Tagged: Manny Ramirez

A fresh round of Love/Hate….

Been a while since I’ve cleared the memory banks of stuff like this, so here goes….

  1. LOVE:  The new look Cardinals
  2. HATE:  The suddenly resurgent Cubbies (if Milton Bradley ever decides to live up to that contract, the Cards could be in trouble).
  3. LOVE:  The NL Central.  Things are shaking out a bit — the Reds are tanking, the Pirates are packing things in, but Houston, the Cubs and the Brewers are still in it.  August and September are going to be exciting.
  4. HATE:  Todd Wellemeyer in a game that matters.  Can we trade him?  (I doubt it)
  5. LOVE:  The trading deadline.  I have to say that the networks really do a decent job of building the tension as we’re heading down to the wire.
  6. HATE:  Foxsports.com’s baseball and deadline coverage.  Ken Rosenthal — the guy shouldn’t be on camera…..EVER.  He forces that fake smile whenever they throw it to him during a game, and I can’t decide if its comical or painful to watch.  I’ve also caught him on some outlets such as our local Comcast Sports station and the MLB network, and at times he looks like he’s suffering from narcolepsy and about to fall dead asleep.  Oh, and when was the last time that one of his “rumblings” came true?  Can’t think of one, can you?
  7. LOVE:  A Tampa Bay pitcher (Matt Garza) had the cojones to fess up that he was throwing at Mark Teixeira in retailiation for Joba throwing at Evan Longoria.
  8. HATE:  The DH, because any pitcher that is going to make a habit of throwing at a batter ought to have to face his own music — not let his teammates do it for him.
  9. LOVE:  Having Steve Stone on the White Sox broadcasts.  He is one of the best color guys in the game.  Plus, he has helped to tone down Hawk Harrelson’s “homerism” just a bit to where the games are watchable.
  10. HATE:  Ron Santo on the Cubs radio broadcasts.  He can be hilarious at times, but too often these days, he drifts off into ramblings that have nothing to do with baseball, let alone the game he is watching and SUPPOSED TO BE DESCRIBING TO US.  I do get a kick out of his reactions to plays, and admit that I can find it especially humorous when the Cubs are the one’s making the mistakes, but overall, he has to be the WORST announcer in baseball.  How Pat Hughes (an underappreciated broadcaster, in my opinion) keeps from tossing “Ronny” out of the booth during a game is a testament to his patience.
  11. HATE:  The way we are forced to continually suffer through the steroid “list” of 100 players that tested positive in ’03.  Disappointed, but hardly surprised, to have Big Papi out there.  I have always respected him as a player.
  12. I guess this is LOVE, but not sure:  I am sick of talk of championships being tainted, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that there is a part of me that doesn’t feel a bit of vindication to the more bitter section of Red Sox Nation that was squawking about the Yankees ’96-’03 teams being tainted by steroids and PED’s.  The truth is the whole era was tainted, so there is not a single championship from that period that is more or less tainted by PEDs.  Yankee hating is fine, but if you’re going to make stupid statements about one team’s title being tainted, then I’m loving the fact that your ’04 and ’07 teams will forever be viewed differently and have exposed you as a hypocrite.  So there!

Some random thoughts…

A few things that didn’t fit into the topic of my last point, but wanted to say anyway —

  • I’m getting sick of watching Ryan Braun admire his own handiwork.  I noticed last year that he was a little too demonstrative after hitting some home runs against the Cardinals.  At the time, I assumed my reaction was because it happened against the Cards, but I saw him doing the same thing against the Cubs this past weekend.  Someone is going to put one in his ear hole if he doesn’t watch it, and while I’d never wish injury or even a head shot on anyone, I would probably enjoy watching him get a fastball in the ribs.
  • As much as I want to say I’m not surprised by any player that gets caught using PEDs anymore, I was completely shocked to find out about Manny Ramirez.  I just can’t believe that a player would try to beat the system in such an obvious fashion now that we’re a few years into testing.  Not smart at all.
  • I still think Ramirez comes back and leads the Dodgers into the playoffs, and I think Dodgers fans ultimately forgive him.
  • I’d prefer it be the Cardinals, obviously, but I think the Reds are going to win the division.  I think the Cubs will fade and finish third.  I’d like to think that puts the Cards in second place and gives them a solid shot at the Wild Card slot, but Milwaukee scares me.  Their pitching will kill them, but they might have the offense to overcome that — especially if Mat Gamel comes up and hits like he has in the minors.
  • Their bullpen will be the death of them, but I actually like the Washington Nationals.  Adam Dunn has really helped their offense, and I’m rooting for Ryan Zimmerman to carry his strong start into a solid season.
  • Speaking of Zimmerman, I was sad to see his hitting streak end.  Obviously, Bruce Bochy employed the correct strategy by walking him after the wild pitch in the 7th inning of yesterday’s game, but I was impressed by the Giants fans who booed the decision. 

How does it feel Red Sox Nation?

I’d be lying if I said that today — as a Yankees fan — I take a certain amount of joy in all the “This is my worst nightmare!!!” and “This doesn’t tarnish ’04 and ’07” you hear coming out of Red Sox Nation.  The world hates the Yankees, but Red Sox fans had to take joy in the fact that the recent Yankee dynasty was tainted by so many suspected and/or confirmed PED users.  Now, one of the key components from the Red Sox two championship teams is found to be a user, so doesn’t that have to put the same taint on that franchise?

Honestly, my bitterness towards the Red Sox is what it is, but now that I’ve had my fun and stuck in their faces a little bit.  Truthfully, most of my bitterness stems from the fact that the Sox are what the Yankees once were — a great team that never quits, seeminly spends their money wisely and most importantly (for Sox fans) seems to have gained a huge upper hand in the head to head matchup (the part I’m most bitter about).

Look — none of the titles won in the steroid era is all that tainted.  I agree with much of the concern over what this era has done to individual records, but to be naive enough to think the names we know are anywhere near the majority of players that juiced is crazy.  It’s probable that there were just as many guys using something on teams that lost the World Series as there are guys that were on the winning side.

As far as Manny?  Enough space has already been spent talking about steroids, their affect on the game and how we should feel in each instance where another user’s name comes to light.  I don’t feel a bit sorry for anything Manny has to endure from this point.  I would be strongly in favor of a stricter penalty being put in place from this point forward.  I’m not sure I’m quite down with the ‘zero tolerance’ policy, but I do think a stiffer penalty is warranted.  I’d also like to see teams have the right to exact some kind of financial pennance for a positive test.  The policy and testing has been around long enough now that any player dumb enough to get caught deserves what he gets.