Sorting Out the NL East

The NL East is by far the most competitive division in the league. In no other division are the first place and last place teams separated by a single-digit amount of games. For over a decade, the Braves have dominated the division. However, they seem more vulnerable this year than any year during their run of 13 consecutive division titles. Not to mention, the other teams have caught up with them and are threatening to end the streak. Even so, with all the teams in the division so even, it's tough to tell who will be the one to end the streak, if the streak is ended at all. I'll attempt to make sense of this mess by process of elimination: one by one, I'll try to whittle the NL East down to try to figure out who should win it this year. Here it goes:

First out: Phillies. It seems as though, every year, Philadelphia underachieves. In recent years, this has been attributed to the presence of Larry Bowa as the manager, but now with him out, we should realize that a large part of the underachievement might have been the players' fault more than we assumed. Although Bobby Abreu has lived up to the hype, Jim Thome, the other big bopper, has gone through a decline in production compared to other years. The pitching has also been shaky: the Phillies are 12th in the NL with a 4.70 ERA. The starters will have to step up even more now with the loss of Randy Wolf. Overall, the team is just way too inconsistant to win the division title. They may seem solid on paper, but they can't be this inconsistant and come away with a playoff spot.

Second out: Mets. It pains me to get them out so early. I was considering putting the Braves in this spot, but the tiebrakers were that the Braves seem to always overachieve and, head to head, they kill the Mets. In most spots, the Mets are a team of "almosts," in that they're close to being really strong in those spots, but they need to improve on one element there. Jose Reyes is one of the fastest players I've ever seen, but he doesn't get on base enough. Cliff Floyd can be really good when healthy, but he gets injured often, though not yet this season (knock on wood). Also, with the exception of Pedro, the rotation can be very inconsistant. You never quite know what you're going to get from Glavine, Victor Zambrano, or Kaz Ishii every time they take the mound. And, of course, the bullpen is in shambles. The first priority for the Mets should be to improve the bullpen. If they can do that in future years while also making strides in other areas of the game, they might turn out to be a real contender in a few years.

Third to go: Braves. This was tough for me as well. Yes, I know, the Braves have history working for them (13 straight division titles). Again, they often overachieve (I think it's been something like 3 stright years that I've picked them to not come in first). Not to mention, Bobby Cox is most likely the best manager in the game. However, what it comes down to is that the Braves are a team made up of too many rookies. I do think that Cox and some of the older players on the roster (ie Chipper Jones and John Smoltz) will help them along, but this wont be enough to take a 14th straight title.

One last team out: Nationals. Since the season started, they have been surpassing all expectations as they sit atop the division today. I would like to see this team succeed at this rate for a while longer putting them in the same class as some of the other division leaders that have been contenders for a few years now (remember, this team was the Expos last year). I certainly do think that they have the capability to win the NL East as they've had both solid pitching and solid hitting all year. However, in my opinion, the team that I've put ahead of them is the class of the division.

And that team is....the Marlins. I picked them to win the division before the season began, and I'm sticking with my pick. They are just an overall solid group. They have a very nice lineup, with Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo heading it and up and coming star Miguel Cabrera and big bopper Carlos Delgado making up the meat of the order. The pitching staff is also excellent. Dontrelle Willis has been lights out this year. The rest of the pitching staff, consisting of A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett among others, also has the ability to be fantastic.

Well, there you have it: an attempt to make sense out of the tightest division in baseball. Just one of the many possibilities...
-Adam

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Following the Moonlight: A Lesson From Mr. Graham

As I'm sure you've heard, it is being reported that today is the 100th anniversary of Moonlight Graham's one game in the outfield for the New York Giants. He was just another young kid that never quite made it to the big leagues-until Mr. Kinsella ran across his name in the Baseball Encyclopedia, noticing that he played in a game, but never got an at bat. Kinsella decided to include him in his book, Shoeless Joe, as an old man (and eventually a young kid) that finally got his one at bat. The book was later adapted into the popular movie, Field of Dreams. In the story, Graham epitomized your everyday young minor leaguer determined to make the big show.

He never did make it other than the one game, but, in the story, he wasn't that upset about missing out on a career. The only thing that he really wanted was one chance at the plate in the big leagues. No great career, no fame, just one at bat. If only players' attitudes today could only be anything close to this. A large amount of players today seem to be ignorant to the roots and true core of the game: to enjoy playing. Today has been the center of a lot of talk involving a trade sending Gary Sheffield to the Mets. Today, in an interview with WFAN in New York as he shunned a possible trade, he made himself out to be a great person because he allowed the Yankees to defer the money in his contract. He has also admitted to purposely playing poorley earlier in his career in Milwaukee to try to get traded. Kenny Rogers harassed a cameraman during warm-ups, damaging the camera, not to mention his own image. Barry Bonds.....well......need I say more? Today, players ignore the past of the game and only care about their money and egos. If only they could, in a sense, take a page from Moonlight's book. All that Graham wanted was one shot at a hit-no fame, no glory-just an at bat. Of course, with the outrageous contracts these days, don't expect anything to change anytime soon, but wouldn't it be great to see a game with no stupid side-stories, no soap operas, no players complaining about contracts? Again, don't expect anything to change, but that was how the game was made to be: just a game. If they could only just follow the Moonlight....
-Adam

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The End of Yankee Dominance

How the Yankees have abused their power and driven the franchise into an unpromising future.

(I created this post on Monday and it has been sitting on my site since then, but this is my first day with an RSS feed to sportsblogs.org, so I thought I would repost it for all you to see).

