The discussion of whether or not contraction is good for baseball has undoubtedly been the topic on many sports shows and in sports bars across the country this past week. Personally, I think it will only do wonders for baseball. Over the past decade, our generation has grown up with new teams, logos and, ultimately, new players that really don’t belong in professional sports.
Increasingly, especially in baseball, 19, 20, and 21- year-olds are being put onto mounds and thrust into the spotlight. Our parents talk of the way it used to be, when a player would be drafted, play a few years in the minors, come up for big league action in the early- to mid-twenties, and hit his prime at age 30. Not anymore. Players may throw on that Triple-A uniform for a few weeks, maybe a month, but with teams falling out of pennant races before it stops snowing, these young guns are being put into major league action, where for the most part, they fail.
What contraction will do is lessen the number of teams in the league, creating teams with better players. Some people argue that the Boston Celtics’ dynasty of the late ’50s into the ’60s, when the C’s ran off eight consecutive championships, happened because there were so few teams. I argue this much differently. The teams that they competed against were full of the most talented players around. Today, you’d be hard pressed to find a lineup in the NBA where one in five are better than average, not to mention even close to all-star contention.
But back to baseball. Since MLB began expanding, the number of subpar players has increased tremendously. You cannot find a pitching rotation that has a quality (I use this word to mean a pitcher that is going to win 15-17 games) fourth starter. The fourth starter on the A’s may be better than the one on any other team, so he’ll win a few games. But I’m talking about condensing the league so that it brings back the competitive nature of old. Sure, every year there are going to be teams that aren’t very good, and teams that are just full of talent. But contracting, instead of expanding, would be a marvelous decision for baseball. It does upset me that a team with tradition like Minnesota would have to go, but I think it needs to be done. I don’t even want to get into the monetary reasons for closing down two franchises that probably haven’t sold out a game in years. It’s a matter of stopping this outrageous growth in sports and bringing back the competition that is all but lost in sports right now.

Class Rookie
The Boston Celtics like the number ten slot in the draft. They always just seem to get lucky. A few years back Paul Pierce fell to them, and the man is averaging over 27 points a game for them so far this season. This past summer’s draft was no different, as a talented pool of young kids made Arkansas’ Joe Johnson less attractive. The Celtics are buying these kids grape juice for coming out. Johnson has not only impressed the C’s organization with his play, but he’s a classy guy. Ask Johnson if he prefers to start or come off the bench, and he’ll tell you all he wants is to play and play well. And he’s a main reason for the Celtics’ 4-2 start to the season. In six games, Johnson is averaging just over 31 minutes per game and a ridiculous 56% from the field. In his first start against Milwaukee, he put in 23. The next game, he was told to guard MJ. He went out and played superb D, scored 16 points, and collected 10 boards. Critics then claimed he wasn’t getting enough assists. The next night against Seattle, he collected seven assists to add to his 12 points. He’s got an all-around game that is making other coaches drool and he’s a good guy. He speaks well of his teammates, doesn’t criticize his coaches, isn’t flashy in his appearance with tattoos or earrings, but simply plays fundamental basketball. And in this day and age, these types of players are hard to find.

College Specials

Over the weekend, college basketball kicked off its season with a few games, most notably the Coaches v. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden, with second ranked Maryland, fifth ranked Florida, sixteenth ranked Temple, and unranked Arizona battling for the rights to start the season 2-0. And surprisingly, Arizona was that team. The Cats came out and beat Maryland in the first game in a shocker 71-67. But after defeating Florida the next night, many may start believing in this team from out west that lost four starters to the NBA. Rich Anderson, Arizona’s junior forward who red shirted last season, scored the Cats’ final six points en route to a 75-71 victory. Jason Gardner, who declared for the NBA draft before deciding to return to school, scored 23 points in both games and was selected as tournament MVP. Watch out for these Cats, who are sky high after their two wins, and will sport some of the best freshman in the country, such as Will Bynum, who scored 16 points in the championship game.
In another college classic this weekend, this time football, the Boston College Eagles narrowly missed knocking off top-ranked Miami. BC drove down to the Miami 9-yard line in the final minute of the fourth quarter, only to throw an interception and have it returned for a touchdown in bizarre fashion. BC quarterback Brian St. Pierre dropped back and tried to thread the needle to WR Ryan Read, but the ball bounced off Mike Rumph’s knee and bounced directly into Matt Walters hands, who ran the ball about ten yards before teammate Ed Reed grabbed the ball from him and ran the next 80 yards for the touchdown. BC nearly pulled off its biggest upset and win since it defeated top-ranked Notre Dame in 1993 on a last second field goal. Miami’s Heisman candidate, QB Ken Dorsey threw four interceptions as the Eagles D had him out of sync all day long. But in the end, it was a big play that decided this one. These are the types of games that every National Championship caliber team must face before it reaches the big game. Miami nearly lost their hopes, but thanks to Rumph’s knee, their title shot is still on the horizon.

Contact Dr. Z at [email protected]

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