Category: Op-Ed
Wrigleyville23 defends the selection of Ryan Dempster to the All-Star game over Cole Hamels, Chad Billingsley, and Johan Santana, in response to criticism from ESPN.com's Keith Law.
I just filled out my All-Star ballot. (Yes, I know that you can vote up to 25 times, but I only vote once.) Here it is:
American League:
First Base: Morneau, J., MIN
Second Base: Kinsler, I., TEX
Third Base: Rodriguez, A., NYY
Shortstop: Young, M., TEX
Catcher: Mauer, J., MIN
Outfielder: Drew, J., BOS
Outfielder: Hamilton, J., TEX
Outfielder: Carlos Quentin (write-in)
DH: Thome, J., CWS
National League:
First Base: Pujols, A., STL
Second Base: Utley, C., PHI
Third Base: Jones, C., ATL
Shortstop: Ramirez, H., FLA
Catcher: Soto, G., CHC
Outfielder: Burrell, P., PHI
Outfielder: Holliday, M., COL
Outfielder: McLouth, N., PIT
I picked Nate McLouth over some other deserving outfielders, including his teammate Jason Bay, because I figured the National League could use an outfielder who could play centerfield.
I renewed my MLB.TV subscription this year. Unfortunately, it is not the product it was last year. It is missing one of its best features: condensed games. Here is a copy of a letter I sent to MLB Advanced Media:
To Whom It May Concern:
This is my second year subscribing to MLB.TV. When I renewed my subscription this year, I was led to believe that the product would be the same as last year, if not improved. However, there are at least two aspects of MLB.TV that are not being offered this year or are not currently functional.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer provides his list of the top baseball movies, stemming from this list:
1. Bull Durham
2. Eight Men Out
3. The Bad News Bears
4. Fever Pitch
5. The Natural
6. The Sandlot
7. 61*
8. Pride of the Yankees
9. A League of Their Own
10. Babe Ruth
I have not seen 4, 7, 8, or 10, so cannot comment on those. I will merely say that putting Bull Durham No. 1 is "the dumbest, most outrageous thing in the history of [sports movie lists], and ... I will not argue about this." Neyer criticizes Field of Dreams for making Shoeless Joe Jackson into a right-handed hitter, but ignores that Bull Durham features a star pitching prospect who throws like a girl. Bull Durham is not a baseball movie. It's a chick flick that thinks it's a comedy. And a bad one at that.
I have only seen two baseball movies worth seeing again: 1. The Natural (the book is terrible); and 2. Eight Men Out (the book is even better).
Maury Brown and Kurt Hunzeker at The Biz of Baseball write on Sam Zell's exploration of selling the naming rights to Wrigley Field:
Sam Zell has said that he should be able to selling the naming rights to Wrigley for as much as $400 million over $20 years, a deal that would match Citigroup’s deal with the Mets’ new stadium as the largest payout for a naming rights in US pro franchise history.
As a secondary naming-rights deal, it would be unparalleled.
And therein lies the problem. A $400 million secondary naming-rights deal?
. . . .
FOXSports.com's Dayn Perry lists the Dusty Baker-led Cincinnati Reds on top of his teams that could surprise in 2008. (Hat tip: Wrigleyville23.) It seems like people have the Reds as possible contenders every year, usually referencing their supposedly powerful offense. That offense finished 10th in the NL in runs scored in 2006 and 7th last year. True, the Reds finished first in runs scored in 2005, but they also finished 16 games under .500 that year. How are they better this year?
The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers says that the long-rumored trade for Brian Roberts "is almost certainly going to happen," perhaps yet this week. (Hat tip: Bleed Cubbie Blue.) The Cubs may have to give up Sean Marshall, Sean Gallagher, and Ronny Cedeno. That's a steep price for a good player, but who has only been an above-average league hitter in two of the five seasons he has played at least 100 games. Especially since it eliminates the top competition for Ryan Dempster in the fifth starter's slot.
In any event, Rogers goes on to speculate that the lineup would look like this: Roberts, Ryan Theriot, Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome, Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto and Felix Pie.
He does not explain why it would be a good idea to put the Cubs' best hitter (Lee) in the sixth spot and their worst hitter (Theriot) in the second spot. The much more likely scenario would have Soriano and Roberts hitting in the 1-2 spots.
Side question: If that ends up being the lineup, when is the last time the Cubs had a lineup that fast.
John Brattain writes at The Hardball Times:
Does anybody find it odd that Sammy Sosa has yet to be linked officially with anabolic steroids? The evidence of his juicing consists of: a corked bat (which by extension makes Billy Hatcher, Graig Nettles, Wilton Guerrero, etc. juicers as well), an odd performance in front of the Senate committee where he feigned a lack of ability to speak in English (while it was lame, I would not speak in such a situation unless I could in my mother tongue, either), an affidavit describing a conversation he had regarding amphetamines, and an extremely muscular physique.
And that is it.
. . . .
For the time being, I’m perfectly willing to state that Sosa’s four seasons averaging 61 HR and his career 609 are the genuine article.
Read the rest.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3062658
The Reds just got worse. I live in Reds country, and I work with a bunch of die-hard Reds fans. None of them are happy about this, and I can't blame them. I can't figure this one out for the life of me. It doesn't make any sense for either the team or Baker.
Why would the Reds choose Baker? They have a bright future. Jay Bruce is Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, and their farm system is stacked from top to bottom. Baker won't play the kids if he has a veteran to play, and he is not interested in teaching the game to kids. If they don't immeidately perform like all-stars, they will soon be setting on the end of the bench to be forgotten, breaking their confidence.
The Cubs had losing streaks of three of more games eight times during the regular season. They happened to choose a bad time for their ninth of the year. Everyone has something to say:
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