Josh Hamilton

I listened to the entire press conference and came away impressed with Hamilton’s honesty and willingness to take accountability, and also a nagging feeling that he needs to take the next step and go away from baseball for a bit and focus on nothing but his sobriety.

I wrote about this earlier today (read here) before the press conference as well, touching on a number of different angles of the story. After listening to Hamilton, I feel even stronger about the words I closed that post with:

The report about Hamilton’s relapse, if true, reminds us of the humanity that made him such a compelling figure in the first place.

To err is human; to err so egregiously, to allegedly relapse with so much on the line, is also human, as anyone who can empathize with the plight of the addict knows.

As a baseball fan, I sure hope what happened Monday doesn’t interfere with my ability to watch Josh Hamilton play baseball.

But as a human, I don’t care really about the baseball. I just want to see this husband, father, and beloved inspiration to so many who need it, lift himself up and away from the abyss through the sheer force of his will and faith – which is ultimately what it takes.

Get well Josh Hamilton. But get help, again.

Even if this is a recently isolated incident, nip it in the bud. Take nothing for granted. Respect the destructive power you know your demos have.

No one needs to or should stop rooting for Josh Hamilton; but none of us should enable him either, even from far.

Hamilton certainly seems to understand the gravity of the situation, and he spoke numerous times about having hurt his wife and alluded to some potential issues there. Who knows. Only the Hamiltons know, and only they know how those kind of extenuating circumstances might affect a more drastic move by Hamilton to step away from it all and get serious help again.

Whatever the reality, I just hope Josh can minimize the relapses in the future. And I give him major kudos for speaking up today and continuing to be accountable publicly for his recovery effort.

Yet, although I knew it was coming and have had a long time to prepare for it, a part of me is still very sad that it’s official that Prince won’t being wearing a Milwaukee uniform in 2012.

Since his first major league hit on June 15, 2005, Prince Fielder has done some simply amazing things for the Milwaukee Brewers.

In his 7 season with the Brew Crew, he managed to put up some numbers that are stunning. He hit 230 home runs, drove in 656 runs, compiled just under 1,000 hits, and had an on-base percentage of .390.

In addition the stats, he has a very lengthy list of accomplishments that he built up with the Crew. He’s a 3-time All-Star (and was the 2011 All-Star Game MVP), won the 2009 Home Run Derby, won 2 Silver Slugger awards, won the 2007 NL Hank Aaron Award, set a franchise record with 50 home runs during the 2007 season, and trailed only Hall of Famer Robin Yount for most home runs in franchise history.

Prince always clobbered towering home runs, and he never failed to excite the Milwaukee faithful. He may have been a big liability defensively, but his offense and clubhouse leadership did more than enough to make up for it. Fielder was a spectacular teammate, and there was very little drama between players during his time in Milwaukee.

He and Ryan Braun were the best 3-4 punch in baseball, and they will go down in Brewers lore for being the ultimate sluggers that helped lead Milwaukee to the playoffs twice in a span of 4 years. For fans of the Red Sox and Yankees, making the playoffs twice in 4 years is mediocre, but to Brewer fans, it was nothing short of absolutely amazing. We’re talking about a team that didn’t make the postseason for 26 years, a drought that was broken in 2008.

Without Prince Fielder, I’m fairly certain that the Milwaukee playoff drought would be at 29 years and counting.

Now as far as Prince’s contract with the Detroit Tigers goes, I think that it is pretty risky. Sure Prince is a very good player, but 9 years and $214 million seems a little steep to me. While the money he’s getting is excessive, it’s the length of the contract that bothers me the most.

Prince isn’t exactly the lightest guy around (he was listed VERY generously at 270 pounds with the Brewers), and if he ends up being a full-time DH, his weight could balloon up to if not over 350 pounds by the end of even next season. Remember, Fielder is this fat at age 27, what do you think he’s going be like when he’s in his mid-30s?

In addition to the health issues for Fielder, his new contract could create a big payroll problem for the Tigers. His huge contract may make it next to impossible for Detroit to re-sign both Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, whose contracts run through 2015 and 2014 respectively. There’s no question in my mind that Prince will help the Tigers immensely in the short-term, but it’s problems in the long run that should have Tiger fans a little bit uneasy with this contract.

But despite all of that, I think that the signing of Prince Fielder will have more positive effects on the Tigers than there will be negatives. He gives them a great chance to win a World Series in the next several years, and I would be shocked if Detroit doesn’t win the AL Central by a wide margin.

As much as Fielder will help the Tigers, I care much more about how much his departure will hurt the Brewers.

The Brew Crew will, in all likelihood, be without Ryan Braun for the first 50 games of the 2012 season, and the rest of the team has a lot of slack to pick up on offense. Even once Braun is back, he no longer has Prince backing him up, so pitchers will be able to pitch around him, which they couldn’t do in the past.

But worst of all, this ball club is without its leader.

Prince Fielder’s love for his teammates and the city where he played for seven seasons can’t be matched, and he will be missed dearly. Fielder gave us Brewers fans a ton of great memories, and these past few seasons were the ideal time to be a Milwaukee fan.

Braun and Fielder, beast mode, 2 playoff appearances, Racing Sausages, Tony Plush, the icon Bob Uecker, and much more made these past few years (especially 2011), amazing, and that’s why I don’t think any true Milwaukee fan will hold a grudge against Prince. When he steps to the plate during interleague play at Miller Park, the Milwaukee faithful will give Prince Fielder the standing ovation that he deserves.

