Open Letter to Marlins Lovers (Streak Streak Streak)

To everyone who saw the first 11 games of the season and wanted to hand the Marlins the NL East crown,

Watch them now.

The pitching has cooled and Hanley is hurting. They are a completed different team.

The Mets have been fairly awful so far this season and they are controlling their current series against the Marlins so far.

Baseball is all about who’s hot. If you can get hot and stay hot longer than everyone else, you can take everything. The teams that gut it out and win without being hot, those are the special teams. Those are the teams to watch. Last year, the Rays were that team, this year, so far for my money, it’s the Blue Jays and Red Sox.

Pedro Being Manny

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the recent rumors about Pedro Martinez sound an awful lot like the rumors that surrounded Manny Ramirez all off-season?

Speculative writers give ideas of where Pedro would be a good fit. Rumors pop up and teams make announcements that they are not interested in Pedro. Pedro keeps making statements about how he’s talked to this or that team and then they deny it.

In the end, Manny wound up back with his former team at the team’s price. As a Mets fan, with our current starting rotation woes, I’d be more than okay with that.

Here’s a question: if Pedro doesn’t sign till June, does he expect a pro-rated salary or would he still be asking for a full $5MM?

The Failed Experiment: Freddy Garcia

Unsurprisingly, the Mets announced today that they have released Freddy Garcia. Freddy was reportedly throwing so softly that he was unable to break a sheet of paper. The Mets promptly cut him.
According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News (who’s report was passed on by MLBTradeRumors.com - which is where I read it), Gracia was “mostly in the mid-70s” with off-speed stuff in the “mid-60s”. My brother Rob was throwing in the mid-70s in junior high. There are kids in the Little League World Series who wouldn’t have had trouble turning on his fastball. That’s pretty sad.

Freddy, I had high hopes for you heading into the Spring. I told more than one person that the Mets did well to sign you. And I routinely used the phrase “What’s the worst that could happen?” Unfortunately, we’re at the worst, Freddy.

Best of luck.

Depth Chart Analysis: Pitching in the AL West

Angels		A’s		Rangers		Mariners
John Lackey**	B+	Dallas Braden	C-	Kevin Millwood	C+	Felix Hernandez	A-
Ervin Santana**	B+	Dana Eveland	D+	Vicente Padilla	C	Erik Bedard	B-
Joe Saunders	B	Brett Anderson	D+	Brandon McCarthy	D+	Carlos Silva	D
Jared Weaver	C	Trevor Cahill	D+	Kris Benson	D-	Jared Washburn	B-
Kelvim Escobar**	C	Josh Outman	D-	Matt Harrison	D	Chris Jakubauskas	D
Full Rotation Grade	B		D+		C-		C

 

The Anaheim Angels- You may have noticed that I have analyzed an Angel’s future rotation and not the current one. I chose to go this route because the three injured starters in this rotation are all very close to making their returns, and the Angels are well on their way to a top 5 rotation. John Lackey may be one of the most underrated pitchers in the game. Ervin Santana is well on his way to becoming one of the league’s best pitchers after posting a 3.49ERA, 16 wins, and 214 strikeouts in 2008. Joe Saunders, still a young pitcher coming off a 17 win season in 2008. Jared Weaver was a very serviceable #4 option over last season. Though Kelvim Escobar is coming off a near career ending injury, he is a proven effective pitcher in the majors, and isn’t much of a risk in the 5 spot.

The Oakland A’s- Here is another one I do not understand. Many ‘professional predictions’ had Oakland beating out the Angels to win this division. If you have read my articles in the past, you know that I believe that good pitching beats good hitting, good pitching wins baseballs games, winning baseball games brings playoff appearances. There really isn’t much more to say about this rotation, its awful.

The Texas Rangers- It’s hard to get decent pitchers to throw in the Ballpark in Arlington, but I believe that Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla are much underrated pitchers; however the ballpark that they pitch in will never allow them to have great seasonal stats. The rest of the Ranger rotation is nothing to brag about. The possibility of Kris Benson throwing to an ERA less than 5.50 is about as likely as John Rocker closing for the Yankees.

The Seattle Mariners- I think that the Mariners have a very underrated pitching staff. Felix Hernandez may be at the point in his career that he is ready to jump to the next level. When healthy, Erik Bedard is a top 10-15 pitcher in the entire game. Carlos Silva could bounce back to decency. Jared Washburn is going to give you his normal season…. a respectable ERA and very few wins.

GET YOUR ACE HERE!!!

As the season moves on, we are beginning to see how rotations around the major leagues are beginning to pan out. Granted, a two week sample is not enough to base a full assessment of a team’s staff, but we are starting to get an idea where the strong staffs are and where the weak staffs are. Fortunately for the teams that may have a hole in their rotation, Ben Sheets, a stretch run answer is just three months away from becoming any teams trade deadline deal which they had to give up no talent for. Lets look at the possibilities.

The New York Mets- I said all along that this team’s biggest offseason mistake has been signing the inconsistent Oliver Perez over Derek Lowe. New York’s rotation has been shakey at best past Johan Santana. Ben Sheets would deliver a much needed 1-2 punch to help move this team through any stretch run.

The Boston Red Sox- Brad Penny has been bad and we all expect him to get injured again by the time we are flipping our calendar to May. John Smoltz was a great low risk/high reward aqusition, however there is still much risk involved in taking him on. If Smoltz and Penny land back on the DL, expect the Red Sox to swipe Sheets off ‘team disabled lists’ roster.

The New York Yankees- With this team’s pitching depth, there really isn’t any good reason to put the Yankees in the running for Sheets except for the fact that 1- Chien-Ming Wang has been awful (which I fully expect him to turn it around) and that the Yankees would sign him to keep him away from the Red Sox.

The Los Angeles Dodgers- They have the offence, they have the bullpen, now its time to make sure that they have the staff. The staff to this point has been great for the Dodgers, leading them to a first place ranking in the NL West. Though they have performed very well to this point, I don’t think that there is any Dodger fan can say that they are comfortable with that rotation.  The addition of Sheets would defiantly give the organization confidence that the team is built well all around, while preparing them for the stretch run and a deep push for October.

The St. Louis Cardinals- Albert Pujols is going to be a free agent after the 2011 season, if they want to win another World Series, the time is now. A top three of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Ben Sheets would defiantly be enough to scare the pants off of most opposing lineups. St. Louis is very cautions with their payroll. Signing Sheets on a prorated deal may be the inexpensive way to push them over the top. (I also expect the Cardinals to be a big player in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes WHEN that comes around)

The Philadelphia Phillies- Right now, this rotation scares Jason Voorhees. Cole Hamels looks awful, and it is likely due to that bum elbow of his. Jayme Moyer used to read bed time stories to my grandfather, Joe Blanton just can’t catch a break, and Brett Meyers… well see Oliver Perez. This rotation is in definite need of an anchor, if they put it all together, Ben Sheets would be the perfect guy to even out this rotaion.

Texas Rangers- The only reason I can see this is because Sheets resides in Texas, and has already been working out with them. If the Rangers do not acquire him this year, it will likely be over the offseason.

Seattle Mariners- This will only make sense if they are still in it when July comes around. If they are, this is the PERFECT choice for them.

Detroit Tigers- I can defiantly see this happening. The AL Central is going to come down to the wire no matter what, and the Tigers will be right there in the thick of it at the end. If they are contending for a playoff spot with one of the worst rotations in the game, signing an ace may be the right move here to help them push deep into the playoffs.

NL West Starting Pitching Analysis

Dodgers	Diamondbacks	Giants	Rockies	Padres
Kuroda  B+	Webb   A+	Lincecum  A+	Francis  A-	Peavy  A
Kershaw  A	Haren  A+	Cain  A-	Jimenez  B+	Young  B+
Billingsley  B+	Scherzer  B	Big Unit  B+	Cook  A-	Correia  C+
Wolf  B	Davis  B	Sanchez  B	De La Rosa  ?	Seung Baek B-/?
Vargas?	Garland B	Zito  B	Marquis  C	?
Overall     B+	Overall        B+	Overall   B+	Overall    B	Overall    B-

The NL West is a division I see as easily up for grabs and has been the last couple years. If one of these teams catches fire in August and September, they’ll take the division. That’s what happened last year (Dodgers) and the year before (Rockies).

Predictions: The DBacks have the best rotation and would seem to me like the most likely to win it. BUT, the Dodgers have Manny and a pretty solid rotation too. In the end, I think the DBacks youth will work against them and the Dodgers take the division again. But with all these teams this close, it could go to anyone.

Dodgers: Kershaw needs to step it up for the Dodgers big time this season. Since he has the best stuff, everyone has named him their defacto “Ace”, but he’s still a kid. He needs to grow into his Ace shoes and become the force in the West everyone hopes he will be.  I still remember the first time I saw his curve on YouTube. It made my heart skip a beat. I thought, that must be what it was like to see Koufax. Those are awfully big shoes to fill. Billingsley is growing into his #3 role very well. Kuroda has been solid - although currently he’s hurt. Wolf will give you starts.  I think Pedro would have looked really good in that 5^th spot for them, but they couldn’t make it happen.

DBacks: Without a doubt the best rotation in this division for my money. Webb has struggled and is on the DL, but he should bounce back. Danny Haren is consistently brilliant. Max Scherzer is looking like he’ll be every bit as good as AZ hoped. Doug Davis has quietly moved from #2 to #4 and is still winning games. He’s a solid pitcher. Jon Garland has been hot and cold for the DBacks so far, but he’ll be better than average when the season’s done.

Giants: I know everyone like the Giants rotation because everyone keeps telling me that they like the Giants rotation. Lincecum is a freak. Matt Cain is getting better every start. Randy Johnson has looked positively stellar so far. But in the end, I think this Giants offense is going to be their downfall. I don’t think that they’re pitching is good enough to win games 1-0, 2-1 every night. They need to be able to win games 5-3, 6-5, 7-4 and I don’t think that the offense is good enough to put 5 runs on the board with any consistency.

Rockies: When Jeff Francis returns from the DL, I think Colorado could be a very dangerous team. The offense is still largely intact and they can always score runs. The starting pitching is actually pretty good at the front of the rotation. It’s once you get past Jimenez that I think you’ll start to see teams beating up on the Rockies. If the Rockies take this division, it won’t be on the strength of the starters.

Padres: The Pads have started the season red hot. They have been winning games and they’re looking good. Peavy might stay past the deadline, who knows. Chris Young is pitching well so far. But they Pads have some question marks in that starting rotation.  If I was a manager, I wouldn’t want to count on Walter Silva every fifth day. Or Kevin Correia or Shawn Hill. Shawn Hill was cut from the Nationals for Chrissakes. I know they’re hot now and winning games, but I wouldn’t count on them being at the top past May.

NL Central Starting Pitching Analysis

Cubs	Cards	Astros	Brewers	Reds	Pirates
Dempster  A-	Carpenter  A-	Oswalt  A+	Gallardo  A-	Harang  B+	Maholm B+
Zambrano  A+	Lohse  B+	Hampton  B	Looper B+	Volquez  B+	Snell  B
Harden  B++	Wainwright  B+	Wandy   B+	Suppan B/A+	Cueto  B+	Duke  B
Lilly  B+	Wellemeyer  B-	Moehler  ?	Parra B	Arroyo B+	Ohlendorf B-
Marshall ?	Piniero C+	Russ Ortiz D-	Bush B-/C+	Bailey  C+	Karstens  C+
Overall     B+	Overall        B	Overall   C+	Overall    B	Overall    B+	Overall   C+

The NL Central should be a hotly contested division all summer. It’ll be great to watch! Let’s get into it:

Predictions: Based on starting pitching, the Cubs take this division again. I think that health will be a factor though (as it always is).

