April 2013: As I have stated in my previous post, Opening Day is the beginning of Spring. The true beginning. The frozen ground thaws out, trees sprout new buds and leaves, and the crack of bat on ball is heard throughout the land once again. Time to oil up the mitt, locate the missing batting glove and buy some extra baseballs. And after working out the kinks of a short winter, MLB ballplayers are ready to start the perennial campaign. This is the time of year when all the baseball writers put in their best prognostications for how the season will shake out, what team is up, or down, and what team is expected to go to the playoffs. And certainly this is also the time of the year that fan hope springs eternal, that every team has equal chance as every team starts at a 0-0 record. So with all that in mind let us begin anew the baseball season, let us watch our Spring days roll into Summer and then fade into Autumn, as we also watch our teams rise to the occasion and play like the winners we hope they are, play like the gang of mediocrities they really are, or crash and burn like our worst nightmares. In this issue: Dodgers&Giants, Damned Yankees, Mariners and the reconfigured AL West, plus the usual gang of idiots. Hold onto your hats.
The Largest Payroll Ever Vs Some Hippies: I hate the Giants. Lets just get that out of the way right off. Its a matter of genetic makeup which can never be denied: being the scion of 2 previous generations of Dodger fans I have to hate the Giants (and the Yankees, which we will get to later). Of course "hate" is a very strong word, the Giants have been the inter-division rival of my beloved Dodgers since the dawn of time, even pre-dating the infield fly rule and the DH, so you know that's a long time. So while I use "hate" very loosely, what I really mean is "over the span of many generations of baseball the Dodgers and Giants have provided the sport one of its most storied rivalries and enough drama to inspire Shakespearean prose while giving the fans some of the best baseball ever played....And the Giants still suck." So, yeah. And over the last decade or so things have been completely famboozled in Dodgerville, as we had to suffer thru a ownership debacle - the McCourt family - that drained cash, players, fans, and spirit from the organization. However last year this situation has appeared to be righted, as the McCourts were pressured by MLB into selling the team and thankfully a ownership group stepped up that is putting big bucks into the team, which means the Dodgers went shopping over the winter; oh yes they did. Say hello to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, leftfielder Carl Crawford, starters Zack
Greinke and Josh Beckett and shortstop Hanley Ramirez who will join ace
Clayton Kershaw, centerfielder Matt Kemp and rightfielder Andre Ethier, to make what looks to be the best Dodger team in quite awhile....on paper. Because, sure, on paper, or in the fantasy league of your head, we can all drool and salivate about how our team stacks up against rivals, based on pure stats, but it still doesnt mean that this assembled collection of very highly paid athletes will gel as a team. And its working as a team, all 25 members, that gets you to the World Series, whether that means extra hustle on the basepads to playing hurt to taking being benched if need be, the player needs to do what it takes for the good of the team otherwise its just a gang of prima donnas who flail around and become frustrated that their "efforts" never seem to advance them further than 3rd place in the standings. And this is where a lot of the focus will be on the Dodgers this year: can they play as a team? Because *IF* they do, they will be very very VERY hard to beat.
Which brings us around to the title for this section, "The Largest Payroll Ever....." Very true, this is the largest payroll ever assembled for a baseball team, surpassing the previous record owned by the Yankees. I have, and always will, be of the persuasion that owning such a record is of very dubious distinction, but we will never be able to dispel the notion that pro baseball is firstly a business, secondly a game. Players and owners are in it to make money, and the team with the most money can spend to get the best players available. It has always been thus, ever since the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth (for $100k I think) to the NY Yankees, and to now criticize the Dodgers for behaving in such a fashion is to ignore what every other team does, and has done: buy and sell players. Although, what is really driving that particular critique is that the Dodgers have behaved like the Yankees of the Steinbrenner era, where the owner will outspend his rivals, and strip his farm teams of prospects, to assemble (or rent if thats what you prefer) a team who's sole mission is to win the World Series and win it every year, any other finish is failure. Its been perceived (by me, for one) that this is a terribly cynical way to conduct baseball, as it gives the distinct impression that the players will be only held onto for as long as it appears that their services are useful and then cast aside. There is also the appearance that minor league prospects, brought along and nurtured by the minor league coaching staff are simply there as trade bait, and while this may be true and necessary, if true it also can sacrifice the future of the team for the present. But Steinbrenner was anything but a patient man, winning at almost any cost was his mission, and he drove his teams hard, in much the same fashion as a carriage driver drove a team of horses.
So what the hell does all of the above have to do with the Giants? Very little, screw those hippies. After getting to the Series last year, and then beating handily, a very good Detroit Tigers team the Giants have all the markings of a team that will dominate for years, but how they do without the services of Melky "The steroided Milkman" Cabrera remains to be seen, as his bat will be missed. And I would clap Satan himself on the back if he clubbed the Pennant winning homer off Timmy Lincecum. Winning and bleeding Dodger Blue is what its all about and if the ownership group wants to drop millions on assembling a winning team, now, then by all means do so. Its been since 1988 that the Dodgers were last in a World Series, so with that long of time it becomes incumbent upon a new ownership group to show the fans they are serious.
Players to watch this year. Bryce Harper of the Nationals. He homers in his first two at-bats for this season (yeah, by the time this thing hits the door the season will have started). Last year's National League Rookie of the Year starts off this year living up to the all the hype generated by his rookie year. The guy looks to be a future superstar and should make the Nats a strong contender in the NL East.
Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, of the Angels. Last year Trout put up numbers that not only qualified for AL ROY but also serious consideration for the MVP. And now with the addition of Josh Hamilton into the lineup, we might be seeing the best lineup in baseball (in my division against my Mariners....can I just kill myself now?). Last year Pujols put up very un-Pujols numbers (personally I think he's the best all-around hitter I have seen since Frank Robinson) and I dont think we can expect that trend to continue....yet. Yes Pujols is at an age where players begin to decline, and as is Josh Hamilton, but I also think that even if one of these three puts up less than stellar numbers, just having all 3 in a lineup will be enough to give opposing pitchers fits of terror. Dammit.
The Upton Brothers, Atlanta Braves. BJ and his brother Upton are very good players. Very very good players. Potential 30-30 guys, year in and out. Combined with Jason Heyward, the Braves probably have the best outfield in baseball.
Clayton Hershaw, LA Dodgers. Hershaw (whatta stud) has led the league in ERA last 3 years in a row. As of today (April 2) he pitched a Opening Day shutout against....wait for it....the Giants, keeping his ERA at the same place it was prior to Opening Day: Zero. Expect him to post, again, Bob Gibson-like numbers at the end of the year, and possibly again winning the Cy Young.
Buster Posey, SF Giants. Wow. After having his ankle almost completely destroyed in a plate collision 2 years ago the guy comes back last year. And how? Only by winning the MVP and powering his team into the Big Show. Its also amazing to me that he did this playing catcher, the most trying position on your joints. I have to wonder how much longer he can continue to catch on his ankle and hope that the Giants consider switching him to an infield position so as to prolong his career.
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. How the hell do you top a year when you are the first player since Yazstremski to hit for a Triple Crown? I dunno, but it will be fun to watch. And fer Gawd's sakes can we all agree, right now, that his nickname of "Miggy" is awful and should be retired, in all due haste.
From the Dammed Yankees desk: Its absolutely nothing but good news over here at the Damned Yankees desk. Mariano Rivera has retired (most dominating pitcher ever?), Alex "the slapper" Rodriguez is out injured, as is Curtis Granderson and Mark Texiera. Its an aging and ailing team, and an indication as to how bad it is, the Opening Day cleanup hitter was Kevin Youkilis, who's precipitous decline in his stats over the last two years has been sad to watch. However they still have a solid pitching staff anchored by C.C. Sabathia, but in what could be a premonition of future disaster (I hope I hope I hope) they got clobbered by the Red Sox on Opening Day, 8-3. This makes the Baby Jesus smile.
"But why Daniel, why all the Yankee hate?" I hear you ask. Why must I explain? Its the Yankees.
And now for the news. Its gonna be another ugly year over here in Mariner Land. The M's did a tad of shopping of their own this last winter, certainly not on a Dodger, or even Yankee-type scale, but still....The notable results of said shopping trip were to pick up outfielder Mike Morse from the Nats to a 1 year contract, sign former Red Sox/Mets outfielder Jason Bay to a 1 year contract, and to sign Kendry Morales to play DH. The idea is that this should bolster the middle of the batting order which in recent years has been positively anemic regarding run production, last years runs stats were absolutely putrid. With that in mind the Mariner management decided to pull in the outfield fences a few feet, which is actually a good thing, because I cannot tell you how many times I have watched potential homers die in the gloves of opposing teams....along with my dreams.....Anyways! The fences are moved in, Mike Morse will put up respectable homer stats (along with "respectable" strike out stats), Jason Bay will be platooned until he can either demonstrate that he has returned to his old form (.300+/30 homer) or that he's washed up, the kids on the team will continue to improve (I hope), Felix Hernandez will continue to prove why he might be the most dominating pitcher in baseball (screw YOU Justin Verlander) and maybe the M's might, just might, end the season with a .500 record for the first time in years.
But I did start this off by saying it was gonna be another ugly year. My thinking is that the Angels got better in a BIG way by adding Josh Hamilton over the winter, and Ron Washington is PISSED as he is probably sick and tired at having gone to the Big Show twice in the last 3 years, only to lose it all in the final outs. Ron is a very good manager, but he's about as volatile as Bobby Valentine, and usually looks like he's ready to chew his own arm off to win the game. He lost both Michael Young and Josh Hamilton over the winter, but he still has his core pitching team intact, and he's proven himself to be a very good handler of pitchers.....when he's not leaving them in too long....However! In Mike "Dodger Dogs" Scioscia, Ron, along with the rest of the division has to contend with a guy who might be the best manager in the AL.
The only silver lining in all this ugliness is sadly that there will be another team that will play even worse than the Mariners. Say hello to the newest members of the AL Western Division: the Houston Astros. Pity the poor Astros (seriously), as they are being predicted far and wide to lose at least 90 games this year, if not beat the Mets record for most losses in a season, 120. Having witnessed the Mariners losing 90 games 2 years ago I can roundly state that its a sight that makes you want to give up, go home and crawl under your bed....for years. So at least the M's will be assured of few wins this year, at the Astro's expense of course.
And as hesitant as I am to bring this up, I suppose I should. This year will be year 1 of the post-Ichiro era in Mariner history. Ichiro was an amazing hitter, probably the best hitter I ever got to witness in person. No one ever got down to first base quicker, was better at beating out infield hits, and putting the ball exactly where he wanted to. However the last 3 years it was painful watching the obvious decline in his abilities, not being able to beat out the throws like he used to, not being able to cover as much ground in the outfield as he used to, watching him last year for the first time ever, finish the year with a sub .300 average. And as he absolutely refused to give up his leadoff spot he actually became an albatross around the neck of the team. So while it was with sadness that we watched him leave for the Yankees, it was also with a sense of relief, as we could now try out younger kids in the leadoff spot. Wishing Ichiro all the best, he gave us years of lights out baseball here, and here's hoping he gets into the playoffs and a World Series ring.....well...not really as that would mean his team the Yankees got there and we cant have that, can we.
Ok kids thats enough for now. Until next time keep it between the gutters and on the road.
-daniel
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