In 1997 I had just turned 15 years old, and like any kid with a passion for the game of baseball I thought I knew enough.  Not everything, just enough.  Like any walk of life you find out that when you get older you grow wiser and I found out I was just a kid with a lot of heart - but I didn't know enough.  Otherwise I would have given this baseball manager the benefit of the doubt when he was fired that very same year. 

11 years rolled by and not a single team lined up to hire a two-time World Series championship coach.  He wasn't first on anyone's list.  However, teams lined up to hire never-will-be's like Davey Lopez, Phil Garner, Gene Lamont or Don Baylor.  I could have put together a list of coaches who's records were better than the names mentioned above and they still would not have the resume this man had/has.  Aside from current coaches like Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa and Terry Francona, not one has as many or more championships as this man.  Not Lou Pinella, not Jim Leyland and not Bobby Cox.  In fact, this guy was this year's desperate hire to save the General Manager's job and it looks like he has done just that.

That man is Cito Gaston, the first - and only - black manager to win a World Series.  Not that race even matters in this case because winning a championship is a difficult task.  Ask Cox or Mike Hargrove.

Cito Gaston was not only a sentimental choice in Toronto but a man who's track record deserved more than just minor consideration for a Manager's job.  Granted, he was holding out for the right position and when you do that it cuts your possibilities down, but how does he get passed over?  How does Cleveland not hire him after Hargrove?  What about Seattle after Pinella left?  Boston after Jimy Williams?  The Dodgers after, well, anyone?  Marquee places where Gaston wouldn't be given a fair shake.  The closest he got was the White Sox who hired Ozzie Guillen, who won a World Series himself.  If that title was Cito's we'd be talking about a potential Hall of Fame manager along with about 10 shame-on-you articles from Fox and ESPN asking how he didn't get his shot sooner.     

His hiring was out of desperation from a General Manager who's held his position 2 years too long and knew the city of Toronto would love him for it.  J.P. Ricciardi has saved his job for another year, and if Toronto somehow (and I mean, SOMEHOW) makes the post-season in 2009, Ricciardi will keep his job for another 2 years and will continue to poorly assess talent and damage the farm system.

Take Adam Lind for example; Cito not only wanted him up with the big club, he promised he would play.  Lind has responded since going 1 for a million in his first stint this season.  This is a guy who's a 2-time minor league player of the year and the best prospect in the Blue Jays system for years.  While he was tearing up the leagues, J.P. refused to bring him up (the last time a guy under 23 has stuck with Toronto was Alex Gonzalez - well before the Riccardi regime.  Imagine how he would have held back A-Rod or Pujols if he had them).  He didn't feel Lind was ready, otherwise he would have said bye to Matt Stairs in the off-season and not sign Shannon Stewart after cutting the hard-nosed Reed Johnson due to being over-budget.  Cito wanted Lind, and he has been the MVP of the Blue Jays over the last 3 months. Not bad considering the GM wanted him to linger in the minors this season.  He hit .273 in the second half last season - he was ready this year and many people in Toronto knew it.

Not a bad call by Cito considering his one knock over a decade ago was how he handled the younger players.  Perhaps he could be guilty of loyalty to his veterans like Joe Carter, a Jays icon who only hit one of the biggest homerun in baseball history.  Cito was a players manager who was very loyal to his guys.  We've seen numerous managers do the same thing with little success.  But I bet those managers don't have fans purchasing their replica jersey the way Toronto has with Gaston.  Already I have see 4 Gaston jerseys being worn around town.  That is how much the city loves Cito.

Although he won't win the Manager of the year award, he has taken overrated talent (which means lack of talent) and has gotten the most out of it.  He's had his #2 and #3 pitchers out (Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan - Marcum has returned), his starting second baseman (Aaron Hill) and his star Centerfielder out (Vernon Wells - returned last week).  Yet the team now sits 1 game behind the New York Yankees, who have much more talent than Toronto.  The award should go to either Joe Maddon of Tampa or Mike Scoscia of L.A., but the job Cito has done with this team has been outstanding. 

