For a couple of decades, the Kansas City Royals floundered among the also rans of the American League. In 1996 they finished last in their division for the first time since entering the league in 1969. The glory days of George Brett,Frank White, Amos Otis, Dan Quisenberry, and Bret Saberhagen faded into history as the inglorious days of Joe Randa and Jeff Suppan dragged on. Then, finally, in 2013 the Royals started to be good again, finishing ten games over .500. In 2014, they made it to the World Series, losing to San Francisco. I thought they would be the best team in baseball last season and they were, winning the World Series for the first time since 1985.
The formula is ancient, really, with a few modern modifications. The Royals play good defense all around, employ good if not spectacular starting pitching, create runs with speed and timely hitting, and have a very solid bullpen. Kendrys Morales was an effective designated sitter,driving in 106 runs last year with 41 doubles and 22 home runs. Alcides Escobar was among the elite defensively at shortstop and contributed at bat with 17 stolen bases despite low on base and slugging percentages. Salvador Perez was a gold glove catcher and steadying influence who hit with power to make up for walking about twice a month. Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon provided offensive firepower to go with their sterling defensive play. It may be time for young Christian Colon to replace aging second baseman Omar Infante, who dropped to a .220 batting average that wasn’t helped by his season total of nine bases on balls. Wade Davis was other worldly out of the bullpen with an ERA of 0.94 Kelvin Herrera was also a good reliever but Greg Holland did not duplicate his sensational 2014 season. Joakim Soria is back to help again in the bullpen this year, and the Royals are probably just one really good starter away from dominating the Central Division. They owe it all to good management despite the fact that owner David Glass is the odious former CEO of Wal-Mart who was justifiably vilified in Dave Zirin’s excellent book Bad Sports.
Detroit is threatening to compete again. Whether or not the Tigers do that may be highly dependent on how many games graceful young shortstop Jose Iglesias plays. Injuries have plagued him in his short career so far, but when he’s in there, he’s good. He bats a soft .300 but that doesn’t bother anyone when you can make the plays at short. If Victor Martinez has some big hits left at age 37 he will join Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler, and J.D. Martinez in creating lots of runs for the Tigers. Nick Castellanos upped his production at third base in 2015 and continued improvement from him would be important. Justin Verlander is another important key for Detroit because if he can be as good or better than his 20 starts showed last year, manager Brad Ausmus will sleep better. Frankie Rodriguez, no longer a kid, has been brought in to shore up a seemingly perpetually shaky bullpen and the real prize addition in the winter was starter Jordan Zimmermann, who pitched well for the Nationals the past few years. Lefty Blaine Hardy has been good in short relief stints. The Tigers are using veteran Jarrod Saltalamacchia at catcher while waiting for James McCann to come back from the disabled list. McCann is a good defensive catcher with some pop in his bat.
The Cleveland Caucasians are an interesting team that will probably overachieve thanks to optimistic manager Terry Francona, but it’s not as though they lack talent. In fact, shortstop Francisco Lindor seems to be on the verge of super stardom. The pitching staff is young and impressive even though they don’t get the hype some other (Mets)staff might. Currently injured Michael Brantley is very good in left field and veteran first baseman/DH Carlos Santana has more career walks than his namesake does hit songs.This is a team that will likely improve as the season wears on and perhaps remind people of last year’s big surprise, Houston. They have Juan Uribe and Marlon Byrd on hand now for veteran leadership, so it’s hard not to like these guys despite the fact that they have to wear that ridiculous, demeaning Wahoo Sam logo during games.
In an odd turn of events, the Chicago White Sox suddenly appear to have a cohesive plan about what they want to put on the playing field. The winter acquisition of Todd Frazier got everybody’s attention because the guy had 79 extra base hits for Cincinnati last year, but the addition of catchers Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro and now shortstop Jimmy Rollins have also been noteworthy. Rollins is well past his prime but, as he did with the Dodgers last season, he will provide a steady, winning presence. It helps a lot to have lefty starter Chris Sale around, and Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon are solid starters now joined by the enigmatic Mat Latos. Avisail Garcia, Jose Abreu, and Melky Cabrera will all be helped by the presence of Frazier in the lineup. The Pale Hose will be doomed, however, by their lack of one key ingredient–defense.
Minnesota was one of the pleasant surprises of 2015, remaining in contention through September despite the fact that besides Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier—who the hell are these guys? Well, there’s a lot to be said for letting the kids play and get some experience. Especially when you have no choice. Torii Hunter, of course, was no kid. He has now retired. Eddie Rosario, now 25, had a solid all around season in the outfield and should get better. Eduardo Escobar has become yet another Escobar playing shortstop, and he will be adequate. Miguel Sano,23, is being hidden in right field though he should probably be a DH. The DH is a Korean import,Byung-ho Park, who is big and hits them far. The entire pitching staff, including Ervin Santana, Tommy Milone, Phil Hughes,and Kyle Gibson, could be described as mediocre. The Twins weren’t scoring much as the season began, but many of us know that Spring doesn’t arrive in Minnesota until some time in August, and the winter returns after Labor Day. This is no argument to building another dome, however. Thanks to Paul Molitor for an excellent managing job last season, and we hope he remains patient. Remember, the Royals did it.

