Charlie Sheen Did Steroids, But Who Cares?

Joe Swaykos is the author of The Priceless Pursuit, a blog about baseball card collecting.

Charlie Sheen – no doubt in large part to stay relevant – admitted to steroid usage to prepare for his role in the infamous baseball movie, “Major League.” My overwhelming desire for this guy to go away needs not be discussed in further detail, but it brings up something I’ve always struggled with.

Do I care about steroid usage in baseball? Do you?

I’ve never bought in to the argument that they weren’t explicitly banned from the sport in the ‘90s, when they became truly popular, so there was “nothing wrong.” They’re illegal, for cryin’ out loud, do they actually need to be banned? Is heroine explicitly banned from baseball? Prostitution? Murder?

There’s no denying that steroids – and the countless variations of performance enhancing drugs that have come and gone in the past 15 years – make the game more exciting to watch. Sure, the purists will debate that good pitching, defense, and mumbo jumbo ratio stats are what truly drives the game, but chicks – and casual fans, where the real money is made – love the long ball and 100 mph fastballs.

While there are certainly ethical implications of using an illegal substance, I remember the good times and Mark McGwire was launching hanging curve balls in to the upper decks in St. Louis, when Sammy Sosa was hitting balls over Waveland Avenue in Chicago, and when Barry Bonds was hitting home runs that landed in China.

It was fun. It was dramatic. It was exciting.

So why have we become so quick to scorn athletes now? We basically built up the Mark McGwires of the world for the sole purpose of tearing them down. They only gave us what we wanted. And why isn’t it a concern in other sports? Football players get a mid-season vacation if they’re busted and then return to the field before the effects of PED usage have even worn off. A baseball player’s name becomes cancerous.

Whether PEDs are right or wrong is not up for debate. But I’m not the one putting my body at risk by taking them, professional athletes are, and that’s fine with me. They’re the ones who’ve made a deal with the devil: fame and fortune now, negative side effects and a potentially shortened life later.

Would you rather see a 10-7 slug fest with six combined home runs in New York or a 2-1 snoozer of a “pitcher’s duel” in Houston? I’ll take the fireworks.

Brian Wilson Explains New Catchphrase, “Got Heem!” (VIDEO)

The world needs to get to know Brian Wilson. He’s goofy and over-the-top, but he’s also he’s funny and interesting. Spicing up Major League Baseball with a little humor doesn’t hurt anybody. Check out this short clip of him explaining his new signature catchphrase, “Got Heem!”

And in case that wasn’t enough…

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Jim Leyland’s Epic Ejection (VIDEO)

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland won’t go without a fight.

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Baseball’s Rookies of the Mid-Season

My earliest memory of the Rookie of the Year award came in the early ’90s. I was born and raised in California and I was and still am a Dodgers fan. From 1992 to 1996, for five straight years, a player from the Dodgers was named NL Rookie of the Year (Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo and Todd Hollandsworth). This streak broke the previous record, which was actually held by the Dodgers as well. From 1979 to 1982, Los Angeles had four straight NL ROYs (Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax).

It’s definitely a great honor. The awards’ winners reads like a list of who’s who in baseball: Longoria, Beltran, Posey, Braun, Pujols, Pedroia, H. Ramirez, Howard, Verlander and so on. Hopefully for the players who win the award this year, it is only the first of many achievements throughout their careers.

Mid-Season Winners: Managers | Rookies | Cy Young | MVP

AL Rookie of the Mid-Season

Michael Pineda, Seattle Mariners
Since his first start of the year, Pineda has been building a strong case for AL ROY. Through 15 starts, he’s amassed a 7-4 record, 94 Ks, 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Even the highest expectations weren’t this high. Everyone knew he was good, but this good? His 8.84 strikeouts per nine innings rate is tops in the American League, ahead of second-place Felix Hernandez (8.75). Beyond the numbers, he’s helped turn around what was the worst team in the AL last year. Seattle is currently 39-39 and only 1.5 games back of the AL West leading Texas Rangers.

Honorable mention: Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles
Britton is a very distant second right now. Unlike the power-pitching Pineda, Britton relies on precision and his defense to make outs. He has the fifth highest groundball rate in the AL (54.6 percent). Though 93 innings, he only has 56 strikeouts but that fits his style. By working the zone with his fastball and change while mixing it up with his breaking ball, Britton is able to ‘finesse’ his way through games. Many expected Brian Matusz to be the young pitcher leading Baltimore’s staff, but Britton has filled the role nicely in his place.

