Baseball 180!

By Sean Connolly

Why on Earth would you fire a manager in September, when your team is in first in the Wild Card and close to finally reaching the playoffs after 26 years? Because you’re the Milwaukee Brewers, that’s why.

In a season in which the Brewers were making all the right moves, they made a wrong and a possible costly one today. They fired Ned Yost, who has regenerated the pathetic Brewers in one of the toughest divisions in baseball and has put them in a position to do something they haven’t done since 1982. I just don’t get this move by the Brewers, why not just wait ’till the end of the season if you’re gonna make a move like this.

Yost and the Brewers have lost 11 of their last 14 in September, but surely that can’t discount all the games they’ve won prior to September. There are only two weeks left in Milwaukee’s season and it’s hard to believe that they won’t have Yost to finish those two weeks.

One rationalization behind this move is because of the Brewer’s collapse last season. With an 8 1/2 game lead in June last season, the Brewers fell to 83-79 and again failed to make the playoffs. But, you want to know why this rationalization is wrong? Two letters and one last name…CC Sabathia.

Sabathia gives the Brewers a stopper role they’ve never had before, someone who can stop a losing streak like this and revitilize this club, much like he did since becoming a Brewer. Now, you can expect things to go completely out of wack. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sabathia loses his first game as a Brewer soon, and you can basically count the Brewers out with the way the Phillies are playing now. So, put another playoff-less season on the board Brewer fans, and blame it on upper management.

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By Sean Connolly

It’s hard to believe that the last time the Yankees were out of the playoffs was in 1993, but with the horrible season they’ve been having it looks like this year’s Yankees will be sitting at home in October. With speculations on Girardi’s job security, Hank Steinbrenner confirmed that Girardi will be back next year. After last night’s 12-1 loss to the new A.L. powerhouse Angels it looks that the Yankees’ season is done instead of Girardi’s managerial career in the Bronx.

They Did It To The Last Joe, Why Not This One?

After a sub-par season last year which resulted in another missed chance at returning to the World Series, Joe Torre saw his career end with the Yankees. Although they didn’t fire him, they might have well have after the offer they gave him. So, the question is, with Torre having a much better year than Girardi last season, shouldn’t the result be the same?

The answer is yes. Girardi should be gone if you’re going to be fair, but unfortunately the Yankees are never fair. Girardi hasn’t shown much this season that Steinbrenner and crew can look forward to so I don’t see the point of keeping him. He hasn’t made a decision that was looked back on as a great move that helped the season, only moves that should have been second-guessed that hampered the season. I’m just saying, if Torre brings the Yanks to the playoffs last year and after 4 World Series titles and still gets fired, the ringless (as a coach) Girardi should be gone too.

Shave The Mustache, It’s Over

Let’s face it, with the Yanks being 10 games back in the AL East and now behind the Blue Jays the 2008 season has come to an end for them. Riddled by injuries, controversy, and mental errors, the Yankees are a long shot to make the postseason after 13 straight seasons of October baseball. So, who are the Yankee fans supposed to blame?

Well like I said earlier, Girardi should be fired so obviously he should take a hit here, and young talent such as Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy not turning into what they were supposed to. I’m most disappointed in Cano. He’s flailed at pitches all season long and has yet to show any discipline at the plate. His fielding has only gotten worse and it makes me wonder why the Yanks didn’t trade him when they had a chance. Melky isn’t even in the majors any more after having a dreadful season in which all I saw him do was joke around in the dugout with the aforementioned Cano. Hughes and Kennedy are, well, Hughes and Kennedy, playing poorly and getting injured that seems to be their mantra.

Another reason for the horrible season the Yankees have had was the performance of Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. It was expected that Pudge would give a boost to the Yanks season when the surprising trade went through. They dumped Kyle Farnsworth on the Tigers and it seemed as if the loss of Posada wouldn’t hurt the Yanks as much as they thought. Instead, Pudge played like a below average catcher instead of the MVP catcher we were expecting of him. The trade did nothing really, other than getting rid of another useless talent in Farnsworth.