Even the ferocious and loyal fans of the San Francisco Giants have to be tired of the “it’s an even year, so…” talk about their team’s chances for a fourth World Series championship since 2010. One thing that does seem possible in 2016, however, is that the Giants will do something that they did not accomplish three times in those five years. They have a good shot at winning their National League West division title. Long gone are the days when the best team in each league went straight to the World Series at the end of the regular schedule and , of course, in the last two decades you need not even have won your division to have a chance at all of the marbles. Five teams in each league make the playoffs, so to pick a World Champion in April based on the fact that it is year 2016 is ludicrous, although still kind of fun. The Giants do look like the best in the N.L. West at the moment, but it definitely can be expected to be an interesting ride.

The most interesting news in the winter was that one member of the division, the Arizona Diamondbacks, plucked a Cy Young award candidate starting pitcher, Zack Greinke, away from last year’s division winner, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Snakes were already credible contenders, finishing four games under .500 in third place last season, which was a 15 game improvement over 2014. Arizona also added starting pitcher Shelby Miller, acquired in a trade with Atlanta that cost them quality outfielder Ender Inciarte and shortstop prospect Danby Swanson. With Patrick Corbin back and Robbie Ray and Jorge DeLaRosa ready and steady, the Diamondbacks look much better on the mound. Greinke has struggled in the early going, but I would not count on that continuing. The loss of premier center fielder A. J. Pollock hurts badly, but youngster Socrates Brito might shine with more playing time, and they have moved infielder Chris Owings to the outfield, at least occasionally. Paul Goldschmidt leads a stellar defensive infield with newly acquired Jean Segura at second and developing Nick Ahmed at shortstop. The Diamondbacks went with defensive whiz Tuffy Gosewich behind the plate last year until injury cut short his season and he was one of the better catchers in the league, but they are going more for offense this season with Wellington Castillo. In addition to his defensive skills, Goldschmidt powers a tough offensive lineup that includes outfielders David Peralta, who hit .312 with 78 RBI last year, and Yasmany Tomas, whose more modest production was somewhat offset by a walks to strikeouts ratio of 17 to 110.

Brad Ziegler, who doesn’t strike a lot of batters out but allows few base runners and very few home runs, is the best out of the bullpen for Arizona and Tyler Clippard is there to help out now. So the Dodgers and Giants will not be alone in contention this season.

As for those Dodgers, who knows? The baseball gods work in mysterious ways, so perhaps now that Los Angeles is not the odds on pick to click they will fool everybody and run away from the pack. There is a large contingent of Dodgers on the disabled list as the season begins, including outfielders Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford and starting pitchers Brandon Mc Carthy, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brett Anderson, and Mike Bolsinger. Thus, if they hold their heads above water for a couple of months, that help is on the way and we already know that they have replaced the Yankees as the holders of the fattest wallet in the sport.

What is already available for the Dodgers is pretty good, with Howie Kendrick and Corey Seager strong offensively and defensively at second and short, Adrian Gonzalez still capable at first and a big run producer, newcomer Trayce Thompson a rising star in the outfield, and Yasiel Puig apparently ready to fulfill his considerable potential. The current pitching rotation still features the best lefty in ball, Clayton Kershaw, but there is no one close to Greinke’s quality after that. Similarly, the bullpen has an ace in Kenley Jansen but then just a bunch of other guys.

Several teams were hit hard by injuries in 2015, most notably Texas and St. Louis, and the Giants certainly had their share. Starting pitchers Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, and Tim Lincecum were limited to 45 starts among them due to various ailments. Second baseman Joe Panik played in 100 games and was having an All Star season before he succumbed to a lower back injury, and veteran star outfielder and motivational speaker Hunter Pence played just 52 games while center fielder Angel Pagan did not miss too many games but was obviously sub par physically as his defense and offense both suffered. The Giants addressed these issues fairly well during the winter. Denard Span was signed as a free agent. Span was also hurt in 2015, but if he can be more like the Span of 2014 the center field problem is solved. If he is like the Span of 2015, then the Giants have two Pagans.

