Not a big surprise to me Mark McGuire was denied the Hall of Fame on his first try.  Especially not a surprise next to the likes of living legends Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn - two class acts who in a sense, are in a class by themselves.  I don't put Mark McGuire in that class, steroids or no, and obviously, neither did those responsible for not voting him in. 

The sad reality is, no matter what Mark McGuire did in his career, the last vivid memory most people have of this guy is his ludicrous sobbing over "making sure kids stay away from steroids," just a cover to avoid answering tough questions he simply danced around before Congress.  If he wasn't there to 'talk about the past,' then he really had nothing to say, and should have not showed up to avoid making a fool of himself as he did so blatantly and pitifully.  Mark could have been a stand up guy and told the truth.  Giambi admitted he used them, and while he's not baseball's poster boy, at least he's had a bit of a career ressurrection.  Corny as it may sound, people are more forgiving of people who tell the truth. Because while the act is bad enough, it's the lying that is even worse, as Palmeiro did, and as McGuire danced around. 

One could say one's actions on the field should be judged for Hall of Fame consideration.  In that case, Pete Rose needs to be let in.  Steroids users can directly alter a game's outcome, and the playing field is unequal.  That defeats the entire purpose of why the game is played.  Pete Rose bet on baseball, and possibly could have changed the outcome of games as the Reds' manager, but are these steroid guys any less damaging to the game's integrity?

Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will be in the Hall of Fame, first ballot. I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind this will happen.  Both were fantastic ballplayers with long and memorable careers, and both are class acts to be sure. 

I have my doubts about Mark McGuire, who damaged his credibility beyond repair in my opinion after his little, "I'm not here to talk about the past" speech before the Congressional steroids hearing.  If big Mac was not there to talk about the past, what was he there to talk about?  What is anybody in a hearing supposed to talk about?  The future?  What a joke. 

Everyone who has followed baseball for the past decade or so will always remember the '98 home run chase, or in the opinion of some, the circus act of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire who both caught and surpassed the single season home run record of Roger Maris.  With new light shed on the steroids in baseball controversey, that '98 chase has become a tad less impressive, and much less legitimate in the minds of many.  McGuire has some impressive offensive numbers, but his defense was not great, and he just shed some tears and shuffled his feat before the Congressional hearing on steroids in baseball.  Instead of taking the opportunity to be a real hero, he became a mumbling bumpkin not worthy of "Hall of Fame" status as far as I'm concerned.  "Hall of Shame" would be much more appropriate for McGuire, whose career could not hold a candle to the overall greatness of Ripken and Gwynn's careers.

Mike Mussina will stay in Yankee Stadium for the next two years after a deal for $23 million was reached.  A 2006 record of 15-7 and a 3.51 ERA in this era of offense, especially in the American League is pretty impressive, especially when you consider this guy is 38 years old.  Still, he gets it done for the Yankees in a big way.  If the 2006 playoffs was any indication, the Yankees need as much pitching as they can get. 

This is probably a no-brainer for the Yankees. They need pitching, period. Everyone does. And quality pitching at that. With Mussina, Johnson (if healthy), Wang, and Pavano (if healthy), the rotation should be in pretty good shape next season for the Yankees. Of course, with Pavano's recent inability to pitch, and Randy Johnson another year older, it is hard to know precisely how the Yankees' rotation will perform. Mussina was absolutely essential to the Yankees pitching puzzle for 2007, and from what the Yankees did, 2008 as well. ]]> tag:extra-innings.mlblogs.com,2006://1033.27379 2006-11-26T14:31:18Z 2006-11-26T14:35:31Z

I am not a Yankee fan, but after revisiting the numbers between two of the top vote-getters in this year's American League MVP voting, I'm not quite sure why it is Derek Jeter was denied the honor.  He did not have the home runs Morneau had, a full 20 less, and he was 33RBI short of Morneau's total, but he had 34 stolen bases to Morneau's 3, and a .343 batting average to Morneau's .321 average,  and a .417 on base percentage compared to Morneau's .375 on base percentage.  Not to mention, Derek Jeter plays shortstop, arguably one of the toughest, if not the toughest position to play well, espcially in New York, where, let's face it, everything is harder due to the pressure media scrutiny.  But year after year, Derek Jeter produces.  This was a career year for him. 

