Do lockouts taint the image of American professional sports?

The NBA encountered another pitfall today as the players association rejected the latest labor deal proposed by the league and began disbanding.

In the past year we've seen two professional sports' seasons in jeopardy due to monetary disagreements. The NFL nearly didn't settle a dispute about owners not being able to equally distribute $9 billion. No, the NBA can't decide how to evenly split the league's revenue among the owners and the players and the 2011-2012 season may not happen at all.

Why are our most popular entertainers selfish to the point of not playing because they will lose out on a just few million bucks. Yes, I know the quality of life they are used to at their current salaries may change and this could result in them not being able to pay for their Bently's and mansions—wait, what am I saying? Who pays their check anyway?

It is the fans that lose out when superstars think it is in their best interest to play only for money. We pay the admission price, we fill the stands, we support their charities and events. Basically, without us there wouldn't be a sport for them to play.

The NBA players want to lockout their season, well I say so should the fans. If, and when there is pro basketball played again in America the fans should not be present.

Hall of Shame? Palmeiro and Gonzalez highlight tainted group of Hall of Fame hopefulls

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has come a long way since 2007 when superstars and all around good guys Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn were elected. As steroid allegations and confirmations have soiled this years list, voters will have till Dec. 31st to choose who they want to represent Major League Baseball in next year's induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame.
This year's ballot is talent deprived and filled with scandal. Once great players Rafael Palmeiro and Jaun Gonzalez are two of the more decorated players on the list, but both are surrounded by steroid use. Pamleiro testified in 2005 that he never used steroids, but was caught a few months later and was suspended 10 days. He is 12th on the career home run list and is one of four players to accumulate 500 home runs and 3,000 hits.
It has never been confirmed that Gonzalez used steroids, but in the 2005 book, Juiced, Jose Canseco claims that he used steroids alongside Gonzalez who has 434 career home runs and owns two MVP awards from his time with the Texas Rangers. His career was cut short due to injuries that lead many to believe that he used performance enhancing drugs.
Other names on the list surrounded by drug allegations are first timer Brett Boone and returner Mark McGwire who admitted to steroid use this summer.
Much of the ballot is filled by players who merely meet the requirements, but don't garner the attention that a Hall of Famer usually does. There is no automatic entry into the Hall of Fame no matter what statistics a player might carry with them, nor is there any official statistical criteria, but typical things voters look for when choosing are 500 home runs, 3,000 hits for hitters and 300 wins for pitchers. Taht mean that players on the list don’t deserve to be, but are by meeting the time requirement. However, a few names who remain untarnished by all this actually have a fairly good chance of beating out their rule-breaking peers based on merit.
Roberto Alomar and Edgar Martinez, and Jeff Bagwell were all outstanding players during their careers than spanned two decades and were able to avoid the drug scandal that wiped away baseball's credibility. Now, whether or not that will help their chances of induction, we won't see till the results are announced on January 5th.
Other notable names on the ballot are Kevin Brown, Tino Martinez, lee Smith, and Larry Walker.

Destiny Calls

It must just be the Giants' year. I'm not knocking the Rangers here because I have been pulling for them all postseason long, but there's no denying how well the Giants have been playing. The Giants weren't favored to win the division, then they did. The weren't favored to beat the Braves, then they did. They weren't favored to beat the Phillies, and then they did. And now they are beating the favored Texas Rangers 3 games to 1 in the World Series. The Giants have the kind of motivation to win that could turn someone like me into a fan(it really hasn't, but I'm going to pretend it has). I hold fast to my opinion that Barry Bonds is the worst person to play the game of baseball and that since the Giants traded for him, paid him, and hoisted him on their shoulders for being selfish, I can't stand their franchise. This season the Giants are playing to destroy those demons that they are Bond's team and I really respect that. They are letting rookies like Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner play crucial innings and getting great results as of that risk.
If the Giants win game 5 tonight they will emphatically put their stamp on the game as the best team this year. You can get lucky enough to win the first two series' of the playoffs, but then to go out and play so well and dominate the best team in the American league as easily as the Giants have, that takes something much more than luck. The Giants are clearly outlasting their opponents.
They aren't as skilled of a hitting club as Texas is, and their pitchers are comparable, but the Giants are holding together when the Rangers are falling apart. Aside from the game one shootout, both pitching staffs have been competitive enough to win any of the games, but the Giants just aren't letting the Rangers get the offensive edge. So far they have kept Josh Hamilton in check along with Vladimir Guerrero. Nelson Cruz was tops in the league in homers this postseason, but the Giants pitchers have quieted him too. The only meaningful hit for the Rangers came from Mitch Moreland who has been practically anonymous all year long.
If the Giants are to keep winning and close things out tonight they need to continue what they are doing. The Rangers aren't losing necessarily, the Giants are just winning. You can't discount what good teams are doing and this time I think it just is the Giants' year.

