The Disgrace that is A-Rod

There is a thing in baseball called class. It is what every organization, player, and fan want to have when they enter the world of baseball. When we think of class, we think of people like Derek Jeter. Jeter is the type of player that not only leads by example, but leads by how he acts off the field as well. His numbers speak for themselves: Over 3,300 hits, .313 career BA, 1996 AL ROY, 13-time All-Star, 5 Gold Gloves and most importantly, a class act. These attributes are what make Derek Jeter such a great player and human being. Even when he admitted his mistakes (stealing a sign in the Yankees Clubhouse) people forgave him because of how sincere and classy he goes about his business, on and off the field. He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest baseball people ever as well.

What befuddles me the most is that the man that he has shared the left-side of the infield for most of a decade has done everything but be a class act. In 2009, Alex Rodriguez admitted that he was using PED’s during his career in Texas from 2001-2003, and he sounded sincere enough but firmly denied that he has ever taken PED’s as a member of the New York Yankees. The sad part is, it appears that he’s lying once again. After repeatedly denying PED use while with the Rangers, he admitted 3 ½ years ago to using them claiming “there was so much pressure to perform with my [shiny] new [$250 MM] deal, I felt I just had no other avenue.”

Are you serious?! No other avenue? Texas signed you to the richest contract in American Sports history for no reason Alex, you (at the time) were somewhat deserving of such a ridiculous contract (I personally believe that no one is worth $25 MM a year). And he was playing at such a good level on and off the field, which makes this ‘first offence’ very confusing as he was belting out 39 HR’s a year to go along with an above .300 BA as well. So as usual, we all forgave him as he was a very exciting player to watch on the field, so we all moved on and assuming that he had stopped and that what he was saying was the truth and that he had never used PED’s since the end of the ’03 season.

Just a few short years ago, A-Rod was viewed as a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players of all-time. Now? A lying, cheating, overpaid, oft-injured, unproductive player who doesn’t deserve the rest of his second $250 MM deal (5ys/ $114 MM) in any way, shape or form. How bad do the Yankees want to part ways with the former AL MVP? They are desperately trying to rid themselves of the contract that is still owed to him through 2017. Rodriguez will be 42 and still a $25MM man, think about that, is that what we want our sport to be known for? This is why these 10-year deals are such a risk, you never know what you are going to get in the last 5 or so years of the contract, but nowadays, that type of commitment is what is takes to secure an All-Star caliber player.

I am now reading that the Yankees players ‘will support A-Rod in wake of PED allegations’. That to me sounds like a cover up for the media. Rodriguez has blatantly lied when he was not “young and stupid”, there are no excuses this time for Rodriguez and he deserves to be fleeced of his contract, after all, he has made enough money as is.

I can’t believe how stupid A-Rod has been over the last decade. You would think that he would learn from his stint in Texas that he wouldn’t do it again. Even if it’s to recover faster from all of his recent injuries, it is still illegal, cheating and just downright wrong. This man needs to be given a reality check and voiding his contract I think would send him and the rest of baseball a strong message that they are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior anymore.

Good luck getting out of this one A-Rod, you’re going to need it.

Nicholas Bell

AL West Preview

Hello to all reading this, this is my first article for you all! I’m just as excited as you guys for the start of baseball season, but until then, we must wait and tide ourselves over with the, shall we say, interesting offseason. Some teams (ala Toronto Blue Jays) have blown everybody out of the water this offseason in the hopes to win it all next year, while some of the teams out west (ala Texas Rangers) have seen more players leave then welcome.

My focus is not only going to be on the AL West, but the rest of baseball as well. As of right now, I feel that the West has been the most interesting division this offseason as you have a team (LA Angels) that have added the best bat on the market for the second year in a row, but have a suspect after losing Dan Haren, Ervin Santana and Zack Greinke. Even with the additions off Joe Blanton, Jason Vargas and Tommy Hanson, their rotation is going to be weaker. However, the Angels’ bullpen is much improved with Free Agent signings Sean Burnett and Ryan Madson on board to compliment Scott Downs and Ernesto Frieri down in there surprisingly deep bullpen. I am not sure what to make of this Angels team, I feel that their offense and bullpen are much better, but they took a hit in their rotation.

Overall Offseason Grade: B

Then we have the teams that have not done much this offseason, which, when you look at it, is pretty much every other team in the division. The Seattle Mariners made a big move by trading away one of their more reliable starters in Jason Vargas to the Rival Angels for Kendrys Morales, who they hope can be a solid middle order of the bat for them, but other than that and the re-signing of Hisashi Iwakuma, they really have not done a whole lot, which they need to do if they want to compete with the elite of the AL West.

