Ban Them For Life

I have often pondered the question of weather or not Pete Rose should get in to the Hall Of Fame. Usually my response ends with “If Rose gets in then Shoeless Joe Jackson should also get in”. Yet now I finally realize why neither of them must ever get in.

The Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is where Babe Ruth is immortalized forever. Think about that for a minute. George Herman “Babe” Ruth. It is wholesome. It is All-American. It is pure. The Hall Of Fame is the Vatican and Babe Ruth is Jesus. He did not ever play there. He did not invent the game but he was its savior. Was he perfect? No. Let he who is without flaw cast the first stone. But this is not about Ruth or Jesus Christ for that matter.

No, this is about integrity. This is about why steroids IS a big deal. I know that people are sick of it and tired of hearing about it. People are blind and also numb to the whole steroid issue. And that is fine. I am too.

But let me present it to you this way: How many people have been banned for life by throwing a Worlds Series, Super Bowl, or even a Stanley Cup since “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was banned for life?

How many people have been banned from baseball for betting on games since Pete Rose was banned for life?

The answer to both is NONE! Yet I assure  you both Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose would gladly trade in their spots in the Hall Of Fame to come out “Not Guilty” You can not have your cake and eat it too. Simply put: If you wanna play you gotta pay. That is the precedent set forth all those years ago by Kennisaw Mountain Landis. It is the very reason why we even have a Commissioner in the first place; to preserve the integrity of the sport.

If Jose Canseco had been questioned and subsequently banned from baseball back in 1986 we would never have had a “steroid era” If Allan Huber Selig had done the right thing and demanded strict drug policy in 1994 without exception we would never have had to suffer through the pain of this era. Shame on you Mr. Selig. SHAME ON YOU!

If we continue to turn a blind eye and not care about this issue it is never going to go away and is only going to get worse. Allowing anyone from this era entrance to the Hall Of Fame after having been found “dirty” would be reprehensbile.

If you want to clean up the sport BAN THEM FOR LIFE! And let them know it now rather than leave it up to some bleeding heart sportswriter twenty years from now.

Ban Them For Life

I have often pondered the question of weather or not Pete Rose should get in to the Hall Of Fame. Usually my response ends with “If Rose gets in then Shoeless Joe Jackson should also get in”. Yet now I finally realize why neither of them must ever get in.

The Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is where Babe Ruth is immortalized forever. Think about that for a minute. George Herman “Babe” Ruth. It is wholesome. It is All-American. It is pure. The Hall Of Fame is the Vatican and Babe Ruth is Jesus. He did not ever play there. He did not invent the game but he was its savior. Was he perfect? No. Let he who is without flaw cast the first stone. But this is not about Ruth or Jesus Christ for that matter.

No, this is about integrity. This is about why steroids IS a big deal. I know that people are sick of it and tired of hearing about it. People are blind and also numb to the whole steroid issue. And that is fine. I am too.

But let me present it to you this way: How many people have been banned for life by throwing a Worlds Series, Super Bowl, or even a Stanley Cup since “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was banned for life?

How many people have been banned from baseball for betting on games since Pete Rose was banned for life?

The answer to both is NONE!

If Jose Canseco had been questioned and subsequently banned from baseball back in 1986 we would never have had a “steroid era” If Allan Huber Selig had done the right thing and demanded strict drug policy in 1994 without exception we would never have had to suffer through the pain of this era. If M Shame on you Mr. Selig. SHAME ON YOU!

If we continue to turn a blind eye and not care about this issue it is never going to go away and is only going to get worse.

If you want to clean up the sport BAN THEM FOR LIFE!

New York Yankees Then And Now

While it was true that the Yankees had spent money fill voids at second and third base the money well spent was on their bench. While most teams owners were unable or unwilling to keep up with the George Steinbrenner branch of the Bank Of New York, even the teams that could and would were no match for the money the Yankees could spend on filling their bench.

In 1998 the Yankees spent roughly $9,000,000 on players like Tim Raines, Chili Davis, Louis Sojo, and Joe Girardi. Lest we not forget the important contributions of players such as Ricky Ledee, Shane Spencer and Homer Bush. However, as it stands now those ever so important role players pale in comparison to the stars of yester-year. While they may be serviceable players such as Nick Swisher, Jose Molina, and Cody Ransom even home grown “talent” such as Melky Cabrera, Juan Miranda and Brett Gardner fall short of the standard set by the 1998 Yankees.

The log jam the Yankees have created for themselves in the outfield is the now the albatross they had for the past 3 seasons with Giambi. Although they have ”cut” payroll so far this season the Yankees must still find a way to solidify their outfield while also shoring up their bench. A perfect example is the 2009 version of Jason Giambi. Ten years ago it would have been a foregone conclusion that Giambi would have ended up in pinstripes this Winter. And at $4,000,000 for the year for Oakland that is a steal.

Off the bench Nick Swisher is a good start for the Yankees and a step in the right direction towards winning a 27th World Series Championship. However, I feel they still fall short of being complete just yet until they are able to round out the bench to compliment their high priced arsenal.

Rain or Shine the Phillies are World Champions

The Phillis were halted from winning the series on Monday night. Then they were rained out on Tuesday. This could have caused problems for some teams but not the Phillies. They proved they can finish, and did so tonight putting the Rays out of their misery with a score of 4-3. I guess the Phillies just wanted it more. Either way the Soxs and the Yankees had nothing to do with this World Series, and to be honest I think that was awesome. I am happy to see that the Phillis have finally won, and Ryan Howard has gotten what he has deserved. The Ultimate team, regardless of what you think, party’s tonight in Philadelphia!

How About them Tampa Bay Rays!

Of all the surprises this season in Major League Baseball, it is the Rays turn around and unexpected success and their continuation of proving every doubter wrong this entire season thus far. Some may argue that they should have put the Redsox away when they were up three games to one, but I guarantee you that Boston is thinking that they should have never even put themselves in a 1-3 hole to begin with.

The Rays deserve credit and respect. The whole reason they played so well throughout the regular season was to have that home field backdrop in case it came to this. For that reason alone, they are the better team. They earned their advantage and ultimately used it to get into the World Series.

Every time the Redsox were in position to score it was Matt Garza who staved them off gaining strike-outs and especially down the stretch of the game. In fact, the only run that the Redsox got came by the second man up at the top of the first inning when Dustin Pedroia scored a homer.

Other than that, it was all Tampa on their way to the World Series which begins on Wednesday October 22^nd at 8:00pm on Fox in Tampa.

What will we See in ALCS Game Six?

The Redsox are back to their old tricks again; coming back from huge playoff deficits. First the comeback to the Yankees after being down 0-3, and last year’s 1-3 deficit against Cleveland in the ALCS. Well, now they have brought back a 1-3 deficit to a 2-3 deficit.

The only difference from last year’s comeback is that Boston was at home for games six and seven. This year they’ll be on the road in T.B.

This is what the Rays earned all year. They played tough, enthusiastic baseball and earned home field advantage in the ALCS. However, if they want to avoid a game six, their pitching down the stretch is going to have to improve. Thursday night’s game was the second game of the series to feature both clubs scoring runs in bunches; game two ended 9-8 with Tampa Bay on top, and Friday’s game began 7-0 and ended 8-7.

This game is going to be a close one. It’s going to come down to the pitching staff of both teams. But what will we see? A high scoring affair like in games two and five, or defensive dominance like we saw in game 1 (BOS won 2-0), game 2 (TB won 9-1), and game four (TB wins 13-4).