Prince, I wish you the best of luck going forward with your new team, and I just want to say thanks.

For everything.

We also talk Matt Garza possibly being traded, the Yankees looking at Edwin Jackson, an update on where Prince Fielder may wind up with the options dwindling, and we focus special attention on the Oakland A’s as their firesale and potential move to San Jose pick up some steam.

Click play on the player below to listen:

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The point is, athletes will do anything and everything to gain a competitive advantage.

Including flop.

In stark contrast to the four examples above, all of which show the risks athletes will accept for the potential reward of victory, there are flops.

Whether you love it or hate it (surely the latter), flopping will never go away because it is one more way athletes can gain a competitive advantage. And when you’re a professional athlete, your job is to win. Even if that means deceiving the referees, and perhaps even the spirit of the rules and fair competition, you do it…”professionally.”

I was reminded of this a few minutes ago when I came across this GIF on Reddit:

And then in the comment section, I found this gem:

(Side note: Click this link and just start scrolling down. It’s the web’s random, ridiculous sense of humor at its best.)

Frankly, this is why many Americans hate soccer…or at least why they criticize it. But that’s a pretty myopic viewpoint to take. Sure, some soccer flopping – especially the video above – is egregious, oftentimes hilariously so, but flopping is hardly exclusive to soccer.

Consider this moment from the NFL earlier this year – the sport that is supposed to be America’s new national pastime that pits gladiator against gladiator on the gridiron.

Umm…I don’t know about you, but I didn’t see any Giants’ opponents anywhere near Deon Grant or the other fella who went tumbling to the turf without provocation. Hey, at least the soccer guy above was clever about it. Deon Grant’s flop – an obvious attempt to slow down the offense – was frankly just silly, especially knowing that there are multitudes of cameras rolling to catch everything happens.

Grant’s flop actually caused an outrage when it happened because we aren’t so used to seeing football players flop so blatantly and unabashedly. We are, however, used to it in the NBA, where guys like Manu Ginobili and Reggie Miller turned it into an art form.

Depending on your perspective, Chris Bosh either took the art of basketball flopping to another level of genius and theater…or committed one of the most reprehensible acts in the reprehensible history of flopping.

He sure did sell it. But since Chris Bosh is kind of a tool (though a nice, well-meaning one) he doesn’t get a pass just because he induced the charge call. Reprehensible it is.

But it’s not just tools who flop.

In the history of sports, there is perhaps no man for whom the pejorative use of the word “tool” is a less appropriate descriptor than Derek Jeter. He is confident, smooth, consistent, regal, urbane, and he provides gift baskets with autographed baseballs to his coital conquests. It is absolutely impossible to at once be a tool and someone who provides gift baskets to the women you bed. Impossible. So say what you will about Derek Jeter, but you can never, ever, ever call him a tool.

You can, however, call him a flopper. Watch this video for proof.

If Jeter didn’t flop there (he did), then that sound which was ostensibly ball hitting bat was ball hitting bone, and that’s just nasty. But it’s clear from the vid that Jeter did flop, sold it Chris Bosh-style, and was then awarded first base. There is no word on if Jeter left a gift basket for the umpire.

So there you have it. Four of the most notoriously awful flops in the history of professional sport–what’s that you say? Why did I leave out hockey? Well, that’s pretty easy.

Because, as pointed out in the original Reddit thread that inspired this post, hockey is a sport played by men like Steve Stamkos – all of 21 years old – who take pucks to the face, bleed, lose chunks of their nose…and then return to action several minutes later.

No flopping there. In fact, if you just watched the reactions, you might think that Bosh and Jeter had been injured worse than Stamkos, who skates off rather calmly.

I’m sure flopping goes on in hockey at some level, though I don’t watch enough of it to know; but when men like Steve Stamkos are playing it, I can’t imagine it happens very often.

Now the question for you, dear reader, is which of the four flops above – each representative of the worst kind of flopping in its respective sport – do you consider to be the most egregious?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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And once you’ve answered the poll question, hop down to the comment section and remind us of other classic sports flops. There are tons of them. Let’s compile the best of the best (or worst of the worst, as the case may be) here.

The Midwest contains the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. From that area, MLB has been well represented through the years, and the Hall of Fame is certainly no exception.

Here are five of the top Hall of Fame baseball players that were born right here in the Midwest.

1. Walter Johnson:  Humboldt, Kansas

Nicknamed “Big Train,” Walter Johnson played his entire 21-year career (1907-1927) for the Washington Senators. Johnson won 417 games over his illustrious career, and is the career MLB leader in shutouts with 110 overall, far outdistancing the second-place man on the list, Pete Alexander (90).

Johnson spent the first thirteen years of his life in Humboldt, Kansas before his family moved to Orange  County, California in 1900.

2. Grover Cleveland Alexander: Elba, Nebraska

Born in Elba, Nebraska in 1887, Grover Cleveland Alexander went to become one of the greatest right-handed pitchers in MLB history, winning 373 games over a 20-year career (1911-1930).

Alexander was a 30-game winner three times during his career, and won 20 or more games in six other seasons. Johnson suffered from epilepsy and bouts of drinking during his career, eventually retiring and moving back to his native state of Nebraska, where he died in 1950 at the age of 63.

