Tag Archives: MLB

Liar, Liar Liar……What Difference Does it Make?

38. Dog with teethThis blog has been a really fun thing for me.  I enjoy sitting down with a cup of coffee and newspaper at my trusty little PC and jotting down random thoughts, usually of current events, but sometimes just things that inspire me or tick me off.  It’s rather a form of cheap therapy I suppose.  But nevertheless, after a two month hiatus, it’s taken Alex Rodriguez to get me back in the saddle.

thumbnailCAOVWT3WI’ve never been a fan of A-Rod.  Oh, he had the talent for sure and was drop dead gorgeous to boot, but from the beginning he always seemed a little high-hat and impressed with himself, more than the average athlete.   I’ve been following this suspension saga from the beginning and, to tell you the truth, I’ve had it up to here with the onslaught of lying athletes and the boring routine of it all.  First,  the allegations and then the denials and finally the admissions of guilt.  And that’s even before Rodriguez got involved.

More recently and most visible were the Lance Armstrong and Ryan Braun fiasco’s.  I was so convinced that Braun was telling the truth after listening to his beautiful and elegant speech denying all charges of drug usage that I wrote a blog on it, shaming MLB and others who gave him a good thrashing without knowing the truth.  So when Braun came forward with his pathetic apology, admitting his guilt, I figured, that’s it.  No more.  Who can you believe?  I mean, according to some reports, over 85% of professional baseball players in the 1990’s used performance enhancing drugs so, really, what difference does it make?

So now we hear that the Alex Rodriguez fiasco is over and Major League Baseball has suspended him for 162 games (the entire 2014 season).  MLB’s case is that A-Rod used performance enhancing drugs.   He says he’s never tested positive and that it’s all a vendetta against him and that he’ll have his day in court.  And I have no idea if he did or if he didn’t.  To be honest, I’m really just tired of it all.   Not just A-Rod, but all of it.

Just once ~ just one time I wish the little guy* would win.  I wish when the powers-that-be set out to squash some one, to set an example or make a scapegoat of someone, I wish one time they’d be wrong and the squashee would win.

C’mon Alex.  Show ’em what you’ve got, surprise us, take it to the big boys.  Is that too much to ask?  It’s not just about you, you know.  It’s the principle of the thing and God knows this country’s ready for some sort of principle of some thing, of some one, from somewhere.  I’m crossing my fingers and toes you’re telling the truth.  But I’m not putting a lot of faith in it.  I’m not going to jump on a bandwagon and write a blog about your innocence and whine that you’ve been had, even though it would be really great to be able to believe in something DSC00242again.   If you could just say it isn’t so and mean it…..

And so begins my venture back into the blogosphere.

*Little guy is used lightly here ….. just meaning the underdog I guess.

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Remember when Yasiel Puig was gonna cost the Dodgers a playoff game with his recklessness?

GFBB Comment: Loved this post by Craig Calcaterra. I was one of those naysayers, but he hit the nail on the head. I think Puig’s going to be one of those love em or hate em guys. And right now I’m sorta loving him. After that great base running performance last night I kept waiting for him to do something stupid, like sticking his tongue out at the opposing bench, but he refrained and I’m glad. Hang in there Dodger fans. Only a month or so to go!

Oh It’s Good To Be Back Home Again ……

Okay, I’ll say it.  I’m not ashamed to admit that one of my very favorite baseball moments of all time was the Opening Day Ceremonies on April 5, 2011, following that glorious 2010 World Series Championship win .  The game was between the San Francisco Giants and the St Louis Cardinals. So today was just the icing on the cake for me.  The same teams were playing, and the championship flag was again being hoisted above the park to remain for the entire 2013 season so that all who crossed  our threshold could see what a magical place they had entered. 

But today, instead of being at the game, I was watching from my comfortable chair, all decked out in orange and black, with a box of Kleenex and a paper bag (to dispose of the used tissues) nearby.  And I did pretty good until they introduced the Cards Manager, Mike Matheny, and the crowd broke into near hysteria in support of this fellow, another of my very favorites.  And I lost it, never to fully recover for the rest of the ceremony. 

music notesI’m not sure why I was so emotional today, but it probably had something to do with the affection the Giants fans feel for their team, and the entire organization for that matter, but also for anyone who has anything to do with the Giants!  The crowd cheered just as loud for each of the St Louis Cardinal players who were former Giants as they did for the current Giants themselves.   It’s been a long dry spell, this post, post-season, and finally today, after five months we have our kids back home ready to dance around the mound, and the plate and the field.  “It’s the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you” ……..as if I was singing the song to each of them individually as they walked out onto the field.   Continue reading

April 1st Isn’t Just for Fools This year!

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April 1st ~ Opening Day!

Umpire Accountability ~ Doing Nothing about Something!

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”

I responded  to a poll this morning.  Nothing unusual about that.   Usually my baseball thinking is right in there with the others, but this one surprised me.     This  one asked what to do about umpires who consistently made bad calls

Here’s the preface to the poll:

“Should umpires be subject to performance-based punishment? Should a high-profile missed call subject an umpire to suspension, fines or even demotion? Or, perhaps, should MLB raise the league minimum for umpires to $480,000, to match their player minimum, so that umpires do have a financial incentive for such scrutiny?”

The responses were overwhelmingly in favor of, you guessed it, doing nothing!  The article, written by Curtis Granderson in the New York Times,  was posted in Close Call Sports,  linked here.    It’s a good read.  Take a look and see what you think.