Cubs: The Cubs are largely bringing back the same rotation they finished the season with last year. Dempster is worth the money they’re paying him. They might have gotten him for less if they waited a little longer this off-season, but they’re not ridiculously over paying and the Cubs can afford it. Zambrano will be Zambrano. Lilly is serviceable and will make most of his starts if not all. Harden is probably better than a B+ but I didn’t want to put him in A- territory. This is a solid rotation with a few options in the fifth spot. If they stay healthy, the division is theirs to lose.

Cardinals: If the Cards are in on the playoff hunt this year, it will be by virtue of their starting line-up and not the rotation. They’re very deep in the outfield and might be able to get prospects that will be high level starting pitching if they’re out of it at the deadline. One start in and Carpenter is out again indefinitely. Lohse and Wainwright should hold down the fort. But Wellemeyer and Piniero are going to be a coin flip every start. It could be worse for the Cards, but if they catch a little luck they might play in October.

Astros: Since they made it to the World Series, I haven’t really been impressed with the Astros. They just never seem to put it together for long stretches. Their starting pitching after Oswalt is filled with meh pitchers. No one’s going to blow you away there. Mike Hampton has been healthy so far and pitching pretty well. But he can snap a ligament at any moment (history has taught us that much). And this team had Russ Ortiz start for them last night. Russ friggin’ Ortiz??!?! I’d give them a 15% chance of making the playoffs. Three teams in their division would have to fall down and die for them to make it in and I don’t see it.

Brewers: If Jeff Suppan could make every start against the Mets he would win Cy Young after Cy Young. Suppan OWNS the Mets. That’s why he’s double rated as a B- and an A+. Should the Brewers meet the Mets in the playoffs, they should start Supp three times. Seriously. It would guarantee the series. Gallardo has looked very good so far. Looper will be okay to good. Parra has his days and Bush should win as many as he loses. What the Brewers need right now is for the hitters to wake up and it looks like they might have done that in NY last weekend.

Reds: I like the Reds. I do. I’m probably going to catch hell from some people because I gave Edison Volquez a B+. Volquez looks good to me about half the time. I think he needs to find himself and get consistent to break into the A’s for me. Arroyo will do what he does. Harang is definitely going to bounce back this year. He’s thrown well so far this season. Cueto will get a year better. They’re fifth spot is a little bit of a toss up. I listed Bailey (who’s got to start performing to his potential) but they all have Micah Owings who was a favorite of mine in Arizona last year till he got traded. Micah was composed and consistent and often bailed himself out with his bat. I don’t know that he’ll ever be better than a .500 pitcher, but in this league, that’s not that bad.

Pirates: What can you say about the Pirates? Good young pitching that seems to me like they need a coach. They’re got a lot of talent, but none of them seem to be maturing the way that you’d like. Look at a pitcher like Greinke in KC. Zack Duke could have been that type of pitcher. Tom Gorzelanny could have been that type of pitcher. I think I’ve seen both of those guys enough to say they have the stuff to get there, but they haven’t. I don’t know if it’s the coaching or the fact that they are playing in Pittsburgh that’s keeping these guys down. They could be way more, but they aren’t and it’s sad.

Depth Chart Analysis - Pitching in the AL Central

Twins		Royals		Indians		White Sox		Tigers
Scott Baker	C+	Gil Meche	B	Cliff Lee	B-	Mark Buehrle	B-	Justin Verlander	B-
Francisco Liriano	B+	Zach Greinke	A-	Fausto Carmona	C+	John Danks	B+	Edwin Jackson	C+
Kevin Slowey	B	Kyle Davies	C	Carl Pavano	D-	Gavin Floyd	B	Armando Galarraga	B-
Glen Perkins	B-	Sidney Ponson	F	Anthony Reyes	D	Jose Contreras	C-	Rick Porcello	D+
Nick Blackburn	B-	Horacio Ramirez	D-	Aaron Laffey	D+	Bartolo Colon	C	???????	F
Full Rotation Grade	B		C+		D+		B		D-

The Minnesota Twins -All around, I think that this could be one of the most well rounded rotations in the game. Honestly, I had Francisco Liriano pegged to win the 2009 Cy Young Award before the season began, which is the only reason why he is still ranked so highly after such a poor start. Baker, Slowey, Perkins, and Blackburn are all very young pitchers who are only going to improve as they spend more time in the league. Not only will all 5 of those guys form a well rounded rotaion that will keep their team in the majority of ballgames started, but they will also go into the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th of most of the ball games they start, resulting in a very well rested/unexposed bullpen. This could end up being the tightest division in baseball in regards to the all around competitive manor of the entire division; however, this division will be won by the Twins because of this staff.

