Baseball*

Unless you are in a coma, and even then you still have a pretty good idea, you are aware that Major League Baseball has been battling the epidemic of steroid use for several years now. However in order to fully understand where we are, we must first examine how we got there.

In 1994 baseball went into a strike that cancelled the World Series. As a result interest in the sport diminished and football was claiming the title of "America's Game" from baseball. Losing its fanbase, baseball desperately needed a shot in the arm to get them going as a sport. Luckily two players decided to impersonate Charles Atlas and put Major League Baseball on their shoulders. In 1998 Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought baseball back to relevance as they went on a Maris and Manlte-esque quest for the single season homerun record. Eventually Mark McGwire would rewrite the record books slugging 70 homeruns in a single season. Not to be out done Sammy Sosa eclipsed the previous single season record with 66 homeruns. 3 short years later Barry Bonds, albeit without a running mate, chased down Mark McGwire's record and eventually reset the record books with 73 homers in one season. These three players brought casual fans back to baseball and behind their unofficial slogan "Chicks dig the longball" baseball was back.

However when something seems too good to be true... it probably is. Bud Selig who was in his first official year as commissioner must have been torn up internally with this homerun race. Although his sport was experiencing unrivaled drama and renewed interest, Selig could not ignore the 600 lbs gorilla in the room. Much like the President of the United States knows of everything that happens in his country, Bud Selig was not ignorant to the fact that the very players who were saving the sport were also cheating. Now this raised one enormous question in the mind of baseball's commissioner. Would I rather have a sport saved by McGwire and Sosa immediately and deal with the problem later, or would I rather have my sport played with integrity and accept an extremely long rebuilding process. If your first instinct is to choose the latter, I implore you to take a second and consider what exactly that would mean. Running your sport in a clean and honest manner does sound like the way to go. However an event such as a strike year that cancels the World Series threatens to plunge the sport into obscurity. By the same token an enthralling race for the single season homerun record can save a sport. Therefore rather than risk the sport possibly not gaining a following and falling to the ranks of hockey in America, Selig made a decision to look the other way for now.

The year is 2003. In the past 5 years three people had hit over 60 homeruns in a single season. In the previous 95 seasons only 2 players had accomplished such a feat. Commissioner Bud Selig can no longer sit back and ignore that pesky gorilla. So Selig commissions a sport-wide mandatory steroid test. Normally the players association would prevent such an invasion of their players. Selig avoided the MLBPA (Major League Baseball Player's Association) by ensuring anonymity and that the results would be destroyed after they were reviewed by MLB front offices. These tests confirmed that steroid use in baseball was in fact a problem and needed to be addressed. With the "help" of the MLBPA the first steroid policy was put into effect for the 2005 season. Originally the policy was not very strict with the first offense being 10 games, second 30 games, third 60 games and fourth one full season. Since then the policy has been amended to a first offense suspension being 50 games, second 100 games, and a third offense would be a lifetime ban from baseball. Which brings us to the present.

During Spring Training Alex Rodriguez was dealing with a hip injury and was blindsided by his name being linked to steroids. Strike one. The source that was cited as evidence was the very same 2003 list of positive tests that were to remain anonymous and destroyed after review. Although Rodriguez had previously denied steroid use, he came clean and admitted to using steroids from 2001-2003, his tenure with the Texas Rangers. When this news died down, a few months later, Sammy Sosa's name was revealed to be on the list. Strike two. Even though many people had accepted this fact with little evidence in the past, now Sosa doubters had their evidence. Over a week or so ago, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were a part of a strike em out throw em out double play as their names were the most recent names to be leaked from the list. Manny Ramirez did not make many waves with his name being on the list because earlier in the season Ramirez served a 50 game suspension for a women's fertility drug used when coming off a cycle of steroids. It was David Ortiz's name that made a wave the size of Empire State Building.

