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Do you think Pete Carroll will ever use a Time Out to try and freeze a kicker again?
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On Thursday, Major League Baseball and the Player's Union quietly announced that they were expanding drug testing in the game. The new rules will allow for in-season blood testing for Human Growth Hormone and also a newly developed test that will detect synthetic testosterone.
Both moves were seen as a boost to a strengthening drug program and will allow baseball to now battle against the two biggest drug culprits of the last 20 years. HGH was seen as a huge boost for players that padded their statistics in the 1990's and early 2000's, while synthetic testosterone was growing in popularity, as seen by the suspensions last season of both Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon.
This was a win-win for both sides as the battle against performance-enhancers wages on. Nothing more to see here, move along.
But wait, there is more to the story here.
They say that timing is everything, and make no mistakes about it, the timing of this announcement is impeccable. Sit back and think about it for a moment, this announcement comes just one day after the Baseball Writer's Association of America failed to elect a single candidate to the Hall of Fame, presumably because the class was littered with candidates that had seen trial or been accused of using steroids during their careers. This comes a day after union chief Michael Weiner had this to say about the BBWAA's vote:
"Today's news that those members of the BBWAA afforded the privilege of casting ballots failed to elect even a single player to the Hall of Fame is unfortunate, if not sad. Those empowered to help the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum document the history of the game failed to recognize the contributions of several Hall of Fame worthy players. To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify. Moreover, to penalize players exonerated in legal proceedings -- and others never even implicated -- is simply unfair. The Hall of Fame is supposed to be for the best players to have ever played the game. Several such players were denied access to the Hall today. Hopefully, this will be rectified by future votes."
Does announcing this decision the next day seem more planned than not?
I've spoken numerous times on exemption based on speculation, so if I had to put my money on it, I would assume that both Bud Selig and Weiner saw this day coming from a mile away. They knew that candidates were going to be punished for transgressions, regardless of court proceedings, and omitted on this ballot.
The Union took a beating on Wednesday, watching as their years of burying their heads in the sand and fighting to allow players to live in the shadows was blamed for what occurred with the BBWAA. They knew that the current crop of players, those who may one day have a shot at baseball immortality, would not want to have their career's called into question by being associated with a generation cheaters and scoundrels.
Selig knew this was his chance to push for stronger testing, knowing that the Union would be in a weak position to argue the rules change. He knew the players wanted stronger testing and knowing how the Hall of Fame would react was the nail in the coffin he needed to hammer it home.
No, this was a day of reckoning and one that was long overdue. Both sides are finally starting to understand the ramifications of their actions. in the past and how they must move forward in the future in order to avoid a permanent blot on the game.
That all said, this does not excuse the fact that the BBWAA dropped the ball with some very deserving players from past generations that got punished on this ballot along with the cheaters. However, it was certainly the wake-up call that baseball needed.
History cannot be re-written, no matter how much the BBWAA, the MLBPA, or Bud Selig's office may try from each respective angle. However, this will go a long way toward penning a much better ending.
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Editor's Note: Since “The Onion” was already taken, and “The Bunion” has been tried by some lame college students back east, the only thing left is “The Grunion”, a group of fish that spawn on the beaches of Southern California at certain times of the year... just like athletes...
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Following the lead of pro sports, a lockout in college football is planned for the 2013 season. Unlike the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB, CFB will lockout teams, not its players. While at first this may seem confusing, it actually makes perfect sense. Players will be allowed to play similar to previous years, however each school will be locked out of the annual National Championship game unless its membership is transferred to the SEC, thus avoiding another pitifully lopsided affair...
The conference will play a bunch of practice games, then have a 64 team tournament to determine the National Championship. Should a non-current SEC team mistakenly qualify for the finale against a current SEC team, they must win a best of three to prove that they really are that good, not just a fluke. If a current SEC team wins game one, it will be declared National Champions so as to not waste time and further embarrassment to the wannabe...
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame has announced a surprise “non-baseball player” for next year’s ballot. This previously unprecedented move became precedented when the committee appropriately selected the name of former cyclist Lance Armstrong to appear on its ballot. Unlike the 75% needed to become an HOFer, Armstrong only needs to surpass Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in votes to become enshrined, which will probably happen rather easily. Though he has never played a game in the major leagues, Lance has been pitching his innocence when it comes to Performance Enhancing Drugs... and catching a lot of criticism as well...
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The revitalization of the famous soap opera “General Hospital” appears to be a reality as members of the Los Angeles Lakers will have major roles (as patients) in the pilot episode. The remake is predicted to do quite well, but just like its current NBA season, will probably be a major disappointment because Kobe Bryant plans be in every “shot” while delivering about 95% of the lines...
