- I know I am a week late on this but I have to talk briefly about LeBron and his snub of the media and the Magic at the end of Game 6 when the Cavs were knocked out.
First his supposed lack of sportsmanship when he walked off the court without shaking hands with the Magic. I have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. What nobody mentioned was that when he fouled Dwight Howard with a couple of minutes left and the game was decided he gave Howard a really quick low five, or in other words, "Congrats man. You beat us straight up and good luck in the Finals". That's all he needed to do. If he had stuck around after the buzzer all the Magic players would have said to him was "tough luck LeBron. You went for 38-12-12 against in this series, you were awesome, we couldn't stop you, your miracle three at the buzzer of Game 2 was the only reason we didn't sweep you, and you were the best player on the court and next year you'll kill us." You really think LeBron was in a mood to hear how great he was in a series he lost because his teammates and coach were absolutely horseshit around him? Hell no. That's why he got off the court.
I do however, have a huge problem with him not talking to the media. LeBron is the undisputed face of the league (Kobe is too polarizing to be) and the leader of the Cavs. You have to take your medicine after getting whipped in the playoffs and face the media. I don't care if you just sit there and give the same boring answer to every question but what you don't do is head straight to the team bus after you shower. The league was right to fine him for that.
- There is no way in hell I would have drafted Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick the way the Washington Nationals did yesterday. I honestly hope this guy is as good as everybody says he can be and has a Hall of Fame career but the risk of taking a pitcher as the top pick is just too risky. Look at Ben McDonald, Brien Taylor and others who have been drafted first. No Cy Youngs and no 20 win seasons. The most recent example of "best pitching prospect I've ever seen" was Mark Prior who went #2 to the Cubs. That didn't work out so well. And who did the Twins take at #1 that year? 2 time batting champ and future Hall of Famer Joe Mauer. I think the Twins would take that pick again.
The problem is that pitching success in high school, college, and progressing through the minors doesn't translate the way hitting does. If you can hit you can hit at any level, but success in AA ball on the mound does not equal success at the big league level.
The other thing with Strasburg will be the price tag for him. If Scott Boras honestly believes he can get $50 million guaranteed money for him he is out of his mind. There is no way he will get more than $12 million. Boras wants to use DiceK's contract as a reference point but DiceK had already proven himself in the Japanese league, which is equivalent to Triple A or a bit better, and in a lot more international competitions.
As for the Nationals needing to make a splash, well winning makes a splash better than anything. To draft this guy for publicity, with as long as it takes baseball players to develop, would be absolutely moronic, which come to think of it is consistent with the Nats who are on their way to being the baseball equivalent of the Clippers.
- I have been getting
Sports Illustrated for 20 years now and I have never been as ambivalent on a cover story as I have been with this week's issue. Putting a 16 year old baseball player on your cover and hailing him as "The Chosen One" and the baseball equivalent of LeBron is too over the top. As I just said baseball's draft and scouting is the least accurate of the 4 major North American sports because it takes guys so much longer to adapt and reach their primes. Again, I hope Bryce Harper turns out to be incredible but hitting in high school or international Youth team tournaments is a hell of a lot different than facing Doc Halladay's biting slider or Josh Beckett throwing at your head at Fenway Park.
My bigger issue is with Harper himself. The fact that he allowed himself to be interviewed for the story at age 16 means he is fair game to any criticism because I wouldn't normally rip a 16 year old. He seems to come from a good family and background but somebody better teach him to deal with the media. When Tom Verducci asked him about his goals he said " Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait." No surprise he has Scott Boras as an advisor. He doesn't mention wanting to win a World Series, hitting game winning home runs, or being the type of catcher that turns a decent pitching staff into a great one. Just playing for the Yankees. His mother said he loves dirt and "has this thing for dirt." I fuckin' hope he likes dirt because if he is still this arrogant when he gets to the bigs, and after Boras gets him a ridiculously huge contract, he is going to spend a lot of time in it when pitchers like Halladay, Beckett and Hamels are throwing at his head.
Like I said I hope he's great but putting this kind of pressure on a kid didn't work out too well for Josh Hamilton did it?
