Clark and Van Slyke sound off on McGwire

I found this in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning. Former Cardinals Jack Clark and Andy Van Slyke sound off on Mark McGwire and other steroid users. Clark especially rips into McGwire and says when the two cross paths at the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up this weekend, "I'm not going to say hello. I'm not going to shake his hand. He's a sad excuse for a player in the industry of baseball. Just seeing him in uniform makes me throw up."

Here are a couple of selected Clark and Van Slyke quotes from Rick Hummel's article:

Clark: "All those guys are cheaters —A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro. Fake, a phony. "(Roger) Clemens, (Barry) Bonds. (Sammy) Sosa. Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame."

Van Slyke: "There's a lot of finger-pointing by Mark McGwire. He blames it on not being tested and he blames it on the era. Why would you blame baseball for taking steroids? That's like me saying the reason I was drunk driving was because I knew that on this particular highway, they didn't have anything for me to blow into."

Click here to read the rest.

Expanding farm systems a fix for baseball?

The guys over at Redleg Nation are discussing possible changes to the game. What about this... no salary cap but let's give organizations the opportunity to expand their farm systems.

The relatively low-budgeted St. Louis Cardinals increased their ability to compete with other clubs in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s with as many as 40 affiliated teams. The Cards won World Series titles in '26, '31, '34, '42, '44, '46. They also played in the 1928, 1930 and 1943 World Series but lost to the NY Yankees, Philadelphia As and Yanks again respectively. The Cardinals are second only to the Yankees in World Series championships (10) and this is partly due to Branch Rickey's invention of the farm system.

A few quotes from Rickey on the farm system:

"The farm system, which I have been given credit for developing, originated
from a purely selfish motive: saving money."

"The money part aside, the system offered a selection of better players. We
know our own material; we had followed it for several years. We brought it along
at each level... We controlled the institution and discipline, and we had a much
better idea of a player's major-league ability than if we had gone blindly into
the open market."

This would allow teams to stockpile talent and use that to built continually winning teams and relatively low cost. Sure you have to pay minor leaguers, coaches, staff, etc., but not nearly as much. Teams could also use their stock of minors leaguers in trades for proven major league talent if they feel they just need a final piece to make a run for title. It would reward good organizations rather than owners with deep pockets and big revenue streams.

Selig's 14

Bud Selig has formed a committee of 14 people to look at ways of "improving" Major League Baseball. This might actually be a good idea but I'm still a little worried, as usual, about change. The group will examine things like instant replay and pace of game. Which to be honest, I don't see any problems with either one. I'm fine with no instant reply and enjoy baseball's slower pace. To change these aspects of baseball would just make baseball like other sports and in turn would draw in "casual" fans and alienate true baseball fans. Seems like a Selig-esque move doesn't it?

I would like to see some changes made. For one, something needs to be done with finances. Smaller market teams need to be able to keep some of their star players. Of course this doesn't ensure those clubs would be more competitive but it does mean that fans would have some players to identify with for an extended period of time -- a player they would be willing to buy a jersey of because they know they'll be around for a few years.

I'd also like to see the DH eliminated. There is really no need for it anymore. I'm sure that the players union would fight it. It allows sub-par and aging athletes to continue their career and make way too much money for doing as little as possible. Eliminating the DH would also help to shorten the length of American League games.

The schedule needs to be balanced. I'd be fine with going back to the 154-game schedule (see comments section for further explanation).

Interleague play should be eliminated or, at least, the number of interleague games reduced.


Selig's 14 will include 4 GM/executive representatives:

• John Schuerholz (Braves)
  
• Andy MacPhail (Orioles)
  
• Terry Ryan (Twins)
  
• Mark Shapiro (Indians)
  

4 owner reps:

• Chuck Armstrong (Mariners)
• Paul Beeston (Blue Jays)
• Bill DeWitt (Cardinals)
• Dave Montgomery (Phillies)

4 managers:

• Tony La Russa (Cardinals)
• Jim Leyland (Tigers)
• Joe Torre (Dodgers)
• Mike Scioscia (Angels)

also:

• Frank Robinson (HOFer)
• George Will (author/columnist)

This is certainly a great collection of baseball minds. This could one of Selig's few good ideas. I do tip my hat to him for putting this group together.


