The At Bat Never Heard 'Round the World

Don't tell Chicago Cubs fans this, but every World Series really is special to its fans. Yes, 2010 will go down in Giants fans' memory banks as the one that wiped away all the demons of missed opportunities from the past, just as 2004 erased a legendary "curse" from the minds and hearts of Red Sox fans. But, ask a Red Sox fan if that meant they weren't rooting just as hard for their boys in 2007. Trust me, they were. 2012 didn't wipe away 56 years of futility for the Giants, as 2010 did. But we rooted just as hard, and the feeling at the end was just as magical. And in the end, I will wind up spending just as much money on 2012 World Series Merchandise as I did in 2010. The 2002 Giants probably had the best collection of talent of any Giants team in my lifetime. But ultimately, that team fell 5 outs short. The 2010 "torture" team will always be the one I thought I was destined never to see - the first World Series Championship in my lifetime. The 2012 team will be known for its magical run - losing the first two games at home to Cincinnati in the Division Series, only to win all three games on the road in Cincinnati to advance to the NLCS. Then this version of the cardiac kids fell behind 3 games to 1 to the defending World Series Champion Cardinals, only to roar back and win 3 straight again to advance to the World Series. Along the way, all these Giants did was win 3 in a row in Cincinnati - which hadn't been done by a Reds opponent at all in 2012. They managed to not hold a lead at all in the series, until Scott Rolen booted a ball in the 10th inning of game 3. And then the Giants would never trail again in the series. Then the Giants promptly went out and got dismantled by the Cardinals, en route to a 3-1 series deficit. And then decided to pull the same Houdini act, by outscoring the most prolific offense in the National League 20-1 over the next three games and advance to the World Series. Once the Giants advanced to the World Series, they were given basically no chance to win. 22 of 27 ESPN "experts" picked the Tigers to win it all. None of the 22 even said the series would go 7 games. Phrases like "Fielder and Cabrera will be too much" and "Verlander will dominate" ruled the headlines. And so, naturally, the Giants went out and swept the Tigers by a combined score of 16-6. Whoops, that wasn't in the script. All those things you could have read in any article about the 2012 postseason. Some people were even generous enough to break down the World Series and give keys to why the Giants won it all. Pablo Sandoval's 3-HR game in game 1 being a huge catalyst for this team. This team's incredible defense throughout the World Series. The Blanco-Scutaro-Posey relay in game 2. One analyst was even astute enough to talk up the importance of the bottom of the eighth inning in game 4, with a runner on first base and Cabrera-Fielder-Young due up for the Tigers. And to that point, the only thing Cabrera and Young had done was combine for 2 HRs and all 3 RBIs that night - and Jeremy Affeldt promptly whiffed all 3 in succession. But nobody, not one living soul, pointed to a huge at bat in game 2, that affected game 4, and won the Giants the World Series in 4 games, rather than letting the Tigers even catch a scent of momentum. In the top of the ninth in game 2, with the Giants leading 2-0, Omar Infante strolled to the plate. For most people, this at bat won't even register as a footnote in this World Series. Miguel Cabrera waited as the tying run in the on deck circle. I remember thinking to myself, "just get Infante out. I do not want to deal with Miggy as the tying run." And Sergio Romo easily granted my wish, and induced Infante into a weak foul pop-up, which Brandon Belt snagged. Game over. Giants up 2 games to 0. Cabrera left in the on-deck circle. But how does that affect game 4, you ask? In the bottom of the 10th inning of game 4, Miguel Cabrera did get to mosey on up to home plate with 2 outs, as the tying run. And after 6 straight sliders (Romo's bread and butter pitch) and a 2-2 count on the best hitter in baseball, Romo threw an 89-mph fastball right down the middle. And the bat never left Cabrera's shoulders. Strike three. Game over. World Series over. The Giants are champs. And the only reason that was made possible was because Cabrera had never faced Romo before. He hadn't seen him in live action. Therefore, all Cabrera had was "the book on Romo." And the book told him slider, slider, slider. So when he saw a pitch starting out over the heart of the plate, naturally, Cabrera would assume it would break down and away for ball 3. "Lay off it", he probably told himself. Only, it wasn't a slider. It never broke. It was a fastball. A fastball he'd never seen from Romo. Because he'd never faced Romo. Because Romo got Omar Infante to pop out to end game 2 on a slider, with Cabrera in the on deck circle. See, I was worried about Cabrera coming up as the tying run in game 2. The fact that he didn't meant that when he came up as the tying run in game 4, would result in...... THE GIANTS WIN THE SERIES! THE GIANTS WIN THE SERIES! THE GIANTS WIN THE SERIES!

Excerpt 2- The Last 27 Outs

By the late spring of 1982, my family had moved to Boca Raton, Florida. By now, I was a fully entrenched Bay Area sports fanatic. Florida did not boast a Major League Baseball franchise at that time. The majority of South Floridians, being transplants, came all set with their own favorite sports teams in tow. Florida was a booming marketplace in the 1980s. Families wanted to raise their children in a nice, warm climate, with good school systems, and brand new stucco homes. It wasn't enough to live in the suburbs anymore. You had to live in "subdivisions" within the suburbs. When my family moved to Boca Raton, we didn't just live in Boca Raton. In fact, we technically lived outside of the "Boca Raton City Limits". To this day, I have no idea what that means. What I do know, is that we lived in a development called "Loggers' Run". And within Loggers' Run, we lived in a subdivision called "Indian Head". This was how living in South Florida was in the 1980s. And the allure of these new developments popping up along the coast in Florida, drew many young families there. Most of them came from New Jersey or New York, and brought with them their love of the Yankees or Mets. Those who came from the New England area loved their Red Sox. And those who may have ventured from the Midwest lived and died with their Cubs. There may have been a rare occasion that a native Floridian actually did exist. And, since the Atlanta Braves were the closest geographical team, and their Spring Training site at that time was just a few miles north, in West Palm Beach, there were a few Braves fans as well. It wasn't so bad being the only Giants fan in town. What did get under my skin though, was always having to explain myself. Even as a young child. I remember going to the grocery store with my mother one day when I was 7, wearing a Giants t-shirt, just before the start of the football season. That led to a pretty heated exchange between the checkout clerk and I.
"Alright. A Giants fan!" the teenage clerk exclaimed. "You think we're gonna be pretty good this year?"
"We're ok. But the Braves and Dodgers are better than us this year," I sounded rather dejected as I answered.
Clearly this confused the clerk, as he looked at me like I was a trigonometry question he hadn't prepared for. "The Braves and Dodgers?" he asked, rather curtly. "What do they have to do with how the Giants will play this season? All we have to worry about is if the NFL is going to play or be on strike this season."
"I think my son was talking about......" my mother tried to interject before I put the clerk in his place. She didn't succeed.
"Oh, those Giants?" I turned up an eyebrow at him. "I hate those Giants. The 49'ers kicked their butt last year. I was talking about the baseball Giants......duh." I huffed loudly, as the elderly woman behind us at the checkout line wasn't sure whether to be shocked at my behavior or chuckle at my boldness.
"What Giants baseball team?" the clerk again looked as confused as he most certainly did on every high school math test he ever took.
"Mom, can we just go? This guy doesn't know anything !" My mother paid the clerk, apologized for my "rude" behavior and scurried me out of the local Publix as fast as I'd ever seen her move. I heard some laughter in the background as we left. I was proud of myself. My mother......not so much.
This was common for me though. Everyone in Florida equates the "Giants" with football, as they are New York's team, and as such, they have a very large following in Florida. Baseball's version of the Giants plays in San Francisco. They are not very well known in Florida. The clerk not even knowing that they were a baseball team would not be the last person that wouldn't know there was a professional baseball team named the Giants. But even after I explained who the Giants were and that they did in fact play baseball - and quite well by comparison, I still had to explain why I was a fan of them.