But, mainly you have to blame the injuries. I know you should overcome them but it’s kind of hard when you’re opening day pitcher and catcher are out for the season. After a moderate start to the season Posada was out along with Chien-Ming Wang for the season. Wang’s injury was a result of poor coaching after he was told to round home while running the bases in an interleague game against the Astros. Both injuries were huge but the little injuries throughout the year really hurt. Alex Rodriguez was out for a portion of the year with a hamstring injury and Hideki Matsui missed a huge portion of the season as well. The injuries surmounted and at one point it seemed like every Yankee was in the trainer’s room.

Overall, you have to look at Girardi’s season as a disappointment…duh. With so much invested into every year, it’s hard to believe that the Yankees don’t win the World Series every season and for them to not even make the playoffs…well that’s just unacceptable.

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By Sean Connolly

Well, you can’t say baseball’s drug problem is under control. In just the past month 41 minor leaguers have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, 33 from the Dominican summer league. And today two minor leaguers in the Yankee organization were suspended leaving a lot of speculation into the Yankee organization.

With the Yankees nearly out of the playoff race and dealing with a copious amount of problems, this may be the last thing the club needed. Justo Arias and Rafael Martinez were the pitchers suspended today as they tested positive for metabolites of stanozolol.

The suspension will be for 50 games beginning next season, which seems to make no sense at all. The drugs they took were meant to help them this season, so how can you allow them to continue to play? That makes an unfair playing field as players who are clean will be up against cheaters.

I don’t see why Major League Baseball has to wait until next season. Just suspend them for the rest of this season and carry over whatever’s left into next season. I don’t get why MLB keeps messing this drug problem up and continue to make it worse.

As for the Yankee organization, they have to be upset. I know there was some talk about Justo Arias and how he may develop into a major league pitcher one day. With this whole steroid era it seems to always be the Yankees in the middle of it. Maybe the league office should do a substantial investigation into just the Yankees. It seems that scouring the entire league is too broad and can’t get specific enough. Hey, it’s just an idea and plus the Yankees aren’t going anywhere this season any way.

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By Sean Connolly

15 years ago. That’s when the idea of instant replay was introduced to the fools running major league baseball. When it was introduced teams voted 27-1 against the idea of instant replay. It continued to be shut down by teams like that until 1998 when the Diamondbacks and Rays were brought to the league in which the vote went from 27 to 29-1.Now, half way through the 2008 season, MLB has decided to implement instant replay despite not having it completely figured out. Seems to me that if we’ve waited all this time, we can wait another half season until everything is sorted out.

The talk of bringing instant replay began this season in May when, in a two week span, several home run calls were missed by umpires. Unfortunately for these umpires and the MLB, a few of these games were nationally televised bringing more light to the situation. Not only that but one of the more controversial non-homeruns was hit by a man who may someday break Barry Bonds’ record of all-time homeruns, Alex Rodriguez. All of these missed calls were seen nation wide on ESPN’s instant replay showing the umpire’s blunders. Fans, writers, and anyone in the sports community were at Bud Selig’s door with pitchforks and torches asking for instant replay. Like the coward he is, Selig gave in.

Granted instant replay is the correct choice, believe me I’ve wanted it for years now, but in the middle of the season? C’mon. The best part about it is that everyone is so divided on the whole thing in baseball. The umpires don’t want it, all of a sudden half the MLB teams want it, half don’t (a vote recently said it was 15 in favor, 15 against), and players are begging for it. So, what does Selig do. Without mulling it over with the umpires, players, and owners after the season had completed, he decided that instant replay would be a part of Major League Baseball today. Out of nowhere!!