Update: 12/16/09 -- 10:24am:

I was just thinking about this pace of game issue again. If you're looking for a source of the "problem," look at television. How many times have you been to a live game and seen the pitcher and batter ready to go only to have to wait for the TV timeout?

Update: 12/16/09 -- 12:15pm:

Phil Rogers' piece in the Chicago Tribune, "MLB sets up system that could ban DH"

Update: 12/16/09 -- 3:37pm:

A take on improving the game from True Blue L.A. who says that the September roster expansion is one of the biggest threats to the integrity of baseball. Good point!

New York's gonna love Curtis Granderson

Former Tigers coach Andy Van Slyke had some kind words to tell the New York Post today. "[Granderson's] almost too good to be true... I've got four boys. If I had a daughter, I'd want him first on line to marry my daughter."

Grandy's former teammate Sean Casey says, "[Granderson's] a mentally tough guy. He's out to beat you... He plays the game hard all the time. You'll never see Curtis job to first base... you're going to get full-tilt baseball." Casey also goes on to tell The Post that Grandy is, "the epitome of a great teammate... Character-wise as far as being a teammate and being a team guy, he's a workaholic. He's always hitting. That's why he's going to be successful in New York because he's always looking to get better... New York's gonna love Curtis Granderson."


A few more tastes of what kind of person the Yankees are getting:

• Curtis' book, All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It. With the help of fourth-graders across the state of Michigan, Granderson shows readers how a strong foundation of learning can help you reach any goal, no matter how big. [Amazon.com]
• One of Grandy's larger community involvement works, The Grand Kids Foundation.
• Shawn Windsor's piece in the Detroit Free Press, "Curtis Granderson more than a good player."

Update 12/10/09 - 1:20pm:

Greg over at Where Have You Gone, Johhny Grubb? offers some interesting perspective to chew on. He argues that Curtis will get less recognition for his off-the-field work in NY. Greg writes:

What a waste of a good guy. New York won’t appreciate what Granderson does for life outside of baseball. He’ll be able to walk the streets of Manhattan and the only time he’ll be stopped is if someone happens to ask him for the time. In Detroit, Grandy might one day have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Mayor Dave Bing in front of the groundbreaking for a new playground. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg might not even have time to take his call—if he even knows who Curtis is.

Curtis on the Grand Stage

It looks like the three-way deal that will send Detroit Tigers centerfielder, Curtis Granderson, to the New York Yankees is done. It's a sad day of this Grandy fan but I wish him the best. Curtis is a classy guy and I think his personality will suit him well in New York. I'm just slightly worried that if he doesn't start to hit left-handed pitching better that the NYC media and Yankees fans are going to tear into him and I would really hate to see that. At least Curtis didn't go for the free agent dollars, he went via forces that were probably beyond his control. I really think that he would have been happy playing in the Midwest (Detroit, Chicago, etc.) for the rest of his career. He established himself in the greater Detroit community and grew up in Chicago and just seemed like a very down-to-earth guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts a full-page add in the Detroit Free Press thanking fans for their support.

Selig's legacy and fan consumerism

In case you haven't heard, Bud Selig plans to retire as commissioner of Major League Baseball in 2012. When considering Selig's legacy on the game, it's easy to point to changes to divisional formats, the Wild Card playoff spot, interleague play, and steroids. We can also say that baseball, as a business, has exploded under Selig's watch. That's good for the owners and players but not so much for the fan and the overall historical integrity of America's pastime, at least that's my opinion.

Another thing that has changed since Selig first took the reins as interim commissioner in September 1992 is the consumerism associated with the game - fan consumerism. Whether this is good or bad is debatable. I've been thinking about this for the past few days. I've had some time off and have been watching some old game films on the MLB Network. We all know, of course, that men and women regularly wore dress clothes to games up until the 1960s or so. But watch a game tape from the late 1980s and even the early 1990s and you'll notice that fans in the stands aren't covered in logos like they are today.