The Kansas City Royals - When the Royals first signed Gil Meche, I laughed. How can this team try and be competitive when they give Gil Meche an average salary of 11 million dollars per season?? At first it seemed like pure stupidity to give a guy like Meche a contract of that size, based on the fact that he was one of the best free agents on the market (which says a lot about the market at that time). Fortunately for the Royals, Meche has made me eat my words and has developed into a very serviceable starter to float out to the mound every 5^th day. On top of leading with Meche, the Royals have developed one of the league’s biggest up and coming pitchers in Zach Grenke who, will undoubtedly be this teams ace one day. Already this season, Grenke has dominated every opponent that he has thrown against. Grenke has yet to allow a run over 20 innings pitched and has struck out a phenomenal 26 batters during this span. Kyle Davies has gotten off to a great start, but he must stay healthy and consistent in order to prove to really round this rotation out. After you move beyond the 3^rd spot in this rotation, you really begin to see it fall off talent wise. Sidney Ponson and Horacio Ramirez are better slated to be playing in the Independent Leagues, rather than the AL central. If Brian Bannister and former first overall pick Luke Hochevar, can find themselves in the minor leagues, watch out, this could be a very nasty rotation.

The Cleveland Indians - Here is where many of the professionals get me scratching my head. I have heard from many that the Cleveland Indians should win the AL Central, but I do not see how this will happen with a D+ starting rotation. Cliff Lee is going to have a very difficult time trying to repeat (or even come close) to his performance last season. I do not care what anyone says, Cliff Lee is NOT an ace, just a one season fluke. Fausto Carmona, though off to a very poor start, could be well on is way to a rebound year if he can remain healthy. Nobody knows what is going to come out of Carl Pavano and Anthony Reyes, though I am fairly certain that the Indians are glad that they did not give Pavano 40 million dollars to sip Margaritas on his boat. Laffey could be a bight spot for this rotation, however he is still unproven and very young.

The Chicago White Sox -  The second best rotation in the division, a little more top heavy than the Minnesota rotaion, but still very good. Mark Buehrle has been very consistent over the last few seasons. Buehrle should be an exelent provider for this team in veteran leadership, quality starts, and a respectable Earned Run Average. John Danks seems to be a guy flying under the radar this season. Not as sexy of a name as Francisco Liriano, however Danks was among the league leaders in ERA last season. Gavin Floyd is coming off a break out 2008 where he not only posted a 3.83ERA, but also win 17 games for the White Sox. Conteras and Colon are both very serviceable back end of the rotation starters.

The Detroit Tigers - Could possibly be one of the worst rotations in the game. Justin Verlander is coming off the worst season of his career and can no longer be counted on to be an ace. I don’t even think that Edwin Jacksons mother thinks that he is good enough to repeat his performance from last season (see Cliff Lee). Rick Porcello may have one of the brightest futures in the majors, but he is definitely being rushed. Armando Galarraga is defiantly the shining star of this rotation, hopefully he has it in him to move up to the next level. Even if the stars align, Justin Verlander moves back to his near Cy Young Form, Edwin Jackson repeats his ’slightly better then mediocre’ 2008 season, Armando Galarraga becomes a star, and Rick Porcello wins the Rookie of the Year award, this team still has no clear cut 5^th starter. Between injuries to Bonderman, and the inconsistencies (and psychiatric profile) of D-Train, this may possibly be, the league’s worst rotation.

