My Bat , My Ball , My Rules ………
By tophatal ………. 05/09/2012 …. 09:45 PM (EST)
Well the MLB season is proving to be a year to remember , albeit , that we are now a mere month and one week into the year . Sitting atop of the divisional standings are a group of teams as diverse as one could ever wish to see. There have been rave reviews for the Washington Nationals , a team to my mind that is simply learning how to win and not one of the teams that I believe will be part of the postseason in 2012. As good as they are there isn’t a pedigree behind this team and already injuries have already beset Davey Johnson’s roster of players .
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Slide show for your perusal .
Bryce Harper the wunderkind of the moment and seen as one the faces of Nationals’ franchise , alongside teammate Stephen Strasburg , . and supposedly for their immediate and long-term future . The two number one draft picks from 2009 and 2010 by the Washington Nationals are now proving to be a major draw this season for the fans at Nationals Ballpark in Washington , DC.
And though the Nationals sit atop of the NL East with an 18-10 mark within the division , it must be noted that this team just happens to be 4-6 in their last 10 games , not exactly enticing but for now it’ll do , just as long the players remain confident . In light of that , the biggest story in the game prior Josh Hamilton’s explosive offensive display …. against the Baltimore Orioles (19-11) , who themselves are now riding high in the AL East . Hamilton in the game against the Orioles had a blistering onslaught hitting 4 home runs and tallying 18 total bases to become only the . sixteenth player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game . I’m sorry to say this, but the Baltimore Orioles pitching rotation and bullpen did themselves no favors with this utterly anemic display against this potent Rangers’ offense .
As I alluded to earlier Hamilton’s feat was one of the major stories in baseball but who could escape the idiocy of Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels and his post-game interview in which he admitted hitting opposing batsman Bryce Harper in a game played recently . In light of the criticism leveled at him by the Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo who in an expletive laden rant described the pitcher as a piece of fecal matter . That in of-itself wasn’t enough to quell the fomenting ire of fans and analysts alike but at the same time the league hierarchy has seen fit to suspend Hamels for his actions during the game . Not to be left out of this all , Rizzo was penalized by Bud Selig’s office for an undisclosed sum for his public statement concerning Cole Hamels . . The Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher has been suspended for a mere five games , not for the five starts of the Phillies’ ace . Personally, I find Hamels’ actions petulant and that of an immature child but his statement if anything simply shows the idiocy of what we are now witnessing within the game ! Baseball for all of its legacy and some might say purity has become a passe` and asinine undertaking, given the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of common sense being shown by anyone with authority within the game . It certainly hasn’t been coming from the team owners , general managers , league hierarchy or from the MLBPA (union) for that matter even after Michael Weiner who succeeded the less than agreeable Donald Fehr as the Executive Director of the union .
At present it appears that Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton are trying to create their own form excitement as it relates to showing their prowess in power-hitting . The onslaught by the duo who lead the who lead the AL and NL respectively in home runs and a number of other offensive categories , is somewhat reminiscent to the year when both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa sought to obliterate Roger Maris’ single season home-run record . A record which has since been surpassed by the now disgraced Barry Bonds and now very much seen as tainted .
Now while the talk seems to be of both Hamilton and Kemp seeking to attain the ” Holy Grail within baseball with regard to the “Triple Crown” , a feat not achieved since the great Carl Yastrzemski achieved that historical feat . The “Triple Crown” and the single season home-run record I truly believe will take a monumental effort to achieve and given the power and athleticism of the players today , it is still something that would be looked upon somewhat dubiously in today’s game. Josh Hamilton is on pace to hit a ridiculous 82 home runs and one doubts that feat is literally achievable . Matt Kemp for his part isn’t going at a snail’s pace in terms of his home-run tally for the season . At the same time I get the feeling that the Rangers’ slugger would rather see his team make another appearance in the World Series , rather than coming up short as they had done previously , in 2010 and 2011 .
