Bleacher Report - Articles by Fred Brown

The World Baseball Classic Can Only Get Bigger

Fred Brown — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:57:22 -0400

On Mar. 5, 2009, 16 teams started a tournament of unique proportions. It wasn't 16 teams from the U.S. or from Europe; it was 16 teams from around the world.

When people think of a world sport, they think of soccer, or futbol to my European friends. They think of the World Cup. However this was not soccer or the World Cup, it was the American past-time of baseball.

I remember watching a Robin Williams stand-up on HBO referring to the World Cup.

"Everyone plays it. Not like the World Series, 'cause the French don't have a baseball team."

The World Cup has been the biggest world wide sporting event in our history. However, baseball is primarily an American sport.

Up until the 2006 World Baseball Classic, baseball was mainly a sport for the U.S., but with this tournament, it became a world event.

I will not lie and say I watched the entire tournament. In all truth, I was more worried about spring training then graduating college. This event was not well received among Americans in 2006.

Now we come to the 2009 World Baseball Classic and things have changed. I stayed up until 3 a.m. in Los Angeles to watch the first game between China and Japan. I had no clue that other countries other than our neighbors to the south played baseball. It really was a pleasant surprise.

The tournament is now over with Japan defending their title from 2006, beating Korea 5-3.

I sat back and tried to recap the whole event in my head. I finally came to the conclusion that the World Baseball Classic was going to mean the rise of baseball world wide. That means maybe one day the French will have its own baseball team.

We now have an event that has the world starting to play my favorite sport. Viewers saw South Africa play against Cuba, the Netherlands matched up against Venezuela, and Italy playing Canada. Never in my lifetime would I think this would happen and actually take hold.

The World Classic was full of great games with twists and amazing performances. At a local sports bar, I remember watching the U.S.A. come back from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to send Puerto Rico packing. This tournament will only get bigger and bigger.

Do I think it's perfect?

No. A friend told me it's not as well done as the World Cup. He is correct, but they have also had a great deal of time to work out the kinks.

I do think it can reach a point that maybe even Germany could match up against Russia in the semifinals in 2018.

To start, America needs to get used to playing in a tournament style. We have amazing stars in the MLB, but they are used to the long haul of the sport.

In MLB, they play four games straight with no breaks in between, and the season last for several months. It seemed like other countries were better prepared for the tournament's style of play. While not taking anything away from Japan, this could be a factor in why the U.S. didn't make it to the finals.

I did have a problem with the timing of the tournament. Jayson Stark, a senior writer for ESPN.com has even mentioned it. He talked about how to fix the schedule of the World Classic, coming up with a couple of good ideas and I do suggest going to ESPN.com and taking a look.

I made sure to watch every game I could, although I was also occupied with Spring Training.

That is my big problem with the Classic. Sometimes I would be more worried if A-Rod was going to be able to play by May, or if C.C. Sabathia would pay off. It was hard to keep my attention on the Classic.

I feel that the Classic is only going to get bigger and better.

Could it get to the point where it rivals the World Cup? Maybe some day in the future, but all that matters now is that it gets a foot-hold in our sporting world and continues to grow. I am in full support of the World Baseball Classic and I hope America and the rest of the world will soon feel the same way.

Spring Training 2009: Can We Talk About Baseball Now?

Fred Brown — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:20:00 -0500

It's that time again: the Pro Bowl is over, signaling the end to another great NFL season. To the baseball fan, it's the time of year we dust off the hometown jersey and head to the nearest sports store for a new baseball cap. This is the time of year that we normally hear non-stop projections and predictions from every sports outlet.

But not this year. Does anybody else see a problem with this?

For the past two months, it has been nothing but steroids, steroids, and a book. What is wrong with this picture? I know steroids are a big deal and have hurt the prestige of the game, but the easiest way to keep everyone pushing forward is to talk about baseball, not to dwell on negatives in the past.

Don't get me wrong, every once in a while, main stream sport outlets like ESPN will present a story about Griffey going back to the Mariners or Manny finally finding a team, but it is always the secondary story to a controversial topic, making it appear as if its not important. For example, I am really tired of hearing about Barry Bonds linked to steroids or Roger Clemens being under investigation for lying.

Now to spice up the sports world, Joe Torre writes a book about his years as the manager of the Yankees. The coverage of this appears to be right out of an episode of MTV's Real World. Who would have guessed that it wasn't all good times in the Bronx? The media is acting like Torre went up to George Steinbrenner and punched him in the face.

Now to take center stage, A-Rod took steroids when he was a Ranger. As much as I think it is a shame that he did, he is just one man in an entire league of teams in MLB. He was the topic of over a week of coverage by ESPN and I was sick of it by the end of the first day. Nothing new ever came up; it was just people asking others the same questions. I think it is time to let him get on with his work and be done with it.

I don't think I am out of line about this whole matter, and if I am, please let me know. I'm not being too demanding when I want to hear stories like if the Mets will finally make it to the postseason or if the Rays will repeat last year's success. I think we deserve stories about baseball and not stories that are by-products of people in baseball. It is officially spring training, so let's talk about some baseball!

Big Changes in the Big Apple: New York Yankees' 2009 Pitching Staff

Fred Brown — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:39:22 -0500

Times have changed for the Bronx bombers; instead of competing with just the Boston Red Sox, now the Tampa Bay Rays have become a force to reckon with in the east. Both Boston and Tampa got the best of the Yankees last year.