NL Rookie of the Mid-Season

Dillon Gee, New York Mets
As Pineda continues to steal headlines, it’s Gee who has the best record of all rookie pitchers. He’s 8-1 and didn’t lose his first game until June 21. New York may be fourth in the NL East at the moment, but they look to be better this year in spite of numerous injuries to key players. Part of that is due to the emergence of Gee. Although his .242 BABIP suggests that he’s been getting a little lucky this year, he’s still pitching very effectively. In his brief stint in the majors last year, he did show that he could get the job done. In 2010, he made five starts while maintaining a 2.18 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. But in order to win the award, he’ll need to maintain his solid 3.32 ERA and pitch more innings (76.0).

Honorable mention: Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
With Jim Riggleman recently stealing headlines for his premature resignation, the Nats aren’t receiving enough attention for their performance on the field. In particular, Espinosa has had a terrific first half. Disregard for a moment his .242 batting average and instead focus on his 14 homers, 47 RBIs, 39 runs, four triples and nine steals. He leads all rookies (150 AB minimum) in those categories. His above-average defense also adds another dimension to his talented arsenal.

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Baseball’s Managers of the Mid-Season

Not all award races are created equal. While there is plenty of glamour surrounding MVPs and Cy Youngs, winning Manager of the Year says a lot, not only about the manager, but about the team as well.

The three-day break surrounding the 2011 All-Star Game begins on Monday, July 11 so we’re about two weeks away from the midway point of what has been a great season. Although the Yankees and Phillies have the two best records in baseball, there are some surprise teams with winning records. These are the managers, according to The Dugout Doctors, that have done the best job and deserve recognition.

Mid-Season Winners: Managers | Rookies | Cy Young | MVP

AL Manager of the Mid-Season

Manny Acta, Cleveland Indians – (40-35)
The Indians may not be as hot as they once were but they are the most unlikely division leader. Acta managed Cleveland to a 69-93 record in 2010. But with young talent collectively taking the next step in their development, the Indians have improved dramatically. For a team with low expectations heading into the year, few baseball fans could have predicted this outcome. The emergence of Asdrubal Cabrera and Justin Masterson has helped, as well as the comeback year that Grady Sizemore has had put together. The Indians are currently tied with the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central lead so this is by no means a lock. One too many losses and this season goes from playoff-bound to “all for naught” rather quickly. Acta will certainly earn this award if he can keep the Tribe atop the division.

Honorable mention: Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays – (43-34)
Depending how the AL East shakes out, Maddon has a great shot to win AL Manager of the Year. The Rays find themselves two games back in a three-headed monster of a division. The Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are all battling it out. But Maddon deserves some serious appreciation for fielding a competitive team the year after losing Carl Crawford, one of the best outfielders over the last eight years, to the Red Sox. They had also been without star slugger Evan Longoria for nearly half the season but with guys like Ben Zobrist, David Price, James Shields and Kyle Farnsworth playing at such a high-level, Tampa has remained competitive. Let’s not forget that the Rays have the second lowest payroll in all of baseball (~$41 million), behind only the Kansas City Royals (~$36 million).

NL Manager of the Mid-Season

Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks – (43-35)
Both Gibson and Acta are in their second year with their current club and there is definitely no sign of a sophomore slump between their respective teams. In fact, only three teams have winning records both at home and on the road this year: the New York Yankees (24-18 home, 20-13 away), Philadelphia Phillies (29-13, 19-17), and the Gibson-led Arizona Diamondbacks (22-17, 21-18). Due to in large part an incredible run in the second half of May where Arizona won 13 of 14 games, the Diamondbacks are poised to make a run at the NL West crown. They’re currently a half-game behind the San Francisco Giants and with nine games left to play between the two teams, six of which are in September, the race is still wide-open. Led by Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson on the mound as well as Justin Upton and Chris Young at the dish, the D-backs find themselves firmly entrenched in the NL playoff race. They can score runs with the best of them but would be best served finding another strong starting pitcher to help bolster the back end of their rotation. But hey, I should probably leave the managing to Gibson; he doesn’t look like he’d take too kindly to some writer telling him how to do his job.

Honorable mention: Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates – (39-37)
The Pirates find themselves on the plus-side of .500 and hey, home attendance, TV ratings and merchandise sales are up! Not that any Pirates fans need to be reminded, but Pittsburgh hasn’t had a winning season since 1992. So far it’s been the Barry Bonds curse with 18 consecutive losing seasons, the longest streak for any team from the four major sports in the US. Bonds signed with the San Francisco Giants before the 1993 season and the Bucs haven’t had a winning season since. But forget the history lesson and the drudging up of the past, the Pirates are getting it done with solid pitching, Neil Walker‘s fine play their team MVP, Andrew McCutchen, who just happens to be one of the best players in all of baseball. Hurdle and his players deserves all the credit in the world thus far for even flirting with a plus-.500 season. The NL Central is one of the more crowded divisions in baseball with four teams within three games of the lead (Brewers, Cardinals, Pirates and Cincinnati Reds). But even if they don’t take the division, the marked improvement is unquestioned.

