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.

With the commissioner of baseball’s decision not to reinstate Pete Rose comes a rather embarrassing conundrum: on one hand, the so called integrity of the game is upheld with the exclusion of admitted and habitual gamblers but, on the other hand, the very close association with DraftKings and Fan Duel and the like apparently continues. What Peckerhead did was dead wrong and he is rightfully paying the price with no evident remorse. Major League Baseball, however, is hypocritical to the extreme to join with organized gangs that are openly looting fans who are either naive or just too stupid to abstain. The hypocrisy here is comparable to the way everyone involved strained hard to look the other way during the steroid era when team earned run averages were in the fives.
I don’t mean to imply that betting by fans on individual player performances has the potential to affect wins and losses in the manner of the Black Sox scandal, but what it definitely has the potential for is the harm to fans financially while they dream of the big jackpot. It’s no different than playing the numbers. The trouble is, ever since the Mob got states involved in various lottery games and casinos sprouted all over the country, throwing your hard earned money away not only became legal (for the most part)but also acceptable, worthy behavior.
The biggest change in sports in the last 25 years or so is the amount of money involved. Television has had everything to do with that, with the result being that television now dictates most of the rules as far as scheduling and sponsorships. Therefore I would not expect that any TV executive who wants to remain employed will ever say no to any entity that wants to fork over a bunch of cash in exchange for air time. That’s why the DraftKings ads and logo were plastered all over our screens all last season. So what I suggest is that the commissioner maintain some consistency by dropping the ban on Pete Rose unless he orders the banishment from MLB of the gambling sites. Could that happen? In this age where not only is poker considered a sport but also people actually watch other people play it, I have serious doubts; it’s about as likely as a Republican presidential candidate telling the Koch brothers to ram their money up their asses.

Around the time that the new commissioner of Major League Baseball replaced the Chevy salesman, speculation arose as to whether or not he would consider rescinding the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball.  There has yet to be a decision announced on that matter, although the Fox network has already welcomed the slime into its large family of questionable characters and nearly qualified journalists. The inquiry prompted a review of Rose’s case on ESPN and, in somber terms, that network’s report concluded that what made it so difficult to forgive the former Cincinnati and Philadelphia horse’s ass was the fact that he had bet on games played by his team when he was its manager.

Remember when gambling wasn’t cool? The odd thing about the ESPN report was that, when it ended and they broke to commercials, an ad for DraftKings appeared. DraftKings came from out of nowhere this season to suddenly be everywhere your eyes could see, the official separator of fools from their money for MLB. Every screen you looked at, every fence behind every backstop bore their logo and seemingly every break between innings of every game featured that advertisement that bragged about how 300 million dollars were going to be “awarded” that summer—just pick your players and win, fool. Now I see that there are other players in this great scam and I also see that the attorney general of the state of New York calls it illegal gambling and wants to boot them out of that state. Of course, they have no doubt raked in enough money to fight whatever legal battles that may be on the horizon but folks, let’s tell it like it is—it’s gambling. If I pick my player, say Wilmer Flores, and he gets five doubles in six plate appearances, maybe I will win. So where do my winnings come from? Probably from all of those idiots who chose Mike Trout, who struck out all four at bats. However, I’ll “bet” that you need to pick more than one player What everyone knows who follows baseball is this:you have good days and bad days and, for just about everyone, bad days rule. The house always wins, or someone gets a broken back.

Picking a group of players to do well all on the same day is equivalent to what was called a “parlay” when I was a lad and my father and his friend John would often pick a two or three team group to win on a certain day. They made their choices, carefully considering the starting pitchers (always important, but even more so in the 50s before the bullpen got crowded with guys the manager could barely remember), the home ballpark, who was “hot”, etc. Still, nothing was automatic; there were days when Washington’s Chuck Stobbs was going to beat Whitey Ford, even at Yankee Stadium. If they “hit” a 3-teamer it was cold draft beer and a shot for everybody, but how often do you think that happened? Yeah.

Gambling was illegal just about everywhere in those days. That did not, of course, mean that it was not prevalent. The reasoning was that only the poorest fools would squander their earnings so recklessly and that their families, and society would suffer as a result, although I often thought that, as with so many other forbidden practices, the earning power for the racketeers ballooned as a result of the law. The other part though is that gamblers could seek to influence competition to insure the desired results for their shareholders. They tried and, as we know, sometimes succeeded. That’s why Rose was banned, along with the fact that even though a player or manager might be betting on his team to win, when he inevitably falls into debt to the bookies, things could change. Gambling is so very mainstream these days. We used to have Las Vegas and the rest of the state of Nevada; now it’s everywhere. Indian casinos, a bass ackward attempt at paying 2 or 3 per cent of the surviving members of the people who lived in the Americas before Europeans came to slaughter a large amount of money to exploit the rest of us, are ubiquitous. State lotteries, church bingo, whatever. Much of it is relatively harmless and helps raise funds for worthy causes. This Fan Duel and DraftKings stuff is not like that. It’s more like big business and easy money, just like online poker etc.