First of all, I'll disclose that I'm not acting in the same way that I am idealizing. I'm a logo-clad fan. I've spent who knows how much money on officially licensed merchandise and I have a collection of baseball caps that is borderline obscene. Go to a major league ballgame today and most fans there will be like me, wearing $30 t-shirts with their favorite team's name and logo on it, team cap, and possibly a replica or authentic team/player jersey. I really can't point to a specific time or year when this started but like most things it probably happened gradually, but it wasn't happening in the early 1990s from what I can tell. Sure there were fans wearing team caps or t-shirts but it didn't seem to be the vast majority like it is today. There were still a lot of fans at the games wearing just "regular, every day" clothes, don't you think?

When did this all begin and why? When did it become the "norm" to be completely clad in team gear at the ballgame? I do it and it seems to me that about 75% of the folks at MLB games do this. It just looks odd to see the majority of fans at a major sporting event (1988 All-Star game, 1991 World Series, etc.) not dressed like this.

This phenomenon certainly isn't confined to baseball. Actually, I would probably say NFL fans are the most clad with team apparel, followed by NCAA sports fans, NBA, then MLB, and NHL.

I welcome your comments and thoughts on this.

Bob Costas for Commissioner of Baseball

I'm currently watching Bob Costas' interview of Bud Selig on the MLB Network and he's giving the commissioner hell! If you've got the MLB Network on your cable system, check the schedule and plan to watch it next time it's on. You regular readers know my views about Selig. Costas, I like. He's a traditionalist and I'd love to see him as baseball's next commissioner. Costas' book, Fair Ball (2001), is a little outdated now but it's still a great read. Costas lends a well thought out discussion of how he would protect and promote the game.

Lee and Pedro bring inspiration

I'm back. Part of the reason that I haven't posted in over a month is that I've found it difficult to get inspired. The last few weeks of the regular season and the first couple of rounds of the playoffs didn't really light a fire under me. This year's World Series between the Phillies and Yankees seems to be a great matchup on paper but, to be honest, I don't like either team so I wasn't sure I'd find anything to write about. I hate what the Yankees symbolize. That coupled with the fact that I'm a small-market fan means that I can't root for them. I do, however, have a great deal of respect for Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera. They're classy guys, they play the game the right way, and they all came up as Yankees. This means they stayed in New York for the money but they didn't go there for it like some other players.

To cut to the chase, Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez are my inspiration for throwing up a post for the first time since September 18. How can you not get fired up about Lee's performance in game 1? The guy is so fun to watch. He works quick, he's focused, and you know he's loving every minute of being out there. World Series nerves didn't seem to phase him at all as he mowed down the Yanks last night. If anything Lee came across as more loose than usual. Especially as he nonchalantly stuck his glove out for that pop-up to the mound with Jeter on first. Then again when he caught a liner with his glove behind his back. Judging from his reaction afterwards you knew he was as nonplussed as his teammates on the bench and Phillie fans at home.

Pedro, who is pitching as I type, has gained a lot of my respect during his short stint in Philadelphia. The guy is a competitor and you can tell that he's sparing nothing to help his team win. There was a game near the end of the regular season where Pedro had thrown something like 130 pitches. He worked himself into trouble, convinced Charlie Manuel to leave him in, and proceeded to retire the remaining batters. Pedro gained a fan there. I wish him and the Phillies the best tonight.

Aaron Harang Giveth

If you watched the Reds game on FS Ohio last night you may have heard George Grande and Chris Welsh talking about what Aaron Harang did to show his appreciation for the hard-working Reds clubhouse staff. Harang bought Rick Stowe and his staff a primo 6-seat golf cart to use while running errands around the ballpark. It's a top-of-the-line $6,500 cart. Harang said last night that it is road ready on streets up to 35mph. Here is Mark Sheldon's post. Hat tip to Redleg Nation for the link.

Ernie's farewell

Few people get a chance to give a farewell speech or see how much they've touched other peoples lives but if anyone deserves that chance it's Ernie Harwell. Here is his farewell address to Tigers fans.

Big League Stew's post.

Ernie's farewell to his media colleagues.