My Opinions on Every Major League Baseball Team

Right off the top I want to let the reader know this post is about baseball.  This post is going to be long and opinionated.  This post is being completed out of request, but it's also something I would really, really like to write down.  So if you don't want to read about my opinions on baseball teams, then you have my permission to close this tab out right now.  If you want to skim it, that's fine, too.  But don't say I didn't warn you.

There are 30 different teams in baseball, some of which I like, some of which, not so much for one reason or another.  I do have an opinion on these teams and all the ones inbetween.  These are my feelings.

I would also just like to say that I am an Atlanta Braves fan living in Nashville, TN by way of Negaunee, MI.  This skews my perceptions of the other teams in the league dramatically.  Here is my opinions on the 30 Major League Baseball teams, in no particular order.

Atlanta Braves:  I have been a Braves fan since the 1991 world series, when as a 8 year old, I was enamored by the 50,000 people at Fulton County Stadium doing the Chop in unison.  I had never seen anything like it, and I was hooked.  Plus, it was the World Series, and a classic Series at that.  Unlike other sports, I have never strayed from my fandom of the Braves, 20 years running now.

Baltimore Orioles:  Baltimore is probably my favorite lesser-known American League team.  Let me clear a few things up during my Baltimore section, I root for underdogs, I root for small market teams, I root for teams that have been around a long time and I generally have a National League bias.  Baltimore falls into three out of four of these categories   I don't care who is on the field, and I probably won't recognize 80% of the player they do have on the field, but Baltimore is like the forgotten AL east team.  If I'm choosing who to watch on MLB.TV, I will chose the Orioles.  Something about them is just "off the beaten path" of baseball teams.

Colorado Rockies:  The Rockies are a team I cared absolutely nothing about until they made a deep playoff run in 2007, and now I see them as a legit team that could make noise in the playoffs every year.  My preception of them has always been that they sold a lot of tickets, hit a lot of homeruns, and lost a lot of games.  They also gave a terrible contract to Mike Hampton, and that makes them look stupid.  But they made a World Series, so they're legit in my eyes.  Todd Helton.

Seattle Mariners:  Do-nothing, bad magagement team from Seattle, who used to play in a dome.  Ken Griffey Jr.  This team always sucks even when they won like, 110 games or whatever in 1998, or whatever.  My current opinion of them, MEH.  I'd watch them, but I just don't care about them one way or another.

Chicago White Sox: Let's see, the White Sox.  Never liked them.  Frank Thomas.  Play in US Cellular field, which I don't think there exists a more boring stadium to watch a game on TV from.  There or Turner Field.  Stadium asthetics matter to me, especially if I have no other reason to watch because there is no rooting interest.  I like them because they are old-timey, but that's about it.  They do have one of the best hats in the baseball, though.  Very iconic.

Pittsburgh Pirates:  Now this is a team that fits into all four of my catagories of teams I root for.  They've been around forever, have sucked for years, play in a great new stadium, are in the National League and are doing okay so far this year.  I think he Pittsburgh Pirates is cute, unlike their football team.

Toronto Blue Jays:  Fuck the Blue Jays.  I've never liked them.  They play in a stupid dome, they have astroturf, they have ugly uniforms.  They play in the American League, they won stuff, and usually hang around in the standings, so their never too terrible for me to feel sorry for them.  They are one of my least favorite teams by far.  If I see the Jays are playing the Mariners or the Rays or something, I'll turn MLB.TV off and watch Maury.

Tampa Bay Rays: Used to be a cute lovable loser team, then they got successful and I loved every minute of it.  I still think it's crazy that the Rays are any good, at all, ever.  They were so unbelieveably bad for so long it's hard to believe they made a World Series.  But they did and they are a perrenial contender now.  But warm fuzzy feeling of their championship run is long wore off, and now I just think they're boring.  MEH to the max.

