Explain to me how the Red Sox with 8 players currently on the DL and additional players having spent time on the DL still be a serious contender for a playoff spot? After the first month of the season the Sox looked old, slow, and couldn't pitch a lick. The Sabermetric Zone Rating strategy looked to be a joke and though they were idiots many began to doubt The Boy Wonder Theo Epstein. Think of it this way the Sox have compiled a 49-33 record good enough for the 3rd best record in baseball and they have done so without average production from all OF spots and at least 2 members of the projected opening day rotation have been missing nearly all year. If that wasn't enough how about a down season for Papelbon as a end game option. Playing in the same division as the Yankees and Rays most teams would have closed up shop and started playing for next season at this point.
The older I get the more emotional I become. Every Sunday morning SportsCenter features a Outside The Lines type piece where someone has overcome incredible odds to live out some type of sports dream or has made a miraculous comeback to once again compete when the outlook looked to be so bleak. These stories have always made me get the lump in the throat but in years past I could manage to fight back the tears. No longer can I hold back the waterworks. Now that I am a father I find myself feeling as though it is my child this is happening to and it is them overcoming these obstacles. These moments are a reminder to me of how powerful sports can be to people everywhere.
I hope Lou Piniella decides to resign before this season is over. Let me be clear this Cubs season cannot be laid at the feet of Lou. He is not without blame but to put the ineffective hitting, no threat of a running game, a poor bullpen and bad fielding would be foolish. The Cubs 2010 is over and 2011 should already be put in the books unless a complete roster overhaul is in the works which I can't see happening. It is clear that Piniella will not be back next season therefore a new manager will be at the helm. The most likely candidate will be either Alan Trammel or Ryne Sandberg. If Piniella would hang it up in the near future it would provide Trammel a opportunity to see what he could do over the final 60 games or so or it would give Sandberg the chance to get some experience under his belt. Regardless of who would take the realm it would begin the rebuilding process sooner rather than later.
The All Star Game is often criticized for it's rewarding of Home Field advantage in the World Series. I couldn't disagree with this more. The baseball All Star game is by far the best of the major sports All Star games. Therefore it should be held to a higher standard. The All Star game had become a one at bat two inning in the field Little League Rule exhibition and that was simply not good enough. As recently as the early 90's starters would often play 5-6 innings if not more and the game was played with some ambittion. Somewhere in the early 2000's it changed players couldn't play because of this or that and many meet their requirements and headed out for a night on the town. Although the game will not be played with the passion of the 60's and 70's and players aren't likely to skip out on the postgame festivities, with something on the line a better effort can be expected. If you are looking for tweaks how about eliminating the every team having a representative. I do feel as though the host of the game should have a representative but that should be the lone requirement. Also reserves should be named by a group of coaches/players/writers or whomever you would prefer but regardless several sources of input should be given. This would eliminate players voting for their pals or MGR voting for their own players depending on the which means a player was chosen.
The full rosters have now been released and for the most part the fans did a good job of naming the starters. Of the 17 starters named by fans in the voting process only Heyward didn't deserve the honor in terms of numbers but this is the ALL STAR game so I can see the attraction. The fact that Fausto Carmona (Clev), Trevor Cahill (A's), Ty Wigginton (O's), Marlon Byrd (Cubs) and Michael Bourn (Astros) all earned All-Star nods is further proof that all teams shouldn't have a representative. Since that is a requirement though why don't we get it right Carlos Silva should have been selected over Byrd. Let's also eliminate the MRP and stick with starters and closers. Replace Rhodes with Silva then Joey Votto the biggest All Star snub has a spot on the roster. The removal of Meek would also correct the error in omitting McCutchen as the Pirates represenative. This would also open up a spot for the NL save Leader Heath Bell. Sticking with the NL Miguel Olivo over Brian McCann, Ryan Howard could easily be replaced by Votto and is a good example of why the MGR shouldn't be solely responsible. Latos over Gallardo and perhaps Zimmerman or Carlos Gonzalez could have been selected over Infante but given the roster restraints his multi-position ability is valueable in late game scenarios. Over to the AL. Ortiz and Bautista should have been replaced by Youklis and Rios and since Wigginton can man the keystone Kinsler should have been replaced by Konerko. Thornton falls into the MRP role therefore he should have been replaced by Jon Rauch.
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