For a 30 year old pitcher with good career results, Johnny Cueto remains a bit of a mystery. His 2012 and 2014 seasons for Cincinnati were great, but the rest of the time he has been mediocre. His short stint in Kansas City last year was less than the Royals expected, but the Giants are hoping that he will be a rock solid number two starter behind ace Madison Bumgarner. We’ll see. The now well traveled  righty Jeff Samardzija is pegged at number three, and the Giants expect that their fabled infield defense and pitcher friendly yard will help him improve on his record for the White Sox last season, one of the worst in either league. Peavy, Cain, and last year’s capable fill in , Chris Heston all return and how they will perform is open to speculation at the moment. Lincecum remains unemployed after hip surgery. The bullpen looks  about average and is showing age in spots, but relative youngsters Hunter Strickland and Josh Osich might help.

It’s impossible to say a bad thing about Buster Posey, who batted .318 with 95 RBI last year while challenging Yadier Molina as the best defensive catcher in the league. One could point out that it may be time for the 29 year old All Star to increase his power production as the big legs begin to slow down.

The home grown infield of Brandon Belt at first, Panik at second, Brandon Crawford at short, and Matt Duffy at third provides superb defense and good run production all around the horn. A good if thin bench (13 pitchers on any roster is ridiculous) includes trusty Gregor Blanco and new guys Ehire Adrianza and Kelby Tomlinson. This is a very solid, probably division winning team.

The Colorado Rockies have a very scary lineup and a very solid defense, both personified by third baseman Nolan Arenado and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. They will have to clone Walter Johnson, Sandy Koufax, and Goose Gossage in order to contend, however.

The weather in San Diego is very nice most of the time. We wish the Padres a lot of luck. They now employ Jon Jay.

It all seemed to be coming together for the Toronto Blue Jays late last summer and, bat flip or no bat flip, it almost did. The Jays had to settle for winning the Eastern Division with 93 victories and then losing in six games in the League Championship Series to eventual World Champion Kansas City, but when they added Troy Tulowitzki and David Price to an already solid team it had seemed as though the Skydome was the limit.

Now, with Price taking the money train to Boston and Mark Buehrle retired, the Blue Jays do not seem to be impressing the experts as they did some short months ago but, looking at the competition, I find it hard to believe that they will not repeat. This would be a really fun team to follow if they had a decent yard to play in at home, one where home runs were not so cheap and where sunshine and grass were permitted to flourish. Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson   give Toronto a very, very, strong left side of the infield, both offensively and defensively.  That is provided, of course, that shortstop Tulowitzki spends more time on the field than on the disabled list. Then you have Ryan Goins, a golden glove candidate at second base, Kevin Pillar, likewise golden in center field, and Russell Martin, who is now the best catcher in the American League. So there is your basic, old school, strength up the middle core, plus nobody in the league scores more runs. Right fielder Jose Bautista struck out 106 times last season (is that now, like, the average?) BUT he walked more (110 times) and his OPS of .913 gives him slack to flip out a little now and then.

Ah, you say, but what about pitching?  Well, Buehrle and Price are gone but Marcus Stroman is back, knuckleballer  R.A. Dickey eats innings, as the gourmet analysts say, and the Jaybirds have a pretty strong bullpen featuring Roberto Osuna and Brett Cecil among others. They also have a couple of very useful bench players, infielder Darwin Barney and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera.  It won’t be a cakewalk, but the Jays have a lot of acorns stashed as 2016 begins.

I’m taking a big, deep breath first, but now I’m going to write that the New York Yankees just might be the next strongest contender in the A.L. East. There are some big “ifs” involved here, but not nearly as many as the Steinbrenners had going into last season. The repulsive Alex Rodriguez proved he could still hit at age 64 last season, but the Yanks don’t even really need him this time around IF: the injury riddled starting pitching staff can keep them in range of victories before a potentially devastating relief corps that will eventually include Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman take over and IF: Mark Teixeira can once again play enough to get the 392 at bats he had last year and IF: the new double play combination of Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro hold together in the field as well as at bat. Gregorius was glorious in 2015. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner have speed and defensive prowess in the outfield and old Carlos Beltran wasn’t as washed up as we all thought he was last year.  Brian McCann is good enough behind the plate and Dustin Ackley and Aaron Hicks are capable backups.

A lot of the East Coast bias types have somehow figured out that the Red Sox are pennant winners again. Well, the David Price addition is certainly more promising than the Pablo Sandoval one was last year. They do have some players, notably the fly chasing center fielder Jackie Bradley, whose hitting appears still to be a work in progress, and Mookie Betts who became the replacement for Jacoby Ellsbury that they have craved. David Ortiz is the fine wine element, raking away on into retirement. Dustin Pedroia has slowed just a bit but could provide dramatic leadership if they threaten to contend, After Price, however, we have Joe Kelly, Rick Porcello, and Steven Wright, none of whom are reminding us of Jim Lonborg or Pedro Martinez. The enigmatic Clay Buchholz could be great or lousy, we never know. Xander Bogaerts has developed nicely at shortstop but Hanley Ramirez, once a four tool sensation, has become a designated sitter type who isn’t even hitting that well. Not this year, beaneaters.

