We the people deserve better!
As an avowed fan of the game of baseball , albeit, that I still believe that the MLB hierarchy under the leadership of Bud Selig has been completely incompetent along with the lack of direction and integrity of the MLBPA (Players’ Union) . I do feel that with the recent voting and soon to be induction of into the Hall of Fame of former players Tom Glavine , Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas , quite possibly , the game itself might well be seeing light at the end of the tunnel , in terms of the fans’ acceptance of integrity returning to the sport. It must be said, with the still ongoing spectacle of baseball’s constant battle with the misuse and manipulation of its rules by players, such as Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez and the litany of players who in 2013 were suspended by the league hierarchy for their use of a banned substance . The question that has to be asked by the fans, has to be, why the leniency of Bud Selig, when it is clear that the players and the union can simply confound the league and its ongoing incompetency with an appeals’ process, that simply makes a mockery of the system now in place and said to be part of the collective bargaining agreement between the union and Major League Baseball ?
=======================================
========================================
Slideshow.
Baseball has yet to get its finances and house in order, in terms of the ongoing issues that it now faces , yet , the idiocy of Bud Selig ringing another rule change that will allow the use instant replay in 2014, simply addresses an issue that in reality, is meaningless , when the question ought to be, how qualified are the game’s officials and their actual knowledge of the sport they adjudicate ? Now while I do believe that in general, the vast majority of the umpires are quite capable , doubts do come in, when repeatedly , the same officials are making mistakes that in instances , have cost a team a result or that has led to a great deal of controversy, without their being response from Bud Selig’s office on the matter. Managers and players alike, must also bear a certain amount of the responsibility, in such instances and come to a consensus , as to how best address the issue of blown calls and seek to work in conjunction with the officials to deal with the matter succinctly.
Alongside the induction of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas , baseball will also welcome into its hallowed edifice in Cooperstown , New York, are former managers Bobby Cox , Tony La Russa and Joe Torre . That triumvirate of managers, between them have won a combined eight World Series , several AL , NL pennants and are considered to be amongst the finest managers ever to have been involved in the game at the managerial level. Away from it all, it should come as no surprise as to the obvious names, who were overlooked, in terms of the other nominees considered eligible for induction in 2014. Controversial as the names of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens , Mark McGwire , Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa are said to be . The very fact that their names were on the ballot, can either been seen as an affront to the game of baseball or the willingness in part of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) to let its members vote with their conscience, as to whether not these players are worthy of the game’s highest singular distinction , enshrinement and induction into the Hall of Fame.
One of the more seedier issues to come out of the voting for the class of 2014 , in terms of the players to be inducted in baseball’s Hall of Fame, was the very fact that one particular journalist was said to have offered his vote for sale. That journalist is now known to the public , and though Dan Le Batard has stepped forward and categorically stated that he did not sell his vote to Deadspin.com , but gave it to them free , explaining that his intent was to show how flawed the voting system was said to be and that his fellow members could be induced monetarily to sway their votes. Le Batard , is either that much of an idiot , or having been caught in an all too embarrassing situation , is now seeking to extricate himself from an incident of his own doing.
The sports’ website, still insists that they paid a member of the BBWAA for their vote and one now has to question not only that body’s integrity, but also that of Dan Le Batard and his own character , integrity and alleged honesty . As to what this might possibly mean as to his professional career , the columnist and sometime on air personality with cable sport’s network ESPN , may well have to offer up some type of apology for his actions. It is abundantly clear, Le Batard’s actions, were that of a self-ingratiating individual, simply seeking more notoriety, that he might not have gained elsewhere, unless through making some scandalous allegation. Not that , he has never been known to make such claims, yet in reality, the network and his primary employer , the Miami Herald , are unlikely to reprimand the journalist at this moment in time. Speaks volumes, as to the fact, that sports’ journalism and news’ gathering in general , continues to sink even lower levels, than ever before !
