"Band of Prospects"

Valentine’s Day at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona was a magical day for returning 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants. Any given February 14, you will encounter cross-eyed lovers around the world displaying affection in abundance with impulsive and sensational over-the-top purchases of objects that tend to spoil in less than a week. There was no spoiling the joy, love, and happiness being shared and expanding between a core of the San Francisco World Championship starting 25 ( only two players went elsewhere – Juan Uribe, and Edgar Renteiria ), the impeccable front office managing acquisitions and prospects, and most important… The Fans! The love affair was deepening, becoming serious.

As pitchers, catchers, and position players trickled in to Scottsdale Stadium, a lifted and boastful spirit was felt surrounding the beaming sun above Arizona during the approaching days of Spring. There was no reason why San Francisco would not have valid aspirations of repeating their efforts in 2011 towards a World Championship (Yes… I am a biased, just like East Coast Sports analysts). The defending World Series champions knew they were acquiring weapons lacking in 2010. Pablo “Panda” Sandoval arrived in camp in better shape than his whole career.  After giving a warning (primarily an ultimatum) by the franchise of “Shape up or Ship out”, Panda was motivated 210% to display his worth of the Panda power displayed in 2009. Mark DeRosa was healed, and the utility infielder was displaying the form we expected when he injured his wrist in early 2010, placing him on the DL for the season. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner were two humble Southern boys with more skills acquired at the ripe age of 21 than most players posess twice their age and time spent in the big leagues.  San Francisco acquired All Star and Golden Glove phenom Miguel Tejada in hopes to replace the hole created in the line up at short stop when Juan Uribe decided to sign with that other team in  Los Angeles (that was a tiny ouch) and Renteiria chose Cincinnati. San Francisco was confident Tejada would compensate the loss. Another aspect coming into fruition was the development of the San Francisco farm system displaying performances in Spring camp that coaches, managers, and fans could not ignore. San Francisco prospects scouted and acquired by Sabean were impressing everyone, demonstrating they were ready to produce in ‘The Show’.  

San Francisco was shining in Spring training. Every aspect needed to place a repeat run for October baseball was clicking in to place. Buster was ripping the ball, hitting .700. DeRosa was producing as expected. Pablo was as speedy in the field and around the pads as Darren Ford and Burriss. Pitchers were showing promising form. Yet, just a couple weeks before Opening Day, hopes and confidence began to unravel. A sudden influx of frustrating and unplanned injuries continued to crop up  (it seems) practically on a weekly basis forcing Bochy to pluck out minor league prospects and shove them in to instantly produce now (rather than later) nightly at “The Show”.  The woes of unforeseen plaguing injuries would continue to dampen a promising quest.  Cody Ross, Aaron Rowand, and Brian Wilson were placed on DL, leaving the closing position in the bullpen as a group responsibility, and a slot for a hot kid, Brandon Belt to see if he was ready.  Belt made his debut on 1B, shifting Huff to right field, Andres Torres to Center, and Burrell to left.  Before you can blink, Andres Torres went down with an Achilles strain, and Pablo Sandoval with a hand fracture. Those injuries gave an opening for Darren Ford, Manual Burriss to return to the 25 man roster, as well as added regular time for utility outfielder Nate Shierholtz.  Shierholtz caught fire, Brandon carried a higher OBP and runs scored than any other Giants player (mainly walks). Somehow, with the injuries, San Francisco continued to roll on. Even with a poor statistic of least number of runs scored in MLB, San Francisco Giants found themselves on the top of NL West Division.  Barry Zito went down with a foot injury, which brought up Ryan Vogelsong, who literally was drafted by San Francisco, only to be waived, went around the world to play in Japan, only to return 10 years later as an up-and-coming ‘veteran’ prospect for the club he dreamed of representing in the Major Leagues.  The interim 5^th starter has the best record, 5-1, and lowest ERA at 1.86!

The ultimate suffering of injuries was on the horizon appearing the last week of May, and the beginning of June when Buster Posey sustained a fractured left ankle on a controversial collision between him and Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins; and then Freddy Sanchez sustained a dislocated shoulder diving for a ball acquiring eyes hoping to drop into the outfield.  How would the Giants recover from those losses? If it were up to my buddy, ‘Philly’ ( you all know him from celebrity mentions on previous posts), any Giants fan, or any blood pumping sports (for that matter) fan should not pay any momentary pulse thinking about the San Francisco Giants, or their bleak chances of making it to the post season. According to him (from subjective East Coast reporting and influences) , the Philadelphia Phillies have had worse injuries that have plagued their line-up based on ‘pressure’ and ‘expectation’ for  “Philadelphia” to be the automatic choice in making it to the World Series in 2011. 

