A Subtle Rift

Allow me to introduce to you "Winter Jen." She's sensible. She can apply logic and reasoning to a myriad of life situations. She understands the value of a dollar. She's a little depressed about the lack of baseball, the sun rising after eight and setting before five, the layer of blubber that has accumulated around her mid-section, and temperatures that frost her delicate, albeit hairy-knuckled toes. But no doubt about it, she's a gal with her faculties about her.

Then there is "Summer Jen." She's a mite...unstable. I was going to say unpredictable, but her behavior has become all TOO predictable to some. She's liable to ditch her 97 year old granny, whom she promised to help plant seedlings, when she sniffs Tiger tickets for the evening's game. She may find it "reasonable" to say that there is a pressing "need" to attend all three games of the upcoming series. She could rationalize spending funds intended for her son's higher education on box seats. She might hatch twenty crackpot schemes in an attempt to get to Kansas City to take in a ballgame at the lovely, giant-HD-scoreboard-boasting Kauffman Stadium. She would look into auctioning off her Noritake China set for front row tickets.

I cannot be held culpable for this schism in my personality. It's a bonafide disorder. I've got a diagnosis from a reputable, board-certified healthcare professional. I safeguard it in my desk to produce for doubters, to defend myself against those who would like to critique my behavior.

I am a happy Skimpole when it comes to baseball. I don't understand why anyone would want to restrain my enjoyment of it in any measure. I just want to be with my Boys of Summer. I just want to sit under the lights at the ballpark, and feel the night breezes swirl around my ankles. I just want to feel the heat radiating off my sun-warmed skin as I sip a $6.00 Diet Coke. What say you of time, money, duty, skin cancer and stomach ulcers? Why would you bring up such evils when there is baseball to be watched? Why? What's wrong with you?

104

Alex Rodriguez has been outed as one of the 104 players in 2003 who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).  Quite a shocking revelation, no?

We already know that steroid use was running rampant around the league all through the 80s, 90s and into the 2000s.  A list of 104 players who were confirmed to have taken them is really no news at all, and is only a fraction of those who were actually involved with steroids.

I see no point in publishing the list, because it is in no way complete.

It makes me sad and angry to think about a player like Hank Aaron.  He went through so much to become the Home Run King, and has since been eclipsed by Barry Bonds, who will probably be succeeded by Alex Rodriguez--two known steroid users.  I do not feel his record should have been broken by those who cheated the game in such a way.  I do believe that records are made to be broken, but to see his fall in such an ignominious manner is a true disgrace to the game.

The other thing that is bothersome to me about steroids is the constant rumor that there is always a new, undetectable substance out there, one step ahead of any testing.  I guess one test of whether the MLB has cleaned up steroid use will be the performance and injuries to older players, who may not heal as quickly as they did when on steroids.

A cloud really is hanging over the sport, and there is no sign of it clearing any time soon.  Will it be worth it for those who chose to use when they are suffering serious health consequences ten years down the road?  How will their children feel when many suffer an early death due to the ravages of steroids?  How many players will trade a chance at the Hall of Fame for the benefits of steroid use to their game?  

'Roid Rage

Barry Bonds is due to go on trial for perjury in March 2009.  In a report by the Mercury News, a judge has removed five of the counts from the indictment, still leaving 10 counts that could be pursued.  Federal prosecutors could also choose to recraft the dismissed charges.

Steroids have left an indelible mark on baseball.  Many argue that they don't care that players did steroids, as long as the entertainment factor was there.  I just can't see it that way.  I can't accept that players who didn't take steroids had their careers essentially downgraded because they couldn't compete with juiced players.  I don't like that many records are now tainted.  Sure, there has always been cheating in baseball (and other sports too) to varying degrees.  I don't care.  I'd rather see an un-enhanced home run champion who only hit 32 home runs, than a 'roided up Mark McGuire hitting 70+.

Now, our sport has a murky shadow cast over it by steroids.  I watched Josh Hamilton in this year's home run derby with awe, but also with a little suspicion.  Not that he's under suspicion per se, but I have to wonder now, because of the steroid era.

Magglio Ordóñez was implicated by Jose Canseco as a user.  There's no proof, but Magglio's silence made we question him.  Why didn't he sue Canseco for libel?  He chose to ignore the accusations rather than speak to them.  I realize that denying the allegations didn't work out so well for Roger Clemens (methinks thou protesteth too much).  However, now there's a cloud hanging over one of my favorite players.

We'll never know the truth about so many current and former MLB players.  That's the problem--everyone is now under the tainted steroid umbrella, because so many chose to ignore the problem for so long.  Sigh.

The underratedness of Placido Polanco

As I watch Chase Utley and the Phillies in the playoffs, I can't help but smile with a quiet satisfaction.  Not satisfaction that the Tigers are not in the playoffs, mind  you, but satisfaction about a former Philly, Tigers second baseman, Placido Polanco.

No mistake, Chase Utley is a premier player.  It's just that the Tigers obtained Polanco by trading Ugeth Urbina and Ramon Martinez (played in 7 major league games this year) to the Phillies.  The Phillies had to move Polanco to make room for the young phenom Utley.  He's been more than great for them.  Urbina, however, is now not only not in baseball, but is in jail for murder--a grisly tale not fit for this post.

Anyway, back to Placido.  He's just such a quiet professional, it's like he's completely unnoticed, hardly  mentioned in fact, (other than some snide remarks about his oversized cranium).  Maybe that's just fine with  him, but I'd like to showcase him here for a moment.

He did get an all-star nod last year, and went more than a year without an error.  He hit .341 last year, with exactly 200 hits.  It's been said that his athletic ability is lower than average, but I see him routinely making plays that are far from routine.  He's on the small side, but his timing is great, resulting in many leaping grabs to save base hits.

He's hard to strike out, with that choked up, short swing.  You'd think with all the success he's had with it, some of the light hitters would adopt choking up.  Not everyone can control the bat with one hand almost off the handle like Magglio Ordoñez.  He uses the whole field--I mean his spray chart is just all over.

Polanco may not be the flashy headliner, but you can bet he's valued by his teammates, coaches, manager, and me.

September 29, 2008 It's all over but the crying.

I'm already nose-diving into my post-season, no Tigers in the playoffs depression, but to combat it, I'll try to sum up this travesty of a season.  Actually, that will only make it worse, but here goes anyway (with hopes that a much needed catharsis will result).  

Pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, bullpen, bullpen, bullpen.

Shutouts, defense, shutouts, defense.

Injuries--but every team has those, so no excuses there.

Players shuffling to various positions, learning new positions in season.

Under-performance by key personnel--notice that no names are mentioned here--is it because this post would become too lengthy?

Did I mention bullpen implosions so tragic and so prolific they nearly led to severe stomach ulceration?

Poor team speed, and lack of green light to would-be runners (Granderson).

OK.  I can't go on any further.  It's far too painful to relive the multi-faceted dysfunction that led to this season's monumental failure.

There has already been a lot of activity in looking forward to 2009.  More on that tomorrow.