3. Cap Anson: Marshalltown, Iowa

Cap Anson, one of the early stars of baseball in the 19^th century, was born in Marshalltown, Iowa in 1852.

Anson played an incredible 27 seasons between 1871 and 1897, and was the first player in MLB history to compile 3,000 hits, ending his career with 3,481 overall. Anson played the final 22 years of his with the Chicago White Stockings, who would later become known as the Cubs.

Anson settled in Chicago after his playing days were over, and died there in 1922 at the age of 69.

4. George Sisler: Manchester, Ohio

George Sisler, born in Manchester, Ohio in 1893, quickly became a star after his debut with the St Louis Browns in 1915. Early on, Sisler became known as a hitting machine, establishing the single-season hits record for a 154-game season in 1922, and hit .402 in 1920 and .420 in 1922, the third-highest batting average for a single season in modern major league history.

Sisler retired in 1930 with a .340 career batting average and 2,812 overall hits, being enshrined into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1939.

5. Mickey Mantle: Spavinaw, Oklahoma

Considered one of the true icons of Major League Baseball, Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma in 1931. Mantle debuted for the New York Yankees in 1951, and by the time his career was over, was considered the greatest switch-hitter of all time.

Mantle bashed 536 home runs during his career, and still holds the World Series record for most home runs (18), runs batted in (40) and total bases (123). Mantle helped lead the Yankees to seven World Series titles during his career, which ended in 1968.

Who else would you include on this list? 

Jeff Herbst (born and raised in the Midwest) has had a passion for sports ever since he could first walk.. He works with Phoenix Bats, a company that manufacturers world-class baseball bats such as their custom wooden bats for amateur and professional ball players.

Or maybe by tomorrow it will be ESPN needing to make a major apology/retraction, or not…

I had The World-Wide Leader on following the Indiana Hoosiers upset win over Kentucky in college basketball, and that, and the ugly Xavier/Cincinnati basket-brawl, were the lead stories before plugging the upcoming Heisman Trophy ceremony and going into commercial.

Then I hear the dreaded words ‘Breaking News’ and Ryan Braun’s mug on the screen.

On a college hoops Saturday in the middle of December? This can’t be good.

The bombshell proved to be possibly worse than that.

Suddenly Prince Fielder potentially leaving Milwaukee is by far not the biggest headache with the Brewers organization. The man who’d been hailed earlier this summer for committing himself contractually to the franchise until 2021 now is.

With one ‘Outside The Lines’ report, ‘Brewers win NL Central’, ‘Brewers advance to NLCS’, and ‘Braun wins National League MVP’ are no longer the top baseball stories in Milwaukee in 2011.
At least for now, hat has been replaced with ‘Report: Braun Tests Positive for PEDs.

The last ten years has taught everyone not to be shocked about anything regarding baseball’s on-going performance enhancing scandal. That said, Ryan Braun getting popped, reportedly, would be a shocker.

On the Major League level this past season, just one player had been tested positive, Manny Ramirez – which gave hope that the grand old game has finally turned the corner on the out-of-control PED use which reached its apex in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s.

Well now, IF ESPN is right, the list would expand to Manny Ramirez and Ryan Braun.

It should be pointed out that at this juncture this is merely a ‘report’, with nothing official coming out of MLB or the Milwaukee Brewers.

Still, it took less than five minutes after ESPN went on-air with the story at their talking heads were already discussing how Braun’s rep will never be the same and his early Hall of Fame hopes have now taken a major hit – even pointing to Jeff Bagwell only getting 41% of the HOF vote last year based simply on ‘guilt’ from the era he played in.

To be fair, the ESPN piece reported the following:

‘Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his case. A source close to Braun said that when he was told about the positive test (for a synthetic testosterone), he immediately requested to be tested again. That second test, the source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe that the difference between the two tests will show that the first test was invalid.’

Braun also was quoted in a later story by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale of the result being ‘B.S.’ TNT basketball analyst Reggie Miller also posted on social media that his neighbor (Braun) had informed him of the result being ‘bogus’.

History does not bode well for Braun however; no player has ever successfully appealed a failed test.

I would love to go with the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ line right now, but historically it is ‘guilty, then proven guilty’. Maybe there are ‘highly unusual circumstances’ in play, as the Braun camp attests.  And I can see a 50-game suspension eventually being whittled down to 25 games before the 2012 season starts. Or maybe Braun beats the rap and avoids suspension altogether.

But the damage may already been done. Albert Pujols did not test positive this year. Justin Verlander did not test positive. Prince Fielder did not test positive. Matt Kemp did not test positive. Josh Hamilton did not test positive.

But reportedly Ryan Braun has and potentially may have to carry that going forward. And for those who’ve asked in the past why Barry Bonds was targeted by the media/fans while other stars (who didn’t get busted) were not. Don’t worry, Braun will get hammered every bit as much as Bonds/Palmeiro/Clemens/Gagne/Ramirez, etc., etc, even if cleared.

And for those, like me, who had pointed out how Braun’s stats ranked right alongside Alex Rodriguez his first three to four years in the league? Guess you can now also compare them in the PED category.

Personally, as a Brewers fan, I had taken solace in the fact the biggest PED issues were with other teams, even though it’s obvious it existed in all 30 MLB locker rooms:

Sosa with the Cubs. Big Mac with the Cards. Giambi with the Yankees. Bonds with the Giants. Man-Ram with the Red Sox/Dodgers. Gagne with the Dodgers.

