Mariners Make Franchise-Crippling Move by Signing Cano!

As I always say, there’s a reason why certain franchises win consistently – and why others are perennially on the peripheral once the postseason rolls around.

Winning and losing starts at the very top Eye on Sports fans, and no, I don’t mean with the head coach…I mean with ownership and management.

Case in point…let’s look at the perennially pitiful Seattle Mariners.

Here is a franchise in need of at least six or seven starting players…but what do the foolish Mariners do instead of going out and both, beefing up their farm system and possibly acquiring some young talent?

They give $240 million to one player. If ever there was a franchise-crippling move, the Mariners can now claim to be the model franchise for such foolishness.

Thankfully, at least Robinson Cano is a very good player. Still, he alone, won’t be able to lift the Mariners out of the decades-long funk they’ve mostly been in throughout their existence – and this move assures they won’t be able to compete with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Indians, Angels or A’s, at least for the foreseeable future.

If you need to be refreshed as to why some franchises win year after year and while others annually flounder in futility, look no further than at the misguided Seattle Mariners. 

Clemens has it sweet in PED trial!

Expect former MLB superstar Roger Clemens 

to get nothing more than a slap on the wrist in 

his federal steroid perjury trial.

Is it me Eye On Sports baseball followers or does it seem like disgraced MLB legend Roger Clemens has it ‘sweet’ in his federal PED perjury trial?

I mean, really, at this point in MLB’s long, sad, decade-long steroid saga, who really cares? After seeing countless ‘heroes’ fall by the steroid wayside, (Thanks McGwire and Sosa) does any American really believe federal taxpayer money should be spent on going after guys that throw and hit a ball for a living? (Hell-to-the-no)!

Add in the fact that Clemens is almost assuredly the last MLB player to ever stand before a federal judge and jury for acts that took place solely on a baseball field – and you can see where this trial is going, no matter how much evidence the feds have on Clemens.

Clemens’ estranged buddy Andy Pettitte basically told the world he ‘misremembers’ everything he told the feds about Clemens and how he took illegal steroids over a year ago and now, this trial will be ending at some point in the very near future, mostly because the feds won’t be able to get two jury members to go along with their money-wasting nonsense any longer.

While Clemens is almost guaranteed of getting off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, I’ve gotta’ say that it bothers me to no end to see how lightly his steroid usage is being taken when compared to the way the media – and most of the country – vilified players like Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa to no end in the court of public opinion.

However, in the end, I want to say no matter what happens to Roger Clemens, I am just ecstatic that all of baseball’s steroid stupidity will soon be a closed matter as far as the federal government is concerned.

I mean, really, how sad is it to know that, with all of the life-altering housing, medical and employment problems taking place in the country, that our federal government has the time – and apparently the money – to go after Major League Baseball players?

This is federal money that could have been spent helping others, but no, it was so important to prove that some of these baseball players were cheaters!

As a tax-paying adult with children, all I can say is that a sad era in American history is about to finally come to an end – and I, for one, couldn’t be happier!

Francona’s right … Red Sox don’t deserve squat!

One good dis deserves another! Former Red Sox 

manager Terry Francona told  his former team no, 

when asked to attend the team's anniversary 

celebrating 100 years of existence for Fenway Park.

Let me get this right Red Sox Nation. The BoSox are having a 100th anniversary celebration this year for Fenway Park (wow, it’s almost as old as my mother-in-law – and way better looking) and the team wants former manager Terry Francona to show up and pretend that everything’s hunky-dory after the way the team made him out to be the biggest scapegoat since Bill Buckner let that innocuous ground ball roll through his legs over two decades ago.

Forget the fact that it was under Francona that the franchise ended an 86-year World Series stretch – and added a second title for good measure – all in the span of eight, not eighty –years.

For the team to trash Francona publicly for his failure to control of slew of veteran players gone wild, was just wrong – and now the team is paying the price.

Francona told a funny story last week about how the team wanted him to attend its anniversary celebration – but how he told them to emphatically step off.

"[Larry Lucchino] called me yesterday," Francona told reporters last Tuesday. "I was in a phone store in Arizona. I had three people standing around me. I was at a little bit of a disadvantage. He got a little perturbed at me, telling me I was being unfair to them. I called him back last night and left him a message. He called me back and we ended up getting into an argument." ... "Until I'm more comfortable with some answers on what happened at the end of the year, I don't want to have much to do with the organization and that's a shame," Francona added.

You know what Eye On Sports baseball fans, As much as it pains me to say this…I genuinely believe the Boston Red Sox don’t deserve to have a class act like Terry Francona grace their stadium for a long time.

Besides, what idiot with half a brain thinks someone is going to embrace them just months after they viciously – and publicly – stabbed them in the back?

Mutiny a brewin for BoSox’?

New Boston Red Sox manager 

Bobby Valentine is off to a rocky 

start with his new ballclub.

Okay Eye On Sports baseball fanatics, I’ve got one question for you this morning. How long do you think it’s going to be before Bobby Valentine’s idiocy causes an all-out mutiny from his Boston Fred Sox players?

Clearly, dude’s personality is rougher than a cheese grater. I suspect Bobby V could quickly turn into Bobby G – as in gone – if he doesn’t somehow manage to turn around a wave of distrust he created when he foolishly ripped Kevin Youkilis this past weekend.

Now, since we’re all guessing how long it’s going to take for Valentine to get himself fired, why don’t you all enjoy today’s poll on just how long that’s going to take.

Low-life BoSox finding out karma is truly a bi**h!

The Boston Red Sox are finding out about
 karma after doing former manager Terry Francona
wrong  following last season's epic collapse.

As a longtime Boston Red Sox follower (I’m a Phillies fan first and foremost) I’ve got to say that it bothered me to no end to see how the formerly floundering franchise, which hadn’t won a World Series title in 86 years prior to 2004, treated former manager Terry Francona following last season’s epic collapse.

After trying to blame everything that went wrong last season almost exclusively on the easy-going Francona, the Red Sox front office and owner John Henry are finding out that karma really is a b**ch!

First the team started off the season by losing its first three games and five of six to send Red Sox Nation faithful into a virtual panic. Then, after taking three straight from the Tampa Bay Rays new manager Bobby Valentine had to go and open his big mouth.

Already not mostly liked manager in MLB history, Valentine ripped beloved BoSox veteran Kevin Youkilis by questioning his commitment to the team and the game of baseball in general this season, thereby adding to the already existing gap of distrust among Valentine and his newly acquired players.

I know it’s very early in the Bobby Valentine-post Terry Francona era, but I have a real sense of dread about how things are going to turn out for the BoSox and Valentine in the short-term future.

Impending doom or not, Eye On Sports says the Bosox franchise deserves some real humility after doing my man Terry Francona wrong following his highly successful tenure with the club – and I think maybe a three-year postseason-less span will suffice just fine!

Braun’s a lucky bastard … or not!

Ryan Braun may have won his appeal of his
50-game ban, but his PED saga is still far
from over as far as MLB is concerned.

Milwaukee Brewers reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun is one lucky bastard … or is he? 

Sure, Braun had his 50-game suspension overturned last Thursday by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das, but all that did was piss off Commissioner Bud Selig and the Major League Baseball officials that wanted to nail Braun’s ass to the wall for his alleged cheating.

Now, it’s come to light that Braun did still get a positive test for traces of synthetic testosterone, but that he got off on a technicality due to the fact that the courier that collected his urine sample did not immediately ship it off for testing, thereby creating an opportunity where the specimen could have become tainted (even though the seal on the sample was still intact).

Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, called the decision to reinstate Braun "a real gut-kick to clean athletes."

"To have this sort of technicality of all technicalities let a player off ... it's just a sad day for all the clean players and those that abide by the rules within professional baseball," he said.

The decision was announced last Thursday , just one day before the 28-year-old outfielder was due to report to spring training in Maryvale, Ariz and the outfielder immediately proclaimed justice was served.

"I am very pleased and relieved by today's decision," Braun said in a statement. "It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side.