The Baltimore Orioles were my pick in this division last year, which shows how much I know. They had shown many good things in 2014, especially a sterling defense and lots of power in a power friendly home yard. They had Matt Wieters and Manny Machado coming back from injuries. But they also had a pitching staff that performed much better than they would in 2015, especially starters like Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez, and shortstop J.J. Hardy was still very good in the field but slipped badly at the plate. Adam Jones is great in center, and Jonathan Schoop broke out big time at second base, while Chris Davis was his old self at first and Machado was a good MVP candidate. So the Orioles have weapons, but Buck Showalter will need to work magic with a marginal crew of starting pitchers if they are to fly high.

Okay, name five players other than Chris Archer who are on Tampa Bay’s roster. You people in St. Petersburg don’t get to play. Well, they still have Evan Longoria, and he’s still pretty good. They also have Tropicana’s version of Willie Mays, at least defensively, in Kevin Kiermaier. For some reason they released James Loney. Can’t be because they have Logan Morrison, who hit .225 in another bad yard for hitters, Seattle. Steve Pearce is a good all around backup who devastates left handed pitchers. The pitching staff has good numbers but again, it’s a terrible place to hit–or watch baseball, for that matter.  Wher have you gone Joe DiMaddongio?

 

 

It pains me to join the growing cluster of people who have realized that this time, this year, the Chicago Cubs look like the class of their division and, perhaps, all of baseball. Last year, it seemed a bit premature for all of those self styled experts to be predicting big things for the Cubs. However, Joe Maddon‘s delicate maneuver of Starlin Castro out of the shortstop position and Addison Russell into it coupled with the astonishing excellence of Jake Arrieta propelled the Cubs into a strong finish and the best postseason performance among the three tough N.L. Central teams. Now, it appears that the Cubs have gotten stronger while the Cardinals, who actually won the division in 2015, and the Pirates, who finished second, are looking stagnant.

It stands to reason that Arrieta cannot repeat his Cy Young performance of last season (22-6, 1.77 E.R.A.), doesn’t it? Yet it did not look like that on Opening Day. Kris Bryant lived up to all of the hype with his rookie of the year performance and it seems safe to say that he will only improve, especially if they keep him at third base. Jorge Soler should also improve and he can’t even crack the starting lineup. Anthony Rizzo became the guy many people expected he would a few years ago—an MVP candidate. The biggest thing for this season, though, is the acquisition of Jason Heyward. This improves the Cubs while simultaneously hurting the Cardinals, for whom he had a healthy and very productive 2015. Heyward is the premier right fielder in baseball and he can back up Dexter Fowler in center field as needed. Kyle Schwarber is sort of the left handed version of old Cliff Johnson. He will not win a gold glove anywhere, but is an adequate catching backup who tortures right handed pitchers the way Johnson used to hurt lefties. The starting pitchers after Arrieta are not great, but John Lackey  and Jon Lester, the Steve Sax of pitchers, have lots of big game experience and the bullpen is deep and good.

Russell and old Maddon favorite Ben Zobrist make a very good combination up the middle and Javier Baez is there in case Zobrist has to play outfield or pitch or whatever. Miguel Montero did not look like his old self behind the plate last year but he is still better than most and just 32 years old.

Even though St. Louis won 100 games in 2015, dark clouds circled overhead and they appear to be lingering. Right handed ace starter Adam Wainwright was limited to 28 innings by injury, promising first baseman Matt Adams played only 60 games, and then their postseason was marred by a nasty  thumb injury to their MVP, catcher Yadier Molina. Now, Wainwright is back but  Lance Lynn, who started 31 games last season and was very good, is out for the year. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta, no Marty Marion or Ozzie Smith, had good pop in his bat as usual last year but begins 2016 on the disabled list as does new backup to Molina Brayan Pena. However, the Cardinals proved last year what a deep and strong organization they have, so let’s not just write them off. Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk are young outfielders who helped a lot last year and could keep getting better. Matt Holliday is 36 years old and missed 89 games last year but perhaps he still has something left to give. Mike Matheny is the equal to Bruce Bochy in getting the most out of his roster so stay tuned.

