The Latest A-Fraud

Not to beat a dead horse at all, but I do want to bring up the latest issue that people seem to have come up with to attack A-Rod, the idea that he was tipping pitches to opposing players. 

Now, many people out there seem to have it in for Alex Rodriguez at this point (if they didn't before the steroids issue), and this is definitely an iffy topic for A-Rod at best. But once again, this delves into the famous issue of A-Rod padding his stats in "non-clutch" situations, which I just am so tired of. The numbers have been crunched, and A-Rod actually performs slightly better in close games, though he basically is an excellent hitter in every situation. So, he obviously wasn't benefiting from this supposed scenario, and, as Econ 101 will tell you, there is no free lunch. Basically, why would A-Rod help out friends on other teams at the expense of his teammates, if he wasn't getting a bonus from it? 

There are those who have spoken out on both sides of the story, but there is ultimately no way to know what actually happened, since it is in the past, and the numbers can't tell you anything (http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009/05/02/tip-sheet/). You either have to believe him, hate him, or just dismiss the issue. I personally will not take a side, as there is no way to prove this happened, and either way, A-Rod is a pretty darned good ballplayer, and in my mind nothing will change that. His talent will always be there, no matter how many smear campaigns are run against him. 

To slightly ramble about something I would like to mention, this whole situation all depends on your take on "cheating" in baseball (and I suppose for sports in general as well). Personally, having played competitive baseball since I was eight, and having watched countless hours of other sports, I feel like I can give a pretty fair assessment of cheating in sports (I'll focus on baseball specifically for simplicity). First of, cheating is a part of baseball, get used to it. I don't care how goody-two-shoes you want to pretend the game is, if you're not taking an edge whenever you can, you're not trying (that's the gist of some famous quote, but I can't place it). Catchers disguise signs because they know runners on second are trying to tell the hitter what's coming, hitters try to steal a look at the catchers signals, any close call that goes your way was absolutely right, even if you know it was the wrong call, players pop painkillers and greenies to keep playing every day, etc. I really don't have a problem with "cheating" in baseball morally, because I think it's as much a part of the game as balls and strikes. Now, there is a level beyond this that is definitely cheating (Danny Almonte, anyone?), and not to say that baseball should be a free-for-all, but getting all worked up about most "cheating" is absurd. 

This is something for everyone to form their own opinion on, but that's mine, plain and simple. I don't want to get myself wrapped up in the discussions about the asterisk years, but I would like to bring up the importance of those years for the sport. Many argue that the McGwire-Sosa race, as well as the offensive explosion, helped save baseball from the strike aftermath, and so I say, is that so bad in retrospect? I wouldn't want to be the person who took the steroids, and caused who knows what damage to myself, but the era was crucial for the sport, and I know that I enjoyed the heck out of watching those two duke it out in '98. Historical records are important to everyone, but with the amount of statistical power that we have now, we can compare years better than ever before. I want to ask, is the stigma that has already been placed on the "steroid era" necessary?

 

I think not

So, since it's six AM, and I am now officially done with my freshman year of college, I figured its time to get back on the horse, as I no longer have any excuse not to, and since its six in the morning, its too late to bother sleeping.

 

And so with no further ado, here are a couple thoughts on the season thus far

 

Man, do I regret picking Josh Beckett to win the Cy Young, I mean, its only one month, but he hasn’t shown any real signs of dominance, especially compared to say, Zack Greinke? Jeez, he’s been ridiculous, enough words have already been written about him (I highly recommend the SI cover story Joe Posnanski wrote), but check out what the people over at baseballanalysts.com have to say about him, they compare his streak to Drysdale’s from a neutral statistical standpoint, and it makes Greinke look that much more disgusting. I don’t think the Royals will keep up the pace they’re setting, but if Greinke keeps pitching like this, I guess you never know.

Moving on, looking at the standings so far, I think the National League has been playing in comparably to how it should end up, with not too many odd hot or cold starts. Obviously the Dodgers starting 13-0 at home is unexpected, and pretty much unsustainable, but they are the best team in that division, so no surprises in that regard. Meanwhile, the AL has been all over the place, with the Royals, Blue Jays, and Rangers currently heading the standings. WTF? Exactly, but don’t expect it to last long, as teams like the Rays have (seemingly) shaken off a rough start, and are ready to reassert their dominance. Also, you can bank on Aaron Hill not hitting .366 for the rest of the year (not to mention Adam Lind at .336, and Rod Barajas (Rod Barajas!!) at .333)). The Jays have been helped out by some unsustainable performances, and their record will correct itself through the season, though their hot start could certainly help make the AL East race that much tighter. Meanwhile, absurdly good pitching has helped the Royals, which should also correct over the course of the season. One thing to remember is to not panic at this point in the season; even if your team is off to a subpar start, there’s a lot of season left.

Now, about the Rays in particular, they’ve been quite frustrating to watch so far. Their starters have been all over the place, with some real gems (mainly Garza), and a bunch of stinkers from every slot in the rotation. Kazmir has been the biggest disappointment to me as of late, giving up 6 earned in 3 of his last 4 outings, while walking the ballpark. Also, Jeff Niemann has been quite successful, at least from my expectations. I don’t think we could ever ask for more out of a rookie #5 starter. Once again, its too early to panic, and the last weekend seems to have turned a corner for the Rays, so lets hope they keep it up. Also, Evan Longoria! Smashing everything in sight, and showing no signs of slowing, even though his .358 average is a tad high, I can’t say anything bad about his performance so far. And Carlos Pena! Once again, certain things about his stats are unsustainable, but lets not let reality get in the way of enjoying his power surge. And Crawford! He’s stolen at least one base in each of the last ten games, in addition to the six steal game. The power isn’t there yet at all, but his speed is definitely back. As depressing as the start of the season has been for us Rays fans, I’m finally starting to feel good about how they’re playing, and am looking forward to them cracking .500 in the very near future.

 

We’ll see how the season turns out, and isn’t it a glorious thing to have baseball back in full swing?!