All good things must come to an end, and they will, at some point !

All good things must come to an end, and they will, at some point !

This baseball season will have an inevitability about it , but perhaps none more so than when Mariano Rivera takes the mound for the final time of his illustrious career . Granted , there remains the common belief that the team in its current guise can make it to the World Series , while seeking to win that title for an unprecedented twenty-eighth time in the New York Yankees’ history . Team owners , Hank , Hal Steinbrenner and their younger female sibling , Jennifer Steinbrenner-Swindahl have sworn to carry on their late father’s legacy , which was one of steady and unprecedented success , while seeing the economic growth of the ball club seemingly increase exponentially at an impressive rate .

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Slideshow.

Brian Cashman as the general manager of the Yankees , remains under a great deal of pressure to succeed , as the heightened expectations have always been there , ever since he ascended to his current position within the franchise’s hierarchy . The late George Steinbrenner III , whose death saddened baseball’s fraternity , remains a constant reminder of his striving for success.

Joe Girardi and the team’s coaching staff have seen this team struggle while still remaining somewhat competitive within the AL East this season . With a mark of 15-10 , good enough for second place within the division , the ball-club sits three games behind the Boston Red Sox (18-7) . With their being a growing concern over the team’s pitching , it will be left to Mariano Rivera , CC Sabathia , Andy Pettite and Hideki Kuroda to spearhead the pitching staff , which remains one of the weakest within the AL and the league altogether . With that in mind , it should be noted with a litany of injuries , Joe Girardi knows that he can no longer afford to have any more shortfalls with regard to the health of his roster .

The New York Yankees are now severely challenged in terms of run productivity , albeit, that Robinson Cano remains the lone constant and the team’s best player . A more telling issue might well be the fact that the Yankees’ most recent game , which ended in a 9-1 loss to the Houston Astros played at Yankees Stadium , in New York City ,New York on Monday afternoon . If nothing else , it would suggest that this team remains far off from where it needs to be if it is to make a serious challenge in taking on the might of the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays , Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays .

The Yankees will host the Houston Astros and Bo Porter’s struggling team , two more times as part of a three-game series . It must be said , as the New York Yankees proceed over the course of their season , I do believe that they will continue struggle throughout their schedule . While Brian Cashman spares no expense in assembling a roster , it does seem ludicrous that in spite of the claims that Hal Steinbrenner sought to pare down the team’s payroll , instead it has increased back above $215 million for the 2013 season . And while this is nothing new for a franchise whose estimated value is estimated is in excess of $1.8 billion , with their being added resources available , via the team’s wholly owned cable sports’ programming outlet the YES Network Inc . It does beg the question, at what point will the ball club cease to be merely reliant upon the premise of being built upon , solely existing , because of their financial excesses , rather than building organically from within , in terms their competitive presence . It certainly has been a long time , during which one could point to the fact that the franchise could point to having produced a prominent and perennial All Star over the past decade.

If Mariano Rivera, is said to be, in the twilight of his career , it should be noted that Derek Jeter , the Yankees’ third baseman , who is still recuperating, while on the DL. Jeter yearns to be part of the present roster , but with the team’s orthopedic specialist noting that the player still has a cracked bone in his right foot , that still has yet to heal . There is no foreseeable situation, that indicates that Jeter’s return will be imminent, with the player making a contribution to the team.

With Jeter sidelined , questions also, still remain as to the well-being also of Alex Rodriguez, and his name now being associated company founder, Anthony Bosch and his South Florida based medical supplements’ company Biogenesis Inc . Bosch and where his company is at present, under investigation by the US Justice Department , after the revelations that Biogenesis supplied several prominent Major League players with PED’s (performance enhancing drugs) A denial, categorically and wholeheartedly denied by the company’s founder , Anthony Bosch. In his first public interview, with ESPN’s …. Pedro Gomez , Bosch was noncommittal in several answers concerning the claims and allegations , and with regard to the documents now said to be in the Justice Department’s possession , documenting the sale and distribution of the illicit substances in question .

