldn't have gotten as high up as I did. An All-Star game made me a better person, and I wasn't even apart of the game. The team I was passed over for gave me motivation to get better, it taught me to peresevere and be a driven person and to work hard for everything I got.
By removing the All-Star game and start giving trophys to everyone, you create a culture of entitlement and then when somone doesn't receive a "good job" or an "atta boy" thats when it hurts the kids development.
When these people realize that they are hurting the kids rather than helping them, we will get a better kids and better professionals, because somone didn't say to them, "Congratulations Participant"
This morning news came from a source that former Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell may have used performance enhancing drugs during his 14 season Major Baseball career.
On the surface, this sounds crazy, considering what a great person Bagwell was when he was mashing homeruns for the Astros, when he was a part of the Killer B's with Craig Biggio.
When you go beyond the surface of Bagwell's nice personality, take a look at the statistics from Bagwell's career from the minors to the majors and see for yourself.
From 1989 to 1990, Bagwell had 710 AB's in the Minors, Bagwell had 6 homeruns over three years. Bagwell was strictly a contact hitter. Then his first year with the Astros in 1990 he hits 15 homeruns, off better pitching.
Not really that earth shattering, because stranger things have happened. But it goes on from there.
The next three years Bagwell's homerun total was 18, 20 and 39. Again not that earth shattering. The year he hit 39 homeruns, Bagwell only played in 110 games. RED FLAG!!! After those years, Bagwells homerun totals ranged from as low as 21in 1995 to as high as 47 in 2000. His average also ranged from .266 in 2004 to .315 in 1996. Just some numbers to take a look at. The numbers I used can be found here.
I also saw that toward the end of Bagwell's career that he was looked like a better built baseball player, he looked in better shape than most other baseball players I have seen. Even though he didn't look like a lot of the bulked up homerun hitters like Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire, but neither did Rafael Palmeiro and looked how that situation turned out.
When this post was made, Bagwell had yet to provide a response to the allegations.
I like Jeff Bagwell as a player, especially in the final years when the Astros were competitive and were winning National League pennants. But you have to look at the numbers and wonder.
I hope that Bagwell never did these things, but I won't be surprised if he did.
There is a reason no General Manager in Major League Baseball has signed Barry Bonds to a contract, and it is not as Donald Fehr has suggested as "collusion" between thirty GM's
Barry's production has been declining for ever since the alegations of his steroid use was brought to the surface with the book Game of Shadows. Barry is still a feared hitter in the game, but only to a certain extent. Teams aren't givng Barry a free pass as frequently as they used to, because nobody is that afraid of his power. Since Barry has gotten older he his hitting less and less home runs and playing in less an less games. That doesn't mention all of the off-field issues.
For years, since signing with San Francisco, Barry had that organization over his knee and constantly spanking them. There was a ton of rules that dictated whether or not Barry could play on certain days. Any day game following a night game, don't pencil Barry into the line-up he wouldn't play. I don't know if there was a clause in his contract, but Barry wouldn't play.
Another one, is his numerous lockers where he kept his tv's and his rather large message chair. Also you are going to have an increase in your staff. None that you hired, they are Barry's entourage and his handlers. If you want an increase in staffing and higher traffic within your locker room, sign Barry.
Next, do you really want to sign a .225 hitter who will be batting 8th in you lineup and is going to cost you quite a few million dollars. 15 home runs and 100 hits for $5 million? Sounds like a good investment, but then again so did Baer Sterns.
Then there is the Public Relations and the hit from the media. To describe Bonds's relationship with the media as frosty is putting it nicely. Do we really need Pedro Gomez following Barry around until he finally finishes his career. That is just something that i don't want to go through with. Barry's march to pass the hammer was the most excruciating two or three years of my life. I don't want to go through that ever again.
There is also no indication that Barry wants to change his ways and he would be receptive to change within many organizations that he would sign with.
We saw you get the record that you wanted, no just fade away into the background. No ones wants your service becasue you just have to much baggage.
With the Ottawa Senators chances of missing the playoffs reaching an all time high this year, I think for a good laugh, lets look at theirs and some other epic collapses in all of pro sports.
2007-2008 Ottawa Senators After starting the season with a 13-1 record, and looking like a shoein to make the Stanley Cup finals, and maybe win the entire thing. But then the Sens ate some bad fish when out on a road trip and started choking. The Sens have been on a nose dive ever since the All-Star break, and they may not have a chance to pull out before they hit the ground.
2007 New York Mets With a 7 game lead, with less than a month to go in the season, the Mets were playing with their family cat and swallowed a fur ball and began to choke. With as good as the Mets were last year, they still couldn't close the deal. Not only did they lose the division to the Phillies, they missed the playoffs all together.