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And speaking of being in every shot, the NFL has announced that it will not show play-by-play action of this weekend's playoff game between the Baltimore Ray-vens and the Denver Broncos. The game, which has been moved to ESPN for obvious reasons, will feature just one camera, focused on Ray Lewis 100% of the time. When Ray makes a tackle, you will see it. When Ray relieves himself at halftime, you will see that, too. All commercials will feature Ray Lewis as well. This is probably the last time we will see Ray Lewis until he is enshrined (by himself and no one else) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Therefore, ESPN has decided to call the event, “All Ray, All the Time.” When asked if he feels the audience will enjoy the “Ray-gasm”, Chris Berman replied, “We think so. That’s why we decided to take a ‘stab’ at it.”
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dvt
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/06/grunion_j0wxwvnc.jpg
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1277596086/NFL-Lockout.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI
http://asklogo.com/images/N/national%20baseball%20hall%20of%20fame%20and%20museum%20logo.jpg
http://ll.static.abc.com/c/shows/generalhospital/slideshow/keyart/GH_2012_624x351.jpg
http://desktopbackgrounds1.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Ray-Lewis.jpg
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Well, the votes are in and as some predicted, not a single player achieved induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
This year's class represented a tremendous challenge for voters, requiring each to use their ballot to not only determine worthiness of baseball immortality, but to also play push past speculation and determine which has cheated the game through the use of steroids. In the end, the BBWAA was not up to the challenge and failed to enshrine a single player.
It is a shame really, as some players were more than worthy, especially some of those that had hung around on the ballot for a few years. The different camps split the vote and in the end, no one gets honored. I do not envy those that cast their ballots, as there was no good ground to walk on. Either you admitted a cheater or you failed to admit some of the best to play the game.
However, it is worth saying that any privileged voter, and voting is a privilege, that failed to vote for a single candidate should have their right to vote revoked. There were five such ballots this year, (Howard Bryant of ESPN being one of them). None of these individuals are making a statement. They are simply undermining a process that they were lucky enough to be included in. If they don't want to vote, they can simply step aside for someone else.
Here are the final results, as well as some brief commentary on each:
Craig Biggio 388 (68.2%) 1st - Biggio had my vote (if I had one), as well as a number of other mock votes I read in the weeks leading up to the election. I thought for sure he would have made it.
Jack Morris 385 (67.7%) 14th - With the vote split, I thought this was Jack's year, despite being a borderline candidate. That split netted him exactly 3 more votes this year. Next year does not get any easier with Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Mike Mussina set to steal some thunder from Morris.
Jeff Bagwell 339 (59.6%) 3rd - Bagwell gets held back because of the "eye test" but he was a tremendous hitter who's career was cut down to early due to injury. Tought to disagree, but he may still see election.
Mike Piazza 329 (57.8%) 1st - Piazza is another who probably got docked a few votes because of speculation, but he belongs in the Hall as one of the best hitting catchers of all-time.
Tim Raines 297 (52.2%) 6th - The Sabermetricians like myself love Raines as a candidate. The guys who look at the traditional stats see a guy that fell short in a lot of categories. He belongs in, but will take some convincing.
Lee Smith 272 (47.8%) 11th - This is sad, but Smith actually LOST 18 votes in 2013. It is a travesty that he is not recognized for what he did as a closer.
Curt Schilling 221 (38.8%) 1st - Here is where I start to argue. I liked Schilling, but I cannot see him making the Hall of Fame simply off of his impecable postseason resume. And let's face facts, that is where most of his support is coming from.
Roger Clemens 214 (37.6%) 1st - Hard to argue with this. Clemens may see election, but not in the first year, not in this day and age. He and Bonds are the poster-children for the era and rightfully so that they get to hold hands while waiting for voters to look past their transgressions.
Barry Bonds 206 (36.2%) 1st - Again, like Clemens, Bonds is everything that made this vote difficult. He was one of the greatest, and may be immortalized with the rest, but the BBWAA is going to make sure he understands what he did to the game.
Edgar Martinez 204 (35.9%) 4th - Martinez was a great guy, but for a player who spent most of his time being a hitter only, I think you need more to push him over the bump. His election will come down to the Veteran's Committee years from now.
Alan Trammell 191 (33.6%) 12th - All I have to say is that if Larkin got in, then Trammell should as well.
Larry Walker 123 (21.6%) 3rd - Did not hit 400 home runs despite playing in a tremendous park for doing so and in an era dominated by them. Failed to hit 2500 hits despite having a .313 lifetime average. Failed to make a blip on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Fred McGriff 118 (20.7%) 4th - This is just a shame. The Crime Dog lost 19 votes and is getting robbed by voters. He was better than he is being treated.
Dale Murphy 106 (18.6%) 15th - Murphy's kids put on a big push to get him elected in his final year on the ballot, yet that only got him 23 more votes. Sadly, he needed a lot more. Jim Rice is his best case for admittance, but to be honest, I'm not so sure Rice even belongs in.
Mark McGwire 96 (16.9%) 7th - McGwire was the first to get punished for his usage of steroids. Judging by his vote history, even after admitting to it, he's going to languish here for another 8 years before falling off the ballot.