For the Texas Rangers’ front office staff led by Nolan Ryan , GM Jon Daniels and the coaching staff led by Ron Washington have to be pleased not only by what has been exhibited by Hamilton but also with the contributions of Yu Darvish , Elvis Andrus as well as the rest of the players on this active roster . And as good as the Texas Rangers appear to be this season , I can’t help but wonder whether or not this team will be in for another unique disappointment during the playoffs ! The AL West as a division is the Rangers’ for the taking , as I cannot see the likes of the Los Angeles Angels , Seattle Mariners or Oakland A’s mounting a serious enough challenge to this already formidable team .
Slowly but surely the Roger Clemens’ perjury trial is slowly inching its way to a verdict and as to what that might be ., no can be completely sure of , at this juncture. Federal Court Judge Reggie Walton has had to preside over this frigging farce . Defense attorneys Rusty Hardin and Mark Attanasio have slowly painted a picture of unreliable witnesses whose characters and testimony are suspect . And for the US Justice Department who chose to bring this case in-front of a judge , it seems so asinine with the countless thousands of dollars has been spent on the investigative procedure before this case even hit a courtroom and the trial itself could very well cost the taxpayer countless thousands more . The now disgraced trainers Kirk Radomski , Brian McNamee and former Boston Red Sox trainers Charlie Moss , Jim Rowe and Blue Jays’ trainer Tommy Craig have all given their testimony that would suggest they each in some way played a part in either supplying or giving the former pitching ace steroids at various points of his Major League career.
Courtesy of USA Today
Clemens trial: Cashman on stand as trainer testifies to acne
By Seth Livingstone , USA Today
WASHINGTON – New York Yankees senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman took the stand as a prosecution witness at the Roger Clemens perjury trial shortly before Judge Reggie Walton called for a break on Thursday.
Defense attorney Rusty Hardin was hoping to get more from Cashman than he did from the previous witness. Hardin lit into prosecutors, accusing them of procedural ineptitude and calling unqualified
witnesses which would mean “adding two weeks” to the trial.
Hardin requested the right to call Don Catlin, an anti-doping scientist under subpoena, as a defense witness, complaining that the prosecution substituted U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chemist Terrence Boos, an expert in controlled substances and drug and chemical evaluation, in his place.
Earlier Thursday, David Lintner, medical director for the Houston Astros, testified that is was “out of the scope of responsibility” for trainers or strength coaches to administer injections to players.
Although Clemens has said he regularly has injections of liquid Vitamin B12, Lintner said he does not supply shots of Vitamin B12 to players because “it doesn’t work.” Lintner said B12 was only useful to those with nutritional deficiencies.
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Click on link to read this article in full .
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Clemens, a seven-time winner of the Cy Young Award has over the past five years simply gone about trying to clear his name . But his stance initially , wasn’t helped with the sworn testimony given two congressional committees in 2008, and 2009 respectively. The fawning that certainly took place with the congressional committee members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Energy & Commerce Committee as they listened to Clemens’ expectations as to his use or as he would suggest the misquotes mis-remembering of conversations between he and former teammate Andy Pettite as well as the actions of his former personal trainer , Brian McNamee , was simply an exaggeration . McNamee’s own integrity, has to come into question , in lieu of his admittedly to lying to the FBI and under oath to the aforementioned committees. It begs the question as to the veracity of the prosecution’s case and how they envisage winning it purely on the evidence within their possession . Exculpatory evidence or not , there’s something about this case that makes a complete mockery of the judicial system !
Considering , the $25 million spent on the BALCO investigation and the subsequent trials of sprinters Tim Montgomery , Marion Jones and which further embroiled slugger Barry Bonds at the end of the day . It begs the question if the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder can spend that sort of money pursuing none-violent offenders but somehow the senior banking executives on Wall St can somehow go untouched after their egregious malfeasance that brought the financial and banking sectors almost to their very knees . I certainly would like to know what the US Attorney General will ultimately do in a renewed effort to pursuit of those known to have acted egregiously while their financial institutions were the recipients of countless billions in taxpayers’ monies courtesy of the government ! Holder like his counterpart Tim Geithner within the US Treasury , former commissioner Christopher Cox as the head of the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) and his successors , firstly Mary L Schapiro , who has since been succeeded by Daniel M Gallagher . And each have provided the most asinine of explanations as to how it is that no one has yet to be arraigned , indicted or have gone on to trial ! Something is clearly awry and it has been the complete apathy of the public at large why this has simply been overlooked . But yet there’s the continuous bitching and whining by so many f_cking idiots who simply do not realize what’s actually happening in front of their very eyes ! Need I say anymore on the matter at this juncture ? I’ll let you be the judge of that !
