Just The Tip - 8-23-10

Back by popular demand, or at the very least necessity, is another edition of Just The Tip, the experimental blog where we’ll try just about anything, just to see how it feels.

Of course the two most interesting sports stories of the week have been covered to death by every media outlet and two-bit blogger all around the web, but it goes without saying that something needs to be said about the inevitable return of Brett Favre to Minnesota and the indictment of Roger Clemens on perjury charges. But in the true spirit of Just The Tip, we’ll keep it short and sweet, so that’s why I’m going to let movie quotes handle it for me.

On Favre’s Return:

On Clemens’s indictment and subsequent continued denial:

“I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation.”

-         Fox Mulder, The X-Files

Alright, now that we’ve got the given out of the way and dealt with the uncomfortable part, let’s move on.

-         The Red Sox and their fans are finally succumbing to the collapse of Theo Epstein’s “Bridge”. The team fought valiantly to stay in the race this season, but after having lost Dustin Pedroia (twice), Jacoby Ellsbury (thrice), Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, Clay Bucholtz, Jed Lowrie, Hideki Okajima, and various other moving parts to the disabled list throughout the season, Boston finds itself 5.5 games out of a playoff spot with just over a month left to play on the season. It certainly doesn’t help that they are chasing the two teams in their own division that have the two best records in baseball, but still, it stings to know the season is just about over in New England.

-         Can someone please update me how it is that Ben Roethlisberger is practicing with the Steelers and appearing in pre-season games, despite being suspended for at minimum the first four games on the 2010 season? I may be wrong but it seems to me that neither Michael Vick or Pac-Man Jones were afforded such a luxury? This may be the largest double-standard since men were allowed to stand up to relieve themselves while women were forced to straddle the porcelain god. Last time I checked, a suspension entailed sitting out from any activity related the game you play. Enough said.

-         Has someone checked the water coolers in the Orioles dugout lately? Prior to hiring Buck Showalter as manager, the Orioles were sitting at 31-76 on the season. However, after the hiring of Showalter, the Birds are 13-4. This is a team that hasn’t changed any personnel, aside from releasing Garrett Atkins, and has been guided by not one but two different managers prior to bringing Buck aboard. Maybe Peter Angelos should have made a move earlier, but it is doubtful that their position would have improved much given the division they play in. Still, at least fans can remove the paper bags right?

-         The United States Basketball team is again struggling in international competition, having barely survived in two warm-up matches against Lithuania and now Spain. Maybe it has to do with the players that populate team, who are not the same as the ones that lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the Olympic Games, or maybe it is actually the beginning of a bigger picture. In a game dominated by the United States in the past, the international competition showed in 2008 and again in this year’s games that they are closing the gap. American players may still be able to outjump anyone on the floor, but what really lands home is just home much more fundamentally sound the European teams are. American players spend so much time skipping college and learning to play on the playground than they do learning the fundamentals of the game, and that’s why they struggle to maintain their superiority.

Originally published on YouGabSports.com!

Just The Tip - Ozzie's Foot In Mouth Disease

I love this image for some reason, because this innocent little strumpet has no idea what she gets to collect as soon as she passes go. And let's be honest, we all used to think we were bending over and taking it when you landed on Park Place. Talk about an eye opener. I wonder if you have to roll a pair to get out of that jail?

Anyway, I was thinking about discussing the trade deadline moves and such, but I I also wanted to make sure that you guys didn't fall asleep on Monday morning, so I'll spare you from that lecture...for now.

Still, on the tip of my tongue is something that has been eating at me a bit since I read about it, although it seemed to roll off of the tip of his tongue pretty easily. Needless to say, I'm referring to Ozzie Guillen, who made a comment this week about how much easier the Asian players have it in Major League Baseball than the Latin players.

It seems that Mr. Mouth of the Southside thought it was prudent to poke the embers of racial bias for no reason whatsoever other than to get the camera pointing at him again. Ozzie referred to the ability of Asian players to come to the United States and get assisted by the team with interpreters and personal masseuses while Latin ballplayers are left to wallow in the minor leagues, scraping by on their own accord and meager salaries. Apparently this was all based on the fact that his son's minor league team acquired a Korean ballplayer who came packaged with an interpreter, while his boy is saddled with the need to interpret for the Spanish speaking players on the team.

Well Mr. Guillen, you have a certain point in regards to equality, but you miss a few key points to the argument.

