Trick Plays Don't Often Work, But Once in a While . . .

PEDs, Baseball, and American Culture

Let me be clear from the beginning.  I am sick to death of Alex Rodriguez and his antics--both on and off the field.  As a baseball fan, I want cheaters out of the game, period.  As a Yankees fan, I want them out of baseball even if they wear pinstripes.

But don't get your hopes up that this is going to happen any time soon.  For one thing, performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are part and parcel of American culture.  PEDs are not just used by professional athletes.  Many Americans take medication which improves the quality of life, and enhances our ability to perform all kinds of basic tasks--some of these work-related.  Some will say, "that's not PED use," but I'm not so sure this is an easy call.  In fact, it is the wide-spread and accepted use of PEDs throughout our culture, which explains why so many are tempted to use banned and illegal PEDs (especially if they work better than legal ones).

What will MLB do?  Many who specialize in such things, point out that MLB's case against these ballplayers is actually quite weak.  The New York Post's Joel Sherman, explains why the twenty men named will not go away quietly (PED users will fight back), and a noted labor attorney points out that MLB has a very weak case based on a very questionable witness with little support in the way of laboratory science (MLB's weak case).  If you think the twenty or so players supposedly in the cross-hairs of MLB's attempt to suspend them, will go quietly into the night and take their punishment (and their pay-cuts) like men, well then, I've got some land in Stanton I want to sell you.

We should also give some consideration to just how deeply PEDs are now ingrained in American life and culture.  I know a guy (I'm sure you know someone just like him) who constantly berates me for being a Yankees fan.  He's always griping about A-Rod's ridiculous contract (BTW--I agree with him), and how the Yankees "buy pennants" (something which, if true, isn't working very well of late).

This same man who rants about PED use in baseball has also made it widely known that he uses Cialis.  He claims it is a wonder drug (he has had some health issues) but he also complains about its cost, and lets just say he laments that this wonder drug puts "the romantic mood on the clock."  He's married, and you can figure out what he is lamenting. 

I understand that his PED use is not the same as a professional athlete--he's not being paid to perform (well, lets hope not), and he's not using something which is illegal or banned by his union.  This medication was prescribed by his doctor, and it brings intimacy and satisfaction to both himself and his wife.  But nevertheless he still uses a medication to enhance performance and nobody (including him) thinks twice about it.  How many of you reading this have ever taken Tylenol PM when you have a big day ahead at work and cannot sleep?  What about taking a pain reliever to get through a day's work?  Or a pain reliever the next day because you did too much the day before?  And just how many commercials have we watched in which some drug company was telling us how their pill will improve our lives, despite all the side effects mentioned?

PED use runs very deep in American life.  This is why we should not in any sense be surprised that professional athletes would turn to performance enhancing substances (even banned and illegal ones) to recover from injury quicker, stave-off the effects of aging (like most Cialis users), and even to improve current performance because it means a pile of money.   If MLB owners are going to pay these guys millions to perform, what do they expect?

I'm not attempting to justify professional athletes procuring illegal PEDs, or violating the terms of their contracts by using substances banned by MLB.  Athletes who do so should pay the piper.  But I am saying that our culture is a PED using culture, so we surely understand why someone would be tempted to seek to gain an edge they otherwise would not have.

As for MLB and the current hubbub, sad to say, I am afraid the Yankees and their fans are stuck with A-Rod for the balance of his contract (unless his hip injury forces him to retire).  Cheaters do prosper in professional sports because ours is a PED using culture. 

We do indeed live in a brave (and PED filled) new world. 

Leave Me Alone and Let Me Watch the Game!

Baesball is the only major sport without a clock.  It is a thinking person's game, leisurely by design, yet punctuated by moments of great excitement--a home run, a stolen base, or a great throw from right field to third base or home plate.  Nothing better than the building momentum of a no-hitter or a perfect game.

The bane of modern baseball games is all the artificial activity which goes on between innings (or at any break in the action) designed to keep the non-baseball fans awake.  When framed in "seeker-sensitive" terms, these are events/activities which will supposedly attract new fans to the game.  The best way to attract news fans to the game is make the players accessible to the fans (autograph signings before games, etc.).  But I digress.

The worst of these activities is the Kiss-Cam.  I love my wife, but this is not about love (or even public displays of affection).  I, for one, might be tempted to risk the fate of the young man in the video (depending upon what I was wearing).  There is a greater principle at stake. 

There is nothing worse than forced audience participation during a baseball game (or any other public event for that matter)!  This young man bravely took one for the team (even though he was more interested in his cell call than the game).  But the point stands.  Let me watch the game and don't put my mug on the camera!  Leave me alone!

Mantle's Blast

Sixty years ago, Mickey Mantle hit a monster home run--565 ft--in Washington's Griffith Stadium.  If someone were to hit a home run of that distance in today's Nats Park, the ball would land where the yellow dots are in the outfield and scoreboard.  Wow!

I can only wonder what the Mick could have done over his career with two good knees and less alcohol consumption.  By the time I first saw him play in person (in 1964 at Dodger Stadium, where the Angels were playing) he was but a shadow of himself.  He played center, singled, and drove in a run off Bo Belinsky--remember him?

