Color me surprised

Just like, right now, Ryan Braun was exonerated of his doping allegations. Part of me never imagined he would be suspended, but then another part of me never imagined a way for anyone to prove that they weren't actually on steroids. 

Braun apparently found a glitch in the testing system was able to convince arbiter Shyam Das of his innocence. Rather than take the high road, MLB has stated that they are quite upset with the way things worked out, and that they essentially feel very strongly about their case. 

Of course, the problem for baseball is that the test results got out before the appeal was complete, which is the only way that this turned into an embarrassment. If you hadn't known that Braun had tested positive initially, you wouldn't have known that MLB lost their appeal. Rather than ensuring that the test is foolproof, I suspect that MLB will instead seek to shore up their front office to make sure leaks don't happen again.

Pitchers and Catchers report today

Baseball.

Two fun baseball related notes

First, as I'm sure most readers here are aware, the 2012 MLB schedule is out. As you may have heard, I am a rather vociferous Twins fan, and I like to go to the Twins game played on or near my birthday. Next season starts a day after my birthday, so I will be going to the season opener.... in Baltimore. Preliminary plans are underway.

Second, I was looking for a different post, and I came across my MLB preview. Check, check it out. Groovy. Now take a look at the standings. If the season ended tonight (it does not), I am 7/8 on postseason teams, missing only the Giants. And really, sorry for picking the defending champs to make the post season again. If my powers of clairvoyance hold, that means the Tigers and Phillies will be playing for the World Series title.

Why are baseball players so superstitious?

Wade Boggs was one of the best hitting players in the game. He hit for a career average of .328 and is widely regarded as one of the top third baseman ever. His departure from Boston to the Yankees is still a sore spot in the history of those two teams. This doesn't happen with less important players. Wade Boggs was a talented, important player.
Wade Boggs ate chicken before every game. He had his standard routine that mandated that chicken dinner before he stepped on the field. One of the best players to don a uniform still was superstitious to the point he had to follow his routine. He wasn't and isn't the only one.
In football, basketball, hockey and soccer, a sheer force of effort, strength and will can get you to the promised land. In baseball, there is only so much you can control. A ball getting hurtled at 90mph in which you are striking with a bat only a few inches across? It's really hard to dictate exact trajectories or directions at this point, for either the pitcher or the batter. The pitcher may induce a ground ball (favorable for the pitcher) and have it roll just a couple feat right of the second baseman (favorable for the batter) Or, if a fraction of a second is off on the bat speed, it might go right at the second baseman. You can't tell me that there is anything the hitter or pitcher can do.
Well, there is a little bit. The pitcher could keep the ball down, and the likelihood of that ball being hit on the ground is controllable. Baseball statistics have come a long way lately to explain how much of the game is luck. Strikeouts, walks, homeruns, those are all results that are completely controlled by the pitcher or batter. Every other element of the game, even though the statistics are still attributed to them, have at least some element of luck.
Sure, hitting more line drives helps, (as it did Boggs and does Joe Mauer) but look at Boggs 1992 season. He had a career batting average for balls in play of .344. In 1992, it was .261. What changed, but luck? Hard to say, since I was 9 and don't remember. As a result, his batting average was down about .70 points from the season before, and .60 from the season following.
When so much of the game depends on luck. Why not be at least a little superstitious.

A lesson in Barry Bonds

As I mentioned in the Links, Barry Bonds is in a lot of trouble. He was found guilty of obstruction of justice in his perjury trial. I'm not here to express my opinions on Bonds or steroids, or whether or not he was given a raw deal or didn't get a severe enough punishment. What I want to address is a question I have heard from a few different people. Why is congress involved anyways?
If you are of the perspective that this is a silly game, baseball, and trying to ferret out cheaters seems like a waste of time, then absolutely, the congressional pursuit does seem errant. If you look at it as a billion dollar industry that has received a rare but influential federal antitrust exemption, which would likely entail some nominal congressional oversight at the very least, it is a different story.
This, of course, the stance that congress has to take, because that's exactly what Major League Baseball is. They are one of a few organizations that is allowed to operate as a monopoly (their allowances are even greater than those of the NFL or NHL), so their is no governance or self regulation caused by competing businesses. This means oversight eventually falls upon the federal government.
Congress has mostly stayed out of the affairs of the nation's sports leagues, however recently it has become quiet apparent that there is a culture of illicit drug use in this specially privileged billion dollar industry. Not only that, but many of the users and dealers are international players, from the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. This veers dangerously close to trafficking, perhaps close enough that our elected officials thought that it warranted further investigation.
So that is why congress is involved. IF the product that was produced was something other than entertainment, this would have been a non-story, but as it is because this is baseball. Congress and the judiciary has given special privileges to Major League Baseball, so they warrant the added oversight. It just so happens that there was something fishy going on, attributable in some part to Barry Bonds.