Nevertheless, Braun’s situation is far from over, just a bit more complicated as Major League Baseball ramps up it effort to stop Braun from being the first player to successfully win an appeal after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Save Your Breath Pal!

You know what Eye On Sports baseball lovers, I’m going on record right now to say that I don’t want to hear a single word that Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has to say about testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs after winning this season’s NL MVP award.

In December, ESPN's "Outside The Lines" reported, citing sources, that Braun tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. He is currently appealing the finding while facing a 50-game suspension nest season.

On Saturday, Braun is expected to speak at an annual banquet awards dinner where he will accept his National League MVP award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

A spokesman for Braun said "there are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation" of baseball's drug-testing program.

All I’m gonna’ say is ….. hmmmm, now where have I heard that before?

Braun has not made a public appearance since news of the positive test broke Dec. 10 and I for one, can’t wait to see if something jumps off!

Mattingly Right on Mark on NL MVP Award!

I agree with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly whole-heartedly when he says that disgraced Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun shouldn’t get the NL MVP award he won this season if his appeal for testing positive for a banned substance is denied.

Mattingly, a Hall of fame inductee, Braun should be stripped of the award if it is found that he knowingly used a banned substance.

"In the end, I hope the appeal it's something that was a mistake. I don't want to see anything bad come out of it for him," Mattingly said. “It makes sense though, a little bit. It's not 10 years later, it's a month later."

After reports of Braun testing positive were released in December, the hard-hitting ‘superstar’ adamantly vowed to prove his innocence and is currently appealing the results.

Maybe it’s me Eye on Sports readers, but I’m just sick and tired of steroids in baseball at this point and I fully believe they should give any player caught using performance enhancing drugs out for an entire calendar year for the first offense, followed by two years for the second and a lifetime ban for a third offense. Enough said!

Rolling on the River!

The Philadelphia Phillies resigned longtime franchise shortstop Jimmy Rollins to a three-year, $33 million dollar deal that will likely keep him with the only franchise he’s ever known throughout the end of his career.

It’s nice to see the Phils take care of Rollins before the offseason lingered on and this became a huge distraction to what will once again be the leading title contender in the National League come 2012.

Backing Barry –and Roger Too!

Hell, since I’m supporting Barry Bonds, mostly because I don’t care what he did or didn’t take at this point (and never did get into the steroids things very much in the first place) I might as well throw out the fact that I feel the same way about former Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees star Roger Clemens.

Yeah, I know Clemens was almost assuredly ‘on the juice’ late in his career when he should have never been able to approach 100-miles-per-hour on the radar gun, but once again, I’m at a point in time where I just don’t care anymore what happened nearly a decade ago – and I suspect that not many fans, even hard core baseball ‘purists’ care at this point.

I say, save the money U.S. government, eat your crow – and let another baseball-related witch-hunt go!

Day Late, Dollar Short!

This blog post may be a week late, but it’s certainly not a dollar short – at least not when you compare it to the insane $10 million dollars the foolish federal government spent going after Barry Bonds and the other former MLB players that may or my not have used illegal performance enhancing drugs all in the name of one more home run or one more mile-per-hour on their fastball.

Maybe it’s the tax-paying dad in me, but I’m sick to my stomach that our U.S. federal government is foolish enough to spend such a ludicrous amount of money (again, an insane, $10 million) to try and nail Barry Bonds as their ‘poster boy’ for steroid usage when the fact of the matter is that the feds should have let Major League Baseball should take care of their own mess  

J-Roll, Phillies Need to Get it Right!

Philadelphia Phillies MVP-winning shortstop Jimmy Rollins wants a five-year deal with the team he helped win the 2008 MLB World Series. However, Rollins, now 33-years-old, clearly isn’t the player he used to be as he approaches the twilight years of his career.

Rollins’s numbers had been in decline until this past season, but the still-exceptional defensive shortstop has been a fixture for the Phillies and is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate at this point of his career.

Rollins will likely become the Phillies all-time hits leader if he stays with the ballclub that gave him his start, making this decision to stay together a no-brainer that really needs to get done sooner rather than later.