The Great Debate: Hall of Fame Class of '09

I love the Hall of Fame. It showcases the best of the game and the greatest achievements of not only the players but of the human spirit. Nothing is more American than the National Baseball Hall of Fame. However, I hate some aspects of the Hall.

First and foremost I hate the Veterans Committee. A bunch of old players who think no one was every good enough to be voted in... except themselves of course.

"This guy didn't hit enough homers."

"This guy didn't have a 20 win season."

"This guy was too... BLONDE!"

Arg! I hate that.

The second thing I hate is the fact that as soon as retirements starts happening after the World Series the Yankee fans, writers, supporters start coming out of the wood work and demand their players get in. It's like when people apply for pardons from the President. None of them deserve it because if they did, then they would be free or in the Hall already.

First on the list is Mike Mussina. Yes, he retired this year and he did almost throw to perfect games (not a legit reason to vote someone in). He did not win 300 games, he had a decent strikeout total and he was a solid pitcher for the era.

However, meeting that win total and being considered a dominant pitcher is what will drag him down. Though he did finish second every year he was up for the Cy Young, the fact he never won and never really had that break out year is what will leave him staying at his home and not in Cooperstown when he is eligible. I'm sorry, he couldn't even get the Yanks a World Series with the staffs they had in 2001, 2003 or even the pennant in 2004.

Roger Maris is a consistent pick to be considered for the Hall. Granted he may have hit 61* homers in 1961 and he had some hardware to go with it, but need less to say, he was nothing special. He never had a season where he hit .300. His totals were never that great from 1961 beyond. The Yankee fans who supported him where not there in '61 when they pretty much attacked him, wished him dead, etc. So why do you guys think he is worthy to be with Ruth, Mantle and Aaron? Those guys were great sluggers.

Now, since this man has been having poor health recently and turned over the franchise to his sons (or is that spawn?). George Steinbrenner has been getting this grass roots campaign to be elected. Frankly, this man is not a saint or a person who held the game to the highest standard.

Yes, he was one of the first owners to embrace free agency and yes he won plenty of world championships. However, George was constantly being punished by Major League Baseball for breaking rules and flat out not caring about the rules that applied to "other teams". My favorite vice was when Dave Winfield came to New York and had an agreement with George to doante money to Winfield's charity. The payment was never made and George went out to assualt Winfield's character and charity. This man is as much a saint as Marge Schott was a civil rights activist. No embrace from me.

In fact we really need to examine our thinking of who is a Hall of Fame player. The last few years we have voted in the greats of the game. The last twenty/thirty years have blessed us with legends of the diamond but I hope that we don't try to water down the hall with slightly less standards and "Maris" like players.

Sal Sez: " I was catcher for the Red Sox when Maris hit #61."

Doc Ellis: 1945-2008

Sad news from the AP, legendary pitcher... make that folk hero pitcher Doc Ellis is dead at 63. The former Pirates pitcher died in California from a liver ailment.

Those who remember Ellis, know of his LSD no-hitter where he walked 8 Padres but still had goose eggs in the hits column. The only reason he pitched high, was because he did not know he was slated to start that day. But I'm pretty sure he was high when he wanted to bean every batter on the Cincinnati Reds line up (he failed, Pete Rose walked to break his streak).

This is truly a sad day since his colorful attitude and hair style really makes people feel nostalgic for a great 1970's fashion and baseball. Of course if he played for the A's he would have had a Fu Manchu and dropped acid while playing in yellow double knit uniforms. The colors children, notice the colors!

He would later change his lifestyle and advise against the use of drugs and in the 1980's was hired by the New York Yankees to consul minor leaguers on the dangers of substance abuse.

Doc, you will be missed.

The New York Yankees 2008 Off-Season or How I learned to stop worrying because we have no soul

I love those references.... AH, it makes me feel so safe and warm.

I do not however feel safe and warm when the Yankees spend more money than God on two pitches;
one of which started the first half of last season losing more games than he lost all of last season and the second never really living quite up to expectations from when he left his previous team a few years earlier.

This is like a Yankee knee jerk reaction, when you lose in the regular season, make sure you spend money on players like a kid in a candy store who happen to find a twenty on the corner.

In fact in signing A.J. Burnett and C.C. they pretty much took a pile of cash and set it on fire. They did the same when they signed Jaret Wright (product if an overly productive contract year), Kevin Brown (same thing) and Carl Pavano (well, that was all potential there).

Now to add to the fact they spent large (three times the size of the Rays payroll) on two guys, the Yankees actually had the audacity to ask New York for more funds for their new stadium, "The Place that Taxpayers Might Have to Build".

Though the fact remains and this is one thing both of us at Sal's 401K believe is key to a championship team. Oh, that's right Yankee fans, your team has not won a single World Series since that dumb Subway Series that is barely a Series at all. Might I digress, Yankee teams are composed of mostly 33 year old plus players who were assembled by a dollar amount rather than a strategic purpose.