How can half the season be played under different rules? That’s so insane to me. A hit that was a homerun in May wasn’t, but a hit that’s a homerun in say September or October all of a sudden is. That’s not how professional sports work. When the NFL realized that they needed instant replay, they didn’t implement it in the middle of the season. They tested it out in Europe, discussed their plans thouroughly making sure refs, players, and owners agreed on what was happening and then brought forth the plan at the start of the season.

I want instant replay so badly it’s not even funny. But I refuse to give up my sport ethics for a rule that doesn’t even seem like it’s been figured out. The MLB is saying that instant replay will only be used for homerun calls. There is going to be so much confusion as to whether or not they can use instant replay or not on several types of calls, such as a trapped ball scenario. This will only open up a door of problems for the umpires that they didn’t have to deal with earlier in this season.

The solution is simple people. Use instant replay on a majority of calls, but next year. Train the umpires properly and make sure that all rules are sorted out, and that both managers and umpires know what can or cannot be challenged by instant replay. We’ve waited 15 years for this, don’t you want that wait to be worth something?

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By Sean Connolly

I’m not too sure this was a smart idea. Manny Ramirez is the hottest hitter in baseball right now and now he has to do it with a little less hair. As part of a team rule under Joe Torre, Ramirez was requested to cut his infamous dreads. Hopefully for the Manny and the Dodgers those dreads aren’t the key to his fantastic hitting because when he cut his hair yesterday, he went hitless. Uh oh.

Now he didn’t cut as much off as you’d think. Let’s just say he got a little trim. Where Manny’s dreads would drape over the ‘RAMIREZ’ sewn on his jersey, now they elegantly creep out of his Dodger blue helmet. There has been a lot of discussion as to whether or not the eccentric Ramirez would follow the team rule. After seeing the tabacle that formed out of his defiance of Red Sox upper management, it seemed like Ramirez wouldn’t come around on this rule either.

It’s still long. If I come back next year, it will be shorter.

Manny Ramirez on cutting his dreads

But, maybe Manny’s turned a new leaf. He is on the other side of the country, playing in a completely different league, and maybe he’s not as anti-establishment as he was as a part of the Red Sox. Or maybe, he’s getting himself ready for the Yankees next season? Hey, I know Hank Steinbrenner said it wasn’t a possiblilty, but you know what else wasn’t a possibility? The Yankees having a $250 Million payroll and not making the playoffs.

As eccentric and confrontational as Manny has been in the past couple of months you have to appreciate what he’s done here cutting his hair, and even more so what he’s done on the field. He’s hitting over .400 as a Dodger and is filling the seats in Los Angeles. If I were his coach, I’d let him grow those dreads to the ground, as long as he’s hitting like this.

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By Sean Connolly

The trade deadline may have passed last week with the Red Sox getting rid of Manny Ramirez and getting Jason Bay, but the Red Sox aren’t done making moves. With worries looming over David Ortiz’s hand injury that is not healing and Mike Lowell’s hip injury now becoming a problem, the Red Sox are now looking to steal Brian Giles from the San Diego Padres via waivers.

Brian Giles on his way to Boston?

Giles, who is 37, would be a perfect pick up for the Sox. Fans were worried about losing a first ballot hall of famer in Manny but with the acquisition of Bay last week things seem o.k. But o.k won’t be good enough for fans with Ortiz and Lowell hurting. If the Red Sox can pick up the .296 hitting Giles who is a solid veteran with some power, they’ll be right back where they were before they got rid of Manny, just without Manny’s big mouth.

Hand injury may be too much for Big Papi to handle

A move to the American League will bump up the power numbers that Giles used to produce at a higher rate while a member of the Indians and Pirates where he put up 30+ home runs every season. Giles would be a great fit for a half season run at the AL East title where the Red Sox are battling with the Rays and Yankees.

Giles isn’t the biggest move of the season in baseball, but it could turn out to be the most imperative. The health of Lowell and Ortiz is sketchy and while Giles may never be able to do what Big Papi can do, I think he will suffice for now.

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