African-American participation in baseball, at any level, is a deeply personal subject for me. Growing up, I was usually the only black player on the team. I had great teammates, but I always wondered why more blacks didn’t play America’s Pastime; I also wonder, as the percentage continues to decline, whether or not anything can be done to reverse the trend. Continue reading “S2, Ep. 3: Howard Bryant, Senior Writer ESPN/Columnist ESPN The Magazine”
Sports Illustrated put out its first issue in 1954. Since then, to grace its cover has been an achievement to strive for among athletes. Continue reading “Ep. 16: B. J. Schecter, Sports Illustrated”
July 31st is always a great day for me because I get to see players move around like someone is playing speed chess. Continue reading “Major League Baseball Trade Deadline 2014: David Price, Jon Lester, And Other Thoughts On Deadline Deals”
What a second-half it is shaping up to be.
I saw the other day a statistic that said for the first time in Major League Baseball’s history four divisions are separated by no more than a game and a half. Four! So where does that put things for those contenders who are, not only fighting to avoid the Wild Card play-in game, but fighting for the opportunity to be in that playoff conversation? Continue reading “Major League Baseball 2014: The Division Races and Other Second-Half Predictions Pt. 2”
We’ve passed the point of its early. You’re either a “contender” at this point or you’re not. Of course there are teams that can put together a run, but generally they have the talent on their roster to be considered a team to watch as we head into the All-Star break in the next four weeks. Continue reading “Major League Baseball 2014: Five Contenders And What They Need To Fix For A Playoff Push”
Every now and then I get into this phase where I need to take a step back from writing/podcasting about sports to enjoy it again. It has been a while since I wrote on this blog but it really is for the betterment of the content (at least that is what I tell myself). My apologies for the break, but I am back now and I’ve got beef with a team and a concept. Continue reading “Major League Baseball 2014: My Beef With The Boston Red Sox and Baseball’s Unwritten Rules”
In the American League East anything can happen.
Last season the Boston Red Sox put a dreadful 2012 behind them and rode their top ranked offense (and their bearded camaraderie) to the World Series title. With so many issues entering the season last year you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who (here included) picked them to make the playoffs let alone win their division, league, and the World Series. The team will be hard pressed to replicate that success in 2014 and I will explain why. Continue reading “Major League Baseball 2014 Preview: American League East”
I want to point some things out that Ryan Dempster might have forgotten last night.
Your team is 8-9 in August and 15-14 since the All-Star Break. You, personally, are three games under .500 with an ERA approaching five (4.77). Most importantly your team is only one game up in an American League East that is home to the talented Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles; both of whom are eager to avoid a Wild Card fate.
This was before the Yankees took two of the three games from you over the weekend (in Fenway) and suddenly find themselves in the midst of playing their best baseball of the season (winners of seven of their last ten).
So why on earth would you allow Alex Rodriguez to get under you skin?
For me its pretty simple: Dempster, at that moment decided he wanted to take it upon himself to get more involved in the theatrics of it all than actual baseball. I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t been involved in too many pennant races in-season in recent years. Still, as a player rep, a veteran, and a guy the Red Sox brought in for a lot of money you should know better. No matter how maddening the situation with Rodriguez is or how mush of a moral stance you decided you were going to take you did it to the detriment of your team.
These Red Sox didn’t deserve that. Not with crucial upcoming series against Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore.
What happens if this gives the Yankees the chip on their shoulder they need to make up the 7.5 games in the division they need? What happens if they stay hot behind the motivation and erase just the six games separating them from a Wild Card spot? Sure this is all speculative, but do not forget the Yankees have one starter (Phil Hughes) who has pitched poorly, and their lineup is starting to get healthier around, well that man again.
I’ll tell you what needs to happen from this point forward. Dempster needs to pitch like a man more concerned with getting his team back to the playoffs than a man concerned with Alex Rodriguez and his exploits. His teammates had better pull him aside and let him know that it isn’t their focus this season.
And Dempster had better listen, or the story will be a lot different for him than he anticipated.
Co-host Baden Bagley and I talk about the Pacers/Heat series and what to expect for game five in Miami. We also talk the top pitchers in major league baseball and which teams are the top three teams in major league baseball.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lockertalk/2013/05/29/locker-talk
Another week has passed and still no sign of Roy Halladay, Josh Hamilton, or the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen. For their sake, they hope that changes heading into the second month of the season. For now, we recap. Onward: