Bleacher Report - Articles by Kareem Shaker

Manny Tarnishing the Game

Kareem Shaker — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:13:09 -0400

When Manny Ramirez returned from a 50-game steroid suspension, he got a hero’s welcome.

Hero? Really?

The only thing this disease we call “Manny Being Manny” is a hero for is creating aches in the stomachs of diehard baseball fans.

The latest edition of a nauseating “Manny Being Manny” episode took place Tuesday when the Dodgers took on the just-as-nauseating Mets.

Ramirez, upset about a called third strike, tossed his batting gear all over the field, sparking a classic toss-out arm flail from home base umpire John Hirschbeck. Who, by the way, has one of the best in the game.

Nevermind the selfishness of getting tossed out while your team needs you, how about the inconsideration of making the ball boy run all over the place picking up your batting gear?

While tough-nosed dedicated baseball players like Orlando Hudson and Clayton Kershaw played great, who did all the highlights and headlines go to?

You guessed, our buddy Manny.

That wasn’t all.

In the postgame conference, when asked about the incident, Manny said, “Doesn’t really matter, I go out in the fifth anyway.”

When manager Joe Torre was asked if he was going to take Manny out in the fifth, Torre seemed puzzled.

Never mind Manny’s consistent butchering of the English language, we’re over that. But when does a player decide when he is to play and not play? That’s not baseball.

We all know Ramirez is an exceptional player, but aren’t there dozens of other players who are just as good, if not better. Albert Pujols would never have the nerve to tell Tony LaRussa it was time for him to sit the bench.

Torre is a politician, he just wants to avoid trouble in the sparkling lights of Hollywood. But, isn’t it time for some one to stand up to Manny?

Someone needs to tell Manny, face to face, how selfish the slugger is being and how disgusting it is that he feels all the rules, spoken and unspoken, of baseball don’t apply to him.

Let me or scores of other baseball lovers have a word with Manny.

Maybe then, Manny won’t be so Manny.

Los Angeles Dodgers Maintain Stranglehold On MLB Power Rankings

Kareem Shaker — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:53:43 -0400

The Los Angeles Dodgers are 10-7 since losing Manny Ramirez. They have won nine of their last 12 games and increased their first-place lead in the NL West by one game.

Not bad.

Meanwhile, things look normal in the AL East once again, with the Blue Jays dropping from first and the Red Sox and Yankees sitting one and two, respectively.

The Detroit Tigers have begun to pull away in the once-tightly packed AL Central, now four games ahead of the second-place Kansas City Royals.

However, the NL East and Central remain tightly packed at the top. Three teams are within 2.5 games in the Central and three teams sit 1.5 games away from each other at the top of the East.

Here’s how teams rank through May 25:

No. 1: Los Angeles Dodgers (31-15)—The Dodgers rank second in all of baseball in runs scored (261) and ERA (3.74). They have a comfortable 7.5-game lead in the NL West despite the second-place Padres’ 10-game winning streak. (Last Week, 1)

No. 2: Detroit Tigers (25-18)—A once-strong division has turned into mediocre at best, allowing the Tigers to pull away in the AL Central after winning eight of their last 10 games. (Last Week, 10)

No. 3: Boston Red Sox (27-19)—A three-game sweep of the Blue Jays brought Toronto back down to Earth and allowed the BoSox to take over first in the AL East. Boston is doing this without Kevin Youkilis (oblique) and with their starting pitching posting a miserable 5.31 ERA (fourth-worst in MLB). (Last Week, 6)

No. 4: New York Yankees (26-19)—The Yankees are 13-4 since A-Rod’s return. Rodriguez had seven of his first 10 hits leave the park, until a 5-for-5 performance (no HRs) Monday against the Texas Rangers raised his batting average 70 points to .259. Phil Hughes’ eight shutout innings of the league’s top-rated offense during that game may be even scarier for the rest of baseball. (Last Week, 8)

No. 5: Philadelphia Phillies (24-19)—The Phils stopped the red-hot Yankees in their tracks, taking two of three from them in New York. They have won seven of 10 and maintain a slim half-game lead ahead of the Mets for first in the NL East. (Last Week,

No. 6: Milwaukee Brewers (27-18)—Though just 4-4 over the past week, Milwaukee lengthened its lead in top-heavy NL Central to one full game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. (Last Week, 5)

No. 7: St. Louis Cardinals (26-19)—The Cardinals had won five of six until dropping the first game of a key three-game set with the Brewers, Monday despite a stellar start from Chris Carpenter. Carpenter’s return came in the form of eight shutout innings, a beautiful sight for Cards’ fans. (Last Week, 9)

