Posts belonging to Category Around The League

When I first heard the news that MLB was sending two teams to Japan to kick-off the 2012 season I didn’t think much of it.  Now that I am stuck in a classroom full of 6^th graders taking state mandated tests, I have some time on my hands.  Major League Baseball is a monster-sized, multi-national, money making operation.  This is fine.  As a matter of fact, this is great.  I have no problems with this whatsoever.  But hosting Opening Day in a different country…that’s some bull!

You can talk all you want about how Japan is a great consumer of all things MLB.  You can praise them over and over for what they have done for the game.  And don’t get me wrong; they have done positive things for the game of baseball.  But they are still number 2 when it comes to fans.  I know how much it sucks to be an Astros fan right now.  Bud Selig publicly humiliated us.  Try being an A’s fan today, though.  They couldn’t even watch their team play on opening day.  Seriously.  Imagine how it must feel to know that you woke up to catch the 3 AM start time, only to see that the Oakland regional network was not carrying the game, the MLB channel would be playing it on tape delay 3 hours later, and then trying MLB.com to see that the game has been blacked out despite any amount of money you have already paid.  This is where the beef lies with Opening Day held across the world.

Bud Selig and Major League Baseball will try to tell you different.  They will try to explain to you that once every 4 years (Baseball has opened up the season in Japan in the years 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.) baseball needs to make its way over to Japan to help expand the game.  They will try to tell you that we still have Opening Night this season- April 4- and Opening Day- April 5.  Malarky, I say.  That rhetoric is purely diarrhea of the mouth.

If it is so damned important to make sure games get played in different countries, does it really have to be the first game of the season?  Certainly not.  Bud, you do know it is called America’s Pastime, right?

Give the people what they want.  All we want here is this American sport of baseball to hold its Opening Day in America.  This is hardly asking too much.  Expansion of the game is great.  I really do believe that, and so do most of you readers out there.  Keeping American fans from not being able to go to the park to watch their team’s opening game is horse manure.  Making it so that fans of a team playing their Opening Day game in a different country can’t watch said game is down right blasphemous.  And hosting the very first baseball game of the season in a different country is just the worst idea ever.  Figure it out, Bud Selig.  You’re really starting to wear out the knees in those pants…if you know what I mean.

Dear Astros Fans,

I know it has been a while since we have heard any promising news for the upcoming season.   I know it has probably been as hard for you, as it has been for me.  With stories like this, this, or even this, it’s always a blessing to come across something, anything that can provide a glimmer of hope for the immediate future.  And because I know this feeling, because every day this spring has been filled with someone telling me to be miserable for the next five years, or someone reminding me about how great it used to be, I became an enlightened individual who realized something; THAT’S SOME BULLSHIT!  As devoted of a fan as I am, I have a hard time accepting that stigma.  And so should you, Astros Fans.  Enough is enough.  We don’t have to put up with believing that 2012 is not going to be an exciting, passion-filled, memorable season.  Due to disgust I have decided to do something about it.  I have decided to provide the light on the immediate future, and deliver some generally goodness in the process.  I know it has been a while since we have heard any promising news for the 2012 season.  So, this one, this one here is for ya’ll.  I present to you, at least five reasons (who knows, ya’ll might figure out even more) why it’s better to be an Astros Fan, than any other MLB fan this summer.

With love,

Griffin

 At Least 5 Reasons Why It’s Better To Be An Astros Fan in 2012.

 5.       A chance at history

Let’s face it…there is no getting around the fact that 2012 might be rough.  If there were ever a silver lining, it would be this- getting in the record books.  Some might choose not to see it this way, but this really would be a great opportunity for the Houston Astros.  The record book is made to hold the names of people who were the best of the best.  No matter the craft, there is no room for second best.  Even if what you might have been best at is losing.  If you are going to be bad, then you might as well go out in record-setting fashion.  No matter what, if the 2012 Houston Astros were to set the all time single season loss record, this team could never die.  It will withstand the test of time for future generations to enjoy; albeit in a different way.  And that is all we truly want as a sports fan.   That one magical season where the stars align just right, and magic is made.  Who cares what kind of magic it is.

4. Sig Mejdal

Taking on the role of Director of Decision Sciences can’t help but to get us started.  He comes from the front office of the St. Louis Cardinals.  With Minute Maid Park as his new office, expect him to bring a fresh take on evaluating, and changing habits in, evaluating the decisions being made.  The draft this summer won’t be his first rodeo either.  He has been a key contributor on Cardinals draft day since 2005.  To help aide him in his efforst, Mejdal hired an assistant- Mike Fast of Baseball Prospectus.  Another fantastic direction it appears the Astros are heading down.

3. Jeff Luhnow

Thank you, Mr. Crane.  What a spectacular hire.  Not only did we steal him away from our (soon to be no more) division rival Cardinals, we scored big time.  With a history of strong drafts and embracing the numbers along with the talent to use as one universal scouting system, I’m really happy about the front office of the Astros.   From what I have read and heard, so are a lot of other people.  Bringing in this next man just adds to my giddiness.

2. Jim Crane

When we talk about a rebuilding process in Houston we ain’t messing around.  We start at the top.  New ownership truly does clear the slate.  No better time than the present.  Jim Crane brings with him an eye for the future- both as far as the team on the field, and the butts in the seats.  Slashing prices and allowing you to bring in your own food is a great start.  Plus, he understands that an analytic/scientific approach to the numbers of the game can help a franchise out.  That explains the Jeff Luhnow hiring.  And to top it off, he resisted the tyranny that is Bud Selig and got our guns back!  (If that ain’t some Texas shit ya’ll, I don’t know what is.)

1. First overall pick in the draft

We could not ask for much more.  Let’s be real with ourselves, Houston.  This is as good as it gets for right now.  We are allowed first dibs on a crop of great young talent.  Remember, this is a long-term plan we are dealing with here.  Everyone knows that to rebuild, you do it from with-in.  With any luck, we might even most certainly will have the same pick for the next two years.  This pick, followed by possibly a second number one pick and about five top five picks over the next  five seasons is a foundation to get you out of the cellar and heading in the right direction.  Aboard this gravy train of draft picks, along with the healthy market size of Houston, this franchise will be back at the top before you realize it.  But until then, it’s all about the draft picks.  So read up on prospects, and watch as they transform before our eyes, and remember- each pick is another potential for magic to happen.

Let me start by saying one thing: Watching the face of the 11 year old that wrote the following piece as he found out Albert Pujols stuck it to the Cardinals signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the saddest. Thing. Ever.  The mix of emotions that ran across his face ranged from shock to pure contempt.  After he read the news, he simply walked to his desk, head hung low, put his head down and pulled his hood over his head.  He never spoke a single word.

I instantly understood where he was coming from.  Even though I am more than double his age, I too suffered devastation this off season when I found out that the Astros were leaving the National League.  I can only imagine the feeling inside of the young boy’s chest was the same as mine- an explosion of the heart muscle.

The following was written by Brendan “Bubba” Anderson.  He is an 11 year old, die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan.  Through the school year we have forged a bond through the highest baseball has to offer- His Cards and their World Series victory- as well as the lowest- My Astros and their franchise worst 106 losses.  After watching him struggle with coming to terms with what Albert did, I encouraged him to put his thoughts to paper.  These are his words.  And before you try to shrug this off as, “just a little kid who doesn’t understand baseball” I think you need to remember why it is you love baseball.

BREAKUPS, BROKEN HEARTS, and BASEBALL CONTRACTS

By: Brendan “Bubba” Anderson

A couple days ago some baseball franchises were trying to get Albert Pujols. Those teams were the Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals.  The two teams that were most interested in Albert Pujols were the Marlins and Cardinals. Miami’s offer was $220 million over 10 years. St. Louis’s offer was over that offer and the Miami Marlins were already leaving the Pujols negotiating table.  From that point on it looked like the St. Louis Cardinals had Albert Pujols back. But…then the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim came in on the bidding and offered him $250 million over 10 years.  And a day after that offer came out, Albert Pujols went and signed with the Angels on Thursday morning.

