Love is the Most Important Thing in the World, but Baseball is Pretty Good Too

So far this Spring Training, I've had to just listen to the Mets games on mlb.com since we do not get SNY here at Gettysburg College. However, we do -- for some strange reason -- get CW11, so I haven't moved from my seat since 1 pm as I've been watching the Mets take on the Astros. So far, the offense has looked good, loading the bases in each of the first 3 innings. However, they only just pushed in a run for the first time here in the 3rd on Ryan Church's grounder through the legs of the Astros first-baseman (the second time today Church reached on an error).

On another note, John Maine started today's game. His first inning was sharp (despite a solo homerun by Miguel Tejada). He lost his control a bit in the 2nd, but the important thing for Maine is seeing him healthy after last season. The importance of his health is heightened with the news today that Santana is returning to NYC to have his elbow examined.


....as I typed this, Brian Schneider hit a grand slam to put the Mets on top 5-1. Last season, I made it to three Mets games (two at Shea and one in Washington). Schneider homered in all of them -- including being the last person I saw hit a homer at Shea (against these Astros). Let's hope he stays healthy this year, as well, as he spent the first half of last season struggling from a multitude of problems before having a strong second half at the plate.

Watching baseball again feels great. The world is right again. If only Casey Fossum could pitch today it would be perfect.....

A-Rod Admits to Steroid Use, We ask the Obvious Next Question (at least obvious in my mind....)

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....

Links Links Links...

I'm not feeling like writing a real article, per se, but I've found a good amount of really cool sites out there worth checking out. So pop into these sites if you have a minute...you won't regret it, I promise.

Beyond the Boxscore
This is a very intelligent baseball sabrmetrics blog, written in large part by my favorite blogger from DRaysBay, RJ Anderson. If you want a sample of the sort of articles they publish there, take a look at their most recent post above. It's a really great article detailing the reasons (and pretty in-depth ones at that) why despite his slow start, David Ortiz still has some pop in his bat.

Rob Neyer's new book
Definitely add this to my list of books I'd like someone to buy for me. Actually, I'll probably buy it for myself before my birthday comes around. For anyone that loves baseball history and lore, this looks like a must read.

Interview with Rob Neyer about said book
After reading this interview, I've decided that Rob Neyer is one of the few ESPN analysts that I can actually respect. Come to think of it, I can't remember ever having a problem with any of the things that he's written. He's definitely a cool guy and seems to know what he's talking about.

Tejada Lied!
Honestly, this is a few days old news by this point, but ESPN just finally put an article up about it. The Orioless got so lucky that they unloaded Tejada to the Astros this offseason. First the Mitchell Report and now this. And hmm...to be honest, I actually don't like this article that much but it's worth skimming to get the gist of the situation.