Overall Offseason Grade: C+

Oakland is a real wildcard for me as I was shocked just like everyone else when they came back and took the AL West crown last year on the last day of the season. Again, with their core in place, they did not need to tinker or add much to the roster, but they did add Chris Young from the D-Backs and replaced Stephen Drew with Hiroyuki Nakajima formerly of Japan who claims that GM Billy Beane is “smart” and “sexy” which cannot hurt him. Overall they addressed what needed to be addressed in typical Billy Beane style, on the cheap.

Overall Offseason Grade: B+

Now we move to the new guys in town, the Houston Astros. This really is the same team that was fielded at the end of last that may benefit from the new DH with Justin Maxwell and Carlos Pena, but they are in the middle of a long rebuild and I expect with the new, tougher division, another 100 loss season. This team isn’t going to win anytime soon, so good on them to sticking to their plan.

Overall Offseason Grade: B

And last, but not least, the most intriguing team in the division thus far, the Texas Rangers. They have been rumoured to be in on some of the biggest fish out there on the trade market, namely Justin Upton and Zack Grienke, but after coming up short on Grienke and Arizona’s sudden hesitancy to hang on to Upton, their off-season has fallen well short of expectations. It appears as though they had to many balls in the air and once one fell, they rest came crashing down with it. They have added A.J. Pierzynski on a 1-year deal and Joakim Soria on a 2-yeard deal, but losing Josh Hamilton to your arch rival while also losing who you thought was going to be your ace to the Dodgers, the Rangers have lost much more than they’ve gained this off-season.

Overall Offseason Grade: D

In conclusion, the AL West has been one, with the exception of the Angels, that has been relatively quiet this offseason and as we look towards Spring Training and the Regular Season, the AL West will certainly be one to watch.

Nicholas Bell

Offseason Review: Texas Rangers

            The Texas Rangers have by far been the most disappointing team not only in the division, but likely in all of baseball as well. They lost out on the two top Free Agents this off-season (Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke) and have really not added a whole lot, which confuses me that much more considering all of the money and prospects available where they could make lots of noise both in the Free Agent and trade market. 

   

            However, as we sit here no January 14^th, 2013, we cannot deny that the Rangers, so far, have lost the off-season. From losing your best hitter to your best rival to falling short in a bidding war with the Dodgers for your ace, the Rangers have lost (Hamilton, Greinke) more than they have gained (Pierzynski, Soria, Frasor). The reason I emphasize “so far” is because there is still a month until Spring Training begins, so there still is time for Jon Daniels and co. to make some moves to contend for a World Series title once again. So let’s look at what the Rangers may be able to pull off: these are predicted moves, not anything that is imminent, but moves that I think could help this team in 2013 and beyond…

            First let’s look at some trade chips that the Rangers have. These could be dangled in deals for an ace caliber SP, or a middle of the order bat to suffice for the loss of Hamilton:

Prospects:

Jurickson Profar

Mike Olt

Martin Perez

            These guys could be packaged with a big-leaguer or another prospect or two to help the Rangers’ big league club right now, while only slightly hurting their future.

MLB:

Ian Kinsler

Elvis Andrus

Mitch Moreland

            Out of these three, I believe that Andrus has the most trade value as he is an all-star caliber SS while hitting for a solid average. While he has no power to speak of, he is a terrific defender and certainly has a higher trade value if put on the block than Kinsler (31 year old Second Basemen with a hefty contract; poor defensive range and low average) or Moreland (Platoon First Basemen). If the Rangers don’t want to give up any of their top prospects in a deal, than they could part with one of these players in a deal instead.

            Now come the fun part: predicting some deals. I believe that the Rangers have a few moves up their sleeves and we should expect them act soon…

Offseason Deals:

Rangers Trade: IF Mike Olt, SP Martin Perez, RHP Cody Buckel, 1B Mitch Moreland

Diamondbacks Trade: OF Justin Upton, OF A.J. Pollock

            This is a deal that I believe will happen soon and is a very fair one as well. The D-backs get their Third Baseman to solidify their infield while also receiving some nice prospects and a young, still effective First Baseman. The Rangers meanwhile could potentially nab 2 out of their 3 Outfielders in Upton and Pollock while not giving up too much off the Major League Roster.