The Brief, but somehow too long MLB preview

It's that time of year again! The time where I put a precious little thought into an MLB season preview. I will go division by division, making my picks for winners and subsequently pick the post season. I will not come anywhere close to correct, and you can take THAT to the bank!

NL WEST
The Giants won this division last year, and eventually took that party to the World Series. The pulled in a bunch of castoffs who performed admirably. It's almost as if there is some sort of drug that the Giants have access too to make them better at baseball.... I think the Padres and Diamondbacks lack the overall talent to be competitive, while the Dodgers are in financial ruins. The only challenge the Giants get is from the Rockies, but the Giants should squeak out the division. WINNER: GIANTS

NL CENTRAL
What a mess this division is. I will say this... I don't think the Reds were a flash in the pan last year and will ultimately compete for the Central crown again this year. The Cardinals are going to be offensively strong, but they need depth in their rotation, and the Cubs, well, I think they will be better. The Astros and Pirates will be distant afterthoughts. Who is left, then, to compete with Cincinnati? Oh right. The Brewers. Still an offensive machine, their rotation will be better even without Zack Greinke. Remember, they added Shawn Marcum and still have Yovani Gallardo. WINNER: BREWERS

NL EAST
People are trying to tell us how the Phillies won't run away with this division. Well, they have a bottom of the rotation that would be competitive as a top of the rotation on many teams. Even without Jayson Werth and Chase Utley, they will score their runs. I think the NL Wild Card will come out of the east, probably the Braves, but I don't see them coming too terribly close to the Phillies, who will win about 96-97 games I think. The Marlins will be interesting, and the Nationals will be improved. Most fans would be happy with the Mets, I think, but they play in New York and everything will seem horrible. WINNER: PHILLIES

AL WEST
I don't want to keep picking the obvious choices, but I think in the AL West, you have to go with the Rangers. The Angels are without a dynamic threat in the middle of the order outside of Torii Hunter, and their rotation isn't really all that intimidating. The A's will likely finish second in the division thanks to young pitching that may or may not regress this season. I bet they will, but it won't matter much in a weak division. The Mariners will remain bad, and the Rangers will keep plugging away with a good offense and an uncharacteristically strong rotation. WINNER: RANGERS

AL CENTRAL
I don't want to spend too much time talking about the Twins, so instead I will tell you about the other teams. The White Sox really haven't lost anything in the past couple of years, and what they have they have replaced with quality players. This offseason it was Adam Dunn. The Tigers collapsed last year, no doubt, but this offseason they added Brad Penny and Victor Martinez. The Twins, frankly, were really lucky last season, not only with their successes but the failures of the Tigers and Sox. This is about those two. The Twins will be competitive like always, but won't make the post season. Nor will the Royals or Indians. The difference between the Royals and the Tribe is that the Royals have hope. WINNER: TIGERS

AL EAST
This is, of course, the most important and worthwhile division in baseball. The Red Sox offense got markedly better at the expense of the Rays. I think this is going to be a two horse race now, even though the Rays and perhaps the Jays will be above average. Whichever team doesn't win the AL East crown will win the Wild Card, and I have to side with the Yankees. The Red Sox weren't very good last year, mostly due to injuries, but it's hard for me to ignore. I will give this one to the Yankees. Also, the Orioles play in the AL East.WINNER: YANKEES

Divisional Series: Braves over Brewers, Phillies over Giants, Red Sox over Rangers, Tigers over Yankees
Championship Series: Phillies over the Braves, Tigers over the Red Sox
World Series: Phillies over the Tigers.

