Enough of the Racket

            

            Andy Roddick’s racket bears the weight of a five ton sledgehammer. Not because he has not won a major in nine years, but because he held the title of America’s best in tennis.

            Now, it appears that the weight of expectations has finally proved to be too much for Roddick. The former U.S. Open winner will retire at the end of this major; the one that made him famous.

            When Roddick hoisted the U.S. Open Trophy in 2003, he also held the future of U.S. tennis in his grasp. Roddick was supposed to carry the torch of American tennis  Andre Agassi and John McEnroe once held. He certainly was talented enough.

In his prime Roddick was quite good. His serve went from zero to 155 miles per hour at the bat of an eyelash. His slices cut through the hard surfaces of the RCA Championship, the Canadian Masters, and the other 30 tournaments he won.

Yet in an era of legends, quite good was never good enough. Roger Federer won more majors than any other tennis player in history. When Federer didn’t win, his rival Rafael Nadal did. When Nadal didn’t win, Novak Djokovic did. Despite Roddick’s talent, one man’s good is not enough to best another man’s great.

There were not enough major titles for Roddick once Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic started reeling them in. Sure Roddick is 5-4 career against Djokovic, yet the Serbian has five major titles at age 25 compared to Roddick’s 1 at age 30.

            As for Nadal, Roddick is 3-7 all time against the Spaniard. Nadal also has ten more majors than Roddick; and they have both been playing for 13 years.

The closest Roddick ever came to besting one of the three giants of the game was in the titanic Wimbledon Final against Roger Federer in 2009. In that four hour slugfest, Roddick’s serve was broken only once; for the championship point that gave Federer more majors than anyone else.

Roddick was never able to reach the plateau of greatness that the three kings occupy today. Yet that is not his fault. There are other good athletes that are overshadowed by great ones.

Golf’s sentimental favorite is the perfect example. Phil Mickelson is a very good golfer with four major titles. However, for the better part of the new millennium, he has had to carry Tiger Wood’s jock strap; just like the rest of the field. It’s nobody’s fault, it was just Tiger was so great for so long.

Roddick suffers the same fate as lefty. His really good play was overshadowed by the greatness of others. Both Mickelson and Roddick both have emptier trophy cases because of greater players. Neither of them is at fault for winning more because really good does not beat great in the world of sports.

This summer will end with Roddick hanging up his racket. Even though Roddick will always be remembered for how he lost, A-Rod will never forget that glorious day in 2003 when greatness was his. 

The Cherington-Colletti Conversation

            (Phone rings)

Ned Colletti, General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers: Hello?

Ben Cherington, General Manager of the Boston Red Sox: Ned! Hey it’s great to hear your voice. How is business?

Colletti: Oh it’s pretty good. We are one and a half games out of the Wild Card race. We have the second lowest Earned Run Average in the National League and have given up the second fewest hits in the NL. The offense isn’t looking too good though…

Cherington: What about your deals for Shane Victorino and Hanley Ramirez at the trade deadline?

Colletti: Well Hanley has been good for us, but we are still hitting .251 as a team. Victorino has been awful for us. He has one homer and seven runs batted in as a Dodger. And we are paying him nine million bucks. I can’t wait until he leaves town.

Cherington: Sounds like you need a bat.

Colletti: What did you have in mind?

Cherington: Well as you know, we put Adrian Gonzalez on waivers recently…

Colletti: We’ll take him!

Cherington: Glad to see you are interested. Now let’s make a deal shall we?

Colletti: Okay Howie. What do you want?

Cherington: So you know that De La Rosa kid? How about him and two other prospects for Gonzalez?

Colletti: Three prospects for Gonzalez? Come on Ben you can do better than that. Gonzalez is hitting .212 at Dodger Stadium for his career. You can give me a little more than that.

Cherington: Okay. Then how about we take James Loney off your hands?

Colletti: Go on…

Cherington: Great it’s settled! We give you Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto for Loney and three prospects.

Colletti: Sounds go…WHAT?!?!?! How did Crawford and Beckett get in there? I’m okay with you trying to sneak Punto by me. Punto is about as exciting as vanilla ice cream, but he is harmless as a player. Did you fall out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down?

Cherington: Hey, you need offense. I’m offering you offense.

Colletti: Carl Crawford’s three homers and 19 runs batted in is not offense. Not to mention that he needs Tommy John surgery; like the rest of your team. What do you guys get a discount for every player on your team who needs Tommy John surgery?

As for Beckett, you have got to be off your rocker! He is 5-11 with a 5.39 ERA. Chris Capuano has a lower ERA and more wins. Not to mention Beckett makes Simon Cowell look like Mr. Rogers.

I have seen some stupid offers in my day, but this is the king of them all. You are offering us two guys who each make over 100 million bucks; meanwhile only one of them has been remotely productive. And your starter would make our rotation worse just by showing up.

Now if you wanted to eat a lot of the money for this…

Cherington: Actually that is the other thing. It would be so great if you guys ate most of the money…

Colletti: YOU’VE GOT TO BE SH*@!*&^ ME!! So let me get this straight. You want us to eat 249 million dollars and give you one of our best prospects?! Stick your offer where the sun don’t shine! This is not a video game Ben. This is baseball!

