Twice as Nice for Bryce (even though I wasn't there to see it)

Opening Day of the 2013 Major League Baseball season brought a lot of fanfare (and fans!) to Nationals Park today, where the Washington Nationals shut out the visiting Miami Marlins by a score of 2-0.  And while it was my first time in several years not attending an Opening Day game at Nats Park (don’t cry for me, Nats fans – I will be there this Thursday afternoon with my family), I was able to catch all the action from the warmth and comfort of my living room.

The day started with the unveiling of the “2012 National League East Division Champions” pennant.  This particular sign is not pennant-shaped but rather rectangular and large, welcoming fans into the main center field gate of Nationals Park.  After the unveiling, players were presented, the National Anthem was sung by an Army quartet (sans the traditional fly-over, probably due to sequestration), and the 2012 awards were doled out.  Adam LaRoche received the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards, Ian Desmomd and Stephen Strasburg received Silver Sluggers as well, Davey Johnson was given the 2012 Manager of the Year award, General Manager Mike Rizzo was awarded the Executive of the Year award, and Bryce Harper was given the National League Rookie of the Year award.  It was a ceremony that seemed to take forever – we were all definitely ready for some baseball to be played.  (As a side note, I wanted to indicate how they gave away baseball caps at the ball park today.  What are they going to be giving away when we go on Thursday?  Nothing!  But that's not why I go to the ball park, is it?  I guess not!)  Once again, I digress...

OK, back to Bryce Harper (I WAS talking about him, wasn't I?)  Well the kid ended up hitting two home runs during today’s game.  The first one was cool, but the second one was just unbelievable.  I found myself thinking “Are you freakin’ kidding me?  What does this mean?  Is this some sort of omen?”  It was kind of surreal, even though I wasn’t there to experience it.  We Nationals fans spent so many years watching mediocre baseball that it’s still hard for all this good baseball to sink in.  But we’ll take it!

And speaking of good baseball, the Nationals’ starter, Stephen Strasburg, pitched seven stellar innings, allowing only three hits while striking out three.  Strasburg threw only 80 pitches and did not walk a single batter - are they ever going to let him pitch more than seven innings?  Probably not.  He could have a no-hitter going and Davey would take him out of the game just because that's the way he's always done it.  Anyway, today Strasburg was replaced in the seventh inning (shocker!) by Tyler Clippard, who did not disappoint by giving us one of his usual stressful outings.  In typical Clippard fashion, he walked a guy and then took forever to get the next three batters out.  New Nats’ closer, Rafael Soriano, closed it out in the top of the ninth by striking out two out of the three batters he faced.  I found it odd that Soriano un-tucked his shirt as soon as he recorded the final out – I wonder if that’s his “thing” at the end of a game.  I’ll have to notice to see if that’s something he does when he earns a save – I honestly didn’t pay that much attention to him during his days as a Yankees closer.

Now the Nationals have earned their first win of the season and did not disappoint the 45,000-plus fans in attendance.  It was a very quick game – only 2 hours and 10 minutes, but they still found time for the traditional Presidents’ Race (with new member William H. Taft in the mix, though he fell over in the beginning of the race and was unable to finish).  They also played a little bit of “Take On Me” during the seventh-inning stretch as a little tribute to former Nationals’ outfielder, Michael Morse.  It was an “awww!” moment for me, especially when all the fans joined in the singing.

So what does today’s victory and Harper’s two home runs mean?  Nothing really, other than the fact that the Nationals are picking up where they left off last year, playing solid baseball (though it would have been nice if they’d had a few more hits), showing excellent team work (that double play in the seventh inning was anything but routine), and giving it their all at every at-bat.  I’m not putting all my eggs into the Nationals’ basket just yet (as much as I’d like to!); this was just one game of 162 – a lot can happen between now and then, but for now it’s nice to root for the team that is solidly in first place!

You Show-Off!

This year's World Baseball Classic has consumed me more than I expected it to.  I have never watched so many baseball games in the month of March, and I am sleep-deprived and exhausted.  Two Saturdays ago, I watched part of all 5 games that were televised - from the Cuba game at 6 in the morning to a USA game that started at 9:00 at night with 3 other games in between (mind you, I only watched PARTS of these games - I did go about my regular routine of grocery shopping and errand-running in between).  The championship game is tomorrow night, and while I will probably watch the whole thing (since Puerto Rico is in the finals), I will be happy to get a good night's sleep once it's all done.