Depth Chart Analysis: Pitching in the AL East

Yankees		Rays		Red Sox		Blue Jays		Orioles
CC Sabathia	A	Scott Kazmir	B+	Josh Beckett	B	Roy Halladay	A+	Jeremy Guthrie	B-
AJ Burnett	B+	James Shields	B	Jon Lester	B+	David Purcey	C-	Koji Uehara	C
Chien-Ming Wang	B+	Matt Garza	B+	Daisuke Matsuzaka*	B	Rickey Romero	C	Mark Hendrickson	D
Andy Pettitte	C+	Andy Sonnanstine	C-	Tim Wakefield	C+	Brian Tallet	D	Adam Eaton	D
Joba Chamberlain	B-	Jeff Niemann	D	Brad Penny	D+	Jesse Litsch*	C+	Alfredo Simon	D-
Phil Hughes**	C-	David Price**	B	John Smoltz*	B	Dustin McGowan*	B-	Rich Hill*	C-
Ian Kennedy**	D	Jake McGee**	C-	Justin Masterson	C	Sean Marcum*	B-
Full Rotation Grade	B		B-		B-		C-		D-

*player currently on the Disabled List ** player currently serving as a backup option or in the minors

The New York Yankees - The Yankees lead off their staff with a man who has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the last 9 seasons, CC has the ability to win ball games, while going deep into them, to give your bullpen much needed rest. AJ Burnett is the wild card in this rotation, if he can remain healthy, he has the ability to become an A level starter as well. If he regresses back to his injury laden form, you will see his raking drop down to a C. Chien-Ming Wang has gotten off to a very difficult start this season, however many around the league expect him to regain form once he shakes the dust of his near 3 year layoff. Andy Pettitte has looked great in his first 2 starts of the season thus far, I think that it is very possible for Pettitte to have a bounce back season, and move back to the 15+ win range. While most managers have to struggle and create a patchwork team of 5^th starters all season long, the New York Yankees may very well have the best 5^th starter in all of baseball. How many 5^th starters can you think of, out dueled Josh Beckett last season? While the Yankees have a great rotation in the majors, they also have two very legitimate backup options, waiting in the minors incase anything goes wrong.

The Tampa Bay Rays - The rotation is led off by Scott Kazmir, who like Burnett, can move up to become an A level starter if he can remain healthy for an entire season. James Shields and Matt Garza showed great things last season, and should be able to grow into even better pitchers in 2009 when they get more innings under their belts. I have never been very impressed with Andy Sonnanstine, however, David Price is waiting in the minors to replace the first starter that begins to show that they cannot handle the heavy heat of the AL East. Jeff Niemann has been a pretty highly regarded prospect for some time now, however, he is feeling the pressure to ‘perform now or lose your job’. Niemann has never performed very well in the major league to this point in his short career, but could serve as a legitimate #5 option for the Rays.

The Boston Red Sox - This rotation is going to be one of the best in the league, or mediocre. Josh Beckett, again like previously mentioned AJ Burnett and Scott Kazmir can have his grade change by a grade or more in either direction depending on health. When on his game and healthy, Josh Beckett can be considered one of the best pitchers in the game, especially during a big game. However his health got him down last season, lets see how he rebounds. Jon Lester will be the rock of this rotation, after a healthy and dominant 2008, look for Lester to continue to improve and become the ace of this staff. Daisuke Matsuzaka, already on the DL in 2009, must learn to throw strikes and limit his pitch count if he is going to move to the next level. Tim Wakefield looks as if he can pitch 150 innings per season until he is 68 years old, however he can be very dominant or get crushed on any given game, never the less a great option at where he is seated in the rotation. I do not believe that Brad Penny will return to his previous All-Star form, however once John Smoltz returns to the game in June look out for this rotation, especially when the game in on the line. Smoltz is fierce competitor and will give the Red Sox a much needed push to be more competitive in this great division. With Daisuke Matsuzaka’s recent trip to the Disabled List, Justin Masterson has been asked to take his place in the rotaion. I was very impressed with Masterson last season, let’s see if he can improve on his efforts.

