World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic is one of those things that could potentially be great, on the same lines as the FIFA World Cup, on a global scale. Unfortunately, there are a few setbacks in the games. First of all, for many of the teams, some players on the rosters come from MLB teams and farm teams. This presents a problem for the MLB clubs because they don't want some of these guys to go because of injury risks. This is totally understandable from my point of view. The Reds have Votto, Volquez, Hairston, Cueto, Hernandez, and some minor leaguers leaving spring training to go play. What happens if they get hurt?
I think that what needs to be done here is to look at the big picture. Guys like Albert Pujols and Johan Santana aren't playing this year. How is that good? For the sport of baseball, the Classic could be the best thing possible. You get more worldwide recognition for the game first of all, and also, you get to see who's out there. I'm not talking about just talent and players. You find markets growing as baseball growns in other parts of the world. You introduce people to the game. Many of the players want to play because of loyalty and love of their country. The Classic, in theory, could be incredibly helpful to the game. I think that the GM's and guys running the teams are just going to have to swallow their worries and let the guys play.

Economy Hits All Sports

Click the link above to check out my continuing conversation on economics and sports.

Phelps Doesn't Receive Fair Treatment

Here's what is getting at me today. We have, Michael Phelps, the most celebrated Olympic athlete of our time. He's smokes some marijuana out of a bong at a party. What happens? He has to apologize to the entire nation and most of the world for his actions. He's 23 years old. He's won 14 gold medals. Let him do what he wants. If myself or someone like me, a regular college kid, got caught smoking at a party, what happens? We get a slap on the wrist or whatever, little in the way of being reprimanded. I think it's unfair that he has to go so far out of his way to apologize to people who don't even really care because he is seen as a "role model". Let him live his life. Is he not allowed to go out with his friends and have a couple of drinks now? I realize that big time athletes lose some of their freedoms when they are in the limelight. Why do we have to scrutinize every move they make? Some of the guys are carrying guns around and doing things that we should be concerned about, but Phelps going out and having a little fun? Why should he be sorry for anything? I am personally apologizing to him for all of the pain we put him through in this whole ordeal.

All-Star Game Call Out

The NBA all-star game was Sunday, and although it was better than some the of the games I've seen in the past, I'm still burning on something. At halftime, the USA Olympic team members who represented us in Beijing were honored with rings for their accomplishments. I'm okay with that. Prior to this however, they recognized the other all-stars from other countries like Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki. They pretty much said, congratulations for what you do, now get out of the way while we give rings to the American guys.
I didn't like it because it wasn't necessary to point out that the U.S won again. The NBA is building greatly with foreign influence. The all-star game is a celebration of the best players in the NBA. I don't think it was an appropriate time to salute America's gold medal again. It's just kind of a slap in the face to the foreign players, as well as the other American all-stars who weren't on the Olympic team.

Free Agents

So spring training is literally right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers report in just over a week. Why is it that there are over 70 free agents still remaining unsigned?
Let's be honest. The economy isn't in the best shape, and it affects baseball too. Some of these free agents, who are big name players like Ramirez, Dunn, and Sheets, want the money they are accusomed too, and it's just not out there. It's unfortunate in some circumstances. These guys have earned the right to get paid, but what are teams supposed to do? They can't spend money they don't have. There were 171 free agents coming into the off season. Having so many free agents on the market this close to spring training is unheard of.
The majority of them will be signed throughout the spring, due to injuries and teams still trying to fill needs. Many of them may have to settle for substantial paycuts though.
This offseason has been unlike any other in recent history, simply because of the economy. The guys who signed early are the ones who turned out to benefit. Middle relievers signed early and got around $4 mil a year, which is good for relief pitching. The Yankees of course dropped their bomb contracts, which I'm not even going to start on. The rest of the middle market teams are just trying to scrap together some veterans for minimal costs.
In another sense, I like that not every player is signing. The cheapest players are the ones that are coming out of the minors, and I love seeing young guys get a chance to play

Pro Bowl

You know what the NFL Pro Bowl is? It's pro bull. The player's don't go all out. There are no stakes for the game. There needs to be something implemented like in the MLB All-Star game, for like homefield advantage or something along those line. I hate watching the game. They can only blitz so many guys. They can only run certain defenses. It's pretty much like a game of touch football.

I heard they are moving the game out of Hawaii, which I think will help. No one can go to Hawaii to watch a football game, and the game starts at weird times because of the time zone differences. The whole thing is just a mess. I would rather them have a rookie challenge game as opposed to the Pro Bowl. The big names don't even want to play in fear that they will get injured.

National Signing Day

National Signing Day.. another somewhat lame excuse for the media to exploit high school athletes. I wouldn't say that the actually day is bad. The kids probably like the attention of the media as they sign their letters of intent. Leading up to that though, the highly ranked recruits are overly criticized and judged on their athletic talent. ESPN and others, ranking these high school kids, grading them on their physical attributes and abilities. It's like we're going to be able to know exactly how good they will be at the next level before they even get there. Sad sad story.