Are you ready?

A few hours have passed since the final score was tallied. The stadium in Minnesota is now empty. The media has quietly dispersed to write their newspaper stories and edit their sound bites. The respective clubhouses have both been cleared out; one filled with the lingering questions of ‘what if?’ and the other covered with the remaining residue of a raucous champagne celebration.

One of the most exciting “regular season” play-in games to ever occur is now finished; but a distant memory to some, an unforgettable moment to others. For fans of one franchise, the season is now over, a bitter and long winter lie ahead, pondering the questions of what should happen next and who needs to go. Fans of the other lie in anticipation for a quick turn around to compete in a first round playoff game in the Mecca of sports, the big apple, New York City.

Players on one roster must pack their bags and board a plane to head home, their eyes cast downward, sorting the disappointment from their minds, playing back each moment in their heads, wondering what could have been done to prolong their season for one more week, at least. Players on the other roster pack their bags eagerly awaiting the red eye flight to New York, their heads held high knowing they were the last men standing in an all out dog fight for 12 innings and nearly 4 and a half hours, living to play another day.

The manager of one squad must live with the decisions he made possibly being the cause of his club’s defeat. Having all winter to second guess his choices while trying to sort out roster fluctuations and getting back to the grind in preparations for spring training in February. The manager of the victors has to move on from the utter jubilation of a hard fought victory and assert himself and his coaches to prepare for their upcoming game a few short hours in the future.

Of course, I am talking about the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. In case you missed it, the Twins came from behind twice in the game (first down 3 – 0 and then down 5 – 4) to stage an improbable comeback 3 weeks in the making to win the American League Central Division Title and set up a first round match up in the American League Division Series with the New York Yankees.

For the past 10 days, Yankees fans have long been debating who they would rather see their beloved Bronx Bombers face, the struggling Detroit Tigers or the hottest team in the land the Minnesota Twins. It seemed as if people were on the fence (I, myself would talk myself into rooting for one and then 10 minutes later find myself thinking of reasons to root for the other) with their opinions, but now that the opportunity to debate is over with, let’s get down to the important matter, do the Twins pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th World Championship?

In short, I’d say, yes, the Twins do pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th title and a victory parade through New York City in 3 weeks. That’s not to say I expect the Twins to win the series, but I don’t think it’ll be as easy as many Yankee fans hope it will be. People will take a look at the head to head records of the two teams and see that the Yankees had a clean sweep of Minnesota this season defeating them in all seven games. But, if you take a closer look at the scores of the games, the Yankees beat the Twins by a 8 runs in 6 of those games. The only game that wasn’t close was a 10 – 2 victory in July. The rest of the games were decided by no more than 2 runs and in mid-May the Yankees needed three straight walk off victories to defeat Minnesota. It’s not as if Minnesota is just going to roll over and let the Yankees run right past them towards the American League Championship Series.

Many people felt that the Yankees were better suited facing the Twins because they lack superior starting pitching and their lineup isn’t as strong as Detroit’s, therefore they would be the better opponent for New York. I admit, before I began to take a closer look at the Minnesota team, I was one of those individual’s. After a brief analysis of their statistics, I came to the following conclusion: they’re a better team than Detroit. It’s really not even close.

The Tigers would have been an easier opponent for the Yankees to face (I know, I know, you’re going to start yelling at me that the Yankees would’ve faced Justin Verlander twice, but hear me out). Detroit was a team that should’ve wrapped up the division 3 weeks ago, then 2 weeks ago, then last week. Hell, they were up 3 games with 4 to play. It took a Hindenburg like disaster for the Tigers to lose this division to Minnesota (disclaimer, the Titanic of all collapses is still held by the Mets. Sorry, the Tigers made it close, but the Mets were the best team in the National League when they choked in 2007. Detroit was lucky to be in the AL Central and have a chance). Detroit is the team that all Yankee fans should’ve hoped and prayed they saw them face.

I fully understand that the Yankees would’ve had to face the Tigers ace Justin Verlander in 2 games of that series, but, who cares? Verlander wasn’t exactly that great of a pitcher in his career against New York and even if Detroit won those games, they still would have to win another game, which wasn’t exactly in their favor. Not to mention their closer had an earned run average way north of 4.00 (terrible, utterly terrible) and they had exactly 2 relievers with earned run averages under 4. Basically, you could score on their bullpen more than Paris Hilton.

And their starting lineup? Well, they’re just named recognition only. They aren’t throwing out the Magglio Ordonez or Placido Polanco of 3 years ago. They aren’t even throwing out the Curtis Granderson of last year. The only guy the Tigers lineup to really fear facing is Miguel Cabrera. He was the only person on that team who made you worried. Brandon Inge hit a bunch of home runs this season, but he’s batting lowering than David Ortiz on the season (in other words, he sucks guys). Curtis Granderson struck out nearly once per game and didn’t even get a hit one out of every four times (in other words, he sucks too guys). Their starting catcher and starting short stop were both batting worse than the previous two! Why was there even a debate on who the Yankees would be better off facing? I feel foolish for ever thinking Detroit was good!

But, Detroit lost, can’t talk them down any longer. I can only talk up the Minnesota Twins and what a problem they will pose for New York tomorrow night. Sure, the Twins starting pitching doesn’t boast an “ace” or someone that can conceivably silence the Yankees bats for a long stretch of time. But, they do have guys that consistently throw strikes and allow their defense (one of the best in baseball) to make spectacular plays behind them. They may not have the strikeout machine, flame throwing, pitchers that other teams have, but they’ve got guys who are crafty and know how to pitch. (even Carl Pavano).

Their bullpen is one to be weary of as well. Joe Nathan is their closer. He’s one of the top 3 closers in all of baseball (I’d rank him ahead of Jonathon Papelbon and about 9 miles behind Mariano Rivera). These guys don’t screw around. After adding Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay to the mix, to compliment Matt Guerrier, the Twins have one of the best bullpens in baseball as it stands right now.

Everybody thought the Twins were done when one of their best hitters in Justin Morneau went down with a back injury forcing him to miss the rest of the season (after all, that’s 30 home runs and 100 rbi they’re missing). But, they’re being powered by the MVP Joe Mauer (it’s not a question of IF he’ll win, but by how much he’ll win by…I vote unanimously). They also have two guys in Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer who have hit nearly 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in a piece. Orlando Cabrera is a veteran player who knows how to hit (and knows how to stick it to the Yankees. We haven’t forgotten 2004, you rotten little…) and Denard Span may be one of the biggest surprises of the season stepping into the center field job superbly and playing tremendous defense and adding in speed and poise at the top of the batting order.

All in all, the Twins are going to be a tough team to beat. They’ve essentially been playing must-win games for nearly a month and have risen to the occasion tremendously winning 17 of their last 21 games to reach the playoffs. There has been no team hotter in baseball over the past 6 weeks than these Twins. They are riding a hot streak we haven’t seen since the 2007 Rockies (who rode it all the way to the World Series).

I wouldn’t like to be the team that has to see these 25 guys sitting in the dugout across from you. They’re a fundamentally sound team, who are well coached by Ron Gardenhire and have not only momentum, but the confidence in themselves to play at a high level and succeed. Add in the fact they play their home games at the Metrodome (between those thunder sticks and the homer hankies, it’s a tough place to play in given all the noise) and the Yankees are in for a tall order to come up victorious in this five-game series.

Have I convinced you yet that the Yankees aren’t going to just steam roll right on through Minnesota? And that this series will be extremely tough and an absolute melee to see who comes out on top? Compelling argument isn’t it?

Well, forget every damn word you just read. It means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter that we play the Twins. It didn’t matter if we played Detroit either. They’re the New York Yankees. They aren’t the Yankees of 2000 – 2008. They are THE New York Yankees again. (did you just get chills reading that? Because I did). They’re back in the saddle and ready to roll on through October. No disrespect to the Twins, they are a great ball club and have been playing terrific baseball for the entire month of September (and into October), but what did that get you? It got you a first round date with the executioner; the Yankees. Sure, the Twins have been playing great for the past month, have you read the newspaper lately? The Yankees have been playing outstanding baseball for the past 4 months. Since June 23, the Yankees have gone 65 – 27, or just the best in the big leagues. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Offense, defense, pitching. You name it, they have it.

The Twins have starting pitching that challenges hitters and makes you put the ball in play, that’ll help in Minnesota, but in Yankee Stadium? You need to strike people out guys. That’s why the Yankees are the best in the business. No team fuels the high octane heat the Yankees throw out there on a nightly basis. They’ve got the big dogs in the rotation (Sabathia and Burnett). The big dogs in the bullpen (Hughes and Rivera).

The Twins have a terrific lineup filled with both power and speed, but, the bottom of their order is something to laugh at. Their 7 – 9 hitters couldn’t hit the backside of a barn if you gave them three tries. The Yankees 7 – 9 hitters? They hit a combined 67 home runs and 225 runs batted in. Yikes. The Twins have 4 players who hit 25+ home runs and had 90+ runs batted in. That’s impressive. The Yankees? They have 7 players who hit more than 20 home runs and had 7 with 80+ runs batted in. That’s historic.

The Twins are a terrific team, but the Yankees are better. It’s not even close. The Twins aren’t even in the same class as the Yankees. Honestly, no team in baseball is at this point in the season. The Yankees should be the odds on favorites to not only get to the World Series from the American League, but to win the whole thing.

The Yankees had the best record in baseball at 103 – 59, no other team was closer than 6 games back to the Yankees pace. The season the Yankees as a team and as individual’s had, would be the talk of town if it were any other team. But, it’s the Yankees and they just ‘spent another $400 million to get back to the post season’. If this were any other market in baseball, people would be salivating over them as being an unstoppable team with nothing in their way from a World Series birth. But, the Yankees don’t get the respect any more. They haven’t won anything in 9 years and didn’t make the playoffs last year and haven’t made it past the first round since 2004.

Things have changed. This was the year where the Red Sox and Rays were going to surpass the Yankees and leave them in a cloud of dust. Nobody expected the Yankees to be able to compete with the depth of the Red Sox or the youth and skill set of the Rays. How’d that work out for everyone? The Yankees effectively gave the rest of baseball the giant middle finger, a resounding “eff you” and went onto post historic seasons from many of their star players.

Derek Jeter? I wrote about him back in March, saying he was in decline, the Yankees needed to move on from him and get as far away from the Captain as possible. (I can be an idiot sometimes I guess) I was wrong. Dead wrong. Apologies to the faithful leader of the Yankees. He’s gone on to post arguably the best season of his career both offensively (.334, 18 home runs and 68 runs batted in) and defensively (he can actually move to his left this year) and would’ve been the sure-fire MVP if Joe Mauer decided not to play baseball this season. A giant “eff you” to me and the rest of the media for doubting him.