Houston Astros: Never really liked them, but never hated them.  I like their weird stadium, sort of, but I sort of hate they put that mound in center field, just for the sake of putting a mound in center field.  I understand that they did it so I would include it in my blog post, and it has a sort of "hometown field" feeling to it, where the ground is imperfect and they just have to "make do with what we have to deal with."  Buy you purposefully installed a hill into a wall...for a gimmick.  Most old ballparks had odd deminsions because they were on a weird city block that had to account for fitting in somewhere, like the old Polo grounds in New York.  It was super long, for reasons that I'm sure weren't a gimmick, but because they had to do it that way. It was fucking 500 feet to straight away center, which no one every hit a homerun to.  No, the fucking Astros just built a mound out there to be assholes.  Also, it used to be called Enron feild, so that's funny.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:   When I see the red box on the on-screen scoreboard in the top corner of the screen with the letters LAA in them, I want to slit my own throat.  Oh my fucking god am I sick of the Angels.  They're like the west coast Yankees, and they get the coverage they deserve because they have been very successful for a number of years now, including a World Series championship in 2002.  I was all about them then because they were the underdogs.  Rally Monkey!  Yes, now they are just a boring, bland, blah, fuck you baseball team.  I would say the Angels are the very last team I would choose to watch.  But it depends on who they're playing against.  Disney.

Kansas City Royals:  Now there's a team I can get behind.  They're like the Orioles, only shittier.  I like them because they haven't done shit for years.  I think that's something I could root for.  I think it's because I watched them a lot when I lived in Michigan watching them play the Tigers that I have a positive feeling towards them.  Go Royals.

Texas Rangers:  God I hate the Rangers.  You would think since they haven't done shit in the entire existence of their franchise that I would like them, but I just don't.  I hate their uniforms, and their logo, and Texas in general, arbitrarily I might add.  There is just absolutely nothing that excites me about the Rangers.

Oakland Athletics:  The Bash brothers of McGwire and Canseco were my heroes growing up.  I loved those guys even though I wasn't a fan of the team.  I hate the stadium they play in now, and even though they made a lot of noise with their moneyball techniques, I still feel sort of MEH on them.  They are by far my favorite team in the AL West, however.  But that doesn't take a whole lot.  I don't mind the A's at all except their stupid football stadium they play in.

New York Yankees:  I respect the Yankees for winning 27 world titles out of a possible 106, and have appeared in 40 of them.  The Yankees have appeared in 38% of all World Series' played.  That's insanely higher than any other team.  The Giants and Dodgers are tied for second most appearances, and those combined appearances don't even equal half of what the Yankees have accomplished.  The Yankees have been successful since the 1920's with an exception of the 1980's, I guess, but you get the idea. That's one missed decade out of nine, so far.  What I respect the most is that they will do whatever it takes to win, something I think that gets lost on other teams owners and General Managers.  Do what it takes to win.  Forget about the finances.  Just go win some championships.  That's the goddamn reason that Major League Baseball, or any sport for that matter, is played.  Just because they spend money and are successful does not make them evil.

Boston Red Sox:   I didn't want to put the Sawx right after the Yanks, but I have to get it out.  Fuck these clowns.  The whole Massachusetts "we're family, we're great, we do this we do that" bullshit needs to stop right now.  Like, everyone from Boston just has this "we're from Boston" attitude.  Just like people from New Jersey do.  When the Red Sox started making a run for a title in 2003-2004, everyone got enamored with the "Reverse the Curse" story, and the Curse of the Bambino.  Hell, even I was on my couch screaming at the TV, cheering on the underdog Sox!  What a great story, a ragtag group of highly paid losers take down the Yanks and go on the win the title, after 93 years of heartbreak.  Then the massive bandwagon showed up, and suddenly everyone one you know who casually watched a few baseball games was a huge Red Sox fan.  That bothered me more than anything.  Also, right around that time of them winning a title of two, their payroll was just as big as the Yankees was, but no one said they were evil because of it.  No, fuck that.  The Yankees have won 27 world titles while you assholes were off being shitty for 90+ years.  Go fuck yourselves and your bandwagon jumpers.

Chicago Cubs:  These are some Lovable Losers I can get behind.  I have a soft spot for the Cubs because the first MLB game I saw live was at Wrigley, which is an amazing place to see a game.  It's like walking into a time capsule, where time stands still.  Sure the Cubs suck, and someday they will win a championship, but not anytime soon.  Over 100 years of futility.  That goes against my Yankees arguement, but remember, before the Red Sox won some championships, I felt the same way about both teams. If the Cubs went on a run of championships and everyone jumped on their bandwagon, I'd probably hate them, too.  But they haven't, so I still like them.  Go Cubbies.