Firstly, most Asian players who have made their ways West are coming over as established professional players, who despite their inexperience at the Major League level, still possess some level of negotiation skills. On the flip side, most Latin players sign their contracts at extremely young ages, prior to having possessed any level of professional experience, and often have had their contract negotiated for them by a liason in their country who has swindled them out of the majority of their deal.

Secondly, Asian players make up the smallest percentage of foreign players in the Major Leagues and its subordinate minor league systems. They tend to have few teammates that can assist them in acclimating to our societies and therefore require at least someone that can help them to at least understand what Joe Coach is saying to him. Meanwhile,Latin ballplayers make up the largest growing population on Major League Baseball, let alone the United States. That said, it is more that easy to see why teams won't invest in translators for them when they generally already on the team or coaching staff.

So come over here for a second and sit down Ozzie, I have a piece of information that I'd like to pass along to you and your fellow crybabies; "No one in this country gets a free ride or a silver spoon."

Let's face facts, if you are lucky enough to have landed a job where you get to play a game for a living, your life isn't hard. Sure, there is a lot of work involved in keeping your position and earning promotions, but I have news for you, that's why they call it a job and that's why you're paid to do it. If for some reason it is too much work for your son to be a comrade to his teammates from another country and help them to acclimate, then just have him hand them the yellow pages and help them find someone else to teach them the language so that they don't require his services any more. Or at the very least, let him file a grievance with the union

Do you want to impress me Ozzie? Sit down and realize that your team is in first place and that they don't necessarily need you to shine the spotlight on yourself. Let their performance do the talking for you. You're the manager, not the face of the franchise. Your job is to put the line-up card together and flash signs, so if you don't want to speak more than one language to your players, then there is only one thing left for you to do:

Shut up!

Originally Published At YouGabSports.com

Five Burning Questions For MLB's Second Half

With the National League's win in the 2010 All-Star game, the first half of baseball is now officially in the books.

It is fairly easy to say that the first half of the season belonged to the pitchers, with no-hitters, perfect games, and many near misses of both. As a matter of fact, twelve teams enter the second half with team ERA's below 4.00 and eighteen individual pitchers had ERA's below 3.00 on the season.

Certainly, the hitters will look to make a difference in the second half of the season, as we enter the dog days of summer, but they won't be the only story of the second half. Here are the other burning questions that will need to be answered as baseball swings from July to October:


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No Sport Needs A Super Team

We were all witness to the Lebron James extravaganza that held the fates of New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, and Cleveland in its hands. And we were all less than surprised when James chose to team up with fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in order to try and win a championship with the Heat.

Fans in Cleveland and New York rightfully felt betrayed and angered by the decision, but all misgivings aside, James followed his desire to win a championship in making his decision, and obviously felt that by helping to create a super team in South Beach was his best means to an end. Then again, nothing is guaranteed in sports, and the games will still need to be played. That all said, there is one thing that bears saying about this whole ordeal:


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Many fans of baseball may have loved to hate him, but few of us can really fault the man for his passion for winning and the contributions he made to the game and the legacy of the New York Yankees. With that said, and despite any personal misgivings toward George Steinbrenner, those same baseball fans are united in mourning after learning that Steinbrenner had passed away earlier today at the age of 80.

George Steinbrenner achieved a level of success that few sports owners ever have, parlaying a struggling team he purchased for $8.8 million into a franchise worth an estimated $1.6 billion, winning seven world championships during his tenure. Steinbrenner was also known as much for his antics with the media, managers, and players as he was for his dedication to putting together the best team’s money could buy.

But George left a completely different legacy as well, as he was one of the greatest sound bites that sports reporters could dream of. The following is just a small collection of some of the greatest George Steinbrenner quotes ever captured.

“I am dead set against free agency. It can ruin baseball.”

-         Given that the Yankees have made a living off of the free agent market since its inception, one could argue that George was a little hypocritical here. But then again, there are very few fans of small market teams that would disagree with this quote either.

“I will never have a heart attack. I give them.”

-         George gave his fair share of heart attacks during his reign atop the Yankees. From managers to general managers to players and fellow owners, Steinbrenner was a force to be reckoned with. Fitting though that a man who fired on all cylinders would eventually succumb to just such an attack.

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next.”

-         If there was one mantra that Steinbrenner lived by, it was winning. Winning was everything and the fans of New York always knew if George was steering the ship, he would make sure they had the best chance to do it.

“He pushed me to strive for excellence. If I competed in five races and won four, we talked about the one I lost.”

