What's next for who we all thought was one of the greatest?

Alex Rodriguez, for the past handful of years, has been put on one of the highest statistical pedestals Baseball has to offer.  At 33 years old, he is currently on pace to, not break, not shatter, but pulverize the all-time Home Run record to smithereens.  He was the youngest player to hit the 300 home run mark(*), the youngest player to hit the 400 mark(*) and the youngest to hit 500(*).  He has been one of the most prolific and talented players to ever step foot on the “field of dreams”.  This has been such a dream story too, not to mention.  Rodriguez, who started his career with the Mariners, has done nothing but drop the jaws of all the hot dog loving, peanut craving, beer enhaling, baseball fanatics of the world.  A-Rod, over his youthful 15 year tenure, has averaged a more-than-respectable .276 batting avg.(*) while cranking out 37(*) long balls a year.  Sounds Goliath-like. 

Well, like Goliath, A-Rod’s journey has come to a halt, as David this time, goes by the name of Sir Enhancing Drug, first name, Performance.  That’s right.  Like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and gang, the once-loved Alex Rodriguez is in the mix of the possible asterisks of our time.  Sadly, Rodriguez’s true colors have shown, in more ways than one.  He admitted taking these substances from 2001 through 2003.  Well it just so happens that his HR average sky-rocketed to 52 per year.  His best three year stretch in that category in his career.  Also, his interview with Katie Couric that took place in December of ’07, when looked at now, is undeniably proven to all be a lie.  A-Rod, at the time, put a stop to the press surrounding the possibility of him taking the banned substances.  When asked if he had taking any, Rodriguez simply replied, “no.”  Following that was the question of if had ever been tempted to use the PED’s.  A-Rod again replied, “no.”  What a set up for Couric as she fired back with, “You never felt like, ‘This guy’s doing it, maybe I should look into this too?  He’s getting better numbers, playing better ball.’”  In a very coy manner, Rodriguez replied, “I’ve never felt overmatched on the baseball field.  I’ve always been in a very strong and dominant position…So, no.”  While very believable at the time, looking back, that interview should have proved his guilt way before his admittance just 4 days ago.  Watching again, one will notice, after he responds with his first, “no”, while Couric is asking the next question, A-Rod starts twitching a little in his face, showing signs of discomfort.  One would also notice that when asked if he had ever been tempted, rather than answering with a “of course not” or a “well there are temptations, but I know the right thing to do”, A-Rod instead, takes a second to himself, as if he was deciding, “should i go with ‘no’ or ‘yes’ on this one?” before finally arriving at the well thought out answer of, “no.” 

This is simply preposterous, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m quite worried for the baseball loving youth.  Their rugs have been swept from underneath all of their feet these past few years.  Imagine all of the parents of the kids whose favorite player is A-Rod.  Imagine them having to tell them, “Well Timmy, it turns out Alex cheated.  He took medicine that is illegal in the baseball world, that so happens to make him bigger, stronger, and more accurate.”  Meanwhile, you don’t see Dwight Howard taking magic Kangaroo pills, nor do you see Devin Hester taking Road Runner hormones.  It’s scary to think about all the other possible Baseball athletes that have done the same thing.  What happened to raw talent?  Are we supposed to look up to those who decide to get a quicker reaction speed from needles and pills?  What have we become fans of?  I know for a fact that America’s Pasttime wasn’t smoke and mirrors for the public so they can enjoy what’s going on outside of the curtains. 

We can only feel sorry for those all-stars who chose the needle for so long, before we, as the Fan, feel a sense of betrayal.

I do not understand why he feels the need to do this over and over again.  He was getting the ball!!!  So what if Romo and Witten draw up little plays, that’s what teammates do.  They did not do it as a plot to ruin Owens career, the little “plays” if you even want to call them that are things that both players see in the defense so they make the necessary adjustments.  If anything Romo should go to T.O. and tell him that by forcing the ball to him he is ruining his stats, or better yet Romo should tell T.O. if he ever wants to even see a football again he will get on Romo’s team instead of trying to get everyone against him.