With the BBWAA now taking away Dan Le Batard’s rights to participate in any further Hall of Fame voting for nominated candidates . It begs the question , what will the institution itself seek to do , in addressing the issue of players associated in the steroids’ era that wreaked havoc in baseball , while at the same making a number of these players financially secure in their long-term future. The writers within this organization frowned upon these stories once they began to first surface, believing themselves above the fray and simply wanting to report on the events taking place within the game . At the same time , even the on air television personalities took a somewhat similar stance as their counterparts in the print media , perhaps not wanting to upset the apple cart and their paymasters , the MLB hierarchy. Little else needs to be said concerning the altruism of the BBWAA , their hypocrisy and that of the broadcast networks who cover the game of baseball.
The off-season in baseball , brought about the usual movement of players as a number of marquee free agents sought to move elsewhere , not necessarily for competitiveness’ sake, but more for the opportunity to pad their wallets, monetarily. From my own standpoint, I do believe that Robinson Cano’s departure from the New York Yankees for a move cross-country to join the Seattle Mariners , was actually one of idiocy, rather than a decision made prudently ! Cano, through his representatives at RocNation Sports , stated, that he was never given the respect due for a player of his status. Asking for a reputed $300 million multi-year deal , while also having your agent , Jay-z publicly taunting the New York Yankees as to their unwillingness to pay his client , may well have been the ultimate act of portrayal , as viewed by the Yankees’ organization and in particular by Brian Cashman as the general manager of the baseball club. Cano’s career began with the franchise and over the past three seasons, he has been by far , the Yankees’ best offensive weapon.
The Mariners may well feel, that they have obtained a player capable of making them a far more competitive ball-club in 2014, than they were last season , during which they were fell off the map, in terms of their final divisional standing within the AL West . It will be interesting to see whether not Robinson Cano can provide the sort of impact sought , in order for the Seattle Mariners to challenge the likes of the Houston Astros , Los Angeles Angels , Oakland A’s and Texas Rangers this upcoming season. The fans will be able to get a first look of the newly revamped Mariners’ roster during their Spring Training ….. schedule and then when the team kicks off their regular season schedule with a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Anaheim Stadium , in Anaheim , California on the 1st April , 2014.
No doubt, there was a great deal of disappointment amongst a number of teams last season , who were thought to be legitimate contenders for the World Series . It would be fair to suggest, that even with the late spirited run of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their winning of the NL West, comfortably. The team’s failure in making a deep postseason run and gaining what many felt would be an inevitable World Series’ berth , was all to no avail , as they succumbed to a very lopsided defeat in the NLCS in a 4-2 series’ defeat . The final game of that pennant series simply summed up in many respects how conceited that Dodgers’ team and managerial staff were said to be, as the St Louis Cardinals romped to a 9-0 victory .
While the Los Angeles Dodgers were left to wonder what might have been , Mike Matheny and the Cardinals would prove to be no match for the Boston Red Sox in baseball’s showcase finale for the postseason . John Farrell and the Red Sox, strolled to the franchise’s third World Series’ title in the span of nine years, which would be ball-club’s eighth title overall. For Dodgers’ senior managing partners , Todd Boehly, Mark Walter , Magic Johnson and Peter Guber , for all of the money spent assembling a roster of All Stars , under the watchful eye of manager Don Mattingly and his staff . The extraordinary fashion under which that team wilted, either says more to the lack of intestinal fortitude as to the makeup of the team , or the very fact that the players themselves were simply not that concerned and just wanted to rest on their laurels of the regular season. It would be fair to suggest that there will be moves afoot to bolster the roster and undoubtedly an increase in the Dodgers’ already considerable payroll , well above the existing $220 million , as it currently stands .
Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti is under no misconception, as to what is expected of this Dodgers’ team in 2014 . Anything short of a World Series’ title and the fans and pundits in general , will begin to question the mindset of a franchise , still waiting twenty-five years later , after their last triumph in a postseason finale contest.
Say what you will about the New York Yankees , but a postseason without most successful franchise tends to push the ratings down for the a television broadcast of game’s most celebrated event. That being said, the travails of the franchise this past season , have been well chronicled , from the on field woes, to off-field controversies and the ball-club’s inept handling of issues surrounding Alex Rodriguez . The team’s late owner, George Steinbrenner III , must be rolling around in his grave, while viewing the haphazard handling of this fiasco by Hal and Hank Steinbrenner as well as Brian Cashman. As the franchise’s general manager, Cashman has been lauded for a great deal of the Yankees’ success over the past twelve years . Inasmuch, as that may well be the case, this past season , the general manager has shown himself to be completely out of touch on a wide variety of issues concerning the team and the organization in general.
