New York Yankees

For the past couple days, that's a question that baseball fans have been asking throughout the country. And what's the answer? Is there an answer? Is it OK for a baseball team to premeditate a celebration as over-the-top as Milwaukee's earlier this week?

Continue reading "Was Prince Fielder's Celebration OK?"

Baseball is a game of numbers.

When it comes to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, their impressive numbers seem to indicate why they have the best record in baseball thus far. But when looked upon closer inspection, my instincts tell me that the Dodgers impressive numbers fail to tell the whole truth.  

Continue reading "The Los Angeles Dodgers numbers are Misleading!!!"

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image is everything” which Agassi stated in a Canon commercial over fifteen- years ago.   Still, Dameshek argued, Agassi’s words seem fitting today as some top athletes currently find them-selves in a position of trying to restore their image due to off-field episodes that seemingly rattled their once squeaky clean perception.   On Tuesday, TMZ released the feared truth; Lebron James was in fact dunked on by a Syracuse Guard named Jordan Crawford several weeks ago at the Lebron James Camp in Ohio. James reportedly may have confiscated the tapes, with the help of some Nike representatives until TMZ finally got a hold of them, somehow.   In a book entitled The Beckham Experiment, author Grant Wahl explained, with the help of Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan, that it was indeed Beckham’s unwillingness to embrace the savior of American soccer that disallowed the sport from gaining any ground in becoming a main stream sport in America.        Ben Roethlisberger will not only be fighting off defensive lineman next year but also some woman in a civil law suit who is accusing him of rape.   Michael Vick wants to find a team to play for and be forgiven for killing dogs ( or having them killed) while Manny Ramirez is trying to battle back from a 50-game suspension for doing drugs.   Because of their unfortunate off the field episodes, all of these for-mentioned athletes have one thing in common; they all have an image to be restored. However, the only way for these athletes to ever be perceived by the fans and the media as the cream of the crop again is to do what Adrian said Rocky should do; win.   After being accused of rape in 2003, Kobe Bryant lost endorsement deals, respect from some of the fans and the media, and most of all his integrity. A few years later Bryant ranted on sports talk radio shows complaining that he needed better teammates that could help him win. The next season, Bryant was booed by his home fans at his first home game and ridiculed by opposing fans on nearly every road trip.     But slowly but surely Bryant worked himself back into public approval. In 2008 he was the NBA’s MVP, in the 2009 Olympics he helped lead team USA back to the gold,  and in the same year his Lakers were the world champions. While there are still people who dislike Bryant, let’s concur, most fans and journalists today associate Bryant with words like champion, winner and phenomenal athlete, as opposed to all the other negative things that use to pop into their minds.   Less than a year after Ray Lewis was acquitted of murder chargers due to a plea bargain he chose, he returned to the NFL, and led his team to the Super Bowl while garnering MVP honors. Although Lewis was not chosen after the Super Bowl to repeat those infamous words “ I am going to Disneyland” by Disney World, Lewis has steadily inched his way back into public acceptance. Since the 2001 Super Bowl Lewis has been featured in commercials, done numerous television spots, put on the cover of Madden 2005, been involved in community services, and been selected to numerous pro bowls and is still highly regarded as one of the best linebackers in the league. While we can’t solely attribute Lewis’ resignation to his 2001 Super Bowl MVP, we can certainly conclude it was the match that ignited the fire.   While Muhammad Ali was supported by many fans for deciding not to enter an unpopular war, some of the media was not as approving . After three years of not being allowed to fight, Ali returned to the ring to defeat nearly every foe in his way and eventually regained the title by defeating George Foreman. Today, almost nobody calls Ali unpatriotic or points to his unwillingness to go to Vietnam. I think it is safe to say that Ali’s success after being allowed to fight again left no room for ridicule; His success simply overshadowed his questionable decisions.   Beckham, Vick, James and Big Ben all should try to take similar routes to take back up to the top. Sure, giving charity is nice, having your family by your side is touching, and appearing in commercials is a good gesture, but nothing says more than winning. Just look at Alex Rodriguez whose image is shakier than a Los Angeles earthquake. No matter how may MVP’s he wins, Yankee fans will only forgive A-Rod if he helps them win a ring.   If Beckham wants to quite the Los Angeles Riot Squad at games, he must lead the Galaxy to a winning season, embrace the LA scene, pay for his team’s dinner, and perhaps even win a championship. If not, than enjoy your flight back to London and thanks for nothing.   Vick cannot just come back and play-football, he has to enable fans to fall in love with his joy stick speed again. Maybe even take his team to the playoffs all while being a good teammate.   Ironically, James decided not to shake hands with the Orlando Magic after losing in the Eastern Conference finals. James confiscation of the tapes at his camp shows the same characteristic; poor sportsmanship. No matter what happens, if James continues to fail, media and fans will helplessly point to the two incidents as an indication of James’ failures. Mantras such as “ James cannot win because he does not know how to lose like a man” will certainly be uttered by some.   Roethlisberger is sord of an enigma because he has already won two Super Bowls. If he gets out of the mess he is currently in does he have to come back and win another Super Bowl to re-envent his image? Not necessarily, since he is already a proven winnner, but I guranatee that if he does come back and continue to be succesful that the incident in Lake Tahoe will be all the more easy to be forgotten, guilty or not guilty. If he returns and never wins again, than talk of “ Ben only won the big one because he was in a proven sysytem” will be all the eaiser to say.    If we dare, let us take a tip from Manny Ramirez. After coming back from suspension Ramirez has batted 347, with four home runs and 17 runs batted in. While the rest of the world may have issue, Ramirez is adored in Dodger land, ala take a look at Wednesday night’s grand slam. A lot of that has to do with the fact that the Dodgers are in first but put it this way, if Manny was batting 215, with one home run and three RBI’s since his return, and the Dodgers were in last place, would he still obtain standing ovations?   I understand that winning does not cure all. A murderer is not fully forgiven if he lifts up the championship trophy, nor should he be. My gist, however, is that above all winning can replenish an image more than Gatorade can quench your thirst.   Don’t agree? Then why aren’t guys like Mike Tyson and Allen Iverson note-ably thought of for their outstanding talents first and foremost? Because their off- the field and even on -the-field misshapes have never been followed up with great success.   This argument as a whole might also seem simplistic. It is human nature that when somebody does something bad, you tend to forgive them after a while, especially if they do a good dead. But some things cannot go over-looked. Can a wife ever forgive her husband for cheating, no matter how many good deeds he does? But that is the beauty of sports. In almost all cases, winning can make fans and media forgive. Doing steroids is bad until you hit a grand slam in the World Series, right?   Charles Barkley once suggested and was even ridiculed for stating that athletes should not be looked at as role models. “A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?" Barkley argued. While Barkley was urging fans to simply evaluate a player based on his on the field performance we as fans can never make that leap. Image, like Agassi said, is everything and the only way to ever restore a damaged one is to come back on the field and win.  