First Excerpt from 'The Last 27 Outs'

Prologue
For thirty-five years, the list echoed in my head over and over. Reds, Reds, Yankees, Yankees, Pirates, Phillies, Dodgers, Cardinals, Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Mets, Twins, Dodgers, A’s, Reds, Twins, Blue Jays, Blue Jays, Braves, Yankees, Marlins, Yankees, Yankees, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Angels, Marlins, Red Sox, White Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox, Phillies, Yankees. The list was stuck in my head like a bad song that resonates at the worst possible times. That was the list of teams that had gotten the last 27 outs of the baseball season each year in my lifetime. The San Francisco Giants were nowhere to be found on that list.
I had witnessed dynasties. I had witnessed epic World Series comebacks. I had witnessed teams end the longest of World Championship droughts. And I had witnessed teams that were still in their infancy win it all. The one thing I had not witnessed was my beloved San Francisco Giants record the last out on the last day of the Major League Baseball season.
After the Giants knocked off the Phillies in the 2010 National League Championship Series, I sent a text message to my brother (a life-long Yankees fan) expressing my excitement and anticipation. “I just want 4 more wins so I can finally buy that elusive ‘San Francisco Giants - World Champions’ shirt.” Almost as if to rub in the success that he has gotten to bear witness to in his 33 years, he replied smugly, “I can loan you one. I have 27 to pick from.”
It wasn’t as though I had never witnessed one of my beloved teams hoisting a championship trophy in my lifetime. The 49’ers had reeled in 5 Super Bowl Championships, and one of the longest running and most successful dynasties of the Super Bowl Era. The Pittsburgh Penguins had won back to back Stanley Cups in 1991-1992, and then added another in 2009. And technically, the Golden State Warriors won an NBA Championship in my lifetime – though I was about 5 months old, and a little too young to appreciate it. But the team that I was the closest to in my heart, the team that I wanted to see win it more than anything, the team that would send me to tears on so many occasions, both as a child and as an adult, had never been able to reach the pinnacle. They had opportunities. This wasn’t a downtrodden franchise. Sure, they had a bad run of things there in the early to mid – 1980s. But this was a proud and storied franchise. This was a franchise that boasts the most career victories of any professional team in any professional sport. More than those vaunted Yankees. And their career winning percentage as a team – second all time, to those damn Yankees. And it wasn’t as though they’d never won a World Series, either. They’d won 5 of them. Of course, they all came when they were the New York Giants, and hadn’t won one since 1954. In my lifetime, the Giants had made the post-season six times (1987, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003). They made it to a one-game play-in for a Wild Card spot in 1998. But they lost to the Cubs. And they were tied on the final day of the regular season in 1993 with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves beat the Rockies on the final day of the season. The Giants lost to the Dodgers. The Giants won 103 games in 1993. Following the strike of 1994, Major League Baseball installed the Wild Card into the playoffs. The Giants would have been the Wild Card team in the National League in 1993. In 1997, the Giants won their first division title in eight years. Major League baseball’s rules were such that they had to go on the road for the first two games of the playoffs to play at the Florida Marlins. The Marlins were the Wild Card team. The Marlins won both games in the bottom of the ninth inning – utilizing the home field advantage Major League Baseball had given them. The Marlins won game 3 in San Francisco and the Giants were eliminated. Before the 1998 season began, Major League Baseball determined that this was an unfair advantage being given to the Wild Card teams, and amended the rules so that the Wild Card team would now have to play the first two games of the playoffs on the road. But the damage was already done.
I had seen enough near-misses, bad timing, random freak events and heartache to make me wonder if the stars would ever align for me to witness a Giants championship in my lifetime.

-1-
“Beth, you and Mark need to get David over here right away. The most fascinating thing is happening at my house right now,” my grandmother – a very demure woman for most of the 36 years I have known her – exclaimed, in almost a demanding tone.
“Ma, he’s got some friends over and they are playing in the backyard. What is so important that he needs to be interrupted?” my mother asked, shrugging off the demands of her own mother, never even putting down the knife she was using to chop up the carrots for that night’s beef stew. The phone perched between her shoulder and left ear, head cocked to the side so the beige cord could reach from the phone that was attached to the wretched flower wallpapered wall in the kitchen, all the way over to the cutting board, next to the sink. She peaked out the kitchen window long enough to see that my friends and I were playing a game of tag in the backyard of 4-11 Summit Ave. My friends and I were enjoying a cloud-free summer day, and my mother wasn’t in the mood to start an argument with her 4-year old son on the whim of her mother. That is, until she heard….
“Willie Mays and his agent are here for my open house.”
As those words echoed in my mother’s head, suddenly telling me that my friends had to go home so that we could go to grandma’s house seemed worth the fight. My father grabbed my one-year old brother while my mother shooed the children out of our backyard. Within 10 minutes of hearing “Willie Mays and his agent are here”, my parents had ushered several young children off our property, grabbed the diaper bag for little Jason, and loaded my brother and I into their green and brown wood-paneled station wagon for the 12 ½ to 15 minute ride (depending on traffic) over to where the ‘rich people lived’ – the side of town that my grandparents resided in.
Willie Mays was a hero to so many during his playing days. He spent almost his entire career with the Giants – both in New York and San Francisco. He was traded back to New York, to play for the Mets, in 1972. After he retired in 1973, he remained with the Mets organization, as their hitting instructor, until after the 1979 season. Willie had been in the market for a rather large home in the Northern New Jersey area, and as fate would have it, my grandparents were looking to sell their rather large Northern New Jersey Estate, and retire to Delray Beach, Florida. (Willie would not wind up buying my grandparents’ house.)
My grandfather was an entrepreneur of sorts, eventually buying a food services company, Alan Foods, and growing that business so successfully, that he was able to build he and my grandmother one of the larger homes in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Not only was the 4,500 – square foot house more than spacious enough for the two of them after their three children moved out, got married and had children of their own, but the pool that they had built in their backyard next to their lighted tennis court was the size of most community swimming pools. And that is exactly what it became. Over the years, my grandparents had a circle of very close friends. Seven couples, all around the same age made up what my grandmother affectionately coined “The Mishpucha”. And as The Mishpucha was comprised of people all roughly the same age, so were their children and grandchildren. And as the families grew, the Aronowitz Pool quickly became the weekend hang out spot for everyone. But, as my grandparents were entering the twilight of their lives, and my grandmother’s particular disdain for cold weather increased, they felt it was time for a change. They had found a beautiful three-bedroom condo right on a golf course in Palm Greens, a retirement community in Delray Beach, Florida. With their large estate with all of its amenities on the market, Mays thought that this would be an ideal living situation, with an easy commute to Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York.
As we pulled into my grandparents’ long, circular, cement-paved driveway, my father’s face lit up when he saw Willie and what appeared to be his agent standing outside on the cobblestone walkway leading up to the front door, talking to my grandfather. My father was a life-long Yankees fan, and always argued that had it not been for injuries and alcohol abuse, that Mickey Mantle was the better player. That didn’t seem to matter on this day, though. Willie Mays was still Willie Mays, after all. My mother would re-tell the story years later to friends at some random holiday party that my father had one foot out the car door before he even put it in park. I’ve always assumed this was a slight embellishment, as he did have his 4-year old and 1-year old sons in the backseat. Nevertheless, he did have a speed walker’s pace as he made his way from the car, up the cobblestone walkway, with his hand out to shake Willie’s, even as he was still about 10 yards away. Meanwhile, my poor mother was left to tend to her boys, struggling to grab the diaper bag, Jason and hold my hand, so I didn’t go running up to this unsuspecting celebrity of a man. I was known to walk up to anyone – friends, family, friends of family, random strangers, and just start spouting out random things. A couple years later, I would be visiting my grandfather in the hospital, and a very nice nurse started asking me questions about him. Among them, she asked me what my grandfather did for a living. I was trying to tell her that he didn’t work because he was retired, but instead, I said, “he doesn’t work anymore because he’s retarted.” While this sent the entire hospital room into hilarious laughter, my mother did not want me to scare off Willie with one of my 4-year old rants.

NHL needs a Moniker....and some American Fans

David Stern has such a strangle hold over what goes on in the NBA, that some have joked that the NBA stands for the No Balls Association. The NFL has curtailed all celebrations, leading to it being known as the No Fun League. Now that the NCAA has banned any self-expression whatsoever, one clever sportswriter nicknamed it the No Creative Athletes Allowed. While MLB's moniker has nothing to do with its initials, Bud Selig's autobiography would be titled "No balls, One strike."

Meanwhile, the NHL really has no moniker....or fans south of Leamington, Ontario. And that really is a shame. The NHL playoffs began 8 days ago. And barely anyone noticed. And that is a travesty. I am a baseball guy. I am a self-proclaimed baseball geek. I grew up loving and playing baseball. When I was old enough, I literally tattooed baseball on my body. That said, there is no greater playoff system than the NHL's. It is two months of grueling, hard hitting, intense, edge-of-your-seat, non-stop action fun. Overtime playoff hockey is the single most intense and white knuckle action in all of sports. Sure, the NFL used to be "sudden death" too. But when you have to bring on your 5'6", 125 lb kicker to ice the game, is it really sudden death? The NHL playoffs in overtime - well, there truly is nothing like it in all of sports.

