Braun Free Pass on Technicality Is Bad for Baseball

Article first published as Braun Free Pass on Technicality Is Bad for Baseball on Blogcritics.

So now we know how it goes in regard to Major League Baseball testing a player for a PED (performance enhancing drug). You get a really good lawyer, you find a loophole, and you get away with it. If Commissioner Bud Selig doesn't realize that this is bad for baseball, then he is hiding behind a curtain somewhere like the Wizard of Oz, hoping that people will fear his altered voice and the smoke and mirrors about there being zero tolerance for drugs that make one hundred pound weaklings into sultans of swat. Yeah, right.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun professed his innocence during a press conference after reporting to spring training in Phoenix on Friday, February 24. Braun said that MLB's testing program is "Absolutely fatally flawed." He also blamed the media, the process for collecting urine samples, the guy who collected it, and everyone else except the most glaringly obvious person: himself. He said, "I would bet my life this substance never entered my body." Okay, Ryan, don't go near Vegas anytime soon.

The problem here is not that a guy got past the process for the first time after being ruled a violator, but with the guy who got the pass. This isn't just a lowly shortstop playing for any team, but rather the National League MVP and star of the Milwaukee Brewers, a team which Selig once owned. If these things start to make you uncomfortable, think about how Selig was going to make steroids and other PEDs a big issue, but somehow allowed the Barry Bonds drama to stay on the back burner until Bonds hit his record breaking homers.

The question is in essence what is good for baseball? Guys pumped up with drugs hitting homers, winning championships, and filling the seats, or MLB taking a stand and shutting them down? Now, with Braun's free pass, I think the answer should be obvious.

Braun is a poster boy for the feel-good image Selig wants baseball to project. He is good looking, talented, and knows how to play the game. He is not the angry Barry Bonds, the press unfriendly guy who ballooned into a swollen home run god. So the press didn't like Bonds and then it seemed to be that he was going to go to jail. That was it. Baseball couldn't or wouldn't protect him or any violator of the drug policy - until now.

I am certain Braun will have his defenders, and there are a lot of young ladies in Milwaukee (and elsewhere I imagine) that are relieved that he won't be suspended for 50 games. His team needs him; Milwaukee needs him, MLB needs him, right?

The sad part is that this opens a door, and Selig - that Wizard behind the curtain - is not going to be able to use any tricks to get it closed. One guy got away with it. Yes, he says he is innocent - as did Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and too many others to mention. They always say they are innocent. Always.

So forget talk about asterisks on Bonds' record. Forget talk about keeping guys out of the Hall of Fame because Braun doesn't miss one game. Either there is a policy and zero tolerance or there is not. At this point, other players are thinking about their home run totals, batting averages, earned run averages, and prospects for the Hall of Fame. They have options and now an open door. What happens next, Mr. Selig?

Photo Credit - Getty Images

Mets Mess: Beltran Gets Standing Ovation Before Last at Bat

Article first published as Mets Mess: Beltran Gets Standing Ovation Before Last at Bat on Blogcritics.

Carlos Beltran is most certainly going off to see the wizard; his teammates know it, the fans know it, and most importantly, he knows it. It was actually a fitting moment at Citi Field on Thursday, July 21, when Beltran came to bat in the ninth inning of what is no doubt his last home game as a New York Met.

You may ask: what were the fans cheering about? Beltran came to the team as a much anticipated Superman, but we got more of Clark Kent than anything else. Many times over the years it seemed like Beltran wasn't even in the lineup. Of course, that was true during his extended stays on the DL, but even when he was in the lineup, it was like he wasn't there.

I, like most Mets fans, probably can never forgive or forget that called third strike from Adam Wainwright in the NLCS in 2006 that sent the Mets home. It was one of those moments etched in memory, indelible as say Bill Buckner's mishandling of Mookie Wilson's grounder in the 1986 World Series. Red Sox fans would never forget that either.

I was surprised by the applause and the standing ovation. For a second there, it seemed like the audience of Jersey Boys after they sing "Who Loves You" and the people stand and keep applauding for actors who are not Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's an incongruous moment, and Beltran walks out the door and into New York Mets history. I truly doubt he will be remembered as fondly as Ed Kranepool, Cleon Jones, Mike Piazza, and Tom Seaver. He is probably stuck somewhere between Carlos Delgado and Bobby Bonilla; in other words, he goes into the limbo section where he will be mostly forgotten.

Beltran always seemed likable and pleasant with reporters and fans. He just never clicked in New York. Let it suffice to say that the best playing he has done for the team has been these last few months. Now he is a leader, playing with effort and gusto, and looking like the guy he should have been the last seven years. What a shame it took so long. How sad for the fans, the players, and for Beltran most of all.

Now he will be in a new uniform the next time he comes to New York. There are a number of teams still in contention that want his services. What will the Mets get back for him? Can you say Jim Fregosi or Pat Zachary without wincing? Hopefully GM Sandy Alderson will realize he is holding all the cards and make certain that he gets a good return on the deal, nothing like those meaningless "players to be named later" he got from Milwaukee for K-Rod.

We bid adieu to Carlos Beltran. Carlos, we hardly knew you, and that is probably the saddest part of all.

Photo Credit: Daily News

Blizzard of December 2010: Mayor's 'Sorry' A Tertiary Response

Article first published as Blizzard of December 2010: Mayor's 'Sorry' A Tertiary Response on Blogcritics.

By now you (five days after the storm first hit) would think that New York City's Mayor Bloomberg would get it right, but he is still fumbling the ball. He says he is "Sorry" about the poor response to the blizzard, but then he defends Sanitation Department Chief James Doherty and says that he is the best head of sanitation that New York City ever had. Doesn't this sound something like George W. Bush defending FEMA head Michael Brown after the debacle of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans?