I remember Geoff Jenkins hitting five home runs over two days versus the Expos back in 2001; then Jenkins and Jeromy Burnitz combining for six home runs in a game later on that same season – and wondered aloud if it was all legit. Or was it simply not being noticed because they were in Milwaukee and Barry Bonds was hitting 73 home runs with the Giants and Luis Gonzalez was hitting 57 for the Diamondbacks?

My personal suspicions are completely unfair to Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Burnitz, and Mr. Gonzalez. But they and others (Jeff Bagwell) were guilty by simply competing in that era. But if the Braun report is true, it would give proof that the problem hasn’t been completely eradicated. As I’ve said before,  just one positive test in a 20-year career can ruin everything. The game’s top-stars are responsible for maintaining their reputations literally to the grave and even beyond.

As I’m completing this writing, Tom Hardicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that he just spoke to someone familiar with the details of Braun’s test, and was assured he will be found innocent.

There will be plenty of twists and turns on this developing story over the next few days. Either RB8 is going to be roasted all over and considered guilty, or ESPN is going to have a lot of egg on their faces.

Ryan’s hope is that it’ll somehow be the latter.

Once Pujols started to tell the press he was open to looking at other options besides the St. Louis Cardinals I knew, in the back of my head, that Pujols was going to go against the words he spoke not that long ago.

“It’s not about the money every time. It’s about your family, uh you know, I’ve been blessed with $100 million which is more than what I deserve. It’s about being in the best city to play sports, you know not just baseball, sports at all. Our fans are the best.“

In a sports world filled with greed and fights over a couple more million dollars, Pujols stood out as the beacon of hope against greed and as loyalty to a team.

Or so we thought.

I am a Cubs fans who has been tortured by Pujols over the years. Yet a part of me still hoped to see him show loyalty to a city and fans who are some of, if not the, best fans in the country.

I’ve been to St. Louis, and I’ve been to a Cardinals game, and I can assure you that every day there’s a Cardinal’s game there is barely anyone without a Cardinals jersey on. The city lives and breathes baseball.

They love their players and are the reason why the players get to play in the first place. The fans pay for the tickets. The fans pay for the merchandise. Without fans to watch the sport, the sport doesn’t exist or thrive.

Has loyalty in sports become extinct?

I think it has.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a talented player taking a pay cut to stay with a certain team. Though I assume some have taken cuts to stay with the team they love, it surely doesn’t seem like it happens more than a player who leaves for the team who pays more.

I understand that what Pujols did was completely justifiable in business terms. A lot of people, if given the choice, would take a higher paying job than they already have, but that doesn’t make it right.

For some reason I still believed there was morals and loyalty in today’s athletes. It doesn’t seem like that’s the case. Call me naive, or call me an idealist. I don’t care.

This kind of betrayal and acts of hypocrisy is not right and should not be defended by anyone.

Please, whatever you do, do not raise your child as a Chicago Cubs fan.

I was raised a Cubs fan since the day I could watch baseball. Some of my favorite memories are watching the Cubs with my dad in our living room.

I was still young at that point, and I didn’t totally understand how much the Cubs sucked and have sucked for 100+ years now.

Initially, being a Cubs fan brought me joy and a sense of pride; but as I got older, especially after the 2003 playoff debacle, I began to see the Cubs as they truly were and are: losers.

But as true fans do, I stuck with them.

Worst decision of my life.

Since 2003 the Cubs have made the playoffs twice (2007 and 2008), and during those stints they failed to win a single game, allowing themselves to be swept in the first round both years. These losses were worse because just 2-3 years prior the White Sox had won the World Series with virtually a no-name team and one of the craziest managers I’ve seen in my life.

Since then, every time the Cubs, or any other Chicago team, goes on a hot streak or fans become excited and think the team is going to start playing well, I don’t join in on the excitement.

I don’t get excited when Sports Illustrated or ESPN predicts that the Cubs or Bears will have a good season; I laugh because I can’t think of anything more stupid to write or believe.

I am not a cynical fan, just one that has become so accustomed to the losing nature of the Cubs that I’ve lost total faith in the franchise.

So parents, please don’t do this your kids.

But if you must, I recommend you sharing this Pearl Jam song to them to calm their inevitable sadness.

New Astros owner Jim Crane during yesterday's press conference. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

The Astros will have the distinction of being the only team to move from the National League to the American League. They will be one of only two teams to play in both leagues. The other is the Milwaukee Brewers, who jumped from the American League to the National League in 1998.

The purpose of the Brewers’ move was to ensure that both leagues had an even number of teams. When the Devil Rays joined the American League and the Diamondbacks the National, both leagues had 15 teams. In a 15-team league, on any given day of the season, one team would have to be idle or play an inter-league game. Such an arrangement wasn’t acceptable in 1998, so the Brewers made the switch (after the Royals decided they didn’t want to).

Apparently, Major League Baseball has overcome its aversion to season-long inter-league play—or has decided that league symmetry is more important. And now the Astros get to use a designated hitter.

Interleague Realignment Before 1900

The realignment that sent the Brewers to the National League in 1998 was the first inter-league realignment since the American League was established in 1901. Prior to that time, jumping from one major league to another wasn’t uncommon. Four of the 8 teams that comprised the National League’s roster from 1900 until 1952 joined the National League from the American Association.