Detroit Tigers:  I was a Tigers fan before I was any other type of fan.  They will always be my second favorite team.  I love the Tigers.  I want them to do well.  I follow them.  I am a fan.  They are old-timey, too, so that helps.  All my friends are Tigers fans.

Cincinnati Reds:  The Reds fall into the exact same category as the Pirates.  Underdog team that hasn't done shit in years.  National League team.  Very rich history of success and failure.  I like their little ballpark too, and that it doesn't have a corporate sponsored name.  The Great American Ballpark, while a bit of pretentiousness because, you know, you just called yourself a Great American anything without really earning the title... But still, I get a feeling form the Reds of just some guys playing baseball on a Saturday afternoon.  I feel like the Reds are what baseball is all about.

San Fransisco Giants:  I've never liked them.  I think the fact that they have the Cheveron car mascots applied permanently to their outfield wall is fucking stupid.  Otherwise, I like their ballpark.  It's a place I'd like to visit.  The team has some good, exciting young talent to them, which I love.  Posey, Sandoval, and Lincecum, for examples.  Also, once they got rid of the image of "Barry Bonds and a bunch of other dudes," they became much more admirable in my eyes.  Old-Timey!

Arizona Diamondbacks:  Would this team just go away, already?  They wore purple when they entered the league, if I'm mistaken, and if you notice, they don't anymore.  They also went to wearing black, which every single team that enters a league as a new team does after they regret choosing purple or teal as their primary color.  Think about it.

New York Mets:  Fuck the Mets.  Always and forever.

Florida Marlins: I used to hate the Marlins when they were good, now I just hate them because of the divisional rivalry with my Braves.  They suck, though, so I don't worry about them.  We're TEAL!  Just kidding, we wear black now.  We play in an 80,000 seat football stadium that we will never, ever be able to fill.  They're getting a new stadium with a retractable roof, so we'll see if that helps my perception of the team and their empty fucking stadium 

Philadelphia Phillies:  Phuck the Phillies.  I can't stand them because they have become the big money spenders of the National League.  I know I said I respect the Yankees because they spend money to win, and winning is the point, but this is fucking with my favorite team.  The Phillies are really good, and they're in the same division as my Braves, so I don't like them.  It's a competitive thing.

Cleveland Indians:  No problem with the Indians.  They're like the Royals and the Orioles.  Only difference is they've come close to reversing their misfortunes in the recent past with a few trips to the ALCS and even the World Series int eh 90's.  They have the second longest Championship drought after the Cubs, so I'd like to see them win one.  Cleveland sports suck in general, so you gotta feel for the fans of the city sometimes.  I don't like them like I like the O's or the Royals, but I do see them in a positive light.

San Diego Padres:  Take em or leave em.  I have a Padres hat.  They used to have Brian Giles and Jake Peavy.  They play in a pitchers park.  Tony Gwinn.  I don't know, I just don't care at all about San Diego.  I'd say right now they are the most irrelevant team in baseball.

St. Louis Cardinals:  This is a team I didn't like much the past few years because they were good, but boring.  I had no reason to root for the team, since they never really have been all that bad since I really started watching baseball as an adult.  Pujols is the fucking man, one of the all-time greats, and he's not even done with his career.  He's a true gem for baseball.  I'd say the Cardinals are that really good team that always  gets overlooked, sort of like the Spurs in the NBA.  Yeah, yeah, the Cardinals are good again.  No surprise there.  We take advantage of in knowing the Cards are always good.

Milwaukee Brewers:  I have seen the Brewers live more often than any other team, so there's that.  I like them a lot.  They're like, my third favorite team, just because I've spent so much time at Miller Park.  The ultimate small market team, you just have to pull for them.  There is no smaller small-market team in any sport, I'd say.  Football has rules for revenue sharing and salary caps to prevent the big guy against the little guy, and it's an even playing field.  In baseball, there is no such thing.  The Yankees are the top, the Brewers are the bottom, in my opinion.  Go Brewers.

