Thank you Captain

Today there is an epidemic of sadness coursing through the veins of baseball fans across the country with the core of it coming out of New York. Derek Jeter will never wear Yankee pinstripes again and baseball won’t ever be the same for many Yankees fans.

Jeter spoiled Yankees fans for 20 years. We are an unrelenting fan base that demand greatness every day from our team and Jeter thrived on our demands. He played the game the right way and made it easy to cheer for him. He excelled in the big moments and always made us expect greatness. While he never put up gaudy numbers like others in his era, his consistency proved he was the greatest of them all.

Jeter represented an amazing time to be a Yankees fan, in his 20 years he captured five World Series rings and seven American League pennants. He became the face of the winningest franchise in the history of sports and of the game he played. Young boys and girls became Yankees fans because of Jeter and now they’ve grown into young men and women and are passing along their love for the Yankee captain to their families.

Jeter’s professionalism has caused other major leaguers to marvel at him. He is revered by others in his profession and is held up as the model they aspire to be. Former and current teammates praise him for being a great leader, for playing hard every play and leaving it all on the field. He never took plays off and did everything he could to win, whether it was a sacrifice bunt to move a runner over or sacrificing his body by diving into the stands.

Derek was the picture of perfection in many fan’s eyes. He played hard for them on the field and never made off the field headlines which would make them regret rooting for him. There was never a split between Jeter fans and Jeter haters because the latter never existed. Fans might not have liked him for beating their teams but they couldn’t do anything but respect his tenacity and gameplay.

Jeter usually showed a cool demeanor on the field but there wasn’t much better than seeing him celebrate. His big smile while holding the Commissioner’s Trophy after winning the 2009 World Series is implanted in the heads of fans. The Jeter fist pump will be remembered by Yankees fans as a sign of triumph and opposing fans as acknowledgement of defeat. Last night, though, he provided maybe the greatest image of them all.

With a runner on second base during a tie game in the bottom of the ninth Jeter strode to the plate for the last time ever at Yankee Stadium. In classic “Jeterian” fashion he provided a dramatic ending to baseball fans worldwide. He simply brought his arms in and smacked a pitch through the hole between first and second like he’s done so many times before and after rounding first and seeing the winning run score he jumped with both arms reaching toward the sky.

When Jeter was a young boy he dreamed he could reach for the stars and play shortstop for the New York Yankees. With his hands held high last night he didn’t have to reach any longer because he finally grasped them. 

                                           

What can A-Rod do for you?

Honestly, I’m not sure which is more fun to watch; Yankee stadium workers doing the YMCA in between innings, the cap game on the Yankee stadium jumbotron or the 2014 Yankees offense. If I were forced to make a choice I’d say the cap game is the most fun (I’m really good at it), then the YMCA grounds crew and lastly the abysmal lineup that Joe Girardi is forced to run onto the field every night.

 Many Yankees fans are clamoring for Girardi’s head, blaming him for his team underperforming. I don’t agree with those fans. I think Girardi has done a tremendous job keeping his team in the playoff race. Think about this, there was a point where the Yankees were missing 80% of their starting rotation. They lost Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia for the whole season and no one really knows if what to expect in Masahiro Tanaka’s return this weekend. Michael Pineda also missed time due to injury and a suspension. Yet, the rotation has been the only shining star of this team. To be honest, the Yankees’ pitching looks like it could be formidable for years to come, and the fans might have something to root for in upcoming years.

 While the Yankees pitching has been very good, it’s the offense that has kept this team from making a playoff run. If you’re a Yankees fan, you might want to turn away, because this is ugly. The Yankees are tied for dead last in runs scored in the American League with 581. Along the same lines, their 543 RBI are fewest among AL teams. Their .245 team batting average is 12th of the 15 AL teams and their OBP is 14th. They have hit 137 homeruns and slugged a paltry .378, good for eight and tenth in the AL, respectively. The only bright spot on this otherwise putrid offense would be the 105 stolen bases which ranks third in the AL.

Without naming names, if I were to say to you the Yankees will add a former three-time AL MVP who has more than 650 homeruns and is just shy of 2,000 career RBI, what would you say? My first thought—after trying not to acknowledge this player is Alex Rodriguez—would be to say, I definitely think this type of guy could help this offense. Many Yankees fans are wondering why the team is going to bring A-Rod back next season after his suspension ends. There are a couple of reasons; they still owe him $60 million and he can help. As a Yankees fan, I can’t wait to see what A-Rod can do next year at the plate. A-Rod will do several things for this team. He’ll make people talk about them and want to watch them. There is only one thing worse than a bad team, that’s a boring team. The Yankees are both, terrible and boring. A-Rod will definitely eliminate one of those categories, boring. He also should be of some assistance in how bad they are.

A-Rod’s presence in a lineup isn’t just about what he can do. For arguments sake, let’s say Rodriguez hits 20 homeruns and drives in 75 runs next year, the Yankees will take those numbers in a heartbeat. Those numbers mean that he’s productive and he’s able to protect other players. Beltran, McCann and Teixeira will all see better pitches knowing there is another dangerous bat in the lineup. Let’s forget about next year for a second though. Let’s put those numbers on the current ball-club. 20 homeruns would be second on the team and 75 RBI would lead the team, taking a lot of pressure off of other guys to carry the load.

I know Rodriguez won’t put up the numbers he used to but no one is expecting him to. As long as he stays in the lineup he will be useful. I believe being suspended for 2014 will be a blessing in disguise. MLB gave him the opportunity to rest his body and allow time to heal. He’s had time to step back, live his life on his own terms, stay out of the spotlight and just be Alex Rodriguez. He hasn’t had the chance to just be himself for a long time. He’s always caught up in scrutiny about something. He can re-learn how to love the game that gave him everything. He can get that passion to play back. He can reset.

The 2014 Yankees offense was terrible without Alex Rodriguez. He may not solve every problem they have but we might as well welcome him back because the 2015 offense can’t be much worse with him.

Derek Jeter: The Greatest Player of his Generation

With the sixth pick of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft the New York Yankees selected a tall, scrawny shortstop out of a Midwest high school. Over the course of the next 22 years that scrawny kid became a five time world champion, a 14-time all-star, captain of the winningest franchise in professional sports and the face of Major League baseball. In that time, though, Derek Jeter also became the greatest player of his generation.

It would be foolish to deny or not discuss that Jeter’s generation of baseball took place mostly during the steroid era. Jeter’s peers were hitting homeruns at incredible paces. They were putting up numbers that had only been reached one time or a handful of times in the history of the game. Players were not playing on an even playing field. For many, it wasn’t fair. But Jeter rose above all of that and played his game to the best of his ability. And because he played it righteously and honestly he ascended to the top of the game and performed at a high level for 20 years.

Jeter came up at a time in baseball where shortstops were becoming not only cornerstone defensive players but they were also becoming the big threats in lineups. His contemporaries at shortstop include players like Nomar Garciaparra and Alex Rodriguez. There was constant conversation about who the best of the three was. Mariners’ fans claimed that A-Rod was because of his power and production. Red Sox fans argued that Nomar was the best. He was the one winning multiple batting titles as well as producing in the heart of the lineup. Jeter didn’t care. He kept his mouth shut and sat in the number two hole of the Yankees lineup and kept hitting. A-Rod switched teams twice, was forced to a new position and got caught up with steroids ending up in a yearlong suspension in 2014. Garciaparra moved teams several times and his career ended in 2009 due to ongoing injuries. Once again, Jeter rose above his contemporaries.