The biggest Yankee flaw has always been their pitching rotation; after opening their pocketbooks this off season and signing both C.C. Sabathia and AJ Burnett, the Yankees are on the road to have the dominant rotation in the division.

Joining the Yankees as their No. 1 starter, C.C Sabathia has always been an outstanding pitcher. In the last three seasons, he has had a total of 48 wins and won the CY young award in 2007. Getting off to a bad start in the 2008 season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers where he excelled, wrecking havoc on the National League.

Now, instead of battling against the Yankees, he will be in the spotlight as their true ace. He comes into New York with 17-10 record and a 2.70 ERA.

Next we have New York's second big pitching purchase, AJ Burnett. The Yankees have seen him quite a bit since he has been playing for the Toronto Blue Jays the last couple of seasons.

Whether it was coming off his free agency at the end of the season or it was just a good year, AJ Burnett had his best year for the Blue Jays in the 2008 season with a 18-10 record and 4.07 ERA. The Yankees were quick to pick him up as a starter for the No. 2 position.

For the No. 3 spot, we have an old favorite, Chien-Ming Wang, who comes off of a season ending injury he acquired rounding the bases. He ended his season with a broken foot with an 8-2 record with a 4.07 ERA. Though last season was disappointing for most of the Yankees pitching staff, Wang has been a great pitcher for the Yankees.

Wang had two 19 game seasons in both 2006 and 2007. He has always been a reliable pitcher; not the strike out force New York fans were looking for, but he pitched for the situation. Wang has always been able to get the right pitch in to get the double play and end the inning.

The fun doesn't stop there: after being re-signed by the Yankees this off season, Andy Pettitte will return for one more season. Both Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina proved that youth was no substitute for experience after the melt down of both Phil Hughs and Ian Kennedy.

Both Mussina and Pettitte racked up 34 wins between them to keep the Yankees competitive last season. All though his last three seasons haven't been up to his usual level with a 14-14 record and a 4.54 ERA, Pettitte assured Yankees fans that "there is still a lot left in the tank."

For the last spot in the rotation, we have one of my favorite new pitchers, Joba Chamberlain. There was a lot of speculation last season whether he would start or stay in the bullpen. He ended up doing a little of both.

After the breakdown of Ian Kennedy, Chamberlain was taken out of the bullpen and finally became a starter. He went 4-3 with a 2.52 ERA before getting hurt. Chamberlain returned to the bull pen after his injury and finished the season with 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

New York's rotation could arguably be the best in the division and rivals that of most teams in the American league. The Yankees have tried having a power lineup, but lineups don't win games if they can’t score runs. Now with the two new pitching additions, the Yankees are showing they mean business.

Even with the reloaded rotation, the Yankees know it'll be no cakewalk to the World Series. Determined to keep pace with their long time rivals, the Boston Red Sox have acquired Brad Penny and John Smoltz.

These two will be added on to the rotation with Josh Beckett, John Lester, Tim Wakefield, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. These two lineups ensure every game between the two is going to be a pitcher's duel and low scoring game.

Could the Yankees rotation be the best on paper? Paper really doesn't cut it when it comes game time; just ask the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had the best team on paper at the beginning of the season and ended up being horrible.

Time will only tell if the changes made and the money spent by Brian Cashman really will pay off. As of right now, the Yankees are eyeing that World Series Trophy and the belief that this rotation will help them get it.

With So Many Options, Who Will Get The Yankees' First Base Position?

Fred Brown — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:18:00 -0400

With most of the infield locked down, what should the Yankees do about first base? With lots of great talent on this team, sometimes it’s hard to give every one a spot. Lucky for the Yankees, they have options for first base.

Let’s start with Jason Giambi who will be batting in the DH spot for most of the season. With so many options in the outfield available, players like Hideki Matsui, who is coming off his knee injury, or Johnny Damon could very well take over the DH spot depending on injuries or just to take a break. Then, Giambi likely could move to the first base position or to the bench.

Next we have Morgan Ensberg, who was added to the 40-man roster on March 22. Doubtfull hat he will become the full time starter, Ensberg probably will share time around the diamond. After ending last season with the Astros, he batted .230, with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 115 games. He will most likely spend most of the time on the bench and could provide the Yankees a first baseman if the starting first basemen becomes injured or fatigued during the season.

Another good candidate would be Wilson Betemit, who is the back up for third basemen Alex Rodriguez. He could see time on the other side of the diamond. In 121 games, he batted .229, with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs with the Dodgers and the Yankees. In 2007, he played all around the diamond for the Yankees and could find a new home over at first. There’s a good chance he'll remain in the back up role for most of the season.

Finally, we have one of my favorite rising stars, Shelly Duncan who saw some playing time last season. In 34 games, he batted .257, with seven home runs and 17 RBIs. He looks likely to be the best choice for Girardi for the 1st base position. Duncan, who has played in the first base position for most of the pre-season, seems to be quite comfortable there. I would put money on him playing first base on opening day against the Blue Jays and for most of the season.

All and all, I feel the Yankees have some good options for first base. Even if Enseberg, Betemit, or Duncan don't get regular playing time over at first, they will be valuable back ups in case of injuries that may occur during the season.