Red Sox Off-Season: Rings Again or Gas For Another Fire Sale?

Image Credit: boston.cbslocal.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.) 

They say if you love it, then you should let it go. If it comes back then it’s meant to be. When the Boston Red Sox traded away their top 10 prospect in 2005, we're not sure if they thought he would ever play for them again. However, the Red Sox got Hanley Ramirez back on Tuesday. Maybe Ramirez's love for the organization came back easily, considering the 4-year-$88 million dollar contract. The Sox also added champion and former World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval for a 5 year deal worth $95 million, with the fifth year being a club option. The Sox are also fishing for a solid pitcher, as they are offering their former ace Jon Lester a nice sized contract as well. 

Is this like the 2011 debacle where the Sox acquired a lot of big names and had a fire sell the next year? Are the Red Sox a wolf or a mere overhyped sheep?

We really can’t say right now because we still don’t know their rotation or lineup. The Red Sox right now have a lot of talent, and adding Sandoval adds more championship experience to a team that just won a World Series title in 2013, under their current manager John Farrell. For all the fans that may be worried about another fire sale, they must look at the facts. While Terry Francona was also a World Series winning manager, he needed a fresh start away from the organization, which is why the 2011 team did not work. Bobby Valentine was also a great manager in his own respect, but the chemistry was off with that team. John Farrell is a player’s manager and is close to his team. So while this team did not play well last season, the team definitely has plenty of talent. With these additions why wouldn’t they be a big favorite to win it all? The Red Sox have former World Series MVP David Ortiz still, 2-time and reigning Home Run Derby winner Yoenis Céspedes, and former MVP Dustin Pedroia. Adding Lester can only help their rotation, which is key to winning a World Series.

It’s way too early to make a World Series prediction, but on paper you have to agree that the Red Sox have made the biggest splash this off-season.

The MLB Offseason: The Second Most Exciting Part of the Baseball Year.

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

It’s an exciting time in Major League Baseball, as we are in the heart of free agency. Some of the biggest baseball clubs are looking for players to fill their opening day roster, and maybe even be a leader in the push for a World Series.

One of the major prizes, Giancarlo Stanton, in this free agent market has been resigned. Stanton inked a huge 13 years, $325 million dollar deal from the ever criticized Miami Marlins. The deal comes with an opt out after 6 years and $107 million dollars of the deal; but not many players are walking away from 7 years and $218 million dollars, so Stanton is probably a Marlin until they don’t want him to be. Some speculate that it'll be soon, as the Marlins are known to do this, example; (Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle, Miguel Cabrera, and the embarrassing list goes on.) However, Stanton wasn’t the only major transaction in the NL East.

The Braves moved big name Jason Heyward to the Cardinals. Heyward’s contract was due to expire, and with the Upton Brothers massive deals, Atlanta wasn’t sure how they were going to pay Heyward. In exchange, the Braves got two promising prospects that could be front-end starters one day in Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins. While these two young stars have been moved, there is and was good talent out there.

Russell Martin inked a $82 million dollar deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Billy Butler has departed to the team he (and the Kansas City Royals) beat in the Wild Card round, the Oakland Athletics. Speaking off championship, the former World Series MVP Pablo Sandoval is available. He is amongst the massive amount of talent that is available along with Jon Lester, David Robertson, & Nelson Cruz.

Besides the Detroit Tigers who signed DH Victor Martinez to a 4-year/ 68 million dollar deal, the bigger clubs seem to be  quiet on lately. The Red Sox have been active as they offered Lester and Sandoval contracts, but no word on either signing. The New York Yankees and Mets have been pretty quiet other than a few minor signings, similar to the LA and Chicago teams. The Yankees most surprisingly as they have let David Robertson test the market.

Will New York and Chicago be left out of the playoffs again? Thus far the off season has been interesting, but we will see once more names sign and then it really gets crazy as players are like dominoes. Once one falls, they all fall. Who will be the one to start the domino effect? Sandoval, Lester, or Robertson? It will be interesting to watch going forward.

From Great to Disgrace: The Alex Rodriguez Case

Image Credit: USAToday.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

Has there ever been a more polarizing figure in baseball than Alex Rodriguez? If so, Rodriguez is in the top 5 along with Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa. However, Rodriguez may be the most talented player out of those five. Not comparing and contrasting these players, but one thing they all have in common is, they all are looked at as liars by the media. What sets Alex Rodriguez apart from the others is that he's played under a microscope in the pressure cooker, New York City. Not to mention it's THE most popular team in the MLB, the New York Yankees. Since he  arrived to New York, he has seen some of his best and worst career moments. His worst obviously would be the steroid scandals.