No. 8: Texas Rangers (26-18)—The Rangers bounced back from a sweep at Detroit to sweep the Astros in Houston. They got shellacked in the first game of a three-game set against the Yanks, but they still hold a three-game lead ahead of the Angels for first in the AL West. (Last Week, 4)

No. 9: Toronto Blue Jays (27-21)—A six-game slide has dropped the Blue Jays from first to third in the AL East, a tough division to move back up. They are still just 1.5 games out of first place, though. (Last Week, 2)

No. 10: San Diego Padres (23-22)—A 10-game winning streak over contending teams has made the Padres relevant again after a steep fall from grace following a strong start. (Last Week, Not Rated)

"Bubble" Teams: Cincinnati Reds (24-20), New York Mets (24-20)

The "AHN Top 10" will attempt to balance power rankings based on each team's most recent performance, while keeping in mind the overall scope of each team's place in the league.

The rankings are compiled by the AHN writer and are the sole opinion of the author.

Week Four MLB Power Rankings; Dodgers Dominate

Kareem Shaker — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:22:25 -0400

What’s the only good thing for baseball fans about the first month of the 2009 season being over?

There are still five months left.

Coming out of the month of April, Joe Torre’s Dodgers already look headed for a second-straight division championship.

Los Angeles bounced back from a 2-1 series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a dominating four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres to claim the best record in baseball.

The Dodgers lengthened their NL West first-place lead to 4.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants.

The St. Louis Cardinals took two of three from the Braves and Nationals to build a 3.5-game lead ahead of the Cubs and Reds in the NL Central.

Meanwhile, it’s the addition of the Toronto Blue Jays, not the Tampa Bay Rays, to the AL East-mix that has made it the division the toughest in baseball.

Here’s how teams rank through May 3:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (18-8)

The Dodgers lead the NL in runs scored (141) and are fifth in staff ERA (3.93). They could lengthen their lead in the NL West with five divisional games this week. (Last Week, 2)

2. St. Louis Cardinals (17-8)

Albert Pujols leads the NL in home runs (9) and runs batted in (29) and is fourth in batting average (.356). Pujols leads the first-place Cards in virtually every offensive category. (Last Week, 4)

3. Toronto Blue Jays (18-9)

The Jays lost three of four against the Royals, but bounced back to sweep the Orioles over the weekend. Toronto leads all of baseball in runs (159) and sit 11th in staff ERA (4.12). (Last Week, 3)

4. Boston Red Sox (15-10)

The Red Sox stretched their win streak to 12 games before losing a heartbreaker to the Indians with an error in the bottom of the ninth.

They went on to drop three of four against the Rays to fall two games behind Toronto for first in the AL East. (Last Week, 1)

5. Kansas City Royals (14-11)

The Royals lead the AL Central after taking three of four from the Blue Jays and two of three from the Twins. The top-heavy division features four teams within two games of first place. (Last Week, Bubble)

6. Seattle Mariners (15-10)

Seattle lost two of three to the White Sox, but took two out of three from Oakland. Felix Hernandez has matured into the ace everyone expected him to be: 4-0 with a 2.38 ERA. Hernandez leads a staff with the best ERA in the AL at 3.60. (Last Week, 5)

7. New York Yankees (13-11)

The Yankees took two out of three from both the Tigers and the Angels. New York is second in the AL in runs scored (142) and gets Alex Rodriguez back soon to help the team with the league-worst 5.93 ERA. (Last Week, Bubble)

8. Florida Marlins (14-11)

Florida took two out of three from the Mets, but got shellacked in losing three out of four to the Cubs. Jorge Cantu is carrying the team offensively, leading Florida in batting average (.333), RBI (25) and home runs (7). (Last Week, 6)

9. Philadelphia Phillies (12-10)

The Phillies have the best road record in the majors at 6-2. Raul Ibanez (.360, 8 HR, 21 RBI) leads Philadelphia as they prepare for a difficult seven-game stretch against the Cardinals, Mets, and Braves. (Last Week, Not Rated)

10. Detroit Tigers (13-10)

Detroit dropped two of three from the Yankees, but bounced back to take two out of three from the struggling Indians. They sit just a half game behind Kansas City for first in the AL Central with seven-straight divisional games coming up. (Last Week, 7)

"Bubble" Teams

Chicago Cubs (13-11), Chicago White Sox (12-12)