ScrappleJacks

OK.

So apparently Alex Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his hip, which will either put him out for 10 weeks (according to his brother), 4 months (if the Yankees feel he needs surgery), or not at all (the initial approach the Yanks are taking.)

So where does the conspiracy come in?  Well, you’re probably aware of Rodriguez’s admission that he took steroids for the three years he was with the Texas Rangers, but not when he was with the Yankees - not that this would make any sense.  Rodriguez stated that he was pressured into the steroids due to the enormous expectations put upon him by his signing the largest contract in the baseball history with the Rangers back in 2001.  Going from that to the MEDIA CAPITAL OF THE WORLD surely wouldn’t put any more pressure on him, would it?

Anyway, I digress.  Going into this season, the focus on Rodriguez’s numbers was going to be extreme.  Would they drop off?  Has he been on steroids the whole time and only admitted to what Sports Illustrated had discovered, carefully distancing his illegal activity from the Yankees.

Let’s say Rodriguez was on PEDs until this season, having been introduced to them while in Texas, but this season stops taking them because of the SI report and because MLB tells Rodriguez that the next positive test he has he’s actually getting the suspension (I really find it hard to believe that the only people who are failing PED tests in the majors are middle relievers and light-hitting outfielders.)  Rodriguez’s numbers would probably drop off, even compared to his “down” season last year.  Maybe they don’t, but they are “performance enhancing drugs” - if your performance is no longer enhanced, it’s worse, no?  Immediately the media has enough justification to say Rodriguez has been on PEDs the whole time; look at his numbers now after he admitted the drugs!  The media becomes judge, jury, and executioner, just the same as it has been with Barry Bonds and others before him.  It doesn’t matter if he was telling the truth and actually wasn’t on PEDs while a Yankee; his drop in numbers after his admission makes him guilty, regardless of how many public drug tests he has.

But now… now we have another reason for a dropoff in numbers.  This is a serious injury (obviously, if the Yanks are talking 4 months), and has the potential to serious affect his ability to hit the baseball, if not his career in general (see Belle, Albert).  If he in fact does have a torn labrum and is out for four months and comes back at the All-Star break, hitting around 15-20HR and a .270/.350/.490 line, the PED withdrawal argument is harder to justify.  The following season with similar numbers?  Hell, the guy turned 35 that season and he’s got a bad hip.  Anything else becomes a result of the injury just as much as it could be a result of the PED withdrawal.  Analysts will notice minute differences in his swing, shifting weight where he wasn’t before, and we’ll understand because we’re all getting older.  Don Mattingly’s career went downhill fast when his back gave out, and no one accuses him of being a steroid user who quit during the 1990 season.  Willie Mays’ last “Willie Mays-like” season was when he was 35; Mickey Mantle’s last season was when he was 36.  It wouldn’t be unthinkable for Rodriguez to see his numbers drop, especially after this injury.  We’ll mention Rodriguez’s glory days and how we thought he’d be the one to take out Aaron’s home run record, and later Bonds’ record just the same way they speak of Ken Griffey Jr.  Steroids?  Maybe, maybe not.

But maybe the Yanks hold off the surgery and Rodriguez plays at his expected MVP level.  Well, then it’s amazing that he’s playing through the pain and still putting up those numbers, isn’t it?  But if they let him play and he crashes and burns, then the surgery gets scheduled and it was the hip that was causing the drop.

There’s an out for Rodriguez every step of the way now, thanks to this injury.  For someone who’s going to be out for potentially four months (and a team that’s potentially losing its best hitter for that same span), this couldn’t have come at a better time.

One of the things that keeps me going when I’m most stressed about “the situation” is that as much as I might think things are bad, there are people who are in worse shape than I am.  Sometimes I need to stretch and think of people in war-torn villages in the Middle East or the whole “starving children in Africa” thing, but it’s a lot more “comforting” (not really the best word - I’ll see if I can come up with a better one by the end of the post) when it happens to actual humans around you that you identify with.

One of my friends at work recently received her W-2 form and found out that for the past year or so, our company has taken out zero in state and federal taxes, leaving her high and dry when April 15th comes around, whereas she might have been thinking about a refund, now she’s trying to figure out how to pay more.  A quick check of my w-2 saw a tiny amount in my federal withholding, however that’s attributed to the litter I have at home, and that state taxes were still being taken out in a happy-go-lucky manner.

So once again, could be worse.

