With a week finally in the record books (or two weeks if your trying to be a smart alick), the Major League Baseball season has opened to more the same second guessing, the same whining and the same major questions that doom not just front office men, but also fantasy owners.
Guys like Xavier Nady and Pat Burrell are hitting lights out and are being picked up in droves. Guys like Miguel Cabrera and Mark Texieira, with proven track records, are being benched or dropped for inexplicable reasons.
But such is the case, but for our local teams, the Yankees and Mets face questions between them. The Yankee offense is good, too good to have their highest run output be 6 runs at this point. Bobby Abreu is clearly looking for a better contract and playing like it, but Johnny Damon still can’t get on base like a lead off hitter is supposed to do and Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano aren’t parlaying their huge springs for really good starts to the ’08 campaign. While I expect Damon to be decent and Cano to have a really good season, I just can’t see Giambi putting together a good enough campaign to warrant any major dollar offers to come his way in the offseason, but hey that’s just me.
Speaking of steroid filled sluggers, I saw a lot of articles about Barry Bonds. The man has been riding the pine for the last few weeks, waiting for a phone call from a team even remotely interested in both his high OPS percentage and the percentage of IBS he brings to a team. The guy is a great hitter, no doubt, and at this point can only be seen as a professional hitter brought into rake but the guy has to realize that all the years of alienating both the press and teammates has finally caught up to him. When he was looking for friends and people to support him and he realized that the room was empty I’m sure he began to regret all those times he pissed off people who were more in awe of his natural ability as a hitter and as an athlete than anything else.
As for other HGH heads feeling the sting of karma, here’s to you Jay Gibbons. The guy trumpeted this campaign to have testing, but when given the test himself, failed and he had to swallow that big lump called pride and tell the world sorry. Its got to hurt that even the Orioles don’t want you. This is a team that was trying to keep Miguel Tejada as long as they could. Ouch!
As for our expert on all things steroids related, Jose Canseco timed the release of his book entitled “Vindicated” for the opening part of this season. Ever since his first book, singlehandedly spearheaded the steroids investigations in baseball, he has sat on this high and mighty rock. In his first book, he detailed encounters with several players, including needle time with several well known guys, that made a lot of guys look stupid in front of a congressional committee and national television.
But like any guy that can’t get enough of himself, he parlayed that into another book and promised us more players and more juice. Well, apparently that well has run dry. In his new book, reports state (Because I have not read this book yet), he injected Magglio Ordonez with steroids, said Roger Clemens is a truthful individual and A-Rod was a wife stealing A-hole.
First off, let’s forget about Magglio because Jose, for all his stupidity, is not smart enough to lie about things like that. His claim that Roger is some truthful person and the fact that he now seemingly stands in Roger’s corner is kind of a funny thing now that all those stories of Roger being this great person are all crumbling around him. People are coming forward with stories of him ignoring fans, and being rude to not just players. Remember when he flipped the bat at Piazza during the World Series? Not many people were there to say anything bad about that. Funny how the truth comes out and perspectives change about situations that were once too close to call.
As for the A-Rod quote, many are trying to come up with alterior motives of why he would call out A-Rod in the way he did, by saying he went after his wife at the time. Many say it was A-Rod not signing with the Canseco brother’s sports agency company that left a bitter taste in Canseco’s mouth, but either way I still believe that A-Rod would go after his wife. The woman was hot and we all know that A-Rod would drop a marriage for a one night stand with a stripper, so why not a gorgeous woman that he had just met?
Either way, Canseco tried very hard to make this book seem as important as the first one but I don’t have the urge to read this book as much as I did the first one. The first one had many things to uncover, but this one is just a desperate attempt to make more money to support a lifestyle he should have quiet years ago.
Sorry, but no WAY JOSE.
Speaking of desperation, why all the white flags being raised over Pedro’s injury? My how quickly people forget that we played almost a full season without Pedro in our rotation, but suddenly we are doomed because we lose Pedro for a month and a half? Its beyond me that people think we can’t compete with a
It does however pose a complicated scenario. With the elimination of Pedro from the regular rotation, the Mets have a need for a fifth starter. With the controversy over Pelfrey and El Duque fighting for the fifth starting position, which Pelfrey eventually won, it would seem common sense would prevail and you have everyone move up one slot. Yet a controversial decision awaits Willie Randolph. This tells me that they don’t think El Duque has it anymore in the tank to go another season. This is sad because Duque as your fifth starter isn’t the worst possible thing. Sure, his fastball is probably as fast as Joba Chamberlain’s slowest pitch, but the guy still has the intellect and smarts to be an effective pitcher. If anything it’s the bullpen that should worry the Mets.
Another close game was broke open by the Mets bullpen against the Braves when Mark Texieira (he of the struggling status in the open of my column) hit a homerun to break open a 1-0 game that was pitched masterfully by two maestros (Santana and Smoltz). If anything, the Mets should be looking to cement that part and leave Nelson Figueroa’s appearances to special situations like lefty on lefty.
Either way, the Mets need a shot in the arm and it comes with the Phillies coming to town. If anything they are the perfect reminder of what happened last season and how painful it was to go through it. The Mets will have to put on an offensive showing today to make any memories of last year disappear.
Finally, congrats to the class of 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame. Most notably
Olajuwon was his biggest nemesis in college and in the pros and for my money’s worth, he was the best all around center I’ve ever seen. To be as nimble, quick, have the post moves he had, the shooting touch, to be able to defend, block and everything else, he was the greatest center in my book. Shaq had the big body he used to back people down, Wilt had the rules and lack of real big men in the league to contest and bang bodies with on a nightly basis like they do now and in Hakeem’s time, but Hakeem put everything together. Hakeem made Shaq, and any other center he played against look silly trying to keep up with his various post moves. I will never see a center with as much grace and as much ability as Hakeem.
As for Dick Vitale, I understand his importance to college basketball and I admit that I have used PTP’er in conversation. He’s a definite keeper. Adrian Dantley I don’t know his career as well as Cathy Rush the woman’s head coach.
As for Pat Riley, I will never have respect for the man. The way he walks out of relationships, its amazing he’s been married to his wife for 37 years. He faxed his resignation to the Knicks which killed us because it came a year after we won the Finals in one of the most inexplicable resignations in
I’m ashamed to know that I once rooted for Riley and I hope that the Knicks get the number one pick. But if Isaiah is still around, I wonder if that’s a good idea.
2 comments:
don't forget, canseco also accuses that he introduced a-rod to a known steroids dealer, i believe because a-rod asked about it. while it proves nothing, it also establishes reasonable questions. as for magglio, canseco reportedly offered to keep him out if he helped finance the book, so who knows about that
as for riley, say what you want about him, but he got results.
along with great centers u have to mention bill russell...11 rings! i mean the man made wilt his biatch...dude has a 40 reb game under his belt..his defensive prowess can't be met by anyone else...
as for canseco, hes a tool..honestly i dont believe arod did roids cause look at his track record..he's been a beast since h.s...and he didnt get huge like canseco or bonds did..arod is just one of those kids from the d.r that can hit like its no ones business
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