-         This was part of a quote about how George’s father pushed him in athletics, but it personifies what he stood for as an owner, especially in regards to the Yankees. Steinbrenner didn’t want to hear about how much was achieved unless it was completed with a world championship.

“When you're entrusted with a tradition, you've got to protect it.”

-         Steinbrenner certainly recognized the tradition that the Yankees had and made it a point to protect and expand it. He made them the most recognizable franchise in all of sports, establishing them more as a name brand than a team. He also instilled the same mentality in his children, who he’s now entrusted to carry on that tradition.

George Steinbrenner will always be remembered as one of the most recognizable owners that American sports have even seen. He will be missed by all, fans and detractors alike. Rest in peace Boss.

Sources:

Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner Dies at 80, Boston.com

George Steinbrenner, Wikipedia.com

George Steinbrenner Quotes, BrainyQuotes.com

George Steinbrenner Quotes, ThinkExist.com

George Steinbrenner Quotes, Esquire.com

Is There A New Red Sox Curse?

Call it whatever you wish, but the “Curse Of The DL” has fallen upon the Boston Red Sox.

Since June 24^th, the Red Sox have been steadily adding names to the Disabled List, including Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Manny Delcarmen, Mike Lowell, and now captain Jason Varitek, who was catching just his first game since Martinez was taken with a broken bone on the tip of his thumb. Overall, Boston now has 10 total players on the DL, some with minor injuries and others with the kind of freak injuries that only befit a curse.

-         Josh Beckett – Lower Back Spasms – Due Back Late July

-         Jacoby Ellsbury – Rib Fracture – Unknown Return Date

-         Jeremy Hermida – Rib Fracture – Unknown Return Date

-         Mike Lowell – Right Hip Injury – Unknown Return Date

-         Jed Lowrie – Mononucleosis – Unknown Return Date

-         Victor Martinez – Broken Left Thumb – Due Back Late July

-         Dustin Pedroia – Broken Left Foot – Due Back Early August

-         Jason Varitek – Broken Foot – Due Back Early-Mid August

-         Manny Delcarmen – Right Forearm Strain – Due Back Late July

-         Junichi Tazawa – Tommy John Surgery – Out For Season

What lends credence to the thought of a curse is a couple of factor. First, the Red Sox had just pulled themselves within a game and a half of the first place Yankees in the AL East and had taken possession of the Wild Card lead from division rival Tampa Bay, so the timing of the recent rash of injuries couldn’t be any tougher to deal with.

Second, the nature of how the injuries occurred just hinges on the absurd. Both Ellsbury and Hermida experienced fractured ribs after colliding with third baseman Adrian Beltre on shallow fly balls. Pedroia suffered his broken foot after fouling a pitch off of it. Both Martinez and Varitek suffered their injuries while catching and taking a foul ball of an opponents bat into their glove hand and foot respectively. The sheer magnitude of all of these occurring within a given season is mind-boggling.

Perhaps the devil was due after the Red Sox had achieved not one but two World Series championships during the first decade of the century after waiting 84 years between championships. Perhaps it is just coincidence, but whatever it is a tremendous hurdle to overcome for a team in the middle of the pennant race and playing in the toughest division in baseball.

This is the kind of adversity that can define a team, something that could make or break them. No one would fault the Red Sox if they fell out of the race at this stage, but can you imagine what it will do for them if they pull though it and get back that troop just in time for the postseason? A team that rested could be a wrecking ball in October.

But first they have to get there.

Sources:

Varitek To Miss Six Weeks With Broken Foot, Boston.com

Red Sox Injury Updates, MLB.com

Every team in baseball has that guy; the one that ignites everything the team does and is the very glue that holds them together. You know the guy, the one that goes out and does his job day in and day out without question; the one guy that provides the big hits and still does the little things to keep an inning moving.

Recently, the Boston Red Sox lost that guy, when it was revealed that second baseman Dustin Pedroia suffered a fracture of his left foot after fouling a pitch off of it in a game against San Francisco on June 25^th. Pedroia was coming off a career night the game before, going 5 for 5 with three home runs and five runs batted in. Pedroia's stellar defense at the keystone position, as well as his hitting prowess and base running skills make him one of the elite team players in all of baseball. Somehow, the Red Sox are going to have to weather his loss for the next six weeks and still hope to stay in the tough American League East race with New York and Tampa Bay.