To suggest merely, that the New York Yankees failed miserably in 2013 , would be an understatement. Joe Girardi and the managerial staff , in having to deal with a litany of injuries over the course of the season, but the real issue he faced , was the fact that without team captain Derek Jeter on the field to lead by example , there was simply nothing shown by this team. In the midst of it all, there was Girardi throwing his support behind the beleaguered Rodriguez, whose ongoing litigation case against the league hierarchy (MLB) , also had a the player and his legal representatives seeking to sue the team’s personal physician , but not the ball-club itself .
Alex Rodriguez, has subsequently walked out of the arbitration hearing, covering, his seeking the rescinding of his two-hundred and elven game suspension , rendered by Bud Selig, for what the commissioner believes to be the player’s known association with Biogenesis and that supplement company’s distribution of performance enhancing drugs to several players within the game. Rodriguez , continues to maintain his innocence, calling the league’s case against him a witch-hunt and the gathering of the evidence used against him , as ill-gotten and underhanded. However, under subpoena , Biogenesis ‘ founder Anthony “Tony” Bosch , has continued to maintain that the Yankees’ slugger purchased many of the company’s products knowingly, having them sent to several addresses under assumed aliases. When pressed, to answer those allegations, Alex Rodriguez has proceeded to brush those claims aside and pointing to his legal representatives, Joe Tacopina and David Cornwell to provide the answers. I can only surmise, that the player has no wish to once again be caught in lie , while further embarrassing a ball-club that knows only too well , they have placed themselves in a situation of their own making. Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner failed to heed the advice provided to them in April 2013, by the Yankees’ Chief Legal Counsel and SVP Lonn A Trost that the franchise would be well within their right to terminate the player’s contract and the $43 million still owed to the team’s highest paid player . Take into account the third baseman’s lackluster season and you can simply see why this ball-club failed ,miserably in a so many areas of the game .
With a revamped lineup for 2014 , the Yankees will enter the season , with a number of doubts ,concerning its their pitching and whether or not their latest acquisitions, such as Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann with their sizable deals can gel with what is already an aging roster. Derek Jeter, while providing a great deal of the leadership sought by Joe Girardi, Jeter’s athleticism and productivity is no longer what it once was , when he first came into the game as a short-stop for the ball-club. The team’s season, will be measured by the success they are able to attain , by way of making at least the postseason. In what, is sure to be a tough AL East division, the Yankees might not be even the second or third best team within the division by way of the make-up of their roster, when adjudged against that of the Baltimore Orioles , Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays .
New York’s opening schedule for 2014, will begin with a three game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, with the opening game on the 1st April, 2014. One down, one hundred and sixty-one to go and therein, lies what is head for the New York Yankees over an arduous schedule .
===========================================
===========================================
Picture gallery .
In 2013 the MLB season reached some great highs and plummeted to some extremely low depths of ineptitude , both on and off the field of play. Yet, it would appear that purists still believe, that there still remains something to be relished about the game of baseball. The MLBPA (union) remains distrustful of the league hierarchy and Bud Selig’s tenure , soon to come to an end, has been an unmitigated disaster as the game’s highest ranking executive . As to the team owners and general managers. Well, their idea of fiscal restraint seems to be very much in line with the continued idiocy of this Presidential administration and both legislative chambers of the US Congress. Unfortunately, with idiots, championing the merits of fiscal hawks, such as Rand Paul , Paul Ryan and Max Baucus . It is easy to understand why the country still remains on a precipice, as it relates to its financial health , along with MLB itself . Surely, the fans and the nation deserves a great deal better from both entities, than we have witnessed at present ? Simply, leave a comment as you see fit on this article and anything else you believe pertinent to the subject matter.
🙂
Picture and slideshow gallery details below.
