I have a love/hate relationship with Yuniesky Betancourt. Part of me loves the story of the man, while the other part hates watching the baseball player. This conflict is insignificant, but it does make watching Brewers games slightly more complicated. Allow me to elaborate on the two sides of the Yuni B coin.
1) Yuniesky Betancourt is the embodiment of the American dream
What we know is Betancourt escaped Cuba in 2003. The official story is that he came to the United States via raft, though amendments to the story claim he was smuggled out of Cuba through unknown channels. The details of his sojourn to America are not as important as the fact he escaped the oppressive poverty of communism and parlayed his ability to play baseball into a lucrative career in Major League Baseball* once he arrived in the Land of Opportunity. Furthermore, the world is likely a better place because he became a major league baseball player. We know he helped his mother and grandmother get to America from Cuba, and I'm sure his wealth is helping/will help people in need. He's a reminder that there are more important things in life than baseball.
*$15,755,000 according to Baseball-Reference.com.
2) Watching Yunikesky Betancourt play baseball often makes me want to vomit
This part of the post is 100% inspired by him grounding into a fielder's choice leading to the Rickie Weeks being thrown out at home and the Brewers losing the game. It was both an awful pitch to swing at and the worst realistic outcome of the play. You can argue this play is not Betancourt's fault because he should not even be on a major league roster, especially considering he currently has a 55 OPS+ and is hitting .164 since May 1. However, he is on a major league roster and it just so happens it is that of my favorite team. I do not like this one bit because he's bad at what he's paid to do. (In his defense, he deserves kudos for some game winning hits this season).
Conclusion
The story of Yuniesky Betancourt is a great one. I'm happy he's made the most of his opportunities and in a very real way he's an inspiration to us all. With that said, I'm counting the days until he no longer plays for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Vic Rattlehead on PEDs
Will Leitch wrote a column today that pretty well sums up my thoughts on PEDs in baseball:
...fans have made abundantly clear their views on players who have been connected to PEDs: They don't care.... Fans don't want it thrown in their face like with Bonds and company, and they're for drug testing and the suspension of those who are caught, but in a default scenario, they'd just as soon simply watch the games, thanks.
I have an out of sight, out of mind attitude towards PEDs. My preference is players adhere to the spirit of athletic competition and refrain from juicing, but I'm also aware this will never totally be true. I am not bothered by this reality and I do not care if some cheaters never get caught. While there is an "ignorance is bliss" element to my opinion, it mostly stems from a belief that most athletes are honest in their methods and only a small minority will always go too far while looking for an edge. Like a department store factoring theft into their budget, I accept the latter faction as an inescapable reality of sports. I don't care much about this because the degree to which I should is outweighed by other problems I'd rather worry about.
As long as some form of testing is in place and appropriate punishments are levied I don't believe any additional action is needed. The current system in MLB is sufficiently comprehensive and strict enough to provide a strong disincentive for those with a spotty moral compass. It's not going to catch everyone or prevent all juicing, but who cares? Let the hardcore cheaters do their thing and focus the rest of your resources on improving your product. Sometimes performing your due diligence is good enough.
Note: The Brew Crew Project will be off until next Friday as I'll be on the East Coast. I put the over/under on Brewers wins in my absence at 3.5. They have seven home games against the Phillies and Marlins. To demonstrate my homerdom, I'm taking the under.
...fans have made abundantly clear their views on players who have been connected to PEDs: They don't care.... Fans don't want it thrown in their face like with Bonds and company, and they're for drug testing and the suspension of those who are caught, but in a default scenario, they'd just as soon simply watch the games, thanks.
I have an out of sight, out of mind attitude towards PEDs. My preference is players adhere to the spirit of athletic competition and refrain from juicing, but I'm also aware this will never totally be true. I am not bothered by this reality and I do not care if some cheaters never get caught. While there is an "ignorance is bliss" element to my opinion, it mostly stems from a belief that most athletes are honest in their methods and only a small minority will always go too far while looking for an edge. Like a department store factoring theft into their budget, I accept the latter faction as an inescapable reality of sports. I don't care much about this because the degree to which I should is outweighed by other problems I'd rather worry about.
As long as some form of testing is in place and appropriate punishments are levied I don't believe any additional action is needed. The current system in MLB is sufficiently comprehensive and strict enough to provide a strong disincentive for those with a spotty moral compass. It's not going to catch everyone or prevent all juicing, but who cares? Let the hardcore cheaters do their thing and focus the rest of your resources on improving your product. Sometimes performing your due diligence is good enough.
Note: The Brew Crew Project will be off until next Friday as I'll be on the East Coast. I put the over/under on Brewers wins in my absence at 3.5. They have seven home games against the Phillies and Marlins. To demonstrate my homerdom, I'm taking the under.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The Ryan Braun Saga in 9 seconds
As a fan of the Brewers and Ryan Braun, the recent news about Tony Bosch agreeing to talk with Major League Baseball has me feeling a bit like Chief Wiggum at the Kwik-E-Mart. The analogy is perfect because, when you think about it, the two circumstances are almost identical.