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Return Engagement As Ramirez Comes Back To Boston

Say what you want about baseball fans, but know this:

A true fan never forgets...anything!

With that being said, it will be interesting to see what kind of reaction Boston Red Sox fans give to Manny Ramirez when he returns to Boston for the first time since he forced his way out of town at the 2008 trade deadline.

Fans had discounted Ramirez's "Manny Being Manny" act of lackadaisical play, fan availability, and general lack of care for the Red Sox in general because he seemingly put his numbers when he wanted to. However, that all came to an end in 2008 when the slugger basically pulled his last shenanigan in a Red Sox uniform and fans finally understood what the front office had been dealing with for years, a diva that put himself before his team and his teammates. The package received of Jason Bay easily helped Sox fans wash their hands of their former hero and move on quickly.

But as I said before, baseball fans never forget and Red Sox fans have had to wait for over 2 years to get the chance to show just how fresh in their memory the whole situation was. Manny made it clear when he left town that he didn't like playing in Boston, he didn't like the attention he received from the fans, and he certainly didn't like the Boston media. Fans certainly do not forget that type of betrayal, and you can be certain that the Boston media is going to have a field day with his return.

Granted, this isn't the same situation as Johnny Damon returning in a Yankee uniform either, but it is also a far cry from Kevin Millar coming home in the Orioles colors too. Then again, Damon's reception will likely be completely different when he returns with Detroit at the end of July.

Manny is a different story. Fans will consider every aspect of who he comes into town with, how he left town, and how much he contributed while he played in Boston. Considering he hit .312 with 276 home runs and 868 RBI's during his heyday for the Red Sox, not to mention a World Series MVP during that historic championship 2004 season, Ramirez will at least have the benefit of performance to help his cause. But Sox fans are a fickle crowd and they can smell blood in the water too, so performance may be a long forgotten factor.

It wouldn't be surprising to see his reception go in either direction, with a heart-warming cheer or a rain of boos from the stands. Then again, since this is Manny, maybe it is fitting that you don't what you're going to get.

Sources:

Manny Ramirez Stats, Baseball-Reference.com

Promoting Prospects All The Rage In MLB

If there is one common bond between Major League Baseball teams, it is that if something works for one, the rest are sure to follow suit shortly after.

A few years ago, "Moneyball" was all the rage among MLB teams, as Michael Lewis's book showcasing the Oakland Athletics philosophy of moving away from traditional scouting and focusing on statistical analysis to assemble teams caused other teams to undertake the process of promoting on-base and slugging percentages as a way to evaluate their players. While the premise behind it was solid, front office staffs forgot to cater the philosophy to their teams and parks, making the process itself flawed in its nature. Today, it has been largely discarded or evolved to a more refined version.


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On another note, I just read a fantastic baseball piece on the Pittsburgh Pirates and what it would mean to the National League if the wins against Pittsburgh didn't matter because...well...they are "JUST THE PIRATES!"

Time For Selig To Make The Right Call on Perfect Game

On July 24, 1981, an umpire that had a direct implication on the outcome of the game played made an egregious call.

Baseball enthusiasts will note that this is the date of the infamous Pine Tar Incident, in which Royals third baseman George Brett had a go-ahead home run nullified by then-Rookie umpire Tim McClelland. McClelland ruled that Brett’s bat had an illegal amount of pine tar on the bat, making it illegal. He reversed the home run call and called Brett out, thus ending the game.

After protesting the outcome of the game and the call, then American League commissioner Lee McPhail ruled that McClelland had misinterpreted the rule in regards to the amount of pine tar on the bat and should have simply removed the bat from the game and not called Brett out. The ruling allowed the home run to stand and required that both the Royals and Yankees had to make up the final half of the inning that would have been played had the home run stood.

Ladies and gentlemen, that incident alone shows precedence for a commissioner overturning a call on the field for the sake of the game.

Now let’s take it back to the present, or at the very least, the very recent past, when on Wednesday June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was robbed of a perfect game when, on the twenty-seventh out, umpire Jim Joyce botched a call at first base, ruling the runner safe when replay shows that the throw and tag beat the runner to first base handedly. The error was so pronounced, that Joyce himself admitted to making it just seconds later and was moved to tears upon completion of the game. The twenty-first perfect game in Major League history, and third in 2010, was denied by an admittedly bad call on the field.

So, with no power in which to reverse the call on the field, Joyce openly petitioned Commissioner Bud Selig to make things right.