David Ortiz blossomed once he got to Boston after Minnesota had given up on him. Ortiz's career with Minnesota was disappointing at best and was having all the makings of a forgotten baseball player. With the Twins Ortiz hit .266 with 58 homeruns and 238 RBIs in 454 games over 6 seasons. In his last two seasons 2001 and 2002 his power numbers were the highest in his career, jumping considerably from his 2000 totals. His years with Boston saw such great success that many people considered him one of the premier hitters in the league. Hitting .288 with 246 homers and 793 RBI in 7 seasons. The changes from team to team are remarkable. Yes, some of it is being older and maturing as a baseball player. However a player does not mature at a rate of 30 homeruns from one season into the next. What is important to take from David Ortiz is the effects steroids have on a player. Ortiz was a player that was going to slip into the ranks of John Hetki, Mark Christman, and Mike Guerra. Who are those guys? They are all players who played for a few years in the Majors but didn't produce much. Instead of falling to the forgotten list, Ortiz became an elite hitter, a 2-time World Series Champion, and was going to be seriously considered for the Hall Of Fame. Clearly steroids affect more than just homerun numbers.

Now what is to be done about this list. It should be noted that not only was this list supposed to be destroyed and the names kept anonymous but it has a court seal on it as well. So whoever is leaking these names is not only spitting on the agreement made to keep the names anonymous but he is also committing a crime. Leaking information under a court seal is a crime and whoever is leaking the names is in for some jail time. Which is what complicates the idea of simply releasing all the names so as to avoid this tri-monthly piecemeal leaking of information. For baseball it would be best if all these names were released in one go around, so that this will not bog down the sport the way it is now. Unfortunately this means that the agreement to keep the names under wraps will need to be waived.

Hopefully the revelation the Ortiz has changed his status in baseball the steroid policy will be revisited. It is my hope that steroids will receive a lifetime ban for the first offense. The reason behind this is because I believe in the integrity of the sport. When something like this compromises the integrity of the sport it must be stopped at all costs. While I do not endorse Selig's decision to look the other way in 1998, I understand why he did what he did. The biggest mountain to climb comes in the form of the MLBPA. The MLBPA who protects its players to no end will not allow their players to be infringed upon the way I would like to see. If it were up to me every player would be tested twice a month with the one offense lifetime ban policy. It is sad that so many of baseball's biggest stars are testing positive for steroids. As a fan of the sport, it kills me to see the lack of respect certain players have for sport. It is a shame that the game is being defiled as it is now but hopefully the worst of the storm is passed and sunshine is in the future.

Jolly Old England

The state of the PGA today two names come to mind: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Dealing with a tragedy such as his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer, the field was one big name short as Phil Mickelson opted out of the tournament to be with his wife. Unfortunately for golf Tiger Woods did not make the cut and with his lack of performance the biggest name in the sport today was out of the British Open. Normally losing both Phil and Tiger would maim the tournament and leave the average fan with no interest in The Open. It took a name from another generation to bring the interest back to the tournament. After three days 59 year old Tom Watson held a 1 stroke lead going into the final 18 holes on Sunday. Watson captivated the hearts of many who believed that he could become the oldest person to win a major by almost 11 years. Going into the 18th hole Watson had a chance to win the British Open with an 8 foot putt but his shot was offline and tapped in to force a playoff. Unfortunately as Watson said himself "The wheels fell off" and he bogeyed 3 of the last 4 holes and the other hole he double bogeyed. Let us not let the magnitude of what happened at Turnberry this weekend. Despite his finish, Tom Watson who is a major blast from the past held his own with a field that was about 20 years his minor. Moreover he, like Greg Norman the year before, brought a compelling story to another Tiger-less British Open. Hats off to you Tom Watson, thank you for sweeping us off our feet and taking us on a journey and making us believe in a great story.

Where you going on Halladay?

The past few weeks have been riddled with talks about the impending trade deadline. Dominating the talks is Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in baseball. Normally a pitcher of Roy Halladay's caliber would not be traded but rather locked up for a multi-year contract. After an off-season that saw AJ Burnett leave for the New York Yankees and receiving nothing in return the Jays GM JP Ricciardi is looking for pieces to build with in return for his ace pitcher. Several teams have been rumored to be in talks with the Jays. These teams are the Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and the Boston Red Sox. Of those five teams I believe only the Phillies have true interest in the right hander.

Now there is a huge difference between interest and possibility of actually making the trade. It is my belief that this trade will not be made this season. Ricciardi who knows Halladay's worth has made it clear that Halladay will not come cheap, this season at least. In order for Halladay to be traded this season I believe Ricciardi is looking for a trade that favors the Jays in terms of young major league ready talent. There is no urgency for this trade to be made before the July 31 deadline. For that reason JP Ricciardi can sit back until the deadline this year and even the offseason before urgency sets in. This deadline, in my opinion, gives Ricciardi the option to send out an invitation to all teams and say "impress me". Unless a deal comes along that sets the Jays up for the next 6 years I can not see Halladay being traded this season.