Before I begin sharing my observations of the WBC with you, let me preface my thoughts by reassuring you that I love living in this country.  I like where I live, I enjoy where I work, and I'm glad I'm raising my kids in the United States.  But first and foremost, I am Puerto Rican, and I will always root for a Puerto Rican sports team (or athlete) before cheering for an American one (and this is one reason I don't think Puerto Rico should become a state in the Union, but that's a whole other topic, and I won't get into politics on my blog).

OK, now that I have told you that I like "the land of the free and the home of the Braves" and all the freedoms and rights that come with being an American, let me share with you my issue with this year's Team USA.  When USA played against the Dominican Republic (and lost), they came up with all kinds of excuses.  First, the pitchers were not in mid-season form (neither were the Dominican ones).  Then, the players had only practiced together for a couple of weeks (that's what happens when you put together a team of all-stars instead of using a team that has been practicing together for several months, like the other countries).  Then they said the crowd was distracting (excuse us for blowing horns and waving flags and showing our team pride - American fans can't even wave a flag right.  I saw a guy in the stands during one of the games in Miami trying to wave his flag but instead it looked like he was trying to get rid of something on a piece of fabric, like when you can't seem to get rid of that stray piece of toilet paper that sticks to the bottom of your shoe when you use a public restroom).  But their biggest complaint was that the Dominicans were show-offs - that they acted like they were the best players in the world and were just too cocky and obnoxious.  Well you know what?  I'm OK with that.

This is what I like to call "the Usain Bolt attitude."  Jamaica's Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world, and he will not let you forget it.  He is flashy and arrogant, but he is also pretty damn fast.  During last summer's Olympics, I saw nothing wrong with his showiness because he never bullied another athlete, he never said "I'm better than so-and-so," and he was passionate about his sport.  If anything, he bullied and controlled the media, but how many of us don't wish we could do that ourselves?  Don't we wish we had his confidence and self-esteem? Who am I to tell Usain Bolt not to be so flashy?  Can I run as fast as him?  Never.

So I see nothing wrong with Hanley Ramirez clapping when he has a good hit (even though I don't particularly care for Hanley).  If Robinson Canó wants to skip around the bases after hitting a home run, by all means, go right ahead (can you play better second base than Canó?  Probably not!).  If the entire Dominican bench wants to gather at home plate after a pivotal run is scored, I see nothing wrong with that.  These are men playing a boy's game.  They get excited just like little boys do.  They play with passion, hunger, and drive.  They're not in their opponents' faces - they're in the cameraman's face showing their country and the world that they're great baseball players and they want to win.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Japanese team did something last night (actually it was VERY early this morning!) that I had never seen before and I'm glad I stayed up to witness it.  After having won the first two WBCs in 2006 and 2009, the Japanese lost to the underdog Puerto Ricans in a game that surprised everyone.  But while the Puerto Ricans were celebrating their victory with almost as much excitement as the Dominicans do, the Japanese players were all lining up along the third-base line, they removed their caps, and bowed to the fans.  Then they turned around and did the same thing in the other direction, facing the Puerto Rican team.  Yes, they let down their country by being eliminated, and I'm sure they will come up with some excuses of their own as to why they lost, but they showed grace and dignity and taught us a lesson on losing with pride.  Their fans may be weird, but the players were classy and made me smile at 12:40 in the morning.

The winner of tonight's Dominican Republic/Netherlands game will face Puerto Rico tomorrow night in the final in San Francisco.  And if Puerto Rico loses, I won't come up with lame excuses as to why they lost.  Either the pitchers didn't pitch well or the hitters didn't hit - that's usually the reason a team loses a game.  Heck, Puerto Rico wasn't predicted to make it this far, so we'll be OK regardless of the outcome.  The championship game will feature two teams with attitude, confidence, and outward displays of passion and emotion.  And I will be perfectly fine with that.

The Real "World Series"

Spring Training baseball is in full swing, with all 30 major-league teams starting to trim down their rosters and  last-minute free agents being signed.  But while the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues have been bustling with activity, a lot of baseball is being played on the other side of the world.