Some of the current players are monsters, but 565 feet?

Play Ball!

And so it begins!  Any thoughts or predictions for the coming season?

Hard to predict a clear-cut favorite in the AL East.  The Yankees have so many injuries, their success will depend upon getting their regulars back and healthy.  Toronto looks much better.  The Red Sox are hard to peg, as is Baltimore.  The Rays are always solid, but don't have that stacked list of major-league ready prospects at AAA.

The Nats and Braves both look tough in the NL East.  The Angels have the bats, but maybe not the pitching.  The Dodgers?  Anybody's guess.  The Giants will be tough again too.

All and all it should be an interesting and competitive year.  And I, for one, will be sad to see Mo go, but will enjoy his final season. 

And I won't be sad if MLB smacks A-Rod (and the rest of the PED users) with a huge suspension.

Baseball Fans Know What This Day Means

Pitchers and catchers report today!  Spring training is about to get underway.  At last!

This means box scores are soon to come, my Gameday app will need to be updated, and one of life's most enjoyable diversions is about to return.

On this day, the Cubs are still tied for first place, and that embarrassing Yankee debacle in Detroit is but a fading memory.  Mo is back, A-Rod might not return, and we'll see if the Yanks can win 95 again . . . and not wuss out in the playoffs.

The Yankees and Moneyball

The Yankees are expected to win, period.  Although they had the best record in the American league this season, they won their 95 games in a rather remarkable way.

Injures took a huge toll.  Mariano Rivera--the best relief pitcher ever--went down with a freak knee injury early in the season.  Set-up man Dave Robertson fell down a flight of stairs while packing for spring training and missed six weeks.  Michael Pineda--the big off-season acquisition--had major shoulder surgery.  Brett Gardner (the speedy outfielder, who may just be the best defensive outfielder in baseball according to some metrics), went down early on with a wrist injury and missed virtually the whole season.  C.C. Sabbathia was on the DL twice.  During the heat of the pennant race, A-Rod broke his hand, Teixeira suffered a calf injury, and 40-year old wonder Andy Pettitte was having a great season until he stopped a line drive with his foot--breaking a bone.

Two young pitchers (the crown jewels of the Yankee minor league system) were expected to have a huge impact late in the season.  They didn't.   Manny Banuelos had Tommy John surgery.  Dellin Betances couldn't find the stike zone.

So, how did the Yankees win?  With cast-offs--people like Freddy Garcia, Derek Lowe, Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada, Jayson Nix, Steve Pearce, and with smart bargain free-agent signings like Hiroki Kuroda, and with unheralded minor leaguers like David Phelps stepping up big time.

The Yanks have not been big-money players in the free agent market the last couple of years, and they don't sound like they plan to return any time soon.  Instead, they were counting on their young pitchers to carry them while the bad contracts of A-Rod and Teixeira come off the books over the next few years. 

But they won their division by signing players who had never been and will never be all-stars, but who stepped up, filled gaping holes in the line-up, and beating back Tampa and Baltimore.  That is the Billy Beane playbook.  That sounds a lot like moneyball to me.  Not how people usually think of the Yankees.

Baseball Is Back!

Later today the Yankees play their first spring game against South Florida (a college team).  Tomorrow, they play the Phillies.

This morning, on my favorite Yankee blog, appeared the following post:

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Raul Ibanez DH
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner LF
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Gustavo Molina C

RHP Adam Warren

If you love baseball, you know exactly what this is and what it means!

Baseball is back!

Smells Like . . . Victory

According to ESPN, the New York Yankees will be releasing two "official" fragrances later this month.  One for "him" and one for "her."  My wife will cringe on that prospect, thinking I've found her next birthday present.  Click Here

One reason I love the Yankees is their stress on tradition, and their ability to pull-off big events and team celebrations (the most recent being Jorge Posada's retirement).  Always first-rate.

But this time, they've stepped in it.  What is an "official" Yankees' fragrance?  Does it smell like money?  Like Thurman Munson's old locker?  Like a baseball glove?  Or even a combination of cigar smoke, beer, and hot dogs?--a beloved stadium smell long ingrained in my childhood memory.

Just when the Red Sox are falling apart, the Yanks are flush with cash, have a deep roster with lots of young pitching, they pull this.  The results will be predictable.  Even loyal fans like me think this is a bit over the top.

Even worse, it is only a matter of time before someone who knows and loves me, buys me a bottle, but replaces the content with some sort of hunting lure (like deer urine) or some smelly fish bait featured in a Larry the Cable Guy skit.  Please don't . . .

Oldest Known Photo of a Baseball Game

Someone put up a link to this photo on a Yankee blog a while back, and I thought some of you might enjoy it.

The photographer was taking a picture of Company K, of the 48th Regiment of the New York Volunteers, at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, in Savannah Harbor in 1862.  Behind Company K are a group of soldiers playing baseball.  Supposedly, this is the oldest known photo of a baseball game.