Minnesota Twins:  I've never really liked the Twins.  I always hated the dome and the astroturf, but even now that they play outside, it hasn't changed my feelings towards them.  There's just something about them that I don't like.  The Twins should be an inspiration to all the other small market teams out there though, it proves you can be successful with a limited amount of resources.  I'm just sick of seeing them,

Washington Nationals:  I liked them better when they were the Expos.  But they are the Nationals now, and even though they're in the same division as my Braves, I don't hate them because they are not a threat.  I don't love them like I do most other small market teams, but I defiantly don't hate them like I do other division rivals.  I hope they do well, I really do.

Los Angeles Dodgers:  Lastly, we have the Los Angeles Dodgers.  What can I say?  I think it's a shame what their going through with the ownership thing and with the bankruptcy thing, but that's business.  I like their tradition of being good.  I think if the Dodgers are good, it's good for baseball.  I like their blue, I think it's pretty.  I love listening to Vin Scully call games while he still does, and I put Evie to sleep to his voice as often as I can.  It's one of the true old-school elements of the game that still legitimately exists and isn't a reprint or fabrication of past traditions. There's something decidedly sixties about Dodger stadium, which is slowly becoming the third stadium behind Wrigley and Fenway in being one of those legendary places of baseball.  I just don't like all the empty premium seats up front.  It looks so goddamn cheap.  No one sits there because no one wants to pay those ridiculous prices.  It makes you look greedy.  Let the damn kids sit in the front row, for gods sake.  Isn't that why we play all these regular season games?  So families can come out to the ballgame and have a good time?

So to summerize, I feel indifferent to mid-market teams with moderate success.  I hate teams that have bandwagon jumping fans or are in the National League East that aren't named the Braves (or Nationals, I guess.)  I love the small market teams that never win anything.  I like the Tigers and Braves the most.  If I have to choose five teams other than the Braves or Tigers to watch a game of, I will choose, again in no particular order:  Reds, Pirates, Orioles, Royals, Dodgers.  But if you know me, you know I'd absolutely love to watch a Padres Diamondbacks game or a Mariners Angels game if it's on.  I just love baseball, no matter who's on.

I Had Adventure

Well, I haven't blogged all week, and I'm okay with that. Not much happened, so I had no reason to get all up in arms about things this week.

What I need to do right now, for my sanity, is to write down my chain of events from yesterday, so that I can understand what I did. Come along on my journey. A journey through a random Saturday in my life, that turned into one of the more memorable days I've had in some time.

It all started while I was at work, trying to figure out if I was going to go to an establishment to watch the USA world cup match with a bunch of hooligans. I decided against it, citing the beer in my fridge, the proximity of my dwelling in relation to my work (saving time and not missing much of the game) and the want to not spend any money. I did that, and it was cool except the USA lost. I was very excited throughout the game, but unfortunately, the end result was less than desirable. I talked with my good friend Caleb who was celebrating his golden birthday by going golfing with his mom. I was jealous, but he also reminded me that my beloved Atlanta Braves were playing his (and my) beloved Detroit Tigers. After the world cup match ended horribly, I played a bit of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but that wasn't doing the trick for me. I realized that I should venture out and procure more beer, perhaps in the form of a growler filled up with Yazoo. So, I put the dog in the bedroom, grabbed the growler, and headed out the door. While driving towards the Yazoo taproom, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the Braves were playing, and it was in the 6th or 7th inning, and if I went somewhere to catch the end of the game, I would be much happier. So I detoured down Broadway towards the Broadway Bar and Grill, where I knew they had plentiful TVs and an open, breezy bar that you could smoke in.

I got there, ordered a Yazoo Pale Ale and requested the bartender switch the nearest TV to the Braves game. To my delight, as soon as the TV got switched, Chipper Jones hit a 3 run home run, to put the Braves up. I proceeded to text Caleb, the Tiger fan and birthday boy, that my team was ruining his birthday. After chit-chatting with the bar patrons around me, someone mentioned that they were going to go to the Nashville Sounds game tonight. When he mentioned it, it light a lightbulb over my head. The Nashville Sounds, by the way, are the Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A team, and they play right here in town, and I had never gone to a game before. I am a huge baseball fan, but I just never found the time to go, or remembered to go. The game was starting at 6:30, and it was about 6:22ish at the time. The Braves won, even though the 9th inning was painful to watch (THROW A DAMN STRIKE). I paid the man for the pint, and drove out to the ballpark in south Nashville. The timing worked out perfectly. I paid for parking, bought my way into the game, and found a seat and it was only the top of the 2nd inning. I proceeded to buy some nachos and a Miller Lite for basically the same price as my ticket (or what my ticket should have cost if I was savvy). Then the lightning started flashing on the southern horizon, and I figured we'd have a delay soon. Baseball players, fans and umpires don't really like to be struck by lightning.