Last Sunday Night, while most of the eastern seaboard slept, the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks were locked up in an absolute classic. After 60 minutes of regulation, neither team had scored a goal. But it wasn't a boring 0-0 game. Some good fights, and San Jose had peppered Colorado goaltender, Craig Anderson with 50 shots. Colorado, by contrast, had only mustered 15 shots on goal against Sharks netminder, Evgeni Nabakov. Less than a minute into overtime, the Sharks were simply trying to clear the puck behind their own goal to set up a rush up ice. San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle hit the puck seemingly to go behind the net to his fellow defenseman and they would begin to set up their offensive play. Unfortunately, he hit the puck off the heel of his stick, and the puck, rather than sliding behind the net, slid right through the goal mouth and past an unsuspecting Nabakov. Goal Colorado. Game over. Just like that. Faster than a Mike Tyson fight. And not one Colorado player was even in the picture when it happened. The camera crew had to pan down ice just to see the shocked players celebrating. And then pan back to the San Jose goal to see the crushed Sharks. And that is playoff hockey in overtime.

Some overtimes last forever....and ever....and ever. In 2000, the Pittsburgh Penguins won the first two games of their series with the heavily favored Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia. The series shifted back to Pittsburgh for game 3. The game kept going and going and going. Even the energizer bunny fell asleep. In the 5th overtime (that would be the 8th period - more than 140 game minutes later) the Flyers scored the winning goal. And used that momentum to not lose another game in the series against Pittsburgh.

In the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings and Penguins played a classic 3-overtime game. Before the third overtime began, NBC analyst Pierre Maguire interviewed then-Penguins forward Petr Sykora. Sykora informed him that the Penguins ran out of food in their locker room and had ordered a Pizza. Maguire joked, "from Little Caesar's?" (Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch also owns Little Caesar's Pizza). "No", Sykora said, "we made sure to order from Domino's." Sykora also told Maguire that this was just the energy he needed and he would be scoring the game winning goal in the third overtime. Less than 5 minutes into the third overtime, the Penguins won. On a goal by Sykora.

That's playoff hockey. And this year's playoffs have been spectacular thus far. Not that anyone has noticed. ALL eight first round series' were tied 1-1 after they each had played 2 games. And, the first 8 games of this year's playoffs were ALL decided by one goal (with three of the games going to overtime). That, my friends, is an edge of your seat thrill ride.

The playoffs resume tonight, with defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh looking to advance to the second round. These playoffs have been tremendous thus far. I highly encourage everyone to watch and be captivated by them. Well, the 40% of America that gets the versus channel, anyway.

Braves Caught in Unfair Schedule

Before we get to today's blog, a few notes about the competitive imbalance whining that people love to moan about in baseball and some observations from baseball's first few days. Three games into the 2010 season and 29 of the 30 teams already have at least one loss. Which means, for those of you scoring at home, 29 of the 30 teams also have at least one victory. And the lone remaining undefeated team is not the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox or Philadelphia Phillies or any of the usual suspects. And the lone remaining winless team is not the Washington Nationals or New York Mets or Kansas City Royals. It is a team that should be a pretty good team this year, that has a payroll north of $80 million.

Other early notes-

The Red Sox better find some consistent offense and soon, otherwise, not only will the Rays blow by them, but the Sox will find themselves in a battle for 3rd place with Baltimore.

The White Sox have really good pitching.......and no offense. Maybe it's just a Sox thing.

Jon Rauch seems to be sliding into that closer's role in Minnesota without a hitch - 2 for 2 in saves, on the road, in Anaheim. Joe who?

The Phillies are good. Really, really good. But.....

I still think the Cardinals are better.

The Dodgers look very disjointed out of the gate. Most people knew they would struggle stopping other teams from scoring, but if they can't get consistent offense, it could be a very long season in Southern California.

Personally, I am over the moon that the last remaining unbeaten team is San Francisco. And the fact that they did it not only with outstanding pitching....but that they also found what appears to be a pulse on offense. I don't know if it will last (Renteria is allegedly 34 years old, Molina looks like he weighs 300 lbs and I still don't trust Aubrey Huff), but if they keep scoring 4 or more runs a game, they are going to be very tough to beat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Atlanta Braves finished their game with the Chicago Cubs a little after 10pm last night. If they showered, dressed and hustled to the airport for their charter flight, after passing TSA inspection, maybe, and I mean maybe, they took off by 11:30 pm. The flight from Atlanta to San Francisco is approximately 5 1/2 hours. That's 5am eastern time / 2am pacific time. By the time they get their bags and get to the hotel, it would have been after 6am eastern time / 3am pacific time. They play the Giants today, in the Giants home opener at 4:35 eastern time / 1:35 pacific time. This means the Braves would have to be at the field by 10:30 am pacific time. Even as the world's biggest Giants fan, I see a major problem with this. The Giants got to rest comfortably yesterday, after finishing their series in Houston on Wednesday, and having yesterday off to rest.

I am not 100% sure, nor am I going to sift through the MLB Constitution, but I am pretty sure there is a rule against exactly what the Braves are being asked to do. It is my understanding that barring playing a make up game of some sort, a team can not play a night game in one city and then turn around and play a day game in another city. Let alone 3,000 miles away. It is my belief that if the Giants were adamant that they wanted their home opener to be a day game, that MLB should have had the Braves and Cubs play a day game in Atlanta yesterday so that the Braves could have gotten on an early flight to San Francisco. Otherwise, they should have scheduled the Giants home opener as a night game to give the Braves players a chance to rest today. In either case, the Braves are being asked to do something that is unfair and I'm pretty sure against MLB regulations. I am assuming the Braves and/or the MLBPA would have to have approved something like this. And if so, kudos to the Braves for agreeing to this. But it's still not really fair to the players.

Oh, and as long as we are discussing this weekend's Braves-Giants series, be sure to tune in Sunday for what promises to be a really fun showdown. The Giants will send their ace, Tim Lincecum to the hill (he of back to back Cy Young awards, all 5'9", 150 lbs soaking wet of him) to face the Braves' newest phenom hitter, Jason Heyward (the man who went deep on his first MLB at bat, and 6'7" 270 lbs). That will be a fun battle to watch.

NBA & NCAA make dollars....but no sense.

Ohio St guard Evan Turner and Kentucky guard John Wall both announced they will be forgoing the remainder of their college careers to enter this summer's NBA Draft. Both Turner and Wall project to be top-5 picks - possibly even going 1-2 in the draft. There is no doubt that both of these players have massive NBA potential, and should make their new teams better. All this, and yet I see no problem with Turner going pro....and a huge problem with Wall's ability to go pro. I have nothing against John Wall. I've never met him. He seems like a good enough kid, and he should make a very good NBA player. As a matter of fact, he should be fighting for NBA Rookie of the Year right now.

After the 2004 NBA Draft, the NBA decided to force high school basketball players to attend college for at least 1 year before being allowed to turn pro. The logic that David Stern used was that the 18-year old kids were not ready for the rigors of the NBA lifestyle and it gave them another year to mature. So, in one year - of not attending classes (because exactly what incentive do they have to attend classes if they are going to be bolting after one year?), not really being a college student, other than wearing the school name on their jersey twice a week, they are supposed to magically be more mature a year later? Really?

Let's say I graduate high school and I know that the profession I will be going into doesn't require college. Sure, going to college and getting a degree would hone my skills, but it is not required.....am I now forced to at least "experience the college lifestyle" for a year before going into that profession? Um, no. College is not for everyone. Athletes are in a unique position to get to use their skills to get a college degree. If they so choose. By telling them they have to attend college for one year, they are experiencing nothing. They are not true student-athletes. They are merely athletes who may or may not be getting paid by the university in order to get the University more money - from boosters, TV deals and going far in the NCAA tournament so that the coach can then go out and recruit the next batch of 17 & 18-year olds who plan on spending exactly one year at the University. How exactly does this help that child grow up?

MLB has a rule.....you enter the draft directly out of high school or you attend college for at least three years before you can re-enter the draft. The NFL's rule is simple - you can not enter the NFL draft until you are three years removed from high school. I like Major League Baseball's rule better, but I am good with both. MLB has their rule, mainly because 99% of players spend a couple seasons in the minors seasoning anyway. But I am good with both leagues' rules because it forces the student to commit to at least three years of college study before he can turn pro. So at least in theory, they have to somewhat care about classwork, or risk being suspended during their season.

Additionally, these universities are committing scholarships to students who plan on spending no more than one year at their institution. Meanwhile, the marginal player who will commit to spending all 4 years in school, and maybe even attend a class or two, now must live on a partial scholarship or no scholarship at all. Essentially, we have turned the NCAA into the hired gun league. 4, count them, 4 freshmen from this year's Kentucky basketball team are turning pro. Honestly, what was the point? Kentucky had a great team. Unfortunately, they could not have played in the NBA though, because they wouldn't have fit under the salary cap (ok, obviously, the last part is said tongue-in-cheek, but you get the point).