Outside Northern California, and a trickle of faithful Giants fans transplanted among the masses, the likelihood and chances of San Francisco repeating is pretty much viewed as a joke. Regardless of skeptics and statistics that never truly add up to a stereotypical caliber championship contender, somewhere between a Rally Monkey mishap in 2002 and Brian Sabean side show circus magic, the front office has amassed a Millennium contending team that doesn’t know the concept of defeat. If you want to look anywhere for the root of Giants continued perseverance and astonishing success (don’t look at stats, it will only cause a brain freeze) look no further than the South Bay, San Jose Giants.  San Francisco’s Single A ball club has just clinched their 7^th Northern California League title.  The club produced 8 players to the All-Star game in 2011, including the MVP of that game for the second year in a row. Past prospects such as Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo, and Pablo Sandoval all came up through San Jose.  Coincidently, in those years they played, were years the club won titles.  Another eye-popping fact that has come to light is San Francisco’s pieced together bull pen.  Since 2005, Brian Sabean has been quietly assembling what now appears to be the best shut down relievers in MLB, acquiring closer Brian Wilson, and relievers Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, Guillermo Mota, and Javier Lopez. The Philadelphia Phillies may have the starting “Murderer’s Row”, San Francisco has the relieving Dominican Republic “Murderer’s Shut You Down Row”.

San Francisco has the 3^rd best record (5^th overall in MLB) in National League, and contending for the NL West. Considering they have produced the lowest number of runs in MLB, combined with their unusual amount of injuries, I believe the inexplicable “Magic” and “Torture” has served our San Francisco Giants well. There is an unexplained desire and competitive edge San Francisco players have acquired that make this team, a “Band of Prospects”, that will not back down or go away. San Francisco IS for real, and everyone who thinks Bochy and his Boys were “Lightning in a Bottle”, better run for cover… Lightning can’t be captured or tamed- it strikes where you least expect it… they are coming after you!

I usually have a humorous anecdote to add to the end of all my blogs… This one comes thanks to Len Berman and his Spanning the World Clip! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P986hYSTB0&feature=email

Disappearing Act

The NBA Finals kicked off on May 31, and the Miami Heat catapulted out of the gate with a 94-86 win, where Dallas literally ran out time attempting to compensate a significant double-digit deficit through out the majority of the game.  LeBron James contributed 24 points, and almost made a double-double with 9 rebounds.  Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points in a losing effort.  Dallas was in the midst of a fourth quarter comeback and the clock was not on their side.  Twelve minutes can either save you or squash opportunity.

Funny thing happened soon after the clock clicked over to zeros with many sports analysts and fans alike from coast to coast… A plethora of bloggers, tweepers, and broadcasters were handing the shiny big ball trophy over to LeBron and the Miami Heat.  There I was rolling my eyes in disbelief with such phrases as, “ What??? Really? You have got to be kidding me… Do sports analysts and fans alike truly have that short of memory and recall? It’s the first game! Isn’t this best of 7 or did I miss a memo somewhere?” To say the least, I was a bit thrown due to the fact in the Eastern Conference Final game 1, Chicago Bulls slapped an “L” on Miami Heat winning 103-82.  I recall an “Ohhhhh” (enter any Soprano soundbyte here!) reaction after that game too.  Mystery hovered on the horizon. Would Miami be able to recover from the brutal loss handed to them from Derrick Rose and Chicago to reach a destiny King James discussed at a Boys and Girls club almost a year earlier at  “The Decision”?  So I professionally ask my fellow bloggers, fans, and sports analysts alike-  Are  we putting the cart in front of the horse here? Maybe.  For the sake of sensational argument and maybe those whom like the role of Devil’s advocate, I may consider and possibly  comprehend the amnesia and frank replies for the sake of spurring discussion (and/or reaction).

