Lessons through the All-Star Break
By Kevin Horn
Baseball has been teaching us some lessons this year. This season has been full of ups, downs and surprises. The White Sox and The Nationals have been two of the seasons more pleasant surprises, while the Yankees and the Athletics have really had disappointing seasons (for their fans of course). I would like to highlight some great player performances, as well as anything I deem newsworthy (too bad if you don’t).
Derek Lee. Sportscasters addicted to the first letter, first part of last name fiasco (V-Mart, A-Rod, I-Rob, etc.) have named him D-Lee. He has inspired some Triple Crown talk (and some classic flip-flopping on Pardon the Interruption). It is refreshing to see him (and Brian Roberts of Baltimore) having break out seasons that can finally not be blamed on steroids. However, many people have pointed to Lee playing far over his career numbers and are waiting for him to come back to earth.
The Ex-Expos. Who would have ever thought that Montreal’s refuge would suddenly become a division leader. Their success has been a GREAT story in baseball this year and I hope their success continues. Frank Robinson is probably one of the best managers in baseball and he finally has the ability to take a team to the playoffs. The Nationals are looking to add some quality players before the trading deadline.
The collapse of perennial contenders San Francisco, New York, Oakland and Atlanta.Although it could be argued that Atlanta has not collapsed, they must quickly turn around if they wish to continue their division championship streak in baseball’s most competitive division this year. They have a multitude of injuries and if the Marlins ever get their hitting going, they will have trouble holding on to that number two spot. Oakland has been horrendous this year, starting right at the top with slugger Eric Chavez and ace Barry Zito. Both have been very weak this year and Chavez is one of three third basemen (or fantasy guys who qualify at 3B) who are having terrible years, along with Mike Lowell and Aubrey Huff. San Francisco has proven that they have been a one-man team for years without Barry Bonds. Not having Bonds has caused them to collapse, although his return could spark a run in that weak NL West.
The Yankees struggles have been well documented on this website and the general media. Frankly it comes from having a team too top heavy without solid prospects or back-ups, and a razor thin pitching staff. The Yankees have gone from popular World Series pick this year, to a fledgling team in trouble of making the playoffs (I keep hoping the Jays will be able to leap ahead of them). It could be quite a few years before the Yanks are able to regain their dominance, simply because of long-term, big-money contracts.
The Gambler doesn’t know when to fold them. Kenny Rogers was the biggest story of last week, after his attack on a cameraman. I feel that every time an incident like this happens, the media blows it way out of proportion. I think this is the media’s way of protecting their own. They go out of their way to make an athlete look terrible in the public light and heap criticism on them. Sometimes, while I do not condone the actions, I really feel for the player. Everyone has a bad day. Many members of the media (I am thinking of a certain ESPN television personality who is burning) are simply there for shock value. These reporters (who are not the majority) will taunt players and push their buttons, only to get a rise out of them (or even a lawsuit). I don’t know if this happened in the Rogers situation, but I think the media needs to lay off this guy and give him a break.
Small ball is back! The White Sox have been baseball’s most successful team this half year based on the staples, pitching, base running, hitting and defense. In the age of steroids, home runs and Moneyball, you have seen teams shying away from this approach. Everything in sports is cyclical. You may see more teams, with reduced resources focusing more on these staples rather than swinging for the fences. You only need to score more runs than your opponents to win, it doesn’t matter who many more.
And the last thing baseball has taught us this year, is that we don’t know anything about baseball. Many teams and players have played much better or much worse than expected, and no one expected it. Derek Lee and Brian Roberts are both all-star starters when they are playing miles over their head. The Nats are up, The A’s are down and we don’t know why. This season has been full of surprises, and I am enjoying it.
Hope everybody enjoys the mid-summer classic and keep having a great summer!
