Ken Griffey, Jr. has made his decision and once again, the Atlanta Braves are left at the alter. What does this do to the Braves? Well, frankly, nothing. Ken would have helped the Atlanta Braves, but he was not the fix all to their issues. The great thing is, the Braves have 4 young outfielders that now get a chance to compete for the platoon position in left field. Brandon Jones, Jordan Schafer, Gregor Blanco or Josh Anderson now have a better chance at making the roster. Jones and Schafer lead in the area of power but Blanco and Anderson lead in the speed field and have the advantage in time served at the major league level.
With the platoon position being the alternative answer in left field, this still leaves center field opened. Shafer, Blanco, and Anderson are the best 3 out of the 4 for this position. The biggest issue that I see is them needing a true leadoff. Anderson and Blanco is the best prospect for this as well.
Bottom line is that Spring Training will be important for all the people that want to play in the outfield. I can not wait to see what comes out of this.
Today is going to be the first day for many of the Major League Baseball teams to have full squad practices. Last week, all pitchers and catchers showed up to camps across Florida and Arizona. As people flocked to these spring training facilities, their hopes was to catch a glimpse and maybe even get lucky enough to nab an autograph from their favorite pitcher or catcher. Some got even luckier as some of the MLB everyday stars were out as well.
Today bodes to be a different type of day though. Today, you will see the managers get a little more serious with the workouts as it is time to get rid of the offseason weight and back into playing shape. Today, I expect to here the sounds of spring flowing through Florida and Arizona like a resounding clap of thunder. On top of all this, I cannot wait till the 25th of February when the first games begin.
The off season has not been kind to Frank Wren and the Atlanta Braves. First, they were rumored to be in the running of getting Jake Peavy. Then rumors emerged about A.J. Burnett. And as if that were not enough, rumors even came out about Rafael Furcal, the once beloved short stop of the Atlanta Braves. Heck, even Andruw Jones’ name has been tossed around.
Well, now it is the talks about Ken Griffey, Jr. and the decision that will be heard around the world. Will he pick the team that he started at and come full circle or will he play for a manager that he has longed to play for since he started in the big leagues. Well, for the answers to those question, we will have to wait till Ken utters those words. However, it seems as though the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has already chimed in with there 2 cents. I would hate to read yet another retraction.
At the age of 39, Ken Griffey, Jr. should be able to choose where he would want to finish out his career. Well, frankly, the ball is in his court. Ken has to step to the plate and decide whether or not to finish his career where he started and complete the full circle or play for the one manager that he has always wanted to play for.
Now, as an Atlanta Braves fan, I pull for him choosing to stay close to home so that he can watch his daughter play basketball and his son play football. Being a Brave warrants this because he is but an hour flight from his home town of Orlando, Florida. This is where his son will be playing football this year. His daughter plays basketball him Atlanta, so he can catch some games there as well.
Rumors have been flying rampant in regards to Ken Griffey, Jr. and where he will call home for the 2009 baseball season. Some speculate that he will land in the Atlanta Braves outfield where he would possibly platoon with Matt Daiz. Others think that he might return to where he began his career and lock into the DH position where injuries are less prone to plague him for the season.
Personally, I think it is going to come down to Junior himself. Does he want to strickly swing a bat in 2009 and very limited chances of ever walking on the field defensively or does he want to chase balls in the outfield with a chance of injuring himself on even a routine play? For me, the love of the game makes me want to play both sides. I guess we will have to wait to see if that same thing applies to Mr Griffey.
The question has risen if Bud Selig is going to far by not allowing the records that Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemons stand without an * beside them. In the beginning with all this crap came out about players juicing, I could agree to that. However, over the last year, my opinion has been changing. Are they guilty? Sure as hell they are. But, if that is the case, then you might as well go as far back as when Babe Ruth played and write an * in there as well.
Bottom line is this; the times might have changed, but so has the game of baseball. It does not make it right to do some illegal and get away with it. It also does not make it right to do that illegal thing and take away something that they worked their entire career over. You do not ban people from the hall of fame because they used a spitter, sand paper, or pine tar to trick a batter. You do not ban people for snorting cocaine or have a drinking problem. So, why ban these 4 players for their offense? Is it any worse than the ones that I named?
A lot of the hype that has been on Alex Rodriguez has been brought on himself. As all the big names were falling in the steroid scandals, A-Rod was sitting back taking another shot in the ass. Well, I think that he deserves whatever the media can push out on him.
Last night was a great start to that media blitz and David Letterman started it in his monologue and then carried it over to the top ten list. I have to admit, number 8 is my favorite one and I think probably drew the most reaction from the crowd. With that said, maybe that one should have been number 1.
OK, so all of it comes out over the weekend. When Sammy Sosa and Mark McQuire went down in a blaze of glory, there was Alex Rodriguez. When Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi all went public with their supplement use, there was Alex Rodriguez. The entire baseball nation looked to him to help ease the pain and get them past it all.
Well, all that ended this weekend as A-Rod became A-Fake. Now, I am not a Yankee fan, but I am a huge baseball fan. It pisses me off to a great extent that the highest paid player in baseball can not get there on his own. For someone to use a drug to give them an advantage over their opponents pisses me off more than I can tell you.
With this news, I can never look to A-Fake to be a beacon of HOPE. The 19 year old kid that once sat at shortstop for the Seattle Mariners has disappointed a nation.
The Tampa Bay Rays have made it evident that they are serious about the 2009 season. In the off season, they have raised their payroll for 2009 to $60 million. Though this number pales in comparison to that of the Boston Red Sox who will be at $135 million or the New York Yankees who will be at $205 million, I think that the Rays have ensured their place in the top 3 for 2009.
In 2008, the opening day salary of the Rays was at $24 million, so this increase is going to be 2.5 times higher. With that said, I do not think that they will be 2.5 times better. However, I do think that they will be better. The addition of Pat Burrell alone betters the team, but that is just a drop in the bucket. Players like B.J. Upton and Ryan Longoria now having a year under their belt and having the playoff experience makes them better players. The emergance of David Price gives the Rays a pitcher that they did not know that they had. The maturity of James Shields is going to be huge.
All in all, if the Yankees and Red Sox do not think that the Florida team is for real, they need to think again.
With names like Manny Ramirez, Garret Anderson, Orlando Hudson, Adam Dunn, Jason Varitek, Frank Thomas, Ivan Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Bobby Abreu, and Ken Griffey Jr. still without a team, the market is rich. Many teams would love to have these players, even if it were for but a year. The problem that I see so far is that many teams are just not willing to pay the price for these players. With that being the case, what happens to them?
Well, personally, I think that some of these guys have some good years left in them. Some can anchor a bench and be an opposing stick when called upon. Then there are some that it is just time to go out to pasture. With that said, the last thought is the one that none of the players what to hear or consider. Ultimately, they either fade away or they take lower income. The time has come to decide if you still want to play ball and make some money or sit and wait till someone will pay you the big money.