We have now come full circle and Dallas has come along to put their two cents in the bubbling pot of banter.  Game 6 will take place tomorrow, June 12, in Miami with Dallas Mavericks pulling away in the last 12 minutes to secure pivotal game 5 taking the series lead, 3-2 back to South Beach.  Dirk Nowitzki has risen to the occasion of doing everything he can think of possible to contribute and lift the Mavericks 48 minutes closer to what he came so close to acquiring in 2006 against the same team (and Dwyane Wade), an NBA title.  LeBron is not the only GREAT player blessing the hardwood floors of this championship. Dirk’s talents and moves remind me of Larry Bird (with the exception, I think Dirk is a bit more humble); He has the outside fade away at 15’, 20’, and behind the 3 point arc; he can post up and uses the board to his advantage of guaranteed shots; he thrives on pressure looking for the ball during the stretch to catapult his team towards winning; he is confident in his ability and skills, and if he has an angle shut down , he works every moment to persevere and overcome lapses.

On the other side of the court, there appears to be a slight problem with Scottie Pippen’s pick for GOAT (greatest of all time), or as he corrected himself later, greatest scorer of all time (I will address that current fallacy  remark in a momentito). There seems to be a disappearing act happening with King GOAT in the Heat uniform during the most crucial 12 minutes of any NBA game, the 4^th quarter.  In game 4, LeBron had 8 total points. In game 5, he had 17 points, and a triple double, yet only 2 points made in the 4^th.  On the other side,  Nowitzky had two double-double games with 21 points and 11 rebounds in game 4, and 29 points and 11 rebounds in game 5, and scoring more than 2 points, and I think in one of these last two games, I am fairly secure he’s scored 8 points (at least) in the 4^th quarter.  So, everyone is pointing out how LeBron’s disappearing act may be contributed to a lack of confidence and exposing a couple weaknesses he may have in his game. Hmmm… Let me think about this, when the going gets tough, I think King James may be displaying a pattern of going M.I.A. (wow, what a coincidence… did not plan that pun but like it).  One of the first moments I recall Lebron James walking off the court after a loss to Orlando Magic in 2009 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4218722

LeBron chose to walk away from Cleveland, unwilling to work on possibly becoming a franchise player working with the front office to take steps in bringing an NBA Championship to faithful Cavalier fans.  Do you think Boston, or Detroit were going to hand their viability over to Michael Jordan when he entered the league?  How about Dirk? And Cuban? How about their viability and body of work towards seeking a championship? After seeing Dallas pounce on Miami with an opening given to them with minutes left in game 5, it spurned me to share my two cents with Philly and Len Berman:

I initially wrote:

Quite honestly, analysts and sports fans alike are having a case of amnesia... Wasn't he the poor sport who walked off the court and pretty much QUIT playing when Magic slammed them 2 years ago??? Isn’t this the same LeBron we are seeing hints of now? The same LeBron that instead of lifting his teammates above their skills, pretty much QUIT on them and moved his "Talent" to Miami, instead of busting out and WILLING (or CHALLENGING) his team to win like oh, say Nowitzki’s displaying?

At this point, I’m seeing an immature pro player that has this incredible talent and moves on the court. He has the skills, he has the support, and components to attain a championship. King James does not have yet the full mature mental capacity, hunger, or desire that I've personally witnessed courtside watching GOATs such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan. There may come a day sooner than later where he becomes that whole package; for now, I am seeing an immature frustrated whiner... I don't see how (other than Heat fans and his teammates) anyone could be empathetic. 

Dirk and Dallas are hungry and possess an intangible unity, and cumulative drive to make their goal a reality. I want to see the German persevere!  He and Dallas truly deserve it! 

                                                                                                 

Philly replied:

I would have to respectfully disagree.  Dude had a triple double last night.  Yeah, Lebron was absent in the 4th quarter and that is something he needs to get better with, but IMHO (in my humble opinion), in the three previous quarters, he totally addressed the things his critics had brought up.  1) He has no post game.  Lebron was posting up like crazy earlier and had quite a few buckets that way.  2) He's too passive and looks disinterested.  Lebron ran the court, got his offensive rebounds and was a factor.  3) He's not shooting from the outside.  This one is still unanswered.  He looks as though he has no confidence in his shot but I also think because he's lacking the confidence, he doesn't want to shoot himself out of his slump and put himself in front of the team.  I kinda respect him for that.  Instead, he's getting the rest of the squad involved.  And if you remember from last night, ABC flashed a stat on the screen which showed the team played better with D-Wade off the court than with him on.  You can't fault Lebron for that.

And then I gave my rebuttal:

He needs to SHOW UP for ALL 4 quarters... the game is 4 quarters NOT 3... Jordan... Kobe… Duncan... even in shooting slumps NEVER gave up on their security or talent... If he in fact is having confidence issues, that is a sign pointing to lack of maturity and mental strength... 