Rangers sign Shaun Marcum: 2 yrs/ $18 MM

            While the Rangers have some nice pieces in their rotation, they lack depth and consistency. Marcum could come in and solidify their rotation while also motivating others (Ogando, Ross) to step up and work harder in order to nab a starting job.

In-Season Deals:

            Rangers Trade: SS Elvis Andrus, C Jorje Alfaro, OF Leonys Martin, SP Justin Grimm

Rays Trade: SP David Price, SP Chris Archer

             In case you weren’t satisfied with the proposed Justin Upton blockbuster, here’s another one that I think has a legitimate chance of happening even with the D-Backs deal. The Rangers need an ace to have some stability at the top their rotation. The Rays meanwhile get the catcher of the future (Jorje Alfaro, who is grossly underrated) another core piece to build around in Elvis Andrus at the SS position, an Outfielder that is Major League ready an can be slotted in at the top of the order right now is need be and a solid, middle of the rotation starter to replace the super-expensive Price in their rotation. This deal would be great for both sides as the Rangers get their ace for year to come and the Rays continue to build while contending.

            Overall, I feel that the Rangers have not been successful so far this offseason, but with all of the talent and money that they have at their disposal, I see big moves ahead for the Rangers, and lots of them.

Nicholas Bell

Remembering Stan ‘The Man’ Musial:

            Stan Musial; when you hear that name you think of one of the greatest baseball players of all time without a doubt but one of the greatest baseball people of all time has to be part of a resume that includes 3 NL MVP’s, 3 World Series Championships, 7-time batting champions, 24-time All-Star (which is tied for the most of all time) while doing this for one team for 22 years, The St. Louis Cardinals. It was these attributes among others that made him one of the greatest to ever put on a baseball uniform.

             I always remembered him as a player who was always so kind and respectful of everyone that he ever met (I unfortunately did not have the privilege to meet him). Stan always had time for everyone and that sense of respect and honour for complete strangers was what struck me and millions of fans of not just baseball, but of character. Fans of character and baseball? Well, they were in for a 22 year-long relationship with a man that had plenty of both, which is why he is an American, baseball, and human hero.

            As the great Matthew Leach of MLB.com once said “As far and as small of an inner circle as you want to get in regards to those top notch Hall of Famers, Stan will always be in that group, without a doubt.” This much is 100% true as he compiled a lifetime batting average of .331, 475 career home runs, 3,630 career hits (4^th most All-Time) but was always hidden under the spotlight of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio in Boston and New York, respectively. This does not take away from his personal accomplishments however, as he was every bit as good as both Ted and Joe, he was just farther west and did not nor want to have the flashy records or spotlight; he wanted to do one thing, honour himself, the great city of St. Louis, and all of baseball by putting on #6 on his back every for one team, for one sport, for one purpose, for the love of the game.

            When you ask around, you will never find a more beloved figure, icon or legend that Stan Musial was in St. Louis. He was loved in that city more than anything that any St. Louisianan had ever known before. He made his home there and it seemed as if everyone that lived there had a story to tell about not only how good of a ballplayer he was, but how good of a person he was and how he had time for everybody and anybody.

            There will not be anyone quite as devoted, loved, respected and honoured as Stan ‘The Man’ Musial was in St. Louis again, and how good he was as a ballplayer, he was all of that and then some as a human. His smile, his passion for the game of baseball, his love for life and his gratitude for his beloved fans of St. Louis and all of Major League Baseball will never be forgotten, rest in peace Stan, we will always love you.

Sincerely,

Nicholas Bell

What’s Happened to The Hall of Fame?

       That I believe is the question that has to be answered after the shocking results of probably the most star-studded ballot ever. With the likes of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza as well as Craig Biggio (who led the pack with 68.2 % of the vote) Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa among others. Sure, most of these guys were accused of, linked to or confessed to using PED’s but can we deny what they were before the started the most controversial era in baseball history? All of these men were Hall of Famers before they made a stupid mistake, and had they not been related to PED’s, they were all sure fire first ballot Hall of Famers. But, even with all of the controversy, you still had a man that has the all-time record for home runs, the man who has one the most Cy Young Awards (7) of all –time, a man with 609 career home runs, a man with the most 60- homer seasons and one of only for men to collect 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Can we deny those prolific stats, even if they are a little inflated? Can we deny how much fun it was when Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa were going back and forth for the home run crown in 1998? And lastly, can we deny how great all of these players were, even off of the juice? No.