The 2013 World Baseball Classic began last week with games in Japan and China, and today is adding games in the US and Puerto Rico.  The WBC is in its third season, having been played in 2006 and 2009 (and both won by Japan).  This year, sixteen countries are represented and divided into four pools - pools A and B have already narrowed down their 8 teams to 4 and pools C and D start their action today.  In pool A, Cuba and Japan have advanced, with Brazil and China going home.  In pool B, the Netherlands and Chinese Tai Pei have moved on, with Australia and Korea being eliminated.  Pool C includes the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela, and pool D has the US, Canada, Italy, and Mexico.

So what have I seen of the WBC so far?  Well, many of the games were either really late at night or very early in the morning, but thanks to a recent snow day, I was able to watch most of the game between Cuba and Japan.  I also watched bits of a game between the Netherlands and Korea, and I also caught some action between China and the Netherlands on another occasion.  The one thing that caught my attention the most is the enthusiasm of the Asian fans.  In all the games in which Asian teams played (granted, the games were either in Japan or China), spectators blew whistles, beat on their thunder sticks, and even had a whole brass section during one of the games.  They have very organized and synchronized cheers, especially when their guys are batting.  And even when the Cuban team was winning 6-0 in the ninth inning, the Japanese fans were still in the game, waving their handheld flags and carrying on.  Something tells me that if I try to bring a trumpet to a Nationals game, my husband would have to pick me up in the holding cell after the game was over.

But as excited as some fans are about the World Baseball Classic (trust me - I'm going to be glued to the TV when Puerto Rico debuts in this year's WBC in their game against Spain tomorrow), the Classic has received a lot of criticism.  Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press says that the schedule is manipulated to favor the US.  I tend to agree with him on that one - the US has to beat teams from Canada, Italy, and Mexico in order to advance, while powerhouses like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico are all in the same bracket.  The US team did not make it to the finals in either of the first two WBC tournaments - proof that Lebron James can win an Olympic gold medal but Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter can't beat the Japanese.

Another criticism of the WBC is that it is played smack in the middle of Spring Training, when pitchers are not yet ready to pitch in true game form (hence the pitch count limit - 60 in the first round, 80 in the second, and 95 in the semis and finals) and hitters would rather bask in the Florida and Arizona sun earning their millions while slowly getting into baseball shape.  I don't think there is an ideal time to have the WBC - no matter when you hold it, someone is going to complain about the players not being ready, being too tired or run down, etc.  I recently heard someone suggest they hold the WBC during the All-Star break - that person must not have realized that the break is only 4 days long and the WBC takes two weeks to play.

Dahlberg also whines about the lack of big-league talent in Team USA:  "No Clayton Kershaw, no Bryce Harper.  Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton are busy elsewhere.  Justin Verlander had other plans."  Well guess what?  David Wright will be there, as will Ryan Braun, Adam Jones, Giancarlo Stanton, and pitchers Gio Gonzalez, and RA Dickey.  Not too shabby, people - stop whining because Robinson Canó will be playing for the Dominican Republic and Joey Votto is representing Team Canada (did you know he was CANADIAN?  I had NO IDEA!).  Why is it that any time a US team is touted as an underdog, people have to whine and make up excuses?  I come from Puerto Rico, where we are very nationalistic about our sports teams, but we're also used to not always winning.  Hey, we're happy to be there and we'll hoot and holler like the Asians, but if we don't make it very far, life will go on.

Speaking of Team Puerto Rico, the squad is full of young talent with a sprinkling of big-leaguers like Carlos Beltrán, Yadier Molina, and Angel Pagán.  It doesn't look like the team is as strong as in years past, when they made it to the semifinals, but like I said, I'd be happy regardless of how they did, as long as I can wear my Team Puerto Rico t-shirt and wave my flag.  And if Team Puerto Rico gets eliminated, I will still watch the rest of the Classic.

Where can you watch every single WBC game?  In the MLB Network, which for those of you with Comcast in the Frederick area, it's channel 738.  Some people think it's too remote a channel for casual fans to catch, but it's college basketball playoffs time, and you're not going to get ESPN to give that up.  I'm just happy I didn't have to do what I did in 2009, when I had to buy the premium "latino" bundle for a month so I could watch more WBC games.    And if people still don't think the WBC is a good idea, then perhaps the International Olympic Committee can bring baseball back to the summer Olympics, which is really where international baseball belongs.