Of Course, Philly couldn’t resist replying:

I still disagree.  I mean, I agree he needs to show up for all four quarters but I disagree about the lack of maturity issues and mental strength.  Miami wouldn't have made it past Boston or Chicago without him.

Of course, to that line all I have to say is… D Wade did it without him in 2006…

I finally heard back from Len:

Let's see how it plays out Suzanne, it ain't over til it's over :)

Len

Indeed Len… It isn’t over. Between Thursday and Sunday, there are so many factors and external input to both sides of the argument. Ultimately, the scales of opinion will tip heavily towards one of the arguments displayed vastly across all social sports  mediums.  I’ve placed my two cents on one of those sides (actually it may add up now to possibly a half dollar). I am looking forward to Sunday and game 6.  Oh! I mentioned I would quickly address Scottie Pippen’s correction that LeBron is the greatest scorer of all time.  Well, he is not there yet. Wilt Chamberlain career points average is 30.1 for his whole career; if you take out his last three years, it would be quite a bit higher. Michael Jordan’s career average is at 31.5. LeBron currently sits at an average of 27.7. Considering he is not finished with his NBA aspirations, the jury remains out on the GOAT and greatest scorer opinion.  You can go back to my previous post, “Oh Snap” and review Kareem Abdul Jabaar’s open letter upon the subject.

Finally, I would like to share a link of what may be an ingredient fueling the flame in the Dallas Mavericks locker room… Again, I point back to my argument of mental maturity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb1a0DTJDZQ

Really?

I leave it in your hands mighty sports fans… Put in your two cents! 

OH SNAP!

Over Memorial Day and the beginning of June, it appeared the Sports World conversation would return to the usual lull and cliché’ debates regarding upcoming  NBA and NHL Finals, and maybe some baseball play highlights sprinkled in as  they appeared day in and day out.  Little was I aware, as Memorial Day rolled in that three national stories would burst in to heated arguments coast to coast in the sports world. Like the sports arena needs another amateur analyst opinion (like a hole in your head), I couldn’t resist putting in my sassy two cents in the mix!

Let's begin our whirlwind week on the last day of  May, when George
Dohrmann’s article graced the cover of Sports Illustrated disclosing hidden flaws regarding Jim Tressel's character and decision-making ability as head coach of “The” Ohio State football program, as well as considered a pillar citizen mentoring athletes in the surrounding community- http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=497426551

How could a Head Coach and Top Division I football program all be "ignorant" of gross NCAA violations that have been going on amongst 40 players since 2002?  You would think  even Joe the Plumber would find it difficult to accept Tressel and “The” Ohio State  program could site no knowledge of misconduct of their players over 9 years? George Dohrmann and David Epstein (feature story and video link above) did a mastermind in journalism and investigating digging out the truth; so much so that Tressel finally admitted knowing more than he ever led on to, including a confession of purposely withholding information from the University, ultimately leading to a shameful resignation.  Not only has Tressel placed Ohio State players in a volatile position, he has left the door wide open for a full-on NCAA investigation regarding violations that will penalize (and hurting) the program. Jim Tressel displayed selfish and greedy choices to benefit an opportunity of attaining a NCAA Championship sooner than later.When a person lies, or covers up truths, it will never come out well.Time and time again, through various examples of attempts to sweep wrongdoings under a rug (Bernie Madoff, Reggie Bush and USC, Kentucky and Baylor, oh and don’t forget Enron, to name a few), someone eventually comes along picking up that rug exposing all the hidden dirt.

