Crazy Conseco is Back

Just when all the PED talk seemed to have gone away, it has jumped to the top of the headlines once more. I knew it was inevitable, but its still disappointing. Anyway, the story this time is thanks to crazy Jose Canseco and his new personal rant book, Vindicated.

A few people managed to get copies early, before the book officially goes on sale April 1st. At first it was some Boston columnist, by the name of Joe Lavin who posted about and started a cohort of responses and other posts on the subject. Deadspin later posted some excerpts from the book, confirming that Lavin had the book. You can head over to the site (just click the link) and read some of the excerpts for yourself. The main targets of this book seem to be Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez. I’m not going to discuss the Clemens situation because that has already been beat and buried to the ground thanks to Mitchell madness.

As for Ordonez, Canseco said that he personally injected the outfielder. Obviously there are those who argue that he is guilty and those that say he is innocent. I really don’t know what to believe about him at the moment, especially due to the lack of information thus far. Deadspin’s excerpts mostly focus of A. Rod and I haven’t seen much more about what Canseco said about Ordonez, so I’m not going to say much on that either. In my mind he is still innocent because just knowing that Canseco said he is guilty doesn’t sway my mind a bit, since I don’t have much if any respect for Canseco and I don’t find him to be a good source.

What I am more concerned about at the moment is Canseco’s accusations of A. Rod. Again, I think Canseco is just a pathetic ex ballplayer who got caught and is now out to get others, just to make himself feel better. Having a personal vendetta like that isn’t exactly a good quality when investigating this sort of thing and I think Canseco just lucked out his first time around, with Juiced. Hopefully Vindicated will be the joke that Juiced was supposed to be and Canseco can stop writing these diaries he calls books.

Looking at the excerpts posted by Deadspin, it really looks like Canseco’s new book won’t be as credible as his first. As Ben from River Ave. Blues said,

“While the passages are in the book, Canseco’s words come across as jealous, bitter rantings. Vindicated will be no Juiced”

I agree with this 100%. The book just seems like it is a 14 year old girl ranting. Canseco talks about how he didn’t mention A. Rod. in the first book because he hated him for apparently trying to get with his wife. He also hates him because “he has no morals.” That is quite a statement coming from a guy who popped pills like there was no tomorrow to get big. Anyway, Canseco said that he introduced Rodriguez to a few steroid dealers. He said that he didn’t see whether or not A. Rod. actually took steroids, but he was sure and still is sure because of one time when he passed A. Rod. on the street and thought that he “looked buff.” What a load of bull. Canseco even admitted that he isn’t sure whether or not A. Rod has taken steroids; combine that with the fact that he hates A. Rod. and his case basically falls apart.

Jose Canseco is just tarnishing his own name further with this book because with most of his accusations he is personally involved in one way or another. He is making himself out to be the king of steroids (if he isn’t already). Forget Bonds and Clemens, I think Canseco should be the eternal steroids poster boy. It will be interesting to see how the media reacts to the book once it is officially released in a few days. Hopefully this will be the end of Canseco and he can go into the corner of his gym and cry his writing career away.

The Red Sox Are Not a Dynasty

Two World Series wins in three years. Yea, that’s a great achievement, I’ll give them that one. But to say that the Red Sox are a dynasty… no. Just no. The Yankees of the late 30s and the early 50s were both dynasties. Then of course you have the Bombers dynasty of the late 90s, with 4 World Series’ in 5 years were a dynasty. The A’s of the early 1910s and early 70s were both dynasties. Heck, even the Red Sox had one during the early/mid 1910s. But the current Red Sox don’t have one, at least not yet. Winning 2 World Series in a span of three years does not give you that right. Boston didn’t even win the division all of those years. If you counted the current team as a dynasty simply based on winning 2 World Series in 3 years then there would be a cohort of dynasties in baseball history including teams like the 1992-1993 Blue Jays.

I know there is no formula for deciding whether or not a team is a dynasty, but you have to look at the facts. The Red Sox have not dominated the sport compared to what most baseball historians would agree are the real dynasties. They have not been able to win consecutive division titles, let alone pennants and they have not been the “shoe-in” team. They haven’t even been called the team to beat at the beginning of a season until this year. I am sure it is exciting to finally be winning after almost 100 years, but Red Sox fans must think of it practically. Ok, say they win one or two more championships and they continue to win the division (god forbid both), then they may start talking about a dynasty. But after winning two World Series’ and not even being the dominant team throughout all of those seasons, the word shouldn’t even be uttered.

It took some teeth grinding to admit that the last 3 years were a great achievement, but I had to do it to get the point across. Hopefully this will shut up some of those BoSox clowns fans. The bottom line is: the current Red Sox are NOT a dynasty.

