Spring Cleaning

Baseball is a part of our past, Ray, and it
will be again

The similarities between baseball and the state of affairs in America is eerie.  Broken and battered both continue to try to get back on the track of prosperity, popularity and goodwill.    Baseball and America have always mirrored one another.  As things start to improve in our nation's economy, baseball begins a new season.  This all following an off-season where the Phillies have put together "The Great Wall of Philadelphia" with Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels,  the Red Sox crack the safe to sign Carl Crawford and trade for Adrian Gonzalez and the Cardinals find themselves pondering whether or not to break the bank to lock up, maybe, the greatest player whom ever graced a diamond. Oh by the way he is on the back end of his career.  

Heading into this season the competitive balance in baseball is better than it has been in a long time.  There are only about 7-8 teams that have zero chance of making the playoffs.  No other professional sport is as wide open as baseball.  Sure the Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies are going to make the post-season more often than not but Brewers, Rockies and A's fans shouldn't be shocked if their teams are still breathing come October.  Just like every other sport and just like in life we have our fair share of misfits too.  Apologies to the following fan bases because you aren't going anywhere:  Pirates, D-Backs, Mariners, Astros & Orioles.  If you are a fan of any of those teams keep an eye on Double A and Triple A stats because next season is here already. 

The best way to decribe baseball's 4
day opening weekend

Baseball has had its fair share of problems adapting to the 21st century.  The ability to evolve is the only way to survive in life no matter what it is that you do.   Baseball has shown the beginning stages of its evolution.  The Opening 4 Day Weekend is the first step.  College Football, The NBA and The NFL all don't start the the season on the exact same day.  Baseball is going to capitalize with a few games every day over the course of 4 days.  To quote our good friends at Guinness it's "Brilliant".

Umpire Huddles=Baseball Tradition

Now what's the next step in the evolutionary process?  That's easy.  Can we please have instant replay on homeruns and bang bang plays on the bases before the next Presidential election.  You can stick a dude with a monitor in the press box.  If a play is too close on the field, he can buzz the home plate umpire while he reviews it.  You are talking maybe, at most, 3-4 plays a game.  If each one of those reviews takes 2 minutes you have added 8 minutes to a game.  Managers arguing and umpire huddles eat up that much time anyway.  The one exception would be balls and strikes.  Just like penalties aren't reviewable in football the strikezone would be exempt for baseball.   PROBLEM SOLVED! Due Date: By 2012

The only double switch you should
ever see.  OK maybe not.

I would love to see both leagues go to the DH in the next few years.  Here is where tradition clouds the better judgement of baseball purists.  They say that pitchers hitting add to the strategy of managers.  How?  Every 4 days or so Tony Larussa pulls off a double switch with a utility infielder?  Wow, how compelling.  Sports are at their best when someone who is the best at what they do goes up against someone who is the best at what they do.  Watching pitchers get blown away by 95 mph fastballs isn't entertaining.  Could you imagine in the NFL if the AFC made one player play on both sides of the ball all game.  That's what the national league does with pitchers.  It's not worth having them hit because they succeed at it twice a week.  DH in both leagues please.  Due Date:  By 2014 

The biggest complaint people have about baseball I hear is the length of the season.  One quick note, baseball plays 162 game regular seasons.  That is the exact same amount of games that they played in 1961.  50 YEARS AGO! The season isn't any longer than is was five decades ago.  The problem isn't the season is too long.  The problem is we don't have 7 months to give to anything on a day in day out basis.  Even our jobs give us 2 off days a week.   Baseball isn't going to get rid of games.  If you cut 8 games from the schedule you are only saving a week, at the max, and going to cost owners millions of dollars in revenue and sales.  This is the biggest task so I saved it for last.  Baseball needs to bring back double headers.   Every other weekend play a split day-night double header on Saturdays.  Owners can keep their 162 games and money and you can save some time.  Double headers, just every other weekend, will shave two weeks off the regular season calendar.  Your playoffs start in September and the World Series would start around October 10th.  Everyone wins!  Due Date: By 2015

These are all fantastic and sensible ideas.  But we are talking about Major League Baseball.   That's why they will never get done. 

Marching Forward

Here we go!  We are set to embark on what I consider the best 4 week stretch in sports.  The NCAA Tournament followed by the start of the Major League Baseball Season with The Masters as the cherry on top.  I do have to say that 99% percent of the time I am in full support of changing things in sports for the better.  From instant replay to more bowl games to the cracking down on helmet to helmet hits, change is usually not only for the best, it is necessary for the improvement and growth of a sport. 

This year the NCAA Tournament expanded to 68 teams.   It hasn't gone over well and its hasn't made the tournament better.  The addition of 3 more teams to the NCAA tournament is only going to work if they consist of only small conference teams playing for the 16 seeds.  If all 4 play in games were for the 16 seeds then this may fly.  If they feed major conference schools into 11 and 12 seeds it just won't work.  If the mid major schools get upset that they are constantly being ushered into play in games then they are just going to have to get over it.  The still have a shot to win a National Title.   For everyone that loves upsets it will help you out as well.  15 seeds will now be play in teams.  14's will become 15's and so on and so on.  Better teams will be lower seeds which means better games.  




Alright smart guy...who did Valpo beat to go the Sweet 16?