The Great American Race Versus the Great American Pastime

Since Spring Training baseball games aren't regularly televised this early on and I just can't get into NCAA basketball, I decided to sit down yesterday and watch some NASCAR for the first time ever.  After all, Fox Sports wasn't just televising any old race - it was the Daytona 500 - the Super Bowl and World Series of auto racing (which kicks off the NASCAR season, as opposed to other sports where the important game is played at the END of a season).  And with Danica Patrick in the pole position, who could resist watching such an exciting event?  Well, with all due respect to my NASCAR-fan friends, it definitely was my last time sitting down to watch an almost four-hour car race.

First of all, I had no idea there would be an hour-and-a-half of pregame stuff.  With baseball, you tune in at 7:00 for a 7:05 game, and with the Super Bowl, you tune in half an hour before kickoff to see who's going to sing the National Anthem.  But no, I sat there waiting for the drivers to get in their cars, and that didn't happen for a long time.  I did sit through an interesting explanation of why the cars are designed the way they are (these are Generation 6 cars) and how they're going back to the old-school design that makes Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas easier to identify.  But then they had a ZZ Top look-alike band sing a couple of songs, which were just not my style (OK, time to go downstairs and put some clothes in the dryer).  Then they had all forty-some drivers come out one at a time onto this big platform - that took way too long, though it gave me a chance to see how many good-looking ones there were!

When the race finally began, I realized that I can't follow a sport in which so many things are out of the main athlete's control.  If your curveball doesn't curve, it's up to you to correct it.  If you drop a ball in the outfield, it's your fault.  If you strike out or get into a batting slump, you need to figure out what you're doing wrong.  In auto racing, yes, the driver is ultimately responsible for getting his/her car across the finish line, but you have a whole team of people who can screw it up for you.  Your pit crew can be slow, the guy talking in your ear can tell you the wrong thing, or the guy driving behind you can bump into you and send you crashing into a wall (or another car).  Way too many things beyond a driver's control for my comfort.

One thing I did like was that after sitting in a car for almost four hours, not able to scratch an itch or blow your nose or eat a sandwich, the drivers were very gracious with reporters.  Even after a few of them got into bad wrecks and had to leave the race, they were nice when a microphone was shoved in their faces.  I would not have been in the mood to talk to anyone, and if I had been wrecked, I would not have had nice things to say.  Kudos to the drivers for understanding the importance of coming across as civil and decent (which is probably why Jeff Gordon wasn't interviewed immediately after getting out of his car).  Interview a baseball player after losing an important game and he probably wouldn't be as gracious.

So that's it for my NASCAR experience.  Tonight I'm going to watch a Spring Training game on the MLB Network, which is definitely my thing.  And the World Baseball Classic begins this Saturday - any time I can root for Team Puerto Rico... that is DEFINITELY my thing!

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

It's official:  Spring Training 2013 has begun!  All pitchers and catchers have reported to their respective camps, and regular players are starting to trickle in as well.  The off-season wasn't so bad - we had Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Ravens won the Super Bowl, my husband remodeled one of our bathrooms, and Tim Lincecum got a haircut.  But it's time, my friends - time for the smell of fresh-cut grass and leather baseball gloves.  Tine for "Take me out to the Ballgame" and the seventh-inning stretch.  Time for overpriced beer and chili dogs.  I know; it may be freezing here in Maryland, but in Florida and Arizona, the players of the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues are ready to play some ball.

So what do we have to look forward to in the 2013 season?  Here's a rundown of what's not to be missed:

• Before the regular season even starts, the World Baseball Classic will take place in Japan, Puerto Rico, and the US.  Baseball teams from sixteen different countries will be competing for the ultimate World Championship.  First-round games begin on March 2, with finals being held two weeks later at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  These teams feature veterans like Adam Jones and Joe Mauer (playing for Team USA), Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltrán (representing Puerto Rico), and Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera (for the Dominican Republic), but also include young players who will be getting their first taste of international competition.  Stay tuned to my blog, because I will surely have a lot to comment on during the WBC.
• The Yankees' Mariano Rivera looks to be ready for his comeback after last year's season-ending knee injury in May.  He is all rehabbed and ready to go, and at 43 years young, he will hopefully be back in pitching shape by the end of Spring Training.  He did say that he will decide before Opening Day if this will be his last season as a Major League baseball player, but since his contract with the Yankees is only for one year and he has always been in pinstripes, I'm sure this will be Mo's last season.
• Seventy-year-old Davey Johnson, the manager of the Washington Nationals, has said that this will be his last season managing a Major League baseball team.  And with his "World Series or Bust!" attitude, we can hope to see a lot of special moments from our nation's capital this season.
• Speaking of the Nationals, they have added a new mascot to their Presidents Race.  For those of you unfamiliar with this DC tradition, the four Mount Rushmore Presidents would race around the field at Nationals Park between the two halves of the fourth inning.  Since the Presidents Race began, Teddy Roosevelt would always lose.  Well last year, during the last homestand of the season, Teddy finally won, so the Nationals had to come up with a new gimmick.  After asking fans to vote for their favorite addition to the Presidents Race, William Howard Taft was chosen.  Why?  Probably because he was fat, had a cool mustache, and was the first President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.  Let's see how the mascot version of Taft does this season.
• The revamped Toronto Blue Jays are ready to kick some baseball ass.  With new acquisitions to their pitching staff (Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson) and offense (José Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio, to name a few), they look very good on paper.  Let's hope they can stay healthy this year - injuries have plagued the Jays for the past few seasons - so they can contend like in the days of John Olerud, Roberto Alomar, and Roger Clemens.

Another thing that is different from last season is that my husband and I opted out of the 5-game "Flex Plan" that we bought last year.  Not only did prices go up (we liked it better when our team sucked and tickets were cheaper!), but the seating choices were lousy.  I'm not going to watch 5 games while sitting in the scorching sun in the middle of the outfield seats nor am I going to be able to see anything from the mezzanine level.  So we're going the Stub Hub route this year, and hopefully we'll go to three or four games at Nationals Park (including a playoff game, hopefully!).  We do have a trip planned to PNC Park in Pittsburgh to watch the Pirates play the dreaded Phillies - can you guess for which team I will be rooting as I wear my Roberto Clemente t-shirt?

And don't forget your local minor-league baseball teams!  We will surely catch a handful of games at Harry Grove Stadium, where our Orioles' affiliate Frederick Keys play.  They may have gotten rid of their Puerto Rican manager, but the games are still fun to watch and still affordable for our family of four.

Now if the weather would only warm up here...

Nerdier Than Thou?

First and foremost, I want to congratulate every Baltimore Ravens fan out there on their team's amazing Super Bowl victory.  I am very happy (and envious) that you were all able to celebrate the perfect culmination to such a good season, instead of dealing with the crushing defeat that 49ers fans are now feeling.  As a baseball fan whose team suffered a heartbreaking, playoff-ending loss last fall, believe me - the off-season will be much more pleasant to deal with when you're floating on cloud nine as opposed to spending your time holding your head in your hands counting the days until the season starts again.

Speaking of being a big fan, as you all know, I pride myself in being a very knowledgeable baseball fan.  I know that Nolan Ryan shares a birthday with Jackie Robinson; I know what "pepper," "can of corn," and "tater" mean in baseball; and I know that the Houston Astros' Craig Biggio hit 51 doubles and stole 50 bases in 1998.  It is because I love baseball so much that I joined the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) last year, and the reason I decided to attend the meeting for the DC/Maryland chapter last week.  I thought, "Hey, I can learn more about the game, spread the word about my blog, and maybe even win a raffle item or two!"

So last Saturday, my wonderful and supportive husband and I set out to the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, Virginia for the annual SABR Dsy event.  I expected about 100-or-so people to be there - mostly men with calculators and poor social skills.  You see, SABR is the governing body of all things "stats."  If you want to know what Josh Hamilton's batting average is on Tuesdays when there is a full moon out, SABR will tell you.  If you want a list of all players who have hit an extra-inning home run during game 5 of any World Series, SABR will give you that information.  And if you want the starting lineups for the game that was played on May 8, 1931 in Chicago, someone in SABR will let you know.  So of course, I had this preconceived idea that the room was going to be full of nerdy guys with goofy grins and asthma inhalers.  Boy, was I wrong!