Alex Rodriguez? Embarrassed by being ousted as a former steroid user and subject to public ridicule, he suffered a hip injury and was forced to have surgery and miss the first 6 weeks of the season. What did he do? Come back with a passion and determination I never thought was possible and he put up numbers in ¾ of a season that most people would dream of having during a full season. A giant “eff you” to the entire world, including some of his own teammates.

The list could go on and on, but you get the picture. This isn’t your typical run of the mill Yankee team from years past. This is a team that is unified and actually likes one another. It’s a team that has a little old school flavor with that new school look. From top to bottom you can see it in their eyes. From the old guard in Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada, to the new guard of Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira and Swisher. They have the look. The hunger in their eyes. The determination. The grit. This is the year where all the past demons are exorcised. Consider this post season to be “The New York Yankee Exorcism”

First up on the agenda? The Minnesota Twins. The Yankees need to exorcise the first round post season demons that have plagued them in years past. In 2007, the Yankees soundly defeated the Indians in all 6 regular season match ups, only to be bounced out of the playoffs by the Indians and some bugs. In 2006, the Yankees were poised to wipe the floor with the Detroit Tigers and were promptly send home packing in stunning fashion. It’s always been said what happens in the regular season means nothing once the playoff starts. Usually, that would be the case. In this instance, it’s not. The victories the Yankees had over the Twins during the season speak volumes. They beat them early, they beat them late, they came back when they were down. They did it with offense, defense, pitching. In any way you could win a game, the Yankees did so against Minnesota. It’s time to exorcise the first round demon.

Carl Pavano is a Minnesota Twin. Yes, the American Idle himself. Spending 4 years and $40 million of the Yankees money to sit on the bench and never pitch, Mr. Pavano finds himself in the unfamiliar spot of actually having to pitch. (think you can find the Yankee stadium mound on Friday night Carl? You haven’t seen it too much before). There is nothing any Yankee fan wants to see more, than they want to see Carl Pavano on the receiving end of a good old fashioned butt whooping courtesy of the Yankees. Let’s exorcise that demon, shall we?

Let’s say the Yankees are able to get past Minnesota and move onto the American League Championship Series, this is where the exorcising demons get interesting. Red Sox or Angels; take your pick. There’s revenge to be sought from each of them. Memories of 2004 whirl around in our heads with each passing day on the calendar. Every time the Yankees play the Red Sox our blood pressure rises with the memories of the celebration on our field in 2004. But, then the Angels have eliminated the Yankees from the post season not once, but twice in the past decade. They’ve also been the only team over the course of the last 10 years to constantly and soundly spank the Yankees worse than a troublesome four-year old. We want revenge on each of them. It doesn’t matter who. One would be sweeter than the other, but the prize would be equally the same. Exorcise those demons any way you want.

If the Yankees somehow make it to the World Series, ah the sweetest revenge. We WANT the Dodgers. No, not for the posterity of avenging our 1981 World Series defeat. No, it’s Joe Torre. It’s Manny Ramirez. It’s the showdown people have been itching to see in New York. Torre was forced out of New York and didn’t have the most glowing things to say about some of his former Yankee friends. Manny Ramirez is just hated by everyone for being, well Manny. Nothing would be sweeter than to see Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez in Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series. Actually, the only thing sweeter would be seeing them walk off the Yankee Stadium field in disappointment following a Game 6 loss as the Yankees celebrate (we can only dream).

This could be the year for it all to end. Every demon can be exorcised. Every loss, criticism and failure atoned for (this means you A-Rod and you too, CC). The next 3 weeks could dispel the bitter taste that has been in the mouths of all Yankee fans since that faithful night in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez’s bloop floated majestically over the head of Derek Jeter, ending the Yankee dynasty and putting us through 9 years of baseball hell.

The next 3 weeks could put the Yankees back on the track to beginning a new dynasty; with a mix of old Yankees and new Yankees united as one. Will it happen? I’m not sure. Can it happen? You bet. Do I think it will? I hope.

One thing I do know, and I’ve been seeing it for the past 6 months from game 1 all the way to game 162. Derek Jeter has the look. He’s got that championship gleam in his eye. He’s 35 years old, but he’s hungrier now than when he won the World Series for the first time 13 years ago.

If he comes running out of that Yankee dugout at 6:05pm tomorrow evening for Game 1 of the Division Series with a little extra hop in his step, well, the rest of baseball should be worried, because then I won’t be the only one thinking they’re back.

But, until then, I’ll leave you with this thought. To quote a song by T.I. and Jay-Z

"No one on the corner have swagger like us"

And it’s true. No one does. Sorry Minnesota Twins. It’s an admirable job you’ve done by making the playoffs. But, your good fortune is about to run out. It’s the New York Yankees time again.

Living a nightmare

Please bear with me for a little bit, because I have some hostility to get off my chest in the direction of Tony Romo. Yes, it has been nearly a month into the NFL season and I have yet to condemn Romo’s ability or question his passion for the game of Football; until now. Ask anybody and they will tell you that I am an ardent supporter of anything having to do with the Dallas Cowboys. I bleed silver and blue, it’s a part of who I am and a part of what I am about. Despite my disdain for Romo’s surfacing prima donna attitude, I have (more often than not) kept quiet about my feelings towards #9 and have remained highly supportive of him (unless you count the time last year when he broke his pinky and I applauded), simply because he was (and to steal a line from Terrell Owens) MY quarterback.

For 3 years I lived under the mantra that the Cowboys won and lost as a team. It didn’t matter if Romo played bad and they won, or if he played terrific and they lost, it was a team effort. Well, after 3 years of hearing about him dating country singers, making commercials, vacationing in Mexico the week of the big playoff game, playing professional golf, or whatever other excuse you can dream of to explain the failures of a franchise, I can finally say, without a shadow of doubt; it’s on Romo.

Winning and losing as “a team” can only take you so far. At the end of the day, you can’t blame the coaches for a team failing to execute (although Wade Phillips sure makes it hard to do that). You can’t blame the owner/General Manager for butting into areas of game management where he doesn’t belong (although Jerry Jones sure makes it hard to do that). No, the blame for defeat or praise for victory lies with one and only one person; the quarterback. In this case, it happens to be Tony Romo.

As a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, life has not been too pleasant in the land of the big D for much of the last decade. The Cowboys, winning an impressive 3 Super Bowl titles in a 4 year span in the early 1990’s, have not won a playoff game since 1996. A 40 to 15 victory over the Minnesota Vikings was the last time the Cowboys played deep into the heart of January during the NFL season. Barry Switzer is the last Cowboys head coach to win a playoff game. Since his departure following the 1997 season, Cowboy fans have endured an un-impressive two year coaching stint from Chan Gailey (thanks for the 8 and 10 win seasons, with nothing to show for it), the worst coach in Cowboys history Dave Campo (you actually won 15 games in 3 years? I didn’t think it was that many), a guy who has turned around more franchises while sporting the dumbest nickname ever (Tuna) in Bill Parcells and for the past three seasons, Wade Phillips. What do the Cowboys have to show for it? Nothing. Zilch.

But, Cowboy fans remained supportive; after all, they didn’t have a quarterback during that time. It’s true. Troy Aikman wasn’t “Troy Aikman” any more. To say he was a shell of his former self would be an understatement. Once Aikman retired following the 2000 season, the revolving door of Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks began.

Being the Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is the most publicized pressure filled position in all of sports (all due respect to being the Centerfielder of the Yankees, the Cowboys is more important). Throughout the history of the Cowboys there have been two franchise quarterbacks who lived up to the hype and billing of being THE guy for “America’s Team”; Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman (all due respect to Don Meredith, Danny White and Steve Pelluer, but, you guys sucked). The Cowboys have won 5 Super Bowls as a franchise and three of them were Aikman and the other two were Staubach. Needless to say, not many people have played at a consistently high level for Dallas.

The search for the next franchise quarterback began in earnest following the 2000 season and continued on for the next 6 years until Romo stepped in. Quincy Carter, Anthony Wright, Ryan Leaf, Clint Stoerner, Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde, Drew Henson and Drew Bledsoe all had their chances to lead the Cowboys back to the playoffs and find a new level of success. To say they all failed would be an inaccuracy. While there’s no doubt in my mind Ryan Leaf was a train wreck and Anthony Wright was forgettable, Clint Stoerner plays for Team Arkansas in the All-American Football league, Chad Hutchinson can rest assured that his professional baseball career was far worse than his pro-football career, same with Drew Henson. Vinny Testaverde can at least resign himself to the fact that he played for 25% of the league in his career.

If not for the combined efforts of Quincy Carter and Drew Bledsoe, Tony Romo would have never been given a chance to play in Dallas. (we’ll get back to that in a minute, but first I want to get to the root of the problem with Romo). The career of Tony Romo can be summarized with two words; Who knew? Who knew that a guy would be signed from relative obscurity to be a Dallas Cowboy, simply because one of the coaches on the team went to the same college and heard good things? Tony Romo didn’t go to a big-time athletic school with a chiseled out collegiate program that prepares you for the NFL. Nope. Romo went to Eastern Illinois, a college nobody has heard of, nobody knows where it is, nor does anybody really care. After his senior year, nobody in the NFL wanted him and he went undrafted.

But, there he was, signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent at the insistence of then assistant head coach Sean Payton. What Sean Payton saw in him that no other coach (other than former Bronco’s coach Mike Shanahan) nobody will ever know, but he saw something that warranted a contract and a roster spot. In 2004, Romo, then the emergency quarterback, was facing being cut from the roster the first week of training camp. However, thanks to the drug problems that “Cokehead Quincy” Carter suffered from and his overall poor attitude during camp, Romo was retained and Carter was released. See? Dallas fans can thank Quincy Carter for Tony Romo having a job right now.

A mere 2 years later, Romo finally got his chance; I was there to see it on October 23, 2006, Texas Stadium, Giants vs. Cowboys on Monday Night Football. After another underwhelming 1st half performance from Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe, amid boos and chants of “We want Romo”, the switch was finally made. At the start of the 2nd half, in front of a crowd of 63,512 crazed Dallas fans (and my wonderful family of Giants fans, whom I wouldn’t even sit with at the game), Romo trotted onto the field and begun taking practice throws, signaling to the crowd that he would be taking over the quarterback position for the Cowboys; the rollercoaster ride would begin.