Rodriguez came to New York already a polarizing figure because he was looked at as overpaid, despite being the AL MVP before he came to the Yankees. He produced in his first year with his new team, and was a big contributor in their playoff run to the seventh game of the 2004 ALCS. This was also the series where he knocked the ball away from Carlos Arroyo, which kept Jeter at first base and took the team to 2 outs in the eighth inning of a close game that could've decided the series. While Rodriguez won 2 more AL MVPs, he received criticism from the media for being a bad fielder (although he converted from a short stop to third baseman specifically for the Yankees), for struggling in the postseason, and for the way he opted out of his contract. Even worse, in 2007 came the opening of Pandora’s box: famous steroid user Jose Canseco accused Rodriguez of being a steroid user as well.

Image Credit: AtlantaBlackStar.com

Baseball was at it’s highest in popularity from the 1990’s to the early 2000’s because offense was it’s peak. The reason? MLB wasn’t trying to stop the steroids because they did not believe they had a problem. Jose Canseco’s first book: "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Popular" brought heat towards some of the game’s best players. This caused investigations from the MLB in 2003, which then caused US Congress to investigate. After the MLB investigation, they found that they had a problem and mandated testing. In 2006, former Senator George Mitchell started investigating steroid usage in the MLB. This 21-month investigation became known as the infamous Mitchell Report. This was the beginning of Rodriguez’s unraveling. 

Since steroids became a popular subject to the baseball media, Rodriguez constantly denied steroid use. In 2007, Canseco promised his book would unmask Rodriguez as a hypocrite. In 2009, Sports Illustrated attained Rodriguez’s test results from the MLB’s investigation in 2003, which was supposed to be anomyous and destroyed, but was gathered for the Mitchell Report two years. Rodriguez then tested positive in 2003, one of his 3 MVP years. After this article was released, Rodriguez started doing damage control and went on ESPN admitting to steroid use in 2001-2003, but he claimed to be clean since he came to New York. Through this criticism, Rodriguez went on to have his best postseason as a Yankee in which he won the World Series MVP, and of course the first championship of his career. In 2010, Rodriguez came under fire for being a patient of Anthony Galea, a doctor who illegally brought mislabeled drugs including HGH (a banned MLB substance) to America. Galea later cleared Rodriguez’s name by claiming he only prescribed anti-inflammatory medicine to Rodriguez. Rodriguez dodged that bullet, but he couldn't dodge the biggest bullet of his career, the Biogenesis baseball scandal.

Image Credit: SportsGrid.com

The Biogenesis of America was an anti-aging clinic in Florida. In 2013, the now-nonexistent clinic named several players that it was connected to, and allegedly sold PED’s to Rodriguez. The MLB went on the offense and pressured the owner, Bosch, to release all the players involved in the clinic. Some speculate that the MLB just wanted to finally get Alex Rodriguez, and I somewhat agree. Rodriguez was the one guy who besides media persecution, had eluded punishment in spite of being an admitted steroid user. Rodriguez was still a big name, highly paid player, while legends like Clemens and Bonds have undergone high criticism and legal problems because of their usage. They finally officially got Rodriguez late 2013. Rodriguez was suspended for all of the 2014 season (after appealing from August until the 2013 season was over). Now the situation could get worse as Rodriguez’s cousin and personal assistant are in deep trouble. Yuri Sacart, (Rodriguez’s cousin) is facing federal steroid distributing charges. In addition to that, Sacart is in the hospital after having open-heart surgery. Even worse, Sacart’s wife is threatening to expose every secret the family knows about Alex Rodriguez. The big issue for Rodriguez is the MLB has a policy against distributing steroids, and if Rodriguez is found to have helped his cousin, he could face another penalty from the MLB. With Rodriguez being owed so much money from the Yankees mixed with the combination of the Yankees being embarrassed by Rodriguez, means he will have no help from his team.

This whole situation is muggy and continues to take turns. Not even the writers from The Young And The Restless could have thought about this plot. Will Rodriguez be able to sustain further stains on his soiled name? Can he elude the MLB’s pursuit? Will he be able to collect the 60 million plus that the Yankees owe him? While all these questions are unknown, one thing I am almost sure of is that Rodriguez, one of the biggest offensive weapons in MLB history, will have a heck of a time getting into the Hall Of Fame when this is all over. It really is sad that one of the best players in MLB history has such a stained name and probably will miss being enshrined into the hallowed hall.