Continue reading "James, Vick, Manny, Beckham and Big ..."

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today, ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image

Continue reading "James, Vick, Manny, and Beckham take ..."

Dave Dameshek, an ESPN.com podcaster gave kudos to Andre Agassi today, ( http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?context=podcast&id=4352192) on his podcast for his infamous mantra “ Image

Continue reading "James, Beckham, Vick and Manny take ..."

These days, going to a baseball game isn't what it used to be. Seldom will a pitcher throw into the 7th inning; the score is usually 7-6 or 10-9; and your favorite slugger is likely to hit one, if not two balls, out of the park. The game is shamelessly jacked up on HGH, and its obvious. The best hitter (Bonds) and pitcher (Clemens) of our generation used it, and more players are getting busted by the day (A-Rod, Manny). However, most fans don't care. They still go to the ballpark. That's because baseball, and pro sports in general, is merely another form of entertainment.

Continue reading "Rampant Steroid Use Brings Up Issue ..."

Alex "A-Roid" Rodriguez has to be one of the dumbest athletes in modern sports. He's getting paid $33 million per year, as part of a 52-year contract, so he's set for life. Yet he resorts to using steroids. Why? He clearly has it all. He's already on pace to break Bonds' home-run "record." Besides that, he's known as the best offensive hitter in the game, when healthy. The staff and myself racked our brains over why the slugger feels he needed the extra edge. Having been stumped, we came up with 10 reasons why he doesn't need steroids, in hopes of convincing the vain ballplayer to lay off the juice.

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons why Alex "A-Roid" ..."

As I watched Jacoby Ellsbury steal home against the Yankees Sunday night, I thought to myself: "This pretty much sums it up." An aging Andy Pettitte forgets to deliver from the stretch, letting a youthful Ellsbury elude another future Bingo regular, Jorge Posada's, tag at the plate. Would Justin Masterson have made the same error? The two ballclubs could not be headed in more opposite directions. Every year, the Red Sox seem to call up another hyped prospect, while the Yanks continue to overpay for limited talent, and shun their farm system.

Continue reading "Red Sox continue to steal away Yanks' future"

(Note: originally posted on February 25.)

Each year, prior to the start of the MLB season, I use a unique mathematical system (one that I will not get into, because it's boring) to project the performance of every player and team. This season, in lieu of their significant offseason additions, I expected the Yankees to come out on top. Surprisingly, my expectations were wrong...

