Category: MLB (Page 115 of 448)

      The difference between MLB and NFL players when it comes to steroids

      May 19, 2010 /

      When it comes to speaking his mind about the differences between how MLB and NFL players are treated when it comes to steroids, Astros’ first baseman Lance Berkman hits the nail on the head.

      From the Houston Chronicle:

      “I will say that what will be interesting will be the reaction, because generally when that happens to a football player, it’s kind of ho-hum,” Berkman said. “They’ll write a story and he’ll serve his four games and nobody will ever say anything else about it.

      “If that happens to a baseball player, they’d want to strike him from the record book. It’s just a totally, totally different reaction, and I don’t know why that is.”

      Here’s my theory: Football is just more popular than baseball is, so people have a tendency to give NFL players more leniency.

      Fantasy baseball isn’t as popular as fantasy football and the NFL has a clear advantage over MLB when it comes to gambling.

      There are only 16 games in football, so fans live and die on every play. There are 162 games in baseball, so fans could essentially miss an entire week of action and it still might not even matter in the grand scheme of things.

      People love football. They crave it. They want to see their favorite players in uniform and if one of them screws up, all they usually care about is how many games he’ll miss before he’s back on the field. When a baseball player screws up, the games he misses won’t necessarily have a barring on how the team does (look at Manny Ramirez’s suspension last year), so fans are more likely to get their moral handbooks out when passing judgment.

      It’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB, NFL

      It’s wake up time for Hanley Ramirez

      May 19, 2010 /

      I have a new respect for Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez in wake of his decision to bench All-Star Hanley Ramirez. Because Gonzalez has sent a message that most fans wish athletes would receive.

      I didn’t think Ramirez could make himself look any worse than he did after he loafed after a ball that he booted into right field against the D-Back on Monday night. Then he spoke on Tuesday.

      Did you lose respect for Gonzalez?
      Ramirez: A little bit. We got 24 more guys out there, hopefully they can do the same things I do. That are wearing the Marlins uniform. There’s nothing I can say.

      Are you going to apologize to your team for dogging it?
      Ramirez: For what? Do what? We have a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They never pull guys.

      Profound. You have to appreciate it when a guy doesn’t take responsibility for his own actions and instead shifts the blame to those around him. I guess if some his teammates all decided to rob a bank, Ramirez wouldn’t have a problem following suit. After all, they did it first, right?

      This is what Gonzalez had to say following Ramirez’s interview session with the media yesterday:

      “I think he’s got to take care of some problems,” Gonzalez said when asked when his star might play again. “When he handles that the right way, he’ll be fine. It could be good. I think whatever feelings he has with me or not . . . it’s fine and dandy. We don’t need to get along. But I think he needs to get along with the 24 other guys on his team, and when that happens, we’ll run him back in there. I think if he sets his ego aside, this could be good.”

      Spoken by a man who gets it. There are plenty of professional athletes that need to be reminded that their team comes first and Ramirez is one of them. This isn’t a Gonzalez vs. Ramirez thing – it’s a Ramirez thing. He didn’t only let his manager down – he let his entire team down. And while it’s only one game in the middle of May, every game counts. What if the Marlins finish one game out of the Wild Card race in September? Teams come up a few games short every year of making the playoffs and maybe Ramirez just cost his team one of those opportunities.

      If this were the first time that Ramirez acted up, then maybe everyone would be willing to move on quickly. But even the Red Sox had to discipline him for behavior problems and last year Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla called him out for his poor attitude. He’s not 19 anymore – this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening.

      Either way, he’s crossed the wrong person in Gonzalez, because the Marlins’ skipper is all about the team. Ramirez can either get on board with the philosophy or ride the pine. It’s his call.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Piniella on his way out? Not according to GM Hendry.

      May 18, 2010 /

      For those Cubs fans that have been clamoring for Ryne Sandberg to replace Lou Piniella as the club’s skipper, you’re going to have to wait much longer, I’m afraid.

      General manager Jim Hendry told the media on Monday that Piniella isn’t to blame for the team’s lackluster start (17-22 heading into Tuesday’s action, good for third place in the NL Central) and that the manager’s job is safe for the 2010 season.

      “We’re certainly not here to play the blame game,” Hendry said Monday. “We’re not here to put all the blame on the players that haven’t done as well as we’d like either. It’s been a good, collective rough start, but there has not been one thought in my mind of Lou Piniella not managing the team this year.”