A New Training

As spring training is quickly approaching, the Yankees seem to be in a different situation than past years. Why? For many years the Yankees have gone into spring training with a solid idea of who will be starting at each position, but this year there are several discrepancies, which will be decided by player performances this spring. This doesn’t mean that the Yankees didn’t get the players they wanted; it just shows how the Yankees are changing their ways. I think after Cashman’s amazing effort at reviving the farm system, a change like this should be welcomed because with more young players, spring training will be a lot more important in figuring out who will give us the best shot at getting those W’s. In my opinion it is all for the good and is a great complement to the Yankees new plan of going young.

Among the “fighting” positions are first base, starting pitching spots, relieving spots, and maybe even an outfield position. I think competition in spring training is great motivation to work harder, especially for young players and those who want to prove themselves. There will definetely be a big fight for first base with four potential starters (Shelley, Giambi, Betemit, and Ensberg.) The outfield is less iffy, but it will still see its share of competition with Matsui, Melky, Damon, and Abreu all vying for spots. The Yankees have also signed Jason Lane earlier and now have expressed interest in Kevin Mench, both of whom may seem like a long shots, but do have chances.

Then comes the pitching situation. This one has been talked about over and over again, so I won’t go into it too much again. Basically it comes down to figuring out which of the 6 potential starters get the 5 spots and which one gets a relief spot. As for the rest of the relieving spots, it will really come down to who does well in spring training.

I think this competition will only make our team stronger. It will also show us who are the better backups and who are the duds. Plus, with all of these extra players signed we are bound to find good replacements shall the injury bug hit.

Posada to First?

There is speculation that Jorge Posada could be moved to first base soon. It makes perfect sense considering catchers usually have trouble playing the position for too long due to the strains on the body. Looking back at baseball history, catchers playing into their late thirties have struggled a lot. There is no doubt that Posada is special though because he has been so consistent for so long that he might just be able to continue playing the position and break that historic trend. None the less, moving him to first may extend his shelf life, so to speak. He may even prove to be the first basemen who we are currently searching for.

The Yankees have started to try putting Posada at first and he isn’t comfortable yet, but as he gets more play time at the position he should feel better about it. Looking at his gameplay he certainly hasn’t been bad at the position though. The Yanks don’t want to rush him into it though; they probably won’t move him there until he feels ready to do so. For the 2008 season he will definetely remain catcher as far as we know, but beyond that you might just see Posada playing first. It would also give an opportunity to some of our other catchers too, some who have shown good potential. I think it could be a good move for the Yanks and for Posada in the upcoming years. What do you guys think? Is it a good plan to gradually move Posada to first or not?

New York vs. Boston, This is What We Live For

Ok, so it isn’t the right sport, but who cares? It is still New York vs. Boston and that is a big deal, especially with Boston’s hot streak of late (the Red Sox, Celtics, Pats, even BC played better than usual). Well, guess what? It is 2008, a new year, and it is time for that streak to end. What a better way to end it than with the Giants beating the Patriots in the Superbowl. Ok, maybe I am getting ahead of myself, but I truly believe that Eli and the Giants can defeat Belicheat’s crew. You can probably tell the Red Sox aren’t the only Boston team I hate. I am actually a Jets fan, which makes my hatred of the Patriots similar to that of the Red Sox since they are our division rivals. It would have been better in the Jets took out the Pats in the playoffs, but hey I’m not complaining; I am still happy with the Giants taking on our Boston foes. Lets hope this is the beginning of taking back the sports throne for New York. Do I hear the Yankees playing into late October?

Same Yanks, Same Outcome? I Don’t Think So

The Yankees have received a lot of scrutiny from fans of other teams about how they did nothing this offseason other than bring the team from last year back. These naive people think that since its the same team, the outcome will be the same. I know that the Yanks [or their fans] don’t have to answer to fans of other teams, but I felt like responding to this one because that assumption is just bullshit. Just because the players are the same does not mean we will lose in round one of the ALDS again.

There is actually an advantage to having the same players return. As they practice and play more games with each other, they start to get more acquainted with the eachother’s playing styles. This helps them realize what each man’s strengths and weaknesses are. They can then use that information to play optimal ball for whatever situation they are in. The more the same team plays together, the quikcer the team chemistry grows and the players act as a more unified team, which is very important for any successful club.

Now lets move on to specifics. Particularly what many Yankee fans are referring to as the “big three”. Who? Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, and of course Joba Chamberlain; three young pitchers who were a major part of the rally last year. Only difference is, now they got another year under their belt’s and experience is always a great thing to have in professional sports. They are still young and learning so they should continue to get better for a while to come and if you look at what they’ve done so far that might be scary for other teams.

I am not going to pull the Joe Girardi card in this one because even though that was one of the changes made this off season, Torre was still a great manager, so that was not the issue.

Bottom line is, we may have the same base of players, but that DOES NOT mean we will have the same outcome.