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Swinging for the Fences
We are three weeks into the major league baseball season, so I'm going to step up to the plate and swing for the fences with some early-season observations:
Too many finely-tuned athletes are getting injured. These guys play under the finest playing conditions. Money is no object when it comes to grooming fields. They go through spring training, supposedly to get back in shape after a winter of sitting around. Each team has an expert trainer and assistant, all graduates of notable colleges around the country. Some teams have conditioning coaches, strength coordinators and aerobic instructors.
Yet, here we have players like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriquez pulling muscles with strange names. We have the National League's 2007 Most Valuable Player, Jimmy Rollins, not an ounce of fat on him, on the disabled list with an ankle injury. Alfonso Soriano, who looks like he'd have trouble lifting his suitcase, is on the disabled list with a calf strain. Razzle-dazzle pitcher Dontrelle Willis has a hyperextended right knee. Pedro Martinez is out with a hamstring strain. And the list goes on.
I'll tell you what. A week ago I think I pulled something in my back as I was hurrying down the hallway to the cafeteria. I finished the day, and I'm showing up for work tomorrow. I'll just walk a little slower when it's time for lunch.
Hey, Mickey Mantle could have spent his whole career on the disabled list. Instead, he taped up those swollen knees and hobbled out to center field and ran after fly balls even though his legs were killing him. Players in those days played because if they put up good enough numbers then they might get a raise and not have to work during the off-season. If the numbers were down or even the same, they were in line for a pay cut.
Ever hear of a player today getting a pay cut?
And, the mention of spring training reminds me that this custom might be archaic. Any player today worth his million dollars works out all winter to be ready for the next baseball season. All that money they make shouldn't be based on just working from March to October.
Back in the old days, players would spend the winter going to banquets giving speeches so that they could supplement their income. They'd do the old rubber-chicken circuit and gain ten or twenty pounds during the off-season. Not any more.
Maybe all we need for spring training is two weeks. That should be enough time to decide who's going to make the team. High school coaches make cuts after just a few practices, so professional baseball people ought to be able to size up their personnel in two weeks.
In closing, I'll mention one other idea that all the baseball announcers are shying away from. In an effort to keep the steroids issue in the past, I think maybe Commissioner Selig has cautioned the media about bringing this up. But I've noticed quite a decrease in the offensive output of some of baseball's biggest (take that word as you see fit) sluggers.
You can check for your favorite players, but Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees has five hits in fourteen games! He's hitting .116. David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is hitting .141 with 2 home runs in 71 at bats! Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies hit 105 home runs and drove in 285 runs over the last two seasons. This year he is hitting around .180 and, at his current pace, will drive in 72 runs in 2008.
Look at the guys who are leading the leagues. They are players who are in no way all bulked up with protein or other supplements. Chase Utley is hitting near .350, Chipper Jones and Rafael Furcal are batting over .400. The American League batting leaders are Luke Scott, Carlos Guillen and Chone Figgins. Maybe it's the era of the little guy!
Okay, I've taken my swings! Did I hit a home run or go down swinging?
Comments
foxy, its about time you started writing some more blogs. there was a while where i wasn't sure if you were ever going to write another one. But i told you in class that you needed to start writing some more so i have something to read when i got to Cv-Tec in the afternoon. see ya tomorrow!
(Foxy's note: Thanks for the comment, Kyle ... you are now an official Blogoteer! I haven't had as much time to write blogs now that I'm spending my days north of Plattsburgh!)
Posted by: Kyle LaFountain | April 22, 2008 12:42 PM
Knowing that you are such a huge baseball fan, I am surprised that you came to the conclusions that you did. The stats on the back of the baseball cards aren’t for 3 weeks in April. It’s a good thing you aren’t a betting man, because you will lose money if you think Messers Ortiz and Howard won’t be near the top in HRs/RBIs, etc midway thru the season. I’m disappointed that you linked them to Giambi, a known steroid user. Both men have always had large bodies, unlike Bonds. You have also only used BA as your measure of how well the players have done thus far. Only three of the six players you mentioned with high BA are under 6+ feet and 200+ pounds. Jones is 6’4” 220.
Not only big players have been included in the Mitchell Report. Brian Roberts (mentioned in an earlier response) and Chuck Knoblauch are two that have been implicated. I, too, enjoy seeing the small guy succeed, in a game where the average player’s size is 6’1/ 205lbs.
(Foxy's note: I was thinking that you might disagree with me on a few points, John. I couldn't sneak Chipper Jones by you. Maybe those baseball card stats from past years were inflated due to protein drinks and other substances other than good old Tang like the astronauts use! Time will tell the whole story, though, as, admittedly, this is based on just a few weeks observations. But people sure are talking about it!)
Posted by: John | April 21, 2008 9:36 PM
I think that the red sox are going all the way and david Ortiz always has a ruff start anyway but he'll pick it up!!! Trust Me!!!! And Manny Ramirez is their best hitter right now and they'll go far watch it!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Rockandrollsoothesmysoul | April 21, 2008 7:14 PM
I hear what you're saying about playing hurt Foxy... but you have to remember that Mickey Mantle also probably took five to seven years off of his career because of the way he abused his body, playing hurt included. 162 games is a lot in any sport. Baseball is an endurance sport unlike any other. In football, you only have 16 games to make a difference one way or another, so, every single one counts. In baseball, you can lose 10 games in a row, and as long as it's in April or May instead of September, no one would notice.
I agree with you about the steroids thing. I hope the "little guys" have big years! I've always looked at guys like Utley, John Roberts for Baltimore, David Eckstien for the Blue-Jays or even Derek Jeter for the Yanks as the prototypical type for baseball players. They're not big by professional-athlete standards...but they are just that, great athletes as well as great baseball players. They're much more fun to watch than guys like Frank Thomas, Jose Canseco or David Ortiz - guys that just get up to swing the bat three or four times a night and then sit down.
(Foxy's note: Thanks for the input, Tim! Good luck with Little League this year ... hope there's good weather on Opening Day.)
Posted by: Tim Dodd | April 21, 2008 3:21 PM
What bothers me is that most of the major league players cannot bunt the damn ball. I learned proper bunting technique in little league for crying out loud. Heck, even Bullet could bunt the ball. I tend to yell at the TV when I see these clowns screw up a simple bunt.
(Foxy's note: You're right on that one, Miney! We spent hours working on bunting on Nitzi's, my Little League team, coached by my Dad. And Coach Flynn at OLVA made sure we knew how to bunt properly.)
Posted by: Miney Rowlson | April 21, 2008 9:15 AM