Did  your sports talk radio listeners call and tell you to make me this offer? Well I’ve got news for you. Ned Colletti is no fool. Good day to you sir!

Cherington: Ned wait…

Colletti: I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!!

(click)

(20 minutes later)

Colletti: Ben your guys are willing to waive their no trade clauses right…

Cherington: Of course!!!(*coughs) I mean, of course. What made you change your mind?

Colletti: Ownership thinks that we need big named, low production players in order to bring back the L.A. Dodgers brand.

They said that the fans will be so blinded by the number of big names coming in that they will overlook the awful seasons and contracts.

Cherington: Sounds great. I will get the paper work started right away.

(click)

Colletti: Get me a glass of bourbon and keep them coming. I’m going to need a lot of them to make me forget I made this deal. 

The Strasburg Dilemma

       The poltergeist follows Steven Strasburg after every game he starts. This ghost was born in spring training, has been fed by Strasburg’s success, and has haunted the clubhouse while simultaneously growing bigger.

      Eventually, this shadow will raise its scythe and slay arguably the best pitcher in the National League this season.

      Steven Strasburg is running out of time, for his innings limit is creeping ever closer.

      The countdown clock at the end of 24 did not get this much press.  Every fifth start, the Nationals have to put up with the never-ending press surrounding the end of Strasburg’s season. Journalists' questions of ‘when are they going to shut you down?’ ‘Do you agree with the decision?’  And ‘how much time do you have left?’

      Both Strasburg and the Nationals front office have parried the questions well. However, the mortality of Strasburg’s season is weighing on the starter and the executives. And the problem with shutting down Strasburg is the amount of success the Nationals have enjoyed.

     The longer the Nationals maintain the best record in baseball, the more they look like a title contender.

And the more they look like a team that can win it all, the more they need Strasburg.

    Without Strasburg, the Nationals are unlikely to maintain the best earned run average in the National League. When Strasburg gets shut down, the Nationals could very easily fall out of the top three in the NL in strikeouts. And in the postseason, where pitching determines the king, the Nationals will have willingly sheathed their best sword. 

    The only thing that can stop Strasburg this season is the front office in our nation’s capital. And they are prepared to do so, regardless of the team’s success.

    In defense of the front office, their answer has been consistent throughout the season. General Mike Rizzo has repeatedly stated that Strasburg will be shut down at some point in September. Although there is no concrete number that will strike down Strasburg, the front office has made it clear that they want to protect their ace for the future.

    Protecting players for the future is fine when your team is in the cellar. However, the future has no guarantees and the Nationals should try to go for the World Series now.

    Realistically speaking, the Nationals without Strasburg might make it to the National League Championship Series and lose to the Cincinnati Reds in six games. The Nationals with Strasburg beat the Reds in six and could hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy over the heads of either Texas or the Yankees in seven.

   So please Mike Rizzo, call off your poltergeist and let Strasburg pitch. If not for him then do it for the fans who have suffered through a record of 412-559 since the birth of the Nationals in 2005.  For the fans will be haunted by the dreams of the World Series title your front office willingly threw away.   

On the Ballot, Out of the Hall?

         

           The illustrious gates of baseball’s sacred shrine are about to be stormed by the game’s demons.

            Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens headline next year’s potential Hall of Fame inductees. These men also have been the big names of the steroid era in baseball and its blackened legacy.

            The question of what to do with the poster children of cheating has to be answered by 25 to 40 baseball writers. They can no longer bury the steroid issue, for it has now resurfaced in front of the game’s holy shrine.

            Whether baseball’s electoral college likes it or not, the Hall of Fame class of 2013 will set a precedent for what to do with players from the steroid era.  

There are realistically three roads that the Baseball Writers Association of America can take. Yet none of these options will satisfy everybody.

            The first road would be to bar everyone from the hall who is guilty in the court of public opinion. This way, Bonds, Sosa, and Clemens all get turned away and the cheaters stay out.

            However, denying everyone who is suspicious is the most dangerous precedent to set. If the BWAA can deny suspected steroid users, this could lead to the indirect punishment of clean athletes. For example, Jim Thome and his 611 home runs could be left out of Cooperstown because some writers could think ‘there is no way he hit 600 homers without the juice.’ Even though Thome was not listed in the Mitchell Report, Jose Canseco's book, or the 2003 leaked list. 

            The second option would be to let everyone in and count potentially tainted numbers in the record books. This way, Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, Garry Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez and others all go to Cooperstown based on their career numbers. Yet, the asterisk will forever be linked to the substances these players abused to achieve statistical immortality.

            Still, letting everyone in does not solve the problem either. Writers like Bill Plaschke, and Woody Paige have denounced steroid users and the idea of letting them set foot within 16 blocks of Cooperstown. Besides, the concept of rewarding cheaters in baseball is enough to send the already rabid internet culture into frenzy.  

The consequences of the third road are the least fruitful, yet the fairest. Baseball’s journalists could let people in based on the burden of proof. However, if that is their determining method, Andy Pettitte gets punished for being honest. Meanwhile, Sosa gets enshrined for forgetting how to speak English in front of Congress.

            No matter what the BWAA elects to do their yay or nay vote will be scrutinized. However, they have to vote and determine the precedent for when the rest of the steroid era.

One thing is for sure, the position Hall of Fame voter will be one of the least desirable jobs later this year.