It should be noted that neither 1992 or 1993 World Series was a lock for Toronto and nobody should look at those years and think any less of the job Cito did.  He won 4 division titles in 5 years and the two years they did not get to the World Series (1989 and 1991) they may not have been the most talented team in the old AL East.  Cito should be remembered at the manager who was ahead of his team, and got the job done when several other managers who've had a lot of talent could not close the deal.  It is a constant reminder that no sport, let alone baseball, should ever pass over a proven winner and 2-time champion the way teams in Major League Baseball passed over Cito Gaston - especially being replaced by a con artist in Tim Johnson.

And I apologize for wanting him out as Manager in the first place.  I guess 15 year olds don't know better. 

I thought I would never talk about the WNBA in any blog I would ever write in my lifetime.  It shows that I should never say never, and that the reason I wouldn't touch that topic is that I don't get ESPN 2 in Canada.  Unless the WNBA is carried by an ABC or FOX or CBS, I'll never get to watch the WNBA.  Needless to say, my knowledge of the game is weak.

However, I have watched WNBA games and it has been rough for the most part - and I only mean the execution rather than physical play.  But the LA Sparks and Detroit Shock (shocked that I knew?) had a brawl that has captured the attention of sports fans across the continent.  Lisa Leslie, a star WNBA player as well as a mom and a player who was involved in the brawl, handled herself so well that I had to write about this.  What she said was this incident will bring more attention to their league and it's not the way they wanted to do it.  I agree that she didn't want the attention to happen like this, but she's got to be somewhat happy that the league that she has worked so hard to help build has become significant for at least a few seconds.  I bet that the other side story to this matchup that people care about is Michael Cooper v. Bill Laimbeer - two former rivals from a long time ago who happen to coach women for a living.  Aside from them, do you have any connection with the WNBA?  I know Candace Parker is related to Toronto Raptor Anthony Parker.  So this brawl hasn't hurt the league thanks to all the exposure and attention it has gotten.  All you have to do is check Youtube for further evidence.

One guy who might get hurt is Rick Mahorn, who pushed the biggest star down to the ground (Leslie).  People can talk about how he was trying to break the fight up, but if you check out the different camera angles you will see he just pushed her down - accidentally or not.  For those of you who don't know who Rick Mahorn is, he was a former Detroit Piston that everyone talks highly about because he was part of 2 championships when in reality he just happened to be at the right place at the right time (yes, that was me deflating Mahorn as a player). 

And Leslie handled herself well.  Would you hear an NBA player talk about how he is a father who wants to set a great example?  Say what you want about the league, about Leslie or otherwise, she proved that perhaps there is a sports league that has a few classy athletes.  Although that doesn't help as it comes on the heels of a brawl that has put their league on the map for the time being.  I would watch the NBA over the WNBA 100% of the time but I now find myself respecting the league after this incident.  Strange...

OTHER STUFF:

- I got to attend the Rogers Tennis tournament in Toronto and stood about 10 feet away from Roger Federer during warm-up.  I have never seen a bigger crowd around a practice court than I did on Monday when Federer was preparing for his doubles match.  He was bounced from the tourney on Wednesday but I bet he could use the relaxation time to get re-vamped for another US Open run.

Side note: Apparently, Andy Roddick's family kicked people out of their row that was not cheering for Andy.  They were in a seating area that was for general admission.  I guess we know where he gets his insecurities from.  I got this from some ladies who sat close to the family.

- Brett Favre might want to use a pay phone and call collect rather than use his team phone.  Although the Minnesota Vikings should know better and deserve to be punished for going against NFL rules, does Brett ever think about anyone but himself?  I guess he wants everyone to bow down or bend over backwards for him.  Sad.

- The AL Central is showing how overrated their division is.  The Chicago White Sox are well below .500 against the AL East, at .500 against the AL West while their record has been padded by their play within their division as well as their weak NL opponents.  Minnesota is worse as they can't beat the East or West.  Detroit cannot win in the central, but that will change over the next couple of months as they continue to make their charge towards first place in that overblown division.  The AL East has and will continue to be baseball's strongest division.

- Dear Lebron, don't tell me, show me...

I can't believe July is almost over!

On April 25th 2006, Frank Thomas was batting .162.  He went on to hit .270 with 39 homeruns, 114 RBI's and was 4th in MVP voting while helping the Oakland A's get to the ALCS. 

On April 21, 2007, Frank Thomas was batting .197.  He went on to hit .277 with 26 homeruns and 95 RBI's, leading the team in both power categories.

