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Sometimes, people and seasons come and go in our lives. They enter, serve their purposes, and then they go. Lots of times, we don't want them to go, counting them as permanent fixtures that we don't want to be without. But if theres' no turnover in people and circumstances, our lives will never change.
Life is changing for me as I move toward graduating college and looking toward a career. This blog has served its purpose wonderfully, acting as my forum for airing my thoughts on sports for 19 months. I remember the day I first wrote here, and I'm blown away by how much change has occurred in my life over that time. Some not so good, but most change has been pure blessing, if not a seeming curse at first.
With my recent introduction to Bleacher Report, the fastest growing sports network on the web, I've come to the end of my time at sportguru.net. I'm not retiring, just changing teams. The demands of writing on that site are high enough that I no longer feel that I can devote adequate attention and effort to this space, and you guys deserve the best.
Thank you to all readers who faithfully follow and click on my content; my numbers are currently as strong as they've ever been. You are appreciated, even in your silence, and I would be honored to have you continue with me to Bleacher Report as I develop my voice there.
Farewell, it's been a great time at sportguru.net.
Jason Heim
The baseball offseason is in full gear and the Hot Stove is on. There is a rush every November/December to woo the best free agents in the league in hopes of locking down an impact player. A team’s ability to do so can change the complexion of the roster overnight, renew hope in success, sell tickets, boost image, and more. Failure to add a new player sometimes spells doom for the hesitant and frugal. This offseason has had plenty of both, and the Angels have been on the business end of that tension all offseason.
The expectation that many had for the Angels was that they would be the frontrunner to sign Rays All-Star leftfielder Carl Crawford to bolster the outfield defense, add speed, and give life to the punchless offense. Torii Hunter’s public courtship of Crawford led everyone to think that the Angels were likeliest to score one of baseball’s best players and this season’s top free agent.
But with this front office–owner Arte Moreno and General Manager Tony Reagins–Angel fans have learned to always expect the unexpected. In 2003, Moreno swooped up All-Star Vladimir Guerrero out of nowhere and without warning. In 2007, Moreno inked Twins centerfield extraordinare Torii Hunter when the outfield was already full. In both cases, Moreno and GMs Bill Stoneman and Tony Reagins made distinct splashes with news that had no priming. This is something that the Angel front office apparently values highly during a season of rumors, overspeculation, and predictions.
Sometimes the unique secrecy that the Angels employ in player negotiations doesn’t work out as well as the Guerrero and Hunter signings did. For instance, when the Angels are in the news as favorites to land a player, they always seem to miss out. Exhibit A: Mark Teixeira in the 2008 offseason. After lighting the AL West on fire for the second half of 2008, Teixeira was thought to want to return to the Angels, who had strong mutual interest. After over a month of speculation and contract proposals, the Angels couldn’t land Tex, who sold out to the Yankees (we still hate you, Teixeira). Exhibit B: Carl Crawford this year. As explained before, Crawford was on record as saying that he wanted to play for the Angels alongside his bud Torii Hunter. The Angels maintained all throughout the end of the season that they were going to pursue Crawford as their top offseason priority.
Well, Angel fans were destined to be disappointed if they were expecting the Angels to do what they said they would do.
Reagins seemed to be in no hurry to lock down Crawford with a contact, low balled him, then tried to cover it at the last minute. But it was too late for that, as the Angels new rival, the Red Sox, snatched up Crawford before the Angels could recover from the news of Boston’s offer.
After losing out on Crawford and still possessing a lot of money to spend, the Angels were tied to Cliff Lee early last week. The thinking went that the Angels could throw a ton of money at Lee, then trade either arbitration-eligible pitcher Jered Weaver or Ervin Santana for an upgrade to the lineup. Again, the Angels couldn’t make it happen, and were left in the free agency cold with the same 80-82 roster from last season.
For those of us who have grown to trust the overtly curious personnel moves that characterize Moreno and Reagins, there is always hope that they will accomplish something that they claim they will do. Moreno and Reagins pushed the idea that there would be changes this offseason after a terrible year on the field, and their track record has shown that Angel fans have every reason to trust that they will. This is where we stand now. A few moves have been made to bolster the bullpen, but nothing impactful. There is still a glaring hole at third base, a glut of major league ready catchers that they don’t have room for, and some overpaid, under-performing outfielders that need to be traded.
