Baltimore Orioles

LeBron James' alleged confiscation of a tape in which Xavier sophomore basketball player Jordan Crawford executed a two-hand dunk on him took on a larger life of its own than it would have had the tape been made public.

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With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

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Entrance into the Hall of Fame is the highest individual honour that baseball has to offer. Getting into Cooperstown means that without a doubt you are one of the greatest players of your generation and have earned the right for children to stare at your plaque as parents tell tall-tales of your abilities for years to come.

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First things first, the Dodgers won a game against the American League! Not only that, but it was a complete game shut out by “blink and you’ll miss him” starter Eric Stultz, who is making Brad Penny, Hiroki Koruda, and Jason Schmidt look as worthless as their arms (in all fairness, Koruda is pretty much EXACTLY what the Dodgers and fans expected him to be). Without knowing when or how the Dodgers will win again, considering that this team is as inconsistent as an Tommy Lasorda’s bowel movements, I spend today rejoicing as the Dodgers are now 2-6 against the American League and the National League is a combined 12-infinity against AL as well. While it feels that there has been a dominance of the AL over the NL has been progressively consistent since the new millennium, although the exact opposite is true with the NL posting a 1,104-1095 record over the AL. Since the 2005 season however, the AL hold the advantage with a 292-213 advantage. Never is it more clear in any sport that baseball is held pretty strictly to the “law of large numbers”.

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On the eve of the Dodgers winning three games in a row (Joe Torre: “We won a game today, if we win again tomorrow, that’s called a ‘winning streak’”) for the first time roughly a century, the great Jeff Passan over at Yahoo! Sports has his annual “All-Overpaid and Underpaid Team”. He is spot on with his selections that I can see, but this seriously should have been labeled “The Los Angeles Dodgers”. Out of every player in the league mind you, the Dodgers manage to crack this list a whopping 4 times out of an available 9 positions. Jeff is right by stating what the Dodger contracts lack in length, they make up for in girth (how many guys have actually tried to claim that, by the way?), and that in no way makes them better. The Dodgers have the enormous problem of overpaying for mediocrity, and a glimpse further on this list shows that the Dodgers already added, or tried to add (if you believe the rumors, and of course I do, for this argument) another 6 of these players. While Dodger stupidity with the pocketbook is nothing new, let’s look at these players and see why they aren’t Dodgers or won’t be for long. Since Jeff already astutely pointed out the flaws of Andruw Jones, Nomar, Kent, and Schmitt, I’ll avoid rehashing his points and add anything else I can to the conversation. 

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Things looked like they were about to get really bad after the Red Sox got swept in Toronto and capped off the second series of the season by committing four errors during a game in which ace Josh Beckett looked very ordinary in his return to the mound. Since getting swept, however, Boston has won 5 of the next 7 against such projected American League powerhouses as the Yankees, Tigers and Indians. Little by little, the Red Sox that we saw win the World Series last season are coming back.

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Baltimore Orioles

Is Adam Jones ready to be a star?

The only difference the answer to this questions might make is whether the rebuilding Orioles lose 100 games or only 95. The 22 year old Jones, who was the centerpiece for the Erik Bedard trade, is still not quite ready for primetime. He is however, immensely talented and has shown flashes of brilliance so far in spring training. This is the same player, though, who struck out 21 times in only 65 at bats in his brief appearance with the Mariners last season and Baltimore should expects similar periods this summer where he struggles as he makes the adjustment to playing in the big leagues. Jones should succeed in teaming up with fellow outfielders Nick Markakis and Luke Scott to provide some punch to what will otherwise be a listless Orioles offense and give the fans some hope that this rebuilding project has a bright future ahead.

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I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

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