First Shot Across the Bow

Not content with a 1st place tie at the All-Star break, the Brewers traded for star closer Francisco Rodriguez on Tuesday. The former Met and Angel closer isn't what he used to be, but he's still a top flight reliever, going 23 for 26 in save chances this year.

He also has a very interesting contract, in which his team must pick up his $17.5 million option for next year if he finishes 55 games. He's already at 34 so the Brewers will handle him with care. Probably keeping current closer John Axford in the 9th inning and using K-Rod in the 8th, which if he cooperates, could be a dangerous late-inning duo.

Regardless of the combination Rodriguez and Axford are used in the second half of the season, the Brewers just became serious contenders in the National League central. Technically a four-team race with the Cardinals, Pirates, and Reds, no one expects Pittsburgh to stay on this pace, making it essentially a three-way battle to October.

The Reds will probably make at least one move, but I couldn't guess what that will be. The Cardinals' position is pretty clear.

They need pitching, they have 4 really good outfielders. Simple enough. Well, they also need a shortstop, but that won't happen until the off-season I'm guessing. Even with the Rodriguez trade, the Cardinals could still win the division with this roster, even though it will be tougher now. However, barring another 2006-esque run, they won't get by Philly as things stand.

Colby Rasmus is the obvious choice here, as Matt Holliday is untouchable, Lance Berkman is having too good of a year and rookie Jon Jay is the center fielder of the future.

There's a bunch of different ways to go about this. They could pick up a starter and move Kyle McClellan to the bullpen. Or they could trade for a lefty reliever. They could also grab a closer and push current closer Fernando Salas to the 8th inning. Any move would help, and there is really no way the team will keep Holliday, Rasmus, Jay, and Berkman next year.

So whatever the front office does in July will be telling. If they're going all out for 2011, they'll unload an out fielder and help the pitching staff. If they don't, it means they don't plan on re-signing Berkman (contract expires this year) and they're hoping for the best, which probably won't end well.

25 Years of Fail

Some fans hope for repeats, some want another championship before they die, and some want to know what making the playoffs even looks like. Here's the 11 cities who have experienced the most failure the last 25 years.*
 *Cities with at least 2 major sports teams


11) Atlanta: The Braves had a ridiculous streak of 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, including 5 National League pennants. Yet they only captured one championship.

                                                             1 for 14 will do this to you

The Falcons have been bad far more often than good. They won the NFC in 1998, only to meet up with the buzz saw that was John Elway.  The Hawks haven't done a thing since the Nixon administration, and the NHL's Thrashers are leaving town as you read this.

10) Washington D.C: The Redskins are one of the more storied franchises in the NFL, which helps. They've also captured a couple of Super Bowls in the last 25 years, which also helps. But there hasn't been much success since about '91, and their fans dress like this:

The other franchises in the nation's capital haven't picked up the slack. The Bullets became the Wizards but didn't get any better. The Capitals missed their only shot at a Stanley Cup in 1998.

9) Phoenix: The 2001 Diamondbacks became the youngest franchise to win a World Series, just their fourth year in the league. Besides that, Phoenix sports have been nothing more than something to do to get out of the sun. The Coyotes have proven hockey doesn't belong in the desert. The Suns' biggest claim to fame is being a part of Jordan's first 3-peat, and the Cardinals needed a 53 year-old Kurt Warner to become relevant. For just a year.

8) Cincinnati: It's hard to find a better joke of a franchise than the Cincinnati Bengals. They had a solid 14 year playoff drought from 1991-2004. They've had just two playoff appearances since then, and their drafts have been comic gold. They once took Akili Smith over Torry Holt. Peter Warrick over Brian Urlacher. Justin Smith over Ladanian Tomlinson. Levi Jones over Dwight Freeney and on and on and on.

7) Oakland: The city of Oakland hasn't seen a championship since Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire anchored the lineup and neither was suspected of using steroids.

Al Davis still owns the Raiders, so that train wreck isn't going anywhere for a while. And the Warriors might be the NBA's worst run franchise, which is tough to do in a league with the Clippers and Knicks.

6) Buffalo: When you go to the Super Bowl 4 years in a row, the law of averages says you'll win at least 1, right? The Bills lost on a wide-right field goal in 1990, got blown out in 91, got blown worse in 92, and blew a halftime lead in 93 to make it an even four-peat. Buffalo is one invention of the buffalo wing away from being the worst city in America.

