Blog? What Blog?

I apologize for my negligence, friends. I'm down to the last month of my bachelor's degree and it's pretty insane around here. I have not, however, neglected baseball. I watched the whole WBC and have been following Spring Training. In fact, I was filling up my Twitter page with so much baseball that it was annoying my followers, so I started one strictly for baseball. It's kinda fun; I'll be tweeting live from Opening Day!

Speaking of Opening Day, I got my tickets! I've already put the first pair that I'm not going to use up for sale. Only 17 hours left. ;o) (Sorry, couldn't resist the plug).

Speaking of plugs, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the WBC; I even missed several episodes of American Idol to watch it, something I haven't done since 2003. I do agree with Mr. Soule; the worst way to promote an event is to lambaste it while they're playing the game. It's like having Jime Rome call the World Cup. Also, I got real sick, real fast of people acting like paranoid Little League parents because a few guys twisted their ankles. No one was seriously injured, just pangs and dings, but you would think they had killed them. And no, the thing shouldn't be played in January. The NFL playoffs are in January. They do need people to watch the thing. Although I do think the teams should be assembled earlier than a week before the tournament. Congratulations to Japan, again. At least the USA got further than last time; maybe their going one step at a time and will make the finals in '13. I can always hope.

Speaking of hope, Tigers ST has had good news and bad news. The good news is, the first four starters, including Jeremy Bonderman, have looked very good. The bad news is, that the fifth spot isn't decided yet. Most of the hitters look good, too, despite the fact that they got no-hit the other day.

Speaking of the other day, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, everyone.

Feast or Famine...

I've noticed a trend in the WBC. In the 14 games played so far, there have been two one run games, one three run games, and one four run game. All the other games have been won by 7 or more runs. Three games have ended early due to the "Mercy Rule" (which I don't think any red-blooded baseball fan should agree with). It seems as if the offense is either exploding or falling completely silent. For example, the US, Japan, Korea, and Australia (Australia?) have combined for over 80 runs in 8 games played. It's been pretty exciting, as long as you're on the right side of the bat. I'm sure that Venezuela, China, and Mexico didn't think it was all that exciting. Here are my favorite moments of this shindig so far:

The Underdogs

I do love me an underdog. But when the Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic, the commentators on ESPN and MLBN immediately started calling it a "magical run". I scoffed, but now I'm thinking they might be right (though they still only said it to create a story and grab ratings). Not only did they beat the mighty Dominican Republic team, but they're currently beating Puerto Rico. It's loads of fun, but not as much fun as Australia beating Mexico 17-7. Let me just say that again...Australia beat Mexico 17-7...in Mexico. The game had to be ended in the 8th inning because of the Mercy Rule. This was by far the most hilarious moment of the tournament (as an fan of US Soccer, I have a great affinity for anyone who beats Mexico at anything).

Pudge

I never got to see Pudge play when he was on steroids in his prime. I think I've gotten a glimpse of it in these two games. He's been phenominal. I'm sure the phone started ringing this morning.

Adam Dunn's Panic Attack

During what was by far the most exciting and best played game in the tournament so far, the US and Canada went at each other for nine full innings and it wasn't clear who would win until the last out had been recorded. During the ninth inning, when it seemed as if the Canadians might tie the game...again...Adam Dunn was sitting on the bench taking his pulse. Made me smile.

Mario Chiarini's Wardrobe Malfunction

An Italian outfielder named Mario Chiarini made a spectacular diving catch, robbing Bobby Abreu of at least a double. That wasn't the great part. The great part was that when the kid got up, his belt was broken. No one could accuse Italy of not taking this thing seriously. They were playing their pants off.

Watching all those American Boys Run

I'm obviously a little biased about this one, but watching the Americans in nearly constant motion on Sunday night made me a very happy little Yank. The Canada game was still the better game, but seeing 14 runs on your team's side of the scoreboard is never a bad time. It was also fun to be able to say things like, "6-4-3: Jete to Pedroia to Youkilis" or even more fun to say "Aramando Galaragga just made Curtis Granderson ground out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera". That one almost gave me a headache.

At the time of this writing, the Netherlands is still beating Puerto Rico and Italy is beating Canada. Japan, Korea, and the US are going to the next round.

