The steroid era is ending... so hopefully is the excessive celebration era

With pitching dominating and home run totals getting back to normal, we are seeing baseball finally getting out of the steroid era.

And thanks to Kendry Morales and Chris Coghlan we might be saying good bye to an era of stupid celebrations.

Look, I am not against having fun or even a fun spontaneous celebration. But I am glad to see home run celebrations muted a little after Kendry Morales put his career in peril due to a walk off homer leap.

And with the Angels offense sputtering, you think they could use his bat these days?

Not every game ending shot should be treated the same as Joe Carter's homer.

And I wouldn't mind seeing people celebrate things like walk off homers a smidge more sincerely.

Wouldn't it be more interesting to see the players celebrate based on what they would actually do instead of a carefully choreographed dance.

I want to see ball players thrilled at winning on the last swing of the bat, not Riverdance.

The only thing that Morales can take comfort in this year is that Chris Coghlan found a stupider injury in a post game celebration.

He wasn't even the hero of the game. He was trying to shove a cream pie in the face of Wes Helms. And somehow he busted his knee.

I don't even know how that is possible.
Did he have the pie on his knee?

But this is a recent tradition that I can do without. The pie in the face may have been funny once or twice, but like the bucket of Gatorade on the winning coach, it has become such a cliche that it is a joyless obligation rather than a fun ritual.

And Heaven forbid a guy be interviewed with a little dignity after getting the game winning hit. I would have love to see these guys pull that on Eddie Murray or Kirk Gibson after a game winning hit.

Or if you are going to do something... be original. The Keystone Cops thought pies in the face were hack.

But something just hit me... the steroid era is ending and dudes are getting hurt celebrating?

Maybe they are getting hurt because they are no longer juiced.

Better not try a forearm bash!

Yankee fans are throwing Jeter under the bus? This Red Sox fan WON'T HAVE IT!

Wow... it is a strange world we live in. I am a Red Sox fan and I am coming to the defense of Derek Jeter who is being dog piled by Yankee fans.

Even Bizarro finds this odd.

Yesterday I gave Jeter what I thought was a deserved tip of the cap for his class and understanding his role on the team.

Kind of a quick harmless post from me. And it is good ammo against anyone who says I don't give the Yankees any credit.

I figured that was that and I would move on with my life.

But nooooooooooooooo.

I got a few comments on my page and even more private e mails from people all KILLING Derek Jeter.

My cousin Chris e mailed me wanting to know my opinion on Jeter not being at Bob Sheppard's funeral.

Lisa at Subway Squawkers, one of my favorite New York baseball sites, is on Jeter's case.
So is John Harper at the Daily News.
And Bill Madden at the Daily News.
And Mike Mazzeo from the Star Ledger.

And I bet a lot more if I had the time or energy to look more.

REALLY? We're really going to throw Jeter under a bus?
We're going to act like Derek Jeter hasn't been 100% respectful of the Yankee tradition and specifically the legacy of Bob Sheppard this whole time?

After all Jeter has done in a Yankee uniform, and this is coming from a Red Sox fan, to represent its tradition, its titles, its link to the past and its place in New Yorkers lives, you are telling me Jeter has NOTHING in the bank in terms of credit?

This is not some knucklehead like Ben Roethlisberger or some Rent a Yankee who couldn't get out of town fast enough like Randy Johnson. This isn't a dope like Vince Coleman who didn't know who Jackie Robinson was or Jack McDowell flipping off the Yankee fans.

This is the captain of the team.
This is the man who continued to have Sheppard's voice announce him when they went to the new stadium.
He's the one who paid tribute to him and The Boss in front of 50,000+ fans and did so without notes and was clearly choked up.

He's earned the benefit of the doubt.
If he wasn't at the funeral then he should be given a pass. There was probably a reason. Maybe it was a "if the whole team doesn't go, then nobody should go" thing. Maybe it was a "we will pay tribute our way... publicly and in a heartfelt way."

Whatever it was... maybe you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that he did the wrong thing or isn't showing class.

This isn't Steve Howe. It's Derek Jeter... and some day there will be a day for him in the Bronx and will have earned it. (I am assuming he has earned it. According to some Yankee fans he evidently still needs to prove his reverence for the franchise.)

By the way, the next time one of you Yankee fans accuse me of just slamming your team, remember how I came to your captain's defense.

(But if you don't give Jeter credit, what hope do I have?)

Baseball swings and misses with Strasburg and the All Star game

Stephen Strasburg is not on the All Star roster.
Of course he isn't.
Why would he be? It would just make the All Star Game more electric, more fascinating and exciting.

Why would baseball want to do something like that?

Why would you want to have a phenom who has faced virtually NOBODY on the A.L. All Star team and have some fascinating head to head match ups?

Why would you want to have a moment where the player that is filling up stands in places like Cleveland and Washington play on the grandest stage while the interest of him is at a peak?

Why would you do something like that? Why would baseball want TO DO SOMETHING SMART?