The American Association (not to be confused with any minor league that has since used the name) was a major league established in 1882. Between 1887 and 1892 8 American Association teams—including 5 charter members—moved to the National League. The AA had major league talent and, from 1884 through 1890, its champion met the National League champion in an early version of the World Series. But the National League was older, better established, and more financially secure. And if the Senior Circuit wanted an AA team, it was in that team’s interest to switch leagues.

The Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1887 were the first AA team to leave for the National League. The Alleghenys, who became the Pirates in 1891, are the team that we today associate with Roberto Clemente, “We Are Family,” and 19 consecutive losing seasons. Two years later the AA’s Cleveland Spiders joined the National League. The Spiders had a couple nice years in their new league but folded after their disastrous 20-134 1899 season.

League Park, home of the Cleveland Spiders

In 1890 the National League acquired two more AA franchises, both of which still live today: the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Grays, who would eventually become the Dodgers.

The loss of the Alleghenys, Spiders, Reds, and Grays was one of the main causes (perhaps the main cause) of the league’s demise.

League-switching today happens with the approval of owners in both leagues. There is nothing hostile about it. For all intents and purposes, the American and National Leagues today are two conferences in one 30-team league. They share a commissioner, a players’ union, a draft, and a collective bargaining agreement. In the late nineteenth century, when the major leagues were autonomous, poaching a franchise from a rival league was a way of weakening the competition. (It was similar to what is going on with conference realignment in major college sports today.)

The American Association folded in 1891, but not before absorbing two squads—the Boston Reds and the Philadelphia Athletics—from the short-lived Players’ League (which is also recognized as a major league). Both of those teams died with the American Association, and there is no connection between the AA Philadelphia Athletics and the American League Athletics team that started in Philly and currently plays in Oakland.

In December 1891 the National League announced at its winter meeting in Indianapolis that it would absorb four more AA franchises: the Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators. Three of the four share names with later American League teams, but there is no connection between these AA/National League teams and their namesakes. (The American League St. Louis Browns and Baltimore Orioles are actually the same franchise.) Three of the 4 1892 additions folded in 1899, along with the Spiders. Only the Browns survived. They would later become the Cardinals. For much of the 1890s, the National League had a monopoly on major league baseball.

League-jumping actually predates the defection of the Alleghenys and other American Association teams. The Union League, yet another short-lived major league from the 19th century, played a single season before disbanding in 1884. The Union League champion St. Louis Maroons joined the National League the following season. In 1887 the Maroons moved to Indianapolis and became the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers played three seasons before folding.

The 1888 Indianapolis Hoosiers

Three teams have the distinction of winning pennants in two different major leagues. Last month the Brewers nearly became a fourth.

• The Cincinnati Reds won an American Association pennant in 1882. They won National League pennants in 1919, 1939, 1940, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, and 1990.
• The St. Louis Browns/Cardinals won American Association pennants in 1885, 1886, 1887, and 1888. They won National League pennants in 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1987, 2004, 2006, and 2011.
• The Boston Reds won a Players’ League pennant in 1890 and an American Association pennant in 1891.

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Josh Tinley is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports. Follow him at twitter.com/joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

And crusty manager Tony LaRussa wisely decided to take the first exit ramp out of the airport.

Many thought TLR’s ‘sudden’ retirement earlier this week was as equally stunning as the Cards winding up as World Series Champions – you know, the team that was supposed to be watching the postseason on TV.

I’m only stunned that so many other people were ‘stunned’.

As the Cardinals appeared to be an afterthought in the National League playoff race in late-July, La Russa had the look of a man who appeared to be growing tired of his profession. That could possibly be the result of some of his health problems during the season. We do know someone behind the visitors dugout at Milwaukee’s Miller Park touched a nerve making reference to it.

That would be the same dugout in which the Cards would celebrate winning the National League pennant 2+ months later.

And maybe it was that testy Cards-Brewers game on July 31 that wound up as the first turning point of St. Louis’s season, what ended up eventually lighting a fuse. When La Russa went on his now famous ‘DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BONES ARE IN THAT HAND??’ rant, he basically laid down the gauntlet, and the team eventually rallied around it.

No, La Russa has never been popular in Milwaukee, or the North Side of Chicago, or many other National League ports for that matter. (But the question has to be asked: what if La Russa was the Brewers or the Cubs manager? Would you rather have TLR filling out the lineup card…or Mr. Spock (Ron Roenicke), or even worse Mike Quade?)

This wasn’t La Russa’s first impressive run under trying circumstances, a campaign that began with staff ace Adam Wainwright undergoing season-ending elbow surgery. In the middle of the 2002 season, La Russa and the Cardinals had to rally around the physical loss and emotional grief from the sudden death of pitcher Darryl Kile, and they wound up taking the team to that year’s NLCS.

And then there was the ’06 season, a Cardinals team that honestly did not deserve to be in the playoffs winning a weak NL Central with a 83-78 record. But the Cards had a seat at the table and La Russa helped turned that into a World Series Championship.

Boo him. Jeer him. Insult him all you want. Tony La Russa was baseball’s Bobby the Brain Heenan. There may be a lot of fans out there that didn’t like him, but he wasn’t running a popularity contest.