Major league baseball should not be endorsing it and you, brothers and sisters, should not participate. Unless, of course, you like being a loser.

Did it really matter that Matt Harvey won the argument about pitching the ninth inning? Well, his determination was admirable and the bullpen options were not very enticing by the time the fifth game of the 2015 World Series rolled around, so all it really proved was that his manager would vacillate in a crucial situation. Mets manager Terry Collins showed poor judgement more obviously earlier when Yoenes Cespedes was allowed to complete his at bat after fouling a pitch off his knee and proving that standing upright took as much energy as he had to use. To answer the question, though, no.
The Mets, it is true, had that game won with a Harvey masterpiece taking them to a 2-0 lead with three outs to go. If he comes out after the lead off walk, maybe. If Daniel Murphy isn’t the mediocre to bad infielder he has always been, maybe. However, were they then going to go to Kansas City and win two more games? It’s baseball, and anything can happen, but no, hell no.
We have seen many times how a strong pitching staff, which the New York Mets certainly have, can carry an otherwise ordinary team to great success. When the pitchers strike out a lot of the opposition batters, a relatively weak infield defense can be compensated for if not totally made irrelevant. The 1969 version of the Mets is a case in point. Also, in a short series at least, even the worst team can win or even sweep the series against the very best team. I don’t know whether or not the 1954 Philadelphia A’s swept or even won any series against the Yankees or Indians, teams that combined for 214 wins, that season but it could have happened. In baseball, however, it is over the long haul of an entire regular season that cream rises to the top. So it was for the Royals this season despite the parity that now seems to exist throughout the major leagues. Every team has holes, but Kansas City had the fewest.
The Royals team of 1985 was somewhat similar, with outstanding defense and strong pitching led by Bret Saberhagen and Dan Quisenberry. In October, although I guess I should now say November, that is what usually gets it done.
One of the nasty things about the culture that we live in now is that winning means so much while contending but finishing second or third is considered failure by so many otherwise friendly people. I want to give credit to all eight playoff teams (admittedly enough for an entire league not so long ago) for providing us with a mostly entertaining (despite Fox television) postseason in 2015.
Now it time to count the days until everyone reports to spring training. The pundits are already going on and on about free agent signings, money for contracts, and all that other business page bullshit. Others turn to football or basketball for sports fixes, or even hockey, but, finding no solace or stimulation there, I will continue posting about the game I love throughout the winter. No money stuff though.

What did you think, the Mets were chopped liver? Come on! This is New York, buddy. Those starting pitchers are all Tom Seaver. At least for a few innings. And David Wright, you thought he was done,dinja? We’ll show those cowtown fakers who’s real.

We have seen many games delayed by inclement weather and a few by fights or near riots, but now, for the first time, we have seen a game delayed because Fox lost power, which probably means electricity. It’s a good thing that they start the games so early in the day. I figure it was either the Islamic state or LGBT people pissed off at Daniel Murphy. We were spared Joe Buck for a while.
You have to love the way that the Kansas City fellows play the game. The only thing missing from their arsenal is East coast hype. The Mets, however, have many good weapons available, now including Juan Uribe. It’s difficult to understand why Juan Lagares isn’t in center field every game but Terry Collins usually appears to know what he’s doing. Curtis Granderson is playing the best ball of his life, Wright is an inspiration, and Yoenis Cespedes truly has transformed the lineup almost single handedly, but the final verdict may come down to the fact that the Royals’ bullpen is stronger and deeper.
Meanwhile, isn’t it gratifying to know that no game henceforth shall proceed without the sterling pronouncements of Buck, A-Rod,Peckerhead, and the ever pertinent Erin Andrews? I know, the official reason given was that they would be without the replay analysis so vital to today’s game. But isn’t that why God made carrier pigeons?

What will be finished first—the World Series or that bag of Halloween treats? Here’s hoping for decent weather as we brace ourselves for the gusty chill of New York versus Kansas City in the  21st consecutive championship of major league baseball since the last cancellation.

These are two very interesting and good teams. I could feel like a cagey prognosticator for calling the Royals the best team in the American League back in April except for the fact that I was ready to abandon that assessment midway through September. Toronto was red hot and the Royals, while in comfortable possession of the lead in the Central Division, seemed to be leaking oil. What had made the Royals look so formidable in the Spring was their solid defense, great team speed and base running ability, adequate starting pitchers and those almost flawless relief pitchers. They had lost Nori Aoki but gained Alex Rios. They had lost Billy Butler but gained Kendrys Morales. Then, to make them appear complete, in mid season they accepted the gift of  Ben Zobrist from Billy Beane and the Athletics and the probable clincher, Johnny Cueto from Cincinnati. Omar Infante had seemed to lose a step both at bat and in the field at second base, so Zobrist solved that problem more than adequately while also providing backup relief for the outfielders, particularly the ailing Alex Gordon. Cueto would join Edinson Volquez to replace the departed James Shields as a reliable big game pitcher. It was all just about perfect, except that Cueto and Volquez were not being so reliable down the stretch and one of the feared relievers, Greg Holland, was lost for the season with injury. So how sharp were the Royals going to be come playoff time? Well, quite sharp enough as we have now seen.

