In recent weeks Mike Vick has found himself back in the news again, after his release from federal custody and subsequent meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. It’s a controversial issue. Sunday night, I posed the question to our twitter followers:
NBA analysis seems to consist of relating every move to the Summer of 2010, dreaming of players for teams to get during the Summer of 2010, or just talking about the Summer of 2010 for no other reason. The Summer of 2010 probably has a player card on ESPN.com. “The Knicks are smart to pick up those contracts that will expire in the Summer of 2010 so they can make a run at LeBron James.” “That’s a great trade for the Pistons, clearing that cap space aimed at Dwyane Wade in the Summer of 2010.”
Well I say PHOOEY. Here’s why we’re in for a big, massive, giant, huge BUMMER of 2010:
Baseball players, more so than other athletes, are defined by the statistics they accumulate over the course of their careers. Recently, much has been made of impact that the steroid era has had on baseball’s record books. Cheating was involved, which makes the era seem tainted, but this was not the first time baseball has seen a change in playing style. Players in the early and middle part of the 20th century also played under circumstances that allowed them to set records that will likely never be broken. I’ve spent way too much time browsing Baseball-Reference.com’s Leaders & Records Section and in doing so have come across a lot of interesting stuff. Let’s take a look at some of baseball’s records and examine whether or not they’ll ever be broken. This is by no means a complete list of records, just a collection of a few of the interesting and important ones. Warning: the stat geek in me came out in this post, so there are a lot numbers and facts in crammed in here; I tried to break it up with some pictures, but this isn’t for the faint of heart. In no particular order:
762 - Career Home Runs, Barry Bonds, Status: Breakable – We’ll get to a few more of Bonds’ records later, but I want to get the home runs out of the way. One of the poster boys for the steroid era, it has never been fully proven that Bonds was using performance-enhancing drugs, but I think it’s safe to say there are very few people who think he was clean. For that reason, there are a lot of people, myself included, who are rooting for someone who isn’t linked to steroids to surpass Bonds, take back one of the sports’ most coveted records and legitimize it once more. But who will that savior be? Ken Griffey, Jr. had a chance but he’s been plagued with injuries and Alex Rodriguez might still get there, but now he’s admitted to using PEDs during some of his most productive years. More than likely, the only active player who has a shot at the home run record is Albert Pujols. He’s on a good pace and is young enough, that if he stays healthy he’ll be able to rewrite the baseball record books.
While there are countless things that I am excited about for the upcoming NFL football season, there are also a handful of things that I really don’t want to see and/or hear about. I struggled to come up with 10 total things and some may seem like a stretch because, well, they are. I really, really like watching football so it can be hard to complain about. If anyone, however, can find some faults and flaws, then I’m that guy. So here is my list, in no particular order of annoyance.
I’ve already heard enough from #85 this summer to last me several seasons. From the whole “Ochocinco” thing, to finding out he forgot to capitalize the first letter when he legally changed his name so he has to go by “ochocinco”, to him saying he is going to ingore the request of the NFL and tweet during games, I’m tired of hearing about him. I don’t mind his touchdown celebrations, but the problem is you have to score touchdowns in order to do them. Chad had 4 TDs last year and his worst overall season since his rookie year. You could say he pulled a Freddie Mitchell last year, and by that I mean talking substantially more than your on the field performance allocates. Speaking of Mitchell, aka “FredEx”, how is this for irony? Chad needs to get off the Twitter and let his performance speak for itself.
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Last week I wrote that the Blue Jays should trade Roy Halladay to the highest bidder. He deserves it after all he has done for that team and city.
This week, I am taking a look at another big name player and soon to be free agent: Matt Holliday.
I got to visit the Phillies this past Wednesday for their amazing comeback victory against the Reds. How did the night measure up?
+405 ft Home Run
It’s not a complete visit to Citizens Bank Park without watching a Phillie smash a home run. Jayson Werth’s game-tying blast came in the bottom of the sixth.
-3371.4 millimeters/hr Schuylkill Expressway
An accident held us up from getting in to the game on time, but we didn’t miss anything.
+$78/month SEPTA
One thing Philly’s public transit gets right is the post-game return trip. A subway whisks you from the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia all the way to Center City in just minutes; from there you can get where you need to without having sat in a stadium parking lot for an hour. Also, taking SEPTA allows you to save the $12 parking charge.