And Tony was also one of the all-time great innovators, not afraid of new ideas such as the pitcher hitting eighth in the batting order or his extreme early hooks on starting pitchers late into the 2011 season and especially in the playoffs.

It’s no surprise that coach Bob Knight was also one of LaRussa’s frequent visitors over the years, another equally controversial but successful icon.

Then there is the loyalty, from his long-time relationships with coaches Dave McKay and Dave Duncan, to even allowing disgraced slugger Mark McGwire to re-invent himself as a highly respected hitting coach. Again, it wasn’t about what public perception might think.

I do have my faults with LaRussa as well, the start of the BALCO era was when he had the Bash Brothers in Oakland in the late 1980′s, and obviously knew McGwire was on the juice when he assaulted the single-season record books a year later. I say TLR at least shares the blame in condoning that culture, along with the players themselves as well as Bud Selig for turning a blind eye during that period.

2011 ended up the crown-jewel of a 33-year career that began by turning the Chicago White Sox into unlikely contenders. Along with general manager John Mozeliak (complete with dorky eyeglasses smack straight out from 1968), the Cardinals built an eventual champion on the fly – from acquiring role players such as Rafael Furcal and Mark Rzepczynski, to allowing Jon Jay and Allen Craig to step in as vital cogs, to letting David Freese grow himself into becoming legendary in October.

This edition of the Redbirds was truly about 25 separate parts finding chemistry at the right time, with the timely help of an Atlanta Braves collapse.

Meanwhile, the ‘division champion’ Brewers countered with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and…..

(Well, GM Doug Melvin will tell you about getting a half-year out of Francisco Rodriguez (bold acquistion, eh…) and trading a prize prospect (Brett Lawrie) for a #3 starter (Shaun Marcum) who morphed into a post-St. Louis Jeff Suppan by the time fall rolled around. And in all fairness I’ll also give Milwaukee Gallardo and John Axford and a few others…)

Where does St. Louis go from here?

Now on top of trying to re-sign that Pujols guy, the organization has to suddenly look to somehow fill the shoes of TLR. Not surprisingly it took about two seconds for Terry Francona’s name to come up in speculation, who does have the resume to fill the daunting job description. The Cards would also be replacing one manager who may have possibly been slightly over-medicated at times during the ’11 season with another.

Or maybe Pujols moves on, and there is that period of transition. Still, from the front office down to the farm system I don’t see the Cards falling too far from the top of the NL Central in the foreseeable future.

Again, hate La Russa’s guts if you must, but it was his heart that made him a winner for 3+ decades.

I’ll write more about the game tomorrow. I need to process it. Need my head to stop spinning.

So I’ll leave you this evening with two videos. One is from 1991, the other is from tonight.

The first features Jack Buck’s famous “And we’ll see you tomorrow night!” call on Kirby Puckett’s home run. The second features his son saying the same words on David Freese’s home run tonight.

I’ve said a lot of disparaging things about Joe Buck. Not tonight. That was awesome, and frankly it was the absolute perfect way for a game like this to end.

Update: As you’ll see below, they removed the original video I had of Joe Buck’s call from last night. Here is another video someone put together that features both calls:

Jack Buck, 1991 World Series, Game 6

Joe Buck, 2011 World Series, Game 6

What an awesome, awesome moment.

I don’t often find myself on the save wavelength as Buck in big sporting events. I rarely find his tone or excitement level matching my own. But there was no better way for such a unique, memorable, historical game to end than Buck paying the ultimate homage to his father calling a sport shared by so many fathers and sons.

Indeed, we will see you tomorrow night baseball.

But thanks for tonight. What a night. Awesome. Sublime.

I, upon hearing the news, had no real strong opinions. I read both sides of the argument, but I still found myself without a real opinion on the subject. I don’t really care what Epstein did with Boston. I don’t care to hear about his success stories. I don’t even care to hear about his failures in Boston.

All I care about is seeing my Cubs team start winning and becoming a serious threat in the MLB.

I don’t care how it’s done as long as I see some actual progress. I am not expecting a turnaround immediately, but what I do want is a sign of stability and improvement the next few years. I think the majority of Cub fans would agree with me.

For a few years the Cubs did have a strong lineup on paper. But there’s always something prohibiting the Cubs from ever really making that extra step into being a consistent team that can win each season.

I’ll be honest and tell you that I rarely watched a full Cubs’ game last season. There wasn’t much to watch anyway. A team that goes 71-91 this season, hasn’t won a single playoff game in the last two visits to the playoffs, and hasn’t won a World Series since 1908 doesn’t deserve to have 30,000 fans in the stadium or their games shown on TV.

Harsh? Maybe. But there’s really no hiding the embarrassment that you feel once someone asks you who your favorite baseball team, and you answer “the Cubs.” I could stop calling myself a Cubs fan, but I’ve been raised as one since childbirth and no matter if I like it or not, the team will always have a special spot in my heart.

The release of Hendry and signing of Epstein has rekindled interest in this Cubs team.

It could just be false hope, but I do really want to like Epstein. I am hopeful (as all Cub fans are) that a change of face will be good. I know the Cubs have more problems than just the GM position, but I knew the Cubs were never going to win the World Series with Hendry at the reins.

I am not asking for a World Series. All I am asking for is a reason to be proud for being a Cubs fan.

