After a night's sleep and a little more perspective, here's what I think:
1. Albert Pujols is a grown man with remarkable talents and is entitled to apply for a job wherever he chooses. Maybe it was money. Maybe it was location. Maybe he just felt like it.
2. Anyone demonizing him for taking more money needs to chill. Who here, when faced with the question: "Would you like to do the same job for less money?" would answer yes? Those attacking him for his supposed beliefs... you think more money in his pockets doesn't mean more money for his charities, organizations, churches, etc?
3. If it was in fact a higher power that led to this decision, thank you God for the mercy you have shown toward the other teams in the NL Central.
4. Despite my comments thus far, all along I thought it would be a sad day when Albert Pujols was no longer a Cardinal. I say this not for the sake of the Cardinals, but for the sake of baseball and its fans. Though it wasn't always pretty toward the end (from a business standpoint), Barry Larkin was a Red for his entire career. I know how it would have felt if he had played for the Mets, even during his twilight years. There is something about a player playing with one team and adds to the mystique of it all. And yesterday, that was lost. I'm not naive regarding the state of the game, or bitter about what free agency has done, but I still think it's worth celebrating when all of that fails to tear down the relationship between player and team.
5. It's still a business, and congrats to the Angels. Certain aspects of baseball economics are a mystery to me, but I guess the Angels have a lot of money. Something tells me, though, they'll come to regret this. It's funny because it seems so ludicrous when a team is paying a 38-year-old three or four times what he's worth, but we still can't help ourselves. I guess if they win a championship in the next several years it'll be worth it.
6. Thanks Albert for casting a dark cloud over what was a miracle season for the team I hate most. Things feel a little more right.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Is This Thing On?
Time to warm up the engines again. The moment has come to end another dry spell.* That's why I'm starting slow (with a post that will probably have a longer asterisk than actual content). MLB's Fan Cave has completed its first year and is currently open for applications for 2012. Apparently the format will be slightly different as well. They seem to be planning to accept a handful of applicants and implement a reality show format where contestants get voted off every so often. Honestly though I'm not concerning myself too much with those details... I like to be surprised. Point is, there's a higher chance of being selected.
*As usual I've done some soul searching to determine the cause of the lastest one, and not surprisingly, many of the usual suspects have emerged: (1) Sadly, when your team is disappointing, there is less motivation to write about them, or the sport in general. However, I will say that, as was noted over at Redleg Nation, this team wasn't just disappointing. They didn't just finish below .500 like so many Reds teams of the last decade. They severely underachieved, and at no point looked like they would be any threat to the central division title. They looked lifeless and disinterested, and digging deeper into that just seemed cruel and unusual.
(2) I find that it's much easier for me to write during the offseason than during the season. I think this is because not as much is happening in the offseason. The internets are less saturated (are there degrees of saturation?). Additionally, something else I noticed more than ever this season... I found it increasingly difficult to do analysis on a day to day basis because one day of baseball is like the blink of an eye. How different, really, is one from the next. Alternatively, analyzing an entire season is where real trends emerge. It allows us to evaluate our teams and make decisions. If you'll notice, it's really incredible how much perceptions can change from May to September. Personally, I like to just watch and enjoy the games, rather than try and break down every minutia.
And (3), this was really only an issue in September and October, but who knew the Bengals would be relevant? I certainly didn't. After last year I almost thought my interest in the NFL would disappear entirely. The Bengals were dreadful, and I was pretty sick of all the concussions and violence and "it's football, be a man" talk that was going on. Turns out my football convictions aren't very strong, and rooting for a team without T.Ocho and with two standout rookies is unexpectedly refreshing.
Oh, and there's a (4)... I've been attending to some family stuff since July and really, finding free time to write about baseball was extremely difficult.
Anyway, as Poz would say, sorry, I'm back. And so, consider this the start of a new non-dry spell, with posts upcoming about whatever I feel like writing. Until next time, go Reds. Do something. Please.
*As usual I've done some soul searching to determine the cause of the lastest one, and not surprisingly, many of the usual suspects have emerged: (1) Sadly, when your team is disappointing, there is less motivation to write about them, or the sport in general. However, I will say that, as was noted over at Redleg Nation, this team wasn't just disappointing. They didn't just finish below .500 like so many Reds teams of the last decade. They severely underachieved, and at no point looked like they would be any threat to the central division title. They looked lifeless and disinterested, and digging deeper into that just seemed cruel and unusual.
(2) I find that it's much easier for me to write during the offseason than during the season. I think this is because not as much is happening in the offseason. The internets are less saturated (are there degrees of saturation?). Additionally, something else I noticed more than ever this season... I found it increasingly difficult to do analysis on a day to day basis because one day of baseball is like the blink of an eye. How different, really, is one from the next. Alternatively, analyzing an entire season is where real trends emerge. It allows us to evaluate our teams and make decisions. If you'll notice, it's really incredible how much perceptions can change from May to September. Personally, I like to just watch and enjoy the games, rather than try and break down every minutia.
And (3), this was really only an issue in September and October, but who knew the Bengals would be relevant? I certainly didn't. After last year I almost thought my interest in the NFL would disappear entirely. The Bengals were dreadful, and I was pretty sick of all the concussions and violence and "it's football, be a man" talk that was going on. Turns out my football convictions aren't very strong, and rooting for a team without T.Ocho and with two standout rookies is unexpectedly refreshing.
Oh, and there's a (4)... I've been attending to some family stuff since July and really, finding free time to write about baseball was extremely difficult.
Anyway, as Poz would say, sorry, I'm back. And so, consider this the start of a new non-dry spell, with posts upcoming about whatever I feel like writing. Until next time, go Reds. Do something. Please.
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