Jeter never put up gaudy numbers. In fact he only reached 20 homeruns thrice and 100 RBI once during his storied career. Jeter was never the American League MVP, although he finished in the top-10 eight different times. Although many experts categorized Jeter as a deficient fielder, he racked up five Gold Gloves. And while Jeter wasn’t a power hitter either four times he brought home the Silver Slugger award. Those numbers aren’t the important ones to Jeter and they aren’t the ones that define who he is.

What defines Jeter is simply his fistful of rings, the five World Series championship teams that he played for. He never cared about accolades, although he has many. He never cared about being on the back pages of newspapers, although he appeared there several times. He never cared about playing in all-star games, although he is about to appear in his 14^th. None of that ever mattered to Jeter. All he ever wanted was to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy and be the last team standing. Jeter was lucky enough to do that five times.

Jeter has played baseball at a high level for so many years. He has worked hard day in and day out to be the best that he could be. By working so hard he became the captain of the most storied franchise in sports. He became the face of our National Pastime. He is now the all-time leader in many New York Yankee categories.

During his 20 year career he may never have been considered the “best” player in the game. But when we look back at the last 20 years of baseball, Derek Jeter will be looked at above every other player and we will all know that scrawny kid from Kalamazoo, MI was the only real MVP.

Open letter to LBJ

Dear LeBron James:

I am one of your biggest critics. I have let it be known to anyone willing to listen that I am far from your biggest fan; I’ve even gone as far as heckling you via Twitter. I know this letter doesn’t mean anything to you and why should it? I’m simply a sports fan, one of many who will probably never have the opportunity shake your hand or say to you, “Nice to meet you.” Experts began clamoring over your immense talent and potential while you were still in high school and when you joined the NBA we quickly learned that those experts were right. You became the “next Jordan” very quickly and I didn’t like that and because of that I didn’t like you. Today that opinion has changed.

I’d like to tell you that I’m only a couple years younger than you. You and I grew up at the same time watching the same basketball stars and both rooting for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. I’m sure you and I celebrated very similarly as young boys during the Bulls dynasty runs. I’m sure you also shot basketballs pretending to play next to Jordan and Pippen and dreaming of one day winning a championship. For one of us that dream became a reality. Unfortunately I’m 5’8” and was never all that good at basketball. With all that being said, I root against you because you threaten Jordan’s legacy.

Four years ago I disparaged you for joining the Heat and taking the “easy way out.” In the last four years I’ve probably said “Jordan wouldn’t have done that” in regards to something you did probably 1,000 times. And the truth is I will probably say it 1,000 more times in the next four years. I don’t see me rooting for you anytime soon (except during the Olympics) but today with your decision you have turned one of your most fervent detractors into a fan.

I am happy for you. I am happy for Cleveland. I don’t think you should have ever left Cleveland four years ago but you did and that’s in the past. Now you can go home and reconcile with that fan-base. I will still root for the Bulls and root against you because I don’t want you to win six-plus championships and eclipse Jordan. I will still criticize you if you only score eight points in a playoff game. I will still hope that Joakim Noah gets in your face and shuts you down when you’re trying to get to the rim. But I will also applaud you when you deserve it. For me though, most importantly, I will not send you spiteful tweets again because you do not deserve that from anyone, especially not me.

Today I applaud you for doing the right thing. You’re going home and I’m sure there is no better feeling that that. Good Luck to you in all your endeavors.

Now go ahead and tap those Nike’s three times and say, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” because you deserve to.

Sincerely,

Still not your biggest fan—Tim Claro

P.S. Let’s go Bulls! 

Why Tino Martinez deserves Monument Park

Last weekend, Tino Martinez was given a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. Besides retiring a player’s number, it is probably the highest honor the Yankees can give to a former player. Since the plaque dedication the Yankees have faced much scrutiny about giving Martinez a plaque. Many Yankees fans and other teams’ fans feel Martinez simply wasn’t good enough to earn this honor and that adding a player like Martinez waters down the greatness of the players in Monument Park. Those fans are all wrong and here’s why.

Let me get this out there, Martinez is my all-time favorite baseball player and my opinion is probably somewhat biased. But my bias doesn’t make what Martinez did as a Yankee any better or worse. His play in pinstripes justifies why the Yankees organization believes he belongs in in Monument Park.

Martinez played 7 seasons (1996-2001, 2005) with the Yankees and in that time he helped the team win four World Series titles and compiled 192 homeruns and 739 RBI, good for 17^th and 21^st all-time for the Yankees, respectively. Those are good numbers and definitely put him on the list of the top 25 or 50 greatest Yankees ever, but they don’t really get him into Monument Park on their own.

If those numbers don’t put him in then let’s compare Martinez to his contemporaries at first base. I’ve taken arguably the top-10 first baseman from 1996-2001 (Thanks to some help from an SB Nation article), which was Martinez’s longest tenure as a Yankee. I need to thank baseball-reference.com for the ease of their website in helping to make this list:

		G	R	H	HR	RBI	BA
Thome, J	1996-2001	881	623	868	227	641	0.288
Delgado, C	1996-2001	909	571	935	217	671	0.287
Vaughn, Mo	1996-2000	756	472	892	188	579	0.307
Olerud, J	1996-2001	919	522	967	116	550	0.302
McGriff, F	1996-2001	910	455	976	159	597	0.291
Clark, T	1996-2001	745	418	759	153	503	0.278
Grace, M	1996-2001	900	515	1010	81	493	0.308
Karros, E	1996-2001	884	429	900	168	583	0.269
Young, K	1996-2001	741	400	698	113	464	0.27
Martinez, T	1996-2001	923	523	966	175	690	0.279

Martinez leads all these first baseman in, arguably, the most important category, RBI. He was also the most durable first baseman during the time racking up 923 games played. He was third in runs, fourth in hits and fourth in homeruns. The biggest detractor would be his finishing seventh in batting average. The fact that he played in 95% of his games and was considered an RBI machine, driving in 100+ RBI every year except for one (2000) proves that he was one of the best first baseman during his time with the Yankees.

Now we’ll discuss the other things Martinez did for the Yankees. It’s true that Martinez mostly struggled in the playoffs with the Yankees. But when the Yankees needed him most, Martinez often turned up his game, providing some of the most dramatic Yankee postseason memories we’ve ever seen. In game one of the 1998 World Series, after going five for 30 in the first two rounds of the playoffs that year, Tino launched a go-ahead Grand Slam into the right field upper deck at Yankee Stadium. Several members of the organization mentioned this as being the big moment of the series which gave the Yankees all the momentum they would need in the sweep of the Padres, it also helped cap off the greatest season in baseball history. The Yankees finished the 1998 season with a 125-50 record.

Martinez would provide more drama in the 2001 World Series. The Yankees were trailing the Diamondbacks three to one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. They were also trailing the series two games to one. The Diamondbacks were one out from taking a commanding three game to one lead when Tino smashed a two-run homerun over the right-center field wall tying the game. The Yankees would go on to win the game although they would falter in game seven of the series, a game in which Tino had a game tying RBI single in the seventh inning.

