Is Jose Bautista a Fraud???

  
  Earlier I read an article asking whether or not Jose Bautista is the best player in baseball.  The answer to that question is immaterial, the relevant question to ask is whether or not Jose Bautista is a fraud.  As a fan I want to believe we are now in the post steriods era of baseball not in the steriods era of baseball yet when I see numbers like that of Bautista I truly wonder how clean the game is today in 2011.  I remember seeing Brady Anderson change from a singles and doubles hitter with a high average into a guy with a 50 homerun season.  I knew then something was wrong and I know now something is wrong. 
     We are in May of the 2011 season and Jose Bautista's 19 homeruns is the already the second most in his career.  Before the 2010 season his 6 year career high was 16 homeruns in one season.  He was anything but a franchise player, playing for 5 teams in his career.  Jose Bautista had hit 59 homeruns for his career before he hit 54 in 2010.  You may argue that Bautista simply changed his swing into a power swing, yet his season average has never been higher than .260.  He also is striking out in a similar frequency, 116 times in 2010 and 110 times in 2004.  Its hard to believe someone so average got so good in one offseason. 
     I want to think its a result of hours of batting practice and video.  I want to believe the players respect the game as much as I do and no longer intend to insult the long history of the game.  I am not one to compare players of different eras because the game has changed throughout the years yet I will argue that the game of baseball must be respected.  Sure I know many players from the golden era played drunk and probably high on other drugs, that in itself is disrespectful to the game but not to the level of performance enhancers.  If you want to takes substances that make you a worse player thats your choice and the result will most likely be a short career.  Baseball is more than a game, its a symbol for the American way of life.  The game is played every day, its based on talent, intelligence, and luck.  Its the ultimate team game where at times the guy just called up from the minors strikes out the future hall of famer.  Its a game that proves that with hard work and dedication you can succeed.  If Jose Bautista took the short cut like Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, etc, he is proliferating the mentality that you can succeed by cheating so long as you don't get caught.  Thats the biggest fraud of all.

Dodger Blues

 
   Perhaps the most troubled sports franchise of 2011 is the Blue Crew from Los Angeles.  The Dodgers must have known it would be a bad year when a fan was brutally beaten after opening day.  Anyone who has been to a Dodger game know that post game parking lot fights are the norm in Chavez Ravine.  In fact a few years ago a man was KILLED in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after a Dodger - Giants game.  There was not much outcry after this incident as there has been in the 2011 version of the event.  I don't want to believe that the prior incident involved a Latino victim was a reason for this lack of coverage but its something to think about.  Either way the good out of this is that the thugs that encompass Dodger Stadium are in check and hopefully Dodger games will start to become a better family enivironment. 

     The Mc Court divorce is amazingly disastrous, reminiscent of a once glorious golfer.  At this moment the clearest issue seems to be legal malpractice suit against for the attorneys who blundered with the prenuptial agreement.  The future of the team is in doubt and there is only one man who can save this historic franchise from its ruins...Mark Cuban.  Yes, Mark Cuban.  Mark Cuban wants to own a baseball franchise and he wants to invest lots of money on it.  Any Dodger fan should be praying that Cuban buys the Dodgers.  Give Ned Colletti an unlimited piggy bank and he will create a winner.  But so long as the McCourt name stays behind the Dodgers, the franchise will suffer.  A Cuban owned Dodgers will win a title before a certain golfer with a cat like persona wins another major championship.

     Lastly, I will present my predictions for the 2011 version of the Dodgers, and its not good.  This team has baffled me for some time.  They have the talent to compete and have done so recently with back to back appearances in the NLCS in 2008 and 2009.  The confusion lies with their inconsistency.  When their pitching gets hot the offense sputters and when the bats catch fire the pitching is horrendous.  Today Chad Billingsley pitched a gem and gave up only one hit, yet the Dodgers lost 1-0.  I expect a return to the Pre-Mannywood era of numerous 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 losses.  The Dodgers will finish in the middle of the road with a slightly sub .500 record and in 3rd place of the NL West behind the Rockies and the Giants.  This will be remembered as the year that brought us Mark Cuban and that will be the only positive for this season.  So its time to fill the year with cheap PBR's at the Shortstop and many frustrating losses.

Lakers Collapse

     Alright I know I am very late but as many of you may know life has a way of delaying things.  Anyways, here are my thoughts about the historic collapse of the defending champs. 
     Watching this series reminded me of the 2005 Finals against the Detroit Pistons.  The Lakers were outhustled, overpowered and simply beaten by a better team.  Gasol seriously needs to remember he's not playing for Barcelona anymore and Bynum needs to remember he is not playing in Rucker Park.  The worst part of it is that the core group is not over the hill just yet.  Gasol, Odom, Bynum, and Kobe still have years left on their bodies.  Some of you may think that Kobe is done, finished, finito, acabado...but this is not true.  Kobe simply needs to redefine his role with the team.  Sure he is not the best player in the NBA but he can still win a couple more championships.  Kobe needs to hone his passing skills and his mid range jumper.  Run the offense through the bigs and become a 46-48% shooter. 
      In the end, Kobe is not the biggest issue with this team, its the point guard.  D Fish is the man but he is an aging man.  I will always love Fish for the .4 shot in San Antonio and all the other memorable playoff shots he hit.  Unfortunately the time has come for him to became a veteran presence in the bench.  A younger and more importantly quicker point guard (Chris Paul) will make a bigger difference then adding Dwight Howard to the team.  In the end the team fell because they simply played soft and with a lack of desire.  They were bewildered by the brilliance of Dirk and simply gave up when they couldn't stop him in Game 2.  But trading Pau or Bynum because of Dirk would be a mistake, not even Dwight Howard would have stopped Dirk but Chris Paul would have stopped JJ Barea.  So the Buss family should not desmantle this squad but simply fine tune it with a new spark plug name Chris Paul.  You may see this will happen and that I am a dreamer but I am not the only one...

Welcome!!!!

Welcome everyone to the first JameSports 101 post!  I hope people enjoy what I have to say about sports and the other factors that are associated with it.  My plan is to keep the blog conversation concentrated on basic sport stories but at times I will include my opinions on the other factors that influence sports culture.  I am a huge fan of the Dodgers and Lakers, growing up in Los Angeles has that effect on you.  I follow the Angels, Clippers, Kings and UCLA Bruins as well but not with the same passion as the Dodgers and Lakers.  Of course my greatest sports passion is college football from my alma matter, the University of Notre Dame.  Notre Dame football season will be the most passionate time of the year.  Anyways just a bit of info on me.  I promise to mix it up and write about teams or events other than the aforementioned teams.  I'll start tomorrow with my opinion on the epic collapse of the Los Angeles Lakers and then keep the blog up to date.