If I were to write a World Series preview from a Cardinals perspective, it would be full of bias and spite, so I’ll instead focus my efforts on my new (temporary) favorite team, the Texas Rangers, as I preview the 2011 World Series, which starts tomorrow night (TV schedule and pitching probables here).

Image source: ESPN.com

I found myself shopping for a Nelson Cruz t-shirt on Sunday night after the Cardinals eliminated Milwaukee, because he is my one tie to the Brewers’ organization. He had a small cup of coffee with the Brewers in 2005 after spending two seasons at AA and AAA, before being traded in the deal that brought Carlos Lee and Francisco Cordero to Milwaukee. I’d like to say I saw this potential for Cruz back then. I didn’t, but I have pictured Cruz back in a Brewers jersey on more than one occasion.

I’ve seen the Cardinals play at least 20 times this season, and I think they are quite good. I thought they would win the division, and they have postseason experience. But from what I’ve seen from the Rangers, they are very similar to the Cardinals and better in a few key areas.

Starting Pitching

The starting pitching staffs are relatively similar, with each team having one ace and then a number of supporting pitchers. CJ Wilson had better regular season statistics (2.94 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP) than Chris Carpenter (3.45 ERA and 1.26 WHIP), but in the playoffs it’s hard to pick Wilson (8.04 ERA in three starts) or against Carpenter. He wasn’t great against Milwaukee, but his start in Game 5 against the Phillies was one of the best pitching performances in recent postseason history.

Image source: Huffington Post

The rest of the rotations for both teams are by no means dominant, and each game should come down to which offense is better in those matchups. Outside of Pujols at first base, I think I’d take the Rangers player at just about every other position.

Outfield

Starting in the outfield, I would pick Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz and whatever third outfielder you want to put out there against just about any other outfield in baseball. Having Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday and Jon Jay certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it’s hard to argue against what Cruz did in the ALCS.

Infield

Around the horn in the infield, the closest matchup is at third base. Pujols holds the edge at first over Michael Young, the Rangers are better up the middle with Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus, but Adrian Beltre versus David Freese is close. Beltre has been the better player for a longer period of time, but Freese crushed the ball on his way to NLCS MVP honors. In this case, I’ll take the veteran Beltre, who shouldn’t be fazed by the bright World Series lights.

I’m not totally sure what is going to come of the catcher/designated hitter positions during the Series, but for argument’s sake, I’ll simply say that I’d rather have Mike Napoli in the lineup than Yadier Molina. Molina can come through with a big hit and he’s better defensively, but I like Napoli’s big bat in Texas’s lineup.

Bullpen

Texas also probably holds the edge as far as bullpen performance in the playoffs, and it will come down largely to matchup play. Neither Lance Lynn of the Cardinals nor Scott Feldman of the Rangers have given up a run in at least eight innings of work for their respective teams, and both teams’ closers are 4-of-4 in save opportunities. The edge here goes to the Rangers because of Alexi Ogando’s ability to pitch in long relief if necessary.

Prediction

I think the Rangers hold too many edges in the World Series, and they will win with competent enough starting pitching backed by a whole lot of offense and a solid pen. I think Josh Hamilton has a big series and fully completes his comeback, winning World Series MVP along the way.

World Series Prediction: Rangers in five.

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Now it’s your turn.

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Here is a list of some of the funniest bloopers in major league baseball history.

10. Randy Johnson kills a poor, defenseless dove with 95 MPH fastball.

On March 24, 2001, while pitching in a spring training exhibition game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitcher Randy Johnson went into his windup and delivered a 95 MPH fastball.

The problem was, it never actually made the plate. A dove soared into the path of the ball and was literally disintegrated in mid-air. The dove landed to the ground in a flurry of feathers, and the umpire called “no pitch.”

9. Florida Marlins Grounds Crew Has Adventure in Driving Rain

The Florida Marlins were hosting a game at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami (or whatever other of the 2,468 names that park has had in its existence). During the game, a driving rain literally drove the game to a complete halt, requiring the stadium grounds crew to then quickly cover the field.

There was just one slight problem—the grounds crew started unrolling the tarp in right field, and when it was fully unveiled, never even covered the infield.

It took the crew a full 19 minutes to figure out how to “stretch” the tarp.

8. Bill Buckner Will Probably Never Live This Blunder Down

Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner was an excellent player throughout his 22-year career, collecting over 2,700 hits and compiling a lifetime .289 batting average. However, one particular play on the night of October 25, 1986 landed Buckner in the Hall of Shame.

The ball that trickled through Buckner’s legs was not the sole event that lost Game Six of the 1986 World Series for the Red Sox, but it was final play of a bizarre string of events, labeling Buckner as a goat for the rest of his life, unfairly or not.

7. Robin Ventura Gets a Beatdown Courtesy of Nolan Ryan

In the 1993 season, power pitcher Nolan Ryan was in the twilight of his outstanding 27-year career, already having announced his retirement before the season began.

On Aug. 4, facing the Chicago White Sox, Ryan decided to go high and tight against hitter Robin Ventura. Ventura objected to what he thought was an obvious intrusion into his private space, and made his own decision—rush the old man.

Problem was, the old man could still handle himself pretty well in a scrape, getting the much younger Ventura into a headlock quickly and pummeling him with his right hand.

Think Ventura wanted a re-do on that decision?