Don Mattingly 75 (13.2%) 13th - I love Donny Baseball as a kid. Sadly, he just doesn't get it done for me as a Hall of Famer though. Too many injuries and too short a period of dominance.
Sammy Sosa 71 (12.5%) 1st - Sosa should be higher, but not much. He's going to ride the pine with McGwire for a long time.
Rafael Palmeiro 50 (8.8%) 3rd - Denied using, then tested positive, and the hid behind an unbelievable excuse for the positive test. He'll likely fall of the ballot next year.
Missed the 5% Cut-off for next year's ballot:
Bernie Williams 19 (3.3%) 2nd - Only candidate on this portion that truly surpised me. Do I think he's Hall worthy? No. However, he deserved more consideration that a measily 3.3%.
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Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. It’s hard to believe that we are wading into another year, but here we are. January has a tough task…it is the month that follows the Christmas season and as my wife invariably says…”it is such a dark month.” All of the festivities of December are gone and we are left with the month after…the month to change habits that we generally enjoy. For everyone joining a gym, changing their diet or trying to change spending habits; good luck. Is it any wonder that January gets a bad rap? One thing that I know, change is never an easy task.
We will soon know if any of this year’s group of HOF candidates garnered 75% of the sportswriters vote necessary to make the hall. Early reports are that Biggio is at the top, with 68% of the vote. Of course, this would mean that none of this year’s group is deemed suitable for the HOF. As an Astro fan, I was obviously very hopeful that Biggio and Bagwell would gain entry this year. There is no doubt that the writers are conflicted with what to do with Bonds and Clemens. If you have any knowledge of baseball and talent, Bonds and Clemens clearly rank very high with the all time best players in the game. If you polled each member of the Gab, you would find a wide range of opinions regarding the right move. Many choose to ignore greatness on the basis of cheating. Others would try to pick and choose those players that they think were clean. The hall of fame is museum of baseball’s history. Like it or not, steroids were part of baseball’s history. It is very possible that we find Cooperstown a closed club. Year after year with no inductees is a real possibility. Of course, since Greg Maddux is eligible next year…at least we will have one, right? This is a discussion that is only beginning…as is the witch hunt.
One thing about 2013 that won’t change is an SEC team winning the national championship. Like most of you, I watched the NC game Monday night. My money was on a close, low scoring game. Obviously, the result was much different. Notre Dame fans will be told that it was a great season (it was). Many will talk about the disparity of talent between Alabama and ND. One thing that should not be ignored is the advantage Bama had in familiarity to the bright lights. If you watched the Irish play this year, you will agree that Monday was their worst game of the year. When you hang your hat on defense, you must tackle well. For whatever reason, ND was simply not ready to play in their biggest game. It was obvious that Bama was confident and comfortable to be there. ND…not so much. Some will say, I told you so. They will say that the SEC is that much better than the rest of college football. I think the reality is that ND tried to beat Bama at their own game…and it backfired. What beats Bama? A great offense…the Irish won by scoring just enough to win all year and it finally caught up with them. Bama won another NC, but are they the best team in the country? I am not sure they are even the best team in their conference. One thing that is obvious, Nick Saban is one helluva coach.
Even Kate Upton got into the discussion…
Upton's take on the Irish's embarrassing loss: "It's okay Notre Dame this happened to the Jets every week."
See what she did there? Not only did she manage to slam two teams at once, Upton also got in a dig at an alleged former beau, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
The NFL playoffs started last Sunday and it was good. I did not get to watch every minute of every game, but I got a very good sampling. The Texans will have to find an offense if they hope to hang with New England this weekend. If RG3 had been healthy, my guess is that the Skins would be advancing to face Atlanta. There has been much discussion about Griffin continuing to play against Seattle. As a fan, we expect our players to be warriors. RG3 did what he needed to do…stay on the field. It is up to the head coach to determine when a player is no longer effective. It was learned today that Giffin tore his LCL and his return next year is in doubt. Mike Shanahan must wear this charge as it was entirely his decision to leave his young star in the game. There was a play in the 2nd quarter that Griffin rolled right and suddenly attempted to pull up. Griffin went out of bounds on the play and yanked his helmet off in what looked to be frustration and pain. That was the play the re-aggravated Griffin’s knee (to my eyes). That was also when the Redskins quit moving the ball. The Redskin defense played well enough to win. The Skins basically tried to hang on for the 2nd half with a very ineffective offense. Of course fans will wonder why Cousins did not come in the game earlier. It was so obvious and so necessary for Washington to win that game. It takes courage to pull Griffin out of a playoff game, but that is the job of the head coach. Shame on you Mike Shanahan, your team and fans deserved better.
That’s all I have today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey…
To me, it is a good idea to carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anyone says, “hey can you give me a hand?” You can say, “sorry, I got these sacks.”
Instead of having “answers” on a math test, they should just call them “impressions,” and if you get a different “impression”, so what, can’t we all be brothers?
Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own…
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