Earlier today, the Toronto Blue Jays announced they released the future Hall of Famer after they said Thomas would see his playing time reduced.  This marks the second starting player to be released by the Blue Jays in a matter of weeks.  The other was Reed Johnson. 

For a team that ranks 4th last in the AL in homeruns, this move makes no sense.  The move also does not justify how a team would quit on the player who led their team in homeruns and RBI's the previous year.  It also makes you wonder why the team decided to announce Thomas' reduced playing time, yet continue to play Marco Scutaro everyday when he's batting .188 with 0 homeruns and 4 RBI's.  Unlike The Big Hurt, Scutaro does not have the track record of being a feared player offensively or defensively. 

Although the Blue Jays claim Thomas' reduced playing time was not about money, the real reason was money.  The release of Reed Johnson allowed the team to save over 2 million dollars in a cost-cutting move.  The team led people to believe Reed was not ready to play due to his previous back problems.  Reed sits with a .354 batting average for the 1st place Chicago Cubs and is becoming a fan-favorite in Chicago for his hustle, hard-work and ability to play all 3 outfield positions - the same way he was beloved in Toronto. 

What is also disheartening about this situation is how Thomas got to where he is now from 3 short years ago.  The consensus around baseball was that Thomas' injuries were too much to overcome and his career was deemed to be over.  He threw out the first pitch at Cellular Field in the 2005 World Series - which was won by the team he starred on for over a decade.  They won the title without the face of the franchise.  Then he gets one last opportunity to play when Oakland knocks on his door.  By mid-May the Athletics could have released him and nobody looking from the outside would have disagreed with the decision.  But they stuck with the man, and he delivered in a way none of us could have dreamed. 

In fact, someone asked me in May of 2006 if Frank was finished and I boldly said, "No, he's a hot streak away from having respectable numbers.  He has done this during his injury-riddled years." 

Frank proved me right, and without him Oakland would not have reached the playoffs.  He proved all his critics wrong and he showed that not only could he still perform, but that he also had a heart of a lion.  Although Toronto has lost sight of this.

You would think people would learn their lesson about doubting a man who has proved people wrong over and over again.  There is a very good chance that, if given the opportunity, he will turn it on again and prove Toronto wrong for letting him go.  Perhaps a team like Minnesota takes a chance on Frank the Tank and helps the team he use to destroy when he was in a White Sox uniform.  Or perhaps Frank realizes that he has nothing left to prove (which he has proved to be one of the greatest hitters of our generation), retires and begins working on his Hall of Fame speech early.  Regardless, he is a legend who deserved a better sendoff than this.

This should also stand as a wake-up call to Toronto Blue Jays fans and baseball fans in general that the Blue Jays organization needs a significant shake-up, starting from the top all the way down.   

The events that occurred at the British Open yesterday gives us even more respect for Tiger Woods.  Yes he did not win the British Open but what you saw yesterday was something he would not have done that both men did yesterday.  We aren't talking about club selection or what shot to play, but talking about being able to finish.  He goes for the throat and that is why we respect his game a lot.  

Yesterday we watched Sergio Garcia lose a tournament that was all but wrapped up for him.  He was finally going to take the #### off his back, so to speak.  But Padraig Harrington, down 6 shots to start on Sunday, comes back to take the lead heading into the 18th green where he finally realized for a second that he was Padraig Harrington.  He didn't stuff the golf ball in the drink once, but TWICE!  AFTER THE DROP NO LESS!!!  How?  Is that even possible?  

I see golfers on the course but do we have any competitors left in the field?  

Yes it created TV drama for anyone who cared to watch golf yesterday, but it exploited what they and several other golfers would have done if they were put in the same situation or one similar to it.  But we know that we cannot put Tiger Woods in that same boat because when he has a tournament within his grasp, meaning he's in the lead, he finishes.  That is what the great ones do, and we saw two guys who aren't great.  Harrington after the tournament admitted that he didn't feel he had a chance at winning.  Do guys just show up to these tournaments just to have fun, party and potentially grab a paycheck?  Don't answer that.  I know golfers play for the money more than winning.  That is unfortunate but that is the reality.