————————————————–
(1) Greg Maddux (left), of the Atlanta Braves baseball club and Tom Glavine , right, are two of the former players who will be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame this year . Glavine and Maddux will join a list of illustrious list of Braves’ players enshrined in Cooperstown, New York . The third player joining the pair of Braves’ pitchers will be former Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas . @ copyrighted material … Barbara Germano
(2)KANSAS CITY, MO – APRIL 7: Frank Thomas (35) of the Chicago White Sox bats during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on April 7, 2004 in Kansas City, Missouri. The White Sox won 4-3 . Photo by Dave Kaup/Getty Images …
(3) From left to right , Tony La Russa , Joe Torre and Bobby Cox . All three former Major League Baseball managers will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, as part of the 2014 induction class in Cooperstown , New York . AP Photo/ Gail Marshall …
(4) Dan Le Batard, a columnist with the Miami Herald , an on air radio personality in the local sports’ media market , and sometime analyst and provider of content for sports’ cable broadcast outlet ESPN. Le Batard embroiled in a controversy , in which he acknowledges having given his Hall of Fame vote to website Deadspin.com . As a member of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America) the columnist confirmed his actions , but has reiterated that he did so without any monetary gain. Deadspin however , states that money exchanged hands and that the vote took place as part of the 2014 vote process. Getty Images North America/ Paul Harris …
From left to right , Sammy Sosa , Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds . All three players having been on the ballot of the 2014 class of eligible nominees for the Hall of Fame ,but failed to garner enough votes to be inducted into the institution . The trio will once again be up again for the ballot in 2015 along with several other eligible candidates looking to be inducted in Cooperstown . Getty Images / Phil Townsend …..
(6) Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners is seen here with the team’s general manager Jack Zduriencik after the franchise’s high-priced acquisition was formally introduced to the convened press at Safeco Field , in Seattle , Washington ,. Cano signed a ten-year $240 million deal with the Mariners , having been rebuffed by the New York Yankees , in terms of resigning with the New York based franchise. Mark Potter/ UPI Universal ……….
(7) New York Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi is seen here with GM Brian Cashman as the duo take a moment to peruse a play at the team’s training complex at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida . After a disappointing season in 2013 , the ball-club made several off-season moves seeking to improve the roster . An aging core of players and with the managerial staff not seemingly having enough faith with the players within their farm system . It would appear that the franchise will going to this upcoming season with a group of high-priced staff , as they seek to win their twenty-eighth World Series’ title. Getty Images / Jason Wilson ….
(8) Peter Guber , Stan Kasten , Mark Walter and Magic Johnson of the Los Angles Dodgers . Having purchased the team for a reputed $2.156 billion in 2013 , the ownership group saw the team make the NLCS only for the club fail in their quest to make it to the 2013 World Series . The Dodgers will enter the 2014 season with a high-priced roster and a managerial staff headed by Don Mattingly . Fans and the organization, alike are hoping to succeed in bringing a title back to Los Angeles for the first time since 1988 , when the Dodgers defeated the Oakland A’s in the World Series that year . Getty Images North America / Rafael Fuentes …..
—————————————————
🙂
tophatal …… 2014/01/09
🙂
MLB schedule & important dates (2014)
MLB transactions (January 2014) and transactions in December 2013
This date . in MLB history (January 9th)
Eligible candidates for the 2015 Hall of Fame class
Share this:
Tophatal's Blog 
This is what is clear, with regard to baseball , the vast majority of fans are not that enlightened or know the difference between a balance sheet and a sheet of toilet paper to wipe their own a$s . So much so , that their only concerns , seems to be with the idiocy of things , such as instant replay and how much money will be sent to acquire a free agent , who more often than not , who fails to produce .
Dan and his Papi , so proud to be Cuban-Americans
Dan LeBatard is a simpleton and an @ss , if he thinks that the public are to believe that he did not accept money from Deadspin.com for his Hall of Fame Ballot vote . His explanation was just as asinine , as his actions and how he tried to justify his position . So much for LeBatard’s education at the University of Miami and that journalism degree . Simply not worth $hit , given LeBatard’s complete lack of intelligence ! . Le Batard is nowhere as intelligent as he makes himself out to be or as knowledgeable .
” Stop looking at my wife’s tits and look at me tossing this ball up and down ” !
