Dog Days - It Doesn't Need to Be Like this

OK...the dog days of summer are here at last, and it doesn't need to be that way for several reasons. Before I begin, dog days can be losely translated to mean the following: a long, hot summer where baseball is the only spectator available to watch, and when one's particular baseball team happens to suck. This in turn means there really isn't anything to watch, unless you enjoy getting angry everynight as your team loses, repeatedly.

On a grand scale - it doesn't need to be like this. First, if the NHL was anything like it used to be, before ridiculous overexpansion ensued (Columbus Blue Jackects, Phoneix Coyotes!?!?!). Because of all those new, completely fanless clubs, the playoffs now last well into June. Moreover, because of TV revenue, there are often multi-day delays between games. Exampel - the Rangers played Sunday, and then the following Wednesday. This makes watching Hockey painful.

Of course, the same can be said for the NBA. Now the NBA is infinitely more popular than the NHL, and also MLB. I don't want to discuss why here, but the dramatic action and Hip Hop subculture are a major factor. But the NBA is nowhere as exciting as the NCAA tournament, which they apparently allow an extra month before starting the playoffs to allow that experience to fade from the rabid fan's memory. The NBA is takes far too long between playoff games, and there are too many rounds. Equally important - no major market teams really make the playoffs on a regular basis besides the Lakers. The New York Knicks, hahaha. This year is somewhat different because Boston is still in it, but its frequently San Antonio or Detroit, or Phoenix that makes it to the finals. Sorry, but those teams do not have the ratings draw, leaving people on the East Coast with really not much to watch. I don't even need to go into how the pros apparently don't play defense, and detail how there are no transition offenses in the NBA.

Now shifting gears to a micro level, this paritcular summer will constitute as a "Dog Days" one for the Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) for one reason in particular: The New York Yankees.

Where to begin? Why not go with the most obvious - pitching. They have none. They took a huge risk in the offseason, by electing not to sign a high price free agent such as Santana or Dan Harrin, instead choosing to trust unproven Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedey. Ooops. Hughe's - the crown jewel of the farm system that the Yankees couldn't part with - has an ERA around 10.0, and Kennedey has already been sent down to the minors (thankfully though, he's coming back tonight). That leaves Wang, Pettite, and Mussina. Wang is an ace, no doubt about it, and he could collect the Cy Young this year if he stays healthy. Pettite will win 15 games, but he get hurt at some point. In fact, he has already been on the DL once this season. Mussina, can't throw the ball over 90 MPH anymore, and is a 4th or 5th starter at best. That's barely enough to make it to the Playoffs, let alone go deep into October. More importantly, other teams have strengthened their rotations - like Toronto and Baltimore.

And why has no one been fired for the Kei Igawa disaster. They spent $42 million on him, and he basically throws batting practice. I had to change the channel over the weekend, every ball was being hit to the warning track. Unlike Dice K, Mr. Igawa was in the 2nd tier league in Japan - which is the equivalent of picking someone from England's Champions League, and not the Premier League.

Moving on - let's look at 1st base. Jason Giambi??? I don't care what his On Base Percentatge is. He's terrible, and batted a whopping .256 last season, and he cannot hit in clutch situations. By the way, he's paid $120 million dollars for 6 years.

Robinson Cano has been figured out - two words: Curve Ball. He can't handle a curve ball, and pitchers have picked up on that. Damon continues to play up to his usual unimpressive form, which yet again confirms someone on the Red Sox knew what they were doing in not re-signing him. And Matsui has be, yawn, predicatable thus far.

Let's not forget that A-Rod and Posada are on the DL. A-Rod I can understand, because if he comes back and tears his quad after a few games - that's $275 million down the drain. But signing a 36 year old catcher to a 4 year contract was absurd. And big surprise, the season after the season of his career, he's having problems with the shoulder that was operated on two seasons ago.

In unrelated news, NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell announced today there is nowhere else he knows of to go regarding the Patriots's videotaping scandal. I thought he was serious about cleaning up the league, and holding players to a better standard of care. Evidently that does translate into punishing teams that lie and cheat collectively.