The New England Patriots of the future are saved.  Given the fact that they are facing a spontaneous quarterback delimma,  the young-gun talent of Matt Cassel has landed as a gift in the lap of Belichick and gang.  With so much hype surrounding the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Matt Cassel, it is now obvious that he has proven his stay, and will be taking over the starting job from injured Tom Brady.  What?  Not persuaded?  Well take a gander at why this non-erroneous statement holds water: 

Matt Cassel, in his 10-game adventure as the starter in New England, has amassed a QB rating of 90.5.  Well, sure, sure Brady has averaged 92.5 over his 7-year tenure (including a 117.2% rating in 2007) but how can one overlook this cannon-arm from  Cali?  And would you believe it!?  Just these last two weeks Cassel has gone back to back throwing for at least 400 yards!  Can’t beat that!  Well, sure, sure Cassel and the Patriots ended up losing to the Jets in the first of those 2 games, but it’s the stats that count!  Or is it?  In the matchup against New York, Cassel did throw for 400 but on 51 attemps.  21 of those attemps found, well, nobody.  But take it like it is, Cassel is what’s hot right now.  Right now the Pats are at 7-4.  They are in great shape to make the postseason and they’re doing all this with…Matt Cassel!  Well, sure, sure the Pats went 16-0 in the regular season last year, and had no room to even think about not making the playoffs, considering the fact of going undefeated with…oh…Tom Brady, but bottom line Cassel needs to be landed the franchise tag immediately. 

Who cares about Brady taking the Pats to 3 super bowls in 4 years, and winning all three?  Or who cares, about how just 1 year ago Tom Brady broke the single season record for passing touchdowns, as he accumulated 50, while just throwing 8 interceptions?  Who cares about how Brady took his game even one step higher last year, throwing for a league leading 4800 yards (1300 more yards than in 2006)?  The truth of the matter is, at age 31(which is “apparently” the new 40…) with a bum knee, Tom Brady is washed up.  The Patriots will really consider Cassel taking over.  I mean c’mon, it’s just Tom Brady right?  He’ll be forgotten about soon, right?  I’m not just making a completely ridiculous claim, that by no means, has any validation to it, am I?  I’m not just randomly jumping on a bandwagon, and getting into the “Now”, and specifically and utterly forgetting about someone who can possibly go down as the greatest quarterback of all time, am I?  Nah…can’t be. 

I must let you know, when all is said and done, don’t take my word for it, I am simply an example of a sports fan who has No Memory.  Sadly, I exist.

Manager of the Year

AL- Ozzie Guillen- He is having a fantastic year during the wrong season.  With the Angels so far ahead in there division and the Rays making their first playoff appearence in franchise history there is just simply no room at the table for Guillen.  Why not Guillen though?  His team is in first place, and the team is not very good.  Right after the All-Star break the White Sox looked like they were done, but one rant by Ozzie Guillen seemed to turn this thing around for the White Sox.  winner- Joe Maddon

NL- Tony La Russa- This pains me to say this, but La Russa has done a fantastic job managing this team.  His team has less talent and his pitching staff is held together by scotch tape, but La Russa has simply gotten it done.  No one thought that the Cardinals would still be in the race (not really) this late in the season which is an incredible feat for this team.  winner- Lou Piniella

Rookie of the Year

AL- Alexi Ramirez- This is one where my guy might actually win it.  Ramirez has played an outstanding second base for the White Sox this year, and has added power and speed to an aging lineup.  He gets lost in the shuffle with all the big names of the American League but may finally get some of that credit back. winner- Evan Longoria

NL- Jeff Samardzija- He won’t win it, his teammate Geovany Soto will.  Samardzija has been a spark in the Cubs bullpen though this year much like Joba was for the Yankees last year.  Samardzija ultimatly will end up in the rotation in the next couple of years but at least for now he has done a great job in the pen. winner- Geovany Soto

Cy Young

AL- Daisuke Matsuzaka- Daisuke has drastically improved over last year.  He has posted an 18-2 record with an ERA under 3.  His striekout numbers are down but he is pitching better to American hitters than last year.  He falls in to the same category as Ozzie though as it is just a crowded table for this award this year so Daisuke will be left out. winner- Cliff Lee

NL- Ryan Dempster- If the Cy Young was given for pitching at home, he would be a unanimous decision for this award, but it’s not so unfortunatly for Ryan there too goes his chance.  What should not be overlooked though is that Dempster was a CLOSER last year and has made a smooth transtion back to the rotation posting 17 wins.  Dempster should be in a very interesting conversation between Webb, Lincecum, and CC. winner- Tim Lincecum

MVP

AL- Dustin Pedroia- The Red Sox’ offense was not supposed to be able to keep up when Manny left.  Enter Dustin Pedroia who has stepped in and been a huge contributor for the Red Sox by contributing in ways Manny didn’t: get on base, move guys over, score runs, play tough sound defense, steal bases, and most importantly play TEAM baseball. winner- K-Rod

NL- Aramis Ramirez- His numbers are good, near 30 homeruns, 100 RBI, close to 100 runs.  What he does in the clutch is what is the most impressive.  He has come through countless times for the Cubs this year when the game is on the line.  His defense is drastically improved and he is one of leaders on a club that is looking to make a serious run in the playoffs (crossing our fingers). winner- Albert Pujols

The awards won’t be handed out until after the World Series, but keep an eye out for the players I have named because they will be the difference makers in the post-season.