Pete Rose
Barry Bonds , Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa at some point will make it into the Hall of Fame but in all likelihood that decision is likely to come by way of either the Veterans Committee of the BBWAA or with a fully fledged new group of young ballot voters who will overlook the apparent transgressions of the players in question . As to Pete Rose’s intent to be in the Hall of Fame . It is merely for his own wish to push up the price paid to him for attending private and public functions for which he’s paid handsomely , nothing more and nothing less !
tophatal ………………
LikeLike
The opening day schedule in baseball ought to be interesting and it will be rather intriguing to see how the Tampa Rays fare through the first month of their schedule in comparison to last April. .
🙂
Digital Undeground ….. “Humpty Hump”
tophatal ……
LikeLike
As an ardent Braves’ fan , I am extremely happy to see both Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame , joining other great Atlanta Braves’ players from the past with that honorable distinction ! Next up John Smoltz and then Chipper Jones for that accolade .
🙂
2-Pac …….. ” Keep your head up”
——
tophatal …………..
LikeLike
Alex Rodriguez remains as disingenuous an a#s in public ,as he is in private and he proved that , by leaving his lawyers in an unenviable position, having issued profanities leveled directly at the arbitrator , Fred Horowitz and Bud Selig , having left his hearing abruptly . His lawyers , Joe Tacopina and David Cornwell are now left scratching their dicks searching for answers as to what to do next .
🙂
Cam’ron , feat’g Kanye West ………. ” Down and Out ”
🙂
tophatal ………………..
LikeLike
Rand Paul , Paul Ryan , third from left and Mitt Romey.
Four idiots seeking to make the country a better place and between them collectively they possess the IQ of a gnat . No wonder the Democrats regained the Presidency .
I’m no admirer of either political party as both the Democrats and Republicans are led by complete imbeciles !
tophatal ………………..
LikeLike
I love football…but…… Keep saying it is time for the masses to boycott all the damn games…except maybe the hockey….least from what I’ve seen they don’t pull the crap the rest of the pros do….course one has to only buy into my 10 percent rule (10 percent of anything is just no damn good).
LikeLike
al clements
I love the NFL and number of the players have my deepest admiration . As a long-time Patriots’ fan I have long admired Tom Brady , Mike Vrabel and Vince Wilfork . Away from that organization about the only other players I followed fervently were Jerry Rice , Peyton Manning and Joe Montana .
This past season in terms of the results and the play , simply wasn’t that exciting in spite of all of the bravura from the on air idiot NFL panelists and writers within the print media . The NFL has now in essence become a pass-happy league where the product is all too bland and where a number of the players at the skilled positions are no better than average .
This past MLB season by way of the play and divisional standings , simply was not that great in part . Yet , so many of the teams were truly disappointing , especially that lopsided World Series between the Boston Red Sox and St Louis Cardinals . And the Los Angeles Dodgers with their bloated payroll were just a “one trick pony” , where fans fell in with that fifty-game streak and they couldn’t see that beyond that stretch , there wasn’t a great deal to that team ,as they were exposed in so many ways during their NLCS series against the Cardinals repeatedly in that contest .
What are your thoughts on ESPN”s Dan Le Batard selling his Hall of Fame vote for monetary gain , with the reporter now coming out and denying his vote was sold ?
tophatal ………………..
LikeLike
1. The baseball writers are not ready to vote in any player who abused or is suspected of abusing PED’s and as the years go on, more and more players will begin to fall off the ballot. For example in this year’s voting, Rafael Palmeiro failed to garner 5% of the votes so he will now no longer be eligible for the HOF. Sosa, although hitting 60 home runs in three different season, will probably fall off the balloting next year.
2. Mike Piazza, who was never charged or convicted of PED use and who hit 396 of his 427 HRs as a catcher, more than any other catcher in baseball history, was not voted in which shows that even if you’re guilty by association your chances are greatly diminished.
The fact that only 10 names are on the ballot each year is yet another travesty. What the hell? Al, can the MLB can only produce 10 plaques a year?!?