See, baseball teams much like other teams need to have chemistry and I just don't see the chemistry and of course key role players on the New York Yankees. The point I always make, and it angers Yankee fans is that in 2004 the Boston Red Sox traded Nomar Garciaparra. You may have remembered him, he was the franchise player. Well, they traded him and acquired Orlando Cabrera who was not as much as a power hitter as Nomar was. He didn't make the same wage as Nomar. But he was pretty flashy on the field with defense and his speed helped add some horsepower and stolen bases when they needed it. In fact their key stolen base was by Dave Roberts, some backup outfielder who doesn't hit 30 homers a year. Try finding that on the Yankees.

Fact remains that the New York Yankees get drunk with their check book everytime they lose. Though as usual they will probably unload most of the old guys when they realize they weren't worth it to begin with. Maybe they will unload their crappy young players... like Joba.

Sal Sez: "When I was with the Yankees they made me shave my mustache off. I killed a trainer at spring training when he tried to shave me."

NHL, Stars Make Example of Avery

A few weeks ago, NHL player Sean Avery made a common mistake, a simple slip of the tongue. But this slip will cost him any chance at ever playing for the Dallas Stars and maybe even the NHL again.


Avery made crude comments about another NHL player, Dion Phaneuf, dating his ex-girlfriend. Lets just say his comments may have been appropriate for a Wal-Mart men's room, but not for a pre-game interview.


NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed down a six game suspension, then Dallas Stars management informed Avery he no longer plays for the team.


At first I thought, who cares? Words don't hurt as much as a high-stick to the teeth or fist to the temple. In a game with such violence, how could an off-color comment land a guy out on the street?


Through Avery's discipline, the NHL and the Dallas Stars made the best possible statement to their players and fans: unlike other leagues (any guesses?) the NHL does not welcome those who embarrass it with their stupidity.

On the contrast, take a peek at the NFL. Remember Randy Moss admitting to smoking pot in the off-season? Oh yeah, and running over that police officer with his SUV. Both incidents went without punishment from the league.

Micheal Vick flipped off Atlanta fans after a loss....as expected, no suspension.

It only gets worse in the National Felon League.

Prior to the '08 season, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones is arrested for posession of crack cocaine. He is then allowed to play through week 14 before finally being given a three games suspension. The NFL was even courteous enough to wait until the Jaguars had been eliminated from the playoffs to suspend Jones.....how nice, seeing that he was leading the team in receptions with 65.

Roger Goodell must be so out of touch he doesn't know posession of crack is a felony. Jones faces more years in prison than missed games from the NFL.


Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was arrested in October for marijuana possession and missed a grand total of zero games. It is Holmes' second arrest since 2006, yet neither the Steelers or the NFL have punished the star.


I guess the only argument the NFL has is if they suspended every player who did or said something dumb, they would be filling rosters with Arena Football players by November.


The NFL could care less about player conduct. Last year's Super Bowl was the highest rated in history and attendance - except at Lions games - is rising. If fans don't care when their stars smoke pot, have litters of children out of wedlock and run over pedestrians while driving drunk, then why should Roger Goodell?


It seems the Dallas Stars and Gary Bettman, through the Avery punishment, decided to care.

Some old-school fans -who'd likely prefer players not wear helmets and grow thick Burt Reynolds-like mustaches - may say the NHL is going soft. On-ice trash talking is part of the game, but degrading the game, as Avery did, is unacceptable for any professional athlete.

The NHL is following a path made by the NBA, who has taken a stand against it's gangster reputation. The first step for the NBA was putting a dress code in place. For some reason, it has been effective. We've seen a reduction in baby-momma-related wage garnishing, Plexi-gun incidents and less arrests for activities most promoted by Bob Marley and Snoop Dogg.

Lets hope the NHL continues to enforce player conduct and further leads us to believe there is a chance ticket prices dont outweigh players' IQ's. Maybe it might even influence the NFL to start kicking players out....OK nevermind, that's asking too much, I know.

The Amerks win hockey games?

Last night the Rochester Americans won a hockey game against the Syracuse Crunch by the score of 1-0.

Amazing!

Many doubt it was at all possible.

Broduer, once again, was the reason they won. The defense was so pathetic, the powerplay non-existent and let's not even start on the offense.

This kid must have been gold in the ECHL.

Enough of the game... turns out the Amerks are introducing a new mascot. It's this dumb Eagle thing. He doesn't have a name yet, but since last nights game was a company outing for Sal's 401K a few suggestions were mentioned to said bird. Though these were words and names I won't mention here.

Don't the Amerks already have a mascot that has been around for quite some time?

Oh wait they do. Last time I checked the Moose was quite a popular and very good mascot (if there was such a rating for failed acting majors in a hot suit). Fans I say we band together and propose an end to this Eagle. He will not become a new Rochester tradition... as if we need a new tradition for the Amerks. The Amerks have won 6 Calder Cups and are one of the longest standing members of the AHL!