The Baltimore Orioles have picked up former hyped center field prospect Felix Pie from the Chicago Cubs for starter Garrett Olson and minor league pitcher Hank Williamson. Pie needed to be dealt because after six seasons, you stop being a “prospect” and start being the guy who couldn’t make the major league roster. His days were numbered after this past season - when your team chooses to stick a corner outfielder who couldn’t make the Blue Jays 25-man roster (Reed Johnson) in center, then after realizing that was a bad idea chooses to reanimate the corpse of Jim Edmonds rather than give you another shot in center, you’re never going to make it. Baltimore is a fresh start for him, and he’ll get as much shot as anyone to get the center field job.

The Cubs, for pulling the trigger at the last possible minute of prospect value, still manage to get servicable players.  Olson was a first round sandwich pick in 2005 out of Cal Poly who has put up strong strikeout numbers through his minor league career, but hasn’t been able to make the transition from minor league ace to major league starter.  After putting up great numbers at AAA Norfolk in 2007 (3.16 ERA, 8.4 k/9, 1.05 WHIP in 22 starts) and not so great in a cup of coffee that same year, Olson spent most of the 2008 season with the Orioles, and stuck with not so great.  The talent seems to be there (as his minor league career shows), and he’s only 25 - around the same age John Maine was when the O’s shipped him off to the Mets for Anna Benson’s husband.  Add in Williamson, who has a live arm (11.0 k/9 in 90 career innings) and who could potentially have upside, although it’s pretty early to tell.

Overall this is one of those “change of scenery” trades that can work out for both teams.  Both main guys are prospects who can’t be called that much longer who have nothing left to prove at the AAA level, but haven’t been able to show that they deserve to stick at the major league level.  Of the two, the Orioles are most likely to see returns on the trade, since Olson making the Cubs major league roster isn’t a given, but the Orioles are content with putting a player into the lineup and dealing with the lumps (as they did with Adam Jones last season).  Figure Pie will get a shot at being the everyday center fielder or left fielder (depending on where he and Jones end up).  That, and Pie is probably out of options - I figure he would have used two the last two seasons, and if 2005 was his third “real” season in the Cubs organization, then he would have burned an option in 2006 as well (surely the Cubs would have protected him from Rule 5 given his prospect level.)  So figure the Cubs have Johnson, Alfonso Soriano, Fukudome, Milton Bradley, and Joey Gathwright (!) all under contract for next season, and with it being unlikely that the Cubs could move Fukudome, then Pie would end up getting sent down and having to clear waivers, which wouldn’t happen.

I don’t think Pie ever got a fair shot in Chicago, and that’s not necessarily Chicago’s fault.  It’s one thing when you’re the Orioles (or the Rays in past seasons) and can afford to put a developinig player out onto the field and deal with 0-5 nights, but the Cubs are in a tough division where a few games here and there could mean the difference between the playoffs and another season without a World Series.  Pie was given opportunities, but when he failed in those two that he was given, the Cubs had no other choice than to look elsewhere.  Pie could turn into another Brandon Phillips, but in this case, the Cubs are actually getting something for Pie, where Cleveland just tried to get Phillips through waivers and ended up having to deal him to Cincinnati for pennies on the dollar.

WINNER: Orioles, but for the wrong reasons.

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THERE?

I got this from the Miami Dolphins (who have possibly the worst online “pro shop” in all of sports) in my email today:

NEED A LAST MINUTE GIFT, FAST? Virtual gift cards are delivered via e-mail within 24 hours!

I understand how people don’t like gift cards because there isn’t that much “thought” put into them, but I can understand them; I wouldn’t want to shop for me, since I’m very particular with the things I use, and a gift card makes life easier for people, especially if they’re sending something in the mail (instead of cash).

But really, what kind of message does it send to say “hey, here’s an email that you’ll probably delete as spam because I forgot that tomorrow is Christmas because I live in Antarctica and South Pole people refuse to acknowledge the actions of those at the North Pole”?

These are kind of the layers of giftgiving:

• Priceless item (cure for cancer, super powers)
• Item so expensive can only be bought in theory (275 carat diamond, Space Shuttle, Norway)
• items with meaning / good positive thought behind it
• Gift cards (> $100)
• High priced items with no thought behind it
• High priced items with negative thoughts or underlying reasoning for it (Here’s a new stove, now get off your ass and make me some dinner)
• Gift cards ($25-$100)
• Low priced items with no thought behind it
• Gift cards (< $25)
• Low priced items with negative thoughts or underlying reasoning for it (Here’s a condom - I heard your new girlfriend has a “reputation”)
• Nothing
• “Virtual” gifts (I gave you nothing, but I will insist that it was something and become angered when you don’t appreciate it)
• Punch in the face