We thought it was hillarious and recorded it for the whole world to see.  Enjoy

Mark Teixeira: This is an interesting case because he has given no information on what he is looking for in a place to play for the next ten seasons. He expects to sign a monster of a deal, and that really only allows a couple of ball clubs a chance of signing him, and there are only a couple of those that have a need at first. The Yankees are the obvious suitors to signing a big contract, and I would say they are going to be strong contenders. I see this race coming down to two other team getting Tex, the Angels, and Baltimore Orioles. Teixeira is ripping the cover off the ball under the sunny California sun, and after living in California for awhile, it is very hard to leave. When the Angels made a trade for him, I thought that was the best thing they could do to have a chance of signing him this off-season. And the Orioles have a couple good things going for them, a group of good young ball players to build around in Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, and Mark is a Maryland native. When all is said and done, Teixeira will be playing with the Halos.

C.C Sabathia: Same things being said for C.C, he is going to draw a huge contract. A contract so large that it will resembles Johan Santana. And again there are only a couple of teams that can pay him that much money. I see this being a two team race again between the Yankees, again, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. And it is well known that C.C. likes to hit so that puts the Dodgers a little bit of a favorite. But I don’t see the Yankees missing out on both of these guys, so I think they offer a contract to C.C. that he can’t refuse, and they will let him take batting practice anytime that he wants.

Manny: He is going to stay in Los Angeles, because he is so well loved there. He brings a different vibe to Chavez Ravine that I have never seen before. People walking around in their number 99 jerseys, with there fake dreads hanging over there shoulders. He gives them the power hitter they needed for the last two seasons and for that reason he not going anywhere. I also think he is not going to get the 4 year 100mil that he wants from anywhere so he comes crawling back to Colletti, and Ned will have a big smile on his face, as he signs him for a couple of years.

Dunn: I have been racking my brain, for a team that is going to want Dunn. He is not staying in Arizona, because Adam is just a short term fix in there lineup. They have way too much depth to waste that money on one player. I would like to think with his inability to play defense he would draw more interest from an American League team. So the Blue Jay, Rays, A’s, Angels and the lone national league team Mets. Are all suitors, with the Mets winning out in the long run, because Dunn still wants to lay defense, even though he is not great at it.

Here are my early, early prodections. Most of them will change, between now and winter meetings, but this is where we stand now.

Scott

1. Bill Walton

Bill Walton

Bill Walton was once a great NBA player, but that doesn’t mean he is a great NBA commentator. I can’t stand when he starts talking. He says the most outrageous, and pointless things all while spit is just flying from his mouth. When he talks he sounds uneducated and clueless. If I could change one thing about him though it would have to be his stupid coin phrase “Throw it down BIG MAN throw it down.” Walton uses this phrase countless times through out one of his broadcasts and it just loses what pizazz it had. I just can’t stand hearing him personally and I know there are some old timers out there that love him, but Walton tops my list of worst commentators. CHANGE IT UP BIG MAN CHANGE IT UP!!!!!!!!

2. The Chicago White Sox Broadcasters

I don’t even know these two guys’ names, but I do know that they are the most biased and annoying baseball announcers that I have ever heard. The only time they actually do their jobs is when an exciting play happens for the White Sox. If an opposing team makes a great play they call it routine or if the pitcher fools a hitter they call out the umpires. Oh, but if it’s a White Sox nice play you better believe they are pimping the heck out of that thing and calling it the greatest play of all time. Now for their trademark saying, when a White Sox hits a home run they do this routine where one screams, “Put it on the booooooooooooooaaaaard,” and when the ball lands in the bleachers the other chimes i with, “YYYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.” Ok, now I am all for having a patented home run call (Chris Berman’s back back back back back… GONE) but I don’t like when that is the only one you use. As i noted just one sentence before Chris Berman does his home run call quite often, but not every time. He changes it up and that brings some life to the game. I am so tired of putting things on the board because they use no other line except that one. So White Sox commentators are up here for being too big of homers and making too big of a deal about homers.

3. Rex Hudler

Rex Hudler

Being from Orange County I have had the joy of listening to Rex Hudler call Angels’ games for quite some time now. Ok that is a lie, I find no joy in listening to Rex Hudler call any baseball game. Hudler uses the worst metaphors and comparisons at the absolute wrong time of the game. He makes up the worst nick names for every player and his baseball insight is terrible. He should mumble and grumble when he realizes that he is making no sense, but instead he tries to sound more confident when he is bs’ing something. I dare you to watch a whole Angles’ game and not laugh at Rex. I promise you that you can’t. I have been away for four years now and still when I get to watch a game he is calling I laugh at him every time. Then to make things worse he is a featured commentator on the hot baseball games MLB The Show. Hudler isn’t the worst commentator, but he is still down right bad.

4. Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz

Once again just because you are a long time great in a sport doesn’t mean that you should be a featured commentator on ESPN. Sadly ESPN has tarnished Lou Holtz for me. I use to think of him as a football god and a smart man, but now he is a spitting, lisping, mumbling idiot. Last year I about lost it when ESPN had Lou give his “Pep Talks.” The sad thing was that you couldn’t understand half of the things that came out of his mouth. Well ESPN topped it this year by naming him Dr. Holtz and giving him a portion of the show to give advice and act like a doctor. Well I watched the first installment of Dr. Holtz’s advice and let me tell you it will be the last time I do. He started talking about marriage and his wife when he was answering a question for Tim Tebow. Sorry Lou, but you are definitely on my worst commentators list.

5. Skip Bayless

Skip Bayless

Now for the finale. Skip Bayless is a commentator that I respect, but hate so much at the same time. I really don’t even know where to begin with Skip except to say that Skip is always right. No he isn’t actually always right, but he tries to make it seem that way and he spins everything to make him look good. Say he chooses team A to win the game and team B really does, then the next day he will show you stats on why team A should have won and the officials stole the game from him. Skip can’t let himself be wrong and he always places the blame on someone else when he is wrong. Another reason I guess I don’t like Skip is because every team I root for he despises and talks down about. Skip is an accomplished sports writer and I honestly think he should have stayed there because he to me is one of the worst commentators around. He is extremely biased in everything he says and as previously noted is never wrong. I am so tired of listening to Skip every morning on First and 10 bragging about how good he is, that I don’t watch the show anymore. See now I am letting Skip ruin shows that I once loved. So here is to you Skip! You egotistical, self-absorbed, sports commentator you!!!

Ok, so I realize that I may have been a bit harsh with some of these guys, but honestly now that I have pointed these things out I swear that you will notice them and they will drive you crazy. If you have any commentators that drive you bonkers send us an comment or an e-mail at 4sportsguys@gmail.com

1. Red Sox @ Yankees. I hate putting this series into my list, because I feel that this series gets way too much hype throughout the course of the year anyway, but if you look at the playoff race the Yankees are holding on to a little hope for the wild card spot being 5 games out. Another fun fact is the team at the top of the Wild Card is the Red Sox. If the surging Bronx Bombers can keep up their winning habits and sweep the 3 game set against the Sox. Then you are looking at only a two game difference between the Sox and the Yankees. Both of those teams, along with the Twins would set themselves up for a September for the ages. My prediction of the series goes, Sox win 2 game and the Yankees just one and can kiss there final season at Yankee Stadium goodbye. This will be the first time since 1994 that the Yankee’s have not made the playoffs in some way shape or form.

2. Mets @ Phillies. With the Phillies only a half game back of the Mets for first place in the east. The Mets have a little something to prove after being embarrassed and throwing away the N.L. East title last year. The aging Mets have to prove they can hang with the team full of MVP’s. If they can take this series on the road from their division rivals, which would be exactly what they need to keep them motivated for the playoff push, then Mets’ fans should feel very confident. The Phillies on the other hand just came off a 4 game sweep of the Dodgers and are flying high. With a series win, they would have sole possession of first place. My prediction: Phillies take the series from the Mets, and never look back. The Phillies are way more talented then the Mets and it will show in this series at home. The Mets have too many questions in their bullpen and the bullpen is a place a playoff team needs to be solid in.

3. Brewers @ Cardinals. To start off I would like to state that I really feel sorry that both of these teams are in the central division.  You could make a strong case that both of these teams are in the top 4 in the National League, but since they play in the central and the Cubs seem to be not looking back and have their foot on the gas pedal. It is impossible for both of these teams along with the Cubs make the playoffs, and as a baseball fan you want to see the best possible matchups in the playoffs. Sadly that just won’t happen. Since both of these teams can’t make the playoffs, we are looking an important series. The Cardinals are only three games back of the Brewers for the  . So with a sweep they will be one game back, due to it only being a two game series. Not to mention that the Brewers have a much harder schedule from this point forward, having two more series with the Cubs, and a series with the Mets. Where the Cardinals only have one more series with the Cubs, and all the other teams they play from here on out are barley flirting with .500. My Prediction: St. Louis wins both games and puts some pressure on the Brewers. When it is all said and done the Brew Crew wins the wild card because of there depth, but the Cardinals should make this interesting.

All and all watch some baseball this week and pay attention to these series because we might be looking back and at the end of September at this week and saying this is what set the tone for certain teams to make their playoff push.

Scott