Why the Boston Red Sox prove baseball needs an overhaul

Allow me to preface my comments with a few notes before I begin.
I never hated the Boston Red Sox (or New York lite as they have become).

I usually pulled for them as a quid pro quo with my brother,once the Indians were eliminated and enjoyed doing so.
Another good friend of mine along with my nephew are Red Sox fans and this article will not deal with the general obnoxiousness (sp?) of the average Red Sox rooter.

What it will deal with is this-The Boston Red Sox are just as much to blame as the New York Yankees for the current state of baseball.
Now,I know that the Red Sox just traded for the fabulous Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego and gave away three excellent prospects (and another to be added after the Rule 5 draft on Thursday) to get him.
I know these three players are solid as I have seen all three play and I am sure the other player will be solid as well.
I will even concede that at least Boston had to trade some players of value for Gonzalez and San Diego was able to get a return for Gonzalez instead of the Sox writing a check next winter and the Friars receiving nothing in return other than two low first round draft picks.

That all duly noted,why should they have had to?
Adrian Gonzalez is from San Diego,a hometown player!
Gonzalez is popular locally and with his Mexican heritage adds to the interest in the Padres from Mexico,which is a huge bonus with the proximity to the San Diego market.
Why shouldn't Gonzalez spend the remainder of his career with the Brown and Yellow?
Well,they cannot afford him and signing him would likely send the team into circus mode as signing him cripples the teams ability to place parts around him to contend -"Come see the fabulous Adrian Gonzalez hammer the ball at Petco even though your Padres are going 72-90!".
And even signing him isn't a guarantee under those conditions.
Look at Zach Greinke,who signed a long term deal with the Royals,who now are buckling under the weight even though his contract is fairly reasonable with a pitcher of his caliber along with Greinke wanting to play for a winner and will possibly be traded this winter.
It really is a zero win situation for the Padres of the world.
Joe Mauer signed a long term deal in his home city,but the Twins manage to stay in contention for the most part with juggling parts along with being in a division with some other smaller cities (Cleveland,Kansas City),if the Twins ever slack off slightly for a year or two,Mauer could join the group of wanting to play for a winner.
 San Diego had no choice in the matter.Move him now and hopefully add four cheaper pieces to the eventual puzzle or wait and get next to nothing.

Boston isn't cheating at all.Theo Epstein is brilliant and I think the world of his skills,they are playing the game,however it is an unfair game.
Imagine playing poker and as soon as you draw a good hand,you have to cash in a key card for three unknown cards-that is the state of baseball today.
New York and Boston also reap a quiet benefit of players in the draft as players fall beyond their skills because of contract demands.
Those teams scoop them up because they can afford them and then use them for trading chips down the road in a vicious cycle that never stops.
Believe me-this doesn't stop until New York and Boston realize that a league is only as strong as its perception and as fans continue to tune out this great game because their team has little to no chance to compete and watch their favorites move to those cities,the game will continue to weaken.

Now if your idea of fun and (this is fun for ESPN) and you want to watch all Yankee-Red Sox all the time then lets allow them to do just that.
Granted,in its own way,the rest would be technically minor league baseball,but at least the playing field would be level while those players played for Seattle until the "Big two" snatched them up.

Want to be sickened more?
As the Gonzalez deal was announced,most articles then talked about the Red Sox inevitable signing of either Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth to add to their All-Star team as the Yankees close in on Cliff Lee (I don't buy him staying in Texas for a minute,although it would be great if it happened).
That is what fans are dealing with and I know these teams don't win every year,but they are able to do things that others cannot.
Oh,No,Boston only won 89 games and missed the playoffs once-lets plunder the Padres and throw money at a big name outfielder and I don't want to hear about losing Adrian Beltre either.He was a rental and if Boston wanted to keep him,they would have found a way.
I personally think letting him walk was smart as Beltre's history is big contract years and lesser numbers otherwise,but you would not be able to convince me if they truly wanted him,the dollars are there.

The Yankees aren't innocents either with their 51 million for three years of the declining and overrated Derek Jeter.
Anyone think that Baltimore,Pittsburgh,Tampa or Houston could afford 17 million for that production?
When it is all said and done,Boston will have Gonzalez and either Crawford or Werth,New York will have the other outfielder and an elite arm from somewhere even if not Cliff Lee.

My Red Sox friends always justify their reckless and unfair spending with a variation of this "We have to-New York makes us do it to compete".
Fair enough,but you made my argument-Boston has to in order to compete,but they can afford it,too many others cannot.
The system is broken and needs to be fixed.
Baseball will always have good and bad teams,nature of the beast,but it shouldn't come down to who has the most money-it should come to who evaluates talent the best and the organization that manages the total picture in the top manner.
Look at the NFL,every team has an equal chance-can any of you honestly say that the Steelers,Packers,Colts and Ravens would be near the top every season under baseball's guidelines?
Nope,but they can with the cap and by being among the smarter organizations,they can thrive for a long period of time.
Can you say the Pirates,Brewers and Orioles could do that in baseball?
No way.