Selig, as has become his legacy, dropped the ball and as of yet, has not reversed the call. The commissioner has openly said the call was missed and that coupled with numerous other bad calls recently, Major League Baseball would look into expanding instant replay. He did not however, address any plans to change the call. The window of opportunity has seemingly passed.

Certainly, this is not an easy decision to make. Never before has a call on the field had direct impact on the record books, so it goes without saying that changing this call would make for interesting observations from both the baseball traditionalists and the current fandom that demands justice to be done. There is no doubt that such a change would require an asterisk, but even the Roger Maris home run record never truly received an asterisk despite its implication.

Galarraga, who has shown incredible poise during this controversy, has evenly openly said he would be willing to accept the perfect game through an overturned ruling. But would those feelings still hold true for Galarraga after he walks away from the game, or would he rather be known as the pitcher that threw the biggest no-no that wasn’t?

Regardless, Selig knows the history of the game, and he knows his place in it. He knows that precedence occurs for a commissioner to overturn a call on the field, and he knows when the right time to enact that ability is. Now it is just a matter of flipping the switch and doing what is right, before it goes down as another blunder by a man with a mixed legacy in the game.

Sources:

Pine Tar Incident, Wikipedia.com

Selig Won’t Overturn Call That Cost Perfect Game, nbcsports.msnbc.com

Roger Maris, Wikipedia.com

Pittsburgh Pirates A Long Way From Ending Futility

"Two balls, one strike. What tension! The runners lead. A lotta room in right-center, if he hits one there, we can dance in the streets. The two-one. Swung, line drive left field! One run is in! Here comes Bream! Here's the throw to the plate! He is...SAFE! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! BRAVES WIN! They may have to hospitalize Sid Bream. He's down at the bottom of a huge pile at the plate. They help him to his feet. Frank Cabrera got the game-winner! The Atlanta Braves are National League champions again! This crowd has gone berserk, listen! Meanwhile, Barry Bonds is just now walking off the field. Andy Van Slyke is sitting on his glove in center field in shock. The Braves came from two runs down in the ninth, and with two outs Francisco Cabrera got the hit that won Atlanta the game, a two-run single to left! What a ballgame!"

—Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray's call of Francisco Cabrera's game-winning hit in Game 7.

That quote is how many Pirates fans remember that dramatic 1992 National League Championship Series loss to the Atlanta Braves. However, that quote means so much more today than it did in the waning moment of Game 7.


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Some Nifty Perfect Games Facts

Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history on Saturday night, blanking the Florida Marlins for his seventh win of the 2010 season. In the process, Halladay also lowered his ERA to 1.99 on the season.

Normals statistics aside, having thrown something as significant as a perfect game gives us the chance to discuss some other interesting items, mainly to compare the gem Halladay twirled to the other nineteen that came before him. Let's face it, what good are baseball statistics if you can't compare them against one another endlessly?

-         Halladay's perfect game was the second of the 2010 season, succeeding Dallas Braden's masterpiece against Tampa on May 9th. This marks just the second time in Major League history that two perfect games have been tossed in the same season. The first time it occurred was during the Dead Ball Era in 1880 when Lee Richmond of the Worchester Ruby Legs and John Montgomery Ward of the Providence Grays threw the first two perfect games in the history of the game.

-         Halladay struck out 11 batters in the game, which is the fourth time that the pitcher throwing the perfect game has struck out 11, joining David Wells (NYY, 1998), Len Barker (CLE, 1981), and Catfish Hunter (OAK, 1968) in achieving that feat. However, it is not the record for strike-outs for a perfect game. That belongs to Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers who struck out 14 in his perfect game on September 9, 1965. On a side note, the fewest strike-outs thrown in a perfect game was 3, done by Addie Joss of the Cleveland Indians on October 2, 1908.

-         Halladay needed only 115 pitches to get through his perfect game, despite striking out 11 batters, but it is nowhere near the fewest pitches thrown in a perfect game. Of the 17 perfect games with pitch counts recorded, the undisputed champion of efficiency is Addie Joss, who in that 1908 game needed just 74 pitches to spin his gem.

-         Halladay joins Jim Bunning as the second perfect game in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies, and club’s tenth no-hitter. Three other clubs, the Yankees, White Sox, and Oakland Athletics have more than one perfect game in their history. The Yankees are the only club with three, with David Cone, David Wells, and Don Larsen all twirling theirs for the game’s most storied franchise.