*On a more personal note, I'd like to say with no small amount of pride that I've been featured on the front page of MLBlogs twice in the past couple of weeks. Once for my Manny post and once for my post about the WBC the other day. Thanks to whoever chooses those blogs and thanks to anyone who reads these nonsensical ramblings I call a blog. :)

~K

It's a Classic

Well, there were quite a few things that were "classic" in today's games of the WBC. The entire USA/Canada game was everything a baseball game should be. The two teams chased each other to the finish line, there were home runs, there were great defensive plays (on both sides), there were light moments. Pudge Rodriguez gave a truly classic performance in the Puerto Rico/Panama game. The Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic, which is just priceless, and while Venezuela beat Italy 7-0, Italy showed that they could play some serious defense. It took the positively legendary lineup four full innings to score. There was a bonafide highlight play by the Italian center fielder when he laid out and landed so hard that it broke the belt on his pants.

Here's a preview of tomorrow's action (in my time zone, EST):

5:30 AM- China vs. Korea: I love baseball, but only births, injured loved ones, or a natural disaster would get me out of bed at this hour in the morning. I do think Korea will win, though, which means that China will be going home.

2:00 PM- South Africa vs. Cuba: Now this is more like it. I don't really know anything about South African baseball, but I know that the Cubans are very good at international baseball. So, I think they'll win this one.

4:30 PM- Panama vs. Dominican Republic: This is an elimination game, too. I can't imagine the Dominicans being caught sleeping twice. I predict Panama will be packing.

8:00 PM- USA vs. Venezuela: ...I have no idea. I'm really, really glad that we won the game against Canada, because that means that this isn't an elimination game. Even if we lose, we're not out. I definately think that we can win this game, though. The US team is more balanced than the Venezuela team.

9:00 PM- Australia vs. Mexico: I think it's extremely difficult to beat the Mexicans in Mexico in any sport. Also, baseball still has a secondary sport status in Australia. Cricket is still number one by far. Being able to play Cricket doesn't mean you can play baseball. There's a big difference.  Don't believe me?  Watch some Cricket. I think Mexico will win this one.

Another day filled to the brim with baseball. This tournament will keep me nice and occupied for the next few weeks. During this week I probably won't be able to get anything accomplished. Which is bad...because I have another draft of my thesis due next Monday.

~K

Someone Hire Pudge Rodriguez...

Please.

The most exciting and interesting part of a fairly boring and predictable game between Panama and Puerto Rico was the performance by former Tiger Ivan Rodriguez (*sniff*). This man, who's headed to the Hall of Fame five years to the day after he retires, is unemployed. Not because he was swinging around a team's front office by their nose hairs or because he's the subject of a federal indictment, but simply because everyone seems to have forgotten about him. After tonight, I think that they'll remember.

Because Pudgy wants a job.

He went 4-for-4 with a walk, scored three times, and hit two home runs. That means that 5 of the 7 runs that Puerto Rico scored are because Pudge hit the ball. Oh, and he stole a base (how old is this guy?). Oh, and he also caught a shut-out in the middle of all that running. Why isn't this man signed?

I haven't been able to figure out why he didn't have a job even before the WBC started. I mean, we're not talking about a hack here. Yes, he's getting old. Yes, his offensive numbers stunk last year after his trade to New York. But he was hitting .295 before the trade and even if you add in the stinky numbers he hit .276 on the year. You could do a lot worse, considering you're also getting one of the best, if not the best, defensive catcher whose ever worn a glove. Somebody sign him, please. I'll admit, it hurts a little to see Pudge in any uniform without a D on it, but I can't stand the thought of he being forced to retire because he can't get a job. I think any fan of baseball will agree, Pudge should be able to decide when to end his illustrious career.

On another note, the game between Candada and the US was niether boring nor predictable. It was a great game. And we won. So, I'm a happy Yank.

Two things that seemed like they would never end...

The Manny saga is finally over. For me, this felt about as long as the 2008 Presidential Election. Except I had less respect for the people involved and it wasn't that exciting. Just irritating. So, today, I celebrate, in much the same way that I celebrated on November 5th. Just for different reasons. There seems to be a trend forming among Scott Boras and his clients. Find the team you want to play for (who want you to play for them), make them run around in circles over small details, and make us all hear about it...for months. Then sign with said team ( for contracts with a strong family resemblance to those you turned down) and leave everyone with a nice awkward feeling going into the season.

