Primobolin, boli…who gives a Shit? …I do

One image that will never get old for me is walking into gate 3 of Comiskey Park (Yeah, I still call it Comiskey), take the escalator up to the first level of seats, stop at the ticket checker to make sure I have a ticket for the 100 level, walk through the doorway, the smell of hotdogs, popcorn and nachos fill up my nose as I step onto the concourse. I walk forward about 25 feet and gaze out onto the field and there is never a better site in the world. That is the great thing about baseball. No matter how old you are, staring at that green grass sends chills up my spine.

Baseball is my sport. I pay more attention to the sport, specifically the White Sox than any grown man should. I have been surrounded by it my whole life. My dad has shared stories with me of Aaron, Mays, and his hero, Mickey Mantle.
“You wanted to see a baseball player? Mickey would be out partying the night before, come to the park the next day, hit 500 foot homeruns, diving catches in the outfield, all while he was hung over…” For awhile I had arguments with my dad, about players like AROD, Bonds etc… but now he comes back with…
“They have state of the art weight rooms, the best doctors, the best medicine, personal trainers, the parks are smaller, and they still feel like they need an edge with steroids…” I now have nothing to say back to him and just cross my fingers that Ken Griffey Jr. (chills watching the video) and Frank Thomas’ names never get mentioned in the same sentence as steroids. I have admired these two players for their accomplishments and pure excitement they have given me as a fan of baseball. I have emulated their batting stances, hung their posters, bought their autographs, and even at age 25 want to play CF because that’s where Junior played.

Now baseball has become a joke. Every homerun hit from 1998 – 2004 (if not a few years before, and after) will be questioned from any player, in any stadium, on whether it was legit or some All-Star looking for that big contract. I almost feel cheated at times, as I thought I was witnessing greatness happen before my very eyes. We were awe of Big Mac and Sammy Sosa in 1998. We watched an already great player in Barry Bonds, become greater. We saw Luis Gonzales hit 57 homeruns in 2001. Alex Rodriquez hit 57 in 2003. We couldn’t have said it any better than Elaine Benes said it in Seinfeld, “Fake, Fake,…Fake, Fake…”

We might never know the full truth about steroids. Who took them? When they took them? How they took them? We all know why they took them. To get better, to recover from an injury, to get paid, etc. As a fan of baseball, someone who appreciates the greats of the game, I just hope that baseball will clean its self up and we can move on and truly be grateful for America’s Past time.

Articles to come:
Spring training and Predictions
Bulls gearing up for 2010?
March Madness Baby!

There is more than just Football in America

Football is over, the NBA is approaching the All-Star break, NCAA is a month away from the madness, the NHL is well, I don’t know much about it to say anything, and baseball is just around the corner. One thing I hope to look forward to is Mike and Mike in the morning, which is my mind is turning into one of the worst radio show I have ever heard. Don’t get me wrong, they have great chemistry as a duo, have great guest (well it helps being ESPN Radio) and at times are funny. Since September, when the NFL regular season starts, their 4 hour show consists of nothing but that, the NFL. Greenie, Mike Greenburg, talks about his New York way to much, his nose job, and how he spotted Michael Irvin on the bench in the weight room one time. Mike Golic talks about an overrated Notre Dame program, how he never gets recognized for his NFL career, and how he eats more than the average person. (Great, Mike you are 6’5” and weigh over 225 lbs, you better eat a lot).

Hopefully now with the NFL season over, they will start talking about other the major sports that exist in the world. The NBA has three teams in the East competing for the #1 seed (Celtics, Magic, and Cavaliers). Phil Jackson has a complete team out west with Kobe Bryant leading the way and 8 other teams within 7 games of each other. The NCAA has some major parody, as you could make a case of the top 6 teams in the ESPN/USA Today Poll as potential National Title contenders. Spring training for baseball is 10 days away, as the economy has affected many teams, as many above average players are still looking for jobs. Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 (his last year with the Rangers, in which he hit 47 HRs and drove in 118 RBIs)… baseball has been tarnished to the point that the players of the past should feel great about the ERA they played in, and the numbers they produced. Guys like Barry Bonds, and now AROD maybe have the big fancy numbers, but it won’t matter when their careers are done. Everyone will still be talking about Ruth, Mays, Aaron, Mantle, etc, as the best players to ever play the game.

Quick Notes:

Chi Sox – Kenny Williams is standing pact. The rumor of signing Bobby Abreu and trading Jermaine Dye make sense for the Sox, but probably won’t happen. Jermaine is owed 11.5 million and if Abreu, Dunn etc are only going to receive contracts of 8-10 million, why trade away prospects and take on Dye’s salary when the other guys are cheaper.

Great Article – Steve Phillips, Jayson Stark, Buster Olney, and Rob Neyer decided to do battle it out of who can create the best MLB team by keeping the team salary under 40 million dollars. Any baseball fan should be interested to see the teams they created, and the great players out there that make well below the numbers they produce. Check out Battle of the Budgets.

Free Agency – Many good/great players still need homes. This economy is taking a big on MLB teams as players like Dunn, Abreu, Manny, Sheets, Griffey, Ray Durham, Garrett Anderson, and many other players search for a job with spring training starting in less than two weeks. Which brings me to a quick article that Buster Olney wrote how players better work harder than ever this year? A quick statement from that article…
“The economy has tanked, millions of people have lost jobs and 401K money and pension funds. There figures to be even less patience than usual for a player who fails to run out a ground ball, because whether you think it's fair or unfair, that player is going to be viewed through this prism: That SOB has a great job and is making great money and he can't even run hard to first base.”