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Video: Foul Ball Lands In Red Sox Fan’s Beer

There’s nothing like watching a ball game and drinking a cold one. But, if a foul ball magically lands in your beer, there should be some kind of special prize involved. Maybe an over-sized stuffed animal, like one you might win at a carnival. Check out this video of a Boston Red Sox fan ending up with a soggy souvenir.

Nationals former manager Riggleman is “Creepy” and Hits on “Young Girls”

Washington Nationals (now former) manager Jim Riggleman resigned abruptly on Thursday. The Nats have a winning record and Riggleman’s decision came after winning a game. Needless to say, this is a unique situation. The media has been quick to characterize him as “selfish” and this is likely a fair assessment given that the Nationals’ brass has since stated they were still considering bringing him back next season.

It’s a little late now.

Riggleman wanted the organization to use an option clause in his contract that would’ve extended his tenure into the 2012 season. To paraphrase his sentiment, he couldn’t commit and manage a team that wasn’t equally committed to him.

But, the Nationals decided against giving into his demands, which is their right of course. They still had many months to come to a conclusion on this issue. Unfortunately, since they did not act swiftly enough, as least according to Riggleman, he quit.

Then he headed to the bar.

Photos published on Twitter by the user @jskiernan show Riggleman drinking and spending time with some younger (and attractive) women at a bar named “Caddies” in Bethesda, Maryland.

jskiernan also tweeted that Riggleman was “acting like a creepy old dude” by “hitting on all the young girls.”

Creepy? Hitting on young girls? Guilty as charged. At least he didn’t offer to show the ladies how to execute a squeeze play.

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MLB Postseason 2010 Infographic

Source:Sports Management Colleges.net

2011 AL All-Star Game Ballot

Major League Baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game is on July 12. Now that it is only a couple weeks away, The Dugout Doctors would like to present their NL ballot. Go vote now!

Click here for my NL ballot!

Note: All stats are updated as of 6/23/2011.

CATCHER

Alex Avila – Detroit Tigers
(.300/.373/.532, 27 R, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 3 SB)

Many are wondering whether Alex Avila can keep it up, but any catcher that is hitting around .300 with decent power deserves props. It’s been a rough year for catchers with Joe Mauer and Buster Posey (in the NL of course) mostly sidelined. Carlos Santana is heating up, but expectations were higher. Avila shines in a lackluster field.

FIRST BASE

Adrian Gonzalez – Boston Red Sox
(.350/.403/.603, 55 R, 15 HR, 68 RBI, 1 SB)

While Gonzalez will likely win this vote with relative ease, a real case should be made for Miguel Cabrera. Both of these guys are premiere talents who are mashing the ball this year. But both players will make the ASG so I suppose who gets the fan vote is merely a triviality. Gonzalez gets my vote because he rebounded so well from a brief slow start.

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano – New York Yankees
(.295/.341/.520, 44 R, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 6 SB)

For those that want to make this strictly about Cano or Pedroia, I don’t feel that’s entirely fair. Zobrist, Kendrick and Kinsler are all having great years so far. But Cano gets my vote because I value a big bat at his position. The only gripe I have about Cano is his glove, but this is the All-Star Game, not fielding practice.

THIRD BASE

Alex Rodriguez – New York Yankees
(.292/.374/.506, 47 R, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 4 SB)

Depending on the day, the better player can be either Youkilis or Rodriguez. A-Rod hits for better power, but Youk gets on-base more. A-Rod’s the better fielder, but Youk’s has him beat in a few sabermetrics categories. So why A-Rod? He’s the superstar. Fans pay to see guys like him.

SHORTSTOP

Asdrubal Cabrera – Cleveland Indians
(.296/.346/.498, 48 R, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 12 SB)

I don’t know how anybody can vote against Cabrera without being a homer. What he’s done for Cleveland, it can’t be measured, he’s the real deal this year. Whether it’s a sexy web gem (he’s not that great defensively though) or hitting a blast into the cheap seats, he’s exceeded everyone’s expectations.

LEFT FIELD

Brett Gardner – New York Yankees
(.293/.371/.444, 35 R, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 14 SB)

Outfielders aren’t selected in this manner, but it feels more genuine to me. The competition is very thin at left field and while Alex Gordon has played great, I just really like Gardner’s game. He’s one of the best defensive outfielders, can hit for contact and is the consummate leadoff hitter.