- It has to suck if you are Arthur Blank right now.  The owner of the Atlanta Falcons had a decision to make with Michael Vick and despite his bad feeling about Mr. Mexico, he stuck with his "Top-Dog" money-player and decided to choose him over Matt Shaub and to a lesser extent, Jim Mora Jr.   Blank takes a lot of pride in a player having integrity and is all about being a class-act and with everything that has unfolded since the Shaub trade he probably feels that if he went the other way with the decision he would be looking very good right now.  But when you give a player a big contract you tend to lean in the direction of keeping him.  You want to see your investment blossom before quitting on it.

- Who wants this win, Team A, Team B or Tim Donaghy?  Good question, harder answer.  Two of the three is right and only Donaghy would know the proper answer.   This whole situation has been such a nightmare for David Stern and the NBA that you may as well hear this during post-game sideline interviews:

CHERYL MILLER: Kobe your Milwaukee Bucks came through in the end, tell us what went down during the last two minutes of the game.

BRYANT: Well the official came up to me and said he had a dime down on us for this game so he said if I cut to the basket and charged into KG that he'd call a foul on Garnett so that he'd foul out.  We know he's a crucial part of the Memphis Grizzlies.  It's always comforting to know the ref has your back when he's betting on our games.

MILLER: Don't you think it takes the integrity away from the game Kobe?

BRYANT: Yeah but a win is a win for us.  Watch out for the Milwaukee Bucks BABY!!!!! (crowd cheers).

This was the best news Mike Vick heard all week because this took some of the attention away from him.  With the exception of P.E.T.A.

- If the New York Yankees are going to make their run, it happens now.  Not because this is the best time to do it but because they have the weaker part of their schedule happening right now.  Kansas City could not come at a better time for them, along with Baltimore and the White Sox who have played in a cloud at times this year.  If they dont rip through their schedule over the next few weeks then they are done.  But don't be surprised if they really begin to turn it up.  At the same time, try not to get too impressed with them because they would have just beaten up all the bums and that does not prove anything to anyone.

- Last year I said that if I started a franchise today and I could have any baseball player in the major leagues it would be Albert Pujols.  Why not?  He's still young (27) and he will continue to mash the ball for a long time, and hopefully for a longer period than some of the other established superstars.  The guy who may be second on that list is Albert Pujols Jr, otherwise known as Miguel Cabrera.  He's only 24 and the kid is a mashing machine.  Hopefully he does not go Bobby Bonilla and eat his way out of the major leagues.  Some say he has an attitude problem but he's not the first stud to have one of those.

Either way, those two guys would help my franchise win.  Eventually.

It's been a wild week in the blog world this week.  Starting with Canada's birthday to America's birthday all the way to today with some interesting blogs between and around the two birthdays.  Perhaps this is a generalization but I would think that nearly 100% of the blog writers have an incredible amount of passion for sports.  That is why we joined this site in the first place.  Blog on...

Baseball

- I love Roy Oswalt as a pitcher and I think he has the potential to turn in a great looking career as long as he stays healthy.  However, can you justify him as John Smoltz's replacement on the All-Star team roster?  Not over John Maine.  Not over Brandon Webb.  Not even over Tom Gorzelanny, which would have solved the Pittsburgh issue if Tony LaRussa had kept Brian Fuentes at home originally and chose Gorzelanny to be the Pirate rep.  Then LaRussa could have taken either Hanley Ramirez or Edgar Rentaria to be the backup shortstop.

The American League Roster for the most part looks good.  Jim Leyland did the best job, in my opinion, of any manager of recent years.  LaRussa on the other hand simply continues to make a mess.

Ever since his DUI he has not had a very good few months.  His team, the defending World Series champions, are looking like duds in the worst division in baseball.  And there has been talk about LaRussa potentially being replaced.  Today I began thinking about his coaching career and how he has been blessed with some very good teams during his career.  He may go to the Hall of Fame with his 2 rings, but his teams have been so loaded that he could have a good 5, 6 or even 7 rings as a manager.  Even Bobby Cox thinks LaRussa has urinated too many chances away.

- Seems strange to see John Maclaren managing the Seattle Mariners.  I will always remember him as the 3rd base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays and getting run over during a game by current Chicago White Sox GM Kenny Williams, which brings me to my next point...