I am going with the theory that any time a team that isn't the Twins comes out of the AL Central, they actually succeed in the postseason. I'm hoping, of course, that I am wrong and the Twins pull off another great season.

Baseball starts freaking tomorrow!

Writing is hard

The best thing to check ESPN.com for are, no doubt, sports scores. It's the best compendium of raw sports information that there is, and despite all their faults, you can get scores for everything easily and in one place. I have to imagine that it is phenomenally difficult, on a daily basis, to write something new or interesting for a baseball game headline. I mean, how many ways can you say one team beat another team? I have been looking at that the past couple of days and I have to say: I'm impressed. Let's just look at yesterday's versions:

Stomp
Dispatch
Top
Shut down
"Indians run home streak vs Rays to 18"
Stymie
Ride past
Win
Beat
Lift past
Put over
Nip
"Edmonds fills in for injured Hart, spurs Brewers"
Win

Only one of those things was used specifically twice in 14 games. Am I wrong to be thoroughly impressed? I can't even think of 6 topics most weeks.

The thing I hate about baseball

The world is abuzz today with the blown call at the end of last night's Indians-Tigers game that would have given Armando Gallaraga the 21st perfect game in the history of baseball and the third this season. Instantly, Jim Joyce the first base umpire has become "criminal" and his "crass incompetence" has been decried as enough to get the man fired.
This is what I hate. Jim Joyce, Steve Bartman and many others, not actual participants in the game have a brief error in judgment that influences the outcome of a game, and they are instantly vilified. The worst part is that they weren't doing anything wrong, they just made a mistake, but are turned into pariahs by reactionary assholes. Bartman was reaching for a foul ball, as anyone would, Joyce was making what he thought was the correct call at first. It doesn't make either a bad person. They already feel horrible, but we have to keep piling on for no good reason.
Joyce has gone out of his way to express his apologies, to admit he was wrong (hard to do as an umpire) and even contacted Armando Galarraga (who if anything feels worse for Joyce than for himself, it seems), but we all want to brand him as a bad guy because he made a mistake.
Let's make a few things clear. Jim Joyce is a good ump. He is often branded as a player favorite, he has about 20 years of experience, has even gone to the World Series twice. He isn't confrontational, like a Joe West, isn't looking for attention. He was willing to make a tough call in an important situation, and whether you want to admit it or not, this was a close call.
But now, because of one call, he will be forever branded as a bad umpire, and that isn't right.

(Great job, Detroit, welcoming him back with cheers and not jeers.)
(Second parentheses, I would  like to not that the two links at the top were intended to demonstrate normally right minded people throwing stones because of baseball, and not intended to call the writers reactionary assholes)

Listening to the color guy

I was watching some MLB Network yesterday, and they cut away to the Reds-Cardinals game with the local St. Louis team doing the commentary. They were talking about the impact Mark McGwire had on Albert Pujols. They went so far as to say that Pujols would be mistaken if he let McGwire tell him how to do anything. The assertion was that Pujols already knew how to swing the bat. Valid point.
They continued by saying that the roal of coach in the majors is somewhat diminished because all the players essentially know how to play baseball. Great point. The coaches are there as an extra pair of eyes if something should go wrong. They can help look for glitches in a players swings, fielding techniques or pitching motions, but their job as teacher is pretty much nil. I couldn't agree more, and
What am I driving at? Well, this is what I've been saying the whole time. The coach (and especially manager!) doesn't really have a role in the overall functionality of a player. Having a talented team comes from their minor leagues and their front office (unless the player is very young and raw, such as many players on, say, the Nationals or Pirates who don't fully develop). The success of a manager depends on their in game strategy.
Sorry, it's late and I was repeating myself.

Opening Night Baseball, Joe Mauer and You

The Red Sox play the Yankees tonight on ESPN2, a game which isn't going to matter all that much to anyone further west than Scranton (although both teams do have strong national followings) and it isn't going to matter a whole lot in the standings (approx. 1/162nd of the entire season). But hey, baseball is back and to you, dear Minnesotan Blog Reader, that means Twins and that Mauer guy. I'm told he's pretty good.