Then it started to downpour, and everyone took shelter as they rolled out the tarp onto the infield. I ended up on the second deck, basically. There is where I met a nice lady and a nice man whom I've forgotten their names. We talked about Nashville, the east side to be specific, and where the bad parts of town are. The regular small talk you would have during a rain delay with strangers. We ended up next to the place where they serve Yazoo, ironically, and the nice lady bought me one. That's where it starts to get hairy, in my opinion. When the server lady had her back turned, the nice folks were freely refilling their cups with beer, but I did not partake in these activities. I noticed at this point that it was still raining and the fans were exiting the park all together. That's when I realized the game had been called for the night. So me and my new friends were pretty much the last people in the park at this point, and we left once they finnished their beer. As we exited the ballpark, there was a golf cart sitting there, and the guy decided to check if it was drivable. It was, and he started it up, and they hopped in and took off. As they drove off, I was yelling and cheering them on, their brazen, bold move was something I would never attempt. They pulled up next to me and told me to hop in the back on the flatbed, which I proceeded to do, and as soon as they hit the gas, I realized this was a bad idea, and tried to step off. Well, I crash landed in the parking lot, right on my right wrist, and I thought I had broke it at first. Once I realized I could still move it, I realized I was fine. I informed someone that was working the traffic that I was okay and that someone had just stolen one of their golf carts.

I walked to my car in the pouring rain, soaking wet, and I felt alive. It was weird, man. I didn't care that I was soaked. I didn't care that I just busted my ass. When I woke up yesterday morning, I had no idea the day would end with me walking to my car from a rained out minor league baseball game soaked head to toe. It was a mini adventure and I'm glad I did it. I called my friend Dave to tell him about it as I drove home. I tried to call Sean, but he was working.

I went home and ate some veggie corn dogs (4) and did the dishes. I listened to Arctic Monkeys. I went to bed.

And now I'm here. And I don't know what today will throw at me, but I'm ready for anything. I don't really have anything planned, but you saw how that worked out yesterday.

The Kid Don't Stand A Chance

Stephen Strasburg doesn't stand a chance. Let me explain.

For those of you who don't know or don't follow baseball, which will make this a difficult read, Stephen Strasburg is a 21-year-old pitching phenom for the Washington Nationals. There was a whole lotta hype when he made his major league debut June 8th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He angered the Huffington Post because senators took a break from hammering out the extension of unemployment benefits, because they were to busy being caught up in watching baseball, more specifically, the most exciting major league debut in a long, long time. You see, all the experts told us that when Stephen Strasburg makes his debut, and begins mowing down big leaguers, we would finally understand why everyone was so focused on this kid. ESPN would halt all other programming to cut to a minor league game in some northeastern town somewhere, where the phenom was making a start, and we would witness the kid delivering some sick pitches, shutting peers at an alarming rate. But that was the minor leagues, what can the kid do in the bigs? Try a win, 14 strikeouts and zero walks in his major league debut. All very impressive, indeed. As I documented before, and if you clicked the link above, you would understand why my excitement was muddled a bit. It was the Pirates, which is MLB's minor league team anyway. So then he faced the Indians, and slapped them around as well. Let's not forget that a few weeks prior, young Armando Galarraga basically threw a perfect game against that weak ass line-up. Eight more strikeouts, a couple walks and another win later, we're all creaming our jeans over the kid.

The reason the kid don't stand a chance is not because the teams mentioned above which he played against, but the team mentioned above that he plays for. The first reason is that the Nationals play in the National League east, and I am biased because I am a Braves fan, whom is in that division, but included also in the division is the defending National League Champions in the Philadelphia Phillies, also the off and on powerhouses in the Marlins (two championships in 16 years of play) and the Mets (who I hate, but they're good sometimes.) The Nationals are the team on the outside, the other team in the division. Will the addition of a 21 year old phenom into their rotation fix all the other problems on the team when he only pitches once every five days? No sir, not right now. That isn't to say that the team won't go on to dominate the division in the near future, but if he actually played for Pittsburgh, in the weak Central division, he would stand a better chance, just for the lack of quality opponents.