3. As for the Yankees, they have been greatly solidified by their off-season acquisitions and continue to lack in starting pitching, an issue, I feel, that will partially resolve itself once the acquire Tananka, the 25 year old who went 24-0 last year in Japan. They will win Tanaka-stakes because my hunch is that Hank & Hal are looking to ‘fatten’ up the team, produce a winner, and ultimately opt to sell the franchise. They don’t have the skin, the knowledge, or the right personnel in place to warrant them holding on the the richest franchise on the planet!
Always a good read Al!
LikeLike
fantasyfurnace/Hank
The MLB hierarchy works in conjunction with the BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America) with regard to the proposed … nominees each season . And therein lies the travesty of this whole spectacle . BBWAA’s writers are simply no better than Bud Selig and his cohorts within the hierarchy and that of baseball in general when it comes to this issue and a great many others . Yet, fans are looking to them , the players , union , team owners and general managers to . guide this sport with some type of insight a? Look at how each entity has either handled or glossed over the steroids’ issue and then the goddamn apathy of the fans in general when it comes to showing some signs of intelligence on the matter .
Baseball has become a sport so out of damn touch with reality on a wide variety of issues . Its financial footing is so out of whack , with a number of teams failing to eke out a profit unless aided by the league’s luxury tax scheme . But you have idiots claiming their teams are profitable because of revenues derived from their alignment with either a local or national broadcast outlet . Have those individuals taken note, as to what is now currently going on with the Houston Astros in particular on that issue and the fact that they’re suing broadcast partner CSN Houston , a subsidiary of Comcast and parent company of NBC /Universal . The only guys truly making money by way of real revenues when it comes to broadcast rights are the likes of the Boston Red Sox (owning NESN) , the New York Yankees as owners of the YES Network and the Los Angeles Dodgers with their $ 8 billion twenty year deal with Time Warner Inc .
Baseball has a bunch of frigging clueless and an unintelligent fans in general, who simply have no idea as to what goes on behind the scenes , much as in the same way they are f#king clueless about the country’s political system and what is actually taking place there on a daily basis .
On the issue of Dan LeBatard , that @ss is as dumb as he looks and his explanation makes about as much sense as the drivel and garbage he writes in the Miami Herald as a column .
tophatal …………
LikeLike
Hank
The New York Yankees will have issues this season . That team has an aging core of players that will be susceptible to injuries and the loss of Robinson Cano will affect them more than their fans are clearly willing to admit . We know that their pitching will be no better than average at best , even with the retirements of Pettite and Mariano Rivera . CC Sabathia is nowhere the pitcher he was at the height of his productivity . Kuroda is a year older and Michael Pineda , again a player susceptible to injury .
All in all . not a great situation to be in , in terms of the New York Yankees in general . I do not believe that by mid August to late September they will be in contention for the AL East title , but they may well have a chance at a wildcard berth in the AL .
tophatal …………..
LikeLike
Hank
Baseball cannot get out of its own way and never-ending stupidity . Bud Selig continues to be a damn blight to the sport and everything that it currently stands for . There have been few positives if any at all over the past decade and that includes the current idiotic testing program, which still has not abated the mass and prolific use of steroids and other prohibited substances .
Consider the fact that also , that even with the thirteen players suspended in 2013 , another 156 at the Minor League Level have been suspended over the past three years . Clearly the players within the game are being disingenuous and simply do not give a damn and that includes not only the union , but also prominent players who still have chosen to remain quiet on the issue of steroids .
MLB news
MILB (Minor League news)
tophatal ………….
LikeLike
MLB arbitrator Fred Horowitz has sided with the league and Alex Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 2014 MLB season . Thankfully, sound judgment was made by the one individual who actually took note of the cases and the finite details as presented and not buy into the pretext and proxy of the defendant’s case on behalf of the player, as presented by Joe Tacopina and David Cornwell .
Courtesy of MLB.com
A Rod is like a mutt that loves to lick his own balls and believes that everyone else should as well . Fotunately , only the lame assed out came out in support of the player , simply , forgetting his deceit and lies between 2008 through to his final admission of guilt in 2010 (April) .
MLB news
New York Yankees’ news
tophatal …………….
LikeLike
Hank
Thanks for the vote with regard to the post , greatly appreciated !
tophatal ………….
