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Pro Sports Wrap - Sports Personality of the Day:Tony Romo

8/4 MLB News: A-Rod and poker

August 4th 2011 13:53
I thought Alex Rodriguez was just about done with his shenanigans, and then this came up. We've always known that A-Rod has had some gambling problems- namely poker- but this is the farthest it's ever gone. He was in trouble with the league for gambling in 2005, and then he held a charity poker game. The current allegations against Rodriguez are far more serious with this incident.

Bud Selig has definitely had enough of A-Rod's circus in the past few years, and this is just another major headache for the commissioner. It's a known fact that Rodriguez is going to be suspended, but the question really is the length of his suspension. Because he's done this before, I suggest that Rodriguez is suspended for the same length as players who take PEDs; 50 days.


The punishment stated above is fair for both parties. Selig needs to come up with a Stern- geddit- punishment here, not only because Rodriguez needs to be punished, but also because Selig has a reputation for being weak in his rulings for the most part. This is his chance to make a big statement, and this is, of course, if A-Rod really did take part in these celebrity poker games.

I realize that playing poker isn't a serious offense, but A-Rod ignored Stern warnings from Selig about his involvement in gambling in 2005. He was told not to play poker again, but Rodriguez did not listen. Maybe 50 games is a little harsh, but it would be sweet revenge for Selig. I mean, it's not like A-Rod doesn't deserve it for all he's done in the last ten years or so.

Jacoby Ellsbury's second straight walk-off hit- for a home run no less- has people buzzing about his MVP case. I think Ellsbury's been the third best player in the AL this season, but he hasn't been the best player on his team. No, that honor belongs to Dustin Pedroia. Not only has he hit well, but he's been incredible in the field. I can't even begin to describe how well he's been in the field though. My MVP has to be Jose Bautista just over Pedroia, because he was mashing at the beginning of the season. He's still going strong, and his numbers resemble Bonds's in the early 2000s. Nobody wants to pitch to him.


As for the NL, I still think Jose Reyes has been slightly better than Matt Kemp. CC Sabathia has been outstanding this season, and he and Roy Halladay are unquestionably the two Cy Young winners. Guys like Justin Verlander have had great seasons, but no pitcher can touch the dominance of Sabathia and Halladay this season.
Alex Rodriguez
Without a question deserves suspension




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5/21 Baseball Stats Check

May 21st 2011 15:56
1. Jonny Gomes has the lowest BABIP at .185 as well as the 14th highest strikeout rate 31.2%. He is hitting .176.

2. A.J. Pierzynski is hitting .252, but he has the lowest strikeout rate in the league at 5.8%.

3. As far as hitters go, Juan Pierre has the worst WAR in the league at -1.1. Carl Crawford has the fifth lowest thanks to a .212/.247/.282 line. He'll start hitting, but Juan Pierre needs to sit on the bench really soon. This is another "What is Ozzie Doing?" moment.

4. Jose Bautista has by far the highest WAR in the league at 3.9. Bautista is in the midst of a historical season in which he has a .352/.503/.797 line with 16 home runs, 35 runs, a better walk rate than strikeout rate, and a .445 isolated power average.

5. Raul Ibanez and Juan Pierre can't field or hit. It's time for these two outfielders at the bottom of the pile in WAR and Fielding to take a seat. Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, and Shin Soo-Choo probably won't get Gold Gloves by the end of the year, but they should be on every reasonable person's short lists.

6. Jose Bautista has the highest walk rate in the league. I mean, who in their right mind would pitch it to this guy? He's having a Bonds-like year. His 3.1 Fielding is also a plus.

7. Is Justin Smoak the slowest person in baseball right now and Ian Desmond the fastest? According to the Speed stat on Fan Graphs, they are.

8. Miguel Tejada's done, and the Vernon Wells trade is looking much worse than anyone thought. Wells has a chance of playing well, but Tejada needs to call it quits after this season.

9. Two Matts, Joyce and Holliday, are definitely going to see their batting averages fall. BABIPs of over .400 usually aren't good. This especially holds true for Joyce because he doesn't have a good strikeout rate, and he's also the worse hitter of the two.

10. Is Alcides Escobar already a bust? He's a huge liability right now. David Ortiz hasn't had his "clutch-touch" of late, and the only thing good about Dexter Fowler has been his ability to come through in close situations. He can field, but he can't hit. Jim Tracy has too much faith in him, but maybe it's because he has the highest Clutch Factor in baseball right now.

All stats from www.fangraphs.com
Jose Bautista
Is He The Best Hitter in the AL?
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4/9 Game Recap: Angels and Jays

April 10th 2011 18:09
I was able to catch the end of the Angels' 6-5 victory in a long game against the Toronto Blue Jays played in Los Angeles. There were a lot of runs early on as starting pitchers Brett Cecil and Matt Palmer got blown early to the tune of 10 hits and 5 runs allowed apiece (4 ER for Palmer). However, four relievers in that game were perfect through at least an inning of work. Only one reliever gave up an earned run, and that came from the game-winning single.

Maicer Izturis was definitely the hero of the game for the Angels. He not only hit the game-winning single to score Peter Bourjos from second, but he also had 3 hits with two ribbies and a run during the game. Dan Haren came in at the end to get the win (2-0) and struck out a batter in a perfect inning of work. I view Haren as a darkhorse candidate to win the Cy Young. Before the season started, my good friend Aryan- who used to own a blog here- and I were talking about what would happen before the season. I told him that Haren and Russell Martin were my bounce-back players. So far, they have done me right.

Anyway, let's talk about the decisive run in the game. Jon Rauch would relief Shawn Camp for what would the last inning in the ballgame. He struck out both pinch hitter Brandon Wood and Jeff Mathis. It was looking like Rauch might strike out the side, and it certainly looked like we would be looking at more baseball. The young center fielder Peter Bourjos had other plans. He blasted a double to deep left to get into scoring position with two outs. The leadoff hitter was hitting .333 during the game thus far with a now .361 batting average. He hit a bloop single into right field, and that was all the Angels needed as Bourjos scored from second.

It was certainly an extraordinary game, and it was better than game one of the Yankees-Red Sox series that I also watched. Bartolo Colon looked great, and Boone Logan should never play out of the pen in an important situation. Travis Snider had two stolen bases, Howie Kendrick hit the game's lone homer, Jose Bautista went 2-4 with 3 walks, JP Arencibia was once again immense with a double and a triple, and John McDonald went 3-5 with two walks.
Maicer Izturis
Walk-Off Single in 14th
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