Lastly, there is one major category that goes into play that makes his numbers, his comparison to other players and his heroics irrelevant. This category can’t be quantitated by numbers or “clutch” moments or World Series victories, it’s what he meant to the organization, his teammates and the fans. Tino came to New York and had to replace a Yankee legend and former captain in Don Mattingly. Not only did he do it, he did it exceedingly well with grace and class. Before anything else, Tino was a winner. He played every game with everything he had. That’s what endeared him to the fans, his teammates and the organization.

Martinez’s plaque in Monument Park isn’t solely based on numbers, if it were, the plaque wouldn’t be there. His passion for the game, his attitude in striving to win every day and his hard work combined with his numbers is why he’s in Monument Park. The Yankees loved having Tino and he loved being a Yankee and now he’ll always be one. 

A Difficult Journey to Triumph

Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

-Author Unknown

We watch professional athletes play sports on a daily basis, whether it’s baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey, soccer or tennis. We cheer on our favorite players and our favorite teams. We cry when our team loses, we cheer when our team wins. We feel the heartache when our teams were so close and we revel in the joy when our team wins it all. We ask for trades, we analyze moves, we beg for new coaches and players as if they were trading cards. But behind every groan of frustration and every shout of approval we give, another person, or persons, is responsible for that emotion. Sometimes we forget that person is also human and they go through the same tribulations we do.

The date was January 6, 2013 and the NHL owners and players had reached a tentative deal for a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement. Excitement brewed with NHL players as a new season was now only weeks away. Free agent Dominic Moore, though, was not one of the players excited for the upcoming season. Moore's mind wasn't with hockey. He had left his teammates in San Jose, the previous season, to tend to his ailing wife. But her health continued failing as she battled liver cancer. By the time the deal was ratified a few days later Moore's wife, Katie, had passed away. Moore decided it would be best for him to sit out that shortened season.

Many athletes tell us they do the best healing when they’re doing what they love to do. In this case, though, Moore couldn’t do that. Healing wouldn’t take place on the ice for him. He needed time away. In July of 2013 he and the New York Rangers, the team who drafted him 10 years earlier, agreed on a deal to bring him back to the Blueshirts. It was a mostly unremarkable season for Moore, who picked up 18 points in 73 games, for the Rangers. His moment was coming, though. It’s often said that these things have a way of working themselves out. Tragedy oftentimes turns into triumph and Moore was badly in need of that triumph and today he finds himself four wins away from hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup because his moment came.

The Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens battled through five tough games of hockey. Each team lost players due to injury. Each team lost players due to penalty. Neither team was 100% by the time game six arrived but both teams played some of their best hockey of the postseason. The Rangers defense suffocated the Habs offense and replacement goaltender Dustin Tokarski was almost perfect, in fact, he was perfect against everyone except for Moore. With time ticking down in the second period Brian Boyle found Moore cutting in front of the net. A perfect pass and a perfect shot later, the Rangers had a one to zero lead. They wouldn’t need anything else. How true it is that these things have a way of working themselves out.

In January of 2013 Moore was going through perhaps the most difficult time in his life. Less than 18 months later, in the town where his career began, he scored the biggest goal of his life and sent his team to the finals. He knows, and the Rangers know, the job isn’t complete yet. They’re four wins from completing the ultimate goal.

The journey hasn’t been easy for Dominic Moore. Four more wins, though, and maybe it will have been worth it.

For more information about Dominic and Katie Moore or to donate please visit www.katiemoore.org

My Growing Passion for Hockey

My mindset toward the NHL has always been, at best, apathy. In my house baseball ruled sports, followed by basketball and football and somewhere down the road was hockey. I chose to root for the New York Rangers because I lived in New York and didn’t have an allegiance to anyone else. The truth is, though, that I didn’t really care about anything hockey. That mindset was changed because of one game; game seven of the 2001 Stanley Cup finals.

Without looking it up, I couldn’t tell you who played or who even won the Stanley Cup in 2001. The only reason I remember that it was 2001 is because I watched the game with my grandfather in a hotel lobby because we were visiting my cousin to celebrate his graduation. It was after that game that I became a fan of the sport of hockey. I watched the game, completely entranced in the action and emotion, with the biggest sports fan I’d ever known. After the game, I remember thinking that I’d never seen two teams play with such intensity and I loved every second of it.

Later that same year the New York Yankees lost game seven of the World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. While baseball is my favorite sport that game didn’t compare to one I’d watched months earlier without a rooting interest. Following the Stanley Cup finals in 2001 I began to pay attention to hockey and I would always see how the Rangers were doing in the standings. I would always try to catch game sevens in the playoffs because I loved the emotion from the players. But I still didn’t find hockey interesting enough to watch during the regular season.

When I made my decision to go to Plattsburgh State University, it had nothing to do with sports. The school was a Division-III NCAA program and didn’t get any national coverage but we had a great hockey program and I loved going to the games. I was crammed into the seats during the 2007-2008 SUNYAC championship when Plattsburgh’s men’s team won the conference. The little college town erupted that night and my hockey fandom grew a little bit more.

Following college I attended many minor league hockey games in Albany, NY. I watched the Albany River Rats and then the Albany Devils play many games at the Times Union Center and got the opportunity to stand right outside the ice. I loved watching the puck smash in front of the glass right in front of me. I loved feeling the boards rattle when players were checked where I was standing. I loved the speed of the game; the hard shots and the subsequent quick saves or fast goals fascinated me.

Little by little I became a bigger and bigger fan. Then during the 2011-2012 season the Rangers earned the first seed in the playoffs and made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the New Jersey Devils. That’s when I became hooked. Being so close and failing seemed like a travesty. The next season I attended my first NHL game where the Rangers beat the Capitals in DC. Then I went to game one of the Conference Quarterfinals where the Rangers lost 1-0 in overtime to the Capitals. Even though my team lost, the atmosphere in the Verizon Center that day gave me goose bumps. I loved it.

Now the Rangers are back in the Conference Finals and I’m so excited to watch them play. While I’ll always think baseball is the greatest sport in the world, there is no better sporting event to witness in person than a hockey game and there is no better sporting event to watch at home than a game seven in the NHL.

Death brings Life to the Rangers

The venue was Madison Square Garden on Mother’s day. Martin St. Louis’s had been uninspiring since joining the Rangers; in 19 regular season games he tallied one goal and seven assists. Then the playoffs came and St. Louis started with a bang with two goals and five points in the first three games. But then it was back to much of what had become the norm, zero goals and only one point for the next nine Rangers contests and that wasn’t the worst that happened to St. Louis. In the meantime his mother had unexpectedly passed away and all of a sudden all those scoreless games didn’t mean so much to St. Louis.

The Rangers traded their team captain to acquire St. Louis from the Tampa Bay Lightning. St. Louis had been known for his offensive prowess and was coming off a year that he led the NHL in points. With their goaltending situation secured for years to come and a strong defense, the Rangers knew the only way to the Stanley Cup was to add offense. St. Louis was supposed to be that last link to Lord Stanley. But he labored through a difficult adjustment with the Rangers. His pucks couldn’t find the net and Rangers fans were becoming irritated with his lack of offense.