-         For all the talk about attendance issues in Florida, Halladay’s perfect game had 25,086 fans in attendance. That more than doubled the 12,288 who paid to see Braden’s earlier this year. The smallest recorded crowd to see a perfect game was also in Oakland, when only 6,298 were on hand when Catfish Hunter threw his perfect game against Minnesota in 1968.

-         Finally, this is the sixth time that a perfect game has been tossed where the game was won 1-0. The most runs scored by the winning team in a perfect game is six, done by the Phillies for Jim Bunning in 1964 and the Yankees for David Cone in 1999.

So there you are, armed with your new found knowledge of the perfect game. With plenty of baseball to be played, we still have a chance to have the first season with three perfect games, but let’s all not collectively hold out breaths waiting for it to happen.

Sources:

-         Perfect Games, Wikipedia.com

-         Roy Halladay Stats, Baseball-Reference.com

-         Phillies-Marlins Box Score, MLB.com

-         List of Philadelphia Phillies No-Hitters, Wikipedia.com

This post can also be seen at YouGabSports.com.

NBA Free Agent Summit Is Interesting Move

Alright folks, put your picket signs down and get your panties out of a bunch, I’m not talking about the G-8 Summit. No, that fun event and its protests will be in Huntsville, Ontario from June 25-27, 2010. Sorry for the confusion.

Rather, I’m referring to the recently announced super summit of NBA free agents, planned to occur sometime before the July 1^st start to free agent signings. Apparently Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Joe Johnson, and Chris Bosh are opting to meet in order to discuss their free agency plans in regards to where they hope to sign and what salaries they will demand.

For all intensive purposes, they are pooling their resources to ensure that they all get what they want and know how the dominoes will fall. But wait a second, aren’t they all already part of a union? Why the need to meet separately?

In reality, this sounds more like the other guys want to see what thought process Lebron James is following, so they can know how the fallout will shake out for them. Wade will likely be the next to go after James, with Bosh and Johnson likely to follow depending on the fates of fellow free agents Dirk Nowitzki and Amare Stoudamire, who are not confirmed for this “summit.”

The question is, why hasn’t someone else thought of this sooner? Maximizing salaries and predicting landing spots is something that agents are usually left in charge of. However, in these days of agents over estimating markets and failing to secure long-term deals in all sports, perhaps this is the best way to ensure that everyone gets their fair shake, especially considering the magnitude of the players available is perhaps unlike any previous class ever. No more worries about collusion to control salaries, just playing the game off the court like it is on the court, as a team, to get the best results.

Then again, based on the outcome of said meetings, these players can come off looking pompous and headstrong. They could demand astronomical deals or force “package” signings of multiple players because they know how the market will play out and they know how to leverage the teams based on what is out there.

If past NBA free agency is any indicator, the dominoes will fall fast, so Wade and his summit are doing their best to stay ahead of it. Only time will tell if the decision to act was a smart business move or an effort of futility.

2010 NBA Draft Board Top Five

When the National Basketball Association changed the age eligibility rules for the NBA Draft in 2006, requiring all eligible players to be at least one year removed from the completion of high school, they had to have foreseen the effect it would have on colleges and universities. As evidenced by the top ranked players on the 2010 draft boards, forcing players to go to college for one season doesn't change how these kids are viewed in the eyes of scouts, but rather it just delays the inevitable in regards to them starting their professional careers.


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Lebron James Speculation Is Officially Under Way

For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have posted the best regular season record in the NBA.

Now, for the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were bounced from the NBA playoffs by a lower seed before reaching the NBA Finals, losing in the Eastern Conference finals to the Orlando Magic in 2009 and now being humiliated by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2010 playoffs.

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Realigning Major League Baseball For Better Competition

There has been a lot of talk amongst the press and amongst the fans in regards to baseball needing to realign in order to create more evenly competitive divisions. Most of this conversation has been generated on the belief that some teams will never be able to compete while stuck in a division with certain larger market opponents, where the belief is that dollars buy playoff appearances.


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Surprise, We're Here: MLB's Biggest Surprise Teams

Good or bad, every fan comes into the season with expectation for their teams. Some are on the money and some are over exaggerated by the clouds of loyalty and desire, but it all creates an early season basis of comparison for each and every team in the league.
It goes without saying that most of these teams won’t live up to the burdens placed on them by the fans and pundits alike. Some will rise to the occasion and grasp fate by the horns, while others will either exceed or fail to meet their full potential. And that is all that expectations are; an estimate of potential. Some realize it and others turn their backs on it.
Now that we’re close to completing our second month of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, it’s safe to say that we have an accurate window in which to view the separation discussed above. You take the good and you take the bad, and somewhere along the line you replace expectation with realization. For now, we’re going to examine which teams are realizing their potential beyond the expectations of the so-called “experts”.

