Monday Morning S--t Storm

We all love baseball here at GRH and to be honest we haven't talked about it as much as we should. Some people give baseball a hard time, but I still say that going to a ballpark is one of the most enjoyable experiences in sports.

So for this Shit Storm we'll share our favorite baseball players of all time.

Mine?

Willie McGee.

Not only was he a MVP in my birth year but he was the one guy who made me love the Birds on the Bat. When I moved to MO in 94 the Cards sucked. I had to watch Bernard Gilkey and Brian Jordon. Gilkey was a hometown guy but his .275 average never really caught my attention. I really wanted to like this team and the Wiz was awesome but the guy who I fell in love with was Willie Mcgee. The guy would strike out and I'd be ready to throw my Sega controller against the wall until I saw him hustling back to the dugout. He'd hit into a double play and lose his helmet running out to first.

This is what most fans think of Willie, and that's a shame because he was a great player, and really the reason I started rooting for every team in STL.

Not the best tribute to Willy, but it will do.

Shit Storm begin.

/hustles to publish post

All Jacked Up

Let's just get this out of the way,

Pitchers and catchers have reported, marking that time of year where some of us start scouring box scores, and scheming impossible trade ideas.

Yes, Baseball season is almost here.

So let's just get it out of the way and talk about steroids.


Sure, some of you may be wanting to talk about where Man-Ram (A Lattimer favorite) is going to go, or perhaps the gauntlet that is the AL East. Don't get me wrong, we'll get to that, but shit, this whole steroids thing is a big deal.

A-Rod is the latest casualty of this whole debacle, and naturally since he is supposedly the best hitter in baseball, he's getting the most grief. (Although yours truly and a certain statistician would disagree)

As of right now, I'd love to get all of the names out there and get it over with.

I really don't want to say I don't care, but I guess I'm now desensitized to the whole matter. I mean as soon as I found out Fernando f-ing Vina was implicated in the Mitchell report, I lost my innocence. Not because I like Vina, but because I was like Vina...are you serious?
(note-I could never stand Vina on the Cards...yes hit into a double play and then storm off the field...because that makes everything better)

I guess I was one of those guys who used to say: "Look at Roger Clemens, his head is huge...he's on something." (Turns out I was right) Vina represents the fact that even shitty players were juicing. And guess what, this isn't a holier than though type thing because I watched every Cards game during 1998 for the sole purpose of seeing Big Mac put one out of the park. Even after I heard about the Andro report, and I knew what it was and what it was used for, I still defended Big Red.

Still think steroid use is despicable, try accosting your local gym rat, or your neighbor for that matter.

Again, It's not that I don't care, because for every Clemens, A-Rod, and Bonds, we also have a Taylor Hooton, Efrain Marerro, and Chris Benoit.

And don't think this is just an indictment of MLB, every sport is dirty at some point. Furthermore, is it really cheating if everyone does it? (Bigger Stronger Faster)

From a player perspective, I can sympathize with Jeter's point. I wouldn't say I did things the "right" way, but I certainly didn't stick a needle in my ass...or take unmarked pills...or rub special lotion on my shoulder.

On the fan side I think this outrage comes from the fact that many fans still view players as larger than life figures. We all want them to be like our spiritual founder Roy Hobbs, The Natural, when in reality they are humans just like you and me.

I guess at the end of the day my opinion is similar to that of fighter pilots in the movie "Bigger Stronger Faster" (I've referenced it 50 times so why not 51?)

"In sports you should play fair, In war you shouldn't play fair at all"