One Record that may never be Broken

Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals entered last night’s game at the San Francisco Giants with a 30 game hitting streak on the line. But just as the excitement was starting to develop and remind the baseball world of one of its most sacred records did it all come to an end. Zimmerman went 0 for 3 with two walks, and his minor challenge of Joe Dimaggio’s 56 game hitting streak was halted. And what better place for any challenge to Joltin Joe to end than in his own hometown of San Francisco

It has been 68 years since Dimaggio set the record back in 1941 when from May 15 to July 16 he had at least one hit in all 56 games played. Since then almost all of the great baseball records have been surpassed, a good number of them falling recently. Pete Rose passed Ty Cobb for hits all time and Ichiro Suzuki set the mark for hits in a season by breaking George Sisler’s 257, a record that had stood for 84 years. Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’s 61 homeruns in a single season with 70, and Barry Bonds recently passed Hank Aaron for most round trippers all time and he also countered McGwire’s 70 with 73 in a single season. The jury is still out on how legitimate some of these record breakers were, but one thing for sure, Joe D’s record is still safe.

Every year it seems there is at least one player who takes a streak to 30 plus games and that’s usually when the buzz begins. The name, Dimaggio, comes to the fore and sports talk radio hosts, TV analysts, and fans start to wonder if it can be done. But so far no one has done it, and the only person who came somewhat close was Pete Rose in 1978 when he hit safely in 44 straight games.

Perhaps Dimaggio just had a knack for it that others don’t. Afterall, he also set the standard of 61 straight games with a hit while he was still in the minor leagues. Ruth, Cobb, Aaron, and other legends alike have all been bested through time. As the saying goes, records are made to be broken. But maybe, just maybe, Dimaggio’s record will last for all time…

For game by game breakdown of Joe Dimaggio’s “Streak” visit:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats3.shtml

Manny being Manny

And so yet another one of baseball’s superstar’s has been “busted” for using performance enhancing drugs. This time it’s Mr. Dreadlocks himself, Manny Ramirez. The news broke early this morning about Ramirez failing a drug test and he will be suspended for 50 games. As usual there’s an excuse (lie) about why he failed the test. Manny says his doctor prescribed something for him for a “personal medical problem” and that whatever the prescription was that he took, caused him to flunk.

I think we all know better by now and can be almost certain that Manny, like so many others, used steroids for a period of time. We’ll never know for how long or how much or what effect it actually had on his performance, but he used them. He used them to gain an edge, inflate his stats, and get paid. In the end he’s just another player who cheated his team, the game, his fans, and himself. And it’s a shame because he is a great player, one of the greatest of all time, without the drugs.

The same can be said for all the big name players who have tarnished their legacies with the juice. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez were all surefire hall of famers by their own natural abilities. They didn’t need anything extra to be special because they already were. They just got…greedy. It’s a tragedy, a sport’s tragedy at least, that they’ll most likely never live this stuff down. People will always think steroids, HGH, and cheater when they hear the names Clemens, Bonds, Sosa, Rodriguez, Palmeiro…Ramirez. People will always wonder if Manny being Manny really wasn’t Manny being Manny at all.

And there will be more to come, you can count on it. Afterall, there were 103 other undisclosed names that accompanied Arod’s before he got nailed. Maybe Manny’s was on that list, maybe not, but don’t be surprised one day if you hear Pujols, Ortiz, Texeira, Guerrero and plenty more. I hate to even suggest names, especially ones that haven’t been caught doing anything wrong. But in this era of baseball’s history the rule of thumb for figuring out who has done steroids has become, the bigger you are and the greater your statistics, the more likely you popped some pills or stuck a needle in your ass. That’s just the way it is and these days, apparently, that’s just baseball.

