Perfect!!!

Perfect history on a perfect afternoon. One of the rarest feats in all of sports was accomplished yesterday afternoon on the South Side of Chicago when White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle retired the Tampa Bay Rays in order, 27 up and 27 down. Only the 18th perfect game pitched in Major League Baseball history (the first since 2004), Buehrle backed up his no hitter last year against the Texas Rangers. In that game, Buehrle walked only 1 batter, Sammy Sosa, and promptly picked him off first base.

What Mark did yesterday was a thing of beauty. It was not only his pitching ability, but the overall defensive performance by the team. What also makes this a special game was that not all of the White Sox regulars were playing on what was called a getaway day as the club prepared to leave for Detroit after the game. Josh Fields (hit a grand slam) played first in place of Paul Konerko and Ramon Castro catching in place of A.J. Pierzynski.

Dewayne Wise made THE CATCH of the season and probably his career by leaping the fence and taking a home run away from Gabe Kapler leading off the 9th inning. This was the first inning that Wise played, coming in as a defensive replacement. As a huge Sox fan, I have been very critical of the organization's decision to keep Wise around this season. I was more impressed with Brian Anderson’s defense, and Anderson was hitting a moderately better .238 to Wise’s .196 before Anderson was sent to the minors. After yesterday, I will cut Dewayne some slack for a few days. The determination he showed in going after that ball and the concentration he displayed in holding on to it have earned him that...

Congratulations to Mark Buehrle and thank you Dewayne Wise! You have made all of us White Sox fans proud!!!

Plundering The Pirates – Why Pittsburgh Should Lose Their Baseball Team

Settle down, Western Pennsylvanians…this is not an indictment of Pittsburgh fans. You do a fantastic job of supporting the Steelers & Penguins, and those two wonderful franchises, in turn, give you superstars to root for and championships to cherish...

What then do we make of the miserable Pirates? The 2009 season has already turned into one of the ugliest on record for a modern-era major league baseball team…no, not necessarily in wins versus losses but in the disgusting cowardice the front office has shown in shipping talented players out of town well before the trading deadline in a pathetic display of blatant disregard for season-ticket holders in particular & Pitt fans in general...

Nate McLouth, Nyjer Morgan, Eric Hinske, and Adam LaRoche have already been traded away this year (for mediocre prospects), and now Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez are most likely headed out of town in the next week because they wouldn’t accept insulting contract extensions (“Hey, guys…please take less money next year and we’ll tack on another year or two in the 5th Ring of Hell for ya!!!”). I hate the Yankees and their free-spending ways as much as the next guy, but I also find it ridiculous that they have to subsidize a team like the Pirates that continues to thumb its nose at Bud Selig...

The solution…ship ‘em out. The NBA is not exactly financially sound right now, but at least David Stern acknowledges (quickly) when a franchise is failing & (quickly) facilitates a move (see Seattle to Oklahoma City, Charlotte to New Orleans, Vancouver to Memphis). We don’t need another Montreal Expos debacle, Mr. Selig (look how long that mess dragged out before the team moved to D.C.); invoke the ‘best interest of baseball’ clause and get the Pirates relocated to Portland or Vegas NOW!!!

As a Cubs fan, I understand your frustration, Pirates supporter...I really do. However, the Cubs actually TRY to field a winning team (it rarely works out well, but the effort is there). In fact, we were the beneficiaries of one of your infamous Pittsburgh fire sales a few years back (in a pair of 2003 deals, we essentially got Kenny Lofton, Randall Simon, and Aramis Ramirez for a pack of Big League Chew and Bobby Hill). That being said, the sports community is better as a whole when each & every franchise puts forth a decent effort to field a competitive team. Eventually, the Nationals will get their act together and the Royals will land a manager who can figure out what to do with the young players the front office tries to keep & nurture. What’s the Pirates’ excuse???

Las Vegas Scorpions. Portland Lumberjacks. Which one do you prefer, Pittsburgh? The minute Bud Selig grows a pair, your team is heading west. In the meantime, take solace in the immortal words of Meatloaf - two out of three ain’t bad...

Stringer vs. Riddell Inc.

Eight years. That’s how long it has been since the unfortunate death of Korey Stringer, Vikings offensive lineman, to heat stroke during training camp. Eight years and his family is now suing Riddell Inc., the company that made the helmet and shoulder pads worn by Korey at the time of his death. His death was not due to his equipment, but to not drinking enough water or letting his coaches know how he was feeling.

