Bucking the Trend

Many Philadelphia Phillies fans were caught scratching their heads when the Phils failed to lock up first baseman Ryan Howard to a long term deal this off season. The perplexity turned to hostility as Howard got off to a horrendous start to the '08 campaign. The lack of financial security for the former NL MVP appeared to have derailed his focus. Howard was awarded the largest one year contract ever in arbitration, $10 million.

Phillies' GM Pat Gillick announced he would be retiring at season's end. So why not get Howard inked long-term and let it be someone else's problem down the road?

The truth is, Gillick may have been ahead of the curve as he declined to pay the big bucks for the masher in the middle of the line-up. The post-steroid era power outage in the big leagues this year has changed the offensive philosophy of many teams.

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia has agreed quite well with hitters since opening in 2004. Problem is, the Phitins have struggled to find the pitching consistency necessary to exceed in post-season play. Offense can win you an NL East crown, but without pitching you can't expect to win a pennant.

So with LF Pat Burrell in the final year of his contract, it appears the Phils will have some money to throw at starting pitching in the off-season. Chase Utley was signed to a seven year, $85 million deal because of his ability to hit for average as well as tattoo balls into the cheap seats.

Conventional wisdom would say pay the man who won Rookie of the Year and followed that up with an MVP award. But Gillick's experience, wisdom, and intestinal fortitude allowed him to stand pat (pun intended) and keep his team in a position to succeed for a long time.

So Long, C.C.

Throughout this dismal year, the Cleveland Indians have maintained that they will not trade reigning AL Cy Young winner CC Sabathia. Despite a sub .500 record and a firm grip on last place in their division, the Tribe still hold high hopes that they will re-sign Sabathia.

Experts predict the big lefty will get moved before next month's trading deadline. While any potential deals are merely speculation, the Phildaelphia Phillies have the prospects and motivation to make a deal.

If there are two organizations in baseball that I know inside and out, it's the Indians and Phillies.

So here's the deal:

Phillies acquire
LHP Carsten Charles Sabathia
OF David Dellucci

Indians acquire
RHP Carlos Carrasco
OF Shane Victorino

Carrasco is projected as a front of the rotation guy with a fastball he can run up to 96 mph, a plus change up and devastating curve ball. He lacks command of all three which is the only reason he isn't pitching for Philadelphia today. Cleveland will have contractual control over him for several years and won't be losing that much if he pans out as expected.

Victorino plays exceptional defense and was born with a genetic mutation that resulted with a cannon for a right arm. He controls the bat well and uses the entire field. More importantly his salary is $480,000 this season. He is a high-energy guy who could team with Grady Sizemore to form one of the most athletic outfields in baseball. Imagine all the Web Gems.

Sabathia is looking for a contract similar to that of former Cy Young winners Johan Santana and Barry Zito. The small market Indians don't have the bank to pay Sabathia especially as they eat $11 million of Jake Westbrook's contract as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Given CC's rather large physique, guaranteeing him anything past 4 years is a huge risk.

If Sabathia is merely a rental player for the stretch run, he will command much less than the prospect packages the Twins received for Santana and the A's received from Arizona for Dan Haren this past winter. As a compromise the Indians would be wise to package Dellucci and his $4 million contract for next season as he has largely been a disappointment.

The loss of Sabathia would be nauseating, however Cleveland will offer shots of Pepto Bismol to the first 10,000 fans in attendance. My guess is they may have a few left over.

Joba the Ace?

The Yankees have won 7 straight games. Alert the media. Is it possible that the mighty Bronx Bombers are going under the radar as they chase the Boston Red Sox and (gulp) Tampa Bay Rays?

They do still sit 5 full games behind the defending World Series champions. And they are dealing with inconsistent pitching from their young studs who they counted on excelling when they balked at a Johan Santana trade in February. Their ace, Chien-Ming Wang has injured his foot and will be out until at least September.

So how have they done it?

One word is sweeping the city so nice they named it twice: JOBA. Since Hank Steinbrenner complained that only an "idiot" would leave Chamberlain in the pen, the 22 yr old flamethrower has been stellar under treacherous conditions.