6. Outfielder Nyjer Morgan Throws Hissy Fit and Allows Inside-the-Park Home Run

When the Washington Nationals played an interleague game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 22, 2010, O’s center fielder Adam Jones was given a very early Christmas gift, courtesy of Nats’ center fielder Nyjer Morgan.

On a deep drive hit by Jones to center field, Morgan went back on the ball and leaped at the wall to make the catch, failing to come down with the ball. In his anger at his inability to keep the ball in his glove, Morgan threw his glove down in complete disgust and walked away.

Jones, seeing the hissy fit thrown by Morgan, just kept on running, and by the time Nationals left fielder Josh Willingham finally retrieved the ball, Jones had scored behind two other runners for a three-run inside the park home run.

The play was the deciding factor in the O’s 7-6 victory, and Morgan was shipped off to the Milwaukee Brewers just over a month later.

Update: Morgan was actually acquired by the Brewers in March of 2011. Thanks to the commenters who pointed this oversight out, which should have been caught by the editor.

5. Ryan Raburn Allows Home Run off His Glove From Warning Track

On April 26, 2011, Detroit Tigers left fielder Ryan Raburn turned what should have been a Miguel Olivo flyout into an improbable home run.

There have been quite a few players in baseball history who have knocked the ball over the fence trying to catch a ball, but Raburn may just be the first one to it from the beginning of the warning track.

4. Manny Ramirez Performs Perfect Pirouette on Throw from Johnny Damon

The “Manny Being Manny” act played well for a few years before his suspected PED use and other issues finally took their toll, but on one particular night, Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez wowed the crowd, and the internet world, with an unbelievable sight.

Manny decided to act as an outfield cut-off man for center fielder Johnny Damon. While it’s certainly true that Damon was never blessed with a strong throwing arm, Manny really didn’t need to cut off a throw from just 50 feet away.

But hey, it’s Manny being Manny.

3. Roger Clemens Acts Like a Wuss in Game 2 of 2000 World Series

Roger Clemens has certainly been accused of a lot of things over the years—in fact he’s currently accused of perjury, for which he’ll try to weasel out of….er… defend himself in a second trial next April.

However, in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series against the New York Mets, Clemens decided to whip the fat end of a broken bat at the feet of Mike Piazza—and then later claim it was all a big misunderstanding.

2. Steve Lyons Shows off Legs and a Bit More in Front of National Audience

On August 13, 1990 Chicago White Sox utility player Steve Lyons, who was already known for being just a bit off-kilter at times, bunted down the first base line and just barely beat the throw to the bag on a head-first slide.

After getting up, Lyons decided to do a little bit more than just dust himself off. Lyons forever became for being the first ballplayer in history to drop trow during a game.

1. Jose Canseco Finally Learns How to Use His Head

On May 26, 1993, while playing right field for the Texas Rangers, Jose Canseco started chasing after a ball hit deep to right-center field off the bat of Cleveland Indians designated hitter Carlos Martinez.

What happened next turned into the most viewed blooper in MLB sports history.

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Jeff Herbst (born and raised in the Midwest) has had a passion for sports ever since he could first walk. He works with Phoenix Bats, a company that creates world-class wood baseball bats such as their signature fungo bats for amateur and professional ball players around the world.

Two years in a row I have attended Game 6 of the ALCS at The Ballpark in Arlington, and two years in a row I have witnessed the Rangers perform their Ginger Ale celebration in the infield after the game. Last year, it was a close win over the Yankees when Alex Rodriguez struck out. This year, it was an absolute blowout over the Tigers.

So now the Texas Rangers will go to the World Series for the second straight year, with their bats on fire and the bullpen in lockdown mode. Their opponent will the St. Louis Cardinals, who are one of the most improbable World Series contenders ever. The Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Braves for the Wild Card with a few days left in August. Thanks to a 10-20 finish by the Braves, and their own September surge, the Cardinals stormed into the playoffs and haven’t stopped winning since.

Though MLB and FOX are surely disappointed that their ratings cows – the Yanks, Red Sox, and Phillies – didn’t sniff this year’s World Series, you’ll find zero disappointment here. In fact, I think this is one of the more fascinating World Series matchups that was possible. We’ll have plenty of coverage here at MSF in the coming days. Quickly, here is the TV schedule and pitching probables to whet your appetite:

World Series TV Schedule and Pitching Probables

World Series Game 1

• Date: Wednesday, October 19th
• Location: Texas at St. Louis
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: CJ Wilson v Chris Carpenter

World Series Game 2

• Date: Thursday, October 20th
• Location: Texas at St. Louis
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: Colby Lewis v Jaime Garcia

World Series Game 3

• Date: Saturday, October 22nd
• Location: St. Louis at Texas
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: Edwin Jackson v Derek Holland

World Series Game 4

• Date: Sunday, October 23rd
• Location: St. Louis at Texas
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: Kyle Lohse v Matt Harrison

World Series Game 5*

• Date: Monday, October 24th
• Location: St. Louis at Texas
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: TBD

World Series Game 6*

• Date: Wednesday, October 26th
• Location: Texas at St. Louis
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: TBD

World Series Game 7*

• Date: Thursday, October 27th
• Location: Texas at St. Louis
• Time: 8:05 ET
• TV: FOX
• Probable Pitchers: TBD

As per usual, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver will be handling the announcing duties, with friend of MSF Ken Rosenthal reporting from the dugouts. I’ll update this schedule as information becomes available.

* – if necessary