I understand why the players don't want a cap,but why not the owners?
Level playing fields mean more chances to contend and contention means money usually and if it doesn't than that market might not deserve a big league team.

You want the game repaired?
The beginning is a hard cap.
Pick your numbers,whatever they are with a ceiling that you cannot exceed and a floor that you must meet.
Add a slotted system for the amateur draft like the NBA (gag) uses.
No more of this, I need five million more to play in Houston because I would rather play in New York.
No system is perfect and other items can be added and tweaked,but it is a start to straightening out a mess that everyone can see other than baseball itself...

Talkin' Pirates

With some extra time and the winter meetings starting Monday and all that entails,lets talk some Bucco baseball and catch up a bit on news and opinion.

The first topic is something that I forgot to post (My error) was that Zach Duke was shipped to Arizona for a player to be named later.
Duke was non tendered a contract and the Pirates didn't want to chance arbitration,where he would likely receive more money than they wanted to be paying for his recent performances.
Pittsburgh will eventually pick up a player from the Diamondbacks,but no word on who that will be yet.
Duke always tried hard and I liked him,but he never seemed to recover from Jim Colborn's tinkering with his mechanics and was not the same pitcher after that.
Duke's stuff might play better on a good team than a bad one as those teams tend to occasionally catch the ball.
I doubt that Arizona is that team,but maybe a change of scenery will help-it did wonders for Jose Bautista apparently!

The Pirates also didn't offer deals to either Delwyn Young or Andy LaRoche at the same time as Duke.Both players cleared waivers and elected to become free agents.
LaRoche was more of a disappointment as a Pirate than Young,but neither are huge losses to the organization.

More players that were allowed to test the market and one was somewhat of a surprise.
Lastings Milledge was non-tendered and that surprises me.
Not that Milledge had been tremendous as a Pirate,but not terrible and the price didn't seem extravagant (likely between 1-1.5 million per year),although the team did say that they were open to a possible re-signing.
Brian Burres and Donald Veal were non-tendered as well,but both are expected to re-sign for a lower contract,while Argenis Diaz will be signing elsewhere.
Pedro Ciriaco appeared to pass Diaz on the Pirates slick glove,no bat depth chart last season..

The Pirates signed three minor league free agents,none of which appear to make an impact.
Andy Marte signs from the Indians and on some teams,Marte might have a shot to make the team with his ability to play first and third,but the Pirates have several players to fill that role.
Marte is likely to be at one of those spots for Indianapolis.
Veteran catcher Dusty Brown was signed to basically fill the AAA veteran mitt role that was held by Erik Kratz last season.
Former Astro and Met Fernando Nieve has been brought in to challenge for a bullpen position.Nieve had an interesting 2009 cameo with the Gothamites,but was god awful last season.

The Pirates avoided arbitration with Jeff Karstens and Ronny Cedeno with agreements.
Karstens signed a one year deal for 1.1 million,while Cedeno will make two million next season and the club holds an option for 2012.
I don't really have tons of issues here,although I am surprised that Jeff Karstens is worth a million,but Lastings Milledge isn't,but such are such things.

Cedeno is still the teams starter at shortstop,although the Pirates are reported to be interested in trading for a replacement that upgrades the everyday lineup and moves Cedeno to a utility role.
The two players most mentioned are Minnesota's J.J. Hardy and Tampa's Jason Bartlett.
Of the pair,I would prefer the younger and better hitting Hardy,who was a Pirate target last season when the Brewers traded him to Minnesota.
Hardy is likely to move somewhere as the Twins have won the rights to negotiate with Tsuyoshi Nishioka and I cannot imagine them not working out a deal.

Pittsburgh has the first pick in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday and with just 36 players on the 40 man roster,the Pirates could choose two players if they wish.
The Post-Gazette has Tampa pitcher Aneury Rodriguez as a possible selection for the Bucs.

