Carlos Beltran to Start as DH--and Something Interesting

I did not know this. Carlos Beltran, the extraordinary 5 tool player the Royals had to let go not too long ago, well, his Topps rookie baseball card was an uncorrected error. I was looking for pics of Beltran as a Royal to put in this post congratulating him on having a nice bounce back year and the honor of starting the All Star game tomorrow when I found this:

I thought the person in the photo looked a little too slender, especially in the face, and the eye brows were too bushy. I've seen Beltran in person and he has a round baby face. (He's good looking, in case you were wondering...)

Yup, this is him. Much better looking guy, bigger neck, more powerful. Very stern look. Did someone forget how to tell him to smile in Spanish? Turns out the names were reversed, and it was never fixed. Anyhow, kudos to Carlos Beltran and congratulations. His next trick? Getting out of New York and helping a contending team win.

MLB All Star Break--12 Thoughts

Well, here we are at the half way point of the baseball season and the analysis has been going full bore. Here are just a few cents worth from this vantage point.

1. American League Wild Card will come out of the East. This division is the best in the league hands down. Boston and New York are playing .600 ball and Tampa Bay is not far behind.

2. AL Central is not very good. Detroit, especially if the pitching holds out, is probably the class of the division. Minnesota, ordinarily very good is struggling, and Cleveland is fading.

3. Expect Texas and Angels of Anaheim to fight it out to the last in the West.

4. Jose Bautista seems to be real.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates over .500. Wow!

6. Offense is generally down. Hard to say if that's because pitching is better, or hitting is worse. No steroids = no power? But I think the game is pretty exciting--I don't have to have a bunch of home runs to enjoy a game. Yesterday's Tigers-Royals tilt with Jeff Francis and Justin Verlander matching each other just about pitch for pitch is a perfect example of a great watchable game that doesn't have a high score.

7. SF Giants in a position to repeat at this point.

8. Boy did that guy eff up the LA Dodgers.

9. Phillies also in a position to return to the playoffs, just quietly going about their business.

10. Can't help but note that the Mets are one game over .500 but still in third place. Can't help but wonder if everyone but Reyes and pitching is trade bait to restock their depleted farm system.

11. NL Central is also a bastion of the only-good. Brewers and Cards tied for first with 49-43 records. Jury still out for Milwaukee fans on Greinke trade. We certainly like that little shortstop you all sent us :)!

12. The Royals. People are getting discouraged with the continued losing and the continued promises of "wait until the youngsters get here." However, the team really does allow for a pinch of optimism: keeping games close, playing smarter baseball, good team chemistry, excellent defense and relief pitching in general. There's a lot wrong--we wouldn't be on a pace to lose 90+ games if all was peaches and cream--the starting pitching, lack of power and consistency in hitting, the mental errors from inexperience are just a few items that reflect the fact that this team needs more talent and experience to contend. Position players are developing well, but pitching is lagging behind, both at the major and minor league levels. As development continues, we may need to consider looking outside for pitching help, via trade and/or free agency to complete our transition from a losing team to a winner.

Meantime, this fan really hates the All-Star break. Whatyamean there's no baseball game tonight or Wednesday night?

NBA Lock Out: Yawn...

I used to be a bigger pro hoops fan, especially when I lived in New York City. The Knicks were the bomb in the early 1970s and I continued to follow them off and on for years. When I lived in Philly, I followed the Sixers and they are still one of my favorite teams.

As long as I can remember, the NBA regular season has been 82 games. However, play was done in late spring, and the draft in May. Now it seems that the NBA season drones on indefinitely and decides very little, and professional basketball continues deep into May and on into the first part of June. This after starting in October. Include the draft and "silly season," and the NBA seems impossibly diluted, droning on and on, and having no real off season. In addition, NBA players have proven to be impossibly human. Young, frequently clunk headed, one dimensional, tattooed, promiscuous, and for some (not myself--the annoying manage to come in all colors), too Black. Yes, I have to think for some, the NBA's majority Black make up is an issue.

