The True Beautiful Game - BASEBALL

I love baseball. Some people call it slow and boring and I can see their point. If you just look at it superficially i can see your point. I, however love the game and I watch it as not only a fan but also a someone who played the game.

When I played, and admittedly not at a super high level but played and played hard. I tried to pride myself on the details. I played the game with competitiveness and for a true passion for the game. Regardless of the level of play, be it Fastball (or windmill) Hardball (traditional baseball) or just a Men’s League Lob Ball (that one is self explanatory). I loved to think the game on the field. As a defensive specialist and Short-Stop I played it as the captain of the infield. I would remember what players did during past at bats, tendencies from past games and align players in positioning and any shifts that needed to be made. It was also a point of emphasis to know where to be at various times during game play. No matter where the ball was hit there is always a place for each player to be. It may be backing up a base or rotating around to cover possible angled throws. I would try to put myself in those positions and also other players as well. There is nothing more annoying when you know you could have gotten an out if a player had they just been in the right position and had their head in the game. It is these nuances that make me appreciate the game both playing an watching. For those who do not have that level of appreciation for the game I can see how watching an entire game may become tedious. Granted a nice cold beer and a hot dog while sitting in the stands does enhance the live experience.

TV slots games to fall into a 3 hour window. Usually a typical game will run about 2 1/2 hours. Get a good pitchers duel or a game with a Roy Halladay type and you can shave nearly a half hour off of that. Those are the games that are fun to watch and are wrapped up into a tight little package. Those are the games that you wish would go longer because they have good pace and are compelling. The better the flow the better the show. It seems that for whatever reason a Red Sox vs Yankee’s game can not go less then 4 hours. It is just the way it is. When those two teams play it is like watching paint dry... but not, that is what makes it strange. The games are usually fun and entertaining and it may not feel like the game is dragging but it still seems to take a ling time to get a game in. Heaven forbid the game goes into extra innings like it did Sunday Night and ended near 12:30am in the East. Maybe it is two many trips to the mound, two many big name players stepping out every pitch so they can be on camera more or longer. Sure it is usually two of the best teams scrapping it out in a fight for first place in the division but that should mean the game should go quicker with the best players available.

I hope that it does not become a trend that baseball losses its young fan base based on games that take to long to be completed. Kids and now even grown ups are in an instant gratification cycle now and everything has to be fast. This ADD/ADHD mentality (TWITTER and TEXTING i am looking in your direction) could be harmful to this beautiful sport and the fate of this great pass time.

Opening Day - PLAY BALL!!

After last nights comeback win by the Boston Red Sox over the Evil Empire aka The New York Yankees in the Play-in game they have now a stranglehold of the American League East. All the other teams are in the rear view mirror. All the other teams in the league are all on even footing, at least in terms of their record. Projections and reality might differ but this is the time of the season that just about all is square and everyone still has a shot...yes even the Pirates and Jays.

After another Spring Training has come and gone and another off season of free agents and trades have been completed. It is time to see what all teams have done to make themselves better and be contenders come September and October. It is always fun at this time to see who comes out hot, who is the sleeper guy nobody thought would be as good as he is and what new rookie or prospect is going to break through and become the next big one. (As a Braves fan I hope Jason Heyward is that guy).

With last nights first pitch and today’s matinee games we can now officially consider it to be spring and sunny summer days at the ballpark are only a few months away!

Another Arms Race For The Braves

John Schuerholz may not be the GM of my favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, anymore but he is now even higher up in the organization and his ideals have seemed to filter down to current GM Frank Wren. Schuerholz the architect to the record setting Braves team of the 90’s and early 2000’s who won 14 consecutive division titles and a World Series in 1995. How did he do it? One of the main things was building the team with pitching...sure it is one thing to have good pitching but quite another to have 3 future Hall of Famers tossing every 5 days for you (Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine). Throw in there 2 very good guys in the 4 and 5 spots (like Neagle, Schmidt, Smith, Avery, Millwood ect..) and every night the team was in a great position to win.

Looking at the rotation as it stands right now that same idea is being used. The Boston Red Sox, when healthy may have the best rotation with Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Penny and Smoltz...oh and throw in a kid that has already thrown a no-hitter in the majors in the minors that they can call upon in Buchholz. Atlanta has got to be near that level with the arms that thew can throw on any given night. Right now the Braves mound can have any of Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Kenshin Kawakami, and rookie phenom Tommy Hanson. They too have a bit of an ace up their sleeve that they are hoping to have Tim Hudson return from injury at some point. Not too shabby. It is clear that this was a priority since the pre season when they took a run at the big name free agent pitchers, especially AJ Burnett.

Granted it seems like the offence may be a bit of a weaker spot but looking at the lineup they should be more consistent then they are. Even with future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones in the lineup the team seems to be very streaky as far run production and wins are concerned. As a team the regular lineup boasts an average of .293 (not including the pitchers spot)..that is fairly decent. I guess it is just a matter of being more clutch and/or consistent. The mid season acquisition of Nate McLouth, Adam LaRoche's return and the Franceour/Church deal may help that a lot too.

A slow first half have put them behind early but with that pitching and if Rafael Soriano can be a good closer they that have a decent chance of taking a run at the Phillies for the East title or possibly the Wild Card. Don’t give up on the ATL too soon.

Who Was That Guy?

If the Atlanta Braves weren't playing the Boston Red Sox tonight in Boston I would be quite sure that I had a celebrity sighting in town today.

I could swear I saw Mike Lowell 3rd baseman of the Red Sox at the Chip Stand in Merrickville. Since I know that this was defiantly not the case I will chalk it up to the next most reasonable conclusion... It must have been Mike Lowell's Doppelgänger. It truly is the only explanation.