Being a hockey guy myself, I always enjoy taking a moment to blog about something else when given the chance. I love hockey, but I'm not a one-trick pony either. Although the actual estimate would be more like 1 3/4 tricks -- 1 trick hockey, 1/4 football, 2/4 everything else.

So getting off of that tangent, Your Minnesota Twins are set to start play at that b-e-a-utiful Target Field that we've all heard so much about. And that's a lot, coming from someone who hasn't left the state of New York in a few months. I don't know if it's the fact that it's supposed to be so absurdly awesome or the idea of building an outdoor baseball field in, if you'll excuse me, Minnesota is so completely out-of-whack to all of us who don't live near the state but still choose to judge. Although something tells me the Twins may be playing the first week of the season on the road because the folks who make the schedule may have thought "early April in Minnesota = snow," which for the record, it apparently doesn't as it's supposed to be freaking 70 degress next weekend.

But aside from the weather and the stadium there are other good reasons to be excited. This Mauer person is going to be spending the duration of his career in a Twins uni and that the Twins are favored to win the division this year. Four of out of five MLB.com talking heads agree (including Gammons!) that the Twins are the favorites.

So while you're watching That Game Between Those Two Teams ESPN Never Stops Talking About (and get ready, they won't stop with that or Favre until November) be excited, Minnesota. Things are looking good for this season. It should be more interesting than this post was, anyway (I promise less parenthesis next time!). And we'll all be bored of both about halfway through.

Ryan's obnoxious annual baseball preview

I'm not going to dance around the subject, we have some serious baseball to talk. I will give my projected order of finish, then write an insightful paragraph about the division in question. Sound good? Great. Leave your thoughts in the comments. Unless you are Beth or Steve, then go ahead and write your own piece on the matter. Here we go.

NL EAST
Philadelphia Phillies
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Washington Nationals

The only two teams I am sure about in this division are the Phillies and Nationals. The Marlins, Braves and Mets are a hodgepodge of teams with gaping holes in their rosters. The Phillies have a couple more good years left until their core gets old and they need to retool, while the Marlins have a suspect bullpen, the Braves have a less than inspiring outfield (unless prospect Jason Heyward is as good as they hope, then it's somewhat more inspirational). The Mets have a few good players, but not enough, especially in their starting rotation. The Nationals will be good someday. It's just the law of averages.

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds

The Cubs always seem to be at their best when they are getting rid of of problems from the clubhouse, guys that were supposed to be a huge benefit to the team but end up being more trouble then they're worth. Milton Bradley is gone, and the division looks like it might be weaker than previous seasons, they could take it. The Cardinals always over achieve but don't have a lot of fear inducing talent. If any team goes on a run, it will be the Brewers, who should have a pretty amazing offense, if a worrisome rotation. After picking the Reds to break out for the past few seasons, I am done. They are a last place, go nowhere team. The Astros are not going to be good either. By default, the Pirates will finish 4th.

NL WEST
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres

The Rockies may have the most complete lineup in the league, and have a considerable home field advantage, used to playing in Denver. The Dodgers concern me because of their porous rotation, and Casey Blake is STILL overrated (thanks for taking him so the Twins didn't, by the way). Arizona and San Francisco have formidable rotations, but it will take some more offense to win the division. The Padres are simply terrible.

AL EAST
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays

The Yankees are just too good on offense. No matter how old their rotation is, their only weak spot in the order is left fielder Brett Gardner. I think they'll be all right. The Red Sox have bullpen holes and a couple of weak spots in the order, enough to keep them out of the top spot. The Rays, in this division anyways, are middling. And hey, they Orioles won't finish last! In many other divisions, they could win the title, I think. Watch out for Baltimore.

AL CENTRAL
Minnesota Twins
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians

Sure, the Twins have the best offensive team they have had in years, but consider this. They are losing the Metrodome, a decided home field advantage. Also, did you know that they are paying their starting rotation less than any team in the division? The White Sox, on the other hand, have an elite rotation and a pretty good lineup, but will be in a lot of trouble if they suffer any injuries. That's what it will come down to, how the Sox recover from inevitable injuries. The bottom of the division is unsightly. The Royals are the team of this group that could suprise, simply because they have been so bad, if they do anything it will be surprising.