Ask Kobe or Dwight Howard or LeBron if they've had trouble adjusting to the NBA lifestyle. In 2004, Howard was selected first overall instead of UConn Center Emeka Okefor. At the time, the pick was widely criticized- because Okefor had college seasoning, while Howard was coming straight out of high school. Any questions now?

The NCAA did not like seeing George Mason get to the Final Four. They did not like seeing their product "watered down" because their best talent was jumping right to the NBA. So, they needed to create a way to have the best players show up for at least a year. And from that standpoint, it worked - Derek Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Xavier Henry and the like, have all shown up for one year, made their teams better, and excited college crowds. To the benefit of............the NCAA. Derek Rose allegedly didn't even take his own SATs. He allegedly paid another student to take them for him so that he could get into Memphis and play basketball for one year. So really, what's the point? Rose should have had the ability to say, you know what, my one discernible skill in this world is that I can see things on a basketball court that less than 1% of 1% of the rest of the population can see. I can run the point better than 99.99999% of people can. And therefore, I don't need to take an SAT in order to earn millions. But David Stern and the NCAA said he did. And the sad thing is, he probably never even took those SATs.

David Stern is one of the biggest scam artists in all of sports. His drafts are rigged, as are his playoffs. He is the architect of two very juicy conspiracy theories - that he forced Michael Jordan into retirement for two years as a way of suspending him for his gambling problem without actually suspending him; and sending one of his top officials - Gary Bettman - to go run the NHL into the ground, right as the NHL was about to pass the NBA in American popularity. He runs these scams and we let him get away with it. And now he is forcing 18 year old kids to go to college for one year, and probably receiving a healthy kick back from the NCAA for his cooperation.

I want my Opening Day back

Imagine the following scenario....
It's the first Monday in April. You call in sick to work. You go grab your son/daughter after letting them take a half day from school. You arrive at the ballpark about an hour and a half before the game to watch a little batting practice. Your child gets some autographs from the players and chows down on his/her hot dog. The sun beats down on both of your faces as you sit and admire for the next 3 hours. On your way out of the stadium, you buy both of you team hats. You walk out to your car and drive home. Both of you smiling, laughing and reminiscing about what you just witnessed. After you get home, you pop on the TV to watch some of the late afternoon games. After a little dinner, you go outside and have a catch. After that, you come back in for the night games. You let your child stay up just a little later than usual, to watch some of the night games with you. After all, it's opening day. A brief interlude - to flip over and see how the NCAA Championship game is going - then back to baseball. Finally, after a day of baseball, shared with your child, you crash. Your team is 1-0 (or 0-1). As a matter of fact, 15 teams are 1-0, and the other 15 are 0-1. When the day started, all 30 teams were 0-0. And now, every team has 161 games left.

THAT would be a perfect day. And it could happen. I know this, because it used to happen. Just like that. Baseball had an Opening Day that everyone looked forward to. It wasn't a game that day....it was an event. It was an all day spectacle. The tradition was so rich that it could not be matched by any other sport. The first pitch of the season was always thrown out in Cincinnati. That's where the season began. Period. After the Reds game got underway, then and only then, could every other game get going. It's different in the other three major teams sports, because no other sport has ever been able to match the traditions of baseball - particularly on Opening Day. Football has had Monday Night Football for over 40 years now, so even on Opening Sunday, fans already know that 2 teams won't be a part of it (and now there are two Monday Night games on Opening weekend, so now 4 teams don't play on Opening Sunday). And the fanfare just isn't the same for NFL's opening weekend. And as far as the NHL and NBA are concerned, they have zero tradition when it comes to their opening games. A few teams start on one night, a few more another night, and by the time everybody has played one game, some teams have played 2 or 3 games. Not exactly awe inspiring tradition. But baseball had that. They had it. And they blew it.

The Opening Night Sunday Night game, the night before the season starts, began a few years ago. It is nothing more than a TV, dollar-grabbing sham. There is no other good reason for it. It negates everything that made the first Monday in April so special to so many. Sure, your team might be having it's Opening Day (at home or on the road - I sat on my couch yesterday and watched the Giants Opening Day in Houston, just as happily as if I was at the ballpark) on Monday. But, some of the luster is gone, because two teams have already played. There is now an Opening Night and then a subsequent Opening Day. And it makes no sense.

Baseball has a unique opportunity to create an unofficial holiday. If all 30 teams played their opening game on the first Monday in April, it would create massive buzz around the country. 15 cities opening their seasons at home on Monday......and then the other 15 cities opening their seasons at home that Friday (it could be done, trust me).

Baseball's popularity took a hit after the strike of 1994. After it rebuilt it's popularity, it took another hit this decade with the steroids scandal. Of course, the dirty little secret that seems to elude the Commissioner's office, the fans and the media is that it was because of these bulked up hitters and massive home runs that the game even got it's popularity back in the first place following the strike of '94. But now, if baseball wants to reclaim it's rightful spot as this country's National Pastime and the popularity it once had, it needs to not go for the money grab, and go for some good, old fashioned traditionalism. Bring back Opening Day. Scrap the Sunday Night Opening Night crap.

I want to wake up on April 4, 2011, with all 30 teams 0-0. All 30 teams with statistically the same chance of winning their divisions....just for that one day. If my hometown team is home that day, I want to take the day off of work, take my son out of school early and drive down to the ballpark with him - and throngs of other parents and children - and take in the spectacle that is Opening Day. I want 15 cities to get to experience this next April 4. And quite frankly, there is no good reason for it not to happen.

Oh, and happy belated Opening Day to the Orioles and Rays. While all 28 other teams have already played, you two get to open the season today. That's just wrong.

We're Gonna Party Like it's 1987....Part II

Yesterday, I previewed and predicted the 2010 American League, and determined the AL Champions in 2010 would be the Minnesota Twins. Today, we'll tackle the National League. Unlike the American League - where only 4 or 5 teams have a legitimate shot of winning the AL Pennant - the National League is a toss up. So many teams are good in some areas and have gaping holes elsewhere, that unless you are a fan of the Nationals (who actually have the foundation to be good in a year or two), Mets, Pirates or Padres....your team begins the 2010 season with a very reasonable chance of playing for the NL Pennant. That leaves twelve teams.....TWELVE TEAMS.....that could be left standing at the end of October. Let's rank them (in my humble opinion, of course)

12. Chicago Cubs
Always an intriguing team. They got rid of a clubhouse cancer in Milton Bradley. Their lineup is good enough to compete. But their pitching is razor thin and their bullpen is full of question marks. They'll outslug teams and win enough to hang around until August, but unless they acquire some pitching or find some down on the farm, they will be waiting till next year.....again.

11. Florida Marlins
I like this team a lot this year. I flip flopped on the Fish several times....having them finishing as high as winning the NL East, all the way down to 4th place. Ultimately, I think they will finish right where they did last year...3rd place in the East, a few games over .500 and a few games out of the playoffs. Too many bullpen questions, not enough starting pitching after Johnson and Nolasco.....and they couldn't move Uggla for the pitching they wanted. Uggla was a great story 2 years ago. Now, he's just another guy who can hit 30 HRs, but only hit .250, never do it when it matters and is a liability defensively.

10. Arizona Diamondbacks
Young. Talented. Deep. Good pitching. Enough bullpen. But alas, too young, strikes out too much as a team, in a division with better pitching and more experience. With the right offseason though, could be the NL's version of the Orioles in 2011 - one of the favorites to win the pennant. In 2010, though, they will fall a little short though.

9. Houston Astros
Could surprise some people this year. I like their young pitching behind Oswalt and Brett Myers. They should settle on a closer (personally, I favor Lyon) and their offense is vastly underrated with Berkman, Lee, Pence and Bourn anchoring a lineup that will score more this year than last. I don't think they have enough to make the playoffs, but they have enough to scare some teams.

8. Milwaukee Brewers
Offense. Offense. Offense. This team can score. This team will score. A lot. And Yovani Gallardo is a legit ace. But they have serious bullpen issues, and no contender in the NL has worse pitching, and ultimately that will be this team's downfall. They may be the most fun team to watch this year, and if you own a fantasy baseball team, you should own most of their offensive players, but they'll be watching the playoffs from their couches.

7. Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Atlanta Braves
I think both of these teams are very good. The interesting thing is if you combined these two teams, you'd have your NL Pennant winner - the Dodgers offense with the Braves pitching. The Dodgers lack of pitching comes in the wrong division and will land them behind the Rockies and Giants this year. I really wanted to pick the Braves to win the East, but they have too many offensive question marks, and the Phillies are just too good.