So, we have a lock out by NBA owners who say they cannot afford the players' salary demands. I don't have specific figures but we are talking a substantial separation in the numbers. No where close. Further, there is little agreement on things like salary caps and luxury taxes. Unlike football, there are several franchises on shaky financial ground, and not a few with uncertain ownership. However, unlike football, people are not trampling down the door to buy an NBA franchise.

The NBA has encountered rough times before, but they risk with a long lockout/strike losing the fan base--especially since some fans may already have issues with the way the league has been running these past years. The players especially may need to be careful not to kill the goose with the golden eggs. Meantime, I probably won't miss it.

Boston Gets the Cup

Boston wins Lord Stanley's cup in Vancouver over the Canucks, thanks to the stalwart goal keeping of Tim Thomas, former University of Vermont player. The home team won each game until vital game 7 when Boston took it 3-0. Enjoy your time with the cup boys. Mr. Thomas, I expect to hear about Lord Stanley taking a trip to Burlington!

NBA: Dallas Mavericks Win--I Like

If the Mavs win was a Facebook post, I'd click the "like" button. There are a lot of reasons for this, including an enjoyment of team oriented basketball, a dislike of LeBron and all the stuff that has emanated from the Miami Heat, and a just reward for the long and great career of Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas.
Once this series was established, everyone was just about crowning Miami champion before the first tip off. However, Miami's lack of ability to finish kept the talented team from winning the series. Dallas was just too good for Miami to overcome with its less than perfect chemistry and team work, and its tendency to fade in the fourth quarter.

The turning point was without a doubt game two in Miami, where Dallas came back from a double digit deficit half way in the forth quarter to win that game and keep the series from going 2-0 Heat. If the Heat win that game the series was essentially over. This showed that Dallas could keep up with the athletically gifted Miami team. It was funny though, even after this win, people were still crowning the Heat, saying they'd win the next three.

The pattern of Heat fade and Mav push in the last quarter maintained through out the remaining games--even the second Miami win was nearly a Miami loss in the late fourth quarter.

Miami has questions to answer--Dallas has celebrated. Assuming the NBA can avoid a nasty labor situation, next year looks to be a fun year for the league, which is wide open for new heroes and teams in a way it hasn't been for a long time. (Good night, Kobe.)

Photos from the Dallas Morning News.

Aviles Down; Moustakas Up

You just knew that it had to happen, that Mike Aviles, who I really like as a ball player and who seems to be a top notch guy too, was playing too poorly. He has regressed defensively--I don't know if it's all the switching, or something with his arm after surgery or what but Aviles was optioned to AAA and Mike Moustakas was brought up.

Not all are in agreement about bringing "Moose" up to the bigs, but he is in for a full dose of it, as Ned Yost has indicted he will play every day. We shall see then.

The Royals are going as their starting pitching goes right now. If they get good pitching at the beginning, and aren't dumped in a hole, they do alright. If they go down several runs, they do not have the punch to come back.

As it goes...

Royals Take Starling in First Round

I don't know if it was a surprise or expected, but the Kansas City Royals made the intriguing pick of Bubba Starling out of Gardner, KS. Starling was a two sport star at Gardner-Edgerton HS, playing outstanding quarterback for the school in the fall.

Considered a five tool player in baseball, with a live arm, hitting for average and power at the high school level, able to run well and play defense, if the Royals can actually sign Starling he would be quite an addition for the team in the future.

However, many consider that he is even better at football than baseball, and believe that he will go to Nebraska and throw passes in the Big 10 for the Cornhuskers. In addition, his agent is Scott Boras who no doubt will make signing him as difficult and expensive as possible.
The cynics out there are saying that this is one way the Royals can save money, by drafting a guy in the first round that they have no chance of signing. The optimists are saying that the Royals know more about signing him then they are letting on.

Earlier today, I saw this story on how Bo Jackson was signed by the Kansas City Royals. Hat tip to Tony's Kansas City. Images here are screen captures from footage on mlb.com