- With the White Sox being 1000 games out of a playoff spot why would they want Ichiro Suzuki right now?  Do they plan on signing him during the off-season?  And if they give him the $20 million he'll be asking for, will they have enough to bolster the lineup that has been impotent offensively?  And will they continue to go on with Ozzie Guillen as the coach?  Someone once told me this quote that seems to describe Guillen very well: Short fuse, short success.  Albeit he tasted gold early in his tenure.

- Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi could not reach the microphone fast enough to blast A.J. Burnett on radio yesterday.  This made news this morning and here are a few issues...

1) J.P. was the one who gave the bogus contract to the guy in the first place. 
2) Blasting players through the media is chicken-bleep
3) Burnett was up in the top 6 at one point this season in pitches per game and out of the 6 pitchers, he threw the least amount of innings.  With a guy who has a history of arm problems that means the blame should also go to the manager, John Gibbons, for not handling him properly.
4) How can J.P. claim Burnett is scared to let his arm loose when he has topped out at 100 MPH a few times the last 2 seasons?  Absurd claim.

Again, Burnett was not a good signing when it happened and J.P. is just trying to cover his butt for one of several questionable decisions during his tenure as GM.  He should have been fired 2 years ago as he is about to enter year 7 of a 5 year plan that has blown up in his face.
 

Basketball

- Grant Hill appears to be heading to Phoenix this upcoming season to play for the Suns for under $2 million.  A lot of people are looking at him wondering how he could "turn his back" on the Orlando Magic.  I find that hard to believe since they have been looking to upgrade at the 2 or 3 guard position and they did so with Rashard Lewis.  Granted, Hill signed for a huge contract after he was dealt by Detroit.  However, this is the same guy who busted his tail just to get back onto an NBA court.

We seem to forget the kind of pain and damage he suffered with his ankle and how his career was suppose to be over.  He bled, sweated and cried every single day during rehab to get himself back onto the court.  He did it for the love of the game and he did it to prove something to himself and those around him.  People questioned his heart, and today there is no doubt that he has the heart to compete on that court every single night if his body tells him "it's go time".  He didn't have to bust himself to come back but he did anyway.

The Orlando Magic franchise understood what they were doing with this investment and like certain investments they can sometimes turn up sour.  The only good thing about this investment was that Grant Hill's comeback to the NBA was a feel-good story for those who have been told they could not come back to play basketball at a high level ever again.  Hill owes the Magic nothing and he is not turning his back on the franchise.  His comeback should have a long-lasting impression on every Orlando player and no value can be placed on that.

- With all that said, can Hill play in the Phoenix system?  Well if you can make baskets and run you should be good, so as long as Hill is healthy he'll fit in nicely with the Suns.  Now they have an 9-man team rather than 8.

Hockey

- Huge scare in Buffalo as Thomas Vanek was offered 50 million for 7 years.  Why was that a scare?  I bet Buffalo wanted to sign him at 5 million per year and now they will be stuck paying 7.  This contract may look like a lot but with this kid's upside and his age this may be a steal.  They'd rather be paying a 23-year old that kind of money rather than a Chris Drury who's production will go down over the next few years.  Granted, Drury is dubbed as a great leader but if Vanek scores 40-50 goals per season nobody will care about Drury.  Someone on the Sabres will step up to be a leader.  You can teach more players to become leaders than teach them to score 40 per season.  We could be looking at the second-best left winger in the NHL behind Alexander Ovechkin.

Tennis

- Federer v. Nadal.  Its like a Main Event at a Pay Per View boxing match.  I crave for that matchup in every single tournament they enter and as long as Nadal gets through and Andy Roddick does what he does best for Federer (lay face down), we should get to see another incredible finals matchup at Wimbledon.

Have a great weekend folks. 

This week has been slack for yours truly so I want to take the time frame I have today to talk about some random events occuring everywhere in sports...

- Last Sunday: Chicago v. Chicago had an interesting play which exposed baseball and it's commentators who know nothing about the game.  When you watch basketball or football games you generally hear a color commentator know exactly what's going on with a random play and why a call was made.  Well in this baseball game the commentators didn't know and neither did the sports guy on the desk in Toronto knew either.  That also means nobody in that network knew it either.  Because I still umpire, I can clear that play up easily:

The runner collided with the shortstop at second base in an attempt to go to third, which is interference.  A defensive player cannot make contact with a runner as he/she is still running, whether they are running from one base to another or going back to a base when the fielder is not attempting a play. 