The obvious option at third base is to overpay Adrian Beltre
to plug the hole at the hot corner. Arte, Tony, if you’re reading this, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase do not sign Adrian Beltre. I’d rather stumble through another year with Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, and Alberto Callaspo than to pay two limbs for a guy who only performs in his contract year. The Angels have been linked to Beltre, and the move makes perfect sense, which is why I’m hoping that my expectation in the unexpected will pay off this time.
There are worse problems for a general manager to have than having too many catchers. In fact, that’s more of a blessing than it is anything else, but only if your catching talent isn’t rotting on the bench. This has been the situation for the last two years with an unwillingness to commit to either the offensive-minded Mike Napoli or the better catcher, Jeff Mathis. Now with the fast-rising Hank Conger nearing his arrival in Anaheim, Reagins and Mike Scioscia have decisions to make. Speculation has been made that Napoli is going to be the odd one out because he probably has the highest trade value vested in his big bat. Trading Napoli for some infield or pitching depth and letting Conger take his lumps and learn is the right way to go.
The outfield situation is a little clearer with Hideki Matsui’s departure for Oakland, but still muddy. Hunter has already moved over to right field to make room for prized project Peter Bourjos in center. The Bourjos experiment in August and September was mixed, but he is the slated to hit leadoff for the Halos on Opening Day. Bobby Abreu moves around based on the matchups, but will be in left field or at DH virtually everyday. That leaves one spot for the immortal Juan Rivera ($4.25 million this year), Reggie Willits (not a Major League starting outfielder), and whoever the Angels fill out the roster with. Think Crawford would have helped out there? Also, Matsui’s 24 HR and 81 RBI weren’t good enough to re-sign?
There are a lot of holes to be filled and a very incomplete team with most of the impact free agents off the market. The Angels are now forced to improve from within or through trades. However, amid all the questions and frustrations over missed players, I have full confidence that there is more going on beneath the surface that Reagins and Moreno are keeping secret. All we can do is trust in their ability to evaluate talent, gauge market value for players, then aggressively pull the trigger when they see what they like.
Work still needs to be done, but the Angels’ recent on-field record proves their credibility as personnel managers. I’ll be watching and waiting for the least likely move to be made, then think to myself, “I knew they knew what they were doing.”
When LeBron James addressed the backlash from “The Decision” a few weeks ago, he did something he should not have and probably regrets in hindsight. He took the easy way out, deflected responsibility and blame, and told the world that the vitriolic reaction to his Decision was motivated by race. He shared some tweets that made their way to his Twitter page over the last few months that truly carried some venom toward the new Miami Heat star. As shocking and disturbing as some people’s attitude toward LeBron is, to say that any of the hate is racially motivated is just plain dumb.
I don’t know if LeBron consulted or got approval from his P.R. staff before going down this road, or if he decided one day that he would just come out and say it. I do know that his accusation is completely off base. How do I know? It does not take great feats of logic to figure this one out, but LeBron could not. His ego and arrogance blinded him. He couldn’t see that what he perceived as racially motivated and misplaced hate was actually frustration and despair over being betrayed and disappointed by LeBron himself.
Let’s look at the timeline of facts to spell this out. LeBron builds up the drama over his free agent decision, throws himself into the spotlight, stabs the only fan base he’s ever known—in his home town, no less—in the back by leaving, and burns all bridges to Cleveland and the Cavs on his way out of the city. Has another athlete in history ever disrespected a fan base more than LeBron did with the Cavs this summer? In my young sports following career, I know of none worse.
Come on LeBron, really? You have got to be brighter than this. The rage directed at you is completely unwarranted and out of line? You don’t deserve any of it?
One of the telltale signs of pride is an inability to identify, and then assume, responsibility for things that go wrong. What was in reality a public display of disloyalty, disrespect, and ingratitude, is seen by James as the collective overreaction of an ant colony. His reaction is indicative of a few things: his massive ego (which doesn’t really need further explanation), a disregard for other people, and a startling insecurity.
First, by abandoning, then publicly humiliating Cleveland, LeBron showed he does not care about people who can no longer benefit him. At the height of his reign in Cleveland, Cavs fans played a crucial role in LeBron feeling significant and beloved. As a result, he treated them well (or did he?). When he decided that he wanted to leave, Cavs fans, the organization, and owner Dan Gilbert lost all value with him. Can you guess what happened? He treated them like dirt in one of the most humiliating displays imaginable. This has been said repeatedly, but LeBron’s advisors would almost certainly like a mulligan on “The Decision.” LeBron himself? He doesn’t seem to care how it played out.