Imagine you were great at what you did for a living. Imagine you were so good and dominant that you were scheduled to replace the greatest closer of all time and no one was even sweating. Then imagine you are thrown into a completely different role and expected to resurrect the franchise. Not exactly a walk in Central Park.

So what has Joba done since his inclusion into the rotation? Limited by pitch count as they cautiously transition him to pitching every 5th day, Joba has been electric. The fear of losing significant velocity throughout a start has been non-existent. Last night he threw fastball after fastball past the San Diego Padres en route to striking out 9 over 5 and 2/3 innings.

The Yankees are about to get a tremendous momentum boost as the host the Mid-Summer Classic for the last time in the House that Ruth Built. It's true they may be on the elder side but with a young, fiery upstart skipper in Girardi and the best player on the planet in A-Rod they are on the verge of exploding. As heart-warming a story as the Rays have, it seems inevitable they will fade down the stretch. If Joba keeps on his torrent pace, he may be able to pitch the Yanks right into the World Series.

Never underestimate Cashman's ability to go out and add pitcher or another bat off the bench to try and catapult the team into a winning streak. With CC Sabathia on the market, look for those once untouchable pitchers, Hughes and Kennedy to be dangled to the Tribe for the best left-handed pitcher in the American League.

Wrong vs Right

It's human nature to want things to go well and be in control. When facing something we don't want to do, most people will attempt to resolve the situation and make it more enjoyable. But there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. If you are a believer in karma you know what I'm talking about. And if you're not, look no further than what transpired last night as a perfect example.

Last off season, when it appeared the Los Angeles Lakers would be staring at another mediocre season, Kobe Bryant when on Stephen A. Smith's radio show letting the world know he wanted to be traded. He had given up on his team. With the league's largest contract and most talent, Kobe was immovable from the get-go. He threatened to sit out the entire season and ripped his teammates and the front office.

After the way the city of Los Angeles supported him during his sexual assault trial, I would say bailing on LA was immature. Nevertheless, he did what he felt was best for him.

Now let's take the red-eye to the east coast where the Lakers' biggest rival calls home. In Boston, Paul Pierce was also dealing with an identity crisis coming off the worst season in Celtics' franchise history. Pierce grew up rooting for the Lakers and wanted to get back to his roots on the West Coast. With a much more sensible contract, he could have easily demanded a trade to get out of Beantown.

So the General Managers of each franchise set out to surround their star players with the necessary talent to better the team and make their guys happy. Mitch Kupchak acquired Pau Gasol while Danny Ainge got Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.

Both teams sailed through their respective conferences and arrived at the NBA Finals. It was a hard fought series but in the end the better team won.

Last night the Celtics captured the NBA Title for all the right reasons. So this off season, for karma's sake Kobe, keep your mouth shut.

Junior Griffey

When I was six years old, I thought I was Ken Griffey Jr. I wore my hat backwards and held my bat by the barrel instead of the handle as I swaggered to the plate. I drove my friends insane as I described every play I made as "Junior-esque". I would hit long fly balls into the neighbor's shrubs (also known as the green monster) and unstrap my gloves and admire my bomb with three steps before breaking into my home run trot. I wore No. 24 in little league and played center field. I told everyone I would be the next Ken Griffey Jr.

Until it was pointed out to me that Griffey was a southpaw and I unfortunately was north-pawed.

Not many things can devastate a six year old. Aside from the green Power Ranger being killed off the show, I cannot recall any more demoralizing event during my youth. Fortunately, I was able to overcome this travesty. My admiration for Junior has wavered as he's been banished to baseball obscurity, also known as Cincinnati. But no longer.

Tomorrow night at this time I will be sitting somewhere in the bleachers at Citizens Bank Park hoping to witness history. For the great Ken Griffey Jr has amassed 599 home runs throughout his stellar career. If Griffey does hit one tomorrow, it will make him only the sixth human being to hit 600 home runs. I've seen my share of ballgames in my day, but to see Griffey up close will cross off one of my biggest "to-do's" in sports. I have a feeling another home run may cross off one of Griffey's "to-do's" as well.