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Baseball Is Not A Team Sport
Watching the all-star hype, and some of the home run derby, I realize that the reason baseball is so boring for me is it is not a team sport. Football, soccer, hockey, basketball, even lacrosse require teamwork by every member of the team, pretty much constantly. Baseball is a bunch of 7 guys standing around spitting, while two guys play catch, with a single member of the opposing team trying to hit the ball with which these two guys are playing.
After 3 outs, we have the same thing all over again, just change the uniforms.
Okay, there are moments when one of those spitters has to throw to another of those spitters, but except for those few seconds each inning, it's each man for himself.
About the Giants' Big Three. I'll preface this by saying when I was a kid, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the NY Giants (who played in New Jersey) were the Bronx Bombers' (Yankees') ugly stepsister.
Watching the All Stars, I am impressed with what a fine gentleman Willy McCubby is. He had nothing but good things to say about his former team, his former teammates and the new stadium. Willy Mays, on the other hand, wasn't giving the broadcasters the time of day. Barry Bonds was, and the interviews I saw were very sociable, again saying good things except for a few self-deprecating remarks about how he's too old for a lot of this anymore.
And I don't see the problem with using performance-enhancing drugs in pro sports. In the amateurs, yes, especially in pre-adult bodies which could be warped for life. But a professional athlete should be able to reach peak performance any way he (or she) wants. Sure, steroids can make a person angry and shorten his life expectancy. But so can getting pummeled in a prize fight. Or getting hit in the head with a 100 mph pitch. Or being spiked in the leg on the soccer field. I say let the profession risk-takers use whatever they need to raise the odds.
If Bonds is blocks from the hall of fame for steroid use, Mickey Mantle should be removed from there for alcohol abuse. Two people died because Mickey jumped the line for liver transplants - I don't think Bonds has killed anyone yet.
After 3 outs, we have the same thing all over again, just change the uniforms.
Okay, there are moments when one of those spitters has to throw to another of those spitters, but except for those few seconds each inning, it's each man for himself.
About the Giants' Big Three. I'll preface this by saying when I was a kid, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the NY Giants (who played in New Jersey) were the Bronx Bombers' (Yankees') ugly stepsister.
Watching the All Stars, I am impressed with what a fine gentleman Willy McCubby is. He had nothing but good things to say about his former team, his former teammates and the new stadium. Willy Mays, on the other hand, wasn't giving the broadcasters the time of day. Barry Bonds was, and the interviews I saw were very sociable, again saying good things except for a few self-deprecating remarks about how he's too old for a lot of this anymore.
And I don't see the problem with using performance-enhancing drugs in pro sports. In the amateurs, yes, especially in pre-adult bodies which could be warped for life. But a professional athlete should be able to reach peak performance any way he (or she) wants. Sure, steroids can make a person angry and shorten his life expectancy. But so can getting pummeled in a prize fight. Or getting hit in the head with a 100 mph pitch. Or being spiked in the leg on the soccer field. I say let the profession risk-takers use whatever they need to raise the odds.
If Bonds is blocks from the hall of fame for steroid use, Mickey Mantle should be removed from there for alcohol abuse. Two people died because Mickey jumped the line for liver transplants - I don't think Bonds has killed anyone yet.
Home court advantage
Baseball is a team sport in the sense that one player cannot win it all by himself. (Witness lack of championships from A. Rod & Barry Bonds) I was only able to watch a few innings of the all star game because of the boredom factor. I couldn't stomach another home run derby. Can those things go any slower? I think the only thing longer is turning on the all star game and waiting and waiting and waiting for the #%#*% game to start.
Re: Home court advantage
Someone was saying the original home run derby each player only got 10 swings. That would shorten it up.