Rodriguez , along with 2011 NL MVP , Ryan Braun have denied their association with Bosch’s company , albeit that Braun’s agent , Nez Balelo has issued a public statement on his client’s behalf, stating that Ryan Braun was merely a paid consultant for the company , in his role as an endorser of one of the company’s various supplement products. However, Anthony Bosch, when questioned by Pedro Gomez directly on the claims made by Balelo , they were immediately unanswered , with the company founder stating that Braun was not a paid endorser for any of his company’s products . It now begs the question, will Bud Selig and the MLB hierarchy simply still sit around with his fingers stuck in their rectum, while the game of baseball is further tainted by the misdeed and ill-gotten gains of the steroid cheaters within the game ? It is not as if Selig has front and center in his handling with the whole steroid debacle to begin with ! Never mind the simple-minded idiocy and complete denial shown in the legitimate circles of journalism that was said to be covering the sport . It should also be noted, that for many of the ass rendering purists within the game, who still live in a bygone era , who believe that the game still has a purity and character, when nothing could be further from the truth !

If there is one thing that is a certainty with the season still in its infancy , it is that both the Miami Marlins and New York Mets remain a goddamn mess from a competitive and economic standpoint , and that is with due compliment to the genuine Mets’ fans out there , who are of the belief that because the ball club was a afforded financial backing from several prominent Wall Street financial institutions , that simply creates a “stay of execution” for a franchise that has been mismanaged thrown to the wolves by the team’s ownership group headed by Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz. Even with the alleged acumen of Sandy Alderson and J P Ricciardi , it is now becoming clear that the Mets remain a work in progress , and that is in the aftermath of the idiocy shown by Alderson in giving David Wright an exorbitant and outrageous contract that now places a stranglehold on the franchise’s growth. As productive as Wright is said to be , without their being any semblance of competitive spirit and play from anyone else on the roster beyond Lucas Duda , there is simply nothing at all that would suggest that the Mets have the wherewithal to compete with the likes of the Atlanta Braves or the Washington Nationals over the course of this season .

The Mets are currently playing .435 borne out with a 10-13 mark as of the 29th April , ranking the ball club in the lower half of the NL and MLB as a whole. Surely , something good can come out of this season for the franchise beyond the continued mediocrity we have witnessed over the past six seasons with this organization .

Mets’ manager Terry Collins and his coaching staff will have a great deal to prove, as I believe that Collins’ tenure could very well be short-lived if he is unable to guide this team to at least a winning season ! Anything short of that and the front office will have to act aggressively , by bringing in a manager with wholly different attitude and a background of proven success . I don’t believe that claim can be made with regard to Collins’ managerial experience and resume`.

If the New York Mets’ season in 2012 could be a described as unabated disaster , then the Miami Marlins’ year was simply a mess , with the front office , managerial staff led by Ozzie Guillen , simply clueless as to what was needed to create a winning formulae for success. Less we forget also , through a great deal of connivance by team owner Jeffrey Loria and with the intervention and collusion of Bud Selig , the city of Miami now finds itself the subject of federal investigation. And with that ongoing investigation being conducted by the Criminal Division of the US Justice Department , this could have some serious repercussions and ramifications for the city of Miami , and in particular for the game of baseball, and how the sport conducts its business and specifically the actions of the team owners .

The city of Miami remains under investigation by the federal government after the allegations were made that city commission members may well have been paid to change their vote , on the financing bill, that became the source the building of the 34,500 seated Miami Marlins Ballpark , built at the cost of an estimated $600 million , which is being completely funded with public financing . And with the Justice Department, having subpoenaed documents in the city’s possession, as evidence, that they believe will assist in the building of their case. From my own standpoint , I believe that far too often , city and state politicians would rather fall in line and side with sports’ hierarchies , rather than doing what is in the best interests of their constituents and residents . Bud Selig has been reluctant to speak openly on the matter of the Marlins’ Ballpark , and the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile , Jeffrey Loria , and senior executives from the Marlins’ hierarchy have been reluctant to speak publicly on the matter , citing the ongoing actions of the US Justice Department . It begs the question , what and when will Bud Selig show that there is transparency to be found as to how the league conducts its everyday business ? Repeatedly , I read fans continually complaining about their being overtaxed, but I have yet to read of any complaints wherein , the fans are actually calling for Selig and the team owners being taken to task and that of cities where the teams reside , and the fact that there remains a gross misuse of public funds . Personally, I don’t believe the fans intelligent enough to fully comprehend what is going on within their midst ! And nowhere is that more evident than with the continued idiocy being shown by the fans of the Tampa Bay Rays , calling for the building of a new stadium to house the two decade old franchise .