5) Cleveland: If this was the biggest failures of the last 50 years, Cleveland probably tops the list. But  they've had decent teams in the last 25 seasons. The Cavs had Lebron, which was fun while it lasted. The Browns left, came back, and have been to the playoffs a hand full of times. They also have some of the league's most passionate fans, even with all the losing.

The Indians won a pair of American League titles in the mid-90's, but couldn't win either trip.

4) San Diego: Not normally known for sports mediocrity, San Diego is quickly gaining a reputation. The Padres' biggest achievement of the last 25 years was getting swept by the Yankees in the 1998 Wold Series. They haven't won a single playoff game since, and they hadn't won a playoff game before 98. The Chargers also have an embarrassing title appearance story to tell, getting utterly destroyed by the 49er's, 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Along with the laundry list of playoff failures, the team is also a candidate to move to LA.

3) Seattle: The Sonics played for an NBA title but left 3 years ago. The Seahawks have been somewhat respectable, winning 7 division titles and 1 NFC championship, and the Mariners are somewhere in the middle. Only 4 playoff appearances, but hey, at least they're still in town.

2) Milwaukee: These final two cities are in a class all their own. I'll start with Milwaukee because they won the coin flip. The Brewers once made the playoffs, and they almost won two games. Almost. They've had a few good years, winning 85+ games four times, and as of today they're tied for first in the National League Central. The Bucks have been pretty awful, not sniffing a championship since the mid-70's.

1) Kansas City: The Chiefs have 3 playoff wins in the last 25 years, getting past the divisional round only once. What success the Chiefs have had the last quarter century is undoubtedly overshadowed by the Royals, who haven't made postseason play since their World Series title in 1985. They've won more than 85 games only once, and they haven't finished better than 3rd in their division since 1995. With four 1990's or later expansion teams (Rockies, Marlins, Dbacks, Rays) making or winning the World Series recently, the annual losing in Kansas City is even more astounding.

Hall of Very Good

Bert Blyleven wasn't a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. The former starting pitcher retired in 1992 after 22 seasons and was first eligible for enshrinement in Cooperstown in 1998. Needing 75 percent of the votes, he received just 17. The next year, he had just 14 percent. After 14 years on the ballot, Blyleven was finally elected last winter and will be enshrined this summer. I'm not sure what he did between 1998 and last December, but it sure did work.

He had 287 wins in 1998, and he still had 287 last winter.
He didn't strike anyone else out.
Maybe his era went down? No, it's still 3.31.

 Now, I understand the significance of being a 'first ballot hall of famer.' It means you're the best of the best. Or maybe the best of the best of the best. There's hall of famers, and there's first ballot hall of famers. Nolan Ryan and Lou Brock are first ballot guys. Robert Doerr and George Davis are not.

So I understand not wanting to put certain guys in on their first chance. It's a way of recognizing the elite for being just that.

But if a guy doesn't warrant enough votes after four, five, and even 10 plus years, does he really deserve a plaque?


This reminds me of a recent column from Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski, who talked about the problems with the All-Star game voting and how he doesn't even know who to blame anymore.


I feel the same way with the Hall of Fame. It's not Burt Blyleven's fault. He's just been waiting. Hoping that someday the writers would think his stats were good enough. Because they certainly weren't in 1999. Much like voting a guy in on his first chance sends a message, waiting 14 years does the same thing. Every year, the HOF voters told Blyleven, "Hey, you were good, but not that good. Maybe next year."

The current rule states that as long as a player receives 5 percent of the vote every year, he can stay on the ballot for up to 15 years. As long as the rule is in place, the writers will continue to show us how smart they are.

Again, If a guy wasn't good enough after 5 years on the ballot, he probably isn't a hall of famer. And Blyleven probably has a hall of fame resume. But with the safety net of knowing they had some 15 years to put him in, writers sent the message every winter. If players only had 5 chances to gather enough votes, I'm pretty confident Blyleven would have made it a decade ago.

It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good. If guys like Blyleven were good enough players, put them in within 5 years. If they weren't, keep them out so Cooperstown isn't watered down in 2 decades.