The Nationals rank 23rd in opening day payroll, which means they don't exactly have the money to get talent to surround the kid. This problem of him being the only star on the team is not likely to change anytime soon, in my opinion. And if they don't win in the next few years, yet he continues to pitch the way he has in his first two starts, there is no chance the team will be able to retain his services. He will demand too much money for them to be able to afford to keep him on the roster. There are only a handful of other teams that will be able to afford the massive amounts of money he will demand.

Stephen Strasburg will look great in Yankee pinstripes. It's a dirty fact of the game. If not pinstripes, he will be playing with a green monster behind him.

So if Strasburg is really as good as they say he is, than the Nationals might be able to make some noise in the division. Maybe all the excitement will awaken the baseball atmosphere in the nation's capitol, and perhaps attendance will go up, then revenues go up, and then ability to land star players goes up, thusly making the team competitive...But it's doubtful. The team has always been bad. They were bad when they were the Expos and played in Stockholm. (just seeing if you were paying attention) And the reality is, Strasburg doesn't stand a chance in Washington. He got a no-decision against the White Sox this past Friday night, and his next start is against the near-town "rivals" the Baltimore Orioles, the worst team in baseball. (OriLOLs). After that he will have his first true test. A Tuesday night game on June 28th, at Turner Field, against the team with the best record in the National League.

The Atlanta Braves.

We're gonna crush the kid. Mark my words.

C'mon, Pittsburgh. You CAN do it.

Good morning, world! How are you today? Isn't this a fine Sunday? Hope you're doing well and that the rest of you're day is great.

Let me talk to you this morning about baseball. Do you like baseball? I know I do, I love baseball. America's Pastime. Pastime is defined by Mirriam-Webster dictionary as "something that amuses and serves to make time pass agreeably." That's baseball! Some have argued that football has taken over as our national pastime, but I will disagree here. While I would say that football has become the most popular sport in America, and easily the most watched and followed, baseball is the pastime of our nation, if not the favorite sport. Baseball is not intended to be an action-packed game of excitement, in which you devote entire days sitting on the couch watching. Baseball is a game you throw on the radio, TV, or you attend in person, to hang out, relax, and enjoy a game. Granted, there are moments of intensity involved in baseball games. A close game, in the late innings, especially in September or October, can be as intense as any football game. But the fact that major league baseball is played for 7 months, with 162 games, a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates just isn't that intense. But that's what makes baseball so great. It's to be taken as a casual game played among millionaires in the heat of the summer. Just hangin' out, playin' ball. Love it.

Speaking of the Pittsburgh Pirates, I don't know if you know much about that team, but they are not a very good team. In fact, they have been bad for quite some time now. You could safely say that the team has been pitiful for at least 17 years. It was 1992, the last season the Pirates had a winning record. 1992, I was nine years old and in the fourth grade. George H. W. Bush was the President. Right around the time the Pirates were wrapping up this last winning season, Nick Jonas was born, if that helps visualize the length of this futility. The Pirates have become Major League Baseball's farm team (farm team meaning minor league teams that send the good players to the big leagues when they're ready to play.)

They are constantly searching for success, while keeping their budget ridiculously low, rarely paying big name players to play there. The estimated 2010 payroll of the Pirates is $34.9 Million. Alex Rodriguez is making $33 million HIMSELF this season.

You can't compare the Pirates payroll to the Yankees, they're in their own league as far as spending money on players, even if it's fun to try. Take a middle of the road team like Cincinnati, which is similar in size of market, including geographically located in the middle of the country, as well as in the same division in the National League, as well as futility in the teams recent past, and they're payroll is $72.3. The San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers both rank in the bottom four of the MLB payrolls, yet both of those teams are in first place in their divisions, as of this writing. So payroll shouldn't matter if the team is run correctly. All I'm saying is that Pittsburgh is bad, and probably will be bad for a long time, and it's sad that those fans in that great city haven't seen a winner for a while, and won't see one in even longer. Baseball is too great a game to be forgotten about in such a wonderful city. The Pirates have won 5 World Series championships in their history, and there are only 5 teams in baseball that have won more championships than Pittsburgh. It should be factored in that the Pirates have been a Major League team for 120 years. Most of baseball's championships have gone to either the Yankees and the Cardinals, taking 37 of them combined in the 105 World Series' played. That's 35% right there.