5. Cincinnati Reds (sleeper team)
I love love love the Reds this year. Maybe it's a Cincinnati thing. I picked the Bengals to be sleeper NFL team and win the AFC North. I was right on that call. I don't think the Reds can knock off the Cardinals in the Central, but they're going to come close. I think Drew Stubbs is the real deal in CF, and if he is, than they're up the middle is as solid - offensively and defensively as any in the NL - with Hernandez (catcher), Cabrera (ss), Phillips (2B) and Stubbs (CF). Homer Bailey is poised to breakout as a pitcher and along with Arroyo, Harang, Cueto and Cuban Stud Chapman - this rotation is solid top to bottom. They will just barely miss the playoffs.

Playoff teams.....
4. Colorado Rockies
Solid team top to bottom. Good pitching. Very good offense. Good bullpen. Good team speed. Good team defense. Slow starts have kept them from winning the division twice in the last three years. They are good enough to win the division but will likely take home the wild card yet again. Never fear, Rockies fans, that path should lead the Rockies right back to the NLCS in 2010.

3. San Francisco Giants
You have to spend money to make money. The Giants nearly had a flawless offseason. They avoided a nasty arbitration with ace Tim Lincecum and locked him up for 2 years. They locked up Matt Cain and Brian Wilson for 3 years. They locked up Freddy Sanchez for 2 more years. They signed free agent Mark DeRosa to help the middle of their lineup. They are not rushing future stud Buster Posey - he will be up in June or July. All this, and somehow they pinched pennies and opted for cheaper Aubrey Huff over more expensive, but ultimately much better options in Adam LaRoche (who wanted to play in San Francisco) and Jermaine Dye. They still have pitching to burn - with more on the way. But their penny wise, will prove pound foolish in the playoffs.

2. Philadelphia Phillies
The two-time defending NL champs, who are widely favored to get back to the World Series for a third straight year. Yes, they still have the most talent in the NL. But the injury bug is biting this team to early and too often already. I don't like the omen that sets for the season. Losing three pitchers - a starter, solid left handed reliever and your closer - all before the season starts, does not give me a good feeling for the Phitin Phils. They still have too much offense and with the addition of Roy Halladay, too much pitching to be caught in the east.....and they are almost good enough to 3peat as the NL Champs. If it wasn't for........

1. St. Louis Cardinals
Yes, they have a gaping hole at 3B, unless David Freese proves up to the challenge. But, what happens last year in the NLDS if Matt Holliday actually catches that ball in game 1 with 2 outs in the 9th inning? Do they go on to beat the Dodgers and play the Phillies for the NL Pennant? And if so, didn't they match up perfectly against the Phillies last year with Carpenter and Wainwright in games 1 & 2? I say yes. Brad Penny LOVES pitching in the NL. He pitched great for San Francisco down the stretch last year after being discarded by Boston. And who is better at getting the most out of pitchers than Dave Duncan? And, for you fantasy guys, you want this year's Joel Pineiro? Rich Hill. He'll win the #5 job eventually and win 10-12 games and have an ERA under 4. And....they have the best player in baseball. That's enough for me.

NL East
Phillies
Braves
Marlins
Nationals
Mets

NL Central
Cardinals
Reds
Brewers
Astros
Cubs
Pirates

NL West
Giants
*Rockies
Dodgers
D-Backs
Padres

NLDS
Rockies over Phillies
Cardinals over Giants

NLCS
Cardinals over Rockies

World Series
Cardinals over Twins in 6

MVP - Albert Pujols
CY Young - Matt Cain
ROY - Jason Heyward

In 1987, Kirby Puckett's extra inning HR in game 6 sent the series to a 7th game, which the Twins ultimately won over the Cardinals. Jack Buck's famous call - "and we'll see ya tomorrow night." This time, with Puckett and Buck looking on from the heavens, there will be no tomorrow night. Cards in 6.

We're gonna party like it's 1987

The New Movie "Hot Tub Time Machine" takes 4 friends back in time to 1986. This year's baseball season, or at least the end of October to early November is going to look an awful lot like 1987.

In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series despite Byun Hung Kim's best efforts to thwart it. And they did it by beating the best closer ever in the bottom of the ninth in game 7. In 2002, the Angels bested the San Francisco Giants despite the Giants being 8 outs away from winning the World Series, with a 5-run lead, and Dusty Baker turning the ball over to -statistically speaking - the best bullpen in baseball that year. In 2003, the Florida Marlins closer situation was so shaky that they had to go get a closer mid-season and do a bullpen by committee with Braden Looper and Ugueth Urbina for the stretch run and the playoffs. The end result? A World Series victory over the Yankees. Last year, the Phillies had a litany of bullpen issues - including a closer controversy heading into the playoffs. They wound up winning the NL pennant and playing for a World Championship. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins had (at least by some experts' accounts) the 2nd best closer in baseball. And how did that work out? Joe Nathan cost the Twins a shot at beating the Yankees in the ALDS (note Yankee fans - I did not say he cost them the series - I said he cost them a shot at the series). The Yankees swept the Twins - in part because Nathan blew two saves in that series.

What does all this mean? It means that the most overrated, overblown story of the 2010 offseason has been the injury to Joe Nathan. The Twins somehow went from the clear cut favorite to win the AL Central and challenge the Yankees for the AL pennant to somehow being in a dogfight to even win the AL Central. All because they lost Joe Nathan? I don't think so. I still say, despite the setback because of the Nathan injury, they had quietly the best off season in the American League. They signed a veteran hitter in Jim Thome. They signed a gritty, hard nosed player that no one wanted in Orlando Hudson (and don't think that motivation is underrated). Francisco Liriano looks all the way back from surgery and has the bite on his slider he had in 2007. And they locked up Joe Mauer long term, so that distraction is gone. The other contenders in the American League just didn't match the actual benefits that the Twins added.

The Red Sox have the best pitching in the AL. But their offense looks mediocre, at best.
The Angels lost Jon Lackey, Vlad Guerrero and Chone Figgins. They are still the best team out west. Only because the AL West suddenly looks like the NFC West - where just finishing over .500 should win you the division.
The Tigers have to have a good April, otherwise whispers will start about them trimming even more payroll by trying to unload Miguel Cabrera.
The Rays have a ton of talent, but their pitching is thin and young. Can it hold up during a playoff run?
The Orioles. Yeah, I said it. This team is going to be good. REAL good. Unfortunately, it's going to be in 2011. If they can add just one more young bat to Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Matt Weiters and still an under-30 Brian Roberts, this lineup will be deadly. And, they have some AMAZING young pitching - particularly Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman.
And the Yankees.....the team that had a "great" offseason.......if you were building a fantasy baseball team. Yankee fans will soon learn what Tiger fans already know. Curtis Granderson look great on paper....and lousy in CF. He also has a career batting average of .210 against lefties. So how does this make the Yankees better against LHP? It doesn't. And Javier Vazquez failed before in NY. I don't see him as a good fit in the rotation. Some people just can't pitch in NY, despite great success elsewhere (see Rogers, Kenny). The Yankees lineup still makes them the beasts of the East. But they are a year older, they lost two very good clubhouse guys in Damon and Matsui (the World Series MVP, by the way). They would win my fantasy baseball league. But I don't see them winning the AL this year.

Tomorrow- a full National League Preview.

2010 AL Predictions-
AL East
Yankees
Rays
Red Sox
Orioles
Blue Jays

AL Central
Twins
*Tigers
White Sox
Indians
Royals

AL West
Angels
Rangers
Mariners
A's


ALDS
Yankees over Tigers
Twins over Angels

ALCS
Twins over Yankees

MVP - Justin Morneau
CY Young - Jon Lester
ROY - Brian Matusz

This man needs a job....

The baseball off-season is officially underway, what with trades already happening, players re-signing with their teams, a confessed steroid user exercising his $20 million player option rather than test the free agent market, after tanking on yet another team, following a 50-game suspension. It's just Manny being Manny, and it's just another off season in Major League Baseball. The countdown to pitchers and catcher reporting has begun (95 days, if you're counting at home). And it's also time to sort out new managers. Some teams are set with their skippers, while others will start scouring the available managers to lead their clubs into battle in 2010.

The Cleveland Indians have already made their selection. They interviewed several candidates. They looked at very qualified assistant coaches (Mattingly, Don) as well as plenty of re-treads (Hurdle, Clint). In the end, they settled on Manny Acta. He seems like a really nice guy, too. But what pedigree does he bring with him? His .385 winning percentage in 410 games managing the Washington Nationals? His propensity for finishing in last place? I'm curious as to the qualifications that Indians' GM Mark Shapiro was looking for in his next field boss.