The article was just the tip of the explosive coverage reaching airwaves from Youngstown to San Francisco.  What flabbergasted not only me was the senseless irrational support and arguments protecting and defending Jim Tressel’s actions! It astonished me, and thankfully others in the sports community how a multitude of Ohio State faithful and fans of Tressel  could  make excuses for his actions and turn a blind eye to the unethical, and quite honestly, immoral decisions (or choices- take your pick on the verbiage) he made regarding known wrong-doings by several of his players.  As a matter of fact, it sounds like he may even been the middle-man setting up such transactions in a couple of cases, and then knowingly turned a blind eye.  Thankfully, we have conscious rational sports analysts, such as John Kincade who is NOT afraid to set the record straight.  Kincade expressed on his June 5^th Sunday morning program (ESPNRadio.com) what I am sure many people are frustrated about (at least I was, hearing some of the unreal reaction) the lack of rationale or comprehension that Coach Jim Tressel knowingly did wrong. Kincade pointed out on his weekly radio program the word that should be stricken from the conversation. That word is ‘mistake’… Persons surrounding Tressel’s investigation continue to harbor and create one excuse after another of  the coach’s head-scratching choices after multiple revelations of players receiving ‘favors’ and kick-backs from various sources surrounding the Ohio State community.  I support Kincade’s definition of what actions qualify as mistakes: you fill out a form for the government in red ink and it gets denied (they specify using blue or black on their forms); you show up for a doctor’s appointment on the 6^th, and it was actually on the 5^th, you ‘mistakenly’ thought you heard 6^th not 5^th; Those would be prime examples of what would qualify as a ‘mistake’. Intentionally hiding violations and keeping the athletic program in the dark regarding those gross shortcomings, in my book, quite honestly I would categorize as ethical corruption without thinking twice about it.  Would you want your sons and daughters mentored in a manner where they ‘cheat’ the system and have a coach that allows such behavior?  Sportsmanship and honor are two athletic values I would never use to describe Jim Tressel.  I hope many of the ignorant Tressel supporters buy a clue, wish him a better future (and choices), and move on.

There was little time wasted after the other shoe dropped at Ohio State, before we were blessed with another athlete ‘attempting’ to  give intelligent input about his sport,  basketball, and the upcoming  NBA Finals about to tip off.  Scotty Pippen blessed LeBron James with the premier crown of being the best NBA player of all time…

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=6599168

I’m sorry...(as  I choke on my Americano and  spew a portion of  it threw my nose, and spray drips on my just cleaned white hoodie! I know… not that pretty of a picture) are you talking a bout the SAME Scottie Pippen that played side by side with Michael Jordan??? The SAME Scottie Pippen that if it weren’t for Jordan would have ZERO rings versus 6? THAT Scotty Pippen? Oh no he didn’t! That is like a slap in the face to the greatest NBA player I’ve ever watched play!  As a matter of fact, let’s analyze this. What makes a professional athlete great? Or, the greatest?  Is it the best stats? Is it the number of rings? Is it All-Star appearances and MVPs? What separates great from GREATEST is the recipe of leadership, skill, and motivating a team to reach the highest pinnacle, a championship. 

Kareem Abdul Jabaar was quick to call out Scottie on his opinion of greatness with an open letter to Mr. Pippen- http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar-s-nasty-open-letter-to-Scott?urn=nba-wp4090

Wilt Chamberlain definitely can hold his own as one of the greatest, by all means.  I forward the newsworthy piece to  a  friend in  Philadelphia , and he spurred me on actually to add a few GREAT players into the discussion, that he, I, and most  likely Kareem would place ahead of ‘King’ James in reference to ‘greatest of all time’…  Of course, we discussed the most obvious pick that Pippen could have referenced with no argument ( he did play side by side with him for, oh at least a dozen years… or close!), Michael Jordan who has 6 rings, seven scoring titles, and a pocket full of MVP and All-Star rewards.  After reading Kareem’s incredibly crafty prose boasting Wilt Chamberlain to the top of the list, I quickly internally inquired, “What about Bill Russell?” Yeah! What about Russell? He has almost double the number of rings, with 11, as well as 5 NBA Finals MVPs. Philly pointed out the following, “We talk about Jordan being the best ever (I would tend to almost agree) but we forget about Bird and Magic, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Bob Cousy, George Mikan, etc., etc.  I think overall it's just tough putting a G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) on anyone.  I probably would look more at number of rings and how much a player helped his team to get those rings.  Robert Horry has more rings than almost anyone but he was a bench player on good teams for a few of them”. Let’s thank my friend Philly for great contribution! With that said, as Philly pointed out, Horry has quite the collection of rings, yet would he place him even in consideration as a GOAT? Lebron James has ‘sick’ talent and just amazes us with his amazing moves on the parquet floors; yet, he has NO rings, and was the incredibly invisible player showing up with 8 points in the Miami Heat loss to Dallas, while Nowitszky again showed up (with a fever and chills, and looking a bit more pasty than usual) and was a closer! Scottie was premature, if anything, to hand over GOAT honors to Lebron James before we’ve seen a bit more of his body of work.

