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MLB All-Star Snubs
Sunday afternoon, Major League Baseball announced the rosters for the 2008 All-Star Game being held in Yankee Stadium. The rosters for both the American and National leagues always have notable snubs, but this year was worse than usual.
David Ortiz, who hasn’t played a game since June 1, was voted as the starting DH for the American League. Although Ortiz won’t play because of injury, his selection to start is based purely on popularity. Baseball fans hold themselves in high regard because of the in-depth nature of baseball.
It takes a special fan to sit and watch nine innings of baseball and keep up with the useless stats. The fact that Ortiz made it over the AL batting leader and the man who will replace him, Milton Bradley, makes me question the lofty status of the American baseball fan.
All my life I’ve been a baseball fan. I’ve never been a fan of a particular team because I was born and raised in Birmingham, Ala., where all we have is the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate for the Chicago White Sox. I’ve voted for the All-Star Game many times and I felt it was my duty, as an informed fan, to select the best at each position. Ortiz isn’t the only player not deserving of his starting role.
Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki made the starting lineup this year on name value alone. Texas shortstop, Michael Young is better than Jeter in AVG., HR, RBI, R, 2B and fielding percentage. I know people will respond that it’s Jeter’s home park, but it is the All-Star Game. In an American League park, the starting lineup should consist of the eight best all-around players at their respective positions and the best hitter not included in the first eight.
Ichiro Suzuki is having a mediocre year and made the starting lineup over the likes of Grady Sizemore, Carlos Quentin and J.D. Drew, all of which are all-around better players this year than Ichiro. Ichiro is hitting .304 and has 34 stolen bases, but Sizemore, Quentin and Drew are all-around superior to Ichiro.
Jermaine Dye hasn’t even made the team yet and might not make the squad. Dye is involved in a fan vote for the last AL spot with Jason Giambi, Jose Guillen, Evan Longoria and Brian Roberts. The fact that I just wrote that one of those guys is going while the others sit at home is deplorable.
The National League is no better. In fact, I think it may be worse. Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome both are starters. Although his numbers warrant a selection to the team, Soriano hasn’t played since June 12 and doesn’t deserve to start. Guys that are having career years like St. Louis’ Ryan Ludwick and Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth should be starters over Soriano and Fukudome. McLouth is hitting .279 with 16 home runs, 57 runs batted in, 9 stolen bases and he is not starting. Fukudome is hitting .287 with 7 home runs, 35 runs batted in and 8 stolen bases.
Phillies’ outfielder Pat Burrell, Brewers’ outfielder Corey Hart, Astros’ outfielder Carlos Lee, Giants’ outfielder Aaron Rowand and Mets’ third baseman David Wright are involved in the National League fan vote for the last NL spot. This list is equally as deplorable as the AL list. It’s called the 2008 All-Star Game not the “Hey, I really like that guy, he was good last year or recently” Game.
TNA Departures & Releases
TNA has had a revolving door the past week or so with the departures of Scott D’Amore, Johnny Stamboli (Rellik) and James Mitchell. Stamboli will be the least missed of the three. Rellik had a cool look and could have been a monster but TNA’s crazy booking isn’t very conducive to getting new guys (non-WWE alumni) over.
The departure of Father James Mitchell is puzzling because he is such an entertaining promo. Mitchell was such an important part of Abyss’ push and recent insane storylines. I will be curious to see what storyline drivel they continue to feed Abyss with Mitchell gone. I hope Mitchell isn’t out of work for long because I really enjoy hearing him on the stick. His sinister tone and delivery even just talking outside of wrestling is entertaining. I really enjoyed his stories on Forever Hardcore featuring Mike Johnson. Mitchell seems like one of those guys who would be a character outside of the arena as well as inside.
The departure of Scott D’Amore will hurt TNA more than I think many will realize. I understand him returning home to work more closely with his company Border City Wrestling. The “Knockouts” will suffer without him there, as well as the creative process. D’Amore comes across as an old school guy with a level head. Could Russo could get worse without D’Amore there? Please God No!
Raw Thoughts
Excuse me! Excuse me! What a way to start your Monday night? Vickie Guerrero is dreadful. She may be a heat machine but she is bordering on X-Pac heat with me. Her voice is shrill and the whole wheelchair gimmick is stupid. On the bright side, I popped huge on Friday night when Edge broke off the wedding. I mainly popped for the fact that the best heel in the business right now will no longer be swapping spit with a middle-aged woman with cankles.
The opening angle with CM Punk, JBL, Batista and John Cena did what it needed to do and also made me think. How much of what Cena says on TV does he see before hand? In the bathroom for three hours because of chili and spray painting JBL is poopy. Is creative serious? I wonder why guys my age (23) hate John Cena? Maybe because poopy is a word that kids in elementary school grow out of saying, not 30-year-old men say on TV.
Rey Mysterio is fat. How can you be fast and fun to watch if you can’t lay off the chalupas? I remember growing up watching him wrestle on Nitro and being blown away because he was so quick and entertaining. Now he just looks like a fat, cartoon character and sounds like an eight-year-old on the stick. I think Rey would be better served to cut some fat and just let Santino rip on him for seven minutes. If WWE brought back the Cruiserweight Division, would Rey make weight?
On the subject of weight, hasn’t JBL been back for some time now? Why isn’t he in better shape? I see the value in JBL as an authoritative figure and a good promo. But as long as he is rocking the trunks with his jelly hanging over, you can’t take him seriously. I think he needs to accompany Rey to Jenny Craig or dig out Jerry Blackwell’s wrestling gear.
The limo segment was decent, but they only damaged one side of the limo. I know I’m using logic but wouldn’t it be better to mess up the whole thing? How happy would you be if you were Cryme Tyme with your “street cred” vandalizing with Cena and he is spray painting poopy. Poopy, that will get him over.
The main event did what it needed to do, get a challenger for CM Punk. That being said, I hope Batista doesn’t beat him at Great American Bash. Batista doesn’t need the belt to get a huge pop and CM Punk needs to justify his title reign. Punk was a refreshing change to the top of the card on Raw, and I don’t think they should be quick to change that.
My column here is an extension of the topics I cover on my radio show on WEGL 91.1 FM on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. You can listen to the show “Handoffs and Headlocks” online at www.wegl91.com by clicking streaming and selecting a media player. The show airs during the summer on Monday at 1-3 p.m., Tuesday 1-2 p.m. and Thursday 1-3 p.m. (Note: All times are Central Standard Time).
Thank you for reading and if you would like to give feedback please send me an email at handoffsandheadlocks@gmail.com or DudleyAU@aol.com. You can also contact me on Facebook on my name in the Auburn network.
Handoffs and Headlocks: No Hype Necessary, Just That Damn Good