Continue reading "MLB Preseason Predictions: Regular ..."

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Love the 1-2-3 on this team, and the rotation of 4/5's should be just fine. 

 1-New York Yankees: C.C. Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain, and Andy Pettitte. Wild card: Phil Hughes.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Starting Rotations"

He is a valuable defensive backstop, however.

1-New York Yankees: 1B-Mark Teixeira, 2B-Robinson Cano, 3B-Alex Rodriguez, SS-Derek Jeter, and C-Jorge Posada.

Last, but certainly not least. It's tough to argue with A-Rod and Tex at the corners -- that's an intimidating tandem. Jeter remains Steady Eddy at short, and Posada is one of the greatest hitting catchers in the history of the game.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Infields"

The sport of Major League Baseball just can't catch a break. The steroids era is very damaging to the game. Not to long ago the fans suffered major disappointment learning of the alleged steroid use of such stars of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Not to long before that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa cases were presented before us. We all thought what a relief that we still have coveted stars whose names weren't implicated in any of that mess. Well fans... we were all wrong. The games savior Alex Rodriguez admittedly used performance enhancing drugs. I was indeed shocked but I almost expected this. How many more players are there out there who no in doubt cheated the game and all of us? I don't exactly know, but I am beginning not to even care. The fact that drugs have played a part in the game that I love the most, has become reality and there is nothing I can do to change it. I believe in Major League Baseball. I am confidant that the Commissioner and his office, the owners and the players association have taken enough heat to try and get the game back on track. No doubt that there will be more stars that will have there past made public, but after enduring A FRAUD's ignorant publicized apology, I believe we the fans can handle all of the rest that will no doubtedly come.

Continue reading "Are You Serious???"

This past week we had the coming out party by All-Star third basemen Alex Rodriguez on the issue of his steroid use. Many people were unshocked and eager to attack as this baseball player is the viva

Continue reading "Alex Rodriguez"

;        After baseball legend,  Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, the Boston Red Sox never won another World Series. The Yankees won 26. Many believed it was a curse placed on the team by some almighty power since Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold the “Bambino” to finance his Broadway ventures. It wasn’t the fact that the Red Sox would lose, but the way they would lose. Almost as if someone or something was toying with them.  

Continue reading "For Love of the Game"

Dear readers:

I'd like to begin my blogging on this account by thanking each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my content in the past, and those of you who will do the same in the near future. A special, personal thanks goes out to the readers who have provided me with direct feedback.

Continue reading "Welcome to JFro Sports Journalism"

Well it seems as though the "Devil" in Devil Rays has officially been exorcised.  The Rays win their first playoff game in franchise history on the shoulders of rookie Evan Longoria.

Continue reading "A Little Bit Of H-Evan"

Suddenly it seems as though the Mets won't make the postseason yet again.  After winning again the Brewers now find themselves in the driver's seat and the Mets are on the outside looking in.&nbs

Continue reading "Brewers Hot, Mets Not!"

I was hoping to get this up yesterday with the Yankees-Red Sox series fresh in everyone’s mind but I didn’t have the time.  After a few weeks of the baseball season and watching almost every Red Sox and Yankee game I have a few observations on these two teams so far.  You may not agree with them all, this is just what I have noticed this season.

Continue reading "Early Season Observations of Yanks and Sox"

The American League East has been a two horse race for as long as I can remember but I think this year it becomes three-team battle.  The Toronto Blue Jays are as talented as most teams in the league and if they can stay healthy they can definitely contend.  The Rays and Orioles will again bring up the rear of this division but the top should be a fun and wild ride all year long, beginning with the Yankees-Blue Jays to open the season next week.

Continue reading "Part VI: AL East"

at least, this year.  Joba Chamberlain is more valuable in the starting rotation for the 2008 New York Yankees.  Maybe next year they sign CC Sabathia, Pettitte comes back, Wang continues to be great and Phil Hughes proves to be the stud people think he will be, then it is time to think about moving Joba into the set-up role but for now, he should be a starter.  When you think about it, this is a good problem to have because wherever the Yankees use him, there is no denying, Joba will rule.

Continue reading "Joba Rules"

Many of the Yankees reported to camp last Thursday, if not earlier, but today was the official start.  Why is that you ask?  That's because today was the first sighting of "The Boss".  George Steinbrenner came to camp today and held a meeting with General Manager, Brian Cashman, new Manager of the team, Joe Girardi and most of the coaching staff.  This got me thinking, with the start of the baseball season still six weeks away what questions do the Yankees have to answer while in Florida?

Continue reading "The Official Start to Spring Training"