The following is a list of the top shortstops from the late '90s and early 2000s in Major League Baseball (in no particular order) (the list actually comes from a poster I have in my house...):
1. Alex Rodriguez -- Admitted to steroid use
2. Alex Gonzalez -- Named in reports for HGH use
3. Nomar Garciaparra -- Extensive history of nagging injuries suggests performance-enhancing drugs have not been in use (or have been very ineffective)
4. Rey Ordonez -- Despite winning 3 Gold Gloves, had a dreadful career batting average of .246, with a high full-season average of .258, and had only 12 career homeruns, so who cares if he did take P.E.D.'s?
5. Omar Vizquel -- Has won 11 Gold Gloves for defense, but has only a .273 career batting average and 77 career homeruns in 19 seasons.
6. Miguel Tejada -- Named prominently in the Mitchell Report for P.E.D. use. Now under investigation for perjury.
7. Derek Jeter -- What's his story? Only member of this list to play at least 145 games in each of his full seasons in the Majors, clearly avoiding nagging injuries. Has a career average of .316 and 206 career homeruns. Seems suspicious....
Showing posts with label Alex Rodriguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Rodriguez. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Start of an Era
Hello there everyone! My name is Steve Slowinski and you, my friends, have some very difficult questions facing you. Why should you read this blog? What is it about this particular sports blog that differentiates it from all the other dime-a-dozen sports blogs out there? Do these writers have any sort of expertise? Why should I even trust them? Why am I wasting my life in front of the computer and in particular, reading this blog?
Well, fellow baseball fans, the long and short answer is glaringly obvious: because you have nothing else better to do. But if you've stuck around this long and haven't already gone outside to play a game of catch (which like Joe, I highly recommend), then maybe you deserve to get something out of your two or three minute investment so far. You, those lucky few that have persevered this long, are lucky enough to be present at the beginning of an era. You, right now sitting in front of your computer and staring blankly at the screen, you are a witness to history.
No, I'm not talking about the beginning of the Era of the Rays (even though that might be true as well), but about this blog. This is no ordinary sports blog, the likes of which you
can find out there on the internet simply by sneezing and clicking your heels together three times. As JRR Tolkien put it:
"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king."
I don't know where this crown is, but I sure as hell want it. For this blog, mark my words, shall soon be lord over all the blogosphere. That poem says it all, doesn't it? The Brewers ignited their fire last year, after years in the ashes of the NL Central. A-Rod has come out and claimed that he never did steroids, giving us a beam of shining, pure light in this moment of darkness (note the sarcasm...). And Sammy Sosa made his comeback last year, renewing that hollow blade he infamously broke, so obviously the moment of truth is upon us. We're simply here to receive our crown.
If it isn't obvious by now already, when Joe invited me to join this blog, I simply couldn't pass up the chance. I've been an avid baseball fan my entire life, ever since my dad took me to my first pro game in '95. It was at Yankee Stadium and although the Yankees lost to the Twins at that point, I was lucky enough to follow the Yankees closely all throughout their magical '96 season. More recently, I switched allegiances from the Yankees to the Devil Rays around the year 2002 (more to come on that later), and I have never wavered since. I've been playing fantasy baseball since middle school and by now, I'm completely and thoroughly a stats freak. Baseball, quite simply, is life.
As enthralled I'm sure you all are with my life story, what does this have to do with crowns and kings, you may ask? One word - everything. Ever since a young age, I knew I was destined for greater things. All my dreams came true when in high school, I self-published a baseball magazine with a bunch of my friends, earning us around 100 dollars total over three years and a trip to the principal's office. Glory days indeed...
And so, here I am. Here you are. Here this blog is. And here you shall read daily all the baseball news you never needed to know, but can't help but read anyway. Just think, years from now when we've bought out ESPN and have brought handball to the US, you'll be able to look back on this day and say yes, I was there when it all began. Be thankful. Praise baseball! Praise Babe Ruth! Allehuhia!
....I'm still waiting for that crown.
Well, fellow baseball fans, the long and short answer is glaringly obvious: because you have nothing else better to do. But if you've stuck around this long and haven't already gone outside to play a game of catch (which like Joe, I highly recommend), then maybe you deserve to get something out of your two or three minute investment so far. You, those lucky few that have persevered this long, are lucky enough to be present at the beginning of an era. You, right now sitting in front of your computer and staring blankly at the screen, you are a witness to history.
No, I'm not talking about the beginning of the Era of the Rays (even though that might be true as well), but about this blog. This is no ordinary sports blog, the likes of which you
can find out there on the internet simply by sneezing and clicking your heels together three times. As JRR Tolkien put it:"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king."
I don't know where this crown is, but I sure as hell want it. For this blog, mark my words, shall soon be lord over all the blogosphere. That poem says it all, doesn't it? The Brewers ignited their fire last year, after years in the ashes of the NL Central. A-Rod has come out and claimed that he never did steroids, giving us a beam of shining, pure light in this moment of darkness (note the sarcasm...). And Sammy Sosa made his comeback last year, renewing that hollow blade he infamously broke, so obviously the moment of truth is upon us. We're simply here to receive our crown.
If it isn't obvious by now already, when Joe invited me to join this blog, I simply couldn't pass up the chance. I've been an avid baseball fan my entire life, ever since my dad took me to my first pro game in '95. It was at Yankee Stadium and although the Yankees lost to the Twins at that point, I was lucky enough to follow the Yankees closely all throughout their magical '96 season. More recently, I switched allegiances from the Yankees to the Devil Rays around the year 2002 (more to come on that later), and I have never wavered since. I've been playing fantasy baseball since middle school and by now, I'm completely and thoroughly a stats freak. Baseball, quite simply, is life.
As enthralled I'm sure you all are with my life story, what does this have to do with crowns and kings, you may ask? One word - everything. Ever since a young age, I knew I was destined for greater things. All my dreams came true when in high school, I self-published a baseball magazine with a bunch of my friends, earning us around 100 dollars total over three years and a trip to the principal's office. Glory days indeed...
And so, here I am. Here you are. Here this blog is. And here you shall read daily all the baseball news you never needed to know, but can't help but read anyway. Just think, years from now when we've bought out ESPN and have brought handball to the US, you'll be able to look back on this day and say yes, I was there when it all began. Be thankful. Praise baseball! Praise Babe Ruth! Allehuhia!
....I'm still waiting for that crown.
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