Many voters don’t want a cheater (s) in the Hall, but what the Hall of Fame should be is a museum to the public, to show every era, controversial or not that baseball has or had to offer. If that means adding on the plaque that they were accused of drug use, then so be it, but these men deserve to be in the HOF, period. We can all agree on that, but some of us have a hard time deciding what the Hall of Fame really is. Is it a museum to represent the good, bad and ugly of baseball? Is it a place so sacred and holy that only the players that were legendary AND clean for their whole careers get in? To me, I believe that 200 years from now, we will want to know what happened during the so called “Steroid Era” and who was a part of shaping that time.

We cannot just sit back and erase a period of our games history because it’s not as perfect or clean as we would like it to be. In fact, if you think about it, we have likely let in several players that were PED users but were just never caught. What happens if the Bonds and the Clemens of the world never get in and 50 years down the road it is revealed that 5 or 6 players we unknowingly gave the games highest honour to? Would that be fair to them? No. Would that cause outrage and the demand for other stars to be let in? Yes. Would the Hall of Fame forever be viewed as a scam? Yes. We must change the ways people and legends are elected into the Hall, because this system isn’t working. Many people, including myself, were planning on a trip to see the induction ceremony to see some of our favourite childhood stars get enshrined into the Hall of Fame forever.

I know I was outraged when I heard the news yesterday, as millions of fans were. Something needs to change because the Hall of Fame is losing its identity, and that’s something that we need to fix, and need to fix now.

Nicholas Bell

The Mystery of the Rangers’ Offseason

            The Rangers have certainly had an interesting offseason, to put it lightly. To recap, here is what the Rangers have (and haven’t) done this offseason:

Done Deals:

            Josh Hamilton: Signed with Angels, 5yrs/ $125 MM

            Mike Napoli: Signed with Red Sox, 1yr/ $5MM ($8MM in incentives)

            Mike Adams: Signed with Phillies, 2yrs/ $8MM

            Ryan Dempster: Signed with Red Sox, 2yrs/ $26MM

            Lance Berkman: Signed with Rangers, 1yr/ $11MM

            Joakim Soria: Signed with Rangers, 2yrs/ $8MM

What Could Have Been:

            Justin Upton: Traded to Braves

            Zack Greinke: Signed with Dodgers (6yrs/ $147MM)

            R.A. Dickey: Traded to Blue Jays

Rumours:

            Michael Bourn: Unsigned (Free Agent)

            Kyle Lohse: Unsigned (Free Agent)

            Giancarlo Stanton: Miami Marlins OF (on trade block)

            David Price: Tampa Bay Rays SP (on trade block)

            Nelson Cruz: Potentially suspended for PED use

            As you can see, the Rangers have lost far more than they have gained this off-season both in terms of players and talent. Texas has not only lost out on some key pieces that really could have made them a dangerous team (Zack Greinke, Justin Upton) but have also lost some of their core pieces from their playoff run over the last 3 years (Mike Napoli, Josh Hamilton). That kind of combination sets up exactly the type of situation that the rangers are in right now: a team with such high hopes entering the off-season, but are now in February and some glaring holes on the roster while also getting weaker in many areas.

            I could try to give you an explanation as to why the Rangers have essentially flopped and left the door open for the Angels, Athletics and maybe even the Mariners to overtake in the tough division that is the AL West, but I would be making as good of a guess as you. The reason why this is such a head-scratching off-season to so many is because of where the Rangers were as a franchise. Texas had just made the playoffs for the third straight year (having gone to the World Series in 2010 and 2011) had money to spend and prospects to deal to make their team a tru powerhouse and favorites to win it all.

            The Rangers had (and still does have) plenty enough money to not only retain their own players that had expiring contracts, and then some; but what do they decide to do? Let their free agents walk (Napoli, Hamilton) and watch others (Greinke) that could have significantly improved their roster pass by and move on to greener pastures.

            Texas had (and still do have) plenty of prospects to deal for that ace that they so desperately need (Price, Dickey) or that big bat to replace Hamilton or support him and Beltre had Hamilton have come back; but what do they decide to do? Keep all of their prospects and not add any Major League pieces while letting rumoured targets find other homes (Dickey, Blue Jays).

            Finally, the Rangers had (and still have somewhat) a great club if they were able to retain the likes of Napoli, Adams, and Hamilton, but with having not done anything but incremental moves like signing some stability for the bullpen (Soria) or a questionable lineup piece (Berkman), they have set themselves up for a regression in 2013. Also, the improvements from the other teams around them haven’t helped their chances either.