A strong start to the playoffs for St. Louis gave fans hope that he was coming out of his funk but the notion was quickly squashed. St. Louis went through the next eight games with only one point from an assist and once again fans began voicing their displeasure with St. Louis’s play. St. Louis couldn’t have been happy about his play either but then in an instant, suddenly his play seemed to matter very little. After he learned of his mother’s abrupt death he flew home to Montreal to be with his family and the Rangers were left to wonder if he would be back for game five facing possible elimination. Under the circumstances no one would have blamed him for not playing.

After speaking with his dad and deciding that his mother would have wanted him to play, St. Louis headed back to Pittsburgh to help his team take on the Penguins and elimination. They conquered both that day winning five to one. The Rangers had scored two goals the previous three games in the series and were showing no urgency on the ice. Then, with the season on the line and a renewed determination, they destroyed the Penguins in Pittsburgh. St. Louis didn’t score in the game but his presence in the locker-room meant more than any point could have for his teammates. He hadn’t been with the team long but that day his commitment to his team proved he had become a New York Ranger.

Game six was at home on Mother’s Day and St. Louis was playing just days after his mother’s passing. The MSG crowd started chanting his name and he promptly replied to the cheers by being in the right place at the right time. At 3 minutes and 34 seconds into the game a Derek Stepan blocked shot ricocheted off St. Louis’s leg and bounced into the goal and the Rangers took a lead they would never relinquish. The Rangers won the game three to one and once again staved off elimination and sent the series back to Pittsburgh where they’ve already won twice in the series.

The Rangers are now one win away from making an improbable comeback a reality. They were down three games to one and were showing no signs of life. In an unfortunate twist of irony a death in their family may have given them that breath of life they’ve needed. They’ve rallied around a teammate that is hurting and are only one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and one step closer to the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup.

AL East: A Beast or a Feast?

Every year, it is expected that four of the five American League East teams will compete for first place in the division. Between the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Orioles it seems to be a crapshoot who will eventually take the crown. This year the Blue Jays have jumped into the fray and are vying for first in the division. Notoriously the division has been considered one of the strongest in baseball and they’ve manhandled opponents seemingly at will. While MLB pundits predicted the same thing this year, a different trend is beginning to take place inside the powerful confines of the AL East.

Right now the Yankees lead the division with a 15 and 10 record, the O’s are second with a .500 record at 12 and 12, two-and-a-half games out and the Blue Jays (12-13), Red Sox (12-14) and Rays (11-14) respectively follow. At this juncture in the season, everyone expects division to be close as the good teams haven’t been able to separate from the bad teams. Things will change and one or two teams in the division will separate from the rest. While the Yankees are the only team above .500 currently, none of these teams have a positive run differential. This means each of these teams have given up more runs than they’ve scored.

Why is that interesting, though? Each team is within eight runs of each other. The Rays and Red Sox each have scored division low 105 runs and the Blue Jays have scored the most with 113. The fewest runs allowed by any team is 114 by both the O’s and the Jays. This means none of the AL East teams have scored more runs than any AL East team has allowed. This begs to question just how good this division really is.

Of the other ten American League teams, only three have a negative run differential making eight total AL teams with fewer runs scored than given up.  Of the eight teams, only two teams have a .500 record or better; the O’s and the Yankees. Those records might be indicative of the division though. The Yankees are 10 and 7 against AL East foes and the Orioles are 10 and 8. Those are hardly great numbers but they contribute to the idea that the only teams that are playing relatively well with a negative run differential are teams in a weak division. The Yankees have feasted on the Red Sox in the early season and are 5 and 2 against their rivals, including a 14 to 5 blowout.

The Yankees, Orioles and Rays have also played well in one-run games and while winning those games is good for your record they don’t really help out your run differential. A trend of winning one-run games though isn’t ideal for good teams because in those contests anything can happen. The old baseball adage of “a bloop and a blast” could quickly change your fortunes. Good teams need to win by a wider margin of victory than one run. It will lessen the wear on your bullpen of always pitching in high pressure situations and it also proves your offense is capable of carrying the load when needed.

As the season continues, this trend will almost assuredly change and all these teams need to hope it does. Only four teams since 2009 have a winning record and a negative run differential. Simply put, the rule is teams need to have positive run differentials to be competitive. Right now, the AL East is proving the rule true with the Yankees as the exception.

The AL East is notoriously known as the “Beast of the East” because it’s such a difficult division to win. One of these teams will win the division with a positive run differential but the rest of the league might continue to feast on the beast until one team can separate themselves from the pack.

Did Red Sox Manager Sabotage his own team?

By calling out the 25-year-old Michael Pineda and his obvious use of pine tar last Wednesday night, John Farrell, the Red Sox manager, won the battle against the Yankees. If Thursday’s game was any indication, though, he is losing his grip (no pun intended) on the war. The Red Sox started their own mid-20’s pitcher Felix Doubront, 26, in Thursday’s rubber game of the series and the young pitcher failed to make it out of the third inning. Doubront was largely ineffective in the contest and his team’s five errors didn’t help in the cause. Is it possible that by Farrell calling out Pineda the previous night he really only sabotaged his own ball club?

The only thing dumber than Pineda putting pine tar on his neck Wednesday night would have been Doubront or CC Sabathia, the Yankees Thursday starter, to have used pine tar during the game. Sabathia’s outing wasn’t spectacular but it was still very strong, he struck out eight Red Sox hitters in six innings and was certainly much better than Doubront. While this is complete speculation; is it possible that Doubront’s command was minimized by not using pine tar? Of course you can say Sabathia’s command should have been diminished also. While that’s true Sabathia has 14 years of experience, including a Cy Young award, to fall back on if he can’t use pine tar to help his grip. Doubront has five years of mediocre major league experience to fall back on when he is in trouble. Farrell knew who the following day starters would be when he asked the umpires to check on Pineda. He knew he had a young pitcher going up against a possible future Hall-of-Famer who doesn’t rattle easily. Why call attention to pine tar at that moment?

Doubront pitched 2-2/3 innings in his start. While only three of the seven runs he gave up were earned, he clearly didn’t have the control he needed. He walked two batters in the short appearance which by no means is terrible but he also surrendered two wild pitches when he’d only thrown one in his previous four starts combined. The Yankees also got six hits against Doubront in the outing suggesting the pitcher couldn’t hit his spots. One of those hits was a homerun by Mark Teixeira over the Green Monster in left field on a hanging breaking ball. On top of that homerun, of the eight outs he recorded only one came via strikeout.

It all boils down to one thing, Doubront couldn’t command his pitches. The question remains, though, why couldn’t Doubront control his pitches? Every pitcher has a bad game occasionally, there’s no getting around that. But Doubront was coming off a very strong outing against a powerful Baltimore Orioles lineup in which he only gave up two runs in 6-2/3 innings while issuing only two walks. Oftentimes when a pitcher has one strong start they’re able to push it into a second good start and get on a groove. Doubront wasn’t able to do that, though. Granted his defense failed him by making five errors, including one of his own. Five errors or not, though, Doubront still pitched poorly.

After Pineda’s ejection on Wednesday pitchers across the league, both retired and active, said that “everyone” uses some sort of agent to help get a grip on the ball to help their control. On Thursday night the Red Sox starter couldn’t get into the fourth inning. That could; of course, be a coincidence but the pitcher’s lack of command makes a coincidence seem unlikely.