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Picture gallery for your perusal .
What thoughts if any do you have concerning the points raised within this piece ? And has the first month of the baseball season lived up to your expectations ? Simply leave a comment as you deem fit and thanks as always for the continued support of this site .as it has always been greatly appreciated !
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Picture and slide show details below .
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(1) Philadelphia Phillies’ starting pitcher Cole Hamels delivers a pitch to Washington Nationals’ batter Jordan Zimmermann during second inning of their baseball game at Nationals Park, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Washington. AP Photo/Richard Lipski …
(2) Bryce Harper reacts after being hit with a pitch during the game against the Phillies . The opposing pitcher Cole Hamels was suspended for 5 games by the MLB hierarchy in the aftermath of the incident and the player’s admittance that the act was intentional . Washington Post / Jay Newton …. copyrighted material @ all rights reserved ……
(3) BALTIMORE, MD – MAY 8: Josh Hamilton (10) of the Texas Rangers hits a two-run home run in the third inning during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 8, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. Hamilton hit four home runs during the game to become the 16th player in MLB history to make the accomplishment. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images ……
(4) LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 09: ,u> Matt Kemp (27) of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts from the dugout after a Tony Gwynn (10) triple scoring three runs including the run of Bobby Abreu (23) to take a 4-2 lead over the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium on May 9, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images …..
(5) FILE – In this Dec. 13, 2007 file photo, Kirk Radomski stands outside of his business in St. James, N.Y. Radomski, who provided performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of major league baseball players, injected some much-needed energy into a plodding prosecution case at Roger Clemens’ perjury trial. AP Photo/Ed Betz …..
(6) Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens leaves the Federal Court in Washington, Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Clemens is on trial for allegedly lying to Congress in 2008 when he denied using either substance. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta …. ……
(7) Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens walks with his legal team Mark Attanasio (right) as he leaves the Federal Court in Washington, Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Clemens is on trial for allegedly lying to Congress in 2008 when he denied using either substance. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta .. …….
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MLB team stats (team batting avg)
MLB probable pitchers 10th May 2012
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Tophatal's Blog 
The US Justice Dept is f_cked up ! Go after the real criminals , and let the assh_les within Selig’s office carry on making fools of themselves and the god-damn game of baseball ! Because , at given his annual salary which said to be in excess of $20 million …. Bud Selig is doin’ a bang up job in proving what a complete friggin’ ass , he just happens to be !
There are now close to a dozen players in baseball earning in excess of $20 million annually and the commissioner ranks up there alongside them . And so for those still in support of Bud , think about that for a moment , and then look at the annual payroll of the team you support and the top wage earners there ?
Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton may well end up being atop of the league within the AL and NL in a number of offensive categories but I seriously doubt that either will win the Triple Crown ! They may well end up winning the MVP at season’s end within either league but who knows what postseason honors could await their respective teams .
“I’ve got one thing to say , if he didn’t inject then he must’ve swallowed . No sorry , that was my secretary in the office last night. Damn , you lawyers ” ! US District Judge Reggie Walton
Does anyone have an idea as to how much money may well have been spent on the Clemens’ case as his first one , ended in a mistrial ? One juror has already been kicked off this (second) case for falling asleep during the proceedings. Can’t say that I’d blame the poor bas_ard to begin with , given the fact that this whole trial has become a monotonous bore and a complete waste of god-damn money !