After A Huge Comeback, The Kansas City Royals Shut Out The Giants To Force Game 7 of the World Series

Image Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

by: Dana Pellotta (E.I.C.)

It was a packed house full of energy, and the Kansas City Royals BATS full of POWER, in Kansas City last night. The game started with the Royals proving they refuse to lost this series! 

It took only til the second inning wear starting pitcher Peavy, was taken out of the game. Lincecum came to the rescue, and that still didn't stop those bats! 

The game ended in a 10-0 shut out, with the Royals tieing the series 3-3. 

Image Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Game 7 starts in just about an hour. Who are you predicting will win the World Series tonight?

World Series Game 5: Cinderella vs Potential Dynasty

Image Credit: MLB.com

By: Kai Jones

The MLB postseason, like other professional sports postseason, are always exciting. Anything can happen: careers can be made and legacies can become stained at any instant. Reggie Jackson batted a humdrum .262, while he does have a membership to the highly acclaimed 500-homerun club, so does Harmon Killebrew (.256 batting average)- don’t know the name? Killebrew and Jackson have similar stats, and similar accolades, but what sets the two apart? The reason you don’t know Killebrew, aside from generation differences, is because Jackson is known as “Mr. October” and has 2 World Series MVPs to validate his name. Killebrew never won a World Series ring. And poor Bill Buckner forever lives in infamy for one moment, despite the fact that he was an above average player. Postseason performance can highly impact the legacy of an athlete.

And Pablo Sandoval of the Giants has caught my eye the most, considering the fact that he leads the NL Champion Giants in batting average. But this comes as no surprise considering the fact that MVP of the 2012 World Series. Sandoval is solidifying himself as a great postseason player after having a bad 2010 playoff run. Hunter Pence is also revitalizing his playoff legacy hitting as he is tied for most RBI’s on the Giants; he had a subpar 2012 postseason. These two plus the pitching of Madison Bumgarner and Yusmeiro Petit have the Giants in the World Series locked in a tight battle with the Cinderella Kansas City Royals. The Royals have been led by their bullpen and the play of Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain. The teams took two similar paths, although of course different.

The Giants haven’t dominated quite like the Royals, but they have played well throughout the playoffs. While the Royals sweated it out in a 12-inning thriller against the Athletics, the Giants jumped on the Pirates in the 4^th inning and coasted to an 8-0 win. The Giants then played a young talented Nationals team in the Division Series; they of course won in 4 games, but all 3 wins came in one run games. The Giants then moved on to face the savvy St. Louis Cardinals; in the 5 games, every game was decided by 3 runs or less. Their resilience has come in handy versus the hot Royals.

The Royals came into the World Series on an 8 game win streak. After the Royals snuck past the Athletics, they faced the extravagant Angels. The Royals showed grit in the first two games, as both went eleven innings. The Royals then handled the Angels, 8-3 in the final game of the sweep. The Royals then had to face the Baltimore Orioles, a group similar to them in roster make up. The Orioles came in off of their sweep of postseason favorites Tigers. While the Royals swept the Orioles, every game was decided by 2 runs or less. While this postseason has been great, it seems like something is missing.

What are missing are the two biggest teams in the Major Leagues: the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Then if their absence isn’t enough, how about the postseason disappointments of the Tigers, Athletics, Dodgers, and Angels. The Tigers and Athletics were thought to be the AL favorites after acquisitions of David Price and Jon Lester, respectively. The Angels and Dodgers were the big market teams who had big payrolls, and both failed to even make the Championship Series. Going back to legacy, the Dodger’s pitching ace Clayton Kershaw has 11 postseason games under his belt, but only one win and 5.12 ERA in the postseason. Kershaw a 2-time NL CY Young Award Winner, risks being dubbed as a poor postseason player if he cannot turn it around. On the opposite spectrum, Madison Bumgarner of the division rival Giants is cementing himself as a great postseason player.

With the great performance of Bumgarner in Game 5, the Giants go to Kansas City up 3-2. Kansas City has been a place full of ruckus for other teams this post season, as the Royals are 4-1 at home: the only lose coming to the Giants. Although, the Royals are at home, I think the grit and experience of the Giants will lead them to victory in Game 6. But if the Royals pull out Game 6, I don’t see the Giants being able to pull out another tough road win, especially since the Royals will have momentum and confidence. History supports this, as no road team has won a Game 7 since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Will the Giants cement their dynasty with their 3^rd World Series win in 5 years, or will the Cinderella team get their glass slipper?