When subjected to the questions as to where the funding for such an endeavor should come from the fans and media within the local area , clearly cannot give a definitive answer as to how the financing should be realized . With the cities of St Petersburg and Tampa , as well as the state having their ongoing budgetary woes , it is clear that the fans are at a loss to give succinct and logical explanation , as to how the financing would be in place for the building of a new venue.

Rays’ owner Stuart Sternberg continually complains , giving numerous reasons as to why new stadium is needed for his ball club , but yet the owner has been completely noncommittal in stating , that he would in part fund such an endeavor from his own personal fortune . Yet the anal retentive fans of the Rays , and the local media show their complete stupidity and lack understanding of the underlying economic realities . That should really come as no surprise given the complete lack overall understanding of the fans , ingenuity and leadership at all levels within the state’s political hierarchy. The state of Florida remains locked in a fucking time warp , which is still embedded, in the era of the sixties and seventies . Doubt my word ? Then simply consider the actions of the state’s unpopular and much ridiculed governor , Republican Rick Scott , and it should be noted that the Democratic Party within the state , remains a complete oddity , and a mirror image that we continue to witness at the national level for both of the political parties in question. Both are aimlessly heading nowhere , without a sense of urgency or an understanding concerning the economic woes of the country . Likewise the same thing remains a constant within the game of baseball , which is mirrored by the financial woes of several teams around the league .

The AL Central once again , looks like a division that will be highly contested but I do believe that it remains the Detroit Tigers’ to lose ! Granted, we repeatedly here that the Kansas City Royals will be a team to be reckoned with , and will play their part in competitive season and divisional race. Yet consider the fact , that, this organization as been one of the most mismanaged and incompetent franchises in all of baseball over the last decade . One would have to be either increasingly optimistic in seeing this team currently ascend to the top of the AL , while remaining competitive enough to be seen as a legitimate contender for the World Series . Ned Yost and his staff have been given the reins to guide this team over the course of the season . And while Yost can relish in the fact that his pitching staff has been bolstered by the addition of James Shields and Wade Davis , it might not prove to be enough to get the franchise where they desire to be .The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of a series against Tampa Bay Rays , with the two teams meeting tonight at Kauffman Stadium , in Kansas City , Missouri , for a night game .

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Picture gallery for your perusal .

Your thoughts at present on the state of play within baseball ? Also what opinions do you have on the league’s current situation as it relates to the South Florida based medical supplements’ company Biogenesis ? Do you believe that the league hierarchy should carry out their own investigation or simply leave it once again in the hands of the federal government to deal with the matter ? By all means do take time to chime in with a comment as you see fit .

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Tophatal ….. 04/30/2012

Picture and slideshow details below .

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(1) Houston Astros third baseman Matt Dominguez (30) fields New York Yankees’ Ichiro Suzuki’s fifth-inning infield single in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. AP Photo/Kathy Willens ….

(2) New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera delivers in the ninth-inning of their 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2013. AP Photo/Kathy Willens …

(3) ESPN’s Pedro Gomez , right, is seen here with Anthony Bosch , the founder of the South Florida based pharmaceutical and supplements’ company Biogenesis . The company at present is under investigation by the US Justice Department and FBI for what is believed to be a widespread case of Bosch’s company supplying several prominent Major League players with PED’s and other banned substances prohibited by baseball’s hierarchy. Bosch was very noncommittal with his answers when pressed on his association with several players mentioned in the confiscated documents now in the federal law enforcement’s possession . Courtesy of ESPN & AP Photo /Matt Cohen ….

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MLB news and news from around the league

MLB transactions and transactions in the month of April

MLB standings 30th April 2013 and wildcard standings

MLB results 30th April and teams’ schedule 1st May 2013

MLB probable starting pitchers

MLB standings 1st May 2012

This week in MLB history

This day in baseball history 1st May

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Hot chic pic of the day Melanie Iglesias . One hot piece of Latina @ss ! Your thoughts on that ?