Since 2001, it's seemed as though the Yankees were going to be able to practically buy the championship every year. With the signings of such players as Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Gary Sheffield, and trades for Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson, they were perennially aquiring the best player on the market. I think it is fine for any team to use all of their resources to get the players they want, even the Yankees. If a team's front office does not put all of their effort into getting the necessary aquisitions to improve the team, they're not doing their job. However, while the Yankees have appeared to make themselves invincible, they've really just set themselves up for a massive drop-off.

During the Yankee success of the late 1990's, the team never recruited big stars off the market. Farmhands Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada, among others, were allowed to grow through the Yankee farm system until they were ready for the big leagues. Role players, such as Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, and Tino Martinez were brought in from the outside to compliment the nucleus of the up-and-coming stars. This way, the Yankees grew off a predominantly young and talented team to dominate the league from 1996-2001.

However, since then, George Steinbrenner has reverted to the strategy that he used during the 1980's: sign the best players out there, old or not. This strategy was death to the team in the '80's, and history is beginning to repeat itself here in 2005. The Yankees are signing players that, although stars in their prime, are aging and whose talents are diminishing. They spent millions of dollars on players that were beginning to lose their touch, only to see them hit rock bottom in pinstripes. For example, the Yankees traded for Kevin Brown before the 2004 season. Since then, he has not done anything to justify him recieving a multi-million dollar salary. Since no team would be willing to trade for him, the Yankees are stuck with him on the payroll. Also, Randy Johnson, who had been a star pitcher all of his career, was brought to the Yankees and given a two year extension on his contract. However, his production has not been as expected, and now the Yankees are stuck with a 40 year old decent pitcher at best who they are paying millions of dollars to.

What it comes down to is that the Yankees, by neglecting their farm system and signing old players, have destroyed their future. This might sound weird, but it would be in a Yankee fan's best interest to hope to see the Yankees lose most of their games before the trading deadline passes. This is the only way the Yankee front office will be willing to face the fact that they are not going to make the playoffs this year. Although a longshot, hopefully this would convice the Yankees to be sellers come the deadline. Albeit they don't have much to trade, I would recommend that they deal Gary Sheffield for some quality minor leaguers. Out of the aging stars that they have, he is the only one that continues to be productive, and would definitely have value in the market. This may sound shocking to Yankee fans, but it's one of the few ways that the Yankees can help themselves in the future at this point. The fact is that the Yankees will not make the playoffs this year, so trading Sheffield would be the best way to get younger and to try to make the future brighter. The Yankees have only been getting worse in recent years, and don't expect them to get better any time soon.
-Adam

The End of Yankee Dominance

Since 2001, it's seemed as though the Yankees were going to be able to practically buy the championship every year. With the signings of such players as Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Gary Sheffield, and trades for Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson, they were perennially aquiring the best player on the market. I think it is fine for any team to use all of their resources to get the players they want, even the Yankees. If a team's front office does not put all of their effort into getting the necessary aquisitions to improve the team, they're not doing their job. However, while the Yankees have appeared to make themselves invincible, they've really just set themselves up for a massive drop-off.

During the Yankee success of the late 1990's, the team never recruited big stars off the market. Farmhands Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada, among others, were allowed to grow through the Yankee farm system until they were ready for the big leagues. Role players, such as Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, and Tino Martinez were brought in from the outside to compliment the nucleus of the up-and-coming stars. This way, the Yankees grew off a predominantly young and talented team to dominate the league from 1996-2001.

However, since then, George Steinbrenner has reverted to the strategy that he used during the 1980's: sign the best players out there, old or not. This strategy was death to the team in the '80's, and history is beginning to repeat itself here in 2005. The Yankees are signing players that, although stars in their prime, are aging and whose talents are diminishing. They spent millions of dollars on players that were beginning to lose their touch, only to see them hit rock bottom in pinstripes. For example, the Yankees traded for Kevin Brown before the 2004 season. Since then, he has not done anything to justify him recieving a multi-million dollar salary. Since no team would be willing to trade for him, the Yankees are stuck with him on the payroll. Also, Randy Johnson, who had been a star pitcher all of his career, was brought to the Yankees and given a two year extension on his contract. However, his production has not been as expected, and now the Yankees are stuck with a 40 year old decent pitcher at best who they are paying millions of dollars to.

What it comes down to is that the Yankees, by neglecting their farm system and signing old players, have destroyed their future. This might sound weird, but it would be in a Yankee fan's best interest to hope to see the Yankees lose most of their games before the trading deadline passes. This is the only way the Yankee front office will be willing to face the fact that they are not going to make the playoffs this year. Although a longshot, hopefully this would convice the Yankees to be sellers come the deadline. Albeit they don't have much to trade, I would recommend that they deal Gary Sheffield for some quality minor leaguers. Out of the aging stars that they have, he is the only one that continues to be productive, and would definitely have value in the market. This may sound shocking to Yankee fans, but it's one of the few ways that the Yankees can help themselves in the future at this point. The fact is that the Yankees will not make the playoffs this year, so trading Sheffield would be the best way to get younger and to try to make the future brighter. The Yankees have only been getting worse in recent years, and don't expect them to get better any time soon.
-Adam

Hey!

Hey there. I've decided to start a sports blog. I'll be covering mostly baseball, along with the other major sports (and no, NASCAR is not a sport). I'm not sure how often I'll get around to writing for this, but we'll see. Feel free to post replies to me; I'll enjoy reading them (and it will tell me that at least some people are actually reading this stuff). I look foward to posting.
-Adam