CENTER FIELD

Curtis Granderson – New York Yankees
(.280/.356/.593, 62 R, 21 HR, 54 RBI, 10 SB)

Granderson is putting up a MVP-type season and while everyone knew he could be good, he seems to get better every year. He’s putting up Bautista-esque numbers while playing center field. Ellsbury is having a great year himself, but outside of hitting for a better average and more steals, the comparison isn’t all that close between he and Grand.

RIGHT FIELD

Jose Bautista – Toronto Blue Jays
(.325/.470/.645, 55 R, 21 HR, 46 RBI, 5 SB)

Bautista has cooled off in recent weeks, but he was hitting out of his mind. There was no way he could keep it up. He could put up half his production thus far in the second half and still have a great year on paper. But I am concerned his average will drop down to where it was last season (.260).

DESIGNATED HITTER

David Ortiz – Boston Red Sox
(.317/.395/.592, 47 R, 17 HR, 48 RBI, 1 SB)

Giving credit where credit is due, Ortiz keeps plugging along like the basher that is. No one is even in Ortiz’s league right now as evidenced by him doubling the homer total of any other DH. He’s also sporting a career-low strikeout rate (12.7 percent), and this just might be his best season in years.

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2011 NL All-Star Game Ballot

Major League Baseball’s 2011 All-Star Game is on July 12. Now that it is only a couple weeks away, The Dugout Doctors would like to present their NL ballot. Go vote now!

Click here for my AL ballot!

Note: All stats are updated as of 6/22/2011.

CATCHER

Brian McCann – Atlanta Braves
(.301/.379/.510, 24 R, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 2 SB)

McCann has been a model of consistency since 2006. This would make for McCann’s sixth straight All-Star appearance. Considering he leads all NL catchers in home runs, RBIs, total bases, a number of other sabermetrics categories and he plays almost everyday, he’s the obvious choice here.

FIRST BASE

Prince Fielder – Milwaukee Brewers
(.303/.425/.609, 45 R, 20 HR, 63 RBI, 0 SB)

Fielder is tied for the lead or leads the NL in home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage to name a few and hasn’t even taken a day off. This would only be his third All-Star Game but there is a stiff competition at his position between he, Pujols, Votto and Howard. Plus, his numbers put him in the NL MVP conversation, so he has my vote.

SECOND BASE

Rickie Weeks – Milwaukee Brewers
(.287/.357/.502, 51 R, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 7 SB)

Hitting ahead of Fielder and Braun has inflated Weeks’ numbers but there’s no reason to diminish what he’s done this year in comparison to the other guys at second base. Phillips currently leads the vote, which I can understand. But Weeks gets the slight nod over Walker in my book.

THIRD BASE

Ryan Roberts – Arizona Diamondbacks
(.262/.348/.472, 39 R, 10 HR, 30 RBI, 9 SB)

You know what’s a travesty? Roberts isn’t even on the ballot. Not at third, not at second, nothing. That’s unacceptable. While Polanco is playing great and Headley is having a solid year, Roberts is contributing across the board and plays multiple positions. So I vote for Roberts in spirit and when I voted online, I selected Polanco.

SHORTSTOP

Jose Reyes – New York Mets
(.336/.380/.508, 54 R, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 26 SB)

This is more or less a toss-up between Tulowitzki and Reyes. But Reyes is having one hell of a year. The guy has a dozen triples. He’s getting on base, scoring runs and stealing bases. What puts him over the top for me is Reyes’ OPS (.888) beats out Tulo’s (.841). If Tulowitzki was hitting a little better, it’d be a different story.

LEFT FIELD

Ryan Braun – Milwaukee Brewers
(.310/.395/.557, 54 R, 15 HR, 51 RBI, 16 SB)

There’s no good reason to not like Braun. If there is, I bet it has to do with an emotion-based opinion of him and nothing to do with his game. He does it all and is in the prime of his career. Nobody is even playing close to his level right now in the NL at left field. Braun’s WAR is 3.4, the next closest player is Martin Prado with 1.7.

CENTER FIELD

Matt Kemp – Los Angeles Dodgers
(.321/.411/.608, 47 R, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 20 SB)

This would be Kemp’s first ASG and it’s well-deserved. While he leaves a lot to be desired as a fielder, he’s mashing the ball. His closest competition is of course Andrew McCutchen, but head-to-head, the numbers are completely in Kemp’s favor. He’s on pace for a 40/40 season as well, in case you needed another reason to be convinced of his performance.

RIGHT FIELD

Justin Upton – Arizona Diamondbacks
(.305/.386/.530, 42 R, 12 HR, 39 RBI, 13 SB)

Although Berkman has better numbers, Upton’s 3.3 WAR puts him in. Berkman has also cooled off significantly since his hot April. And after a noticeable decline in his stats last season, Upton definitely deserves the honor of being fan voted into the ASG, especially in front of his home crowd.

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