Cincinnati was a win at home away from big things in 2012 and has faded far from that ever since.  The Brewers were contenders not that long ago but now , like Yahoo! , they are”rebuilding”. Pittsburgh won our hearts in 2013 by bursting into contention after a couple of decades of futility. The Pirates broke hearts with wild card game losses the past two seasons and still have a lot of good weapons, but postseason games may be out of reach in 2016 as they have seemed to level off.  The great Andrew McCutchen anchors both the offense and what is likely the best fielding outfield in the game. Gerrit Cole is a potential Cy Young award winner. Francisco Cervelli almost made Bucco fans forget Russell Martin. Tony Watson and Mark Melancon continue to be stellar out of the bullpen. Francisco Liriano gives excellent, if short, efforts as a veteran starting pitcher. Nevertheless, the overall depth doesn’t seem to be there. Winter arrivals Matt Joyce and David Freese do not hurt but neither do they strike fear into opponents,and a platoon of Michael Morse and John Jaso at first base will not fare much better than the departed Pedro Alvarez. The outfielders on either side of McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte, have many good qualities but 55 walks versus 121 strikeouts (Polanco) and 27 walks versus 123 strikeouts (Marte) detract from their Hall of Fame potential. I’m not saying that they should be made over into Matty Alou, but that needs to get better because the Pirates’ pitching is not what it once was, unless suddenly Jeff Locke becomes consistent and the Pittsburgh coaches work some of their magic on veteran journeymen Ryan Vogelsong and Jon Niese. The infield defense will tend to make pitchers go for strikeouts.

National League Central was great fun last season. Let’s hope I’m wrong and it is again this year but I am afraid that I have jumped on that crowded Cubs bandwagon for now.

Before the 2015 season started, the general consensus was that the American League West division title was going to be fought over mainly between a revitalized Seattle Mariners team and the Bellflower Angels, who might have had the best team in baseball in 2014. The Houston Astros were considered the dark horse as they had stockpiled prospects all around the diamond, especially pitchers, but it was safe to say that they were at least a year away from real contention. No one expected much from the Texas Rangers, who had been decimated by injuries the previous season. The Oakland Athletics were not recognizable as Billy Beane channeled Frank Lane, apparently just because he could.

Houston surprised many of us by leading the division most of the way despite their youth and propensity for swinging and missing. The Angels’ pitching did not nearly match the strong performance of 2014 but they stayed in contention in a division where just a tad above mediocre was going to be enough. Texas won it on the last day as Cole Hamels won his seventh game for the Rangers after his trading deadline acquisition from Philadelphia. Therefore, since Texas would have Yu Darvish back for 2016, they have become the  odds on favorite to repeat, right? I’m not so sure.

The Angels have Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Kole Calhoun, and C.J. Cron, so they are going to score a lot of runs. They have Andrelton Simmons at shortstop now, so their good defense is now slightly better, and if young catcher Carlos Perez plays well over a full season they have an upgrade there. But C.J. Wilson and Jared Weaver do not appear to be the pitchers they once were, although young lefty Andrew Heaney looks good. Huston Street and Joe Smith do not look as good as they once did either, so that a once deep bullpen is sagging a bit. I’ll be surprised if Azusa finishes higher than third.

Oakland has strengthened its lineup but the pitching will relegate them to another last place finish unless they get off to a hot start and acquire two more Sonny Gray types.

The Rangers are pretty solid, especially on the mound, and if Rougned Odor continues to develop and improves defensively they will be strong up the middle. Designated sitter Prince Fielder, Adrian Beltre and new left fielder Ian Desmond give them some pop along with the strikeout prone young Joey Gallo so we won’t write them off.

Seattle is neither as good as we thought they were nor as bad as they seemed to be last season but this time it would be a surprise if they put together a real consistent threat. Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Felix Hernandez keep them interesting, but trying to hit well in their yard seems to wear on people.

The Astos look like the real thing now because guys like George Springer and the shortstop Carlos Correa will probably only get better and the pitching staff has become perhaps the strongest in baseball. Carlos Gomez will be a key element. So I say they will prevail.