On Wednesday, Farrell opened up a can of worms by having Pineda ejected. It may have helped his team win the game but the season is long and it’s quite possible the ejection will lead to sabotage instead of success.

Foreign Success making Baseball World's Pastime

There is no question that baseball is behind the times. It’s 2014 and they finally instituted a real system of instant replay to help with umpire decisions. In doing so though they’ve increased length of games which was always the concern from the beginning. In a county where people want immediate, fast-paced results baseball offers the exact opposite. It’s a game that is played at a slow pace and is worked through in methodical and deliberate ways. Baseball has always been known as America’s favorite pastime but if you look closely the sport has become too worldly to be called America’s anything.

Prior to the 2014 baseball season ESPN released a list of the top 100 players in MLB. Of the top-10 players five of them were born outside the United States and 35 of the top-100 were either born outside the US or of direct descent of another country. According to MLB, only 26.1 percent of major leaguers were born outside the country. Of every player in the league, only 26 percent are from another country while 35 percent of the top 100 are from another country. That’s almost 10 percent higher than the league average. That shows an increase in talent from other parts of the world.

Look at the three World Baseball Classics that have been played. The first two were won by Japan and the Dominican Republic dominated the third. In fact the USA has never placed above fourth in the event. Yes, there are outside reasons why US players don’t perform well in the event but the point stands that they haven’t ever medaled in the three tournaments. Baseball is being played all across the world. Teams are getting in bidding wars over prospects from Cuba. Teams throw heaps of money at players that have never played a big league game.

The top two free agents this past offseason were Masahiro Tanaka and Robinson Cano. Cano, a native of the Dominican Republic, landed a 10-year contract after proving to be one of the best players in the world. Tanaka on the other hand was given a seven-year deal worth $155 million and he’d never thrown a pitch in the major leagues. In fact, he played in a country (Japan) where they play with a smaller baseball. The point is that the best players in the world are not coming from the United States. Remember the numbers, 50 percent of the top-10 and 35 percent of the top-100 are of foreign descent. Teams are reaching out to other countries to find the next best talent.

Mike Trout is arguably the best player in the game and he is from New Jersey. But for how great Trout is Miguel Cabrera from Venezuela is right on his tail. Sure Clayton Kershaw is probably the best pitcher in the game and he’s from Texas. But right behind him is Yu Darvish of Japan and Felix Hernandez of Venezuela. Major League Baseball even went as far as to start the 2014 season in another country, Australia.

Baseball has realized their brand is failing in the United States. The reasons are quite simple, length of games and lack of action. Football has become, by far, the model sports business in the US and its left baseball behind. In order for MLB to find a way to compete they’ve realized they need a world market. The only way to get the world market is to get players from other countries and promote their sport in those countries.

Becoming a more worldly game might be the only chance baseball can compete with the ever-growing NFL. But by doing so it can never again be America’s Favorite Pastime, which might not be that bad after all.

When Opportunity Knocks, will Carmelo Answer?

Winning a championship in sports is an extremely difficult task in any level of competition. Winning a D1 college championship in basketball is extraordinarily difficult in the one-game playoff system that is March Madness. Winning an Olympic gold medal poses an even greater difficulty in the fact that you have to first be good enough to be selected to the team of the greatest in the world and still go out and defeat the best players from every other country. Winning an NBA championship may be the greatest difficulty because of the length of the season, postseason, the opponents and the wear and tear on the body. Only eight basketball players have ever accomplished the feat of winning all three and there is another that has an opportunity to do so.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are arguably the two best players in the NBA today. While both have won an Olympic gold medal, neither will have a chance to win an NCAA title as LeBron never attended college and Durant played only one season, losing in the tournament. Their legacies will ultimately be defined solely by their careers in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony, on the other hand, has a chance to succeed anything those two men and almost every other NBA basketball player in history has ever done: win an NCAA title, an Olympic Gold medal and an NBA Championship.

While that in itself would be historic he already has two Olympic Gold medals and only one other man has ever won two gold medals as well as a college title and professional title. You may have heard of that man, his name is Michael Jordan. Carmelo has an opportunity to join Michael Jordan as the only people to ever win in all the biggest stages and twice for their country. But Carmelo doesn’t need to stop there. In two years, he will probably play in the Olympics again and go for a third gold medal which would put him in even more exclusive territory, his own.

Before we think about Anthony winning a third gold medal his current resume still lacks the NBA title and let’s face it, he’s not going to win in New York. Back in January Melo scored a career-high 63 points in a game, and no one batted an eyelash. LeBron scored 62 points last week, one fewer than Melo, and the story the next day was about how it was one of the all-time great performances. What does that tell you? No one cares about basketball in New York; no one cares about the Knicks. Carmelo needs a championship ring to be considered an all-time great player. His legacy will always be in doubt until he gets one, if he gets one.

At the end of this season he has a chance to leave New York and go elsewhere to win a title. But there is one thing that could truly hold that up, money. If Melo leaves New York he will be leaving a lot of money on the table. The question that he needs to ask himself is How much is it worth to win a ring? Carmelo has a ton of money and it’s still not like he will be playing for free no matter where he goes. As the incumbent team, the Knicks can offer him an extra year and $33million more than any other team. Leaving the Knicks would mean leaving that money and extra year on the table. Not only that but there aren’t many places he can go that give him a great chance at winning.

If he decides to leave the Knicks in search for a title and another big market, his choices will be extremely limited. In fact there may only be one choice, Chicago. The Bulls have put together a roster that plays hard every day. They’ve played the better part of two consecutive seasons without their best player, Derrick Rose—a former MVP—and have surpassed every expectation. They currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and last year they made it to the second round of the playoffs with a third string starting point guard. According to many news outlets the Bulls will go hard after Carmelo this offseason and it will be in both their best interests to join forces.

The Bulls went to New York last week and laid a beating on the Knicks; they jumped off to a 16 to one lead and never looked back and won 109-90. Anthony witnessed firsthand how good the Bulls can be without him and Rose. Imagine what they could be with him and Rose. The Bulls need Melo to get past LeBron’s Heat. Melo needs the Bulls to become a champion. They would make a perfect match.

Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever to wear a basketball uniform but one ring for Carmelo puts him in the same territory as Jordan. One ring and one more gold medal put him in his own exclusive territory. Carmelo has a choice coming up, he can continue losing in New York or he can win that elusive ring. To do so, though, he’ll have to wear the same uniform as the greatest ever.

If the Knicks left New York, would anyone notice...or even care?

New York and sports go hand-in-hand. There have been a long line of great sports franchises that have come from the New York region. The rich history of winning sports franchises in New York has made the destination a must-see in all sports. Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden are two of the most well-known sports complexes in the world. While sports in New York have such a strong link in most sports, basketball in New York hasn’t been so affable.

Many people thought LeBron James would sign with the New York Knicks following his reign in Cleveland. People thought the biggest star needed to play on the biggest stage. In baseball, yes, New York is the biggest stage. In football New York is, arguably, the biggest stage. But New York being the biggest stage in basketball is laughable.