            The Texas Rangers off-season is one that causes any baseball fan, but especially Rangers fans, to wonder what could have been this off-season had everything gone according to planned. However, as of today, February 2, 2013, the Rangers look like a team in shambles, but also a team with so much hope and a bright future. They just have to find out what their identity is moving forward.

Nicholas Bell

           

            

The Emergence of Mike Trout

          Mike Trout is my favourite baseball player, period. He is the type of player that comes around once in a generation, the true five-tool player. He has it all going for him: he can hit, he can hit for power, he can throw, he can field and he can run. When you think about it, there is not much else a baseball player can do, and for Mike Trout, the 21-year old from Millville, New Jersey is the one player that I would want to build my team around for the next 15 years.

          This may sound like a lot to expect out of from a man who has only had 5 months of big league experience, but his potential and his talent is undeniable and something that got him AL Rookie of the Year, 2^nd in AL MVP Voting, League Leader in steals and a few homerun-robbing catches thrown into the mix as well. Even if he is due for a bit of a regress in his sophomore season, as long as he doesn’t completely fall off a cliff and have a dreaded sophomore slump, he should be in the MVP discussion again, at the mere age of 21, which is something truly remarkable.

          Looking deeper into his stats, there was not one thing that was lacking from his game, you could argue that fellow current MLB’er Albert Pujols had just as good of a rookie season as Trout, with this slash line,

Albert Pujols: 161 GP/ 112 R / 194 H/ 47 2B,/ 69 BB/  37 HR/ 130 RBI/ .329 BA,/ .403 OBP/ .610 SLG/ 1.013 OPS

Mike Trout: 139 GP/ 129 R/ 182 H/ 27 2B/ 8 3B/ 30 HR/ 83 RBI/ .326 BA/ .399 OBP/ .564 SLG/ .963 OPS

          Those are some pretty amazing rookie numbers, but when you look at Mike Trout’s line (with missing 30 games) there are some clear advantages to Trout (SB, R, 3B) but there are others that are not listed that are equally as important such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement) Defensive UZR among others. Pujols is a very good defender now, but in his rookie year was very adequate defensively and was purley an offensive minded player with very little to offer speed- wise and on defense. The likelihood that both of these players go to the HOF (check out my article on that also on mlbrandomfandom.com) is very high and we just need to watch these guys play baseball. It also can’t hurt that they wear the same uniform everyday also.

          I remember watching Bryce Harper go 1^st overall to the Washington Nationals in the 2012 MLB Draft, but watched 24 other teams pass on Mike Trout before he was selected 26^th overall by the LA Angels of Anaheim. Seeing as both Harper and Trout are in all likelihood going to be the two faces of MLB in 5 years, imagining what both are going to be able to do in 5 years is a downright scary thought for anyone facing the Nats or Halos.

          To conclude, Mike Trout is going to be a legend. He had a legendary start to his career, won some hardware and got lots or PR attention, but the best is yet to come for this 21-year old superstar.

Nicholas Bell

World Baseball Classic Preview

            First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of activity and new posts ver the past few weeks, however I have many new ones that will be coming to this blog and to mlbrandomfandom.com, so check them out, and enjoy!

            It goes without saying that the World Baseball Classic is by far the games best and most intriguing way to gain attention for the sport on an international level. When you have some of the games biggest stars playing and representing their respective countries, it’s a whole new ballgame (pun intended). I remember going to a few games back in 2009 WBC in Toronto and the electricity and diversity among the fans in that stadium (which was packed) was unlike anything I had and still have ever seen at an MLB game. This is not a knock on MLB by any stretch of the imagination, but naturally, you are going to get a whole new feel and attention level when you have baseball on the global stage versus essentially just North America.

            As always, there are players that cannot or won’t compete in the WBC for whatever reason (injuries, focused on upcoming season, etc.) which is always disappointing because you want to see the best that every country has to offer. But, the WBC manages to put on quite the show every time the tournament is played. From the star-studded lineup that the US has (although they seemingly never play up to their potential) to the surprises over the Pacific with Japan and South Korea to the talent the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico has to offer (among others) this surely is going to be a tournament for the ages.

            I remember going to a game between Team Canada and Team USA. This is when the likes of Brett Lawrie, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were in high school, but nonetheless, it was the greatest baseball game I had ever been to. From the crowd that erupted every time their home team got a hit or made a play to the US side where the seemingly endless talent showed up inning after inning, the game was fun. And that’s what the World Baseball Classic is about, having fun.

Nicholas Bell