But I digress. If you can't get people to the ballpark to watch a game, no one is paying them money to go get better players. If they can't get better players, they can't be a better team, and no one wants to come out to the park to see a bad team. It is baseball's ultimate Catch 22. Revenue sharing is supposed to help, where the big markets share monies with the smaller market teams, but that's not even the answer to me. Look at a team like the Tampa Bay Rays. They are just as much a small market team as Pittsburgh, with only 11 seasons under their belt, and they made the World Series in 2008. The Florida Marlins, who play games in a football stadium in front of about 2,000 people, who have only been a team since 1993, have won two World Series'...in less time than the Pirates have had since their last winning season, I might remind you. If a team can start from nothing, with no one, and no history, and can get players and win a Championship in THREE YEARS like the expansion team Arizona Diamondbacks did in 2001, then there's no reason the Pirates couldn't turn it around and do it quickly.

The Pirates are one of the original 16 teams from the olden days of baseball, and I would love nothing more than to see them gain success in the near future, because that city deserves it. If they keep making poor personnel decisions, both player personnel and management, they will continue to embarrass themselves year after year as they have done for Nick Jonas' entire life. To show that this season is no different than the past 17, and potentially worse, they were outscored by the lowly Milwaukee Brewers 54-3 in three games this past April. That's an average of game score of 18-1...Three times in a row. I can promise you that if a player on the team starts to play well in the near future, he will be traded to a different team for other young prospects. It has happened consistently in their recent history, because they just seem like a team that doesn't want to win, and they blame it on financial restraints. Small market teams complaining about being a small market team is getting old and worn, because you can't use that argument anymore. Look at the Rays. Look at the Rangers and Padres this season. You can win, if you want to. Just do a better job, Pittsburgh.

Do a better job.

PLAY BALL!!!

So tomorrow, is a personal holiday for me. Well, up until this year, to tell you the truth. Monday, April 5th, is the opening of the Major League Baseball season. Yes, it's a time of optimism and hope that your team will have that magical run to the post-season, ending with a World Series Championship. It's that time of year when every team is tied for first place in the division, and everyone is (presumably, unless you're the Mets or Phillies) healthy and ready to strike people out or hit home runs. Yes, Baseball is back, and I'm trying to be excited about it.

Anyone who knows me would wonder what the hell happened to me to end that last paragraph in the way I did. "How could Brad, a through and through Baseball guy, be having a hard time getting excited about this season?" I don't know why, specifically, but I have my theories.

The number one thing that is making me inattentive to the upcoming season is I'm not working at the Casino. There, I would talk about the upcoming season with any number of coworkers to pass the time, namely Melka. Even if he was more concerned with betting on the NBA or College Basketball or the also-upcoming NFL Draft, he was knowledgeable enough about all major sports enough to be able to talk baseball. Phil O'Neill was also a good person to talk MLB with, but that was a long time ago. Mike Barry as well, but as was also the case with Phil, they only talked about the Tigers, which is fine. I like the Tigers...But not as much as my beloved Braves.

After a season like last, when the Braves were in contention for the playoffs for most of the second half of the season, you would think that I would be jumping for joy at the prospects of the upcoming season. Oh believe me, I am, to a point. But the number two reason I'm not freaking out about the onset of another wonderful MLB season is that my Nashville Predators are on the verge of entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I have devoted so much of my time to the Predators this season that my focus is squarely on them at this time.

I believe that after I read this latest issue of Sports Illustrated, which is a 2010 baseball preview edition, I will be much more excited about the upcoming season. And I'm sure that when the first pitch is thrown at 3:05 CST-ish on Monday afternoon at Turner Feild against the Cubs, I will be watching. I will be freaking, a little. Because no matter what, I love baseball and I love the Atlanta Braves.