What's Up with the Blog?

Hey all you Sports Chat readers, I hope all is going well and if you are anywhere in the continental United States you are staying cool and drinking lots of water (or beer and then water....or just beer.....). Anyhow, this is more of status update than a real blog post.

As you have noticed, posts have been down dramatically over the past 6 weeks. To be honest, with the NHL season over and both the NFL and NBA players locked out, we have been a little short on topics.  Sure we could have written about Hope Solo and the U.S. Woman's team, but.....that is so over played!

 MLB you ask? When we tried to do that last summer the click rate was about zero.  MLS...those are the only posts we have (thanks Kev, you have kept the blog alive).

So please be patient and stick with us. Once the NFL is back (hopefully by today) we will start blogging on that.  We will also try to do a MLB trade recap and also a breakdown of free agent signings in the  NHL (yes Kathleen I think I just volunteered you :-)

Have a great weekend and DRINK LOTS OF BEER!

J for J.B. Sports.

Congrats to the Washington Nationals

The Nats won tonight. It was their 15th win in the last 21 games. They currently stand at 37-37, and, were the season to end today, would be five games out of the wild card slot and tied with Pittsburgh and Colorado.

I still haven't figured out what a National is, or what Nationals are... unlike, say, Twins, Pirates, Yankees, Cardinals, Orioles, etc.

Anyways, back to the Nats - they have won ten of eleven and, over the last 10 games, are tied with the Twins for the best record in baseball. Sadly, I was present for that one loss, to the Orioles, who have a much more glorious past but are also attempting to climb to .500. Thanks, Gorzelanny for ruining Fathers' Day.

Ever Wonder How to Squander a Large Fortune?

Have you ever asked yourself the question: How could somebody make $100 million and have absolutely nothing to show for it in less than 10 years? Isn't the impossibility of doing this what made Brewster's Millions so darn funny?

(That and Pryor teaming up with John Candy. On a side note, how much money on crack and cocaine do you think they spent between the two of them? Over or under a million?)

Well these 15 men can tell you! (As a hint, start by buying a tiger, leasing a yacht, and marrying at least 3 women without a prenup.)

Did anybody find my $400 million?

Soy un perdedor dolorido, bebé

St. Louis Cardinals fans get crazy with the cheese whiz Wednesday night when the Nats met the Cards. Cardinals pitcher Ryan Franklin responds to boos in his own stadium:

"You're either a fan or you're not. You don't boo your own team. I don't care who you are or what you say. Just because you spent your money to come here and watch us play, and somebody happens to make one bad pitch and gives up a homer, you don't start booing them. I've been here for five years, and four years I've been pretty good. You should go write stories about the fans booing. They're supposed to be the best fans in baseball. Yeah right."

I mostly agree with this statement. The only part that is arguable is when he suggests the fans turned on him for giving up a homer on one bad pitch. The quote should read about when, "...somebody happens to get four blown saves out of five attempts, give away a 9th-inning lead here and there, get removed as closer, and allow the Nationals a home run when you're already down by 2, you don't start booing them." It is a more difficult argument when you look at it that way. I will give him that.


I admit, baseball is not my game and the Cardinals are definitely not my team, but I can read a stat sheet. Franklin looks like he's been doing his job for the last couple of years. While I don't think a 38-year old player can rest on his laurels and start to phone it in, I also don't agree with the fans booing their own players. As far as this blogger is concerned, you stick with your team through thick and thin. If you can't stand losing, jump on another bandwagon. There are plenty of places you can voice your frustrations about washed up players and losing games, but the stadium is not where it's done. There is poor sportsmanship on the field and off, and when fans of the home team start to boo their own players, that is a stadium full of sore losers as far as I'm concerned.

Goodbye Ken Griffey, Jr.

Ken Griffey, Jr. has retired after what had become an unfortunate end to an otherwise illustrious career. 10 Gold Gloves and a MVP. 13 time All Star.

Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports thinks Griffey may have been the best clean player in the steroid era.

He was “The Natural” long before it meant anything more than a man whose skills seemed derived from the heavens. From the day of his first MVP vote in 1990 to the day of his last in 2005, 16 of 32 MVP recipients eventually were linked to performance-enhancing drugs, Barry Bonds accounting for seven alone. Enough others – Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa, Ken Caminiti, Mo Vaughn and Juan Gonzalez – were rumored to have used, accused of using, or admitted to using, to have fouled those 16 seasons.

Was he? What about Ripken? Did Ripken's career not overlap enough with the steroid era? Pujols?

Get a New Training Staff

At least Carlos Beltran will have some company!

According to an AP Report:

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will start the season on the disabled list to get in better shape.

Reyes said the team told him Thursday he’ll be on the DL because he’s had so little practice in spring training. He returned to camp last week following a three-week absence because of thyroid issues.

“I want to be there on opening day, there’s no doubt, but we have to make the right decision,” Reyes said. “If I miss a couple games, it won’t be a big deal because I have to get ready for the season.”

This season both Reyes and All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran start the season on the DL. Last season the Mets used the disabled list 22 times for 19 players, including eight former All-Stars. One would think that an organization with a big-league payroll of over $90 million would have a better training staff to keep them healthy.

And, it's not as if injuries are a new thing to this organization. Does anybody remember the mid-90s? Pitchers Paul Wilson, Jason Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher were supposed to be the saviors of the Mets' rotation. What happened to all three? You guessed it ... injuries.

Baseball Fever

Well gang, baseball season is just two weeks away and I am excited.  The records are even and unless you are a fan of the Royals or Pirates, you are probably talking yourself into why your team can make an incredible run to the playoffs.  Even better, the realization that there are 161 more games to play after opening day has not sunk in and you are just stoked.  All you can think of is evenings at the ballpark, peanuts in the shell, ice cold beers, and dogs.

And then something strange happens around April 22nd.  You just stop caring.  For me, it is usually after a busy week of work when I don't have a chance to follow the box scores or keep track of my favorite players.  When I do look again, I realize that nothing has really changed.  Nothing. Then I start to get angry that players are paid $25 million per year to fail 2/3rds of the time. After getting over this anger and realizing that I am just jealous that I am not 27 years old with an 8 year $184 million contract (preferably in a state with no property taxes) I tend to give up on the game.

Now that doesn't mean that I stop pulling for the Mets or don't check out the scores when I can.  It just means that the enthusiasm is gone.  I don't really get up or down when my team wins or loses because I understand that baseball is about 10 game, not 10 minute stretches.

I think this apathy that the length of the baseball season can generate is a blessing and a curse for the game.  On one hand, it is nice that the baseball season (and games themselves) are so long.  I can go away for vacation and not feel like I have missed much.  When I am at a game I can leave to go get a beer and I am okay with that because going to the game is about the experience of the ballpark and sitting outside, not the action.  On the other hand, because of the slow pace of the season and games, it is so easy to lose interest.  Do I really need to watch a player take 35 seconds between pitches?  Seriously, Nomar's routine was hilarious after the first pitch, but a 10 pitch at-bat could take forever ( David Wright is a distant second).  That, J.B. Sports Chat readers, is way to long.

But hey, it's only 2 weeks until baseball and my excitement level is still super high!  My Mets are definitely going to win the Pennant...right....????