Could the Rangers have actually gotten better without former MVP Josh Hamilton? By Keith Allison on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

Ideally, on any team in any sport, there is always a “best” player. This is the face of the franchise and much responsibility is put onto that player. In recent years, we have seen many franchise’s best players leave their team to go play for another, but few have actually been successful. The two main ones that come to mind are LeBron James, who left the Cavilers to join the Heat, and Albert Pujols, who left the Cardinals to join the Angels. LeBron has had success so far with the Heat, winning a title. But Pujols and the Angels have yet to make the playoffs and aren’t playing up to their potential for the second year in a row. At the same time, two smaller market franchises have lost their face of the franchise but have actually gotten better or stayed up to the same level of play. Both the Memphis Grizzlies and Texas Rangers have done this.

The Grizzlies made a trade back in January with the Toronto Raptors, sending former all star Rudy Gay away. Gay had been their face of the franchise since 2006. The Grizzlies weren’t very relevant until 2010, when they returned to the playoffs and ended up making it to the second round despite Gay’s absence due to injury. Many questioned whether or not the Grizzlies were better off without Gay playing but that just seemed outrageous because of his unique skill set. They gave the core of Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley another year to see what they could do as a healthy team and the Grizzlies ended up losing in the first round to the Los Angeles Clippers and the whispers about Gay started looming. Finally the Grizzlies decided it was best to move Rudy Gay and his huge contract and did so. In return, they got some decent pieces including Ed Davis, Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye. The Grizzlies were looked at as crazy for this trade and were expected to drop in the Western Conference but they did the exact opposite. As of right now, the Grizzlies have reached the first Western Conference Finals in team history and are competing for the chance to represent the West in the NBA Finals.

Rudy Gay was the face of Grizzlies basketball for a long time. Not anymore. By Game Face, via Wikimedia Commons

The Texas Rangers and slugging outfielder Josh Hamilton had success over the last few years — making it to two straight World Series. But after a disappointing season in which the Rangers failed to qualify for the playoffs after a heartbreaking wild card game loss, Hamilton and the Rangers decided it was time to part ways. Hamilton, in a shocking signing, joined Albert Pujols in Anaheim as a member of the Angels. With Hamilton and Pujols in the middle of the lineup, the Angels were supposed to shred records and were a top pick to make the World Series. Thus far, though, they are at the bottom of the standings, and many of their players aren’t playing to potential. The post-Hamilton Rangers, on the other hand were viewed in the preseason as still a good team but no where close to what they were with Hamilton. Much like the Grizzlies, the Rangers have succeeded, earning the best record in baseball so far, not seeming to miss Hamilton one bit.

Both the Grizzlies and Rangers management and fans have seen a lot of success after losing their face of the franchise. It is yet to be seen if the good play translates into a championship like in LeBron’s case, but they both look pretty good. Normally I wouldn’t say that losing the best player on your team is a good thing but for the Grizzlies and Rangers it just might have been true.

Josh Hamilton, shown here in spring training, has has a rough start with the Angels after signing a big contract in the off-season. By Owen Main

Have you seen Josh Hamilton? Since last June, he’s hit just .239.

I have a suspicion that he’s pressing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the former American League MVP is out of sorts. He looks uncomfortable, swinging at bad off-speed pitches and missing his usual meaty low-ball strikes.

I had the pleasure of seeing the star-studded Halos lineup last week, against the Rangers. Unfortunately for us, Yu Darvish was on the mound. Darvish pitched the most dominant game I have ever seen, striking out eleven in six innings.

Is it abnormal to say that any batter looks uncomfortable against Darvish? Not at all. The guy’s five pitch arsenal is the strongest since Mark Prior in 2003, and I have a strong inkling, when it’s all said and done, Darvish will be a 200-win guy with at least a few Cy Young Awards studded in his cap.