Greeted by a standing ovation and chants of “Romo, Romo”, the Drew Bledsoe era had officially been given the Old Yeller treatment and a new era was ushered in. The results were largely unimpressive in his first prolonged taste of NFL action throwing 3 interceptions, but there were flashes of brilliance. With Romo behind center, fans were on the edge of their seats with every drop back, every dazzling scramble to avoid taking a sack, every throw sailing majestically into the Dallas night; a star was born that night in Texas.

The first highlight reel play from Romo came late in the 4th quarter, the outcome of the game already decided (resounding victory by the Giants), Romo unleashed a dazzling bomb to a wide open Patrick Crayton for a 53 yard touchdown pass. As the remaining crowd leapt to their feet with excitement, it wasn’t the fact that the Cowboys scored that we were cheering about, it was the fact that for the first time in 6 years, we had something to cheer about.

Two days later, on October 25, Tony Romo was announced as the new starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. In his first career start against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday Night Football in front of a national televised audience, Romo dazzled yet again, leading the Cowboys to a 35 – 14 victory and a media darling was created.

Tony Romo became the new hit of the NFL. Leading the Cowboys to impressive victories over the undefeated Indianapolis Colts on November 19th and a Thanksgiving Day victory over Tampa Bay which saw Romo throw a career high 5 touchdown passes, Romo was leading the charge to get the Cowboys back into the playoffs.

How was he doing this? How did this nobody from a school I can’t even locate on a map lead the Dallas Cowboys to the forefront of the NFC after years of failure? It’s simple, he was playing the game in a way that his Cowboy quarterbacking predecessors Bledsoe, Hutchinson, Carter, etc didn’t; with passion. Tony Romo played the position with a youthful enthusiasm that was rarely seen in Dallas for as long as I, or anyone can remember. With the somber and boring Drew Bledsoe, the Cowboys played just that, somber and boring. There was no excitement, no fire, no heart, from the team or fans in the crowd. Every minute of every quarter, for every game, for every season, it was just as if we were going through the motions, the game lacked a certain feel, whether it be hopefulness or joyousness to be watching “America’s Team” play. Tony Romo brought those feelings back. Tony Romo saved the Dallas Cowboys franchise on that cool Monday night in October 2006. He was the new sheriff in town. The new gunslinger in town ready to topple the NFC and lead the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl.

Or, so we thought. There was only one problem with that whole theory. Nobody knew that Tony Romo was lacking the most important gene that can be wired into an NFL player’s psyche; fortitude. Romo played with passion, he played with heart, but he would wilt under the pressure quicker than Alex Rodriguez in October. The first example of this was made clear in the 2006 playoffs as the Cowboys played the Seattle Seahawks in the first round. With 1:19 left on the clock and Dallas trailing 21 – 20, the Cowboys attempted a 19-yard field goal for the win; an easy chip shot, the 2nd round was in our sights. As the ball was snapped and Romo caught it to hold for Mike Vanderjagt, the unthinkable happened; he bobbled the ball, the kick was blown, the game was lost and the tears began to flow. As Tony Romo sat on the field with his hands on his head shaking in disbelief, I sat in a friends basement sobbing like a little school boy who was told there was no Santa Claus.

The next season began and it was more of what Romo had done in the previous season when he stepped into the starter’s role. Excitement, jubilation, smiles on the sidelines, exhibiting true joy in not only playing football, but being a part of this team. But, it all began to change exactly one year to the day of his first career start. On October 29, 2007, Romo was given a six-year $67.5 million contract extension with the Cowboys. Two weeks later he began dating pop-star Jessica Simpson (ughhhhhhhhhhhh) and the downward spiral would begin.

Romo finished off the 2007 regular season breaking the all-time Dallas record for touchdowns and completions in a season, leading the Cowboys to a 13 – 3 record and a playoff date with the New York Giants (who the Cowboys had manhandled twice previously in the season). What happened? Oh, it’s just those pressure situations we spoke of before. You know the rest. Romo chokes. Cowboys lose. Giants win the Super Bowl. My family rejoices and I shorten my life expectancy by at least 7 years with the amount of alcohol I consumed to get over my grief of yet another failed playoff venture.

The 2008 season was one of the biggest disappointments in Dallas Cowboy history. Being labeled as a Super Bowl contending favorite, the Cowboys faltered down the stretch during the last month of the season (which has become classic Romo due to his 5 – 8 career record in the month of December) and they failed to make the playoffs. It was midway thru the 2008 season that I had realized what was wrong with Romo; he lost his passion.

Call me crazy, call me a cynic, call me whatever you like; I stand by this statement; Tony Romo lost his passion for football and it became all about the stardom. Therein lies the problem. Before he received that wealthy extension with the Cowboys, Romo was just another guy who got a chance to play a game he loved as a living. Once he hit pay dirt, you could instantly see his eyes go “cha-ching”. Weeks later he’s become some sort of Hollywood party goer with Jessica Simpson. Months after that, in the week leading up to the biggest game of his career (the aforementioned playoff meltdown against New York), instead of preparing for the contest, what does he do? Flies to Mexico for a little love on the sand with his bosomy blonde bimbo Simpson. Hallelujah at least we know he scored at some point in the month of January in his NFL career (wow, that was a tasteless cheap shot and I don’t even care).

Bottom line is simple; at some point Romo stopped being about football and began thinking about life outside of football and becoming a mega-star. It’s no secret that Romo is an avid amateur golfer and has attempted to qualify for the PGA tour (and hey, guess what? Failed at that too. He chokes at two sports!). He is also a frequent guest on local sports radio programs in the Dallas area and even hosted his own sports radio program. He’s featured in commercials and TV ads, you get the picture. At some point it became less about being the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and more about being Tony Romo, rising star.

If you don’t believe me, just watch him play now compared to two years ago. Everything is different. Sure, most of the statistics are the same (right up to the usual December meltdown), but the body language is different. He doesn’t have the same loose attitude and jovial demeanor he exhibited when he became the toast of the town in 2006. The smiles on the sidelines have diminished. It stopped being about playing a game and having fun and just seems like it’s something he does to get paid to do. After a week 17 annihilation at the hands of the Eagles last season, Romo finished off his post game press conference with this doozy of a quote when asked about how he’ll deal with another loss and not going to the playoffs:

“I wake up tomorrow and I keep living”

The quarreling with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has increased. He alienated his star receiver Terrell Owens (call him a bad teammate if you like, but he was never a problem in Dallas) and ultimately led to his release. Even today I read reports that Romo and current receiver Roy Williams are having trouble getting on the same page. This is NOT the same Tony Romo that won the hearts of millions of Cowboy fans over the world. That’s the Tony Romo I cheered for. This Tony Romo I want to see benched and ridden out of town. I don’t want this Romo as my quarterback. He doesn’t belong.

He had the opportunity to be a franchise altering quarterback for the Cowboys and be this generation of Cowboy fans Troy Aikman. Instead, he’s already lost my faith and has begun to lose the faith of Dallas fans across the nation. Only one man can fix this and it’s Romo himself. He needs to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror and decide what he wants to be. Does he want to be just another NFL star who had a good career, made a lot of money and ventured off into other avenues? Or, does he want to be one of the next great players in this league and lead his team to a cavalcade of accolades? In my heart I always felt it would prove to be the latter, these days I feel like it’s going to be the former.

All I know the joy I used to have in watching the Cowboys play every Sunday is slowly diminishing with each incomplete pass and seeming indifferent attitude over failure that Romo exhibits now. He’s not the same man and I don’t think he will ever lead this team to the level people think he can. It just isn’t in his genetic makeup. Some people that ability to rise to the occasion, with your back against the wall and lead your team to a level of play you didn’t think existed, while others don’t. Tom Brady has it. Donovan McNabb doesn’t. Peyton Manning has it. Jay Cutler doesn’t. Eli Manning most certainly has it. Jamarcus Russell most certainly doesn’t. Brett Favre had it and has shown glimpses even in his old age that he still does. Tony Romo’s idol is Brett Favre, maybe he should study some film of old #4 and see what true heart is all about.

That’s what it’ll come down to for Romo in the end. He either has the heart of a warrior and a true competitive spirit a la Brett Favre, who despite his constant flip flopping on if he’s retiring or playing, has never once shown a lack of heart, or he doesn’t. Favre plays the game day in and day out today with the same passion and excitement he did 20 years ago. That’s the kind of man I want as my quarterback. That’s the man I thought was my quarterback on that Monday evening in Texas 3 years ago when I stood up and cheered with my eyes beaming with fervent excitement. As the games tread on and Romo’s lackadaisical play continues, I grow more and more weary of the bleak future for the Cowboys.

You’re 29 years old now Tony. What have you won? Nothing. So often you are compared to Troy Aikman for your talents and god given abilities. Well, Troy Aikman had 3 Super Bowl titles by the time he was 29.

With a matchup in Denver tomorrow afternoon, all eyes will be on Romo. He’s coming off 3 straight weeks of shaky performances, following a disappointing pre-season and an off-season in which he spent more time on the putting green than he did in the film room. It’s entirely up to Romo. Find the passion you once had for the game and get it back, before it’s too late. The excuse that you’re a young quarterback no longer plays into effect. The time is now to either take the road less travelled and become one of the elite, or go down the path of so many before you and just be “some guy who went to work every Sunday to collect a check”.

I don’t know if he’ll ever regain that look in his eyes that he used to have, but I can hope. But, until that day, there’s only one thing I can do in the meantime;

Wake up tomorrow and keep living

Remember Me?

The bad seed is back! No, I don't mean Michael Vick and I don't even mean Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. To quote the group House of Pain, “just like the Prodigal son, I’ve returned.” That’s right; it's me, the rambling ranter, the bombastic blogger, the tirading typist, the overall witty wordsmith that you have all missed for the past 2 months; Ramey’s Rants is BACK!

Where have I been, you ask? I could come up with some lame excuse like I was busy with school, or getting my life together, but, I'm not going to do that to you. You know me better than that. Let's just call the past 7 weeks the "summer of George" (cheap Seinfeld reference) or Ramey's Summer Sabbatical. Whatever spin you want to put on it, the bottom line is, I'm back, commercial free, no interruptions. It's been too long and I've missed you all (the 5 of you who are blood related and obligated to put up with my insufferable ranting).

