Head on Down to The Garden

Been to Penn Station recently? How about any where near the Garden? Smell that? No, it's not the Knicks. Those fucking losers, fortunately, finished a while ago.

What you're smelling is the stench of the WNBA. That sweet aroma is in the air, so it must be time to tip off again. And the author of this blog couldn't be happier.

Whose up for some mid-60's action? Some regular season leading 18.6 ppg? Twice a week action?

Ooooh weee. Try to hold in your excitement, please.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the league, and how its not only stayed around so long but expanded is simply beyond me. I just can't figure it. First of all, the ticket prices are outstandingly high. Whether its the Indiana Fever or the New York Liberty, a good seat is still going to cost you about 65 bucks. In the Garden, that might not even cut it. They actually have the nerve, the balls, the "chutzpa" as we like to say, to charge $100 for the most expensive seat.

The quality of the league simply isn't very good. We're talking about a league in which the all-time leading scorer has averaged 21 ppg (Cynthia Cooper). We're talking about a league in which the act of dunking is commensurate with the resurrection of Christ. We're talking about a league in which the size and speed of the game being played could be mistaken for lower level high school basketball.

Now, in fairness, I recognize some of the positive aspects of the league.

1. Older men can now keep the majority of their "spending money" given to them by their wives to see a bunch of bouncing boobies.

That's about it. Maybe Keith Hernandez was onto something...(Ed. Note: These views do not reflect the views of Blogger or any of it subsidiaires. Rather, they reflect this author's sexism, biggotry, and ignorance)

No, en serio...The league is good for young girls wanting to get involved in basketball, and I'm sure that it draws well enough. But the fact remains, this isn't good product for the majority of the population. And, let's be real, even if it was. Even if I could find all the numbers and quotes in the world to backup a defense of the WNBA, people like myself would still shoot it down. I like men. And I like basketball. So, I watch the NBA. (Ed. Note: Again, the author's homosexual remarks neither denote his nor Blogger's sexual orientations)

The WNBA actually has a fantasy game starting up this season. I swear. Check it out at WNBA.com, its called the Triple Threat, and you get points for every point, rebound and assist the player you pick for each day. Here's the catch, the site exclaims, you can't pick a player more than once. What a new and wonderful twist!

If your wondering, the answer is yes. I have a team. "Hammond's The Man", for arguably my favorite player Becky Hammon. Oddly enough, she is married to ex-good reliever Chris Hammond. And Cole Hamels. No, no she's not. I do have a team, that part wasn't a joke. But, I'd say I keep it up for this week and that's about it. Keep your eye on Tamika Catchings and Lauren Jackson in games one and two this year.

Gotta run, tickets go on sale in about 28 hours. My car has broken down, so I am forced to skip gleefully to the city to get my Liberty tickets. Wish me luck.

The Columbus Crew

For over 200 million dollars, I think it's fair to expect more than a bunch of minor leaguers in your lineup. For over 200 million dollars, I think its fair to expect pressure on everyone, even the biggest of superstars.

Sure, the heat is on Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez. The Big Joke has performed as un-Unit like as is possible, reverting back to a form only the Montreal Expos have seen of the foul mouthed lefty. His fastball has no explosion, its lost about 5 mph. His slider doesn't bite, thus making it a sad excuse for a breaking pitch or just a fat fastball. And, now, he can't intimidate anyone anylonger. Here's case in point. Mark Kotsay, a weak hitting, albeit decent hitter overall, Centerfielder that bats from the left side of the plate. Kotsay, again, not known for his power, drilled a homerun off of RJ that is still traversing the hills of NY, I believe its made its way to White Plains.

A-Rod, he'll come around, we can leave him alone for right now.

The problem here is that there have been so many injuries that the team is practically decimated. Sheffield...Runs into the brick wall that is Shea Hillenbrand and now wont come back until he is ready for himself. Matsui...Dives trying to make a nice catch, instead catches a bad break, Literally. Then, it just gets ridiculous from here. As you know, Pavano and Dotel started the season injured, so we can count them out. After Chacon's 1.1 and 7 ER escapade a few days ago, he now has a bruise titled, and I kid you not, a hemotoma in his leg. Otherwise known as a bruise because he was getting the shit kicked out of him too hard. Then, Pavano, after his rehab is finally going well, pulls himself out of a Double A start in Trenton because of arm stiffness. Bubba Crosby pulls a hamstring running to first on a single. Tanyon Sturtze has a rotator cuff injury and is getting what should be season ending surgery. It's all good in the neighborhood.

Well, if that neighborhood is Columbus, Ohio, than yes. Well, actually no. While its nice that their players are now in the bigs, they now have no one to play.