The White Sox got the runner on 3rd base in a rundown and got him out, as well as the guy between first and second.  So instead of 2 outs, all runners were sent back because of Juan Uribe's stupidity around the bag at second base.  But here is where the commentators and Toronto sports network dropped the ball...

The desk #### said the play should have been called dead which is absolutely false.  The play must play out because if there was an overthrow and a runner scores on that play, the play stands.  Best example I can give you is this: When a defensive player is offside in football, do they give the offense a free play?  Yes.  So if Peyton Manning throws a TD does it count?  Yes.  If they call the play dead while Marvin Harrison is wide open I would bet the Colts would be really ticked right?  Well, the same rings true with baseball as that kind of play warrants the teams to finish the play before making the call.  If the team committing the foul benefits, the umpires will not let them.  But if the team being hindered benefits with the play continuing, the play will stand and the call would be null and void. 

The Chicago commentators we're yelling about the game being played under protest.  "Hell yeah this game will be played under protest!".  Great, too bad your team will lose the protest.  As for the network in my neck of the woods, not having one person in that building sure about this call means they are not taking their sports not named hockey serious enough.

- Frank Thomas is a hall of famer regardless of playing more games at DH than First Base.  His statistics at first base were incredible during his time.  Ken Griffey may have been a better homerun hitter and Barry Bonds may have been the best all around player during Thomas's prime, but was there a more dangerous hitter than Frank?  He was one of the first in our time to personify the importance of challenging for the Triple Crown.  He was Albert Pujols before Albert Pujols, and Big Hurt's On-Base Percentage was always high.  He would have played more first base had the DH rule not existed and probably would have ended his career a few years back.  And even then I thought he was a Hall of Famer because of the dominance he had during the prime of his career.

- I don't care about his career batting average being 12 points better than the average second basemen or the fact that he just got to 3000 hits, Craig Biggio is no better than Barry Larkin who will not go to the Hall of Fame.  Biggio has to be credited for his longevity in the game of baseball, but the Hall of Fame is a bit extreme.  Look, he is a guy you'd have on your team in a second and would love to have him without a doubt.  He has been a very good player and second baseman, but the Hall of Fame?  I realize he's as solid as they come and his consistency is incredible but when I think of solid players at their position I think of Biggio as a Barry Larkin.  I also think if Biggio gets into the Hall of Fame then an argument can be made for Jeff Bagwell, who's impact for Houston was felt just as much as Biggio's. if not more.  If solid is another way to get in, then the Fred McGriff hype-train should start now.  And let's also remember that the best second basemen during Biggio's time were Roberto Alomar and Jeff Kent.

- The Boston Celtics got one of the best pure shooters of our time, Ray Allen.  The guy can absolutely stroke the rock and despite his ankle surgery he should still be more effective than the next option Boston has.  Only problem I saw with the trade involving them and Seattle is this: What will Seattle do with 3 point guards who are neither great or bad, and which ideal shooting guard will Boston move to play the point.  Each candidate are better suited at the 2 but they feel one of them can play the point.  Otherwise they would not have traded Delonte West. 

- Great move by Charlotte to get Jason Richardson.  The guy is very underrated and he's the best dunker I've ever seen.  Vince Carter may get all the hype but remember that J-Rich did all of Vince's dunks with greater difficulty and without a helper in the 2003 and 2004 slam-dunk contests.  And before last season J-Rich had improved his game every single year until injuries derailed his season last year.  If he's healthy he should thrive in the East.

- If Rashard Lewis goes to the Miami Heat you can pencil them in as the favourites to win the East Conference (keywords: East Conference).

- Good morning KG and Kobe.  How are you gentlemen feeling this morning?

- To anyone that is from or currently resides in Kansas City: Can you guys and gals honestly support an NHL franchise.  I'm really curious as to why the NHL would like to have a team in that market.

...If I don't get the chance to say this tomorrow, I wish Canada a happy 140th birthday on July 1.  Have a great long weekend my fellow Canadians! 

Never let a Bengal out of it's cage - words to live by.