I’ve missed a lot in the nearly 2 months it’s been since I last posted. Major League Baseball is wrapping up another star studded season; the NFL has started in full swing. Hell, I even missed Tony Romo’s first complete meltdown of the year! But, before I write about any of that, there’s one issue I want to cover; John Kruk. You sir, are an idiot. That’s the nicest way I can term what I really think of you. This is a family friendly blog, so I’m refraining from the alliteration of obscenities I would love to throw in your direction for being one of, if not the worst baseball analyst I have ever heard or seen in my 23 years on this planet.

You work for ESPN John, which stands for “Entertainment and Sports Programming Network”, which means, you are supposed to have some form of neutrality and unbiased take on the overall spectrum of Major League Baseball. That’s what I was expecting to read the other day when I read the article you wrote “Plenty of question marks for potential playoff teams.”

Yeah, I know, that was my first mistake. Reading an article written by John Kruk should’ve been my clue that I wasn’t going to be happy with the end result. Asking Kruk to write a coherent thought is like asking Jimmy Fallon to not laugh at his own jokes; you’d like to think it’s possible, but it won’t happen in this lifetime. But, I gave it a try anyway. I began reading it with an open mind and he had me for one sentence. Literally. One sentence. He lost all integrity after one sentence. Let me run you through my thought process as I read the first two sentences of his article:

“Which of the teams likely headed to the playoffs have the most to figure out in the next two weeks?”

Alright, he’s going to break down every team in the playoff hunt and what their key weaknesses are. This’ll help see how every team is shaping up.

“All of them except the Boston Red Sox”

MOTHER F%*@*$*@ COULD YOU BE ANY MORE OBVIOUS WITH YOUR DEVOTION TO ANYTHING CHOWDAH?

That was the PG version of my true reaction. In fact, the very first thing I did after I read those two sentences was copy and paste it and sent it to a friend who would be equally stunned and irritated at that notion. But, needless to say, I plunged ahead. I read the article waiting for him to explain how every other team has bigger holes than the Titanic and the Red Sox are a 25 man wrecking crew hell bent on baseball domination.

To paraphrase Mr. Kruk; the Angels have to figure out what to do with their bullpen only if they play Boston, since they just can’t beat them. The Yankees have such terrible pitching we should just forfeit the rest of the season and opt to not show up for the playoffs. The Cardinals and Phillies have equally bad bullpens (Last I checked, Ryan Franklin did not equal Brad Lidge). The Dodger’s starting pitching is iffy and the Rockies bullpen has holes to fill as well. So, if you’re keeping track, we have 4 teams with bullpen issues.

The Red Sox though? They are “the only team heading into the postseason that you can look at and say, ‘this team is ready for the playoffs.’ Aside from the middle relief, which hasn’t been too good…”

But wait John, how can you say that? If the Rockies, Cardinals, Angels and Phillies all have bullpen ‘questions’, how can the Red Sox be a well oiled baseball playing cyborg if their relief pitching “hasn’t been too good?”

Oh, not to mention “Jon Lester is pitching well and Daisuke Matsuzaka has looked good. The Sox look to me to be the one, of all the teams likely headed to the postseason, that is the most dolled up and ready to play in the playoffs.”

Right. The Red Sox are the most complete team headed into the playoffs. You know, not the Cardinals who have Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday anchoring their lineup with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright (combined 34 – 12 with a 2.45 era) at the forefront of their rotation, with Ryan Franklin (37 saves, 1.98 era and 1.14 whip) closing out games.

Not the Yankees who have the best record in baseball. Who, when the last time I blogged on August 5th had a 2.5 game lead over Boston, have expanded that to (at one point 9 games) now with 8 games to play an insurmountable 6.5 game lead. The same Yankees who have seven players with over 20 home runs and seven with over 75 runs batted in. Or, the same Yankees who have CC Sabathia (best pitcher in the American League over the last 2 months) as their staff ace, or Mariano Rivera (42 saves and a 0.91 whip) closing out games.

It can’t be the Dodgers who have had the best record in the National League since the beginning of time. It isn’t the Rockies who have been playing tremendous since Jim Tracy took over the team 3 and a half months ago. Nope, it’s still Boston. The Red Sox are the most complete and ready team for the playoffs. Uhh, whatever you say John. Have you been watching baseball for the last 3 months? ESPN does pay you to watch the games, right? You realize this is the Boston Red Sox of 2009 and not 2007, right? Need me to explain?

So, Boston is the team most ready for the playoffs. The Yankees have questions in their starting rotation, according to you; is Andy Pettitte healthy? How terrible will A.J. Burnett be? Should Joba Chamberlain even be on the roster? Well, how about those Red Sox John?

For as bad as A.J. Burnett has been in the 2nd half of the season (4 – 5, 4.69 era, 83 strikeouts and 10 home runs allowed in 88.1 innings), Josh Beckett hasn’t really been much better (5 – 3, 4.38 era, 84 strikeouts and 15 home runs allowed in 86.1 innings). That’s the Red Sox ace pitcher right there and Burnett is the Yankees #3 starter come the postseason. Ouch.

For as well as Jon Lester is pitching in the 2nd half (6 – 2, 3.04 era with 87 strikeouts in 83 innings), CC Sabathia has been phenomenally better (10 – 1, 2.54 era with 91 strikeouts in 92 innings).

Oh yeah, Daisuke Matsuzaka has “looked good” since coming back from injury. Granted he has 2 wins (and wins are all that matters), he has allowed 15 base runners in 11.1 innings and thrown 203 pitches or nearly 19 pitches per inning. Same Matsuzaka, just with a healthier shoulder. That equals trouble for Boston.

For as terrific as Clay Buchholz has been in the 2nd half of the season (7 – 3, 3.21 era with 58 strikeouts and a 1.32 whip in 84 innings), he hasn’t been as good as “injured” Andy Pettitte (5 – 2, 3.17 era with 73 strikeouts and a 1.09 whip in 76.2 innings).

Kruk is right though. Joba Chamberlain is a huge question mark. But, at most, he’ll start 2 games all postseason (one each in the ALCS and World Series, if the Yankees are lucky enough to get there). But, how much of a question mark does Jon Lester become now? Not only did he get smacked all over the Bronx by the Yankees last night (and terribly outpitched by Joba the question mark), but he also left with an injury.

Do you want me to tackle the Red Sox starting lineup, too? The Red Sox starting catcher is batting .208 and allows base runners to steal off him like they have an EZ pass going through a toll booth. Your starting designated hitter David Ortiz, while impressively has hit 27 home runs and is nearing 100 runs batted in, is batting a putrid .237. Jason Bay, the Manny Ramirez replacement, while he has put up power numbers reminiscent of Ramirez with 36 and 115, is batting just .265 and strikes out once per game. You want the key to beating the Red Sox? Keep Jacoby Ellsbury off the bases and pitch around Kevin Youkilis. Nobody else on that team scares you or can beat you.

This Red Sox team isn’t like the ones of years past. They aren’t scary top to bottom or have the bullpen that can shut a team down. Yeah, Jonathan Papelbon has 37 saves and a 1.94 era, but he also has a 1.20 whip and throws 18 pitches per inning. Not to mention the league has figured out Hideki Okajima, Ramon Ramirez has come back down to earth and Billy Wagner can’t pitch back to back days. But remember everybody, the Red Sox are the most ready.

To say I expected more out of John Kruk would be a foolish lie. I expect this out of him. He was an average player, who became a below average baseball analyst who is now obviously a lazy columnist who does no research or have any factual basis on anything he reports.

So congratulations John Kruk and ESPN for proving once and for all, without a shadow of doubt, where your allegiance and loyalties truly lie. ESPN is supposed to be the worldwide leader in sports, not the worldwide leader in Red Sox Nation. Don’t get me wrong, this is not some bitter Yankee fan angry that he questioned his team’s chances of competing for the World Series trophy. Once October starts anybody can win, even Boston. But, to flat out state that every team in the playoff hunt except Boston has questions needing answers is the most absurd and unsubstantiated claim I have ever thought imaginable.

This is public request and plea for John Kruk to respond to this and please lay claim to his reasoning behind Boston having no flaws headed into the playoffs. I’ve sent this article along to ESPN and would love nothing more than for you to respond John. I’m sure I’m not the only person in the world who read that article and came away with the same questions that I did.

I always said I would stop at nothing in life to get to what I feel was the pinnacle of sports journalism and work for ESPN. Now, I could care less. There are other networks and other websites I will set my sights on working for. I want to cover all sports, unbiased. That can’t happen at ESPN. So, I guess this is a thank you to John Kruk and the rest of your co-workers at ESPN. It was always my dream to work there, but, I’ve been woken up from it. Now it’s time to fall back asleep and find something else to dream for.

Until next time, I promise I won’t go far...

Random Thoughts

This isn’t one of your normal run of the mill “Ramey’s Rants.” This is going to be a few paragraphs of me bragging and gloating about how awesome I am and how intelligent my sports knowledge is. Basically, this is me letting all of you know that 3 weeks ago in my 2nd half baseball preview, that was the writing equivalent of a breakout performance. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, let me explain.

The biggest deals made at the trade deadline were the deals that sent Matt Holliday, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, George Sherrill, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson and Ian Snell all packing to new locations. If you didn’t read my 26 page “Second Half Preview”, let me give you a few snippets from it when discussing the above names.

Re: Matt Holliday: “Adding Mark DeRosa, who now finds himself on the disabled list helps, but they (the Cardinals) could use something more. (perhaps call up Billy Beane and see how Matt Holliday is feeling?)”

Where’d Matt Holliday end up? The St. Louis Cardinals.

Re: Cliff Lee: “If they (the Phillies) can't put a package together to get Roy Halladay (you'd have to lose Kyle Drabek, sorrrry), maybe they could package some lesser talent together to snatch Cliff Lee from the Indians”

What happened? The Phillies refused to part with Kyle Drabek in order to acquire Roy Halladay and instead packaged together some lesser talent and snatched Cliff Lee from the Indians. Thank you, thank you very much.

Re: Victor Martinez: “Victor Martinez? Call up the Red Sox, see if you can pry Clay Buccholz from them for his services”

What happened to Mr. Martinez? Well, he got traded to the Red Sox, but I under-estimated Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro’s stupidity and he only got Justin Masterson out of it. Basically, that’d be the equivalent of trading in your Porsche for a used Toyota with poor brakes.

Re: George Sherrill: “thanks to the Joe Torre book on ruining bullpen arms, they could use a little more relief in that pen”

Well, I didn’t directly infer that the Orioles would trade Sherrill to the Dodgers, but I at least take credit in knowing that Joe Torre is still terrible at managing a bullpen and help was needed.