You want Melky Cabrera in there. Fine. Kid hit over 380 in the minors. I'll give you him. But, you start putting guys like Kevin Reese, a man who hit under 260 in the minor leagues, mind you, and I have a problem with that. I have a problem with Scott Erikson. Maybe if this was 1997, I'd be ok with it. But, sadly, its not and a winning ballclub can't put him out there. Ever. The man has no stuff, no velocity, no break, and no control. 3.2 innings this year, only 2 hits, but 6 walks. He's has NOTHING! Get him out of my sight, he's a disgrace to the uniform and to the league. He was good for three or four separate years about 10 years ago. Happy trails.

On a day like today, you simply can't have 4 outs in the lineup (Bernie, Melky, Bubba/Reese, Stinnett). OK, so you say its just one day, Posada will come back tomorrow then. But what about when Giambi or Damon needs a rest. Then Williams stays out there, and maybe, just maybe we're lucky enough to get a Andy Phillips or Miguel Cairo sighting.

And no, that's not Superman on the horizon. It's superprospect Kevin Thompson. This OF from Columbus is waiting, matter-of-fact, he's chomping at the bit, to wiggle a spot into Torre's everyday lineup so that he and his mates from Columbus can inch closer to their diabolic plan to overtake the New York Club. Kudos to you and the rest of the Crew from Columbus.

"Alex Being Alex"

9-time All Star...2-time MVP...2-time Gold Glover...4-time HR champ...Career .307 hitter...436 HR's...Over 1200 RBI's...8 straight seasons of 35+ HR's, 105+ RBI's...226 SB's...

These are all of the incredible statistics that Alex Rodriguez has amassed over his 11 year career. Yes, 11 years. Keep in mind, he started at 19, and he's just now turning 30. Scary isn't it? That a guy this great has so many more years ahead of him, and has been so great already.

But, what might even be scarier is what this guy has to live with every season. We all know he's tensed up in the big spots for the Yankees, and especially in regular season games against the Mets and Red Sox. And when you play for The Boss, thats what you get paid for. However, he did play well against the Mets last year (no homers, but batted over .600 in 6 games). And, although he may not have been Superman, he did hit 6 homers against the Red Sox last year in 19 games. The prior year, he hit over .300 in 19 reg. season games against the Sox. Not to mention he and David Ortiz, considered by many to be the most clutch player ever created, had the same amount of game winning RBI's last year. Some food for thought.

In the post season, he's a career .305 hitter in 31 games with 6 homers and 15 RBI's. In fact, in his first post season series with the Yanks, he hit over .400 against the Twins. The problem--he's 10 for his last 46 since that point.

Here's the bigger issue...This great young superstart, for all of the regular season accolades he collects, seems to legitimately tense up when the spotlight shines. While it only may be showing in NY (he did produce well in Seattle in the post-season), he seems to simply not be able to get it done when it counts. His first game of the series at the Stadium is a perfect example. Known league-wide as a stellar fielder, he makes two errors that blow the game wide open. In game two, he hit a tie breaking bomb off of Schilling.

You see though, that's where the problem comes in. After being ridden like a bad horse during the day, he comes through and it still won't be enough. The pressure on this man is too much, and it's absolutely true. While I'm not condoning his performance (I feel like I'd need another set of hands to count his errors and failures in big spots), the man simply can't do enough right. Game winner one game, huh? Well, if he doesn't hit one tomorrow, then he just isn't clutch.

His contract is too big! We've all heard that one, as if the contract he was foolishly given by the Rangers should have any bearing on his performance. Hicks overpaid for him, plain and simple. And, don't call him greedy, please. If I told you I would give you 25 million or 16, which would you take? Honestly.

Lest we forget, he does play alongside the man who can do no wrong, Derek Jeter. The man of the hour, Mr. November, Captain Clutch. He's done it in every big spot, he's the captain of the most popular franchise maybe in the whole world, and he never seems to catch any heat. I'm not suggesting he should catch any heat, but just about anyone comes up short in comparison to Jeter when it comes to clutch-"ness".

Finally, there's the whole phony personality thing. Let me say this. He does come off as fake at times, but you know what, so do all of these ballplayers. It has become so P.C. that no one says whats really on their mind, and if they do, they're considered an asshole (see Kevin Millar). So, again, we will return to the question and answer section of the post. Would you rather have a guy who does try to say the right things, is a generally good guy, is one of the top 2 players in the game, and does come off as a bit phony (at times) or would you rather have a guy like Manny Ramirez. Maybe the answer is simple. But, people never seem to give Manny a hard time for being a straight up prick. Not nice. Not interested. Hides in walls, demands trades, doesn't hustle. But hey, its just "Manny Being Manny".

I wonder when it will be "Alex Being Alex"