Second, LeBron is manifesting an insecurity that is surprising for someone who has as much to be secure in as he does. This is evident in his need to snipe at vengeful fans and blame them. A guy who is innocent and at peace with himself—the Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Derek Fisher type—would not even validate fan and media criticism by responding. Guys like that will much sooner take the P.R. hit on the chin, let the words roll off their back, and be diplomatic in relating to the fans. Who cares what they say? I know who I am, what I’m capable of, and what I stand for. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Nothing that anyone says about me will shake my self-perception. LeBron’s ego will not allow him to take that hit or deflect criticism. He cares so much about what people say about him, we just didn’t know it until recently because no one ever said anything negative about him.
LeBron has a lot going for him that he does not seem to recognize. The resume of identity markers: most physically dominant force to ever play basketball, good looks, immeasurable talent, fame, money, and even more. That is a lot to be secure in, but his need to abandon responsibility for the Cleveland breakup and assign blame suggests that those things are not enough to make him feel good about himself. In one sense, this is something that we should all pity LeBron for. There must be some serious issues lingering underneath the surface for this person to be dissatisfied in his self-concept. Underneath that incredible physique, magnanimous smile, and otherworldly talent lies a boy who ultimately cannot live without the validation of others and refuses to accept the times when he is wrong.
This latest story and the ones that prefaced sure don’t reflect well on LeBron James, but we should remember that he is young, still just 25 years-old, and has a lot of time to learn from his shortcomings—even if he doesn’t yet realize that they are such. The development of LeBron as a man will be a fascinating story to track over his next 5 seasons as he embarks on his journey with the Heat.
Teaming up with The Flash and Chris Bosh will help us grade LeBron on the classic report card category: “plays well with others.”
When LeBron James addressed the backlash from “The Decision” a few weeks ago, he did something he should not have and probably regrets in hindsight. He took the easy way out, deflected responsibility and blame, and told the world that the vitriolic reaction to his Decision was motivated by race. He shared some tweets that made their way to his Twitter page over the last few months that truly carried some venom toward the new Miami Heat star. As shocking and disturbing as some people’s attitude toward LeBron is, to say that any of the hate is racially motivated is just plain dumb
[ Click here to read more ]
The above image shows a hit that, admittedly, looks dirty. No one can definitively prove the contrary because hits like this one are so subjective. The NFL, specifically Commissioner Roger Goodell, decided that Steeler linebacker James Harrison violated this subjective code a few times. Check out these plays at full speed and try to discern the warrant for Harrison's $75,000 fine. On a day when hard and questionable hits were rampant, the NFL grossly overreacted to Harrison's licks on Josh Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi
[ Click here to read more ]
The above image shows a hit that, admittedly, looks dirty. No one can definitively prove the contrary because hits like this one are so subjective. The NFL, specifically Commissioner Roger Goodell, decided that Steeler linebacker James Harrison violated this subjective code a few times. Check out these plays at full speed and try to discern the warrant for Harrison's $75,000 fine. On a day when hard and questionable hits were rampant, the NFL grossly overreacted to Harrison's licks on Josh Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi
[ Click here to read more ]
The above image shows a hit that, admittedly, looks dirty. No one can definitively prove the contrary because hits like this one are so subjective. The NFL, specifically Commissioner Roger Goodell, decided that Steeler linebacker James Harrison violated this subjective code a few times. Check out these plays at full speed and try to discern the warrant for Harrison's $75,000 fine. On a day when hard and questionable hits were rampant, the NFL grossly overreacted to Harrison's licks on Josh Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi
[ Click here to read more ]
September 17th 2010 02:28
The Seattle Storm are WNBA Champions. Woo hoo. They swept the series (if you can call it that) 3 games to zero over the Atlanta...(hold on a second)....Dream. The Atlanta Dream
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September 17th 2010 02:26
Last time I checked in, Joey Votto was the toast of the town and had set himself on course to win the first Triple Crown in 43 years. Since that post, a Triple Crown candidate has separated himself from the pack in the National League, but it isn't Votto or Albert Pujols
[ Click here to read more ]
September 17th 2010 02:25
The Seattle Storm are WNBA Champions. Woo hoo. They swept the series (if you can call it that) 3 games to zero over the Atlanta...(hold on a second)....Dream. The Atlanta Dream
[ Click here to read more ]
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Comment by Anonymous
on Madness? This is Sparta(ns)!
West Coast Bias