      While many of the adjustments he has made with personnel certainly haven’t panned out this season, it’s hardly fair to blame all of the Cubs’ failures this season on Piniella. Two of his best hitters (Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez) have crapped the bed all season in RBI situations (and all situations for that matter) and he can’t find a reliable setup man to get to Carlos Marmol in the ninth. (He tried Carlos Zambrano there but much like his effort in 2010, Big Z was brutal in the role.) The bottom line is that the Cubs haven’t produced and a change in manager won’t magically remedy the situation.

      The good news is that Lee has started showing signs that he’s ready to break out of his funk, Alfonso Soriano has actually thrived batting sixth in the lineup and young phenom Starlin Castro (who struggled defensively when he was first called up last week but appears to be settling down) is spanking the ball. If A-Ram (who hit a walk off homer to beat the Rockies Monday night) can shake out of his slump and start producing, then the Cubs can easily turn things around.

      Things haven’t been pretty for the Cubs so far, but it’s early yet and the club’s issues aren’t un-fixable. Making a switch in managers would be premature and Hendry knows that. He just has to trust that Piniella can right the ship, just as Lou has to trust his players will snap out of it and start producing.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Hanley Ramirez rips into manager Fredi Gonzalez following benching

      May 18, 2010 /

      There’s a problem brewing in South Florida these days and at least this time, it has nothing to do with the weather.

      Hanley Ramirez showed more than a little frustration on Tuesday morning when he was probed about being benched by manager Fredi Gonzalez for not hustling after a ball in the second inning of Florida’s 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday night.

      Here are some snippets from Ramirez’s interview with media from the Miami Herald this morning:

      What was reaction when he said he was taking you out of the game?
      Ramirez: I just said ‘I’m going to go home. I just wanted to go home. It’s brutal. It’s fine. It’s OK.

      Are you angry?
      Ramirez: It’s brutal like I said. I’m just going to play the game and he’s just going to have to leave me alone.

      Did you lose respect for Gonzalez?
      Ramirez: A little bit. We got 24 more guys out there, hopefully they can do the same things I do. That are wearing the Marlins uniform. There’s nothing I can say.

      Are you going to apologize to your team for dogging it?
      Ramirez: For what? Do what? We have a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They never pull guys.

      Do you want to play for Fredi?
      Ramirez: It’s over. I’m done. No more [questions].

      Do you hold yourself accountable for not running?
      Ramirez: That was as hard as I could go right there. I wasn’t trying like I gave up. That was the hardest I could go after the ball.

      Ramirez fouled a pitch off his shin in the bottom of the first inning, which happened before he booted the ball in the second inning and jogged after it. He can try to blame not hustling on the injury, but I implore anyone in their right mind to watch the replay and convince me that he didn’t dog it while running after the ball. I don’t know if he was trying to play it cool after he screwed up or what, but he was clearly not going 100%.

      This is one of those times when a star athlete needs to swallow his pride, choke back some of his ego and apologize to his manager, teammates and fans. Ramirez is a phenomenal player, but just because he’s an All-Star it doesn’t give him the right to take plays off. He says that other people dog it “after ground balls” but even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean he should do it. He’s paid a lot of money to do what he does and seeing as how he’s the Marlins’ best player, he should set the bar higher for himself. If he doesn’t, then every team he plays for will have a pretty low ceiling.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Tigers demote youngsters Scherzer, Sizemore

      May 17, 2010 /

      One day very soon, the Tigers hope starter Max Scherzer and infielder Scott Sizemore will be a part of their future core. But as of right now, the club feels as though they need more work before they can contribute on the big league level.

      Both players were sent to Triple-A Toledo over the weekend in hopes that they’ll straighten out their weaknesses. Scherzer, who was acquired as part of a three-team trade that sent Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks in early December of last year, is a hard-throwing right-hander that needs to develop a second pitch. He’s lived and died by his fastball thus far in his career and it doesn’t take major league hitters long to abuse pitchers that don’t have a second pitch that they trust in.

      As for Sizemore, manager Jim Leyland seems to think that the young second baseman was starting to look lost at the plate.

      “It was almost like he was starting to get a little lost,” Leyland said. “He was fighting himself. You could kind of see it.

      “But I think Sizemore’s gonna be fine. We still really like him.”

      Baseball can be an extremely humbling game. When players are slumping, they feel as though they’ll never get another hit or have another good outing again. They start pressing, and once that happens their confidence crumbles and things start to unravel.

      Hopefully both of these players gain perspective in the minors and can come back up and help the Tigers soon. Talent certainly isn’t an issue – they just need time to get their heads back on straight.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

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