I’m back from a quick visit to Seattle for a baseball weekend. The Mariners went 2-1 while I was in the stadium making my cumulative record for the past five years of these baseball treks 10-6 for the home team. If you look at the Mariners’ record over the past five years, they have not been playing at the “10-6 level” much of the time. In fact, if a team played “10-6 baseball” all season long they would win 100 games in a year. The Mariners are in danger of losing 100 games this year. Maybe I should write a proposal to the Mariners’ front office offering to attend lots more of their home games in the future – - for a small fee of course.
After the game on Sunday, I watched the Phillies/Cardinals game on ESPN from St. Louis. Maybe I spent all of my good will at the Mariners’ game that day, but when I watched that game and saw the stands full of people wearing Cardinals uniform tops, I wondered when that trend had become so pervasive. There had to be a minimum of 10,000 fans wearing uniform tops and my reaction was that these people could just as well have been wearing a sign saying “I Lead A Pathetic Existence!”
Two men on camera were clearly more akin to sumo wrestlers in physique than to baseball players – - even ones like Prince Fielder or Sid Fernandez. There was a woman in the stands who was so hugely endowed that she could not have buttoned that uniform top without someone sewing the infield tarp into the back of the garment. I hope these folk do not think that by putting on a Cardinals uniform top that it makes anyone think they might be actual players. But you never know … I also hope these folk do not think that by putting on a Cardinals uniform top that it makes anyone think they might know something important about baseball. But you never know …
The Tampa Bay Rays have never had a winning season in franchise history. In fact, over the decade or so that they have been in existence, they have averaged 97 losses per year. Last year, the Rays won 67 games. As of this morning, the Tampa Bay Rays have won 67 games already and have 50 left to play. They are on pace to win 97 games this year not lose 97 games this year.
The Dodgers’ acquisition of Manny Ramirez ought to give them enough oomph to win the pathetic NL West. Even thought this is a two-month player rental on the part of the Dodgers, it made sense for them to do this deal because that ticket to the playoffs is there for the taking. Obviously, the Dodgers went into this year thinking they would never need to go out and find another outfielder who can provide offense since they signed Andruw Jones as a free agent last year to the tune of $18M. For that $18M, here is what Jones has produced so far:
In 69 games, he has 200 at-bats and 32 hits. That is not a difficult batting average to calculate; he is hitting .160. Those 32 hits have produced a total of 13 RBIs. He has walked 26 times; he has struck out 73 times.
Just to be clear here, it is not good when you are hitting well below .200 and you strike out three times as often as you walk…
The temptation is always there to look at trades and declare who “won the trade” and who “lost the trade” in the first minutes after the trade is announced. Clearly, when young prospects are involved, one needs to see how those prospects turn out to declare a winner and a loser. However, I do want to say that with the Red Sox acquisition of Jason Bay in the Manny Ramirez deal, the Red Sox probably did not lose much in the transaction. Bay is not the hitter that Ramirez is nor is he the “RBI machine” that Ramirez is. Nevertheless, Jason Bay is a good hitter who can still improve and he is a fine defensive outfielder – - and that is a phrase that will never be associated with Manny Ramirez.
Speaking of the Sox acquiring Jason Bay, what are the Pittsburgh Pirates doing? Xavier Nady and Jason Bay were in their outfield; both are in their prime at age 30; Bay is hitting near .300 with 23 HRs and Nady is hitting about .330 with 17 HRs. So why do you trade these guys without acquiring someone who can actually step in and play for the Pirates immediately? What is the purpose of developing players if all you are going to do is to trade them for little value once they grow up and become valuable major league commodities?
I read that the Spectrum in Philadelphia is probably going to be torn down some time next year. That was the building that housed the Philadelphia 76ers in their disastrous 9-73 season. It also was the site of a college basketball game you might recall. That game ended with Christian Laettner hitting a jump shot from the top of the key after taking a 75-foot inbounds pass from Grant Hill to give Duke a win over Kentucky in an NCAA regional final game. I’m sure you have seen a replay of that event at least once…
When I was young – just after the dinosaurs stopped roaming the planet – there was a movie called If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium. That title sort of sums up my sense of MLS at the moment. If American soccer still needs to be saved, that means David Beckham must still be playing soccer here. However, after the ridiculous hype surrounding his arrival in MLS last year, it is hard to know if he is still alive – and kicking of course – this year. Perhaps the MLS PR trolls can find a useful middle ground next year?
Speaking of soccer, I read that a South African “official” suggested that the country ought to legalize prostitution – temporarily of course – for the time of the World Cup Soccer Games scheduled in South Africa in 2010. There are so many problems with regard to unfinished venues for games and other infrastructure problems of a sufficient magnitude that FIFA has said it has already drawn up a contingency plan to put the games elsewhere if South Africa is unable to stage the games properly. I am sure this suggestion by this South African “official” will go a long way toward convincing the FIFA folks that everything is under control in South Africa.
Or maybe this suggestion is targeted at the “Travis Henry demographic”?
Finally, let me close with an item from Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times as a memento of my weekend in Seattle:
“Xavier point guard Drew Lavender was arrested for disorderly conduct after he refused repeated police orders to move out of a street intersection, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and cops say they also discovered marijuana on him.
“As for the criminal charges, let’s just say the possession arrow is pointing his way.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…