LikeLike
Baseball is becoming a parody of itself, Al.
I know boxing is already said and done. If baseball’s not careful, we’ll stop paying attention to that too. Or at least stop taking it as seriously.
I mean, why wouldn’t we? Everyone else involved in the sport has.
LikeLike
All season long baseball was a complete joke both on and off the field of play . The hype over the Dodgers said a great deal about nothing and indicated how overrated the team was said to be as they were exposed and that their ass handed to them in the NLCS by the St Louis Cardinals .
Masahiro Tanaka
Then you have the drama of the New York Yankees and the continued idiocy that took place there beyond their issues on the field . As to the thinking that if they sign Japanese star pitching ace , Masahiro Tanaka , it will be a means to an end concerning their pitching woes , would be like suggesting that Mariano Rivera was on the verge of making a return to the game to solve their problems . Neither scenario will make the team better , that is simply old un-athletic and were badly managed by Joe Girardi and his staff last season . Add in the fact , that Girardi being the hypocrite that he is , stood steadfastly behind Alex Rodriguez as if the player at any time during 2013 was actually damn productive for the New York Yankees .
Personally , I do not believe that the team will be in contention for the AL East this season because they are nowhere near to being the best team within the division based on the makeup of the roster .
tophatal ………….
LikeLike
Chris
Baseball lost its way and its empathy with the fans long ago , because the league hierarchy , players , team owners and the union are only concerned one damn thing and that’s money !
tophatal . ………….
LikeLike
I do consider all of the ideas you’ve presented for your
post. They are really convincing and will certainly work.
Nonetheless, the posts are too short for newbies.
May just you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thanks for the
post.
LikeLike
watchufc169
Thanks all the same but I feel the length of the article is fine .
tophatal ………..
LikeLike
The fact that Rodriguez’s lawyers Joe Tacopina and David Cornwell have refiled a suit within the US Federal Appeals Court is unlikely to overturn the verdict rendered by the arbitrator Fred Horowitz . The obligation here for the plaintiffs in their filing, is to now find a fresh avenue to seek to have their appeal be heard, under the grounds that the league’s actions overstepped the parameters of their leadership and rules .
Given the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) between the league and union , it seems highly unlikely that the league overstepped their mark , given the fact that the other thirteen players suspended in 2013 fell in line with the action taken and that includes Ryan Braun whose attorney and agent Nev Balelo negotiated the length of his suspension with Bud Selig and the MLB hierarchy .
tophatal ………..
LikeLike
Arod’s the Hispanic version of Roger Clemens. Deny until death. The problem I have with this ordeal is the suspension. No, not Arods! They shudda gave Dempster 20 games for his futile attempt at drilling him.
What got me was the cleverness used to beat the system. “When giving a urine sample, get it from the middle of the stream.” This guy Bosch is a rat that was very lucky not to do time for various reasons.
LikeLike
Ronbets
Issues I have with baseball . Let’s start with Bud Selig’s tenure , from being interim commissioner for several years , before given the job full-time . Add in the fact that as commissioner he earns in excess of $15 million a year and compare that salary to that of the highest paid players in the game or against the payrolls of the six lowest team payrolls .
MLB and its hierarchy remain clueless as to its finances and , what is needed to truly make the game competitive beyond the idiocy of the union , players , team owners and the general managers . Yet you have fans trying to point few positives if any within the game . At Minor League Level alone over the past four years , over 130 players have tested positive for illicit substances , been suspended and yet all of the belly-aching over cheating at the MLB level ? Where are the real priorities and what lessons are being sent and taught to youngsters ?
Baseball has never been a game built upon ethics , morals or having any type social value even with the so-called experiment of the integration of the game with Jackie Robinson playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers . As great as his career was said to be .