- Odell Thurman is the latest Con-cinnati Bengal to have yet another reported incident, this time punching and kicking two men.  Obviously this locker room has gone beyond ridiculous.  How do you stop it?  Don't you think Cincy has excercised all of their options to keep their players out of trouble?  Well, everything except cut loose the cancers of the team.  Easier said than done as they have made investments in these guys who nobody else wants.  But if they have not tried this trick yet, they should do so immediately:

Have at each player's locker a copy of Sports Illustrated article of Carson Palmer's underwater rehab.  Then place a picture on the door of Palmer's knee injury from the 2005 playoffs so that every player that walks into the room is forced to see it.  As you enter there are pictures of his grueling rehabilitation and his road back to the NFL.  If that cannot inspire players in that locker room to change themselves or put the team first then they have to leave now.  What Carson Palmer did to get back to being Carson Palmer in that short time frame was remarkable and inspirational, and sadly it has not rubbed off on the rest of the team.

- I thought I saw Eric Mangini on The Sopranos Sunday night.  Guess I was not halllucinating.

- Gary Sheffield believes there are less black players in the major leagues for reasons I am confused over.  He did say that there are players not in the majors who can do it better than guys who are currently major leaguers right now.  Question Gary: Who are you talking about?  Name one black player who is not in the majors who can be an impact player?  The answer is none.  Your buddy Derek Bell is not the right answer.

He said that latin players are easier to control than black players.  Really?  There haven't been hot head latin players that have never been deemed 'uncoachable?'.  That's bullcrap.  He needs to just focus on hitting the baseball until October comes around so he can perform his annual playoff chokejob.  His BALCO statements tell more truth than that garbage.

- He may have been Orlando's second choice, but Stan Van Gundy is their best choice.  They can pay him a little less money to do a better job.  Why?  First because Billy Donovan's head wasn't right...Second because Donovan is a college coach trying to coach in a man's league and last Van Gundy had a very good run with Miami.  He pushed that team to the playoffs in Dwyane Wade's first season, then missed the NBA Finals in 2005 due to injuries to Wade and Shaq, then was replaced the following season which he had a good record.  Nobody is ever sure o####reat college coach, but they have a guy who has proved he's worthy of a coaching job in this league.

- Sticking with coaches, who would take on any Oakland coach who's powerless position has been well-documented in "Moneyball".  If the coach does very little, how can you consider an assistant to be worthy of a managerial job?  There is a guy I continue to mention who has won 2 World Series championships, 4 division titles in 5 years and was the first black manager to ever win a world series...

Cito Gaston.

He was almost hired by his former player, Ken Williams, who passed him over for Ozzie Guillen.  Had Cito won the 2005 World Series we'd be talking about a Hall of Fame manager right now, and pointing at every team excluding Toronto asking why they did not have him higher on their managerial hiring list.  Pass over a champion for a never-will-be, go right ahead.  As Guillen is melting down, which was inevitable, they could have had a steady manager who knows how to handle veterans as he did that for several years in Toronto.  I was not high on Gaston back in the day, but in today's era he would flourish as a manager.  I have never understood how managers become retreads when they have done nothing to deserve another shot.  Cito has a much more impressive resume who deserved better than simply being a hitting coach for Toronto under Jim Fregosi.

- The NHL series could be coming to a close very soon and a lot of people have debated over several things.  First, Daniel Alfredsson's shot off of Scott Niedermayer.  I don't think it was intentional because that could have come back to hurt his team.  Skaters going up ice and the puck changes direction the opposite way - not good if you are the guy who shot the puck.  So I say it was not intentional.  If it was intentional it get's shot higher.

As for the "diving", there is one simple explanation for you: What team doesn't dive?  Every team does it, it's how you choose to see the game for yourself.  So that complaint holds no weight.  Basically, Ottawa is down 3-1 to a team that has been better than them through 4 games, enough said.

- The Detroit Pistons should be regretting the Darko draft pick today.  With 4 of their 5 starters and their best bench player getting up there in age they have no young nucleaus that can lead them back to contention anytime soon.  Had they drafted Chris Bosh, and not Darko or even Carmelo Anthony, they would have a new franchise player to go along with Tayshaun Prince and whomever they were to bring in to surround them over the next few years.  Sure they would have passed on obtaining Rasheed Wallace back in the day but they would have done something else instead and they would be fit to be a playoff-bound team once the older guys leave the palace.