Top 5 Surprise Teams

WashingtonNationals
2010 Record: 20-20, 3rd Place National League East

It would be difficult to not place the Nationals at the top of this list. They epitomize the term “surprise.”
This is a team that has never finished out of the basement of the NL East since they moved to Washington, has a run differential of -18, and ranks in the bottom half of all of baseball in hitting, pitching, and defense, yet they are currently in second place in the East. What they do well though is win close games, as only Cincinnati has a better record than Washington’s 8-5 mark in 1-run games.
Long term, the flaws listed above will probably catch up to them, but the expected arrivals of Drew Storen and Stephen Strasburg to the pitching staff may further their pitching efforts.

San DiegoPadres
2010 Record: 23-16, 1^st Place National League West

The Padres are another team that most pundits, myself included, didn’t credit with much of a chance in 2010. This is a team that is in cost cutting mode, had not managed its farm system properly, and entered 2010 with a lot of youth. Yet, they enter play on Wednesday tied for first place in what is arguable the best division in baseball. The Padres have done this by allowing the fewest runs in the National League, but despite scoring the third fewest runs in the NL as well.
It would be easy to write this off as an aberration, but this is also a team that was 36-52 at the All-Star break in 2009 and improved to 39-35 after it, when they jettisoned Jake Peavy, and started giving more opportunities to their young prospects. This may very well be a team that is coming into its own and Bud Black could be looking at a Manager Of The Year award rather than a spot on the hot seat.

CincinnatiReds
2010 Record: 23-16, 1^st Place National League Central

Quick, tell me who leads the NL Central. Is it the Cardinals, Cubs, Or Milwaukee? The answer is none of the above, as the Red stormed to the early season division lead. The Reds are 9-1 over their last ten games, so a lot of this success is based on a recent run, but its still unexpected from a team many pegged for fourth place.
Cincinnati currently has just a +3 run differential and owns a 10-5 record in one run games, showing just how close to the vest they are playing it right now. Neither the offense or the pitching staff has been stellar, but both have been efficient enough to maintain a run. If they have any hope of continuing along this path, the Reds will need Jay Bruce to continue to produce, the infield tandem of Orlando Cabrera and Brandon Phillips to step up and help, and pitchers Homer Bailey (5.21 ERA) and Aaron Harang (6.02 ERA) to lend some help to the pitching staff.

TorontoBlue Jays
2010 Record: 24-17, 3^rd Place American League East

Most experts felt that the American League East would be a three team race in 2010, but very few out there thought that the Blue Jays would be involved in the squabble while the Red Sox looked in from the outside. Even fewer gave the Jays much of a chance to be better than a fifth place team after they traded Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia.
So what has gotten into the Jays? The return of Shawn Marcum to the pitching staff has helped, but a number of near missed on no-hitters hasn’t hurt either. The biggest cog in this wheel has been the re-emergence of center-fielder Vernon Wells, who somehow opted to earn his big dollar contract in 2010.
While the Jays likely don’t stand much chance of winning the division or the wild-card with the Yankees and Rays looking as strong as they do, the Toronto fans can at least look forward to a year of exciting baseball.

OaklandAthletics
2010 Record: 20-20, 2^nd place American League West

Only in baseball’s worst division would we be talking about a team at .500 that is just two games removed from the division lead. Only in baseball’s worst division would that team have a -14 run differential. As a matter of fact, only the division leading Rangers, who have a differential of +9, can say that they’ve outscored their opponents for the season. Alas, here we are and the Oakland A’s are living the dream.
Many predicted the young pitching staff we saw a year ago would continue to step up and be a force in 2010, but most also agreed that this team would struggle to score runs due to a lack of any serious power. Well, in that regard, they haven’t disappointed, but the pitching staff, which has held its own, despite the loss of Brett Anderson. They also have the claim of the most exciting event of the season when Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game against Tampa.
The A’s aren’t likely to stick around, unless Billy Beane can pull some magic at the deadline. That is unlikely because the team has a vision in mind and a timeframe and its doubtful that Beane would move away from that to try and compete this season.