As far as the home run and RBI totals for Jeter, he is mostly a number 2 hitter.  His primary role is not to drive in runs or hit the ball over the wall, yet he still almost drove in 100.  I'd like to see the comparable RBI totals for other number 2 hitters in either league.  I suppose what comprises an MVP is somewhat subjective.  There is a lot more than numbers that go into it.  Morneau had a fantastic year, as did his teammate Joe Mauer.  The argument could be that without Morneau, the Twins would not have made it to the playoffs, whereas Jeter has a team of All Stars all around him.  Still, the Yankees had their share of injuries to deal with, and Jeter was a rock of consistency.  It could be argued that while the Yankees are a team mostly of All Stars, Jeter is the brightest star of all, not just for what he brings to the game with his on-field play, but his leadership and the fact he is a winner, like him or not.  Without Jeter, the Yankees may have struggled more than some might think.  I cannot believe I'm saying this but, I think Jeter might have been jipped because he plays for the Yankees!

The Boston Red Sox hardly got the D-Mat Blue Light Special when they paid $51.1 million just to talk with Japanese pitching sensation, Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Word has it, he is being literally wined and dined by the Red Sox, an organization who must sign D-Mat now, or face ridicule for paying $51.1 mil for nothing. 

It is a virtual guarantee the Red Sox will find some way to sign him.  Heck, they paid $51.1 mil just to talk, what's another several mil to have him pitch?  That's a lot of money to spend on a guy who has not thrown a single pitch in the Major Leagues.  The Chicago White Sox signed Tadahito Iguchi after only seeing him on viedotape, but then again, they didn't pay millions just to talk with him.  Whether or not this works out for Boston has yet to be seen, but I have not seen too many recent examples of gigantic signings resulting in World Championships.  That may not be a good sign for the big-spending Red Sox and Cubs. 

This is unbelievable.  Alfonso Soriano is an excellent player, but eight years at $136 million!  This is the richest deal the Chicago Cubs have ever made in their history.  The Cubs are trying to return a degree of credibility to their franchise after being the laughingstocks of the league for... say... a century?  It goes to show just how desperate the Cubs are to get back on the competitive radar after being schooled and upstaged by their south-side rivals for the past two years, and bottom dwellers in the already mostly mediocre National League. 

The Cubs still need some pitching for me to take them seriously.  We saw a Yankees murderer's row lineup win one playoff game in 2006 without much pitching.  As I said yesterday, offense is exciting, but pitching wins.  The dizzying sums paid to guys like Frank Thomas, Alfonso Soriano make it a great time to be a player.  Frank had a nice comeback season to be sure, but making a cool 18 mil over two years in the twilight of his career after a base $500,000 salary with the A's last year is not a bad chunk of change.  I'd take 1/16th of that and be plenty happy. 

The answer to this question is both yes and no, depending on what additional moves the Cubs make.  Last time I checked, the Texas Rangers' experiment of more offense has not gotten them to the playoffs recently because baseball, in spite of fans' love of offense is all about three things - pitching, pitching, and pitching.  Whoever pitches wins.  It's that simple.  Look at the 2005 White Sox.  Underwhelming, yet productive offense.  Outstanding pitching.  World Series Champions.  The 2006 Cardinals, while not on paper as strong as the Tigers' pitching staff, pitched better than the Tigers did when it counted.  They also didn't throw the ball away whenever throwing anywhere but home plate! 

I will have to bring just a tad bit of rain to the Cubs' parade unless they can get substantial pitching upgrades.  Sure, they have Carlos Zambrano.  After that?  Mark Prior?  Will he be healthy, both physically and mentally?  Will Kerry Wood do his usual breakdown?  What will his role be?  In the bullpen?  Almost certainly not as a starter.  Then you have guys like Rich Hill, Sean Marshall and company.  Can they honesly be relied on to bring a World Championship to the North Side?  Neal Cotts is a nice addition from the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox, but he was wildly inconsistent last season, and that's putting it nicely.  He may bounce back, but only time will tell. 

The offseason has only just begun.  It is too early to tell where the Cubs might be in 2007.  Soriano is an impact offensive player who will no doubt love hitting in Wrigley Field.  But he can't pitch for the Cubs.  And pitching, not hitting, as is proven time and again, wins Championships.