Looking at the list,there are some interesting names to choose from.
The Orioles pitcher Pedro Beato might be worth a flyer ,Wynn Pelzer is a nice bullpen arm and I like third baseman Brandon Waring some,although he isn't a good fit in Pittsburgh.Former first round hurler Joe Savery is available from the Phillies as is once highly touted Edgar Garcia.Savery struggled at AAA last season,but Garcia is young enough (23) to still have a shot.
Two of our favorites are available,although unlikely to be chosen in Washington's Erik Arnesen and Cory Van Allen,while Florida left two first rounders from the past unprotected in Brett Sinkbeil and Jeff Allison,although age is a question with both.
The Indians left three interesting players open with Matt McBride,who can catch,play first and left field along with utility infielder Josh Rodriguez and former top pick Beau Mills,who Dave Littlefield almost took in the first round in Mills draft year.
Milwaukee has three favorites of ours in their group in pitchers,Alex Periard,Mike Ramlow and Marco Estrada.
Periard has the most upside of the three,but Estrada could help someone in a long relief role right away.
Houston outfielder Collin Delome struggled with average at AAA,but smacked 17 homers and the Cardinals Daryl Jones is a toolsy outfielder with potential.

These aren't always the most likely players to be selected,just some names of interest....

I have more planned posts soon with the Browns in Miami,vacation talk and a word on why Boston can be blamed just as much as New York for the current state of baseball...

Devils lose in Philly 5-3

The New Jersey Devils came into Philadelphia off a reportedly (I didn't see it,thank goodness) awful 5-1 loss in Montreal with supposed vengeance after John MacLean forced the team to watch the entire video of their loss to the Canadiens.
The effort was reasonable.The result was was not as the Flyers nabbed a 5-3 win over the Devils.
Devils goals to Ilya Kovalchuk (5 Power Play),Patrik Elias (4 Power Play) and Travis Zajac (3).
New Jersey travels to Pittsburgh on Monday for a visit against the sizzling Penguins....

Hell Raisers

1) One positive on the afternoon was the suddenly electric power play with two goals.
The Elias goal might have been a case of the Flyers playing out the string with a two goal lead,but that was encouraging anyway.

2) The Kovalchuk goal was exactly the type of play that you would like to see more of.
Obviously a goal,but how it happened-a one timer that showed the shot that Kovalchuk possesses.
At times,it appears that Kovalchuk is trying to change his reputation of not trusting his teammates and passes up shots.
I admire his efforts,but that isn't his strength and could be contributing to his struggles.

3) Jamie Langenbrunner picked up two assists on the day,but still seems to be less than hustling on the ice for a team captain.
Perhaps it is more that Langenbrunner has lost a half step and I am seeing that as less than top effort,but it does have the appearance of that.

4) Langenbrunner was cut badly on the lip with seconds remaining and no call for the high stick.
I don't think that the call would made a difference,but it would have given the Devils one last chance to tie the game and with a 6 on 4 advantage to boot.
Blown call.

5) Travis Zajac lost two faceoffs that led directly to Flyer goals,but he was well above 50% on the day on drops,so difficult to be too tough on him.

6) The Devils were caught napping on the first period goal that saw NO ONE pick up a diving James Van Reimsdyk scrapping to nudge the puck away from Johan Hedberg and muscle it into the net.
Someone should have been keeping the net clear for Hedberg and that was not happening.

Photo Credit-AP Photo

The Return fizzles

Now that I have returned from vacation and have to little to look forward to (other than trips to Washington and Hershey for hockey games),I can start catching up on things.
I still don't return to work until next Thursday (YES!),so the plan is to do some vacation talk and some catching up from hiatus along with some cleaning of the inbox.


Lets start with the vaunted return of LeBron James to Cleveland with his new team in the Miami Heat.
Disappointing on so many levels from the hype (overboard) to the national media (Disappointed that their anticipated mob scene didn't happen) but most of all the Cavaliers themselves.
I thought that the fans vented their opinions vocally,but refrained from throwing things onto floor etc without disrupting the game and I think that showed the passion that Cleveland sports fans have without creating incidents that would create blemishes on the city and its fans.
Now,that could have been because the NBA,the Cavaliers and Dan Gilbert and his employees were prepared and ready for any situation and headed any trouble off at the pass before it started,but in any event,nothing serious happened and as much as the eye of the national media (both in and out of sports) were on Cleveland and waiting for something to happen-nothing came of it.

The Cavalier players on the other hand showed zero zip and by chuckling with James complete with hugs and buddy like behavior showed a lack of respect to the fans.
I never expected a Cavalier win,but I did expect a full out effort,especially when you look at the words of Byron Scott and Dan Gilbert about the team effort along with the teams marketing campaign of the same.
I don't expect the players to feel the same way about LeBron James that the fans do,but couldn't some of the welcoming been done either behind the scenes or after the game?
Cleveland expected a fiery effort and instead had their team offer a tepid welcome home.
Dan Gilbert has an excellent coach in Byron Scott,the team should begin the process of rebuilding now and moving along anything of value to order to speed that process along.
Now that the first return visit is in the books,now the Cleveland Cavaliers can truly put LeBron James where he should be-an opponent that had some great seasons in Cleveland,a major part of the team record books and a person that deserves to be booed in every return to the "Q".