There was another candidate that Shapiro and the Indians interviewed and tossed aside. He's currently employed part time by ESPN, and he's managed before. He's managed successfully, as a matter of fact. And he might very well be the smartest man in baseball who is not employed by a Major League Baseball team at the current time. He is the only man who, in 2000, said Ichiro could not only play baseball with Major League players here in America, but that he would excel at it. Other scouts, managers and GMs scoffed at the notion. They said Ichiro was too slight. That his game was great in Japan but would not translate well over here. All Ichiro has done since joining the Seattle Mariners is have 200 or more hits in every season he's played, break the single season hits record (262), win the rookie of the year, an AL MVP trophy, lead the league in batting average twice, stolen bases once and be an All Star selection every single year he's played. The same man who was the only man to predict Ichiro could do these things was also asked prior to game one of the 2009 World Series two questions. The first question was - who will win the World Series? He answered - The Yankees, in 6 games. The second question was - Who will be the X-factor in the World Series? He answered - Hideki Matsui. The Yankees won in 6 games, and Matsui was named MVP of the Series.

This man has managed two MLB teams in his career. In his first full season managing the Texas Rangers, he improved them by 25 wins over the previous season. He took a 62-99 team and turned them into an 85-77 team. Six years later, he was fired. He was fired mid season, with the Rangers 45-41. His replacement led the team to a 32-44 record the rest of the way. A few years later, after managing the New York Mets' triple-A team to an astounding 82-59 record, he was promoted to manage the big club. As manager of the Mets, he led them to 5 consecutive seasons of over .500 baseball. He led them to back to back playoff appearances (the Mets would kill for such success these days) in 1999 and 2000. And he led them to their first World Series berth in 14 years in 2000. Since he was fired after the 2002 season, the Mets have made the playoffs only once.

Yes, this man has his quirks. He was once ejected from a game. He proceeded to go into the clubhouse, put on funny glasses and nose and return to the dugout, "incognito". The umpires noticed the obvious, over-the-top costume and ejected him.....again. But his quirks and his quick temper do not take away from his genius. He was a transcendent figure while managing in Japan these past 5 seasons. He led his team to the championship over there. And, when the Chiba Lotte Marines' management decided they wanted to fire him after the 2009 season, the fans signed a petition in an attempt to keep him - all the fans. How beloved a man must he be to get fans to sign a petition to keep him - a manager, not a player? When Joe Torre and the Yankees parted ways after the 2007 season, there was no petition to keep Joe. And he led the Yankees to 13 consecutive playoff appearances and 4 World titles. After Joe Girardi botched the 2008 season so badly that the Yankees missed the playoffs, there was still no petition to bring the real Joe back to the Bronx. So, imagine how popular this man must have been to garner such respect and admiration of an entire fan base.

I implore some GM, some owner, someone in MLB with a brain - hire this man. He will do wonderful things for your ballclub. If I had Brian Sabean's number on speed dial, I would be calling him right now, telling him to dump Bruce Bochy and hire this man.

Please, somebody hire Bobby Valentine.

Boycotting the Hype and Hyperbole

In case you missed it, there is a pretty big event happening in Minnesota tonight. After 162 games, the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers are tied for the AL Central Division title. They will meet in a one-game playoff to determine the winner of the division and the right to go to the 2009 ALDS against the New York Yankees. The Twins will host the Tigers in what could be their final game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. This will be the 9th time in MLB history that two teams had to play on the day after the regular season ended in a one game playoff. Wait a second, what's that? The game is not being played the day after the regular season? It's being played TWO days later? I'm confused. Did Detroit need a travel day to get from Detroit to Minneapolis? This is unprecedented. No, obviously that's not the case. What happened here was that the NFL's 4th game of the regular season took precedent over a one-game playoff to determine a MLB division champ.

Now, don't get me wrong. The NFL was well within their rights to not move tonight's Media Hype Bowl. The game as it read on the schedule was Green Bay at Minnesota, Monday, October 5th at 8:30 pm. So the NFL has first rights of refusal here. And that's exactly what they used. They trumped a one game playoff for their precious media darling game. A game that will be watched by what is being estimated as the most televisions ever for a regular season game. Can't move that. Too much revenue to be made tonight. Or could they? Anyone who follows the NFL at all knows that the Packers and the Vikings both reside in the NFC North. That means that they play each other twice each season. Once in Minnesota and once in Green Bay. They actually could have spiced up Media Hype Bowl by moving the game to Green Bay tonight and creating an even bigger stir for Ryan Longwell's homecoming (that is who this is all about right? The ex- Green Bay Packer, turned Minnesota Vikings kicker, right?). But the NFL said no. They said no to flip-flopping the home games for the two teams (which I find quite ironic, considering the fact that this game is all about the biggest flip-flopper this side of John Kerry). And they naturally said no to moving the game to Sunday Night or Tuesday Night, for revenue issues.

So, now, the Tigers and Twins can take in the football game Monday Night and wait until Tuesday to play their one game playoff. Of course, this creates problem number 2, and a potential controversy. The Tigers/Twins winner will play the New York Yankees. The Yankees owned the best record in baseball this year. That gives them the privilege of deciding if they want the ALDS to begin on Wednesday or Thursday (theoretically, to better help them set their pitching rotation). Never, in the over 100 years of baseball has a team not had a day off before starting the playoffs. If the Yankees so choose, they can force the Tigers or Twins into this scenario, while a team that didn't even win their division - the Red Sox - gets an extra day of rest while travelling out west. Somehow, that doesn't seem right.

So, while I am only one person, and I am quite certain that the NFL won't miss me all that much tonight, I am boycotting tonight's Packers-Vikings game. There are fantasy football implications for me (go Percy Harvin). But I am sure I can find something else on to kill those three hours. Oh look, the Rangers and Devils are playing tonight on versus. I think I'll tune into that rivalry game instead.

Heaven on Earth.....For a day

I woke up this morning a little before 7am to take my son to school. The weather was a nice 80 degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky. The high today is supposed to touch 90 degrees, with only a slight chance of rain. Yet, today, just for today, I with I would have woken up to 48 degrees and cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. Today's high in Detroit is only 58 degrees, and there is a good chance of rain, with basically no chance of sunshine. None whatsoever. Yet, today, I wish I was there instead of here. At approximately 12:05 today in downtown Detroit, the Tigers and Twins will square off in a double header - this is the latest point in the season that two teams this close in the standings are playing a double header against each other. And I wish I was there.

Sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s, MLB did away with scheduled double headers. Teams wanted to make sure they got the revenue from all 81 home games, and didn't want to give up the revenue from a game to schedule a double header. Even today's double header between the Twins and Tigers is a day-night double header. This way, the Tigers can still get two games' revenues today. The sad thing is, a lot of baseball's great traditions went by the wayside because of revenue. MLB refuses to have even one World Series game played during the day. A day game in the World Series would lead to fathers taking the day off of work- or at least taking a half day. They could rush over to school to pick up their sons (or daughters) and get home to watch the World Series. Maybe then, our kids would be more into baseball.

Double headers are also a thing of the past. A 12:00 or 1:00 start - 18 innings of baseball. For baseball fans, that is a day of pure heaven. And now, those days are gone. And even though there will be a 3 or 4 hour break between games today, it's still the perfect day to be in Detroit. Two teams, separated by 2 games for one playoff spot. Two games, 18 (or more) innings. By 10:00 tonight, the lead could be 4 games. Or the two teams could be tied. Or the Tigers could still have a two game lead, with 2 fewer games remaining in the season. Those are the only three possible outcomes (barring another rain out). Today in Detroit is the perfect day to play hookey. Take the day off of work. Keep your kids out of school. Go to the ballpark. Watch 21-year old sensation Rick Porcello in game one. Then go across the street and grab a burger. Relax for a couple hours and walk back across the street to Comerica Park for the nightcap. Tigers' Ace, Justin Verlander will take the mound against Joe Mauer and the Twins. Will the Twins be going for the tying game in game 2 or will Detroit look to all but end Minnesota's season when Verlander takes the hill? Nobody knows. But one thing is for sure. This Florida boy would love to bundle up me and my 5-year old son for the next 11 hours and watch two teams battle head to head in a classic day-night double header.

Thoughts on September's Final Weekend.....

I got my MLB Network back last night.....just in time to watch Brian Wilson torment and torture me one more time. With the Giants one strike away from pulling within 3 games of Wild Card leading Colorado, Wilson served up a 2-run home run to Jeff Baker. It was Baker's 4th home run of the season. The 26th home run of his 5 year major league career. I was crushed. I posted some very nasty words about Mr. Wilson on my facebook page. And apparently, he is not that well known to the non-San Francisco Giants fans, as I had several replies asking why I was mad at the Beach Boys. As I try to gather myself from yet another crushing Giants defeat, I offer up some of what I expect to happen on this, the final weekend in September.....

