An Ode to Opening Day

I know Alexander Pope wasn't referring to baseball when he penned, "Hope springs eternal," but to many baseball fans (including myself), those words ring true every April. Optimism runs like the rapids of the Rogue River even in a sport so critically flawed by salary and payroll imbalances. Without optimism, being a San Diego Padres fan would be nearly impossible. I can't imagine life without baseball, and without strong ties to a team being a fan would be meaningless. So I love the Padres, and I love opening day.

I must admit that I do get a certain perverse satisfaction from being a fan of a continually failing franchise. There aren't many people outside southern California (and even in southern California) that are rocking Padres gear. Baseball fans all over the country give me credit for sticking by my team and not being afraid to show it. My obsession goes further than most know, as I am sure I am the only person in the state of Texas who purchased the MLB Extra Innings package to follow the Padres out of market.

Although the Padres traditionally function as a farm club for major league teams with money, I am still on the edge of my seat following the progression of every player, every year. More often than not, my team is at the bottom of the payroll chain making player retention nearly impossible. Young talent gets their start in San Diego until they really develop and are traded away for more "future" talent. It is maddening, and I do as much complaining about ownership and management as I do rooting for my team. You could build an all star team with former Padres, and the worst part is every player says they love playing in San Diego, and most make their off season home there. Still, it's better than being a Cubs fan.

But none of that matters today, and that is why opening day is such a magical time for every baseball fan. While most analysts give four teams an honest chance to win it all, every team starts today in first place. Most Padres fans feel pretty good about the team this year. They are under new ownership and the team has a youthful feel built around speed which is much more important today as steroids are phased out of the game. The starting pitching is suspect at best, but they added a solid starter and play in the most pitcher friendly ball park in the majors. There are some really exciting young players that are sure to be stars for someone else one day, but right now they are Padres, and they should be able to compete on a nightly basis.

I could write a 50 thousand word essay on why the lack of a salary cap and the MLB players union have destroyed the game. I could tell you why American League baseball is not really baseball because of the inclusion of the designated hitter. I could complain endlessly that the Padres won't be able to afford to keep hometown hero Adrian Gonzalez, and that over the last 25 years I have been witness to the worst personnel management in the game.

But I won't. Nope. Today I will tell you that baseball is the purest sport in existence. No other sport fuses specialized physical skill and endless strategy like baseball. For sports fans that say baseball is boring, I would simply say, you don't understand the game. When you do understand baseball, every pitch is exciting. With every ball thrown towards a batter there are 50 players and 12 coaches trying to think one step ahead of their opponent.

I can't deny that the fan experience and competition of the league has led football (both college and NFL) to reign supreme in this country. For those that read my posts, you know that my passion for football is enormous. The structure and pace of the sport is far more exciting. When you compare a 17 game season to a 162 game season it is easy to understand why it's easier to invest in football in the age of attention deficit.

But, like nearly every child that grew up dreaming of playing major league baseball, the sport is in my blood. My dad and I can talk football all day long. We can enjoy 18 holes of golf (when we're not exploring nature's bounty in search of our ball). But there is something way more special about being outside and throwing the ball around, or walking into the ball park and grabbing a dog and a beer. I enjoy football on television more than actually going to the game (in most instances), but there is no replacement for being at the ball park in the sun on a warm spring afternoon. It's pure magic.

So I am going to enjoy this month more than the following six. Before optimism turns to pessimism, before my team is mathematically out of the race and selling off their marquee players, before the reality of salary limitations rears its ugly head, my team is in first place and has a chance to win it all. Here's how I see the division races shaking out:

AL East: New York Yankees

Don't blame them for baseball's problems. They just happen to have the most money and the most interest in putting a winner on the field.

AL Cent: Chicago White Sox

They would have the best pitching staff in baseball if it weren't for the Red Sox. Luckily, they don't have to play in the East and will only be challenged by the Twins within the division.

AL West: Seattle Mariners

You can't knock them for sitting idle in the off season, unlike the Angels. Seattle will supplant Mike Scioscia and perennial front running Los Angeles (or California or Anaheim).

AL Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

Dominating pitching staff. Once again the most intriguing race in baseball will be NY and Boston.

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies

No team in the National League is even close to these guys. Add the best starting pitcher in baseball in Roy Halladay, and take the New York Mets continual injury issues and you have a winner.

NL Cent: St. Louis Cardinals

Baseball royalty with the best player on the planet in Albert Pujols. Oh, and they re signed Matt Holliday so he will have protection in the lineup. Very solid starting pitching.

NL West: San Diego Padres

Yep, that's right, I said it. Hope springs eternal...So here's mine. Added speed and a variety of players that will surprise people in a division that is very winnable for any of the teams. It should be known that the Padres are picked to finish last by every analyst in the world so I might be going out on a bit of a limb. I don't care.

NL Wild Card: Atlanta Braves

Reloaded and ready to win.

World Series Matchup: New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Baseball's woes continue as the two biggest payrolls meet for a World Series rematch. Barring injuries there is no one in the league that should compete with these guys. I predicted this rematch the day after the World Series was over last year. Please get a salary cap, and quick, baseball. Please. The Phillies would be playing in their third straight World Series.

Winner: New York Yankees

Some things never change.

There it is. Just two words left to say. PLAY BALL!!!