In New York alone the Knicks are, at best, the fifth most liked franchise behind both baseball teams and both football teams. Even the New York Rangers in hockey might be more well-liked than the Knicks. The Knicks have won two championships since their inception in 1946 and those were in the early 1970’s. The team was able to bring in one of the best offensive players in Carmelo Anthony and they still can’t win.

When it comes to the NBA fans don’t think of the Knicks first. The history of the league is based around two franchises, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Following them would be the Chicago Bulls because of Jordan’s legacy and then there are a handful of teams that would come before the Knicks. In the NBA, New York is not an ideal location for anyone. The Knicks franchise has weak ownership, front office and coaching. There is no discipline on the players and they do one thing consistently well, lose.

Ask a New York sports fan the last time the Mets won a championship. They will know it was 1986; they’ll probably be able to tell you the defining moment of the World Series was when Bill Buckner let the ball roll through his legs. Ask that fan when the last time the Jets won a Super Bowl was. While they might not know the season, 1968-69, they should be able to tell you Joe Namath guaranteed victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. The point is the Mets and Jets usually play second fiddle to the Yankees and Giants and fans can still tell you about their greatest successes.

Besides playing in New York in “the most famous arena in the world,” there isn’t much pull to the Knicks. The Knicks haven’t been truly relevant since the 90’s when Patrick Ewing would go head-to-head with Jordan every year. Now they’re boring. They bring in stars and still lose. They’re not even good enough for opposing team’s fans to hate them because they have no substance. They’re not interesting anymore.

It will take a lot for the Knicks to be truly relevant and fun to watch again. They aren’t going to be able to bring great players so they will have to build a winning franchise with great drafts, smart trades and good personnel decisions. If they keep the status quo they will be in danger of playing second fiddle to the Brooklyn Nets, if they aren’t already.

Brett Gardner and the Yankees are a Perfect Fit

Hustle has been an on-going theme for me since the beginning of the off-season. I’ve centered much of my discussion around Robinson Cano and his lack of hustle and why the Yankees needed to go another direction. The off-season brought a lot of new faces to the Yankees organization and most of those players epitomize the word hustle but none more than the man whose contract they’ve recently extended; Brett Gardner.

Gardner will never be the most talented baseball player, he will never be the biggest baseball player and he will probably never be the best player on his team. But you will never see anyone give more effort than Gardner. Yankees fans have nicknamed his “GGBG” or Gritty, Gutsy Brett Gardner for the amount of effort he displays.

Gardner will never hit 20 homeruns in a season or drive in 80 runs but the Yankees will never ask him to do that. What they need from Gardner is exactly what he gives them: Greasy, fast speed. They need him to steal bases, beat out infield grounders to first and track down baseballs in the outfield. They need him to bunt for hits, move runners over and score runs. They’re not interested in balls flying over the right field fence.

Gardner was given a 5’10” body and 185 pounds to work with, hardly a baseball player’s physique. The average height and weight of a MLB player is between 6’1” and 6’2” between 205 and 210 pounds. What he wasn’t gifted with in size though, he makes up for in speed. The guy can flat out run fast. In 2011 he led the league in stolen bases with 49 and the year before that he had 47. Those numbers have dipped the last couple of years which include an injury-plagued 2012 season where he swiped only two bags and 2013 he “only” had 24 stolen bases. While 2013 was a down year in stolen bases he led the league in triples with 10. And that says a lot for a guy who plays his home games in Yankee Stadium, a notoriously small ballpark.

Gardner embodies everything the Yankees used to be known for. When they won four championships in five years between 1996 and 2000 they were all a bunch of hard-nosed ballplayers that put it on the line on a daily basis. It’s been a long time since the Yankees have had a team built around guys in their prime like that. This year is a return to that for the Yanks. They’ve added a tough-guy catcher Brian McCann, an outfielder who never takes a play off in Jacoby Ellsbury, a young pitcher who is known to crave big-game situations in Japanese sensation Masahiro Tanaka and now re-upping Gardner for another four years. It shows you something when they are willing to let their best player go in return for a group of high-character, hard-working guys.

Maybe the Yankees are saying they’re sick of the “white-collar professional” stigma that has plagued them over the past decade and they're realizing winning takes more than just professionalism. The Yankees are looking for guys that will fit both mindsets. Guys who give you everything they have while still carrying themselves “the Yankee way.” And Brett Gardner is the guy that embodies both those beliefs.

Besides Jeter, Gardner is the only home-grown everyday player. With Jeter’s impending retirement the Yankees are in need of a new leader. While Gardner will probably never be captain he can certainly be that leader. He needs to do it the same way Jeter did and it comes from one word: hustle. He needs to lead by example and show every guy on the team there is no reason to not give it your all.

The Yankees are only one year away from a complete changing of the guards as the last piece of the 90’s dynasty will be gone. But the Yankees are giving Gardner a chance to be the face of the new guard and maybe a new dynasty.

Mariners McClendon Prepares for Defeat

“…he just wouldn’t make that choice to run hard all the time. The reasons aren’t going to make sense. He might say his legs didn’t feel good, or he was playing every day and needed to save his energy. To me there was no acceptable answer.”
-Kevin Long

"I understand I get it. I was a major league player. There are times when you hit balls and you're frustrated as hell and you don't give it 100 percent. As long as you don't dog it down the line, what's the difference between 65 and 85 percent? Just run down the line. Sometimes that stuff is blown out of proportion.”
-Lloyd McClendon

Kevin Long, Yankees hitting coach, opened his mouth about Robinson Cano’s lack of hustle during his tenure with the Yankees. Cano’s new manager Lloyd McClendon of the Mariners fired back regarding Long’s comments. While the media is more focused on the argument between these two coaches, there is an underlying story that Mariners fans and Little League coaches across the nation should fear.

When a person starts playing baseball one of the first lessons they learn is hustle. That no matter the situation; whether you ground the ball to second base or hit a double in the gap, you need to run as hard as you can. Now I’ve never played a single MLB game in my life, not to mention 162 games in one season so I can’t attest to how tired a player might be on game 150. But as Long said, I don’t think there is an acceptable answer to not hustling.

McClendon on the other hand has now admitted that a lack of hustle is OK in his book, as long as the player is “frustrated as hell.” Mariners fans should heed warning right now because of that one comment. This man is leading the Seattle Mariners franchise and his first real public comments say that he is OK with players not hustling. But then he goes on to say, “What’s the difference between 65 and 85 percent?” The real answer to that question is that you should never know. No player should ever try at 65% or 85%.

I’m a Yankees fan so I am biased but I truly believe Yankees, Red Sox and Cardinals fans are the most intelligent fan-bases in baseball. Yankees fans have noticed that Cano doesn’t give it his all and while the initial sting of losing our second baseman hurt; we’ve realized in the long-run it’s better for the team. The Yankees lost a great ballplayer in Cano but they picked up a lot of guys who are known to play hard and hustle on every play. 

McClendon also mentions that he played baseball so he understands the frustrations. But take into account that he batted .244, with 294 career hits. And now he admits to not hustling on some of those at-bats. Maybe if he tried harder he could have been a better player. Maybe if he hustled in his career 100% of the time people would remember him in a positive light. David Eckstein wasn’t a great baseball player but I remember him for one thing—giving the game everything he had. In his career Eckstein batted .280 with 1,414 hits. He gave baseball everything and in 2006 baseball gave back to him when he won the World Series MVP.