Re: Freddy Sanchez: “On the downside of things, your offense (Giants) is horrible. You need an Aubrey Huff or a Freddy Sanchez just to provide a little more support."

What happened to Sanchez? Freddy was packaged and shipped by the Pittsburgh Moving Company, I mean Pirates and sent to San Francisco. Again, I was right.

Re: Jack Wilson and Ian Snell: “With the recent trade of Yuniesky Betancourt and Ronny Cedeno batting just .168, they could be in the market for a middle infielder (Jack Wilson)….. The Mariners are one of the few teams who aren't in dire need of pitching help. I'd say maybe they'd be interested in someone like Ian Snell”

What happened to them? They were BOTH traded to the Mariners and Ronny Cedeno and his light weight batting average was part of the deal. I think I deserve a pat on the back for this one guys.

Now I’m not saying I’m some sort of baseball prophet on the level of Moses or Nostradamus or anything, but I’m definitely somewhere in between. I’m like the Muhammad of baseball knowledge.

That being said here are some random thoughts that have popped in my head this morning:

Ramey Rants Twenty Five Random Thoughts:

1. The New York Giants are giving Quarterback Eli Manning a $97.5 million contract extension. Huh??? Really? He’s not even a top-10 QB in the league! And if you don’t believe me, here’s who I’d rather have in no particular order; Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Kurt Warner, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers. Sorry Eli, you’re no better than 11th best.

2. Of Trevor Hoffman’s major league record 578 saves, only 54 have been for more than 3 outs or a mere 9.3% of his total.

3. Of “best closer in baseball” Francisco Rodriguez’s 232 career saves, only 19 have been for more than 3 outs or just 8.1% of his total.

4. Meanwhile, to end any doubt that Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in history, of his 513 career saves, a staggering 110 have been for more than 3 outs, or an astonishing 21.4% of his total.

5. Michael Jordan “retired” from the NBA on three different occasions, Roger Clemens “retired” on three different occasions as well. Brett Favre has now “retired” on three different occasions, but has ‘discussed’ the notion on at least five occasions. I thought boxers were the only athletes who were allowed to retire a million times?

6. Michael Vick spent 2 years in jail, was suspended 2 seasons from the NFL and is still suspended at least 4 games into the 2009 NFL season? How does this begin to make sense? Hasn’t he paid his debt to society?

7. The new Dallas Cowboys Stadium is living proof that everything is bigger in Texas. If a fan wants to sit in one of the luxury suites, it’ll cost $800,000 per year to lease it, but that doesn’t include game tickets. Also, you’ll have to dole out $90 for pizza (not kidding) and $66 for a 12-pack of beer (also not kidding). And people complained about Yankee tickets?

8. The last time a major league baseball team had two 20 game winners in the same season was the 2002 Arizona Diamondbacks; they got swept in the first round of the playoffs. Bad omen for the Giants as Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are both on pace to win 20 apiece.

9. San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie was fined $2,500 for posting a comment on his twitter account complaining about the food at training camp. Call out a player or coach, no big deal. Call out the chef on his choice of cuisine, pay the price. Food = power.

10. New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran has been out since June 22nd with a “bruised knee.” That could be the worst bruise in the history of black and blue’s.

11. Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is a complete bulldog on the mound. He’s made 21 starts this season and has pitched at least 7 innings in 19 of them. In the other two starts he pitched 3 innings (and left with an injury) and 6 innings (his first start back from injury).

12. On June 7th, Halladay won his 10th game of the season, running his record to 10 – 1, with a 2.52 era. Since that time he’s put up a 1 – 4, 3.15 era in 57 innings over 8 starts. That also includes a complete game loss and another complete game no decision. Too bad they didn’t trade you buddy.

13. Recently enshrined to the baseball Hall of Fame, Rickey Henderson played 25 professional seasons and stole at least 50 bases in thirteen seasons; including 66 when he was 39 years old. Rickey liked to run. His AVERAGE season would see him hit .279 with 16 home runs, 59 runs batted in and 74 stolen bases. No wonder he declared himself “the greatest of all-time”

14. The ‘Ol Gunslinger Brett Favre, the “greatest Quarterback in history” had 36 career games of 3+ interceptions and 64 games of 3+ touchdowns and only twice in his career did he have 3+ of each. So, if you’re keeping score, Favre started 269 games in his career, in 13% of them he was REALLY bad, in 23% of them he was REALLY good and in the other 64% he was above average. He’s also guided his teams to a career 169 – 100 record for a .628 winning percentage.

15. On the other hand, Peyton Manning has started 176 games in his career and has only had 10 games of 3+ interceptions, while having 52 games of 3+ touchdowns and 71 games in his career without throwing an interception. So, if you’re keeping score again, of the 176 games Manning has started, in 5% of them he’s been REALLY bad, in 30% of them he’s been REALLY good, in 40% of them he’s been nearly flawless and he’s guided his teams to a 117 – 59 record for a .664 winning percentage. Sorry Brett, but Peyton is far and above better than you ever were.

16. Still don’t believe me? Well, Favre had only 5 seasons of 4,000+ yards passing and in only one of them did he complete over 65% of his passes. Peyton, meanwhile, has already had 9 seasons of 4,000+ yards passing and in six of those seasons he completed over 65% of his passes.

17. When it’s all said and done Albert Pujols will go down as the greatest hitter in baseball history. Think about this, the worst season he’s ever had was in 2007 when he hit .327 with 32 home runs and 103 runs batted in. He’s averaged 43 home runs per year in his career. He’s 407 home runs away from Barry Bonds. If Pujols averages just 35 home runs per season (which he very well can do since he’s only hit below 35 homers twice), he’ll surpass Barry Bonds record of 762 BEFORE his 40th birthday. Say hello to the baseball God.

18. When the Texas Rangers traded Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves at the 2007 trade deadline, they acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz and Beau Jones in return. Saltalamacchia is now the Rangers starting catcher, Andrus their starting short stop and Neftali Feliz, fresh off a 2 inning, 4 strikeout performance in his major league debut, is the best of the bunch. Greatest trade in Rangers history.

19. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers may be one of the dumbest names in sports. What the hell is a Sound Tiger? Then again, I may be employed by them in the future, so I may name my first child Tiger after them.

20. Back to the Twitter conversation from earlier; I follow dozens of athletes on twitter and I have to say, it really makes me dislike them. I thought I’d get an inside glimpse into the lives and personalities of athletes and I did, but I’ve been largely disappointed. I’ve learned that athletes, much like us regular Joe’s, are weird people with insane tendencies. Just ask Stephon Marbury. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it.

21. Pete Rose remains banned from Major League Baseball, because he bet on games? Yet, hundreds of players have compromised the integrity of the game by using performance enhancing drugs and they haven’t been banned. How’s that fair?

22. Can anybody else wait for the eventual press conference that David Ortiz will have in a few months saying that he tested positive for a banned substance in 2003 because of that mysterious “milkshake” he had that one time in the Dominican?

23. I’m glad to see Plaxico Burress was indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. If Michael Vick was given the stiffest penalty the law could provide, I hope Burress receives the same treatment and is put behind bars for at least 3 ½ years.

24. Don’t believe anything that MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko’s handlers say that they “tried their best to get a deal done with the UFC.” It’s 100% BS. If he really wanted to fight in the UFC, he would be. Fedor is scared of finally having competition and having the talent of his 30 – 1 record come into question, since about 25 of those victories have come from a group of people not good enough to be labeled a “has been” or a “never was”

25. Having recently attended a Yankee game, the stupidity and ignorance of sports fans is unbelievable. I’m talking about the “fans” who expect their sports teams to play flawless and nearly perfect 100% of the time. Newsflash genius’, nobody is perfect, nobody will play mistake free every minute of every day. If you expect that, give me whatever pills you’re taking, because life must be pretty sweet being that high. Grow a brain.

Ramey's Rants MLB Rankings

Hello all and welcome to the newest addition to the Ramey Rants blog. Every 2 weeks (so twice a month for all you scholars out there), I'll be giving you my opinion on how each team ranks in baseball. (wait till football and basketball season and I'll do those as well). It's been about a week and a half since I've had a good rant, so enough with the small talk, let's get to the rankings and be on the lookout for a rant in the coming days!

30. Pittsburgh Pirates (45 – 59): Pirate fans have little to smile about. Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Adam Laroche, are just a few of the names who have been traded in the past 6 weeks. Rookie super star Andrew Mccutchen is batting .292 and is fresh off a 3 homer performance on Saturday night, but he’ll be traded the moment he begins to blossom into something extraordinary.

29. Washington Nationals (33 – 72): Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is batting just .250 since June 1st. Just putting that uniform on can really drain the talent out of a player.

28. Cleveland Indians (44 – 61): They traded away their ace Cliff Lee and their all star catcher Victor Martinez. The only reason fans have to show up to the ballpark nightly is center fielder Grady Sizemore and he’s batting .229. I would say football season is just around the corner, but you have the Browns. So, uh, 3 months until the Cavaliers season starts!

27. San Diego Padres (43 – 63): They traded away their best pitcher of the last decade in Jake Peavy (out with an injury since mid-June) and toyed with the notion of trading the face of their franchise, best player and all-star Adrian Gonzalez. Needless to say, if they did that, all 4 Padre fans in the world would riot.

26. Kansas City Royals (41 – 63): Zach Greinke may very well win the Cy Young award, but the emergence as Brian Bannister as a legitimate #2 starting pitcher should make Royals fans hopeful about the possibility of making a wild card run next year. Think the Mets and their shaky starting rotation regret trading him for Ambiorix Burgos 3 years ago?

25. Oakland Athletics (44 – 60): I thought Billy Beane was Mr. Moneyball and in love with on base percentages and working the count? Their team batting average is a below average .253 and their team on base percentage is an abysmal .322. Maybe Beane should stop writing books and start evaluating talent?

24. Baltimore Orioles (44 – 60): Adam Jones is on pace for a 30 homer and 100 rbi season in just his 2nd full season in the big leagues. He’s already drawn more walks than last season and eclipsed his career high in homers nearly 2 months ago. A star is born.

23. Cincinnati Reds (45 – 59): Reds ace Edinson Volquez has been out for much of the season with a bad pitching elbow after an alarming jump in his innings pitched last season. Score another one for Dusty Baker. Add that to Mark Prior, Kerry Wood and former Giant Bill Swift and you’ve got yourself an impressive list of terrific talents that have been derailed by this man. Congratulations! Dusty Baker, ruining right arms for 20 years!