To add insult to injury we get a report in today's NY Post that the sanitation bosses in the outer boroughs ordered a work slowdown as a protest of the mayor's budget cuts for the department. Now, if this is true, it is disturbing on many levels, but it also can be seen as a criminal in light of the deaths in Brooklyn and Queens because streets remained unplowed.

As for Bloomberg, either he is in complete denial of how poor the response was, or he is still basing it on looking out his window in his mansion and seeing clear Manhattan streets. At yesterday's news conference Bloomberg assured everyone that Doherty vowed that all city streets would be cleared by 7 AM today (Thursday, December 30). Well, that didn't happen, at least not here in Queens, and I am not sure about the other boroughs, but I'm kind of thinking they're going to need more time. Maybe lots more time.

Bloomberg also defended the rationale of clearing "major" roadways first. Apparently, this means all the streets in Manhattan before the ones in the other boroughs. He also noted that "tertiary" roads would remain as the last ones to get plowed. Well, again lost in his la-la land of Manhattan, Bloomberg doesn't realize that most New Yorkers (those who live in the outer boroughs) actually live on those tertiary (or third class) streets, not like him in the palaces along Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park.

Some people in other areas of the country are no doubt laughing at us and our response to the storm. Blogger dharma55 called New Yorkers "blizzard wimps" in her article on Blogcritics. The truth is we are blizzard wimps, but why is that? Why are New Yorkers not conditioned to handle such major weather events?

The answer, dear readers, is because of our city government. This storm is a perfect example. It was downplayed from the beginning, and then after it was clear that forecasters were wrong and it was going to be a major weather event, even then there was no declaration of emergency. By the time the storm hit with all its fury, the city was stuck in a no-win situation, and the populace was lost in the blizzard.

Other cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, and Buffalo handle much worse weather much better than this. Why? Because the local government has prepared for it, and thus the citizens are prepared too. Bloomberg and company are more concerned with people getting to Broadway shows during a blizzard than getting to a hospital. It is the obvious truth, and people died during this storm because of it. Wishing that big storms go away and come back again another day does not work, not in New York City or anywhere else.


So yes, we "blizzard wimps" here in New York are stuck in our little houses on clogged tertiary roads, waiting for the plows to unclog our streets. We are not making excuses either. Many New Yorkers (and I know because I am one of them) have taken shovels in hands, lots of them, and many have dug out their cars, houses, and businesses, only to have nowhere to go or no customers because the streets are not passable, the buses and trains are not running, and people are caught in this winter miasma and getting angrier by the minute. This is horrific for everyone, but especially those in poor health who can't get to hospitals or those homebound persons who can't get assistance or meals that they need.

At this point many people have wasted a week of their lives battling something that should have been handled differently. Whether it was a sanitation slowdown, a clueless administration, or a Mayor who is behind a curtain and working meaningless switches like the Wizard of Oz, the bottom line is the Yellow Brick Road was only plowed in certain places. You can bet that tomorrow night in Times Square, when the Mayor watches the ball drop on New Year's Eve, that many New Yorkers are going to be thinking how appropriate that is because the ball was indeed dropped, and as of yet no one accepts responsibility for the fumble.

 

As Gang Green Turns: Jets Offense Sputters in 16-11 Loss to Redskins

Article first published as As Gang Green Turns: Jets Offense Sputters in 16-11 Loss to Redskins on Blogcritics.

"It's only a preseason game; its only a preseason game; it's only a preseason game." Imagine Coach Rex Ryan saying that as he clicks his heels together three times, hoping the good green witch will grant his wish and send him to the Land of Oz - the Super Bowl. He better hope for that kind of magic, because right now his offense looks like it is in serious need of a wizard to grant it some heart, some brains, and lots of courage.

In last night's game against the Washington Redskins at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the first-team offense didn't look any better than it did in last week's game against the Carolina Panthers. It has scored only two touchdowns thus far in the preseason, and last night QB Mark Sanchez was 13 for 29 with an interception. He redeemed himself late in the game with an early fourth quarter ten-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Keller.

What is more alarming are the turnovers - two in the first half - and Ryan readily admitted that this was troublesome. "When you turn the ball over like that, it kills you." There was a total of four turnovers last night, and Ryan rightly called that just plain "ugly."

About the interception he threw, Sanchez said, "It was just a poor throw." Uh, yeah, Mark, how about a really bad one. The Jets' Vernon Gholston had recovered a fumbled punt, and Sanchez literally threw that opportunity away on the Redskins' 34. It was a big mistake on a night of many of them for the Jets.

Sanchez was sacked twice because offensive linemen D'Brickshaw Ferguson and Damien Woody couldn't protect him, but both LaDainian Tomlinson and Shone Greene shined in the running game, collectively gaining 142 yards on 23 carries. Still, Ryan has to be worried by what he sees at this point in the preseason with one game left on Thursday against the Eagles.

Another bright spot was the defense last night, holding the Redskins to three field goals over three quarters, but cornerback Antonio Cromartie got a holding call and and one for pass interference, making everyone think just a little bit more about holdout Darrelle Revis. If his return is not imminent - and it appears more unlikely each day - Ryan will have more to worry about than his second-year quarterback and a very shaky offense.

Over all, what stands out in last night's game is that the offense is faltering. You can blame linemen, running backs, and wide receivers all you want, but the true center of this storm is QB Mark Sanchez. While I remain a believer in him as a talented, smart and dedicated guy, it appears clear that he has to take a step back to take some steps forward. As Sanchez goes this offense will go, and right now there is reason to be concerned.