But on two occurrences, Hamilton looked elementary in the face of his former teammate. So much so, the easily impressed Angels fan base, uncharacteristically booed the 125-million dollar man. He swung at bad pitches all night, striking out twice, not to mention his two game-altering blunders in the outfield.

And was there any response? Any fire in the belly of the man who nonchalantly smacked 43-home runs last year? Nope. Just the same old same old strike-out strolls back into the Scoscia’s crumbling lair.

So I guess Canada has some baseball to root for, but there don’t look like many people at the game in Toronto. By Oaktree b at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons

Two weeks ago Erick Aybar was scratched from the Angels Spring Training roster. The reason: He’s needed as the starting 2nd baseman for the Dominican Republic, for the World Baseball Classic.

What is the World Baseball Classic?

According to the International Olympic Committee, baseball is only a sport followed in the Americas, Canada and Asia. Though that is much of the world, Europeans choose not to see it that way. They consider irrelevant socialite experiences like Badminton and Fencing, worth a whole lot more of our time.

Baseball is a game of patience, persistence, clarity, mental toughness and preparation. And while one could argue Erick Aybar is doing just that sort of thing playing in the WBC — a world affair smaller than College Basketball’s somewhat unwatched conference tournaments — I argue otherwise.

Last year, Aybar barely hit .200 through April, May and most of June. This year’s Angels are reliant on his speed and switch hitting versatility at the top of the order, to ignite things for Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo.

Had we the 2016 Olympics to look forward to, Major League ball players could focus their attentions solely on the grueling 162-game task that awaits them. Instead we’re left wondering whether or not our franchise faces might land themselves on the Disabled List in March. And all for what? A cheap Olympic-like knock off played on ESPN2?

By signing with the Angels, Josh Hamilton must believe that the West Side is, indeed, the best side. By Keith Allison (Flickr: Josh Hamilton) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I was sixteen. And since then, the musical machine has introduced collaborations between the likes of Tim McGraw and the dirty South’s representitive Nelly. Life is one big puffy cloud of peace now. It’s all so peachy and sweet.

Just fifteen years since what was a radical split between music’s most popular form, baseball has survived steroid scandals, broken records, and now, a major shift in league power.

After last season’s signing of Albert Pujols and C.J Wilson, the Los Angeles Angels officially put their face on the map as a legitimate threat. Tack on this year’s surprise signing of 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton to fill in rightfield, and the Angels not only boast arguably the greatest player ever in Pujols, but the best outfield in baseball — Hamilton, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo.

Not so angelic. As aren’t the Dodgers.

From the Halos, the Blue Crew courted 2009 AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke, with the largest contract ever to a right handed pitcher. This capped a midseason spending spree that brought third baseman Hanley Ramirez, returning outfielder Carl Crawford, first baseman Adrian Hernandez and the hard-throwing Josh Beckett to Hollywood.

Name 50 major stars in Baseball and these from the Angels and Dodgers would be listed. Albert Pujols,  Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Mike Trout, Adrian Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Jered Weaver, Mark Trumbo, Josh Hamilton, Tommy Hansen and Andre Ethier. Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Becket, C.J Wilson and Kendrys Morales would be easily listed in the next 50. They will all be well-owned in the upcoming fantasy season.

It goes without saying that there is a major power shift occuring between America’s two coasts. Where once the Yankees and Red Sox competed yearly in bidding wars, now the Dodgers and Halos will.

The Angels allowed Greinke, Torii Hunter and Dan Haren to walk, only to upgrade with Tommy Hansen and Josh Hamilton. The Dodgers reconfigured their management, and since erecting men like Magic Johnson as the face of the franchise, have returned to form, adding five all-stars to their roster since June.

More perfect than the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry is the mere fact that both freeway rivals exist in entirely different league hemispheres. Despite their close proximity, the two can adequately meet each other in the World Series — and event I’m sure woould erupt Southern California into a horn-hollering traffic jam of ravenous fandom.

