Perhaps it’s my pessimism being a Chicago Cubs fan, as it’s been 105 years since their last World Series title, or the humidity of the summer, but I’m irritated.
With are no other professional sports in session besides baseball, my outrage has turned to America’s pastime. And with another grueling half-season starting on Thursday, you should leave that remote stuck in the couch cushions, or at least put parental controls on MLB.TV for the following reasons:
The Cardinals will continue to succeed
It doesn’t help St. Louis that scored four runs in the ninth on Sunday to beat the Cubbies under the lights at Wrigley, but the Cards look just as good as their 2006 and 2011 World Series squads. Pitcher Adam Wainwright is having one of his best seasons to date, with 130 strikeouts (3rd in MLB) and a 2.45 ERA (5th).
Including Wainwright, the Cardinals sent five players to the All-Star Game, while Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina were voted into the starting lineup. The Pirates will most definitely lose footing in standings and if the Reds aren’t able to resurge, the Cardinals will have an easy admission into the postseason.
Ugghhhhhh.
Superstars are finally getting caught
Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, and New York Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez will potentially be suspended from the MLB for a better part of the season, if not the entire rest of 2013. Ties to Tony Bosch’s Frankenstein Performance-Enhancing Drugs Drive-Thru Clinic in South Beach may be the tipping point for the MLB’s governing body.
With as many as 20 players are expected to be indicted, a move that shows that baseball may finally be cleaning up. Well, probably not, but the scandal is still disappointing distraction for baseball, especially given the caliber of these players.
Chris Davis has to cool down, right?
With 37 home runs in just 95 games and an astronomical .717 slugging percentage coming from a guy who had 11 home runs combined between the 2010 and 2011 season, he has to slow his roll.
With no hint of stanozolol, testosterone, clenbuterol, or anavar in his blood stream, his run is going completely against history of super sluggers, as the top six single-season home run totals are split between Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds, and those guys were as clean as a Saturday morning fraternity house.
So cool down baseball fans, revisit point two above, and realize drugs seem to be correlated with success.
Colin Hanner is a junior studying journalism and a sports writer for The Post. Disagree that baseball isn't worth watching until the playoffs begin? Let him know at ch115710@ohio.edu.