Ryan Braun either took PEDs or he didn't. If he juiced then somewhere there is evidence of wrongdoing. Like a perpetually moving hot dog roller, Major League Baseball has been working around the clock looking for proof that Braun violated the league's substance abuse policy. Presumably, they've found the tie they've been looking for with Bosch agreeing to provide testimony. This is problematic for Braun unless Bosch does his Johnny Tightlips impression or Braun is innocent. I have two thoughts on the matter.
First, if Braun cheated and there is evidence proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, then it is impossible to defend him on a moral level. Furthermore, it will be hard to argue against a suspension in practice because the collectively bargained rules are clearly in place. A justified suspension would be devastating for the Brewers because it would be the ultimate downfall for the supposed cornerstone of a long-suffering franchise. Needless to say, I hope Braun walks away from this.
Second, I do not like the extent to which suspected PED users are investigated, and this extends outside of baseball (i.e. Lance Armstrong). The presumption of innocence is of paramount importance in all facets of life, but especially when you are accusing people of wrongdoing. It's troubling how athletes are investigated for crimes long after the alleged dirty deeds were relevant (Roger Clemens) and what's going on with Ryan Braun is far too similar to double jeopardy for my liking. To protect the rights of the players MLB should be restricted in their opportunities to suspend them. In the case of Braun, he failed a test and won the appeal. That should be the end of the story unless there is overwhelming evidence against him (which there very well might be). I'd rather players be presumed innocent and get away with cheating then presumed guilty and suspended due to the words of a disreputable PED peddler.
All that's left to do now is play the waiting game and compulsively do a Google News search for "Ryan Braun." If Braun is suspended, so be it; but MLB better have one hell of a case against him. If "RB 1500" in a notebook is enough to suspend someone for 100 games, I will have a somewhat harder time being a baseball fan.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
On Instant Replay
My opinion of instant replay depends on how the bad call affects the team I'm rooting for. If my team is victimized by poor umpiring I'll support it, but if a bad call goes in their favor I'll tell you that human error is part of the game. After Jean Segura "picked off" Kyle Kendrick in Saturday's game I was not terribly supportive of expanding replay in baseball. However, now that time has passed and emotion is removed from the equation I'm once again reluctantly supportive of expanding replay.
It is important for umpires to get as many calls correct as possible. In the spirit of fair athletic competition you want games to be decided by the relative excellence of the teams on a given day. That said, it's not important for umpires to get every call correct. This is where my reluctance to expanding replay comes in as baseball needs to be weary of measures that will slow the game down.
The average baseball game lasts about 2 hours and 50 minutes, up from 2 hours and 30 minutes in the 70s. Generally speaking, baseball reaches peak watchability (watchfullness?) when it's played at a brisk pace. Conversely, 3 hour and 30 minute slogs can get rather cumbersome and boring for all parties involved (unless lots and lots of runs are being scored). Major League Baseball needs to take measures to speed up the game and instant replay does not do this. Even so, MLB would be well served to expand replay a tad to weed out the egregiously bad calls. I believe they can do this while keeping a generally constant pace of play by doing two things:
1) Giving each team one challenge per game.
2) Allowing the umpires to review calls in the ninth inning and beyond.
This type of expansion, or some variation thereof, seems like a pretty simply way to take care of what ails the umpires. Bad calls can be reversed and, in theory, time otherwise spent watching managers argue with umpires would be replaced with something that would actually change the call on the field.
I'd like to see some expansion of replay in 2014, but if baseball never expands it I will not be upset. After all, one of the worst calls in MLB history prevented the Cardinals from winning the World Series. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure we can live without replay.
It is important for umpires to get as many calls correct as possible. In the spirit of fair athletic competition you want games to be decided by the relative excellence of the teams on a given day. That said, it's not important for umpires to get every call correct. This is where my reluctance to expanding replay comes in as baseball needs to be weary of measures that will slow the game down.
The average baseball game lasts about 2 hours and 50 minutes, up from 2 hours and 30 minutes in the 70s. Generally speaking, baseball reaches peak watchability (watchfullness?) when it's played at a brisk pace. Conversely, 3 hour and 30 minute slogs can get rather cumbersome and boring for all parties involved (unless lots and lots of runs are being scored). Major League Baseball needs to take measures to speed up the game and instant replay does not do this. Even so, MLB would be well served to expand replay a tad to weed out the egregiously bad calls. I believe they can do this while keeping a generally constant pace of play by doing two things:
1) Giving each team one challenge per game.
2) Allowing the umpires to review calls in the ninth inning and beyond.
This type of expansion, or some variation thereof, seems like a pretty simply way to take care of what ails the umpires. Bad calls can be reversed and, in theory, time otherwise spent watching managers argue with umpires would be replaced with something that would actually change the call on the field.
I'd like to see some expansion of replay in 2014, but if baseball never expands it I will not be upset. After all, one of the worst calls in MLB history prevented the Cardinals from winning the World Series. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure we can live without replay.
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