AL WEST
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Seattle Mariners
Oakland A's
Texas Rangers

The Angels are the most stable of the teams in the division, and have the greatest history of recent success. They also do a good job of incorporating new young talent into their lineup, something that can't be understated. The Mariners did the right thing when they added talent, in that it wasn't old and they knew they were getting defense. As much as it is overrated skill, at least they know they won't have a hitter or pitcher blow up and fail. The Rangers have too much going on behind the scenes for me to think they can replicate their success of previous seasons.

Playoffs:
NL Cardinals over Phillies
Rockies over Cubs
Cardinals over Rockies. The Cubs fail again, only to watch the
AL: Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over Angels
Yankees over Red Sox, just like last year.

World Series:
Yankees over Cardinals

Awards:
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright
NL ROY: Jason Heyward

AL MVP: Derek Jeter
AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett
AL ROY: Brian Matusz

Don't act like we don't know what you're trying to pull

Don't for a second think that we don't know what you're up to Alberto Alburquerque. Yeah, your name is hilarious, and you play for the Tulsa Drillers, which is also amusing in it's own right, but you know what? I'm standing up for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
You spelled the city wrong, Alberto! It's Albuquerque, not Alburquerque! It's one thing to use a city's name for comedic purposes, but come on, at least take the time to get it right!

What? What's that? There is a place called Alburquerque? Oh. Well that place looks pretty cool, actually.

Holy crap, baseball season.

First, let me just say that Steve and I will not be doing a division by division preview this year like we have in previous seasons because that takes a long time and I'm not sure how much people actually read them. But mostly they are so long.
Second, the WBC finals are set! It's going to be Korea and Japan. So, you know, all that drama about the Netherlands, or following all those teams chock full of players we all know and love? Eh, not so much. But maybe they ARE pretty good at baseball over in East Asia.
Thirdly, you know it's baseball season when you have your first fantasy draft of the year. This year, I made sure to start drafting pitchers a little earlier. Jake Peavey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lackey. I made sure to get speed categories filled up decently in speed categories, so as to get those extra base hits and stolen bases. I think I'll be all right this year, but that usually means I'm in for a horrible failure. In the meantime, I have one question. Does anyone know anything about Pablo Sandoval? I drafted him, and he doesn't even have a picture.

Breaking the Bats and the Spirit

There are so many technological advances in the world. Baseball bats were being broken so often, parents couldn’t afford them for their kids, so aluminum bats were invented. Then the problem came: the ball hit off the bat so much harder and faster, kids were getting injured on line-drives (mostly the vulnerable pitchers).

People argued about what should be done. Obviously, parents wouldn’t be able to afford new bats when their children broke them. Wood bats can cost well over $100 each. And yet, the aluminum bats were putting their children at risk of serious injury.

With all the technology, I’ve always wondered why scientists hadn’t found a metal bat that wasn’t’ quite as responsive as the present ones—metal bats that more mimicked wood bats. It seemed like a good solution: safer for the children, but also not overwhelming for parents. The cheaper a sport is, the easier it is for parents to let their children play. (For example, hockey and football require safety equipment, some parents are forced to keep their children from playing.)

Someone, however, has approached the solution differently. Rather than coming up with a new metal bat, Ward Dill came up with a new way to make wood bats. The bats are made of wedges of wood, glued under pressure, and are guaranteed for a year. The bats act like wood bats because they are wood bats. And, they won’t shatter like many wooden bats, which are also a danger.

I strongly hope that non-professional players adopt these new bats—and whatever else scientists come up with to improve conditions for cost-effectiveness and safety for those playing. (Admittedly, these bats are still very expensive, but they are guaranteed for a year, and would be safer. Also, presumably, in time, these could become cheaper.)

I purposely said “non-professional”. I hope professional athletes continue with the traditional wooden bats. To me, it’s part of the game. How many times is the groan from the crowd when a guy weakly grounds—or flies—out because his bat broke? It’s frustrating, but so is the umpire calling a guy out on a stolen base when he was safe. Bats have always broken. Now, there’s debates about types of wood used and sizes of handles, and that should be researched. Bats should break on occasion. It’s the nature of the game, but if there is proof about the variables, then these should be addressed.

Then again, I don't take change well. I don't want instant replay, either.