Last week in Ohio, U.S. District Court judge John D. Holschuh wrote it was "reasonably foreseeable ... that a user of [Riddell's] helmets and shoulder pads during extremely hot and humid conditions might suffer from a heat stroke." And that Riddell Inc. “owed Stringer a duty to warn” that its helmets and shoulder pads could contribute to heat stroke when used in hot conditions and the case would go to jury trial. They had a duty to warn him? This young man played football most of his life in helmets and shoulder pads and knew that he would get hot while wearing them. When the hell does personal responsibility come in to play? Why should the company that made the equipment be held accountable for not warning him he could get heat stroke? As a country, are we becoming that stupid that we have to have our hands held in every area of our lives?

Stringer Family attorney, Paul DeMarco said, "Any manufacturer who sells football helmets and shoulder pads without a heat stroke warning, knowing they're being used in extreme heat, does so at its peril. The same goes for leagues, coaches, and equipment managers who permit such equipment to be used without heat stroke warnings."

Ok, I will agree that leagues and coaches should have responsibility to make sure their players are aware of the possibility of heat stroke and should make sure every player gets plenty of water and periodic rest during high heat and humid conditions. But holding equipment manufacturers responsible is insane.

This harkens back to McDonalds coffee is hot… no kidding. How many of you were appalled and outraged by that lawsuit? This lawsuit is along the same lines. This is the reason lawyers are so disliked and costs continue to escalate. WHERE DOES PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY COME BACK INTO PLAY!?!? I guess in today’s society everyone else is to blame.

You know what? I had a softball take a bad bounce Friday night during my game and it hit me in the shin causing a subdural hematoma. I think I will sue the maker of the softball for pain and suffering.

Woke Up Without Woods...

Image Courtesy Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated
The golf community collectively groaned Friday afternoon as Tiger Woods, the savior of the game, missed the cut at the British Open. How can we go on? If Tiger’s not involved, who will watch? Who will care?

The Maestro will. In fact, I think it’s fantastic that we can tune in to a major tournament without having the television coverage dominated by Woods. Talking heads like ESPN’s Mike Tirico would have you believe it’s not only appropriate for the mass media to cover Tiger as much as possible during a tournament...it’s their obligation!!!

This is the same ridiculous thinking that pushes Fox to feature the New York Yankees and/or Boston Red Sox on virtually every Saturday afternoon national baseball broadcast and NBC to try to snare the Dallas Cowboys for as many Sunday night football battles as possible. Let the Clippers and Grizzlies rot in basketball purgatory…we want the Lakers!!!

The media should NEVER show out-and-out favoritism (sorry, Barack…this means you too). Despite all the slants and angles offered up by CNBC, CNN, and Fox News, reporting (sports included) should be as unbiased and equal as possible. Yes, champions will always get more attention, winners will always get more accolades, and big city teams will always have more people following them based on population numbers alone (Green Bay and Pittsburgh being the exquisite exceptions to the rule). However, a sports league or association is supposed to be co-operative by nature. Just ask Bud Selig now that he faces thousands upon thousands of empty seats every night because the New York teams think they’re above the economy and Pirates, Nationals, & Royals fans know their teams can never compete. Better yet, look at all the grief David Stern went through trying to find the ‘next Michael Jordan’; Kobe & LeBron were coming down the pipe, but the media & Stern were so frantic to hoist a new MJ above the masses like Simba in “The Lion King” that they nearly destroyed the sport...

Heading back to the links, I readily acknowledge that Tiger Woods is the best golfer on the planet, and probably the best ever. But to tear down an entire sport week after week for the sake of one player (or team) is abject stupidity. It’s now mid-afternoon on Saturday, July 18, 2009…the third round of the British Open is in the books. The leaderboard features a few of the usual suspects (Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk) near the top, as well as a couple of relative unknowns (Mathew Goggin, Ross Fisher) thrown in the mix for good measure. Yes, Tiger Woods is nowhere to be found, but 59-year-old Tom Watson (-4) leads the pack going into Sunday...

Sit back and get something to eat, Eldrick - the last round of this major is better off without you...

Baseball Fans Rock, But They Shouldn’t Vote...