How perfect is that? Like a high-priced pickup game between neighbors: “Meet in my backyard at sunrise. Winner takes all in your backyard after school.” Weeeesssstttt Siiiiiddde, now has a whole new meaning.

Los Angeles sports fans, eat your hearts out.

You already had 4 courses. And the dessert is going to be pretty sweet, too.

Already in 2012, Los Angeles has seen its share of stars. The 2012 baseball season featured arguablly the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols joining the ranks of stars in Los Angeles. OK, he didn’t quite make it to Los Angeles, but Orange County isn’t bad.

Mike Trout became the best player in baseball last season at the age of 20. By Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (Mike Trout Uploaded by Muboshgu) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Across town, the Dodgers did nothing if not raise their star profile. It started with Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim group buying the team for over $2 billion. Matt Kemp was already a star. So was Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers traded for Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford, all of whom have been in the top two or three at their position at some point in their careers.

The Lakers have always been star-driven. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have been stars for years. Metta World Peace thinks he’s one, although I’d argue against it. In the offseason, the team acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, both of whom are definitely stars.

The Lakers’ Staples Center roommates, the Clippers, are also beginning to gel with their own superstars, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, leading the way.

At the Home Depot Center, the Galaxy had stars this year. In David Beckham’s last season. Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan are among the world’s best players and, alongside Beckham, led a star-driven team to its second straight MLS Cup.

The team with the fewest stars is the only team other than the Galaxy to win a championship this year. The Los Angeles Kings, led by Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, and Jonathan Quick won the Stanley Cup for the first time.

Zack Greinke had Los Angeles baseball fans abuzz this week, but he doesn’t get close to cracking the top-10 sports stars in Los Angeles. By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Zack Greinke”) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

If the Western Divisions of the National and American League end up the way they look on-paper now, a freeway World Series in southern California is a distinct possibility. I don’t want to digress into a different topic, but if things went like they “should” go based on preseason predictions, the Lakers wouldn’t be struggling so much.

Struggling or not, the Lakers have remained relevant with stars. However they do in 2013, both the Angels and Dodgers have positioned themselves to be relevant all season. As I’ve said before, when it comes to Los Angeles, sometimes it’s more important to be relevant, than good. And fans in southern California don’t complain when their teams are both.

Owen’s List of Star Power in Los Angeles sports in 2012

1) Kobe Bryant

2) Albert Pujols

3) Matt Kemp

4) Mike Trout

5) Blake Griffin

6) Chris Paul

7) David Beckham

8) Clayton Kershaw

9) Josh Hamilton

10) Dwight Howard

Honorable Mention — Steve Nash, Adrian Gonzalez, Landon Donovan, Pau Gasol, Jared Weaver, Hanley Ramirez, Robbie Keane, Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Serena Williams, Zach Greinke, Andre Ethier.

Did I miss someone? Do you not agree with my top-10? Post below and tell us what you think.

Pau

…”paleeze,” she says, that being the Ms. Casual Fan, “take your knowledge and shove it.”

I will, but if I take it and shove it, I will be taking Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, Josh Hamilton, and Joey Votto with me. You ms. Casual fan can take Ryan Howard. Oh, and while you are at it, tak Jay Buhner and Troy Glaus with you.

Major League Baseball’s “power” era has looked more like a calf in a tutu swinging a billy club at a gnat, than the rugged, gritty, off-smelling, sweaty American ball player of our beloved past. Have you ever seen Kathy Ireland pose in a tight fitting bikini with a beer belly and one slumping boob?

It has been way more disgusting than a droopy Kathy Ireland. Like gracing a spread eagle Rodney Dangerfield in a playgirl centerfold.  Can I get me some sexy baseball back?

Or do I have to assume my role as the game’s Dr. Dre, dropping rhymes on the death of the Joe-Joe-D days? Hip Hop and Baseball are two peas in a pod ripped apart in the belly of an edamame. Sushi anyone?