Rich “Goose” Gossage was a mean, tough pitcher for 17 seasons in the major leagues with a commanding, intimidating presence. He pitched for several teams during his great career, most notably for the Yankees in the Bronx zoo era of the late 70s and early 80s. He was the guy who enabled the reptilian George Steinbrenner to rid himself of another great relief pitcher, lefty Sparky Lyle, who talked, and wrote,too much to please the Boss, and I don’t mean Bruce Springsteen.
In 1976, Gossage was mostly a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, completing 15 of his 29 starts while winning 9 games and losing 17 with a 3.94 earned run average in 224 innings of work. The next season the Goose became a bullpen specialist for Chuck Tanner‘s Pittsburgh Pirates and he was spectacular. He finished 55 games with 26 saves with a 1.62 ERA in 133 innings. That innings total would make about three seasons’ worth for “closers” nowadays but Gossage gave Tanner and the Pirates up to three innings per appearance and combined with the relief work of Kent Tekulve to get the Pirates very close to the Eastern Division crown won by the Philadelphia Phillies. Pittsburgh needed that because, other than John Candelaria and Jim Rooker, their starters were not among the best.
Steinbrenner opened up his saddlebags full of cash and signed Gossage for 1978 and Gossage did not disappoint the Lyin’ King. He just about duplicated the previous season by again pitching often and well, notching 134 and one third innings with 55 finished games, 27 saves, and a 2.01 earned run average.
That’s the sort of player he was and he continued for quite a good long while.
Now, the Goose has grabbed headlines again without touching a ball. He’s done it the way it’s most often done these days—with his mouth. Apparently his profanity laced diatribe on ESPN contained damning statements about “celebrating” on the field, pointing in particular to the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista‘s bat flip during the playoffs as an example of what players in his day did not approve of or engage in very often.
Before getting into whether or not Gossage’s old school rant was justified, let’s pick a bone about what constitutes journalism in 2016. I wonder sometimes if it is even being taught the way some of us once learned it, and I am more than certain that it is not being learned. Click bait is just another form of old yeller in journalism that, while not admirable, has its roots in the fact that if nothing sells no one gets paid. What bugs me more is that I was taught that what a person does should hold substantially more weight than what a person says. That’s an important thing, in my opinion, in journalism as well as the rest of life. What that means, for instance, is that when an apparently drunk driver loses control of his vehicle and smashes into a tree it is not really necessary to interview his neighbors about whether or not he is a nice person who pays his rent on time. It is also not necessary to interview the tree. Yet, to an ever increasing degree, that is what we get. Headlines are created more and more by quotes and less and less by events. That is, in part, how we came to the time when an amoral asshole like Donald Trump dominates news space and time. As Spencer Crump, my old instructor, would say, “That ain’t news.”
Now back to the “celebrating” by Bautista et al. What the Toronto outfielder did, in the context of where and when he did it, was okay in my book. There is a big difference between genuine joy at accomplishing something important like winning a World Series or a pennant and “showing up” your opponent with some mean display such as finger pointing and other gestures only fit for Republican presidential candidates. Celebrating smaller accomplishments is only natural and is okay as well. I don’t think we need Miss Manners on the sidelines telling the players what is cool and what is not but, on the other hand…some displays are a bit much. In the NBA, at least back when I used to watch games, it became an embarrassment to see players getting patted on the butt and high fives all around after a missed free throw. Maybe they were just encouraging him to perhaps make the next one. The first cooler full of overrated sugar water to get poured over the coach’s head by surprise was kind of funny. Every one since then has been lame. All of the convoluted dance routines that have ever been performed by touchdown scorers have been lame. That is especially so when it makes the score 52-7. In baseball, sometimes we see little hand signals from one teammate to another or to the dugout. That’s a bonding thing, absolutely cool. The pointing to the sky thing rather baffles me but harms no one.
The whole thing about “showmanship” and entertainment began in the early days of Monday Night Football while Howard Cosell was committing weekly sins of omission as extra cameras began to focus more and more on the boasters and the jerks. Now, it is important to remember that TV runs the whole mess. It’s not like the old days, Goose. Every inning of every game is on the tube or online. These players are exposed for good or bad on a daily basis. The cameras are in the dugout and the clubhouse and they are always on. How would you like to have all of your workdays on tape? And these players have grown up with that fact and no other way of seeing things. So we can cut them some slack no matter how much more money they make than we do. Just like we did when you and Reggie and Billy and Graig were “entertaining”.

