MLB Storylines Abound in Young '09 Season: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Hello all, here's my first attempt at an article about the good old American pastime of baseball.  Over the last few months I've heard and read many arguments about how Alex Rodriguez tarnished and destroyed the game; as well as many compelling arguments stating why he didn't(I agree with this standpoint). I believe that in too many instances, the guys who cover baseball have overblown its impact on American pop culture and the impact steroids had on baseball's popularity.

Now, I won't bring up baseball's ugly past(that's been done to perfection already) or how much the outrage over steroids is overblown.  Instead, I will focus on why the baseball writers shouldn't give up hope, as well as some of the things they should have already wrote about to death.

1. The Tampa Bay Rays - For those of you who don't know why this matters, I'll explain.  The Tampa Bays Rays, up until last year, were Baseball's version of The LA Clippers or The Detroit Lions—that team that can never catch a break and always seems to be doomed to ineptitude.  In case you haven't noticed, this is the same team that only got to the World Series last year. 

Why am I not tired of hearing about them yet?  I know they are in the same division as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, but c'mon. Baseball writers always complain that there aren't enough guys who genuinely care about the game anymore. Well the Rays are full of them.  Guys like Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria not only are talented stars of the future, but hard working, blue collar players.

Not to mention these guys are one of the few sports clubs I have seen lately besides the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Red Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers, the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and alot of NHL teams, who seem to genuinely like each other and love to play together. Where's the love?  Now maybe things haven't clicked for us fans, or we think what they did was a fluke.

But how can writers ignore a prime chance to praise one of the great young clubs in baseball?  No offense, but I've already heard plenty of great stories about Yankees and Red Sox collapses/successes; what makes those teams struggles/success this year anymore interesting?

These are the same guys who always talk about the good old days. Well, baseball has a rare and great opportunity right here with not only the Rays, but with clubs like the Phillies, the Brewers, the Chicago Cubs, the Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks to talk about baseball's new youth movement.

Guess what, boys, Willie Mays, Mickie Mantle, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Lou Gehrig, etc.(you get the point) ain't coming back through the door. Stop living in the cellar of baseball's olden days and come out and check out the fresh new age we are in.  And what better place to start than with Tampa Bay.

2.There's more to see than A-Rod.

Last I checked, the stellar Yankees' third baseman wasn't the only intriguing power hitter in the league.  Did Albert Pujols suddenly dissapear?  Did you guys somehow miss Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard?  How bout the Yankees new acquisition, Mark Teixeira?

Let's be honest, baseball is the ultimate game of variety, and there is a player for every kind of fans' tastes. 

You like steals? Well, check out Jodie Meeks or Jose Reyes.  Love dominant pitching? Well, we've got Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, guys like that. Love hitting? Well, we have Manny Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Derek Lee, the aforementioned Fielder, Evan Longoria, and the list goes on and on.

Speaking of Manny, why am I not sick of hearing about him? I know, I know, you are.  What, with his off the field antics I can't blame you. But consider this:  Not since Babe Ruth have we seen a more skilled, more care free, more clutch player than Manny.  I mean the guys is easily up there with Bonds, Griffey, Mantle, Mays, Ruth, etc. as one of the greatest hitters ever. 

Okay, I'll admit that the guy's a nut job—I get it.  But hey, you know who else was a jerk/nut job? Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson, and I don't see either of those guys' antics overshadowing the great players they were.

Let's face it, Manny is hardly the first guy to be a jerk, quit on his team and then go on to success on another club.  It just boggles the mind to me why people would rather have guys like Teixeira and A-Rod(who have no rings) than Manny. 

That being said, Manny did deserve his heat for dogging it on the Red Sox and for the offseason contract stuff.  Just don't forget that we are watching one of the best ever, and he won't be around much longer.

So how bout we enjoy Manny in all his madness and enjoy the ride while it lasts, because I have a feeling we won't see another guy like Manny(talent and personality wise) for quite some time.

3. The Red Sox troubles

Okay, I admit this one is a little unfair. It's not the Sox fault Manny decided to force his way out. But this feels a little good to see the mighty fall for two reasons:

1. Karma, baby.  As stated earlier, I know Manny got everything he deserved with the Red Sox thing, but a couple of things bothered me about what many players and Terry Francona said after Manny was gone.