-Joey D

Youth Movement

I am going to do my best to not be biased tonight for game 4 and to just enjoy it for what it is. Tonight's game is sure to be a great time because it is bound to be a wild one. Neither of the starting pitchers have much experience both in the playoffs, and in the Major Leagues in general.
Giants starter Madison Bumgarner is a 21 year old rookie who was very impressive this season going 7-6 with a 3.00 ERA and 86 K's in 111 innings, but what he lacks in experience he makes up for with determination. He was left off the Giants' roster after spring training due to mechanical problems that left his velocity startling low. Teammate Jeremy Affeldt said Bumgarner s fearless and that is true. Bumgarner is taking a 1-0 record in the playoffs into tonight's start, but what many don't now is that he is historical. He became the second youngest pitcher to win a series clincher in the playoffs after he helped finish off the Atlanta Braves in the division series. He hasn't gotten down on himself for his early season woes, but instead trained hard with coaches and trainers in order to find his errors and improve upon them.
The Texas Rangers' hurler Tommy Hunter is another young pitcher who wasn't on his team's Major League roster to start the year, but was outstanding this season when the Rangers called him up. He went 13-4 with a 3.73 ERA, but has been disastrous so far in the playoffs. He is 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings across two starts.
I'm a rooting for the Rangers to pull even in the series and I'm looking forward to a high powered game full of lots of scoring(advantage Rangers), but I wouldn't be surprised if both starters buckle down and get their jobs

-Joey DeClercq

World Series Transition: Wilson's Show

The Texas Rangers are putting converted reliever C.J Wilson out on the mound for game two of the world series tonight in San Francisco. His opponent, Giants backup ace Matt Cain. Both sported similar numbers over the course of 162 games, Cain's line read 13-11, 3.14, 177, and wilson's was 15-8, 3.35, 170. What makes Wilson different than Cain is that he has never before pitched so much in one season. Last season Wilson pitched his career high in innings with 73.2, but jumped that number up 204 when he made the move to the starting rotation from the bullpen this year.
This kind of an adjustment can only lead to good things for the Rangers lefty, I believe. It is hard for most relievers to jump to the starting five and have so much success so soon. The increase in work usually means a tired arm by the end of the year, but the Rangers have so much confidence in Wilson's abilities that they made him their number two starter for this postseason.
Wilson should have no problem pitching under "must win" pressure following Cliff Lee's disastrous loss. According to ESPN.com, 20 of Wilson's 33 starts in the regular season came after a loss. He went 11-5 with a 3.27 ERA in those games. On Wednesday he told ESPN.com's Jeff Caplan, "Obviously tonight things didn’t go well for Cliff. But that was tonight, and tomorrow is tomorrow, I can’t 'unlose' tonight’s game. I can only win tomorrow’s game. That’s the only goal.”
Expect the pitchers kingdom that is AT&T Park in San Francisco to be an advantage to Wilson who is used to pitching in the warm dimensions of The Ballpark in Arlington in Texas. Jeff Caplan put it best when he wrote, "The big difference is Lee has lost for the first time. So now it is Wilson’s show."