BIZZARO DEELEY-O? - Will be posted up tomorrow during the day so check it out right here.  Thursday all show we'll be answering your responses so check in tomorrow on my new post and we'll DO THIS!  I have a few ideas already so I can't wait for that.  Cheers.

Major League Baseball is back to driving the market crazy with their free spending for the simple reason that they need to.  Of course, there are teams like Pittsburgh and Kansas City who have been quiet this off-season thanks to not having any veterans they need to dump for salary purposes.  On a side note, it seems unfortunate to see two proud franchises getting pounded into the ground in the cash game.  KC was a model franchise in the 1980's while Pittsburgh has been in the MLB forever.

But this off-season has resembled what we use to see a few years back when guys were obtaining gigantic contracts.  At least, for the most part, guys who were getting big contracts back then were justified (with the exception of Darren Dreifort).  We can debate that for days, but we can at least come to common ground in admitting the market has gotten out of hand over the last month.  Let's just throw out the names of Matthews, Pierre, Padilla, Baez, Bradford, Lee and Eaton to name a few.  Let's wait until the these guys sign: Lilly, Meche, Zito, Schmidt, Drew, Pettitte and Clemens all sign.  It shall be more public outcry who cannot understand why certain guys are taking in cheques that they haven't earned.  There are a few of you that even feel guilty about seeing a guy get signed for a huge contract, and that is human nature.

It is also human nature to be upset at baseball for this inflation of contracts.  Sometimes pointing the finger at the wrong culprits.  Remember the line from Booker T: Don't hate the player, hate the game.  Free Agency has seemingly made it certain that a player will change teams for the better dollar, especially if the player played well in a small or mid-market.

It all comes down to two parties: Owners and Agents.  Agents know the pressure points of a franchise, know what positions a team is desperate to fill, knows the franchises competitors and uses other players' contracts as leverage in negotiation.  That is why players have agents; they want to maximize their contract and know they can make a lot more money having a master talker in the room with all the strategies and statistics at his/her disposal. 

We just saw Jose Guillen sign for about 5.5 million dollars with Seattle and though that might look like a lot, Seattle could potentially get a bargain if Guillen is healthy.  However, he did not have leverage at the negotiating table.

However, adequate pitcher Vincente Padilla receives 33 million for 3 years.  Why?  Well not only does Texas need a pitcher, they we're not ready to let Padilla go knowing they did not have a stranglehold on Barry Zito.  What kind of leverage could Padilla get from that?  Tons.  But he could also measure himself to other players...

"A.J. Burnett got 55 for 5 from Toronto and he's a .500 pitcher." Or..."Jaret Wright got around 9 million a year from New York after he won 15 games with Atlanta."  Guess how many wins Padilla had this season?  15.

Another adequate pitcher, Ted Lilly, goes 15-13 and he has a career year.  A 15-13 career year does not toss any confidence in a typical baseball fan.  But there is a reason why he hasn't signed yet: Barry Zito.

Zito will command the most money out of any pitcher for so many reasons: He's durable, he's reliable, he's left handed, he has been an ace and he's a former Cy Young award winner.  Is he the best pitcher available?  He isn't the most dominating, that goes to either Clemens or Schmidt.  But teams want a lefty who can take the ball for 33 starts if necessary.  So Lilly will measure his contract up against the team who shells out tons of cash to Zito.  Lilly needs Zito for leverage at the negotiating table.  He becomes the best available lefty on the market. 

And Agents know that.  So they use every angle in the book to squeeze owners into paying them what his player wants and what their team needs.  The New York Mets will blow their wallet on a big name pitcher because they need an arm.   Just like Houston needed a bat and went after Carlos Lee and showed him the money.  Houston needed to get stronger to match Chicago and hoped to stay on pace with St. Louis.  Now if only Houston got another pitcher to compliment Roy Oswalt...

Hardball is being played in the business dealings this off-season.  Owners are vulnerable for help in spots and agents prey off the necessities of each team.  So even if you don't put up stud number like Gil Meche, you will get paid.  Eventually, however, the market should level off like it did for a couple of years during this decade.

Regardless, many fans don't understand how certain players are commanding huge money.  Even with the competition being so high on and off the field, some of these signings are mind-boggling.  So if you think all of this is ruining baseball, just remember it is a total team effort and not just one person or one facet in the baseball world.