• The Colorado Rockies finish with St. Louis, Milwaukee and the LA Dodgers. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves (only 3 1/2 games back now) finish with 7 of their last 10 games against Washington. By the end of the weekend, the Rockies and the rest of the world will be watching the Braves make a serious run at the Wild Card.
• The New York Yankees will clinch the division against the hated Red Sox. This will lead to a lot of premature celebration on the Yankees part.
• South Carolina will wake up Sunday Morning and be ranked anywhere from 15-18 in the AP College poll. They will get this ranking largely due to a win over an extremely overrated Ole Miss team. And then nobody will be able to comprehend how South Carolina struggles the rest of the season.
• The Florida Gators will struggle for the first half against Kentucky, before pulling away in the 2nd half. This will lead voters to start doubting Tebow and the Gators. This will be a mistake.
• The Miami Hurricanes will go into Blacksburg and beat Virginia Tech, vaulting them into the National Championship conversation. It will also give the Hokies their second loss of the season (both to top-10 ranked teams). They will then be ranked below South Carolina. That is a joke.
• Texas will finally make a statement...against UTEP. So, really????
• Houston will be shown that is not a true contender when Texas Tech beats them this weekend on their own home turf.
• Penn State will avenge last season's loss to Iowa.....and it won't be close. But nobody will really notice because, yes, the Big 10 really is that bad.
• Brett Favre will try to make too many plays in his home opener to impress his new fan base. And it will cost the Vikings the game.
• The Cincinnati Bengals will prove that they are for real (they should be 2-0 as it is) when they get their signature win by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• The Detroit Lions will snap their 19-game losing streak, by beating the Washington Redskins 20-17.
• The Miami Dolphins will continue to prove that they were the beneficiaries of an overly easy schedule last year, that led them to their 11-5 record, as they fall to 0-3.
• The San Francisco Giants will find yet another way to tease me, then crush me this weekend....like only they can do (well them and high school girls from 1989-1992).

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Plea to the Detroit Tigers

To: Mike Ilitch
CC: Dave Dombrowski, Jim Leyland, Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Rick Porcello, Brandon Lyon, Fernando Rodney
Re: Please save baseball from the impending apocalypse

Dear Detroit Tigers,

Last night at approximately 11:35pm eastern time, I pronounced the San Francisco Giants playoff hopes dead. When your 2nd best pitcher is on the mound with a 3-0 lead (2 of the runs driven in by the pitcher, himself), and less than 45 minutes later you're losing 9-4....your playoff hopes are basically DOA. The Giants were largely considered the team that could make the baseball playoffs fun again - with Lincecum and Cain and Kung Fu Panda and a bunch of blue collar guys that were scrappy enough to cheer for. They're out. Now, you guys claim the throne of America's team. Why? Here's why: If the Twins overtake you guys for the AL Central crown, they will get thumped by the Yankees in round one. It won't be pretty. The Royals would put up a better fight. At least in that case, Zack Greinke could keep the Royals in a game. If the Twins face the Yankees, the Bronx Bombers will put up 30-35 runs in a boring 3-game sweep. And then, since the Red Sox have the Angels number in the post season for reasons that nobody can figure out, we will be headed for yet another Yankees-Red Sox ALCS, that quite frankly bores the hell out of 90% of America. If you live or lived in the northeast at some point in your life, you love it. If not, you're tired of it. ESPN's Jim Caple even wrote about it. The Yankees-Red Sox "rivalry" is a media-hyped illusion. Would it be a highly rated ALCS from a TV standpoint? Of course. So would the Yankees vs. the Tacoma Rainiers. New York is the biggest TV market in the US. People either watch the Yankees to see them win or to see them lose. But, you, the Detroit Tigers can save us from all the hyperbole and over-hyped media love a Yankees-Red Sox ALCS would bring with it. How? Simple - win the AL Central and beat the Yankees in the ALDS.

But we went 1-5 against the Yankees in the regular season, you say. No worries. In 1997 and 2003, the Giants went 5-1 against the Marlins in the regular season both years (and in 2003, the Giants had the best record in baseball). The Marlins promptly ended their season in the NLDS both years. So, you have history on your side. You also haven't played the Yankees since July. Your offense is better now than it was then. Their pitching is wearing down. Andy Pettitte's arm looks more tired than Brett Favre's. CC Sabathia has a career ERA of 3.62 in the regular season and 7.92 in the post season. In other words, he's eminently beatable. And AJ Burnett is the New York Yankees version of Nuke Lalouche. He has a million dollar arm and a 5 cent head. He's also never pitched in the post season. And we all know Alex Rodriguez just lives for the post season. And you guys have beaten the Yankees in this situation before. Remember 2006? You weren't supposed to beat the Yankees then. And after dropping game 1, you guys dropped them faster than Mike Tyson dropped Michael Spinks. Justin Verlander is good enough to shut down the Yankees offense. Edwin Jackson has nasty stuff and Rick Porcello is just young enough and just dumb enough to not understand the gravity of the situation - think Josh Beckett in Yankee Stadium in game 6 of the 2003 World Series.

You guys can do it. You can save baseball. Granderson and Cabrera and Inge and Ordonez. It's up to you guys to save baseball. Save us from the hyperbole. Save us from the media hype. Save us from an ALCS that nobody wants. Save baseball. Don't make me write a letter to the Angels. I'm still bitter from 2002.

Sincerely,
David Krakower.....and the rest of baseball fans outside of New York and Boston

Owner of a Lonely Heart...

The Dallas Cowboys opened their new $1.2 Billion Dollar "palace" last night. The .2 part of that represents $200,000,000. The Florida Marlins ENTIRE FRANCHISE isn't worth the .2 portion of the Cowboys new home stadium. Jerry Jones, Owner of the Cowboys, has been mocked, ridiculed and publicly berated for his state of the art video board that hangs above the field. Mind you, it is well within the height requirements that the NFL dictates. But the media would have you believe that every time a punter punts a ball, it will hit this "monstrosity", causing a do-over and thus lengthening the game. Some reporters even joke that the game will now take 5 hours and punts will be the most exciting thing to watch during Cowboys home games. The following is an excerpt of an article written on Friday, on ESPN.com - "And you know what? I am genuinely excited for every single punt at New Cowboys Stadium. Oh, like you'll be turning the channel? Come on! This is gonna be great. Hit the scoreboard! Hit it! Hit it! YESSSS! I can't remember the last time I was this excited for something this stupid, and when the old farts in the media get riled up on Monday because five punts hit the scoreboard and somebody's wedge guy pulled a hamstring sprinting downfield for the fourth time in three minutes, even better."
Guess what? Exactly ZERO punts hit the scoreboard last night. None were even close. Jones, amid tremendous pressure and ridicule, chose not to raise the scoreboard. It would have cost him a little less than $2 million to do it (in other words 1/100 of the .2 portion of the stadium cost). So, clearly, he has the money to do it. He left it there, out of principal and because the height that it is at right now is the optimum viewing level for fans. And that is why Jones gets it. He is an owner who 100% gets the purpose of his job. Owners like Jones, Daniel Snyder, Mark Cuban, and yes, even George Steinbrenner get it. They all get mocked publicly for their behavior and their lavish spending. But ask any fan of any of those teams, and the answer will all be the same - their owner is trying to put a winning product on the field at any cost. Why do we mock that?

Why isn't there more public outcry for owners like Donald Sterling and Jeffrey Loria and Bob Nutting? These are owners who take fans' money and revenue sharing money from TV and other owners and then do not put it back into their teams- but rather pocket the profits. They don't care whether their team wins or loses. All they care about is a quick buck.

But owners like Steinbrenner, Cuban, Snyder and Jones - they all reinvest that money into their teams. Yes, they are multi-billionaires and have the wherewithal to do this, but the fact remains, they choose to do it. They are just as much fans as they are owners. They live and breathe their teams, just as we fans do. They care whether their team wins or loses. And that, in this day and age is noble. I would much rather throw my support behind an owner I know invests his money, his heart and his soul into his team, than an owner who is using his team as a tax shelter, while pocketing the profits.

Think about it, if I gave you $1 billion and told you to buy a sports franchise. First, you'd pick your favorite team, so you could run it your way. Then you would do anything and everything you could to make that team a winner. And that's all these guys have done. They are just like you and me......you know, with a couple extra billion in their pockets.

Giant Heartache.....again

I sat down on my couch and flipped my TV to ESPN for the Rockies-Giants game. The Giants had won the first two games of the series to pull within 2 1/2 games of the NL Wild Card leading Rockies. The Giants had Matt Cain on the mound and the home crowd behind them (which has led the Giants to the best home record in the National League in 2009). A win would give the Giants all the momentum heading into the final 16 games of the season. A loss would knock the Giants 3 1/2 games back, and not having the Rockies on their schedule the final 2 1/2 weeks would make it highly improbable that the Giants could catch them. Essentially, this was the Giants biggest game since 2003.

