First of all, I’m all for integrity and fairness in sports, but not when they are used as an excuse for losing.
These examples happen in all professional sports, but I’ll concentrate on the sport about to begin its second season, Major League Baseball. All but one division has been decided. The Phillies, Cubs, and Dodgers have made it from the National League; the Brewers sealed the NL wildcard with another Mets collapse. In the American League, the Rays and Angels have won their respective divisions, the Red Sox have locked up the AL wildcard, and the White Sox and Twins will play a tiebreaker for the AL Central Division on Tuesday (correction: if the White Sox beat the Tigers today).
Most seem content with the playoff eligibility process, save for one blowhard. New York Yankees Senior Vice President, Hank Steinbrenner, is turning out to be a bigger jerk than his father, sealing my continued distaste towards the team in pinstripes for the foreseen future.
Last week, Steinbrenner decried that the MLB playoff system, where division winners are guaranteed entry in the postseason, is unfair.
The biggest problem is the divisional setup in major league baseball. I didn’t like it in the 1970s, and I hate it now. Baseball went to a multidivision setup to create more races, rivalries and excitement. But it isn’t fair.
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If New York Yankees catcher, Jorge Posada, ends up needing surgery on this shoulder, and thus required to miss the rest of 2008, could Paul Lo Duca be an option for Hank Steinbrenner?
Posada is scheduled to have an MRI on his left shoulder today, the results of which will chart the path of the Yankees future. For one, the Yanks have some options in the event that Posada can’t make it back behind the plate. Jose Molina, who A-Rod called an “angel,” filled in the other day, and Chad Moeller is available for spot duty as well. Moeller was actually with the Nats during spring training, but was later cut and signed to a minor league contract by the Yankees.
Second, I doubt the Yankees would want to make some drastic move, giving up prospects in return for a playoff rental. Making the post season this year is far from guaranteed, and this tactic has failed the Yankees in the past as their farm system has been pilfered by ill-advised moves.
Which brings me back to Lo Duca. The Nationals should have never signed the guy. In my opinion, Jesus Flores showed enough last season to earn more time in the pros this season, others feel the same way. And if Kasten, Bowden & Co. are in full rebuilding mode, why throw $5 million to PLD for a year in the first place? Quite the waste of money for a bunch of penny-pinchers.
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Ok, so when Dan Uggla is involved (in a tragic manner), I can’t resist punning his name in a headline.
What a huge goat he almost was (and to an extent, still is), in hitting into a double play in the top of the 10th and then booting two balls on the first two batters in the bottom of the inning. I bet his mouth was as dry as a bone under a heat lamp in the desert when Grady Sizemore grounded to him in a bases loaded FC out at home-plate after Carlos Guillen was intentionally walked. I know this, Aaron Cook pitched a helluva 10th inning keeping all hit balls on the ground and in the infield. If the American League had prevailed in the bottom of the 10th, the headline would’ve read: National League Hits Every Stick On The Uggla Tree.
Getting struck out by Joakim Soria on a “knee buckler” with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 12th didn’t aid Uggla’s redemption efforts. In fact, yet another boot to the chest, the 3rd error of Uggla’s night, in the bottom of the 13th pushed him lower. Joe Buck had plenty of sympathy for the kid giving Dan the benefit of the doubt with a bad hop call.
In the end, the National League could not survive the marathon. Hopefully, next time, Dan Uggla will have a much better looking effort than going 0-4, striking out three times and leaving six on base.
Defensive MVP?
In the bottom of the 11th, Nate McLouth made a great throw to put out Dioner Navarro at home. If the National League would’ve went on to win in the 12th, I was ready to give Russell Martin the All-Star MVP for blocking the plate and making an unbelievable tag….the 3rd of the last five outs which came at home plate.
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The good folks at Epic Carnival got their hands on a $50 gift card from MLB……so the obvious choice was to hold a Photoshop contest (despite a call for boobies and zingers) to see who would get their hands on the prize.
Naturally, I wanted to put my Photoshop skills to the test and attempted to get creative in the 11th hour of the deadline….and here is that attempt:
Hank Steinbrenner is at the wheel. Roger Clemens, Sidney Ponson, and Jose Canseco are all aboard. Milton Bradley is ordering Barry Bonds to get back on while Elijah Dukes is trying his best to escape the fray.
Check out all the other entries here. If you’re around…..you can, like, go and vote for me and stuff. Read more »
(refers to the page number on the bottom of the Mitchell report pages, not in the PDF)
Paul Lo Duca – Page 208
Who he got them from: Radomski
When he got them: July 26, 2004 – $3,200; August 7, 2004 – $3,200; at least 4 additional transactions.
When they worked: Probably when he started dating pop star Rietsa
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1. Playing the spoons in the bullpen. No one wants to hear a rendition of Stomp.
2. Manny Ramirez – Jack. Ass. First of all, he throws his helmet on purpose every time he takes off running on the bases. Is this legal? Couldn’t that possibly affect the defense? On the relay? And injury?
3. And where exactly did all these nouveau Red Sox fans come from? The Cubbies are lovable losers….and I hear Chicago is a great town. But Boston? The natives?…’enuff said. Watch a Sox game at Fenway on TV. Do you see any black people in the crowd? How about those wearing Red Sox gear in the city you live? The fans are almost like members of a fraternity, and the last time I checked, the Greek system was still segregated….ok, I admit that’s not totally correct/fair. I’m just saying.
It pretty much came down to the fans of each team….which are less obnoxious. Yankee fans on one hand are innocent imbeciles. You know, one of those cats you don’t trust because he doesn’t know better. But the Sox, suddenly after all the whining, all the curse, all the Buckner….they win one (1) World Series and blossom a superiority complex? Please. They think they are “owed” something after years of sucky teams. Hey, that’s life buddy.
Curt Schilling is just a dick. Runs his mouth off too much, too much.
To be continued…. Read more »
The very last Washington Nationals game at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium….the Presidents Race. Everyone speculated that Teddy Roosevelt would win his first race…but where was he? This should be among the biggest blunders in mascot sports racing history.
What was the deal with the guy behind home plate at the Cubs-Diamondbacks game last night? Look, I feel bad enough for the D-Back fans for having to deal with all those lovable losers in their stadium…..that’s why I’m pulling against Chicago. But to have some dude, in your house, flashing what looks to be a Cubs neon light/sign, right behind home plate in the top of the 9th with the game on the line is absolutely ridiculous. Wait, what’s even more ridiculous is that the 3rd base ump stops the game to get him to cut it out…which he does, but he doesn’t get kicked out of the game? Really?
Forgive me if the guy was not a Cubs fan, and supposedly “working” as the TBS announcer purported….throw all of that out the book, his actions could only have hurt the pitcher. But to be allowed to stay behind home plate? In the stadium? Preposterous. No, he’s back there talking on his cell, shaking hands, and kissing babies. Like I said, I feel bad for Arizona fans…they can’t do anything about the fact that the Cubs have spring training in their state and thus, resonate with rooting for a popular team because it’s the “thing to do”….(BTW, why ARE there so many Cubs fans anyway? They’ve NEVER won…what’s the opposite of bandwagon jumping?)…
…Back to my point, doesn’t the Diamondbacks franchise have some pride? Ban this guy from the stadium…some d-bag wearing a form-fitting Under Armor shirt with a gold chain a DNA thread away from getting his son hopped up on goofballs and attacking the 1st base ump. This incident should not slide.