Once again, the annual debacle known as Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is upon us. The latest incarnation of MLB’s grand exhibition game spurs two huge debates every year: 1) Should the game decide home-field advantage for the World Series? and 2) Should the fans vote for the starting position players? I think you’ll be surprised to find that The Maestro flies in the face of convention on both topics...

On the first debate, I side with (gulp) Bud Selig. Yes, it’s an ‘exhibition’ but you’re dealing with leagues that play by different rules all season long. To award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning All-Star squad is only slightly more arbitrary than giving it to the team with the best overall win/loss percentage. Other than a few weeks of interleague play every year, the American League and the National League never cross paths. One has a DH, the other lets the pitcher hit. It’s like dealing with Japan and North Korea…geographically & ethnically similar, culturally disparate. Why not let them slug it out for one glorious night to decide who gets the edge? Ummm, the AL & the NL, I mean…let’s not start a nuclear showdown here, it’s just a blog...

As for the second argument, I have been steadfastly against the fan vote since I was old enough to realize that it was a popularity contest and not a true evaluation of the best players the sport had to offer for the current season. Sorry, but other than the pot-bellied former star QBs and saggy-boobed ex-prom queens of the world, nobody digs popularity contests. You know who wins popularity contests? Michael Vick. Who doesn’t? Bill Gates. Who would you argue is a better, more productive person? Thought so...

The same logic should apply to the All-Star vote. Fans pick the old standbys and the ‘cool’ names, not the emerging stars who actually deserve the roster spots. Would Raul Ibanez (with the same numbers) have been voted in as a starter this year if he were still in Seattle instead of in Philly? Not hardly. Would David Wright stand a chance in Hades if he (again, with the same numbers) played in Kansas City instead of the Big Apple? Nope.

In the end, the vote should be 33% players, 33% coaches, 34% media. The people who know, watch, and live the game every single day should decide the best of the best, not internet geeks and face-painters...

I, for one, have grown to despise All-Star games (or races, for that matter). If it’s billed as an exhibition, that means I can watch a movie or play a video game instead. I’m actually a bit disgusted by fans and sports reporters who act like joyful, giddy children as they watch and praise games where defense isn’t a factor, critical errors can be laughed off as harmless larks, and protecting players from injury becomes an unwieldy concern. The essence of sport is the competition for a championship, an ultimate goal; on the professional level, it’s not supposed to be a giddy free-for-all where there are no winners or losers. Let’s leave the PC crap for the ACLU and the attorneys...let’s make sure our games – all of them – continue to matter, shall we?

Lou Tries To Gets His Cajones Back From Soriano & Hendry...

Call it a copycat move (See Francona/Ortiz, Manuel/Rollins, Leyland/Mags) but Lou Piniella finally made an attempt to get his balls back. Cubs fans (The Maestro included) don’t really care at the end of the day about contracts. We don’t give a rat’s ass that Alfonso Soriano is making roughly $18 million a year. We want the best players possible in the lineup every stinkin’ day...

So when Piniella sat Soriano for two games in favor of Sam Fuld earlier this week, it marked a baby step forward for the Cubs manager. The Cubs won both games & had a vastly improved energy level. Then Lou caved on Friday (7/3/09) and put Soriano back at the top of the starting lineup. The result? A hitless game with a couple RISP stranded. So much for the time off clearing Soriano’s head...

Now, on Independence Day 2009, Piniella has pushed Soriano down to the sixth spot in the batting order. Regardless of the outcome (which looks to be an ugly Chicago loss, due more to an ineffective Rich Harden than anything else), Sweet Lou is trying to push buttons. And that’s a good thing, because Piniella was beginning to resemble a Build-A-Bear a few weeks ago...

With Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Milton Bradley, Lou is stuck with Jim Hendry’s playthings. However, young players like Fuld, Jake Fox, and Micah Hoffpauir should give Lou options...namely, to sit the overpriced Hendry mistakes and play the potential bargain-basement gems. A manager should not have to kiss the GM’s hindquarters. The GM gets the pieces and the manager should then be able to use them how he sees fit. In the case of the Cubs, if that means benching the ‘Little Three’ (as I so eloquently call them), so be it...

After all, what big-league manager wouldn’t want $40 million worth of pinch-hitting prowess available for those late-inning heroics???