I remember all the Giants big games. I can remember them with vivid detail. I remember the 1987 NLCS vs. St. Louis. I remember being up 3 games to 2 and losing game 6 to force game 7 in St. Louis. I remember the Cardinals winning game 7, 1-0, on a measly sacrifice fly. I remember 1989, the famous Earthquake World Series. And I remember the A's beating the Giants in 4 straight. I remember watching game 4 from my bed. Seeing the A's win 13-7 and Dennis Eckersely throwing his glove in the air after Brett Butler grounded out to end the World Series. I remember 1993, when a 103-win Giants team lost to the LA Dodgers on the last game of the season 12-3, because the Giants decided that rookie sensation Salomon Torres was the right choice to start such a pivotal game. The Braves won 104 games that season. The Giants went home. I remember 1997 and Devon White's grand slam. I remember 1998 and Neifi Perez's home run in the bottom of the ninth off Robb Nen to force a one-game playoff for the Giants vs. the Cubs. Which, of course, the Cubs won. I remember 2000, and the 10-inning game that gave the Mets the momentum that carried them to the NLDS win over the Giants. I remember the 2002 World Series when Dusty handed Russ Ortiz the game ball with 8 outs to go before the Giants would win their first World Championship in San Francisco. Their first in my lifetime. Their first since 1954. And then the Angels stormed back for 6 runs and beat the Giants 6-5. Then beat them 4-1 in game 7. I remember 2003. Jose Cruz's dropped fly ball in extra innings. Jeff Conine's throw. JT Snow crashing into Pudge at the plate. And Pudge holding onto the ball, defiantly. I remember all these moments as if they happened yesterday. The Giants always break my heart. And yet, I keep running back to them for more. Like a spouse who keeps taking their spouse back that cheats on them, saying, "this time it will be different. This time, she/he won't cheat on me." And they cheat. And the Giants break my heart.

The Giants have been a marginally good (and I'm being kind) team since 2003. And my heartbreak usually happens in June or July when I realize this. Not September or October. But this year, the Giants have put something special together. Their 1-2 punch of Lincecum and Cain is as good as their is in baseball (only Wainwright-Carpenter in St Louis compares). Barry Zito has found himself as a pitcher. Brad Penny looks re-born in San Francisco. And add to that Jonathan Sanchez threw the team's first no hitter since 1975 and something special was going on by the bay. They needed some more offense. But in the first two games against Colorado, they scored 19 runs and looked like a team on a mission to make the playoffs....and with their pitching staff, make some noise in the playoffs. So, the stage was set for the Giants to sweep the Rockies and carry that momentum into the playoffs. And then a funny thing happened, the game started.

Cain was not sharp. He gave up 2 home runs and left the game with the Giants trailing 4-0. The Giants bullpen held the Rockies in check for the final three innings, but the Giants' bats were completely overmatched against Rockies' pitchers, Jorge de la Rosa. For 8 innings, he completely shut them down, limiting them to just three hits. When the Giants did rally in the 6th inning - putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out, de la Rosa proceeded to strike out the next three hitters. And then Rockies' manager Jim Tracy made a questionable move. With de la Rosa in total control of the Giants, he lifted him for a reliever after 8 innings. The Giants bats came alive against Rockies' interim closer Franklyn Morales. Freddy Sanchez led off the ninth with a line drive single. Pablo Sandoval followed with a sharp single. Then Bengie Molina ripped a single that scored Sanchez. 4-1. Still nobody out. The Giants have life. Tracy lifted Morales for another reliever, Rafael Betencourt. He induced Juan Uribe into what appeared to be a rally-killing double play. Only, Troy Tulowitzki's throw whizzed past Garrett Atkins head at second base. 4-2. Giants now with 1st and 3rd and still nobody out and Mr. Clutch strolling to the plate. The Giants pinch run speedy Eugenio Velez at 1st base and he promptly steals 2nd. 2nd and 3rd, nobody out. Edgar Renteria, who won the 1997 World Series for the Florida Marlins with a hit, and who two weeks earlier hit a game winning grand slam off of Betancourt just needs a single to tie the game. Or a fly ball to the outfield to move the runners up. Or a ground ball to the right side. Renteria promptly pops out to 2nd. But that's only 1 out. A single still ties it. Pinch hitter Randy Winn grounds out to first. But the runners move up. 4-3. Runner on third, two outs. Nate Schierholtz coming up. Strike one. Strike two. Strike three (granted their were three balls thrown too, and he swung at ball four, but you get the point).

I slumped down into my couch cushions. It was 1:36 am and the Giants had done it to me again. And you know what, when they take the field this weekend in Los Angeles, I will still root like hell for them. And I will root like hell the rest of the season. Because that's what we fans do. We root and we root for our teams. They may break our heart like a cheating spouse, but we keep coming back for more.

Shhhhh.....Don't tell anyone, but Hockey is back....

If a professional sporting event takes place, but ESPN refuses to report it, did it actually happen? An NHL hockey game was played last night. Did you know this? It's true. I promise. While most of America was either watching the Bills and Raiders choke away sure victories in the closing moments of their respective Monday Night Football games; or watching Dirty Dancing on a continuous loop in honor of Patrick Swayze; or watching Tim Lincecum pitch the Giants back into the NL Wild Card Race; or watching Racist Kanye West read the half-assed apology that his publicist wrote, on the Jay Leno show, an NHL Hockey game, was in fact played. Fans showed up (approximately 4,000 of them). The Islanders and the Canucks showed up. And Vancouver won 2-1. All this did happen last night. But did you know about it? And tonight, 6 more NHL pre-season games are being played, including the Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Oh, but it's pre-season, you say.

I am pretty sure, in fact, I am 100% certain, that in roughly a month, ESPN will show highlights of NBA pre-season games. And in August, they showed highlights (and even televised) NFL pre-season games. And in March, MLB Spring Training is front and center on Sportscenter. So what gives with hockey? Does ESPN and Fox Sports and any other Sports Channel you can find this side of the NHL Network and VS. just ignore hockey? It would appear so. But don't hold the networks solely accountable for keeping hockey out of your homes.

When the NHL came back from its year-long hiatus (you call it a lock out, I call it a hiatus), Gary Bettman quite arrogantly shunned ESPN and FOX, opting instead for an exclusive deal with VS. and NBC. Three out of five American homes don't even get the VS. channel.....and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals games are contractually obligated to be broadcast exclusively on VS. Let me say that another way - 60% of Americans canNOT watch 2 of the NHL's Championship games....the most important games of the season. That's a problem.

When the hiatus ended in 2005, Bettman and his henchmen (he calls them Marketing gurus) traveled around to the 30 teams to speak to their front offices and fans. It was a decent gesture of goodwill. He was trying to reach out to the communities to assure them the game was headed in the right direction. Somebody should have prepped him. Or written out his answers for him. Or he should have sent Bozo the Clown in his place. All would have been more appealing options. I was working in the Front Office of the Phoenix Coyotes at the time (I'll wait to continue until you stop laughing. No seriously, stop laughing and keep reading. They really do play hockey in the desert. It's true. Nobody goes to the games. And nobody knows or cares about Wayne Gretzky - the team's part owner and head coach, and the greatest player of all time - but it's a real team. I swear.) Anyway, when Bettman addressed the front office and Coyotes season ticket holders (all 12 of them), one of the astute season ticket holders asked Bettman why he left the deal with ESPN and opted for VS. instead. Bettman's reply is one I will never forget. And I will never forget it for it's ignorance and arrogance. Four years later, I still shake my head over it. Bettman replied condescendingly, "We got a better deal from VS. [which was known as OLN in 2005 - the Outdoor Life Network]. It's an up and coming sports channel that will utilize the NHL as it's anchor to attract even more sports programming. I don't mind that they actually show Bull Riding and canoing now. I mean, look at ESPN. In the 1970s when they first started out, they were airing some pretty bad stuff, too."

Four years later, 60% of American homes still do not get VS. and it's not like ESPN has missed a beat without having hockey. It remains the most arrogant thing I have ever heard a sports commissioner say. And it has crushed his sport and rendered it essentially anonymous in the United States. The sport has grown by leaps and bounds on the ice. But for every one step forward on the ice, Bettman makes sure that the sport takes two steps back off the ice.

Six games are being played tonight....including one at storied Madison Square Garden in New York, between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. And in just a few minutes, the Pittsburgh Penguins will take the ice for the first time since they won the dramatic game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Detroit, 3 months and 3 days ago. But will anybody who isn't at these Arenas even notice?