22. Arizona Diamondbacks (46 – 59): Brandon Webb has been out since April with a bad shoulder that we ALL knew he needed surgery on, but did he? Nope. Waited until August to finally decide to shut him down and perform surgery. Way to wait so long and blow his next season too. I put 70% odds that the Diamondbacks cut Webb loose after this season and he signs with the Dodgers and really sticks it to Arizona in 12 months for screwing him over.

21. Toronto Blue Jays (51 – 44): J.P. Ricciardi really screwed up the Roy Halladay trade negotiations. He demanded too much, over played his hand with his only real suitor (Philadelphia) and they turned around and picked up Cliff Lee for 1/5 the talent that the Blue Jays wanted for Halladay. Great job J.P., can’t wait for you to sign Adam Lind to a $90 million contract extension in 3 years. You signed BJ Ryan to ridiculous money, gave Vernon Wells an absurd contract and can’t even trade your biggest trading chip and will lose him in 12 months for nothing? No wonder you live in Canada.

20. Houston Astros (52 – 53): Wandy Rodriguez at home (5 – 2, 2.12). Wandy Rodriguez on the road (5 – 4, 3.15). Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.

19. Minnesota Twins (52 – 53): It doesn’t matter if the Twins make the playoffs or not, Joe Mauer is the best player in the American League and the most valuable player as well. He’s going to hit .350 with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in while catching nearly 140 games and missing the first month of the season. The last time a catcher batted above .350 with 30+ homers and 100+ rbi in a single season was Mike Piazza in 1997 when he hit .362 with 40 homers and 124 runs batted in. You’ve taken the leap to the next level Joe Mauer.

18. New York Mets (50 – 54): A New York Mets commercial for an upcoming game showed a montage of David Wright highlights and had the caption “He hasn’t given up yet and neither should you.” Yep, there you go. The 2009 New York Mets: Playing mediocre baseball since April 6th.

17. Milwaukee Brewers (52 – 53): Prince Fielder is on pace to hit over 40 home runs and have nearly 150 runs batted in. He just turned 25 years old. He’s 280lbs of salad eating, vegan power.

16. Seattle Mariners (54 – 51): Ichiro Suzuki is in his 9th career major league baseball season and has amassed 1,958 career hits. If you add that to the 1,278 career hits he had in Japan and Ichiro Suzuki is nearing 3,300 career hits. Easily a 1st ballot Hall of Famer and will arguably be one of the greatest right fielders in baseball history.

15. Atlanta Braves (53 – 51): With the impressive starting rotation the Braves boast with Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Derek Lowe at the helm, the Braves should be a lot better than hovering around .500 on the season. If Chipper Jones and Brian McCann start hitting the way they’re capable of (and they’re showing signs of life), the Braves could make a late summer push towards the top.

14. Chicago White Sox (54 – 52): This past weekends 4 game series against the Yankees where the White Sox took 3 of 4 was definitely Gordon Beckham’s coming out party going 7 of 19 with 5 doubles and 8 runs batted in. He’s only 22 and he hasn’t even started hitting for power yet. Bad news for the rest of the AL Central.

13. Florida marlins (55 – 50): Cody Ross is second on the team in home runs with 17, trailing only Dan Uggla’s 19. Bet you didn’t know that. If Josh Johnson (10 – 2, 2.87) was in the American League, he’d be in the Cy Young debate, but pitching in the National League against the likes of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain and he’ll be lucky to garner a vote.

12. Detroit Tigers (54 – 49): After just acquiring lefty Jarrod Washburn (8 – 6, 2.64), the Tigers boast the best 1 – 3 starting rotation in the American League with hard throwing Justin Verlander (12 – 5, 3.16) and Edwin Jackson (7 – 5, 2.64).

11. Tampa Bay Rays (57 – 48): Tampa has stolen a league high 142 stolen bases and at the end of the season will have one player with at least 50 stolen bases, one player with 40 stolen bases and another with 30 stolen bases. They like to run. Might as well just sign Usain Bolt and stick him at DH.

10. Chicago Cubs (55 – 48): In the 4 weeks since Aramis Ramirez has returned from a shoulder injury, the Cubs have taken off, going 15 – 8 while Ramirez has batted .338 with 5 homers and 17 runs batted and a .409 on base percentage.

9. St. Louis Cardinals (58 – 50): The Good: In the 11 games Matt Holliday has been a Cardinal, he’s hit .540 with 3 homers and 10 runs batted in. The Bad: In the 11 games since Matt Holliday has been a Cardinal, Albert Pujols has hit .200 with 0 homers and 2 runs batted in.

8. Colorado Rockies (58 – 47): The Rockies have 5 players in their offense who are on pace to hit over 20 home runs and 80 rbi (Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, Troy Tulowitzki, Clint Barmes, Ian Stewart).

7. San Francisco Giants (58 – 47): You know the numbers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain have put up this season (combined 24 – 5 with a 2.15 era in 43 starts), but the really amazing feat of the Giants pitching staff is their bullpen. Jeremy Affeldt, Justin Miller and Brandon Medders are having outstanding seasons setting up closer Brian Wilson (27 saves, 3.04 era).

6. Texas Rangers (59 – 44): With the emergence as Scott Feldman as a true #2 starter behind ace Kevin Millwood and the Rangers bullpen being re-solidified at the back end with C.J. Wilson, they’re poised to continue their surprising run in just the 2nd year under the guidance of team President Nolan Ryan.

5. Philadelphia Phillies (59 – 44): Cliff Lee pitched a complete game and scattered 4 hits in his Philly debut Friday night in San Francisco. Can you say World Series favorites?

4. Boston Red Sox (62 – 42): Trading for Victor Martinez isn’t going to fix the problems in their rotation. John Smoltz, Clay Buchholz and Brad Penny have gone a combined 10 – 10 with a 5.64 era in 31 starts. Not too great when they’re your #3 – 5 starters.

3. New York Yankees (63 – 42): Sergio Mitre has a 7.98 era and a whip of 1.98 in 3 short outings in the Yankee rotation. Help is needed. Paging Mike Mussina, paging Mike Mussina, you are requested in the Bronx. But really, it’s going to be Sidney Ponson, we all know it.

2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (63 – 40): And people thought the Angels would miss Mark Teixeira’s bat in the lineup? All due respect to Teixeira, but Kendry Morales is having a stellar offensive season belting 23 home runs and 53 extra base hits to go along with 69 runs batted in.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (65 – 40): Andre Ethier is having a career year batting .274 with 22 home runs and 67 runs batted in. And the Athletics traded him for Milton Bradley in 2005. Remember that questionable talent evaluating skill of Billy Beane I mentioned at #25, well this proves it.

The Roy Halladay Sweepstakes

With the trade deadline fast approaching (10 days away), I thought it’d be a neat idea to run through a list of potential individuals to be traded over the next week and a half and the likeliest landing spots for them. I decided to start that concept off today with the hottest debated topic in baseball right now, Roy Halladay.

Unless you spend your days living in an old Volkswagen Scirocco and have no contact with the outside world, you’ve obviously heard of Roy Halladay. You’ve also heard that Roy Halladay is currently on the trading block and as many as a possible dozen teams are vying for his services. If he is traded, he will instantly make whatever team he is on, the favorites to win the World Series. He has that sort of impact on a game.

This season Halladay has an 11 – 3 record with a 2.73 era in 132 innings. Over the course of his career, he has a 142 – 69 lifetime record and an astonishing 44 complete games (nearly unheard of in this day and age of 5 inning pitchers). He has a fairly reasonable contract that will pay him roughly $20 million over the next 18 months before he is eligible for free agency. The Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi will obviously be looking for an exorbitant amount of talent in return for Halladay, so any team hoping to acquire him will need to be willing to suffer a great deal of pain.

Just where will he go? Let’s dissect and analyze that right now!

We’ll first start off by giving every team in baseball the same equal shot at acquiring Roy Halladay and then eliminate them piece by piece based on Halladay’s preferences in accepting a trade (he has a full no trade clause and must accept any tentative deal) or just the sheer possibility of a particular team acquiring him.

Firstly, Roy Halladay has stated all along he prefers to play for a championship contending team (sorry San Diego, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Washington, Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City and Baltimore. I really thought you had a chance).

That was pretty easy, one question and 1/3 of the league is already eliminated! Next up, you have to factor in a teams financial situation to be able to absorb the monetary cost of acquiring that type of impact player (sorry to Houston, Milwaukee, Florida and Minnesota. Thanks for playing).

Lastly, you need to think about the teams in baseball that clearly lack the minor league talent to acquire a player of this magnitude and not entirely mortgage your future and still be capable of fielding a respectable farm system (that means you; Colorado, Cubs, Atlanta, Detroit, Mets and Seattle).

Alright, after asking and answering those 3 questions, it leaves us with 10 teams. (San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Texas, Anaheim, White Sox, Tampa Bay, the Yankees and Boston). That sounds about right, remember before I said up to a dozen teams would be vying for Halladay? And you thought I was kidding, huh?

But, oh yeah, before we even get into our “Top 10 likely landing spots for Roy Halladay,” I completely forgot about Halladay’s preference to play for a team that trains in Florida during the spring. (Hey, he’s got a blanket no trade clause, he could say he wants to play for a team whose stadium’s outfield is pointed west towards the setting sun).

So, factoring in the teams who play in the Grapefruit League during Spring training, that potentially eliminates another handful of teams who play in the Cactus League in Arizona (Apologies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Anaheim and the White Sox. You were so close!! Please accept this complimentary fruit basket and your very own copy of “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,” because well, the only thing keeping you from getting Halladay is he doesn’t like the heat, that’s unfair to you!)

Wow, so we’re down to 5 teams. Just 5 teams who have the need, organizational prospects and the financial capabilities to acquire the services of Doc Halladay. (Tampa Bay, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis) Oh, shoot! I forgot that Tampa Bay’s ownership said they can’t add on any more payroll this year, so they’re hands are tied! (Now that has to sting, huh? You’ve got the prospects but can’t back it up with your wallet. Tough break. At least you field a terrific team in front of a sell out crowd every night! Wait, really? You’re telling me that the defending American League Champions have the 5th lowest attendance rate in baseball? No way, the Washington Nationals and Kansas City Royals average more fans per game? No kidding! Well, it could be worse. You could be Pittsburgh)

Alright, alright, for real this time, we are down to just 4 teams who are capable of giving J.P. Ricciardi what he wants for Roy Halladay, being able to stomach the financial cost of it all and not mortgage your future by gutting your farm system. Those 4 teams are the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Time to break it down in order of who has the best chance at making the big splash for Halladay before the deadline.