When Salvador Perez popped out to Pablo Sandoval to end the 2014 World Series, the Kansas City Royals left the tying run at third base and the San Francisco Giants won their third championship in five years. That was a tough moment for Perez and the Royals, but without question that moment could not have existed without the stellar performance from the Royals’ catcher all season long. Last season,the St. Louis Cardinals won 100 games to win the National League Central Division, but with Yadier Molina trying to play through a torn ligament in his right thumb they faltered in the playoffs against the Chicago Cubs. Meanwhile those Giants, with Buster Posey limited to 106 games catching while also covering for often injured Brandon Belt at first base, missed the playoffs altogether. This time the Royals, with Perez behind the plate for 139 games, won it all.
The fact that these three teams have been able to contend and excel over the past few seasons has been, in my opinion, in large part due to those three towers of strength at the catching position.
Perez, Posey, and Molina are all excellent defensive catchers. Last season Molina was once again strong offensively as well, batting .270 with 61 RBI. He doesn’t walk much but he also doesn’t strike out a lot. Plus, he is a threat to steal the occasional base despite possessing what we call “Molina speed” in honor of his brothers Benjie and Jose as well as himself. Posey hit .318 in 2015 along with 19 home runs and 95 RBI and a .379 on base percentage. Those numbers may have been helped by his not having to squat so much. Perez batted .260 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI, very good for a slow catcher in a tough home ballpark for hitters. He wasn’t perfect, as his 13 walks (4 intentional) qualify Perez as a free swinger with a low .280 on base percentage.
Sabermetrics cough up an astounding mass of statistical information, most notably Wins Against Replacement with the suitable American acronym of WAR. We now can tell you the average velocity at which spit sunflower seed shells travel before hitting the ground adjusted for ballpark and weather conditions. There are still some things, however, that are very difficult to quantify. With team sports, every player is presumably trying her best to accomplish the goal of winning the game. Being skillful will always be the most important asset in achieving that goal. In times of crisis, though, each player has his own way of responding. It is at these moments of tension that a player who remains calm, assured, and relaxed is able to keep the rest of the team confident that the storm can be weathered successfully. In baseball, it usually falls to the shortstop, the center fielder, or the catcher to fill this role. That’s because the center fielder is the captain of the outfield, taking charge and reminding his cohorts in right and left of their responsibilities as well as cheerfully fulfilling his own. The shortstop should be the captain of the infield. These are the places where most plays are made. The catcher, ideally, is the captain of the whole team. He can be the one to direct all other players as to positioning, communicate with the pitcher especially as to pitch selection and location, and be a coach on the field and a buffer between the manager and that screwball left hander on the mound.
Their coaches and teammates agree that Molina, Perez, and Posey all perform this duty very well. In the past, we have seen catchers such as Gary Carter, Johnny Bench, and Yogi Berra glue winning teams together. In general, there are and have been catchers who can hit but aren’t so good behind the plate, and excellent defensive catchers who don’t hit so well on average teams that try to get by that way. When catchers are good at both hitting and defense, that’s a big plus. When they combine those skills with Darren Daulton type leadership, as Posey, Perez and Molina do, you get teams that win lots and lots of games.

Professional sports in America have never before been as lucrative and expensive as they are today. Piles of money are being made by the owners, the athletes, and the media that cover them. At the same time, as with all commodities in our capitalist system, the prices paid by consumers have risen higher and higher while the prices paid to keep the performers fit and the insurance premiums paid have likewise increased. Gladiators who are broken in the process now have the advantage of attaining a measure of financial security that in times past, when the big money was not there, was denied.

Young people have always been willing to sacrifice their bodies and perhaps their souls as well when they believe that the opportunity to raise their fortunes exists. Kenny Stabler, the free spirited quarterback who starred for the University of Alabama and the the Oakland Raiders in the glory days before that organization fell to shit, died from colon cancer last July. Stabler’s family donated his brain to science, and it is now revealed that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease believed caused by repeated blows to the head. Those of us who have played organized football are acutely aware of what pleased our coaches and the fans in the stands:big hits. If you are going to knock something or somebody down, no love taps,please. Hit that son of a bitch as hard as you can or else you will be the one going down. I know that there have been rule changes about using the helmet as a weapon. I know that the types of blocking and tackling that were once considered sportsmanlike even while dangerous have been modified by the rules even if not by spirit. I will also confess that I gave up on the NFL (National Felons League) and the rest of football several years ago and that I don’t give a rat’s ass who wins the Super Bowl or any other football game. I gave up football mostly in favor of soccer long before all this concussion stuff began to come out for other reasons. Kill the quarterback is not my idea of a fun pastime; when I played, I was fine with blocking and pretty good at it but tackling and hurting people did not interest me much, particularly after the big testosterone buildup era faded.

Boxing is another “sport” that does not interest me. I have admired individual boxers, especially Muhammad Ali, but it is a slave owners’ game that has the object of inflicting permanent damage to human beings in exchange for cash. Fuck that. Americans, and a lot of other people as well, apparently don’t have enough violence and bloodletting in their personal lives and need to experience it vicariously to satisfy the craving.

We cannot and should not expect to live without danger and pain and we should train to be as physically strong as we can be. We need also to be mentally and emotionally strong enough to avoid hurting each other just for fun or for money. Clayton Kershaw or Madison Bumgarner can buzz me at 90 miles per hour on the inside if they like just to keep me honest. That’s fair. And they had better be ready as well if Paul Goldschmidt rips one right back up the middle. When coaches and fans are screaming for linebackers and pass rushers to put somebody out of action, however, that is a different repulsive thing.