And when you feel an explosive story has been laid to rest… A GM goes on the homer sports radio station to share opinions without filter, and a honest disclosure of personal emotion of protecting one of his kids (Brian Sabean personally drafted Buster Posey in 2008)…the debate not only is resuscitated,  it took on a whole new life! If you’re any type of baseball fan, or have read a sports page, or visited ESPN on any medium, you should be familiar of a home plate collision that was rewinded, replayed, slow-motion frame-by-frame displayed, as well as still shots shared all over baseball nation amongst bloggers, beat writers, newsletters, sportscasters, twitter feeds, and facebook posts from here to the moon! It all began on a ho-hum Wednesday evening, May 25, towards the end of an offensive frustrating game between San Francisco Giants (like we haven’t seen that scenario a few dozen times) and a surprisingly competitive Florida Marlins club. An up coming major leaguer, Scott Cousins, out of University of San Francisco, was clinging on to hopes of staying up in the show for Florida.  A sacrifice fly was hit to shallow right field, Cousins tagged at 3^rd base chugging his way to home plate to beat out Shierholtz throw… There it transpired within seconds… Buster Posey’s split decisions of how to position himself to receive a throw catapulted directly to him from the Giants’ strongest arm in the outfield, and defend home plate.  90 feet away was a young, strong, and fairly speedy base runner on a mission to score the go-ahead run and secure more time for him as one of the 25 on the Marlins roster. It was literal split decision-maker on both parties. As Cousins came barreling in, Posey was attempting to catch a ball; unfortunately, the collision ended in Posey sustaining a season ending lower leg fracture and ligament damage attached to his left ankle. The devastating loss sparked discussions regarding a potential rule change to protect a catcher in future encounters of base runners headed to home plate.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/teams/giants/2011/05/giants-catcher-buster-posey-suffers-fracture-leg-collision

http://shar.es/H4QwC

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Giants-Sabean-rips-Marlins-Cousins-for-running?urn=mlb-wp8500

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ycn-8582839

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6625504

http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_18203592?source=email

I urge each and every one of you to visit the links I posted. It’s a tour through various opinions and perspectives upon an incredibly heated debate regarding the need of a rule change to protect catchers, as well as valued premier players from unnecessary injuries as suffered by Buster Posey.  There are two prime points I extracted from the plethora of opinions being thrown around as loose as the names that were jotted in Wilt Chamberlains little black book. The first point was collisions that happen at the plate. There are experts whom state the obscure instance of a base runner plowing over a catcher is part of the game. The counter of that statement is, if it’s a rare occasion, how could it be assumed a normal act of baseball? The second observation is evolution of the game. There are altruists whom state baseball has been around for over a century and the rules have remained the same… I think the altruists may be at the latter range of the baby boomers and possibly entering early stages of dementia. All sports evolve. Rules change and the sport adapts based on trends, and protecting the sanctity of the game. MLB has changed the rules of sliding in to 2^nd base to protect that infield player, why not evaluate and consider amending current base running in to home plate? Bruce Bochy made a valid point in an interview regarding the collision where he expressed the value lost for both the franchise investing in a stellar player, as well as the loss of fans across the nation who purposely go to games to see specific players participate. Thus, ultimately there is possibly a vested investment and interest for MLB to consider a change, an evolution of the current  rules that don’t particularly protect a catcher from being blasted.  On the other side of the fence, are the critics  whom  state the  unfortunate injury that transpired in San Francisco is so rare, it should not warrant a change.  Again, I particularly would reiterate at this moment, it should only take one drastic act to possibly draw attention to a fly in the ointment.   Every sport that transpires on the face of this earth has evolved.  We all were there and watched that snowy blizzard game between New England and Oakland Raiders where the ‘tuck’ rule came in  to place, right?  Anyways…

Okay! Now that we have reviewed the stellar ‘Oh Snap’ moments of the last week, lets have a few laughs!

Batting stance guy comes through AGAIN! FACCCCT!

http://www.battingstanceguy.com/2011/06/03/the-brian-wilson-show-episode-1

Usually sports and politics don’t mix, but this is just hilarious! Especially when Boston is in the Stanley Cup Finals…  God forbid we give Palin a Citizen exam, or ask her about our Stars Spangled Banner and it’s origin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS4C7bvHv2w&feature=share

AND finally, the ‘Kinetic King’ that has perfected chain reactions in the 17 known Universes! Better than that, his reply to what he would do with the million dollars, if he wins… Charlie Sheen would be proud!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4YT8BuN7Mw