Not a chance. If it has been made with a pink slab of “MLB star of the last fifteen years,” then the piece righteously stinks. It has been cut from the loins of  men who consistently hit below .260, and strikeout 150 times. “Yeah, well they hit home runs.” Well America hit- some- bombs in Nagasaki; so what is your point? I can hit my head against a wall… and?

This is why nothing makes sense from the populist perspective. We the spectators, are those who choose the ones worthy enough to receive our praise.  Not Ricki Lake.

Bring back the classy LBC Snoop.

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Last season’s year of the “no hitter,” set the bar high for baseball’s future. Players were held accountable for their extra-curricular activities and injuries took their toll. This caused reliance upon PED’s to be close to null, which is great, considering for the last twenty years any beefy troll with biceps and an average swing could be glorified for golfing forty balls out of the park. Without muscle crank being tossed around like a Nerf football in the gym locker room, survival of the fittest did what it intended to do. It weeded out the trash.

I personally was sick of this neo-golf garbage. It was baseball I wanted to see, just baseball damn it. Not a vague form it.

Which sent me into a tail spin.  I began to feel like a crack addict in need of my fix for more of a grass roots sport. So I slanted my attention toward soccer and professional tennis. I felt like I had joined a private club loving those two sports. And I’m not gonna lie, those were some of my greatest years to memory. Watching matches between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battling it out like Roman soldiers on the clay court was nothing short of brilliance.

But it was on you. If you are a fan of this country’s historical relics, you will begin craving the game of baseball. I missed a sport that allows an average, out-of-shape man like John Kruk to accomplish something. I badly desired baseball’s organic melding of reflex speed, muscular explosion, and small motor skills, creating a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Over its 125 year histiory, baseball has been the layered brush strokes of Picasso. Like a complex wine with flowering aromas and a lashing finish, baseball has relished in its cult-athlete — a player who would gladly draw phallic members on Thomas Kinkade’s cookie-cutter, Pollyanna bull shit.

An MLB player was never mister nice guy.

In the 1950’s, any person with the balls to heckle Ted Williams was showered by his browned, tobacco sludge. It was a way for TD to get back at his hecklers. And the man was meticulous. He studied pitchers, and swung the bat for hours everyday. A throwback professional who loved the game, practiced everything from the monotonous initial step to swing, to hip placement, and each step beyond.

The man didn’t hit .344 over a 19 year career without putting the work in. And that kind of passion created an intense fansmanship from the league. The man set in place baseball’s eternal politico, one glorifying the purist.

When  seeing monsters hitting it out thirty to forty times a year, Americans also accepted that they had to take every thing on the market to do so. Watching man-children striking out once a day, and collect hefty sums of dollars back fired. The problem with the “power era” philosophy is that it caused ticket prices to rise, and in the end, left the riled fan with the short end of the deal.

With every 450-foot bomb, the ghost of Ted Williams turned over in his glorious grave.

…thank God he did not have to shed his wrath…

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We have been saved by a handful of non-conformists. They are what I call baseballs fab five: Albert Pujols, Joey Votto, Josh Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera, and Adrian Gonzalez. All, without question, are the most dominant players in today’s game, combining for 5 MVP awards, 5 gold glove awards, and 22 all-star games.

Their modern day recipe for creating an MLB superstar is power, defensive ability, average, and larger than life persona.

1. Power: Pujols is the best of the five. For most of his ten-year career in St. Louis, Pujols has hit balls out with a larger than life authority, lacking a star hitting in front or behind him. He has averaged 41 home runs per year, and has never hit less than 32. If we were to judge players by their first ten years in the league, Pujols is arguably the greatest hitter to ever play this game.

Gonzalez is another worth mentioning out the “fab five,” because of his lack of support in San Diego. In his first five full seasons the slugger has said goodbye to 32 so-called offerings a year. If you take into consideration that no other Padre over the last five years has hit more than 21 homeruns, you will begin to understand what makes Gonzalez so great. HE DOES IT ON HIS OWN. He is the consummate slugger, causing pitchers to shake in their cleats.