That Old Cub: Ron Santo Passes Away at Age 70,Guest Columnist

Just returned from vacation,so back to the blog tomorrow.
I hope some of you checked out the three columns that I had automatically added in my absence.

The passing of former Cub,Ron Santo brings us a guest columnist in Ryan with some thoughts on this former superstar.

Chicago Cubs Legend Ron Santo passed away Thursday evening at the age of 70.  
Santo is widely recognized one of the best Third Basemen of his era, and is considered by many to be among the best players not inducted into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.    A nine-time National League All-Star, Santo hit 342 career home runs- a lofty total for a player for who spent the majority of his career in the pitching-dominant 1960's.    Santo was also a defensive stalwart, winning five consecutive Gold Glove awards from 1964-1968.

Santo spent 14 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, and, along with Hall of Famers Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, and Ferguson Jenkins, was part of some of the best Cubs teams of the 20th century.
 That is really I can say for Mr. Santo as a player.   Of course I never had the pleasure of seeing him play, so my impressions are based on statistics and the occasional grainy video footage.
     
To me Ron Santo was an ambassador for the Chicago Cubs and the game of baseball.   He spent nearly twenty years on the Cubs radio broadcast team, and was always notable for his blatant but lovable homerism (his "OH NO!" on Brant Brown's dropped fly ball in Milwaukee in the late nineties is a favorite)  Most of you know of his struggles with diabetes that would eventually cost him his legs, and of his public disappointment of his lack of induction in the Hall of Fame (I have a strong opinion on this matter as well.  I ask you to simply compare Santo's career statistics with that of Brooks Robinson, who spent eight more seasons in the majors)
 To me personally, Ron Santo was and will remain the face of the Chicago Cubs, and will be missed.

R.I.P. Ronald Edward Santo (1940-2010)

The Lists

Time for a few lists at random...

Top five restaurants that I would love to see in Hagerstown

1) Sonic Drive-In
2) Steak N Shake
3) Skyline Chili
4) White Castle
5) Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Honorable Mention-Red Robin

Top five old ballparks I want for the next version of MLB the Show (without getting rid of the current ones)

1) Tiger Stadium-Detroit
2) League Park;Cleveland
3) Comiskey Park-Chicago
4) Ebbetts Field-Brooklyn
5) Astrodome-Houston
Honorable Mention-Fulton County Stadium-Atlanta

Top five restaurants that used to be in the area but left or are out of business

1) Burger Chef
2) Red Barn
3) Tastee Freeze
4) Arthur Treacher's
5) Orange Bowl
Honorable Mention-Gino's

Top five MLB ballparks that I want to see a game in someday

1) Wrigley Field-Chicago
2) AT&T Park-San Francisco
3) Great American Ballpark-Cincinnati
4) Dodger Stadium-Los Angeles
5) Fenway Park-Boston
Honorable Mention-Minute Maid Park-Houston

Forgotten Superstars-Ulf Nilsson

The Forgotten Superstars returns today with a look at a talent that was derailed by one nasty hit, some soft ice, and was never the same again.

Ulf Nilsson was one of the first European players to cross the Atlantic and become a star.
Nilsson joined the WHA's Winnipeg Jets with countryman Anders Hedberg and along with Bobby Hull comprised the elite line of the league's existence.
Nilsson was the center and playmaker of the line and scored over 114 points every year in the WHA.
Ulf Nilsson was a passer that was new to the game of the 1970s with assist numbers that ranged from a low of 76 to a high of 94 and excellent plus/minus stats as well.
Nilsson set up the blazing slap shots of Bobby Hull and the smooth strides of Anders Hedberg in a way the game had never seen before and helped the Jets to two Avco Cups in his four-year stint in Manitoba.

Nilsson and Hedberg left the Jets and the cash-strapped WHA in 1978-79 for the then-struggling New York Rangers at the age of 28 and should have spent his prime years establishing the Rangers as Cup contenders.
In the first year with the Gothamites, Nilsson had already scored 27 goals and 39 assists in 59 games before a rough hockey hit by the Islanders' Denis Potvin slammed the Swede into the boards.
The soft ice at the Garden caught Nilsson's skate and severely broke his ankle.
Nilsson would continue his career for a while but retired after a short ten-game swing at just 32.
The Potvin hit is remembered by Blueshirt fans to this day with the chant "Potvin sucks".


Despite the injuries, Ulf averaged over a point a game with the Rangers (163 points over 160 games) and showed the NHL just what kind of talent that European players could bring to the North American game.
Sometimes injuries cut things short and what might have been has to be good enough as we welcome Ulf Nilsson to the Forgotten Superstars universe...