The Toronto Blue Jays - There really isn’t much more to say about Roy Halladay except wow. I believe that Roy Halladay and Johan Santana are the two best pitchers in the game. Both of these men should be placed in their own category of greatness when being compared to every other pitcher in the game. Not only does Roy Halladay provide great pitching every time out. He provides a young staff with leadership, and will provide the bullpen with relief when he decides to go the distance. As for the remainder of the Blue Jay rotation, the only word to use to describe them is ‘hurt’. The Blue Jays have been one of the hottest teams in the game thus far this season; it does not appear to be a result of their very injured rotation. Rickey Romero has been great so far in his first few starts, but he has a lot more to show the world before he can help carry the load of that rotation. Once Marcum, McGowan, and Litsch some back we can re-analyze this rotation.

The Baltimore Orioles - Jeremy Guthrie has been very consistant over the last few seasons, and Koji Uehara looked pretty good in 2 of his 3 starts so far this season, outside of those two guys, the rotation is among the league’s worst.

Guilty or Innocent? Who decides?

written by Brian Kassay and Jasper Kassay

Currently Major League Baseball is going through one of the biggest changes the sport has ever seen. The steroid scandal has destroyed the careers of the guilty, including Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmerio, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and most recently, Alex Rodriguez. The question is, should the players that are ‘suspected’ of using be grouped in with the proven users and whether or not these players should be enshrined in Cooperstown.

 

We cannot deny the fact that Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. He was a five-tool ball player, and mastered almost every aspect of the game, except treating the fans with respect. Bonds is a prime example of a Hall of Famer, but there are questions on whether he will be in the hall of fame, standing next to his god father Willie Mays due to the BALCO Scandal. Bonds, though refuses to admit he used knowingly, has admitted steroid use on multiple accounts. Barry holds the all time home run record as well as the single season home run record. Bonds is yet to officially retire, currently a free agent looking for a job with a major league ball club. His career average is just under the .300 mark; he stands on top of Hank Aaron with 762 home runs, and is the only member of the 500-500 Club. He is also just 65 hits away from 3,000 as well as 38 Home runs away from being the lone member of the 800 Club. Question is, how should history judge Bonds? Popular opinion thinks of Bonds as a Hall of Famer before his introduction to steroids, whenever that may be. However, should a steroid user of any kind be enshrined in the temple of baseball, as a player that has exemplified the way that the game should be played?

As of April 10^th, 2009 Jim Thome was sitting on 542 career Home Runs. At the age of 38, the thought of Thome hitting another 68 home runs before he retires is not an unreasonable thought. However, considering the era that Thome played his career in, the peers that he was surrounded by, many will find it difficult not group him in with the steroid users, though zero evidence has been presented to justify this type of thinking. The popular school of thought seems to be to group any power hitter from the 90’s with a large frame, and a high strikeout rate in with the steroid users whether there has been evidence presented against them or not. However, if no evidence is brought forward to prove Thome as a user, why should his career accomplishments be taken away?

 

Another aspect of popular opinion seems to be to take a player that had an eye popping career year, like Brady Anderson or Luis Gonzalez. The popular opinion of the American public seems to say ‘Look at the crazy one year line! They had to have been juicing!’ I plea that this is a very unfair statement because there is zero evidence outside of those stat jumps that they used anything but extra practice and luck to accomplish those great years. Many may plea, which this is not enough to have an enormous season like that, but if we claim that every guy that has a monstrous season was on steroids, or was cheating in general, than we have to claim that Roger Maris was cheating as well. Amazing career years happen, and are not always the resulting effect of cheating or juicing.

 

The court of popular opinion is a highly influential, cruel court, with no regulations on it and no appeals. As Americans, we are proud of our judicial system, which provides fair trial to anyone who may have broken the law. The court of popular opinion often judges quickly after minimal evidence has been presented. Though the resulting consequences of a guilty ruling in this court is not jail time, all respect for the ‘guilty’ party will be lost, and a mental asterisk is placed over the ‘guilty’ parties career accomplishments. I beg you as baseball fans, let evidence decide who is guilty, not your gut.

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