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper will get more ink, air time, and social media following than any other major league players again this coming season, and not just because they are young white guys in a sports world that once was dominated by white guys but now sees them as an endangered species. It will also be because they are very good at playing baseball.
Those of us who would have to hit the lottery to be able to afford tickets to major sporting events but aren’t stupid enough to buy lottery tickets have to be content to enjoy our games on television or radio. Therefore, rather than sit among cell phone cradling, mostly overweight “fans” who are stuffing their faces with highly overpriced fatty and sugary snacks and pleading for stray baseballs, we are forced to endure the constant chatter from play-by-play announcers and their sidekicks in the booths, which all now have corporate names. It is especially prevalent on national broadcasts while some of us,particularly in the San Francisco area where we can enjoy Jon Miller, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, are more fortunate than others. Here are some things we are absolutely guaranteed to be hearing again this season: 1)VELOCITY. In the days before radar guns, when all we had were slide rules, compasses, and our eyes and ears, there were pitchers who were “fast”. They could “bring it”. They threw “aspirin tablets”. We didn’t know precisely what the miles per hour were but we knew that we’d be lucky to get a foul tip. Now the big deal is to hit 100mph on the gun to impress the scouts and elbow surgeons. So we’ll be hearing about how some poor bastard used to average 96-98 but now it’s more like 89-92 and maybe he’ll have to learn how to pitch with all that that entails.
2)THE DESIGNATED HITTER. Already there is talk from chowderheads wanting to make both leagues uniform about the 43 year old rule that looked good at first but is so boring now. I’m all for uniformity if we can have it where pitchers hit in both leagues. The controversy, however, seems a bit manufactured so, instead of endless speculation, maybe we can just give it a rest. With the crowded booths at ESPN and Fox, someone is certain to bring it up while interviewing a player or manager as we all miss some action on the field.
3)BUYING AND SELLING. “Gee, Luke, the Pirates have lost their first five games.No doubt they’ll be thinking about dumping Marte and Cole by the trading deadline.” We used to hear old time players turned “color” men rhapsodize about the hit and run or how to properly execute the sacrifice bunt. In 2016, we’ll be hearing more about how much money will be freed to teams by dumping big contracts and how much so and so will be worth in his free agency year and all that other owner/manager bullshit. Please, people, there is a GAME being played here.
4)WORKING THE COUNT. Is Moneyball discredited yet? Look, if you’ve got no speed and all you can do is hit one over the wall every 21.5 at bats then, yeah, get yourself a walk and hope the next guy gets lucky. If your whole roster is filled with these John Jaha types then that might be your strategy,but don’t pretend you planned it that way because that is not very bright. I like the Dusty Baker approach: if it looks like something you can drive,rip. Not that walks are bad, especially compared to strikeouts, but let’s not make a religion out of it.
5)Finally,you and I will be certain to hear often that it takes “a certain mentality, etc.” to be a pitcher that pitches the ninth inning. The whole closer thing is so lame and tired. It takes guts to start a game too, and also to pitch out of trouble. Without courage, you might not get past American Legion ball.

Nevertheless, it’s 26 days until Spring Training starts and that, I guarantee you, is exciting.

Despite his ties to Tommy Lasorda, I wholeheartedly agree that Mike Piazza is most deserving of his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was no Johnny Bench behind the plate, but his career was lengthy and stellar. Any slow footed catcher with a lifetime batting average of .308 has proven that he could hit the ball where they ain’t and damned hard at that. I am re-publishing this post from a year ago because it still, unfortunately, pertains.

What, however, about a guy who played seven more seasons than Piazza, played 590 more games, had an on base percentage 8 points higher, was a great defender and stole 791 more bases? Okay, that last part was not fair but of course I am talking about the great Tim Raines.

Many old timers seem to have gotten a rather easy pass to the Hall but it seems as though the voters have been a bit hardassed of late. Look, if Ty Cobb and some of those other varmints can be there, let’s not get too choosy on the character thing. I am okay with Peckerhead Rose being there (as a plaque, not in person) and , yeah, Barry Bonds and the despicable Roger Clemens too. It’s not as though they are trying to buy automatic rifles or something.

The accomplishments on the field are what matters most or else it’s a horseshit barn full of Dale Murphy types who never pissed off the writers.

Raines came close in the latest balloting and it pains me to read stuff like, “…he’s bound to make it next time” or “…it’s too bad he played at the same time as Rickey Henderson.” He’s qualified, okay, get him in there while he’s still walking. That comparison to Henderson bit is really lame. Maybe they shouldn’t have let Lou Gehrig in because he was concurrent with Babe Ruth.

Piazza’s slugging percentage lifetime was a stupendous .545 but Raines was no mere singles hitter as his .425 slugging percentage shows. He logged 713 extra base hits among his career total of 2,605, which is 478 more hits than big Mike. He tallied 134 outfield assists. The 808 stolen bases are almost enough alone to qualify Raines for the Hall. Joe Morgan had 689 steals and a lifetime average of .271. Raines  batted .294 for his 23 year career.

There is something wrong with a system that denies a guy with all of those hits and steals and 1,571 runs scored. I don’t think it’s racism; I think baseball still has a way to go on racism but that it doesn’t  discriminate on Hall of  Fame selections that way.  So, no excuse: let’s get it right next time, boys and girls.