Trapped in Dirty Jerzee

Fannation and the media overall drop the ball again...

Ok folks, I am well aware I have been critical of how the folks at fannation choose which juicy nuggets to post each day from various newspapers and websites in the Truth&Rumors section of this site. But even I thought the better of them and automatically assumed in T&Rs, they would include today's New York Times piece about the scandal involving Major League organizations including the Chicago Whitesox and likely other clubs and young players being signed from the Dominican Republic. The New York Times is one of the last respectable print journalism outlets left in the America when it comes to national and international news and of course its highly professional and impeccably written sports section. Yet, fannation continues to ignore it too often in all major sports for T&Rs each morning. Although, fannation is one of many media outlets today/tonight to have ignored this story (ESPN SportsCenter drops the ball again) which includes more information than ever yet on this Ugly American story in baseball, including quotes from the some of Dominican kids involved who were possibly scammed out of money themselves. These kids, desperate to get to America to play ball seem afraid to speak out at this point and are allowing themselves to be exploited by Americans in the MLB "business". Credit one of the greatest sports blogs in the world, Gaslamp Ball, a San Diego Padres blog, for being one of the few sources I found in a wide search that pointed this out today and provided a link. As a Padres fan I cringe myself at the moment, knowing the Padres have begin to seriously invest in Dominican kids. They are not included in any way in this story. Below is the link to the story, copy and paste and please read this twice. It is interesting, as well as embarassing to see once again what this country does to others and usually gets away with it. Amazing how our media spends hours and hours, and pages and pages on Barry Bonds these days, yet this story at the moment remains largely ignored...

Waxing nostalgic in the NL West...

Hello my fellow San Diego Padres fans, let alone the rest of the fans of NL West squads today - the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, and the San Francisco Giants. So what the hell happened?!?!?!!? I am here to say I am well aware my Padres are the worst team in all of baseball right now with the prospects for improvement not looking too good. But in the NL West, somehow, they still hold a glimmer of hope. So I hate to spread my misery to the rest of the NL West fandom out there, but let's be honest Dodger, D-Back, Rockies, and Giants fans we all SUCK together. Truly at this point, after crying all of last season and all winter right here how disrespected the NL West always is, it's time to admit no one in this division deserves a play-off spot. Just give it to whoever comes in third in the NL Central, be it the Cardinals or Brewers.

What's going on with Khalil Greene/SD Union Tribune blog?

While few here will care about the San Diego Padres and shortstop Khaili Greene, the Chicago Cubs, and the San Diego Union Tribune as we get ready for the MLB All-Star Game tonight, something appears to be going on here the last two days. The San Diego Union Tribune's Padres Blog which has posts on the paper's website almost daily had an interesting little nugget yesterday, Monday 7-14-08. According to the blog post, there was talk recently between San Diego officials and the Chicago Cubs about the Cubs possibly getting Greene in a trade (for those who don't know and do care, the Cubs first tried to draft Greene before he signed with the Padres out of Clemson). The post went on to say that it appears Greene isn't going anywhere thanks in part to his poor offensive numbers at the moment (and for most of the season) depleting his trade value.

Padres' Adrian Gonzalez should be in HR derby

There's not a whole lot for a San Diego Padres fan to be claiming on a national level these days obviously. But I have no doubt, and no regret in stating the truth so many do not realize, or simply could care less about. Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez should be participating in the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. It's really simple for a variety of reasons. But not coming from a major-mega-market organization which the likes of ESPN could care less about, Gonzalez is being blocked after the Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun was recently chosen for the final National League slot to join Philadelphia's Chase Utley, Florida's Dan Uggla, and Houston's Lance Berkman. These original picks are good choices. And while Braun is also someone who must be in the discussion and is a deserving figure for the derby and I mean no disrespect toward Braun, Gonzalez is the one who should have been picked for the derby at Yankee Stadium.

Verducci's article in SI on Lincecum is a must-read!

The best written, most interesting, and certainly most important article of the 2008 MLB season stands before you today sports fans. If you have not read it yet, go out immediately and get your copy of the newest Sports Illustrated (July 7, 2008) and read Tom Verducci's article on San Fransisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, titled, "How Tiny Tim Became a Pitching Giant". No matter what team you are a fan of, there is something in this story for everyone, Giants fans to say the least.