Curse Reversed

Was it even necessary for someone to bury a David Ortiz jersey under the home team dugout a couple of years back when the new Yankee Stadium was under construction? Didn’t we already witness the end of the Curse of the Bambino almost five years ago when the Bronx Bombers blew a three games to nothing lead in the 2004 ALCS? And with that epic collapse came not just the end of an 86 year drought (curse) but the beginning of a new long stretch of bad luck. Only this time it appears the Yankees are on the short end of this ancient baseball rivalry. Remember the cry of that once long-suffering RedSox fan that said not just to end the curse but to reverse it.

Look at all that has happened since 2004. The RedSox have made the playoffs three times in the subsequent four years, capturing a second World Series Championship and a division title. They have had their problems (ala Manny Ramirez) but they’ve also witnessed their young homegrown talents achieve greatness. Jon Lester and Clay Bucholz both pitched no-hitters, Kevin Youkilis has flourished into one of the best hitters in the game, and Dustin Pedroia won last year’s American League MVP.

The Yankees on the otherhand have been ultimately nothing but incredible disappointments. They haven’t won a championship since 2000, but since 2004 they have gotten progressivley worse. In 05′, 06′, and 07′ they were elminated each time in the first round of the playoffs. Last year, in the final season played in the House that Ruth Built, they didn’t even make the playoffs. Perhaps it was the Babe’s way of letting these modern day Yanks know how ticked off he was for forsaking that sacred ground and moving into a billion dollar mansion across the street; a mansion that in itself and despite it’s aesthetic quality may end up being a disappointment thanks to its outrageous launching pad capability.

The Yankees are still competetive and will likely continue to be, but they don’t look or feel like a championship team. In short, they don’t look like the RedSox, a team with the perfect blend of developed farmhands and veterans. On paper the Yankees appear to be better, but on the field they look flat, old, stressed, and when playing against the RedSox, intimidated. The Yankees just look like they’re playing against something bigger than themselves. Some say it’s the pressure of New York. Some say age. I think that it might just be…a curse.

The AROD Witchhunt

As a Yankee fan I’m extremely tired of hearing about Alex Rodriguez’s use of steroids. The baseball season is now a month old, and I just want to enjoy the games without all these off the field distractions. But I guess with AROD there will always be some sort of drama. A lot of that is his own fault. He makes poor choices whether it’s through his actions or his words. However, I really believe that the situation has gotten out of control and that it’s time the media starts taking some of the blame.

Like I said, I am a Yankee fan so I’m going to be somewhat biased when it comes to AROD. I want him to do well, hit 50 homeruns and help us win a championship. But even a casual observer would have to admit that the attention the media places on AROD has become a bit of a witchhunt.

This all started when Rodriguez was the only name out of 104 that was released from an investigation conducted over six years ago by major league baseball. Why was only his name released and who did the disclosing? Nobody knows, but we do know that Sports Illustrated reporter, Selena Roberts, was the one who broke the news. And now her new book is coming out, which is filled with, supposedly, more dirt on AROD.

Some of the early out takes from the book accuse AROD of using steroids when he was in high school and even during his years with the Yankees, stories which he either denied or did not admit to in recent interviews. For the most part her sources are un-named and anonymous. It made me start to wonder how credible a reporter Ms. Roberts is and if she’s not just trying to cash in on the biggest cash cow in the history of sports.

I mean, really, what is her motivation for going to such great lengths to expose AROD? Does she really care about the integrity of the sport of baseball? Is she so concerned about the statistical records and history books? Oh, well maybe she’s fearful for all the kids who idolize Rodriguez. I kind of doubt it. I think she and a lot of other reporters and writers like her are just looking to make some extra dough at the expense of a “lightning rod”. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with making extra cash, especially in these times. I just think it’s pretty lousy to benefit by someone else’s shortcomings and even perhaps by slandering them.

Hey, I’m not condoning what AROD did, and we know he definitely did do some type of steroids at some point in his life because he has confessed to that. But come on do we really need to know every little mistake the guy made in his life. We’ve all made mistakes and I’m sure all of us would like to forget those mistakes and sure as hell wouldn’t want someone writing a book about it.