The Blue Jays did not suddenly become losers, but the loss of lefty reliever Brett Cecil showed a relative lack of depth on their staff, David Price was human and, after Marcus Stroman, the hurlers were mediocre at best. Many good things were shown to the viewers of the ALCS, including the outstanding play of Ryan Goins at second base and the awesome power of Jose Bautista. This is a very good team that unfortunately plays in a bad yard that seems to make players prone to injury (ban artificial turf before it’s too late, along with maple bats!) and  is too easy to hit home runs in at the same time.

What about those damned Cubs ruining everything? First, they eliminate the Pirates, who had won 98 games, just because they had a pitcher who had apparently sold his soul to the devil just to win 22 games. Then they knock off the Cardinals, who had won 100 games, just because St. Louis, who had been shelled with machine gun fire and mortars all season long, finally succumbed after one of the most valiant efforts of all time. So the National League pennant has to go to the Central Division, right, even if it’s the team that finished THIRD in that division? Wrong! Why? Well, the Cubs were severely diminished by the loss to injury of brilliant shortstop Addison Russell, but the fact of the matter is that they ran into a team that got very hot at just the right time. That would be the Mets, a team that I definitely wrote off early in the season that really took off after acquiring Yoenis Cespedes from the suddenly inept Detroit Tigers. It was another player who must have sold his soul to the devil, Daniel Murphy, who was largely responsible for the NLCS success, however, but it certainly helps to bat in front of the powerful Cubano. I mean here is a career journeyman infielder who doesn’t field very well, hits pretty well but with only occasional power, and runs well and can steal a base. Suddenly, he was better than Carlos Beltran and Reggie Jackson in their youth. Baseball:that’s why we love it

MEDIA REPORT: The bad thing about the NLCS being over is that now we’re stuck with Fox. This is the empire that demonstrates equal opportunity in hiring to criminals, a perhaps admirable quality that now brings us Pete Rose and Alex Rodriguez at the same sad table. The coverage by TBS was far better, although everyone producing live sports now seems to feel like we’d rather hear players, coaches, and managers talk in trite bland terms (Joe Maddon the welcome exception) about the action than see the actual game. The post game who’s your daddy, cigar, and wine thing was embarrassing, though. Perhaps the lowlight of the ALCS was the interview of the young man who caught the reviewed homer by Moustakas. I will offer a free tofu sandwich to whoever can forward me a tape of Joe “ADD” Buck completing a coherent sentence.

With the first game of the National league Championship Series, winter ball began.Murdoch forbid that we should have a  day game with hope for some sun, that annoying thing that dominated so much of the Royals-Blue Jays game earlier that same day. Murdoch forbid that we should compete with the three or four dozen college football games being televised that Saturday.

When the base runners are blowing on their fingers, it ain’t really baseball weather. Also, when the game is scheduled so that the ninth inning is probably going to be played at near midnight Eastern time, it becomes an adults only affair even on a Saturday night.

Yes, it can still be a good, well played game, especially if it isn’t snowing or raining. But by limiting the number of people able to enjoy the so called national pastime on TV, and by arranging the schedule to please television executives and advertising reptiles who prefer football, baseball is hurting itself in the long run.  The people watching are more limited to those who have been following the teams involved all season and will put up with crappy playing conditions while curious, new potential viewers of all ages may end up wondering what all the fuss is about. As for those wealthy enough to attend the game in person, it can’t be entirely pleasant even if their team wins.

Ski masks on baseball players are much more acceptable in April than in post season when the games are so important.

There were 12 college football games being televised at noon eastern time alone. Why not play those games at night in bad weather the way football was meant to be played anyway? I know the answer. I just don’t like it.

How could a usually very good Texas Rangers infield make three errors in one inning? I don’t know, but they did. How could the New York Mets win three games versus Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke? I don’t know, but they did. How could an esteemed catcher like Russell Martin clang a throw back to his pitcher off the hitter’s bat? You kind of had to see these things to believe them, but the 2015 MLB postseason is off to a roaring start except for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who likely would have beaten anyone but Jake Arrietta, and the New York Yankees, who finally had to face reality in the form of the Houston Astros.
In a season chock full of devastating injuries that continue to this day, we are experiencing an exciting and already memorable set of playoff games. All four teams in the league championship series have to be full of confidence right now. The best strategy for those of us who are not followers of any of them is to just sit back, enjoy, and see what happens next. Make no predictions but I’ll make one:it’s going to be fun.