1) Manny and Big Papi - With the NY Times article coming out today saying those two are on the same list as ARod was from 03, does anyone doubt that most of the main guys from that era were using some sort of steroid? I've no doubt the reports are true.... It keeps looking more and more that Canseco was correct in his viewpoint of how many players were using steroids back then. Whats going to happen when these guys retire (like McGwire) and start becoming eligible for the Hall of Fame? Do you start admitting them but with some sort of asterik or do you just exclude them all together?
2) Red Sox - While we're talking about current or in Manny's case, former Red Sox, I wanted to talk about them. They're scaring me...... I think their season is right now. They've come out of the break and have played absolutely awful. Not sure the reason for the slump and I'm not sure what's going to shake them out of it, but if things don't change soon, their season is over. Reports are they're looking at adding Victor Martinez or Adrian Gonzalez, so the hitting is the issue, not pitching. Bay, Youk and Pedroia have been struggling lately and we all know how poor a season Ortiz has been having. Lowell has been injured and it's hard for Varitek to catch with a fork sticking out of his back...... I do feel they need to add some pieces, so I'm hoping for a big trade from them. If it means trading Bucholtz, that's ok with me.
3) Pirates - It would be really hard to be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I understand the whole small market, can't pay the big superstar salary thing, but they're so bad, they're unloading good, decent players not making much, that you need if you hope to build a competitive team (see Marlins as an example). They traded Jack Wilson, Ian Snell and Freddy Sanchez yesterday, basically telling their fan base "our season's over this year and you can forget about next year also".... Who wants to go out to the ballpark in Pittsburgh with that team. Not only will they suck, but they've got no one of interest right now on the roster to get excited about. I like their 1st round pick last year (Yonder Alonso) and he'll probably get a shot at making the team next year, but he's not going to put anyone in the stadium if they're losing 100+ games..... They didn't really get back any "marquee" names in the trades, so there's nothing to be excited about there (update - they did get Alderson from the Giants and he has "stud" potential)... Maybe I'm missing something, so if you're a Pirates fan, please tell me why go watch a game there? I know Mark Cuban was interested in buying the team a few years back but current ownership wasn't looking to sell, but if you're a Pirates fan, wouldn't you want someone of interest (and competitiveness) like Cuban owning your team as opposed to what you have right now? I certainly would.
4) I miss The Boss running the Yankees. There, I said it.
5) Angels - As much as I'm down on the Red Sox right now, I'm excited for the Angels. They're finally healthy (as much as can be expected) and playing great right now. Yes, I know, Fuentes has sucked lately, but he's still leading Major League Baseball in saves and I'm confident he'll get the job done. They're not perfect and will probably get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs again, but they'll get there and have a shot.... That's all I can ask.
6) Marlins - As small a market club they are (lowest payroll in baseball this year at about $37 million) they know how to be competitive..... They're only 2.5 games out of the wild card in the NL, so here's the trade deadline and they're out looking to add a closer (reports have them interested in Heath Bell from the Padres) in order to shore up their bullpen. If I lived in South Florida, I'd definitely be a fan. They're competitive and have some great young players (Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson). They may not make the playoffs, but at least they'd be fun to go watch some of their games. Are you listening Pittsburgh?????????
Bill
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