Other totals by elite long-ball threats from last season include: Cabrera with 38, Hamilton with 32 in just 133 games, and Votto with 37 while Brandon Phillips was the only other actual threat in the Reds lineup.

2) Defensive Ability: All five are stalwarts defensively, but Pujols and Gonzalez set the bar. Gonzalez, a back to back gold glove award winner from 2008 to 2009, was not only sought out by the Red Sox this off-season because of his left-handed power, but because of his ability to fill a much-needed defensive hole for the Sox with his glove at first base. In 2010, Gonzalez was 2nd in the NL in putouts, and 3rd in assists.

Pujols is also a two time gold glove winner with the Cardinals. In 2010, the star led the league in assist and put-outs at first base. For much of Pujols’ career, his defensive abilities have been overlooked because of his offensive dominance.

3) Batting Average: All five are fantastic. Last season, the worst of the five was Gonzalez, who hit an unashamed .298 while driving in 101 runs. Pujols did as Pujols does; give pitchers headaches. Over his ten-year career,  Pujols has hit .331, never striking out more than 92 times. Last season Cabrera quietly hit .328 with his partner in crime, Magglio Ordonez only a mere shadow of himself. This set him apart in the American League, finishing 2nd in MVP voting. Cabrera for his career has hit .313 and driven in an average of 120 runs in his seven year career. Hamilton won his 1st MVP award in the American League last season hitting .359 with 100 runs driven in, in again, a shortened season due to injury. Votto’s season was perhaps most impressive considering he had no help in the Reds lineup. The reigning NL MVP hit .324 and drove in 113 runs.

4) Larger than Life persona: It is impossible to give this area some form of quantitative analysis. What I can tell you, however, is that Pujols is the greatest player of his generation. He is the leagues biggest face on and off the field. He has the power to sway MLB opinion and the perspective on the sport by the fans. Whether it is true or not, Pujols has been glorified as a “clean” superstar, who has done it all through hard work and true dedication to his craft. His throwback image is used quite often by the league promoting its “drug free,” policy.

Josh Hamilton’s dominance is down right scary. In 133 games, Hamilton hit .359 last season with 32 home runs and 100 runs batted in. I believe Hamilton is the new face of the American League, as a guy who not only dominates with his bat, but has proven his worth and sustainability by kicking his drug habit.  He has essentially become a hero to many beyond the straight-edge.

Joey Votto is the sure favorite to win his 2nd NL MVP award this season. If the Reds make the playoffs with pretty much the same team as last season, and Votto has a season like last season, he will continue to build a legacy as a guy who accomplishes things as the face of an organization. You cannot get any larger than that.

Adrian Gonzalez is set to have the most dominate season of his career. Lefty’s fair better in Fenway hitting away from the green monster. Gonzalez is the central piece in a stacked lineup with Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, and David Ortiz. He will get more pitches to hit and could jack more than forty this season.

Many will disagree, but Miguel Cabrera embodies this larger than life persona as well. A star has the ability to shine without the fans’ approval of them. And Cabrera shines. His DUI has been the biggest story of this off-season, acting as a driving point for the media circus. Cabrera has ignored it, kicked his habit again, and is focused for another dominate year. With Ordonez back in the lineup and looking to again prove himself after an off-year, Cabrera  should have the best season of his famed career, and win the AL MVP award.

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

For those of you who abandoned the MLB after the 1994 strike, I urge you to come back. I understand your complaints. For too long the league had been glorifying overrated PED-hungry athletes. But the five described above are giving purists like me some hope. No, the league will never return to those beautiful days when a fan felt like “one” with is favorite star – but we can evolve and re-direct the trajectory of this historical game.

I have hope for the first time in years. Hope in the diamond’s version of the “fab-five.”