Tell me what has baseball done over the past decade to see an increase with the participation of African Americans ? More money ($150 million) . has been spent by the Angels , Dodgers , Mets and Yankees developing baseball academies in Latin America , the Caribbean and the Far East than the league itself , spends on that idiotic program (RBI -Returning baseball to the inner cities) . So tell me , how you now view the game overall and what you believe it stands for ?
tophatal …………
LikeLike
Ronbets
Roger Clements was such and remains a narcissistic son of a ##tch that in his testimony , he threw his wife and son under the bus , when asked the question, as who the syringe belonged ,to that Brian McNamee suggested belonged to the player . The pitcher claimed that his wife used the instrument in question to treat an issue that she had , and son Koby administered that medication to his mother . If that is not enough to clue you in on Clemens as a human being , then what is ?
🙂
Bonds and Clemens (right)
Clemens and Barry Bonds . are simply ingrates , without any frigging intelligence at all .
—
tophatal …………
LikeLike
BTW Tophat……………Attorney Tacopina and crew will bust out ARod’s bankroll to chump change. Well to Arod anyway. During the “60 Minutes” piece I had to do a double take on my remote. I swear they were interviewing Steven Seagall instead of shifty Tacopina. LOL
Remember a few years ago when the sports world despised Jose Canseco……………..for telling the truth?
LikeLike
If the US Appeals’ Court believes that there’s a case to be heard then taxpayers’ monies will be completely wasted on this matter concerning Alex Rodriguez seeking his suspension being overturned, allowing him to make a comeback in 2014 . The Yankees as an organization were well within their right to void his contract in April 2013 when these allegations first came to light. Lonn A Trost the Yankees’ SVP & Chief Legal Counsel advised both Hal Steinbrenner , Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman of that fact . Yet the three executives chose to ignore Trost’s advice , seeking to have have the player on the team along with the baggage that came with the mess .
Steven Seagal
Joe Tacopina seen here with A Rod
David Cornwell , who also happens to be representing the Dolphins’ defensive player Johnathan Martin .
Joe Tacopina and David Cornwell , as Rodriguez’s co-counsel are laughing all the way to the bank . Not unlike F Lee Bailey , Johnnie Cochran , Barry Scheck and Alan Dershowitz , when they represented O J Simpson in his now infamous murder trial in the mid nineties .
Simpson , center , seen here with F Lee Bailey , left , and Johnnie Cochran .
Obviously the glove didn’t fit , because LA prosecuting attorney Chris Darden was and remains a damn @sshole . To top it all we then would find out that Darden was “boning Marcia Clark , his co lead DA in the case against Simpson .,
Marcia Clark and what appears to a really tired Darden . White girl must have “sucked him” dry . Clark loves to “rock the mic” .
tophatal …………
LikeLike
I’d make the Public Defender a 2-1 favorite over the entry of Clark/Darden. All those plea bargains keep these prosecutors rusty and lazy. Oh yeah, the monetary motivation is not with them either. Lawyers are not my favorite type of people. The ambulance chasers and slip and fall reps are mostly slime bags. There are few that I respect. The late Bennett Williams, and the current Billy Martin. The latter I met with and couldn’t afford but steered me in the right direction for vindication.
I have no problem with your current assessment of MLB. Yes, American kids are losing ground to the Hispanic nations. As you mentioned, MLB franchises building academies outside the country is counter productive to our kids.
LikeLike
Ronbets
Both Chris Darden and Marcia Clark wrote books on their experiences from the trial that became bestsellers the NY Times Best Sellers’ list . Each netted several millions dollars from the books’ sales . Clark for a short period, became a CNN legal analyst , while Chris Darden went to teach criminal law at Cal State University Los Angeles . Subsequently , he went on to become an adjunct professor on the faculty of Southern University Law School . He also started his own law firm Darden & Associates LLC ,.
Selig and Joe Torre .
Baseball cannot get out of their own way and self-less stupidity. Bud Selig has been an unmitigated disaster as the league’s highest ranking executive . And as a commissioner , it is not that difficult to rank him among his predecessors . There have been nine commissioners in the game’s history and the incumbent might just be the worst amongst what has been an extraordinarily bad bunch of MLB commissioners .
—
Rob Manfred and Bud Selig
Joe Torre/ now a senior VP within the league hierarchy , was seen as a favorite to succeed Bud Selig. Yet I am inclined to believe that the owners will want Rob Manfred , who appears to be the heir-apparent for the position and as just as dumb as the present commissioner (incumbent) .
tophatal ………..
LikeLike