I'm all for wanting guys who hustle every day, but for Francona to say "We'd rather sign guys who play the game right and respect the game" is just ridiculous! So let me get this straight. You were fine with a guy acting a fool as long as: a. you kept winning(which you did) and b. as long as you could control him. 

I'm not knocking the guy's right to change his mind, and him wanting to avoid other guys like Manny in the future is fine. But to just act as if Manny was this cancerous tumor that the Red Sox continuously overcame on their way to two titles is just ridiculous and plain disrespectful.

If Manny had implied anything close to "the Red Sox wouldn't have won squat without me" the media, the fans, and fans' news sites would have ripped him a new one.  Just because the Red Sox's had some buyer's remorse doesn't give them the right to pretend as if Manny wasn't a valuable, productive member of the team for most of his time in Boston.  Plain and simple, both benefited from their almost decade-long partnership.

4.Manny wasn't the only colorful guy on the Red Sox. Did you guys forget about Curt Schilling?

Don't get me wrong, I love Schilling's candor and think he doesn't get enough credit for the great pitcher he was. So he never won a Cy Young or was the No. 1 guy in a rotation.  However, he won two rings and was an important part of both championship runs, as well as being a dominant playoff pitcher. 

Nobody holds it against Lynn Swann that his most stellar performances were only in the postseason; why should Schilling have it held against him that he only dominated when it really mattered(the postseason)? 

Any who, back to my previous point: Schilling retired this year without one peep from anybody in Boston.  Now I know Schilling never quit and a lot of his injuries couldn't be helped, but the guy did at times bring unnecessary heat on himself and the Red Sox with some of the things he has said.  In the end, he wasn't nearly as productive as Manny(different positions, I know, but impact-wise, Manny still trumps him)  Yet no one criticized him. 

I'm not saying Schilling deserves some heat, but if the Red Sox insist on distancing themselves from guys who can be media lighting rods, why hasn't anyone come out with their criticisms of Schilling(I'm sure there are at least a few legitimate ones)?  I understand that unlike Manny, Schilling ended his career with Boston on good terms. 

But for the same writers who tried to paint Manny as the anti- Christ, to not write about some of their gripes about Schilling(along with his great moments) is simply unfair.

5. There are tons of intriging stories that could fill tons of columns and books.

I already mentioned the Rays, but how bout the New York Mets? They have an early-century Yankees vibe to them; the way they continually pay for high-level, talented guys and yet continue to choke away division leads and games. I know they aren't as prestigious or glamorous as the Yankees, but I still feel like I haven't heard enough about the day-to-day locker room stuff about this team and its managers. 

Good or bad, this will be one of the storylines we will remember when talking about this decade, and I won't feel complete about it until I get a lengthy book about it, or at least some in-depth columns. Now, I admit to not reading alot of New York papers, so if anyone knows any articles that discuss what I mentioned, feel free to post a link on my page or in the comments section of this article.

Also, we have the continuing saga of the Chicago Cubs trying to get back to the World Series, and in addition to that, they are a darn good baseball team in a city that loves its baseball. 

Much of the same can be said about their rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, a team of talented youth that just can't seem to get it done at the end of the year.  I feel like I should be tired of this rivalry and know every tidbit of information about it (even as a non Chicago/Milwaukee fan). 

I can honestly say that every game I've seen of these two teams playing over the last couple of seasons has always been excellent, and they are always, arguably, as riveting as any Red Sox-Yankees games over the same period.  Or to echo my paragraph above, how about an in-depth article or book of the Mets-Phillies rivalry?

I know it's early, but if they continue to play the way they are now, I also wouldn't mind an article on the Padres.

If they make the playoffs, they could have the same kind of mantra the Rays had last year with the whole "nobody believed in us"-angle.

Besides the teams and stories I just mentioned, there are tons of other interesting scenarios developing, from the Tigers posting their meteoric rise to the 2005 World Series, to the St. Louis Cardinals current run and Griffey's impact on the Mariners this year. The possibilities are endless.

I just hope we don't spend so much time on the Yankees, A-Rod, and the Red Sox that writers forget there are tons of other great stories to tell.

As for me, for the first time since 2001, I've never been more excited to say:

Take Me Out to The Ball Game!