This is not to say the trade deadline will not provide a great deal of buzz. As we all know the Pirates are still in MLB and have two very good infielders in Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson, so look for the Pirates to ship them out. The Phillies, although actively after Halladay, would still be looking to snag a starting pitcher. When it comes down to Halladay, all the buzz around him being traded will resume this time next year.

(M.E.T.S.) Must Endure The Season

In the third game of a four game set against the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets thirdbaseman David Wright was slid into by a Matt Diaz leaving Wright in pain. The collision left Wright bent over in pain for a few minutes. Eventually he stood up on his own power, walked off the pain, and remained in the game. Although the whole incident took a few minutes, it felt like an eternity because of the Mets injury problems. For the entire time Wright was on the ground I found myself holding my breath the entire time. Wright who represents the last healthy big name position player would be an enormous blow to the Mets roster and would effectively end any hopes the Mets would have for a winning season. The rate at which Mets players are getting injured raises many red flags that need to be addressed by the Mets front office.

A few years ago the New York Yankees were dropping like flies to injury. In response to their players getting injured seemingly every other day, upper management made a decision and fired the conditioning coach Marty Miller. After Miller was terminated so were the injury problems. The New York Mets have lost their all-star shortstop, all-star firstbaseman, all-star centerfielder, and all-star setup man. Obviously the Mets have made some changes in the front office or training staff right? Wrong. The Mets have not done anything to rectify the injury situation. Injury after injury has plagued the Mets often times the original diagnosis being a seemingly harmless ailment. Soon after the original diagnosis the player is put on the DL for an extended period of time. If you are not immediately alarmed by this then you should be. For the Mets it is imperative for them to get rid of their problems in the training room. Jerry Manuel, who has been criticized this season, can not do anything about the state of his team as he is not responsible for the injury problem. That is why Omar Minaya needs to step in and clean out the training staff.

If the Mets were not injured this year it is fair to say they would be contending for the lead in the National League East. However they are fielding a lineup that has lost their 1,3, and 4 hitters. The Mets current lineup has the makeup of a triple A team with a couple of great players waiting to be called up in Wright, Santana, and Rodriguez. With Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, Putz, and Maine all on the DL and probably out till August the Mets are all but mathematically eliminated from contention. Sad though it may be, injuries are a part of the game. Had the Mets not been maligned with injuries a bidding war would be raging between the Mets and Phillies to land Roy Halladay, a war I believe the Mets would win. Unfortunately for the Mets this season will have to be filed under the category of "There is always next season".

The Most Entertaining Game Of The All-Star Break

As the sporting world enters into the slowest period of the year, the MLB All-Star break, there is little to talk about except for the All-Star festivities. Some people love the Homerun Derby. Others truly enjoy the All-Star game itself. While truly die-hard baseball fans relish the opportunity to see young players before they have truly made it big in the All-Star Futures game. However there is one event that often gets severely overlooked. This event is easily my favorite event and it is the Taco Bell Legends and Celebrities Softball Game.

If you are not familiar with this game then I shall enlighten you. This game is a slow-pitch softball game that is played before the Homerun Derby and after the Futures game. The fence is brought in and the bases are also brought in to simulate a softball field. Much like the All-Star game the participants are divided into the National and American Leagues. This is where the game starts to get fun. The participants are a mix of former MLB players including many Hall-of-Famers and celebrities. Since the celebrities have obviously never played in the MLB they have no clear affiliation to any team. In order to keep the rosters even, the celebrities are paired with the team they root for. So for example Billy Crystal would play for the American League team as he is a lifelong Yankee fan and Kevin James who is a comedian and a big fan of the Mets would play for the National League due to his aforementioned support of the New York Metropolitans. As for the rules they are exactly the same as any baseball game.

The reason why I enjoy this game so much revolves around the spirit of the All-Star break and that would be fun. For several years now the main event, the All-Star game, has been tagged with the responsibility with determining homefield advantage for the winning side. Changing the rule has sucked out all of the fun that came with playing the game. The Homerun Derby has retained some semblance of a fun event but certain aspects possess a sense of professionalism. The Futures game puts the participants in the spotlight, granted a small spotlight but a spotlight nonetheless. The Legends and Celebrities game lends itself only a fun atmosphere.