McClendon might believe that not hustling to first base is blown out of proportion but the truth is that fans notice these things. He needs to realize that, at the end of the day, when a player of his doesn’t hustle it’s the fans, who pay to watch that player, who will be “frustrated as hell” when their team loses.

What Derek Jeter Means to me

There’s a famous saying that goes, “All good things must come to an end.” I don’t know who said and frankly it’s not very important. Although I’d grown up a Yankees fan I don’t remember anything before the 1995 season. My memories of that year was going to my first Yankees game and the Yankees losing to the Mariners in the ALDS. The following year the Yankees won their first World Series of my lifetime anchored by rookie shortstop Derek Jeter.

Although Jeter was never my favorite Yankee I now realize he means more to me than any Yankee I’ve ever rooted for. Today Jeter announced he was going to retire at the end of the season and I got very emotional. I wasn’t just emotional that I’d be losing Jeter but I realized I was losing a part of my childhood. I think I always felt that as long as Jeter played a part of the 10-year-old boy that watched him as a rookie still existed.

Jeter symbolizes the beginning of what I remember as a Yankees fan. Along with Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte, Jeter represented a core of home grown Yankees that I cheered for day-in and day-out for six to seven months each year. From 1996 to 2000 I was one of the luckiest baseball fans in the world. I saw my team win four championships in five years. It was a magical time that I hoped would never end. I grew up knowing nothing except championships and I expected it every year.

Slowly those five players started to leave the Yankees. Pettitte was first, followed by Bernie then Posada. I was lucky enough to see Pettitte return to the Yankees twice, once from the Astros and once from retirement. But as the number of these core Yankees dwindled a part of me was always OK with it because we at least still had Jeter. No matter what Jeter wasn’t going anywhere. After Posada’s retirement Pettitte, Rivera and Jeter were the only remaining stalwarts of a dynasty that had long ago diminished.

Yankees fans knew Rivera’s and Pettitte’s days were numbered and in 2013 both players retired for good. Although Pettitte was my favorite Yankee at the time I was OK with it, I believed it was their time, and once again we still had Jeter. Everything was going to be OK because we still had Jeter. I believed Jeter’s competitive nature would drive him to play another three or four years, at minimum. And I was happy with that.

Then today I received a notification on my phone saying Jeter would be retiring at the end of the season. I likened the sentiment to something my dad said to me and my mom the day our family dog had died, “We all knew this day was coming but it doesn’t make it any easier when it does.” It’s true, we did know this day had to come at some point. But no one knew it would be today. No one knew it would be this soon.

In reality though, it’s not too soon. Just because Jeter plays as hard as he did when he was 21, he’s not. He’s 39, soon to be 40. It makes me realize that part of my childhood is coming to an end. It’s an era that went by too quickly. As long as I had Jeter, I could hold onto that 10-year-old Yankee fan inside me that knew nothing about loss, who cheered his heart out for the Yankees.

Derek Jeter is retiring from baseball and the New York Yankees. It’s a sad day for me. I’ll miss Jeter and the Yankees that I grew up loving. But baseball will continue. The Yankees will field a team in 2015 without Jeter helming shortstop. Derek Jeter was a good thing for the Yankees and for me. It will be tough to see him go but all good things must come to an end.

Winning your Fantasy Baseball League

I’m not an expert on winning Fantasy Baseball. This article should probably be called “Coming in 3^rd Place in your Fantasy Baseball league” since two of the last three years I’ve finished as the second runner-up (And that’s not including 4 out of 5 years in 3^rd place in Fantasy Football also). But last year I finally prevailed as the baseball league champ and now I feel that I’m at least semi-qualified to write an article on winning in fantasy baseball.

In almost every fantasy sport you have to nail your first round pick, in baseball it isn’t as important as you think. Last year I selected Matt Kemp as my first pick (third overall pick of the draft). It wasn’t a terrible pick; he was only 1 year removed from a second place MVP season. But then he missed more than half my season. He sat on my DL for more games than he played. His contributions while on the field were very good, though. That being said, you can make up from a bad first-round draft pick.

I drafted a very strong pitching staff that included Kris Medlen, Gio Gonzalez, Max Scherzer, CJ Wilson and James Shields. I expected Wilson to be my ace but before the season started I knew I was weak at first base and needed to add another bat so I traded Wilson for Edwin Encarnacion. His 36 homeruns and 104 RBI made up for losing Wilson’s 17 wins and 188 k’s. The trade worked out well for both sides. As the season started moving I made a trade that centered on Clay Buccholz and Gonzalez. I thought it was a steal for me but after one start Buccholz ended up on the DL for almost the rest of the season. I thought losing Buccholz would be a killer but Scherzer’s monster year negated that loss. Also an early season pick-up of Ervin Santana kept my pitching staff strong.

Besides Scherzer, my rotation consisted mostly of number-2 type starting pitchers. But in fantasy baseball that’s all that you need. Keep it simple with your rotation; it isn’t necessary to have all number-1 guys. Everyone will be going after those guys, start with the solid number-2 pitchers and collect as many as possible before anyone else has a chance to grab them.

Then there’s your bullpen. Last year my league included holds which was almost a free category for me because I grabbed a bunch of great middle relievers. But at the same time my hand was forced into doing so because I drafted closers too late. For the majority of the season those two categories were a wash for me. I was fortunate that some of my middle relievers slid and excelled in closer roles (I’m looking at you Kenley Jansen). Combining my now middle relief and closer columns my saves and holds soared giving me a 2-0 lead almost every week before anyone ever took the field. If you’re fortunate to have holds as a category make sure you grab top-notch middle relief pitchers. Not only will you get holds but at some point during the year those guys will be called on to close games too.

Offense requires several things: good timing, watching trends and a great deal of luck. My offense the last month of the season was completely abysmal. In the championship week I led 7-6 on Thursday. After Sunday rolled around I still led 7-6 on the same exact categories. Why? Because I couldn’t hit, luckily for me neither could my opponent’s team. If he had hit one homerun from Thursday to Sunday, I would have lost. I rolled a hot team from April through August but my bats went quiet in September. I had a first round playoff bye and then played two teams whose offense went dry the same time mine did. That’s the luck I’m talking about.

Good timing involves keeping an eye on available players. Last year a manager couldn’t hold Hanley Ramirez because he needed the extra DL spot so he dropped him. It paid off for me because I grabbed him immediately. Always watch who becomes available. It’s a lot of work but good timing comes from constantly being aware. If you’re up early be the first person in your league to monitor the free agent board. It only takes minutes and if someone drops a player you know is bound to turn around a bad start or come back strong from injury then pick him up. The risk is almost always worth the reward.

Trend watching is also a huge key for offense. Yahoo has a great option that helps you see players that are being picked up and dropped. And a “who’s hot” list for each position in the field. These options let you see where your players are ranked. If you find a mediocre player like Vernon Wells is lighting it up grab him! He’ll stay hot for a week or two and then then will taper off but you will have grabbed a huge boost from him for two weeks. Baseball players are very streaky; when someone is hot you better get his bat in your lineup.