US jurisprudence at its best and its worst but yet an ‘ass-wipe’ like Selig runs around as carrying on as if the game is in a completely healthy state . How the f_#k can that be , given missteps during his tenure ? And for “the tools” ( idiots) who are about to jump to his defense wake up and smell the fecal matter within your midst as it relates to the game . Owners simply are too fu_king stupid , taking their teams into bankruptcy clearly showing that their business acumen isn’t all it’s cracked up to be ! McCourt (Dodgers), Sam Zell (formerly the Cubs) , Tom Hicks (formerly Rangers’ owner) ……. and let’s not forget the mess that the Mets are still in , courtesy of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz as the team’s primary owners . So for the purists out there stop with the bull_hit concerning the purity and health of the game ’cause it’s not that great at all !
tophatal …………….
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Big weekend series for those Angels this weekend as they battle the Rangers. Still very early…but if Sir Albert doesn’t start earning at least a chunk of that contract they could find themselves down double-digits in the games-back column and that’s never good regardless of the time of year. Have heard some interesting discussion about Texas’ potentally signing Hamilton to more years. There’s always risk in life. If you make the contract performance-laden and don’t expose yourself too much to a possible relapse of his off-the-field issues…not to mention his occasional injuries…I don’t see how you can let him leave Arlington. Your thoughts on Texas extending Hamilton a multi-year deal?
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sportsattitudes
The Angels have their own issues beyond Pujols and his apparent lack of offense . I don’t put much store in that, given how productive he has been since he entered baseball a little more than a decade ago. Simply look at his numbers ? The real issue with the Angels is the lack of productivity from their pitching staff , specifically , #’2’s thru’ 5 starters and the bullpen . And the offense , the hitters right the way down the order .
Nolan Ryan as team President of the Rangers along with GM Jon Daniels can ill-afford to lose Josh Hamilton to another team in need of some much needed offense . They have the money , simply because of that $3 billion tv deal (two decade) (local Fox affiliate) and the fact that with the ownership group , there are several billionaires and multi-millionaires that make up that ownership consortium .
At best I think between a 5 or 7 year deal that pays Hamilton on average anywhere between $18 million to top-end $23 million would be a worthwhile deal ! But at the end of the day , it’s all down to the desires and needs of the parties concerned . The player is loved by the Texas Rangers’ fans in spite of his off the field issues . Never mind the fact that each time he has relapsed , the aid has always been provided by the organization , in a timely fashion .
tophatal ……….
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With stars like Harper, Strasburg, Kemp and Hamilton, it looks like the future of baseball will be just fine..
Surprised the Nats are this good this soon. I guess key back to back number one draft picks will do that for a team.
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Chris Humpherys (@SportsChump)
For players such as Matt Kemp and Hamilton their immediate future is extremely bright as they’re playing on championship caliber …. teams .
The same can’t actually be said of for Strasburg and Bryce Harper at this juncture in spite of their team’s record in the NL East . It’s somewhat deceptive when you take into account their recent form . Never mind the fact that once the arbitration clocks for both of these Nats’ players are up they may well be on their way elsewhere . Because I doubt that their agent Scott Boras will take chicken scraps as an offer from the Nats’ front office ! . Do you really believe that the Nationals can afford to retain either of that duo ? They made the mistake of offering Jayson Werth that big contract and he’s yet to contribute anything to that team since his arrival there .
tophatal ………..
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There was no reason for Hamels to bean the kid. His punishment should have been much more severe. Both Kemp and Hamilton are playing out of their minds. We may just see history made this season.
Here’s to a great season, cheers my friend!
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aero
Hamels …. “beamed” … Harper because it’s the start of a budding “bromance ” LOL,LOL,LOL !!! You do remember the movie ‘Brokeback Mountain’ don’t you and how main characters’ relationship developed don’t you ? It’ll be the same with these two .
That Phillies’ team is heading down an ever increasing incline . Their bullpen sucks and the offense has been left for dead ! Never-mind that damn payroll …. boy oh boy ! Now you have GM Reuben Amaro stating that they’ll be sellers before the trade deadline if they’re not in the hunt within the NL East . My , how the mighty have fallen !
tophatal ……..
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