The reason I say that the Legends and Celebrities game is only about fun is that no one cares about the result of the game. This is not to say the game is irrelevant but rather that the participants are playing to have fun, no different than any pick-up basketball game or stickball game in the middle of the street. Another aspect of the game is the blending of celebrities and hall of famers playing together. In the game today Nelly, the rapper, hit a homerun off recent Hall of Famer Richard "Goose" Gossage, and then later Ozzie Smith made a diving play and threw to firstbaseman Bobby Knight. Yes, you are thinking of the correct Bobby Knight, the same Bobby Knight who threw a chair across a basketball court in the middle of a NCAA basketball game. Where else can you see the king of the handlebar mustache Rollie Fingers hit a homerun off Goose Gossage. If you are a fan of trash talk then you will be happy to know that ESPN radio hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg are the managers of each side and spend the whole game ripping on each other and each other's performance in the game. This game is one of the most entertaining games of the year with Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium coming in around the top of the list.

Big Z Slugging It In The Derby

It is widely accepted that of the nine positions on the baseball diamond, the pitcher is the least athletic. Before the American League instituted the designated hitter in 1973 every player on the field was required to be able to handle the bat. The rule does not require that the designated hitter substitute for the pitcher. The designated hitter can take the place of any player on the field but is reserved for the pitcher so to free the pitcher of any extra burdens of hitting or running the bases. Ever since 1973 it has become a novelty for a pitcher to be a good hitter in either league. Some pitchers in today's game enjoy the hitting aspect and others loathe the experience of squaring up for the sacrifice bunt. However one man stands out amongst the crowd of bunting pitchers and his name is Carlos Zambrano.

Today Carlos Zambrano hit his 3rd homerun on the year and his 19th career homerun. Zambrano is truly a unique pitcher. He challenges conventional wisdom on pitchers in every aspect of his game. When his previous contract expired, Zambrano was courted by several teams in both leagues. He ultimately decided to stay in a Chicago Cubs uniform for several reasons including that he enjoyed hitting and a switch to the American League would limit his at-bats to 6 or 7 over the course of the entire season. Hitting from both sides of the plate provide many advantages, for the hitter and are usually a detriment to the pitcher. Zambrano is a switch hitter, an extreme rarity amongst a field of pitchers who fear the batters box. As it stands today Big Z is the active leader in homeruns for pitchers and is currently tied for 13th place on the all-time homerun list for pitchers. To put it in perspective Zambrano has 3 homeruns in 16 games compared to David Wright's 5 homeruns in 86 games. To prove that Wright is not an arbitrary name, David has hit 26 or more homeruns in his last 6 seasons and has never hit less than 14 in a single season. So it is clear that Zambrano is some special hitter disregarding the fact that he is a pitcher.

Why bring this up? If your sports calendar is up to date you know that the State Farm Homerun Derby, that still sounds strange, is taking place on Monday. This year, much like last year, the players were reluctant to join the Homerun Derby for fear of messing with their swing or simply embarrassing themselves. Eventually both leagues sent 4 men to participate most of whom are pretty solid homerun hitters. Last year the game was played in, the House That Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium an American League park which uses the designated hitter. However this year the All-Star festivities will take place in, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium a National League park. By now you have probably put two and two together and realized what I am implying. Why not invite Carlos Zambrano to the Homerun Derby?

As previously stated Big Z has a bit of a love affair with hitting and being the active homerun leader for pitchers he would be a good choice. Major League Baseball consistently tries to draw in more and more fans as is evident by the "this one counts" campaign. Although it would initially look like a publicity stunt, the deeper and deeper into the debate people delve the more they would see that Zambrano has a legitimate shot at contending. Not only would he be the first pitcher to contend but it would provide an interesting storyline that Lance Berkman has brought in years past: no switch hitter has ever won the Homerun Derby. The sheer novelty of a pitcher in a homerun contest coupled with the possibility of seriously contending for the crown would draw in an amazing amount of viewers.

Clearly manager Lou Piniella might have some concerns about Zambrano hurting himself. However if this were to actually happen it would truly capture the spirit of the All-Star break... fun.