The one category that you can’t afford to miss out on is offensive sleepers. Last year I drafted two sleeper picks that paid dividends for me, Matt Carpenter and Kyle Seager, and later picked up Josh Donaldson during the season. Seager drifted off the last month of the year but he helped carry me the entire season. Carpenter led the league in runs, hits and doubles. Above everyone, I’d say he was my MVP. Because of him I was always able to keep pace in average, runs and extra-base hits. It’s difficult to find good sleepers but if you think you got one or two give them a chance to come through for you, don’t drop them too quickly.

There are many theories to winning fantasy sports championships. Everyone you talk to will give different keys and strategies. I’ve found that these strategies helped me a great deal last year and maybe they’ll give you a chance at bringing home a championship trophy. But then again there’s a good chance they’ll get you a third-place finish too.

Exit Sandman, Enter Houdini

Arguably, the best set-up man in baseball the last few seasons has been the Yankees David Robertson who has been as close to automatic as it gets for three outs in the eighth inning during that span. This year, for the first time, he won’t be the Yankees set-up man due to the retirement of Mariano Rivera. Many skeptics feel Robertson won’t be able to handle the job but they’re all wrong.

In 1996 the Yankees won the World Series and all season were anchored by two players in their bullpen, Rivera and John Wetteland. Rivera pitched the seventh and eighth innings and Wetteland finished the games off in the ninth. After Wetteland signed with the Texas Rangers that offseason, the Yankees pegged Rivera to close games which he did for the next 17 years. There will never be another Rivera, he defined the position for all future closers but the Yankees don’t need another Rivera, all they need is a Robertson.

Robertson’s nickname is “Houdini.” The night he earned that nickname explains everything you need to know about the guy. In the 11^th inning of game 2 of the ALDS in 2009 he was summoned to pitch with no outs and two runners on base. After a single that loaded the bases Robertson promptly retired the next three hitters to end the frame. He pitched in five games in that postseason and didn’t allow a single run helping the Yankees win the title. He hasn’t looked back since.

The following year Robertson struck-out 71 batters in only 61-1/3 innings and finished the year with a 3.82 ERA. While those numbers were very good, they were only a glimpse of what was to come. In 2011 Robertson had a season for the ages. In only 66-2/3 innings he struck out 100 batters, good enough for a 13.5 K/9 average. While that in and of itself is tremendous Robertson also had a 1.08 ERA, giving up only eight runs all year. He was selected to the all-star team and finished 11^th in Cy Young voting and 22^nd in MVP voting.

While the next two seasons weren’t as good as the 2011 season Robertson still threw up filthy numbers posting a 2.67 ERA and a 2.04 ERA in 2012 and 2013, respectively. He’s averaged 10+K/9 every year of his career. While baseball is a numbers game and Robertson has put up some truly incredible numbers that’s not why he will succeed as a closer. Robertson's success comes from his attitude and something that no other closer in baseball can say, he learned from the best ever.

Since 2008 Robertson has had the opportunity to learn from Rivera and pick his brain. Besides learning pitching, though, Robertson had the chance to learn attitude. Rivera has been “cool as a cucumber” since stepping into the closer role. Robertson has earned the nickname “Houdini” for the same reason. He has the proverbial “ice water in his veins.” The pressure doesn’t get to him. You see it in his mannerisms, all he wants to do is what Rivera did, pitch. And he knows how to pitch.

Robertson said when asked about closing, “It’s the same deal—throwing the eighth or the ninth inning—you still have to get three outs.” He’s not putting any pressure on himself, he’s just going to go out and do what he always does, get outs.

Rivera jokingly asked Robertson, “You scared?” He told him no because he’s not scared. Houdini doesn’t get scared, Houdini gets outs.

Often Free Agents Cause more Harm than Good

One year ago today, I made a life changing move, I left a place I worked for nine years in order to move six hours South in search for a better life. I had already interviewed and secured a job and had to find a place to live but in the meantime I moved in with my older brother and his roommate for five months until finding my own place to live. In only a matter of days my life, on my own accord, had changed dramatically.

Every year many athletes get a chance to do the same thing I did and choose a new path for their lives, granted their paths make them multi-millionaires and mine made me a multi-thousandaire, but I digress. Oftentimes these decisions make a ton of sense and work out extremely well for the athlete but many other times they don’t.

This past year in several sports we saw big-name free agents switch teams and in some cases it has already worked out, in other cases we just have to wait and see. Ray Allen, formerly of the Boston Celtics, took less money to join the Miami Heat juggernaut led by LeBron James. In his first year with the team the Heat won their second straight title and Allen’s second career title and he was vital in their game six win over the San Antonio Spurs.

We’ve seen Wes Welker, formerly of the New England Patriots (sorry Massachusetts that you’ve lost so many great players recently), join forces with Peyton Manning in Denver. The switch worked out well in that Manning and Welker led the greatest offensive attack in NFL history although they ultimately lost the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks.

We are only months removed from Robinson Cano, former Yankees second-baseman; bolting the Bronx for wetter pastures out West in Seattle. We don’t know how that free agent signing will turn out but in the meantime Cano is making $240 million over the course of the next 10 years. Whether or not the Mariners win a championship anytime soon it has definitely worked out for Cano.

In 2009 the Yankees signed AJ Burnett to a five-year contract worth $82.5 million. That deal, although Burnett pitched only three of those seasons, arguably worked out well for both sides. In his first year with the Yankees Burnett pitched well earning a 13-9 record but it wasn’t until game two of the World Series that year that Burnett really shined. He pitched seven innings, striking out nine while allowing only one run in a Yankees win. If they had lost the game, the Yankees would have been down two games to none in the series. It may have been his only defining moment as a Yankee but what better time to have one? His Yankee career turned bad quickly after 2009. He went 21 and 26 over his next two seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates where he shined.

One free agent signing many Redskins fans wish they could forget was bringing in Albert Haynesworth. In February of 2009 the Skins signed the defensive tackle to a seven-year, $100 million contract. From the beginning of the contract Haynesworth caused problems by speaking out against the team’s defensive scheme and showing up to training camp in poor physical condition. In his two years with the club he played in only 20 games, recording only six-and-a-half sacks. He was suspended by the team in December of 2010 and would never play another snap for the Redskins.

The Chicago Bulls agreed to a four-year $60 million contract with Ben Wallace in 2006. In fairness to the Bulls Wallace was coming off four consecutive all-star seasons in Detroit. Wallace only averaged 5.9 points per game as a Bull but did pull down 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per games. While those numbers weren’t terrible they look better than they actually were because of a good first year and a bad second year. The Bulls quickly realized Wallace’s declining talent and worked out a deal to trade him to Cleveland for the remainder of his contract.

While there are numerous stories of failure and mild success after a free agent signing there are far fewer that produce great accomplishment. LeBron James, after signing with the Heat, has led them to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two consecutive Finals Championships. Paul O’Neill signed with the Yankees in 1993 and helped lead them to four World Championships. In 2006 the Saints agreed to sign Drew Brees which instantly made them a contender and in 2009 they Saints won their first Super Bowl title.

While occasionally big name free agent signings help turn franchises around far too often they don’t. Teams take huge risks signing free agent players as many times once a player gets paid they won’t try as hard or their best days are behind them. I guess Robert Burns said it best in his poem To a Mouse, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” In this case it should read: The best laid plans of owners and athletes all too often go awry.