Considering that I’m a St. Louis Cardinals fan, it wasn’t a good day. I have always been a St. Louis Cardinals fan and I’ll always be a St. Louis Cardinals fan. But I’ll always be a Albert Pujols fan, too. Though I thought that he was going to stay with the Cardinals I guess I was wrong. I also thought he wasn’t in it for the money; guess I was wrong about that, too. I guess there’s nobody in baseball that isn’t in it for the money. I thought Albert Pujols was different.  I thought he was in it to play baseball, not to get paid. I thought baseball was supposed to be a sport- not a job. I thought baseball was for fun, and not about worrying to get paid 25 million a year. I believe that Albert Pujols will do well as an Angel; I just really wish he was still a Cardinal.

Justin Verlander revived a decades-old dugout tradition Sunday afternoon by giving teammate Don Kelly the ‘ol “hot foot.”

Perhaps Verlander just felt the need to bring Kelly down to earth after the career .236 hitter (.628 OPS) was spotlighted by the New York Times as the only active major leaguer to have played innings at each defensive position around the diamond.

The hot foot has been in pranksters’ repertoires since at least the 1980s. The Mets blog Hot Foot credits former Miracle Mets Roger McDowell and Howard Johnson with originating the trick.

Here’s an explanation of their technique in this clip from “1986: A Year to Remember.”

• Mevs over at Diamond Hoggers offers a suggestion on how to spice up the All-Star Game and its other side-stage events: The Pitcher Home Run Derby.  So, who would win? I also applaud Mevs on the inclusion of Mike Hampton’s 1992 Bowman rookie card. That may be the most awkward card series of all time. See for yourself.

• One of my favorite baseball bloggers, The Flagrant Fan urges the Cardinals to trade Colby Rasmus, and believes that a change of scenery would do the 24-year-old some good.  Over at FanGraphs, though, Steve Slowinski explains why the Cardinals will not be able to trade him. It’s important to note that both articles were written before Colby’s dad burst back on the scene.

• Jim Thome is four home runs shy of becoming the eighth player in baseball history to reach the 600 home run milestone…and nobody seems to be talking about it.  Considering that Thome has NEVER been linked to any sort of PED use, and is perennially regarded as one of the best dudes in all of baseball, why aren’t people talking about this? Perhaps it’s because three of its current members were known steroid users (and flagrant liars). Babes Love Baseball is dead on when they argue that Thome’s 600^th longball is both imminent and a huge deal.

• With Adam Dunn as well as the majority of the White Sox offense still struggling mightily, Jim Margalus (my favorite White Sox blogger) of South Side Sox lays out several potential trades that Kenny Williams could swing as the trade deadline rapidly approaches.

• Speaking of the ever-frustrating Dunn, our friend MTD from Off-Base Percentage airs his frustrations over Ozzie Guillen’s reluctance to bench the big man.  Apparently Ozzie will only sit Dunn if he’s not helping the ball club, which seems pretty ridiculous if you ask me.  There’s no way he is helping the team by turning in an 0-for performance every night which includes at least two strikeouts and three or four runners left on base.

• One of the most frequently mentioned names in trade discussions has been Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who, in the face of a deal that would send him to the Angels, recently stated that he would veto any trade.  With 10-to-5 rights, Ramirez can only be traded if he gives it a thumbs up.  If he’s traded, his potential suitor will be forced to pick up his massive $16 million option for 2012, which seems like nothing given how much the Halos spent on Vernon Wells this offseason.  It comes down to this: Is Aramis Ramirez content with losing, or does he want to play for a contender? Foul Balls weighs in on the issue…

• MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Tigers designated third baseman/super utility man Brandon Inge for assignment on Wednesday after acquiring Wilson Betemit from the Royals.  Even though he was never a star player, I’ve always had a soft spot for Inge.  No, it’s definitely not because he loaded up with a bunch of lame tattoos over the last few seasons. Rather, it’s because he’s an absolutely freak across the athletic board.  At 5-foot-11, 190-pounds, here is a summary of Inge’s sheer athleticism: can drive a golf ball 400+ yards; can dunk a basketball; MLB All-Star (that’s the obvious one); and he can kick (at least) a 50-yard field goal. Don’t believe me? Here’s a link to Laura Downhour’s original article which highlights the team-less infielders abilities. Oh yeah, dude also told a terminally ill kid that he’d hit a home run for him in a game….and did.