4. Boston Red Sox:

Why they will: The Red Sox starting rotation has considerable question marks outside of top-2 Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. Although Tim Wakefield is 11 – 3 and fresh off his first all-star game, his era is still above the league average and he’s just luckier during his starts than actually dominating the competition. Couple that with the fact Daisuke Matsuzaka is injured (as well as ineffective), Brad Penny and John Smoltz haven’t exactly pitched up to the standards as being the “saviors” to the Red Sox rotation (combined 7 – 7 record with a 5.30 era, averaging just 5.3 innings per start).

What they’d have to give up: Like I said earlier, any team that makes a trade for Roy Halladay is going to have to suffer with giving up pieces they really cherish. Wave goodbye to 24 year old Clay Buchholz who already has a no hitter under his belt. Also, bid adieu to 22 year old flame-throwing Michael Bowden, who has posted a 3.13 era at triple-a Pawtucket this season. You can also rest assured that the Blue Jays would request 21 year old Lars Anderson. After those three must haves, the Jays would want a few of their lesser prospects like short stop Argenias Diaz and left fielder Ryan Kalish. That’s a steep price to pay for 18 months of a 32 year old starting pitcher.

Why they won’t: The question marks at the back end of the Red Sox rotation aren’t nearly as important as their offensive struggles. The Red Sox desperately need to add another bat to their lineup. Dustin Pedroia, reigning American League MVP has seen his power numbers drop by nearly 60% since last season. There hasn’t been a power outage that bad since the New York City blackout of 1977. David Ortiz is still hovering around the .220 mark. Right fielder J.D. Drew is hitting .239, catcher Jason Varitek’s average is down to .234, it goes on and on. Jason Bay, who carried the Red Sox for the first 2 months of the season, has gone into tailspin over the past 4 weeks, batting just .184 with 2 home runs. Even Grizzly Adams himself, Kevin Youkilis is only batting in the low .260’s over the past 6 weeks. They. Need. Help.

Odds of a Halladay trade: 20 to 1

What will likely happen: The Red Sox don’t pull the trigger on any Roy Halladay deals and instead you’ll see them acquire a Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff-esque player to provide insurance to their aging and meandering offense.

3. St. Louis Cardinals

Why they will: The Cardinals have a good team, not a great team. They are currently leading the National League Central with a 2 game lead over the Chicago Cubs. Adding Roy Halladay would put them far and above any other team in their division and would put them ahead of the Dodgers as the favorite’s in the National League. Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak has already shown he isn’t afraid to make a trade, with his recent acquisition of Mark Derosa, which cost the Cardinals a valuable set-up man from their bullpen. No team in baseball would be able to beat Halladay, Carpenter, Wainwright in a 7 game series. That’s as good as you can find. Don’t forget to factor in the success that Kyle Lohse and Joel Piniero have seen this season as well. The Cardinals, unlike the Yankees or the Red Sox, don’t have the same long-term window of sustained success. If they think they can win the World Series if they make this trade, they will do it, plain and simple.

What they’d have to give up: The Blue Jays want an impact player in return, kiss Colby Rasmus goodbye. Outside of Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick, Rasmus has been an absolute offensive beast for them. Having a terrific rookie season at the age of 22, Rasmus has hit .269 with 11 home runs and 40 extra base hits. He’s been good and will only get better. He’ll blossom into a 30+ home run guy within 2 seasons. So, try stomaching that loss when he’s playing left field for Toronto. The Blue Jays would also want a top prospect infielder, preferably a third baseman, but Brett Wallace and his .302 average at triple-a will do just fine. You can’t get Roy Halladay with just 2 players though, so you can add in reliever Jason Motte, 22-year old right hander Lance Lynn (9 – 2, 3.50 era) and Scott Gorgen (4 – 6, 3.40 era). Just be happy they wouldn’t ask for catching prospect Bryan Anderson as well, although I wouldn’t put it past them.
Why they won’t: You’d be adding a top-tier pitcher to combine with Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, but you’d be losing your one of your only offensive pieces outside of Albert Pujols in doing so. Sure, they’d only let up 3 runs a game, but you’d be relying on Pujols to score you 4. The Cardinals would love to add Halladay, but I think the asking price of the Blue Jays is too steep even for the Cardinals to part with, despite the undeniable difference he would make. Their team, as it stands right now, is more than capable of winning their division, as well as putting up a valiant fight with the Phillies or Dodgers for the National League Pennant. Every championship team wins with strong starting pitching and a good bullpen. The Cardinals have 2 of the best starters in the National League in Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter and their closer Ryan Franklin has a 0.76 era. Check and mate.

Odds of a Halladay trade: 12 to 1

What will likely happen: The Cardinals stand pat on the Roy Halladay front and instead trade for Jon Garland or Doug Davis of the Diamondbacks. Don’t sleep on them making a moderate splash in the trade market and see them target Indians lefty Cliff Lee, either.

2. New York Yankees

Why they will: Chien-Ming Wang is likely out for the rest of the season and had a 1 – 6 record prior to his injury. Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain (8 – 5, 5 – 2 respectively) have been off and on with their level of consistencies throughout the season. The Yankees are heavily relying on either Sergio Mitre or (if they go this route again) Alfredo Aceves to replace Wang in the rotation. They currently sit tied for the American League East with the Boston Red Sox and are in prime position to make a run at not only the Pennant, but a World Series run as well. Given the fact that the core of the Yankees over the last decade (Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera) is seeing their respective careers near the end, the Yankees may see this as their best shot to get a ring.

What they’d have to give up: Well Yankee fans, this is where it hurts. Right now, just look at a picture of either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes wearing a Yankee uniform, because it’d be the last time you’d see one of them donning it. You can also bet they’d have to part with one of Jesus Montero (19 years old, the next Miguel Cabrera…next season) and Austin Jackson (tremendous upside, could be a Torri Hunter type center fielder). Then you have to also part ways with serviceable prospects, in the lines of 21 year old Zach McAllister who is shooting his way through the organization or catcher Austin Romine. The odds of having to give up a Mark Melancon or a David Robertson is also increasingly likely too. Is it worth it?

Why they won’t: It goes against the way Brian Cashman does business. He doesn’t make short sighted moves at the drop of a hat, just because there’s a pressing need right away. When an injury (Wang) or inconsistencies (Joba/Pettitte) happen, Cashman always finds a low-cost solution in-season. You rarely see him pull the plug on a blockbuster trade, it’s not the way his mind operates. Even with Wang injured and the Yankees relying on an unknown (Sergio Mitre) to provide them with much needed support, I don’t see Cashman changing his way of doing business. He won’t strip the farm system of his best prospects for a season and a half of Roy Halladay. Price is too steep.


Odds of a Halladay Trade: 9 to 1


What will likely happen: With Brian Cashman’s newfound mantra of retaining prospects who show tremendous upside, Jesus Montero, et al won’t be dealt. The Yankees will pull the trigger on a dealing a low level prospect to acquire a Doug Davis or Ian Snell type pitcher who is a low risk, high reward. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see them sign free agent Mark Mulder (who is nearly fully recovered from various shoulder injuries) or former Yankee Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez (who was recently released by the Texas Rangers).

1. Philadelphia Phillies

Why they will: The Phillies won the World Series last year, if they added Roy Halladay this season, watch out. They would be the favorites this year and next to win the World
Series and would have the opportunity to have a mini-dynasty. The Phillies are in prime position to run away with the National League East and challenge the Dodgers as the best team in the National League. Even though they’re in first place, their starting rotation could use the improvement. Their #2 starter Brett Myers is out for the rest of the season with a hip injury, Antonio Bastardo who filled in for him is injured as well. Their ‘ace’ Cole Hamels is just 5 – 5 with a 4.72 era. Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer, ( a combined 15 – 10, with a 5.01 era) haven’t been overly dominant or consistent at any point this season. If not for the emergence as J.A. Happ (7 – 0, 2.68 era), the Phillies would not be in the position that they are. They have won 9 in a row and have been the best road team in baseball, even with their rotational issues. Roy Halladay would absolutely put this team over the top.

What they’d have to give up: The price would be steep, but the Phillies certainly have the pieces and the depth of their farm system to sustain the losses they would incur. Start right off the bat with giving up 23 year old outfielder Michael Taylor and his .325 average and 16 home runs in the minor leagues. Everybody touts Jason Donald as being a top short stop prospect for Philadelphia, that they aren’t willing to part with. Frankly, I’ve seen the kid play in the minors, he’s nothing special. If Toronto wants him, give him up. He’s got absolutely no range and a swing that has more holes than Swiss cheese. He’ll be a forgotten prospect, before he’s even a decent major leaguer. The Phillies could get away with not giving up Taylor if they would be wiling to part with 22 year old highly touted prospect Carlos Carracco ( 6 – 8, 4.97) or 21 year old Kyle Drabek (9 – 2, 2.83). After giving up at least 2 of those 4 individuals, the Phillies would need to add in second and third tier prospects to get the deal done, like John Mayberry Jr., Yohan Flande and Joe Savery.

Why they won’t: I would really like to say that the Phillies will land Halladay. Frankly, a week ago, I would have said “there’s no doubt in my mind.” But, with the Phillies having won 9 in a row and opened up a comfortable lead in the NL East, I don’t see the pressing need for it anymore. They won the World Series last year with roughly the same team, they can do it again.
Odds of a Halladay trade: 4 to 1

What will likely happen: Halladay doesn’t end up in Philly by the trade deadline. They run the gambit with Pedro Martinez and stay as they’re currently assembled.

Where Roy Halladay Ends Up

Call me crazy, but I think Roy Halladay stays put. I can just as easily be dead wrong with everything I laid out and analyzed and Halladay could be pitching for someone like the Houston Astros by dinner time. But, based on everything I know, have read, my opinion and just the way the standings are starting to shape up, Halladay stays put at the deadline.

But, he won’t stay in Toronto for long. He’ll be gone in the off-season. And I’ll put all my money in the basket and say he gets traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, for roughly the same package I outlined previously and signs a 5 year, $90 million contract extension.

Am I wrong? Probably. But, if I’m right? There’s no telling how large my ego will grow to from this point forward!

Back at it soon with another edition of “who gets traded at the deadline!”

Until next time…

Game 92: Orioles at Yankees Game Review

The New York Yankees (54 – 37) opened up a 3 game series against the Baltimore Orioles (41 – 50) at Yankee Stadium tonight. The pitching match-up saw left handed Andy Pettitte (8 – 5, 4.85) take on right handed David Hernandez (2 – 2, 3.94).