If you think about it, it's genius. Boras is developing quite a technique here. By making sure that none of his clients ever has a comfortable relationship with a team, he ensures that he'll have them moving as often as possible. This means more negotiations, more money, and more fees and commisions for old Scottie.

Cork is not a controlled substance

Ah, the perpetual double standard. Regular people do bad things, they're bad. Famous people do bad things, we should all lighten up. If I hear one more sentence that begins Alex Rodriguez should be forgiven because...I might be sick; if you want to forgive A-Rod, that's fine, but don't try to give half-arsed justifications of steroid use.

In the past few weeks, I've heard everything:

1. Steroids don't actually affect performance. Ok, Doctor, then why take them in the first place? Would A-Rod (or Bonds) have been exemplary athletes without them? Probably. Hand-eye coordination is key. But if one guy is swinging the arm of Grendel at the ball, he's going to have a different result.

 2. Steroids weren't against MLB rules at the time. Well, I'll give you that MLB dropped the ball on this one. However, they were against the law. But, you know they don't have to pay attention to that; they're celebrities.

3. Players have always cheated. Pine Tar, Greased Balls, Corked Bats, ect.  Yes, that is true. But projecting the image that putting a little Vaseline on a ball is ok is very different from projecting the image that it's ok to put a needle in you and inject (or swallow, for that matter) a controlled substance. It's NOT the same. The same goes for comparing this to popping uppers or drinking a lot of coffee. It's more like the '80's when guys were doing cocaine. This is a drug. Yes, Caffeine can make you jittery and cause accelerated heart rate if you drink too much. Steroids can have serious and permanent side effects. They can seriously damage your muscles, including your heart. I don't need to go into the potential dangers because they've been pounded into our heads. I read one blog that said that all steroids do is make you heal faster. Well, then you wouldn't need to use them if you weren't injured. One major problem I have with doing any illegal drug (besides the illegality) is the total lack of quality control. If you believe A-Rod's story, his cousin injected him with a drug that he got off the street in the Dominican Republic. Injected him. How did he know the needle was clean? As with any injectable illegal drug, there's always the terrifying possibility of contracting HIV. No big contract, no records, no trophies, are worth that.

4. He's TELLING THE TRUTH NOW. This is my favorite. He obviously isn't going to lie again. Everyone knows that you can only lie once. Just ask any politician. Never mind that his story has more holes in it than the Titanic, he must be telling the truth. What possible motivation could he have to lie about using steroids as a Yankee? I mean, besides the 28 million dollars a year they're paying him. Would you tell your boss that you smoke weed? No. Doesn't mean that he has been doing it all along, but I'm sure not going to take him at his word. Are we really that gullible? 

I typed "steroids" into Google and while most of the results were from advocacy groups trying to stop steroid use, there were (as there always are) sites that advocate or justify the use of steroids as long as they're used "properly" (e.i. so you look like this and not like this.) On one of these sites there was a video, charmingly called "Injected", in which a man expounded that "America has worse problems than anabolic steroids". That's very true, sir. America does have much, much bigger problems. However, I'm not talking about the country as a whole. I'm talking about Major League Baseball and no, there aren't many problems that are greater in the game today.

The Age of Sensationalism

In the Detroit News today, there was an article that contained the words that no Detroit sports wants-nay, could bear- to hear in this critical point in the season:

Jeremy Bonderman has a...gulp....stiff shoulder.

Dontrelle Willis allowed two runs in his outing.

But the World Series starts tomorrow!

Oh, wait, it doesn't?

Oh, the season hasn't even started yet?

Oh, Ok. I guess we can all calm the &*%($ down then.

And besides, we'll be fine because Verlander will be back to his "pre-2008" form....

OR WILL HE?!?!

Good God, people, it's March 1st. Lay off the coffee, a little, will ya?

You know what else? Jeff Larish has a stiff neck.

Well, shoot, I guess we should just start planning for 2010. Season's a bust already.