The Punishment Fits the Crime: Big Mac's Return to Baseball

Big Mac, Mark McGwire makes his return to baseball next year and already the uproar around the game is deafening. McGwire returns with Tony La Russa and the St. Louis Cardinals after last being seen in front of a Grand Jury flopping around like one of those wind sock men you see in front of the car wash. McGwire will be the hitting coach of a Cardinal team that won their division and boasts slackers like Albert Pujols and Matt Holiday in the middle of their lineup.

Regardless of his merits as a coach of hitters, all I have heard in the media or from baseball fans is that he will have to make some sort of statement about his alleged use of performance enhancers, namely steroids. For some reason all the babbling sports show hosts or so called baseball experts have decided they must hear a full confession and an apology or Mac’s future in baseball will forever be protested. All seem to agree that they want to hear the words come out of his mouth. My question is why?

A typical response to this seems to be, “Take a look at Petite or A Rod. They took ownership, came clean, now no one cares.” This issue will resurface once both players are subjects of hall of fame discussions, but the point is a good one. We have a forgiving public. The general sports fan will root for a player/person who is down and needs a second chance (Michael Vick), and tear down someone who has too much success (Tom Brady). I agree 100 percent, the best course of action for Big Mac would have been to come clean right away, admit to steroid use, ask for forgiveness from the fans, and get on with his life. But the ego is a fickle thing. It competes against the part of the brain that is rational and renders some incapable of swallowing pride (Barry Bonds).

This is all well and good, but really, so what? Why are we so obsessed with hearing the words come out of his mouth?

Question. What do the following players all have in common with their alleged or admitted steroid use? Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Ken Caminiti, Miguel Tejada, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Andy Petite, Gary Sheffield.

Answer. They are all guilty, every single one. We really don’t need a confession to tell us that, and apologies under the gun are overrated. Did we even need the Mitchell Report to confirm who we suspected of steroid use during the baseball equivalent of Woodstock? Nobody was looking. What did you expect? The only real surprise is that Albert Pujols has never been implicated in any steroid talk. Just look at the numbers hitters were putting up before the Mitchell Report and what they are after two years of testing. And what happened to all of baseballs ageless wonders? They all got old and retired once steroid testing began. Is anyone waiting on pins and needles to find out if Bonds and Clemens can clear their name? Nope. No one cares, unless Bonds gets hired as the hitting coach of the Giants, I guess. Those guys are off the baseball map and probably will be until one of them gets convicted of perjury.

When I think about Roger Clemens now, I have this image of him in some dark, dingy basement. The only source of light is a TV in the corner of the room playing analog snow on mute. He is sitting in a rocking chair wearing white boxers and a dirty wife beater under shirt, staring at a full length mirror unable to blink, and repeating I did not do steroids, over and over in some sort of brain washed trance.

We don’t need a confession to know McGwire did steroids, and we don’t need an apology to form an opinion of the player. He looks worse, and is suffering more because of the way he handled the situation. He pled the fifth in front of congress. Does that not insinuate guilt? He wasn’t an idiot like Rafael Palmeiro, pointing his finger and shouting his innocence from the rooftops only to be tested positive a few months later, effectively ending his career and sending him into total obscurity and seclusion, but he still admitted enough by not saying anything. What does a confession now do to change the way we look at him as a person or player? If he wants to avoid the subject forever, let him. The best punishment for his case is to keep him out of the Hall of Fame which is going to happen whether a confession is made, or not. It is not like confessing will pave his passage. The only part of his game that could get him in the Hall was his power, and we know he cheated to get it.

McGwire could learn a lesson from Pete Rose. Holding on to the truth is futile. Eventually the media will get you to crack. It’s just good business. It’s too late to save face anyway. Those that would forgive him already have. The rest aren’t going to be swayed by a confession. Unfortunately for McGwire, he cannot come back and perform on the field like several others have, and since recovered some good will from fans. As soon as A Rod came clean and started hitting homers again, the fans seemed to embrace him. The same goes for Petite. On the field heroics go a long way in swaying public opinion. McGwire doesn’t have that option.

Regardless of his disposition, and whether or not he chooses to come clean, McGwire has a place in baseball if someone is willing to hire him. He is still a great person, and every baseball fan loved watching Mac and Sosa chase the homerun record. Steroid homers resurrected the sports popularity after the 1994-1995 strike. Unfortunately, the little good it did for the sports popularity was overshadowed by the epidemic that followed with nearly every player of significance realizing that they must also level the playing field by taking steroids. Baseball’s non-testing policy was equivalent to the “Please Take One” bowl on Halloween . Major League Baseball’s stance seemed to be please use steroids cautiously so you help the game, but don’t make it obvious so the media and fans catch on. The bowl emptied before anyone knew it. When hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, personal health and ethics take a back seat. I would guess that 75 percent of the population would do as McGwire did if they were in his shoes.

It has been proven that steroids damage your body. Players of the so called steroid era set terrible examples for youth baseball players that idolized these stars. I feel, as a purist of baseball, that the game is tremendously better without goliaths hitting 70 homers a year. Speed and strategy come in to play much more, and the game should get more exciting as it gets cleaner. We will once again be able to distinguish the power hitters from others and a homerun will once again become a cherished moment rather than an expected feat three to four times a game. Nonetheless, I do not condemn Mark McGwire. The blame does not fall squarely on his shoulders. If he does not wish to make a confession then we should all just move on. Let him coach and forever be known as a guy who took steroids, hit a lot of homeruns, and is not in the hall of fame. The punishment already fits the crime.