~ I have a critique of the NHL Awards show that is currently unavailable to me at this time due to circumstances beyond my control. I will post it on Monday morning. For those that appreciate the movie Swingers they should appreciate it.~

MAN-SHAM!

When they say that it is Just Manny Being Manny I don’t think this is what they had in mind.

In shocking news LA Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has been suspended immediately for 50 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. Up until this point there was never a finger pointed toward Manny and his name was never in the forefront. Who would have thought that Manny would get suspended while ARod has not, despite much publicised reports of past use. Of all the players that could suffer the wrath of the performance-enhancing crackdown one would think that Manny and Albert Pujols would be the 2 biggest and most unlikely to become linked. There has not been much attention given to either of these two but at least in Manny’s case there is.

In the Steroid era I guess nothing should be surprising but I find this, for lack of a better term a little shocking just because Manny is such a pure hitter. I stress hitter, not power hitter. He has one of the best eyes in all of baseball, the most patients at the plate and probably the smoothest right handed swing of all time. Of all the superstars who may or may not be using one would have thought that Manny wouldn’t need it. I mean if he doesn’t have the same power numbers he is still going to be a dominant hitter. Why take the risk of killing your reputation. You are not going to make more money then you are already making. How big must your ego be to jeopardize your career and place as one of the games all time bests? Is it due to injury or rehab, perhaps but how could we ever know for sure.

You can be sure that Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox are glad to have Jason Bay in left and not Man-Ram. I don’t think he will be getting too much support in this matter from Beantown that’s for sure.

This only goes to prove that no one can be above suspicion and that the drug cloud is still looming over baseball.

I feel bad for those who actually do it right and do it clean...but I guess how do we know if there are any in the game that are, how can we not paint everyone with the same brush?

ALCS GAME 7, What...Game 7??

Almost time for game 7 in the Tampa v Boston ALCS. Who will be the hero (or the goat)??

In one of the more unlikely events, there is in fact a game 7. After Being down 3-1 in the series and 7-0 in the 7th in game 5 the Sox managed to claw back in a historic comeback in that game and then followed that up with a game 6 victory on the road in Tampa.

I see it as being a close game with Lester and Garza on the mound. Both are young, strong and have little fear, so basically a push...Boston has the experience and have been in the comeback position before (just ask the Yankees) Tampa may have more pressure being young as a team and young in terms of experience.

Short story shorter...I choose to make no prediction and just look forward to watching the game as a baseball fan and let the best team win! Loving the October Baseball.

I love playoff baseball

Watching the Red Sox v Rays game there have been a few things that I have noticed.
1) Tampa is a great TEAM with great speed, power, and pitching
b) Red Sox injuries have piled up and have all but sealed their fate and will likely be done for the season very soon.
3) BJ Upton and Carl Crawford are 2 guys that should be challenging Usain Bolt
4) Probably most importantly: Kevin Youkilis may have the thickest beard ever and though I think Dustin Pedroia should be the AL MVP Youk has won me over as being one of the smartest position players in the game. Off the top I can think of 3 great defensive plays that he has done to pick off runners and also sports a great bat. I never much cared for him before but i have come to appreciate what he does on the field. I liken him to the thinking mans player A.J. Prerzynski except less disliked...by a little bit.

The way it should be

The Sports scene once again makes sense again and all of the stars have aligned.

Until the Red Sox’s final out last night I couldn’t completely believe that the Yankees would be eliminated. How many times over the last 4 years have people early and mid and even late season say the Yankees are done only to see them reel off a ton of games and once again make it in. I was worried that it would come down to the last 3 games at Fenway with a 1 game playoff at the end...the 13 year run is officially over and my braves record of 14 still stands (double bonus that all were division titles in the case of the Braves)

The Detroit Lions finally removed Matt Millen from his roll as President and GM. This once great franchise...hahaha, even I have to laugh at that. Lets just call them Barry Sanders old team has been even worse then a disappointment for many years. Maybe they can get someone with some better vision and knowledge of drafts and pro scouting. You can’t complete a chapter let alone the book without turning the page.

Only thing that cold have made this better would be if the Cubs or Braves managed to win the World Series.

Around the Horn

Brian Griese threw it up 67 times in Sunday’s game. (38-67, 407)
Says very little for the running game for Tampa Bay, says a lot for the prestigious Michigan Wolverines pedigree for QB’s

Former Michigan QB Tom Brady is my early season MVP candidate.
After watching New England play, Brady hasn’t even played a full quarter and is out for the year and clearly he is the most valuable to his team.

The Mets, after last years collapse or choke job or whatever you want to call it look like they want to make it an annual event.
Sure it isn’t of historic proportions as it was last year but they seem to be trying to do everything in their power to give it away again. As a Braves fan, I will watch and enjoy.

Kyle Busch was dominant in Dover Nationwide race
Kyle Busch was first eliminated in Dover Sprint Cup race with engine failure.
Looks like Kyle chose the wrong race as he has dug himself into a hole in the Chase Championship that will be tough to get out of...No, No, dig up stupid!

Yankee Stadium saw its last game on Sunday.
Did anyone else think that it was a little odd and frankly unjust that it was a game involving the Baltimore Orioles and not the Boston Red Sox?

Blues defenseman Erik Johnson suffered a knee injury. Johnson is a promising young defenseman and high prospect. He was attempting to stop his golf cart and step out to hit his next shot when he jammed his right foot between the accelerator and brake.
This would never happen to a Toronto Maple Leafs player as they have had more then enough practice on the golf course after missing the playoffs the last 3 years.

John Ferguson Junior has been hired as pro scout director in San Jose
Yes, that sound you just heard was Joe Thornton flipping pages looking for that opt-out clause in his contract