The NCAA tournament works because it gives everybody everything they want.  The little guy gets to play the big guy.  And this gets everyone all warm and fuzzy inside because everyone remembers major upsets.  We remember Bryce's Drew's shot against Ole Miss.  We loved when Hampton stunned Iowa St.   But we rarely remember who ends Cinderella's trip to the ball.  Who beat Valpo in 1998?  You remember the #15 seeds that have shocked the world and who they beat.  Santa Clara over Zona,  Coppin St. over South Carolina and Richmond over Syracuse just to name a few.  But quickly tell me who beat those teams in the 2nd round?  You can't do it unless you are a fan other either team.  As sports fans we love games and stars but what we love more than anything else are moments. The start of the NCAA tournament gives us 48 games in 4 days. You are bound to get a moment or two each and every year. 

The exception....not the rule

The first weekend belongs to the small guys and after that the grown ups take over.  The Dukes, UNCs, Kansases are expected to win the first weekend.  The upsets steal the show.  They serve as the appetizer for the next two weekend's main course.  Everybody plays and everybody wins.  The big misnomer is that there are a ton of upsets in the tournament.  We just remember them more.  You don't remember the #3 seeds that beat the #14 seeds.  It happens over 90% of the time.  On any given year of the 32 first round games 6 or 7 will be upsets.   That means that the favorite wins almost 80% of the time.   Does that sound like a ton of upsets? 

Now don't get me wrong I enjoy the occasional shocker every now and then.  It makes for a great story and memory.  But when we get right down to it I'd rather watch Duke, Ohio St., Kansas and Pitt in the Final Four.   Sports are at their best when the best teams and athletes play one another. Ali-Frazier, Cowboys-Steelers, Alabama-Texas,  and so on. 

So as you fill out your bracket (singular).... If you fill out more than one these to cover your bases you are a wuss.  No where else in life do you get two chances at the same time.  Could you imagine a hitter telling an umpire.."I meant to swing let's do that one over?" So some advice for you as you fill this thing out. If you want to win pick the better seeds.  If you want to have bragging rights for eternity...go out on a limb and pick at least a one #15 seed to win.  If not go ahead and pick a #16 to beat a #1.  You will more than likely be wrong.  But you will be the talk of your circle of friends.  And if you are right!  Welcome to sports immortality! If you are wrong you will be made of fun of.  As well you should.  But one day it will happen and when it does you'll wish you took my advice. 

"Duh"ble Standard



Let's face it the biggest story in this great nation of ours over the past seven days is not the Oscars, it's not the Libyan conflict's effect on crude oil prices, it's not even the teacher's union uprising in Wisconsin.  The story that everyone loves and can't keep taling about is "The Charlie Sheen Show"! 



Life imitating art?

Now I will be the first to admit that I am enjoying every single second of this.  I mean this is Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn for crying out load!  Charlie Sheen was pretty much sober and normal from the late 90's to Spin City to Scary Movie 3 to Two and Half Men to now.  That's a 10 plus year stretch run.   But now we have descended into chaos, or at least perceived chaos.  Word comes out today that Sheen has passed his fourth drug test in the last week.  Now I know that these things are never 100% accurate, but what are the odds that four of these tests could all be wrong?  I'll answer that, zero. 

 I look at how everyone perceives Sheen and how they discuss him.  You hear words and phrases like crazy, insane, cracked out, wasted and messed up.  But I can't help but think about the double standard that is in place here.   Could you imagine if a professional athlete, especially an NBA athlete (for whatever reason they are vilified more than any other athlete without cause or reason), were to behave and act like this?  People would be outraged.   The go to line is: What about the children who watch this?  It's truly fascinating to me that there was more outrage in Lebron James going on TV, as a free agent, and leaving a city to go to team where he would make less money so he could win.  I have yet to hear one person wonder how Charlie Sheen's behavior effects the children who watch "Two and a Half Men" or for that matter what impact his attitude and behavior have on 17 year old co-star Angus Jones (Jake)?  Why the double standard?



It's a spring fasion must!

There is no answer to that question.  There are attempted explanations but no answers.   When I have asked that question to people the last few days people give a wide array of answers such as,  it's different Sheen is an actor or kids don't want to be Sheen they want to be Lebron.   My retort consists of, let me get this right it is OK to do behave erratically if your an actor and it all depends on who your kid wants to be?  I have news for you, your kid has better shot at becoming a sitcom star (there a dozens of them) then one of the preeminent power forwards in the history of the NBA.   Actually I take back that there is an answer to the why the double standard question.   The correct answer is, I don't know I must be a hypocrite. 


The truth is we pick and choose what gets us upset and offended.  That's human nature.  What I have always tried to do is expand my mind and look at things from different perspectives.  There are a few things that I consider to be a label of death when it comes to being a decent person.  Here are few:  bigot, racist, cheap, lazy, hypocrite and average.   In 2011 if you are any of these things you should be ashamed.   But there are a few things that I know to be true.  Charlie Sheen's behavior is much more serious, scary and dangerous than an athlete dancing in the end zone, wearing gold teeth, wearing bling, or having tattoos and dread locks.



The Greatest Show on Earth



As we continue to evolve as sports fans and fans of entertainment I only hope we can do the following, and I can't believe I am about to say this.  I hope we treat our athletes with the same respect and carefree attitude that we treat Charlie Sheen.