Web MasterThe baseball season is at its most intense point of the season as teams, still in their division or wild-card races, head into the stretch run of September, while the NFL has one more week to prepare for its beginning. The sights and sounds of the last week in August:
Let us first begin by talking about some good old National League baseball. These playoff races are going to be as exciting as ever. Eight teams will compete for only four spots, as the other four perfectly capable teams will head home for their winter vacations too early. Philadelphia and Atlanta will duke it out in the East, while St. Louis and Chicago will continue to chase Houston in the Central. The Wild, Wild West will most certainly be the most exciting finish, with only three games separating Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. And with Barry Bonds chasing Big Mac, Sammy Sosa chasing Bonds, and Luis Gonzalez creeping up behind both, it’s sure to be a fabulous time for the baseball fanatic. Every game, homer, win, and loss now counts even more with only one month left to make a difference. So who will it be? It’s anyones guess. Stay Tuned.
The NFL, still trying to recover from the loss of Korey Stringer, has another controversy up its sleeve. The League has vehemently stated that it will go ahead with replacement officials if there is not a deal in place between the two sides. The NFL’s latest deal includes an immediate 40% salary hike, with salary doubling by the 2003 season. The refs are seeking a contract such as the baseball, NBA, and NHL officials have with their respective leagues. Come on! This is ridiculous.
Baseball officials spend March through October sweating under heavy equipment in the hot sun during three to four hour games. And there are 162 of `em. The NBA and NHL seasons are shorter than baseball’s rigorous schedule, but 82 games is still much different than 16 Sundays, with a few preseason and postseason games for certain officials. Currently, an official that has five years of NFL service makes over $40 thousand. The new deal the NFL has proposed gives that official almost $85 thousand in 2003. For a part time job, that’s not such a bad deal. And as the tenure gets longer, the prices go up. For these officials to pout like the athletes they ref is stupid. Stop the whining and put the damn whistle in your mouth. Or else we’re all going to suffer from this. We all know how angry certain fans get when “real” officials make a bad call, but imagine the uproar when replacement officials mess up the Super Bowl. Cities may burn. Let’s not let this happen, please!
Roger Clemens should not, I repeat, should not, win the Cy Young Award as the AL’s best pitcher. Sure, I am one of the more biased people in the sports world, but give me a chance on this one. My vote goes to Freddy Garcia of those Seattle Mariners, who, if you haven’t noticed, are 57 games over .500. Garcia is second in ERA with a 3.29, while Clemens ranks eighth in the same category with a 3.56. Garcia is second in innings pitched. Clemens is fifth. Garcia has three complete games, something of a rarity in this league. Oh yeah, Clemens has none. Gracia has two shutouts. Wanna guess how many Clemens has? If you said zero, right again. Garcia has allowed 12 dingers, Clemens 16. And here’s the glaring statistic for me: Garcia ranks 14th in run support, getting 5.57 runs from his Seattle teammates. Clemens ranks second in this category, almost two runs more at 7.22 runs per game. So he’s 17-1. 7.22 runs per start? Granted, it’s certainly not his fault that his teammates seem to beat up the opposing pitcher when he takes the mound. But Cy Young, no way. He’s got a great record, but this is supposed to be about the best pitcher, not the best record. Give it to Garcia, the most deserving pitcher in the AL.
To contact Dr. Z, email him at jeremy.zangara@studlife.com