Baltimore Orioles

The Good: David Hernandez. He battled early, but hung tough and pitched a simply outstanding ball game. Impressive start for the youngster. Nick Markakis is a terrific outfielder and an outstanding hitter. He’s going to be mashing home runs against New York for the next decade.

The Bad: The Orioles base-running. Robinson Cano faked out Luke Reimold and Cesar Izturis into thinking line drives off the right field wall were ground balls and forced them into sliding, which kept them from scoring. Then Brian Roberts gets thrown out at the plate on a ball that only got 3 feet away from Jose Molina with 2 outs, with their hottest hitter at the plate. That’s just poor baseball; you need to be more heads up than that guys.

New York Yankees

The Good: Eric Hinske hit his 4th home run in only 13 at bats as a Yankee. He needs more playing time. I know he isn’t this good, but Swisher is batting .203 in the last month. Give him a break and let Hinske take some hacks! Andy Pettitte was terrific tonight. 7.1 innings and 8 strikeouts. Season highs in both categories. Mark Teixeira is the best fielding first baseman the Yankees have had since Don Mattingly (no offense Tino). The Yankees flashed some serious leather tonight and made heads up plays all around. Oh yea, I called Hideki Matsui’s walk-off home run. I’m good.

The Bad: While David Hernandez pitched extremely well for the Orioles, the Yankees inability to hit with runners in scoring position and really put the screws to a young pitcher on the ropes, rears its ugly head again. That’s really going to affect them sooner or later.


Outcome: Yankees win 2 – 1 on a walk-off home run from Hideki Matsui. Your winning pitcher is Alfredo Aceves ( 6 – 1) and your losing pitcher Jim Johnson (3 – 4). The Yankees move to a season high 18 games over .500 at 55 – 37 and the Orioles fall to 41 – 51.

Random Thoughts

1. Charlie Weiss’ son threw out the first pitch before the game tonight. Don’t understand why he did and not Weiss himself. But, I did notice that Weiss is getting so fat that I think the Yankees need to re-sod the grass where he stood because he killed it.

2. The Mets rejected a proposal from J.P. Ricciardi that would have them send Jon Niese, Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell and Ruben Tejada for Roy Halladay.

3. No, really, they did. They were giving up crap, overrated-ness, lack of skill and nobody to get the best pitcher in the American League and Minaya says “nah.” Ladies and Gentleman, your 2009 New York Mets

4. Andy Pettitte should NEVER start games at Yankee Stadium. He’s just been brutal here. (tonight not included) He’s the anti-Wandy Rodriguez (who is phenomenal at home for the Astros)

5. Nick Markakis has an absolute rocket for an arm. He held at least 3 runners to singles tonight, just because he’s got a weapon of mass destruction attached to his right arm. (get it? It’s a rocket! Haha I’ll be here all week folks)

6. Spike Lee was at the Yankee game tonight. I think he should make a sequel to “He Got Game”, but have it starring Robinson Cano. He should call it “He Got Game: Unless There’s a RISP”

7. Prediction: Eric Hinske is going to be Shane Spencer circa 1998. He’ll hit a bunch of home runs, became an instant folk hero, then you’ll never hear from him again. (See also: Maas, Kevin and Duncan, Shelley)

8. Most pitching staffs have the motto “first pitch strike.” Do the Yankees use the motto “first batter walk?”

9. Is there anybody in baseball who can pull off that 360 throw that Derek Jeter does?

10. It’s an absolute breath of fresh air to see a Yankee first baseman who can make a throw to second base. (that’s painful for me to say, since I LOVE Jason Giambi)

11. Can’t wait for the Yankees to sign Nick Markakis in the winter of 2018 when he’s over the hill and on the downswing of his career, just because he spent the previous decade killing us. You know, like Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, etc.

12. It’s nice to see umpires get close plays correctly! It seems so often lately that the umpires inconsistencies have been exploited to a greater degree. But, they were very good tonight.

13. Random NFL tidbit for you, Sinorice Moss spends far too much time twittering than he does learning how to be a football player

14. Random MLB news for you; Mets manager Jerry Manuel said that pitcher Livan Hernandez could start seeing some playing time at first base or right field. Ladies and Gentleman, once again, you’re New York Mets!

Until next time...

What the future holds and a new Ramey's Rants regular feature

I’ve been thinking of ways I could spice up the blog a bit and to add a few new elements for my readers to enjoy and I decided that once training the NFL preseason starts, I’ll cover all 32 teams in 32 days with season previews, leading up to the beginning of the regular season.

I will also be providing weekly picks on who I think will win throughout the course of the season. Basically, if you actually value my opinion that much and make wagers based on what I think, I take full credit for all winnings and no liability for any losses incurred.

And for the rest of the baseball season, I will be providing Yankee game reviews. Will I do it for every game? Probably not. Will I try and do it for as many games possible? Definitely. We all know I never miss a game, so I’ll provide you with my insights on how the game turned out, whether positive or negative for the Yankees. I’ll share the good and the bad I saw for each team during the game and then a few random thoughts as well. All of that business taken care of, let's get to the game.

Game 89: Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees

The New York Yankees (51 – 37) opened up the second half of the season tonight taking on the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers (48 – 39) at Yankee stadium.

Detroit Tigers

The Good: Curtis Granderson continues his All-Star season in impressive fashion having two hard hits including a home run and exhibited great range in center field. Miguel Cabrera shows it doesn’t matter how big his waist may get, he will always flat out rake, picking up another two hits against the Yankees. He’s gotten a hit in every game he’s ever played against New York.

The Bad: Terrible team defense as errors by Clete Thomas, Josh Anderson and Brandon Inge indirectly led to 2 runs scored by the Yankees and could have been much more. Joel Zumaya’s rocky season continues as he allows 5 hits and 3 runs, raising his season era to 4.94.

New York Yankees

The Good: Mark Teixeira seems to have finally busted out of that month long slump he was in, collecting 3 hits and 3 rbi, including a monster 3 run home run in the 7th inning to put the Yankees ahead for good. Melky Cabrera’s 2 outfield assists definitely helps the Yankees show that not all their outfielders have poor arms. Phil Hughes was downright filthy tonight, recording 6 strikeouts in 2 innings of scoreless relief.

The Bad: The Yankees offense continues to squander opportunity after opportunity. They had Luke French battling on the ropes on three occasions, but couldn’t come up with the big hit. Yankee pitchers continue to have trouble throwing strikes. It’s been a problem for them all season and will continue to be throughout the rest of the season. Leadoff walks to start innings and lack of control will always come back to bite you. They dodged a bullet that Burnett only allowed 3 runs.


The Outcome: Yankees win 5 – 3. Your winning pitcher is Phil Hughes (4 – 2) and the losing pitcher is Joel Zumaya (3 – 3). Mariano Rivera picked up the save, his 24th of the season and 506th of his career.

Random Thoughts:

1. Derek Jeter swings at the first pitch WAY too much. It’s getting to the point of being ridiculous. Vegas should start wagering on the odds of Jeter actually taking the first pitch of an at bat. If I were the Vegas odds maker, here’s how I would view it: in the first inning, you’d have the odds be set at 500 to 1 that Jeter takes the first pitch. As you progress through the game the odds will obviously decrease, say in the third inning the odds go down to 9 to 2. By the sixth inning, you’re living pretty at a cool 5 to 2 odds that he’d take the first pitch. But, if it’s a close game late, then the odds jump back up to at least 250 to 1 that Jeter takes a pitch. Why am I the only one that realizes this? Never throw him a first pitch fastball and you will get him out 85% of the time.

2. The way the Tigers scored their first run was something the Yankees are never able to do. It was sound, fundamental baseball. Get him on, get him over, get him in. 28 other teams in baseball can do it, yet the two teams in New York can’t?

3. Robinson Cano makes every play seem effortless and smooth. He’s a much better fielder than anybody gives him credit for.

4. Luke French didn’t overpower the Yankees in any way, he wasn’t fooling them on the mound and he was in trouble 60% of the time, but he kept them off the scoreboard. Even though the Yankees have a surprisingly good record against rookie starters this season and over the past few years, doesn’t it seem like they never win these games?

5. Can’t it be extremely hard to watch A.J. Burnett pitch sometimes? He’s either going to be lights out and impressive, or the lights off and he’s terrible. Tonight was more lights off than lights out. While his final line of 6 innings, 6 hits and 3 runs is deemed a quality start, he was anything but tonight. The 5 walks and 1 hit batsman, not to mention the complete lack of control Burnett had tonight weren’t good. But, he battled and kept the Yankees in the game.

6. The Yankees ability to overcome deficits completely astonishes me. There is no game they are entirely out of. This was their major league leading 12th victory when trailing after 6 innings. To the very last out they are a team of 25 fighters . It’s fun, yet agonizing to watch.

7. Josh Anderson is going to be a very, very good player. He has tremendous plate discipline and outstanding speed.

8. Clete Thomas is going to be one heck of a ball player too.

9. Jorge Posada’s throws like my mother. Actually, that’s an insult to my mother. Jim Abbott could throw harder with his right hand and he doesn’t even have one.

10. Johnny Damon should practice sliding, because his pseudo-slide/fall flat on his face at home plate wasn’t pretty to see.

11. Remember when Joel Zumaya was going to be the next phenom closer in baseball? Yea, me either. He’s certainly fallen off the face of the earth. He throws the ball 100mph consistently, but, like many flame throwers has no idea where it’s going. Say hello to the next Kyle Farnsworth.

12. Taiwanese pitcher Fu-Te Ni came on in relief for the Tigers. His first and last name is a total of 6 letters. Is that a record for shortest full name in the world? Or, is there a Jon Wu, somewhere out there that I’m not aware of? Somebody research this and get back to me.

13. With the bases empty, Robinson Cano is a modern day Rod Carew batting 353. this season and .322 for his career. But, with runners in scoring position, he transforms into Mario Mendoza batting a paltry .211 and a below average .261 for his career.

14. The Yankees looked half asleep through the first 6 innings of this game until Phil Hughes came in for the 7th and immediately started blowing fastballs by the Detroit Hitters.

15. Speaking of Phil, for any person who thinks that Joba Chamberlain should be put back into the bullpen and Phil Hughes inserted into the rotation, just stop that nonsense. Hughes has now become the Yankees biggest asset. He is pitching with the same confidence and swagger that Joba Chamberlain had out of the pen 2 years ago. He’s on an entire other level right now physically. He hit 97mph on at least two occasions tonight. Until now, I have never seen Hughes do that before. Leave him be. We’re watching something remarkable.

Until next time...