World Series living on the West Coast

I should start out by apologizing to my friends who are avid Giants fans because of my complete doubt about San Francisco's chances in the World Series. Sorry. Now having said that, don't expect many more. I will be more careful where I place my faith next time around. The Giants proved a lot to me tonight. Not only did they shell one of the game's best playoff performers in Cliff Lee, but they also shattered any hope I had that this series would a low scoring affair. Neither bullpen held up in the late innings of the game and that is where one of the Giants' greatest strengths was.
It was supposed to be a game of epic proportions. Cliff Lee vs. Tim Lincecum, but after jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead I was certain that Texas had a hold on this one and that perhaps Cliff Lee was already building his W.S. MVP resume, but alas, the Giants fought back and fought hard. The game quickly turned into a romping as Lee wasn't even able to make it out of the 5th inning after giving up 6 earned runs. 2 of those runs came on a three run homer by Juan Uribe off Darren O' Day, but things didn't stop there. The Rangers then got to San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum making it an 8-4 game. After Texas reliever Mark Lowe gave up 3 more runs later in the game, the Giants' bullpen began unraveling as Ramon Ramirez gave up 2 runs n only 1/3 on an inning.
It was clearly a wild one, but when the dust settled, the Giants walked away with an 11-7 victory over the much favored Texas Rangers. I now have learned my lesson to bet so boldly against the Giants, but don't expect things to go swimmingly San Francisco, Texas isn't going to go away and if they somehow figure out a way to pitch more safely then then Giants could have a problem on their hands when the series goes to Arlington.

by Joey DeClercq

Who's on first? Pt. 1

As the 2010 season is coming to close(well, at least for the green and gold) there are several questions for next year. However, before I get into that(this is part 1 of a 2 part season wind down) I just want to recap what has been an absolutely phenomenal season for me and my hatred of all things New York and Boston related.

The acquisition of John Lackey, extension of Josh Beckett, progress of Clay Buchholz, and retaining of Jon lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka had many people in anticipation of this season's potentially historic Boston Red Sox starting rotation and a Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz led dominant Red Sox lineup. It was thought that the Sox had enough firepower and strong arms to topple the stronger Yankee lineup now with Curtis Granderson. The Tampa Bay Rays didn't have enough pitching to win but were sure to be a strong plus .500 third place.

Well, with just over a month to go till the layoffs, the Rays and Yanks are tied in an awesome first place battle and Tampa has the top Cy Young contender as well as two AL MVP candidates.

The Yankees have perennial MVP type sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira but, neither is having the season anyone thought. Javier Vazquez has been up, but mostly down and certainly not the fifth starter/ace that anyone thought he'd be and Andy Pettite has been out since mid july. Phil Hughes has been rocky for the last two months and AJ Burnett has been, well, I'm not sure what he's been but he's been it since game one. CC Sabathia has been truly been the workhorse that he always is but better. But why is this all-star cast headlining year two of the new Yankee Stadium not as good as advertised, but still winning?

How come Tampa Bay, though overcoming injuries to two rising young pitchers and without the power production of Zorilla(Ben Zobrist) still in a great spot to win the division?

The answer is simple really, but before I go any further I need a promise from the Boston Nation not to over react. The Red Sox as "stacked" as they seemed in spring have never really been that good this year. Jon Lester overcame is yearly early season struggles to emerge the best pitcher in the AL, but he hasn't been enough. As a matter of fact, Lester and the steady Clay Buchholz are two of the AL pitchers I would want on my staff if I were starting a franchise today. David Ortiz has quickly been labeled a late spring/early summer bloomer and Youk has been broken all year long. John Lackey has been the New England version of AJ Burnett, just not as bad. Not to mention the injury and inconsistency of Josh Beckett. The one early bright spot was Boston keystone man Dustin Pedroia. He was having a start amazingly rivaling that of the other MVP caliber second baseman Robinson Cano of the Yankees, but like every other Red Sox, he succumbed to injury as is currently on his second DL stint this year. Jacoby Ellsbury sings the same song. He is on his second DL stint and is possibly out for the rest of the year.

I hate to say I saw it coming, but come on! The Red Sox just haven't been any good and I never thought they would be this year. Ortiz just started too slow like he did in '09 and Youkilis has been like every other year, hurt too often to be a consistent threat. Yeah, he's got great numbers when he plays, but he's in and out of the lineup too much to produce to full capacity.

Basically, the East and Wild Card races will be either the Rays and then Yankees, or the other way around because of the Red Sox shortcomings.

-J. DeClercq