2006 Boston Red Sox What happened? Two years off of winning their first World Series in 86 years, all I remember from this season is what is known as the Boston Massacre. The Red Sox had a lead in the division, then came August 18. The Sox had a four game scheduled series with the Yankees, that turned into five game series because of a rain out. The Yankees went on to lose all five games to the Yankees and then lose the division, and finish in third place. The Yankees are who we thought they were, and we let them off the hook.
1978 Boston Red Sox The original Boston Massacre. most Red Sox fans will remember this for Bucky Dent. With a 14 and a half game lead on July 19, the Red Sox proceeded to break their fans hearts when the coughed up seventeen games losing the division by 3 and a half games. Yankees outfielder, Reggie Jackson said after the season, "We played great, but we didn't win it. They lost it. If they'd played .500 the last half of the season, we'd never have caught them".
1978 Washington Redskins The beginning of the season looked promising with 6 straight wins. But then the the 'Skins had a drink go down the wrong tube, choked and finished 8-8, with 5 straight loses.
1942 Detroit Red Wings The original team to lose a seven game series after leading 3-0. While leading in the deciding game in the Stanley Cup finals, 1-0, they lost the game in 10 miniutes by letting the Toronto Maple Leafs socre three unanswered goals.
Jean Van de Velde, 1999 British Open Who could forget Jean Van de Velde hitting the ball into the water at Carnoustie in 1999. Then after rinsing his ball, Van de Velde decided to get a little wet himself. Van de Velde turned his golf pants into flood pants and waded into the creek and proceeded to attempt the heimlich maneuver. He was unsuccessful.
Greg Norman, 1996 Masters Bogey. Bogey. Bogey. Double bogey. That sounds like a guy at your local dog track executive course, not a professional at Augusta. This was the greatest choke job in golf history, until a monsieur Van de Velde got wet at Carnoustie.
But here is the gold medalist...........
2004 New York Yankees This one is pretty simple because it made history that had not been made in 86 years. After the Yankees took a 3 game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, the Sawx "kept the faith" and fought back in three great games to only destroy Yankees in the final game. Then the Sawx lucked out in the World Series to let Bill Buckner rest easy.
After the news of Hunter Pence's injuryafter walking through a sliding glass door while at training camp, it is time for a good laugh. Let us revisit some of the strangest injuries to have ever occured during the baseball season.
Clint Barmes, Colorado Rockies Barmes was hurt while carrying groceries deer meat he got from hunting with teammate Todd Helton. Don't they have elevators anywhere. I know in most places it says that if you have a awkward load, which I believe deer meat is, use the elevator. Just a little odd, but it gets worse.
Chris Brown, San Francisco Giants According to legend he wanted out of a minor leageu games because he strained his eyelid while sleeping on it wrong. If that is not the definition of soft. I have never felt what a strained eyelid feels like, must be like when your leg falls asleep. Something is wrong when a person doesn't want to work because he hurt his eyelid.
Kevin Brown, New York Yankees Brown broke his hand while punching a wall with his non-pitching hand. Don't they have bags for punching or a stress ball. If neither is in reach, use a teammate, they are usually good for a couple of punches.
Adam Eaton, San Diego Padres Allegedly stabbed himself with a paring knife while trying to open a DVD. Remember Adam, didn't they teach you go away from your body. The movie must have been good enough to kill for, because Eaton almost did.
Ricky Henderson, Toronto Blue Jays Allegedly got frost bite while leaving an icepack on his foot when he fell asleep. Doesn't cold feet only happen on your wedding day? Ricky, ten minutes on, ten minutes off.
Glenallen Hill, Toronto Blue Jays Fell out of bed onto a glass table after during a dream thought he was covered in spiders. Spiders freak me out, so I can't blame him. The only thing that is weird is that why is a glass table so close to your bed? Just thinking out loud.
Oddibie McDowell, Texas Rangers While buttering a roll, he sliced his hand open. Has he ever met Adam Eaton?
Oliver Perez, Pittsburgh Pirates Sufferers from Kevin Brown syndrome and attempted to kill a laundry basket. Why not use a bat or a ball or something? Perez kicked the basket and broke his toe. For a pitcher your legs are probably the most valuable thing aside from your arms on your body. Think a little.
John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves Attempted to iron a shirt...while wearing said shirt. I can't say anything that hasn't been said except that this is only alleged and Smoltz denys it.
THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE:
Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs Sosa missed a game in 2004 after he threw his back out...after a sneeze. I can't say anything about this event.
If anyone can think of anymore odd injuries, post it in the comments.