And spare me talking about his win loss record. The Nationals have scored a grand total of 3 runs for him in his last 4 starts COMBINED!

And I don't want to hear about how the All Star Game roster spot needs to be for a truly accomplished player. The fans voted in Kosuke Fukudome one year.

Jose Offerman is a 2 time All Star. Tyler Green made an All Star team.

Were fans glued to the TV thinking "Oh boy, I hope Jose Rosado gets into this game."

And also spare me the whole "He'll make the All Star Game later" nonsense.
He will NEVER have this sense of mystery and freshness. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to have Strasburg face the A.L. All Stars for the first time... and they blew it to give Matt Capps a spot on the team.

No offense to Matt Capps... but what do you think will be a more memorable moment...

Strasburg versus Jeter, Guerrero and Mauer
Capps versus Ty Wigginton?

You blew it baseball.
Swing and a miss.

People against Interleague Play are WRONG! Reason #2,893

Oh people spend each year writing about Interleague Play being dumb and past its worth.

And each year the people who write that look stupider and stupider.

Their reasons make less and less sense. And they are always contradicted by things like "facts" and "reality."

I know I covered a lot of this earlier when I wrote my people against interleague play are morons post, but it is now beyond opinion.

One of the insane reasons that people say Interleague Play is obsolete is the match ups.

"Who cares about the Orioles versus the Marlins?" et al. As if an Orioles versus anyone is a riveting match up.

But I bet one of the pairings that would have been ridiculed would be the Indians and the Nationals.

Starting the season, it would be a 97 loss Indians club taking on the worst team in the game. Who cares?

And even with the Nationals playing better than expected, they are two sub .500 teams with no history between each other facing off.

Two also rans between the AL team with the worst attendance in the league facing a team with one of the worst attendance numbers in the NL.

Who cares? Just another terrible Interleague Matchup.

And it will be sold out and on National TV!

Why?

Stephen Strasburg is making his second start... and he's doing it in Cleveland.

The team with the worst attendance in the game will probably be jumping and buzzing with excitement. There will be excitement in a regular season game in June.

This will be Strasburg's only trip through Cleveland until probably around 2016.

Fans want to see the phenom up close and for real. It will probably be the biggest game in Progressive Field all season long.

And it would NOT happen if not for Interleague Play.

So keep that in mind, all of you morons who say "They should get rid of Interleague Play."
You are depriving cities not only of the natural cross town rivalry games, but also those unexpected match ups that no schedule make can predict.

If you are against interleague play, I want you to watch the game in Cleveland tomorrow and say "this would be better if it were Nationals vs Diamondbacks."

Once again, the argument has no leg to stand on.

Hey Interleague play haters... you've got NOTHING

As I wrote earlier, only morons criticize Interleague play.

I don't always respect other people's arguments and opinions if their arguments and opinions are baseless.

I don't respect Intelligent Design supporters. I don't respect the Birther movement. I don't respect the people who say Interleague Play is bad for baseball.

And among the argument flung at me like a simian tossing their waste was how unfair it is. "The Yankees get to play the Astros but the Red Sox have to play the Phillies. IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Well here's a way to counter act that injustice... just like the Sox did in May... WIN THE GAMES!

The Sox took have taken 4 out of 5 from the Phillies so far this year and will look to make it 5 of 6 tomorrow.

It's so unfair... for the PHILLIES.

Nonsense.

Complete and utter nonsense.

Someone will say Brandon Morrow's game was a bad one, I'm sure

The Blue Jays Brandon Morrow just completed his against the Blue Jays.

His line was pretty amazing.

9 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks, 17 strikeouts, a complete game shutout and a complete of a sweep.

And he did it against the second best team in baseball (but evidently the easiest team to no hit in baseball). And it was a pressure packed 1-0 game to boot.

But with all the new ways to measure stats and a pitchers effectiveness, I am sure there is some blogger out there who will write about how bad this game was.

There will be some measurement that I've never heard of that will be flung and me to show that this game was actually a poor start.

"He nearly threw a no hitter!"
"Yeah but did you check his "NOBOGH" percentage?"
"His WHAT?"
"His Number Of Bounces Of Grounders Hit percentage. The more bounces a ground ball takes, the more likely the ball will be picked up. His grounders have a low NOBOGH, which is bad."

Think I am joking? When Edwin Jackson threw his labored no hitter earlier this year (against the Rays) I heard people call in to shows and write on their blogs "Was it even an effect start?"

Um... He threw 9 innings, let up no runs and no hits.

So YES!!!
I don't care how many ways you bend the stats and how much origami you do with the numbers... throwing 9 innings, giving up 0 runs and 0 hits and getting a 1-0 victory IS A GOOD START!

Maybe it isn't a glamorous perfect game, but shouldn't he get CREDIT for working out of tense jams?

So prepare yourself for the craziness.
There will be someone out there shaking their head at any adulation of Morrow's performance.

We'll be looking at the runs, the hits and the results... yet someone will be counting the bounces and saying "Tsk tsk tsk... too many."