Yes, SABR members know a LOT about baseball, and yes, some of them were a bit odd, but most of the 177 people who were at last week's conference were chatty, friendly, and welcoming.  The guest speakers were very engaging, there was never a line to use the ladies' room, and the raffle prizes were great!  I ended up winning a framed picture of Roberto Clemente, an Iván Rodriguez bobblehead, two books, and a pack of baseball cards!

So what did I take away from this conference?  Here are the highlights:

• According to Paul Dixon, author of over 50 books including The Dixon Baseball Dictionary, there is a 131-page FBI file on Jackie Robinson, who was suspected of being a communist.
• There didn't seem to be ANY minorities at the event, except for me and my Puerto Rican self.
• Most of the SABR members present at the conference were AARP-eligible.
• ESPN's Tim Kurkjian believes that the Nationals' Bryce Harper is "breathtaking" to watch, but I lost my respect for him when he said he voted for both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in his Hall of Fame ballot this year.
• Former Phillies' outfielder and current analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," John Kruk, once shot a deer while relaxing in his hot tub.
• Buck Showalter does not like players with blue eyes because he says they can't see the ball as well, and he doesn't like drafting high school players with facial hair because they are done developing and don't have any more growing to do.

So as you can see, it was a very enlightening event.  And even though I can't rattle off Sandy Koufax's career ERA, I don't know the dimensions of old Ebbets Field, nor can I name all the teams in the Negro Leagues, I enjoy learning about baseball, I like impressing people with the facts that I do know, and I am proud of being a SABR member.

Now if only I could wait another week or so for Spring Training to start...

Baseball's Fifty Shades of Gray

Happy new year, my friends!  The holidays are over, kids are back in school, and the ballots for the 2013 inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame are in.  On January 9, the Hall of Fame will announce this year's inductees, which will no doubt cause a lot of controversy and discussion among baseball enthusiasts and non-fans alike.

You see, this year's ballot reflects baseball's "steroid era," featuring players like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens.  The list also includes "nice guys" like Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, and Don Mattingly, and 3 Puerto Ricans (Edgar Martinez, Bernie Williams, and Sandy Alomar, Jr).  So what makes a player worthy of being inducted into the Hall of Fame? That's where the gray areas exist.

According to the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA): 

"Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." (I copied this right off the BBWAA website).

Baltimore Sun columnist, Peter Schmuck, recently wrote an article in which he said that "Based on any strict standards of ethics or morality, there are plenty of players in the Hall of Fame who must have sneaked in through the back door."  So if a player's character is questionable but does not affect the way he plays baseball (is he an alcoholic, a racist, a wife-beater, or does he actively bet on baseball?), should he still be in the Hall of Fame?  Again, that's where the gray areas lie (for the record, I don't think Pete Rose should be in the Hall, but that's a whole other blog for another day!).  Would the careers of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been as successful without the steroids?  For how many years did they actually use performance-enhancing drugs?  Were they considered elite athletes before the alleged drug use began?  Yet more questions and more gray areas.  It doesn't help their cause that both Bonds and Clemens are idiots, but then again, do you vote for the nice guys as opposed to the asses?  If that's the case, then Steve Carlton shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame (and I think he's worthy of being there, despite having played with the Phillies).  Schmuck (gotta love that name!), who is a member of the BBWAA but cannot vote because of the policies of his employer (I'd change jobs, if I were him), says he would vote for both Bonds and Clemens, as well as for former catcher Mike Piazza, who was never accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, yet he had big biceps and hit tons of home runs during the same era.  

If I were a voting member of the BBWAA (which I hope to someday be!), I would vote for the following players (voters can pick up to 10):  

• Curt Schilling (Any pitcher with over 3,000 strikeouts and over 200 wins is Hall of Fame worthy, in my opinion.  So what if his video game business went bankrupt and he recently had to fire everyone?)
• Mike Piazza (You know how I love catchers, plus his career batting average over .300, 12 All-Star Game appearances, and Rookie of the Year award in 1993 are not too shabby)
• Don Mattingly (How is it that he's not in the Hall yet?  I know he's a Yankee, but he's worthy!)
• Edgar Martinez (Not because he's Puerto Rican, but because of his career .312 batting average, 2 batting titles, and overall consistency.  Unfortunately, Edgar was a very quiet guy who played for crappy Seattle teams, so he's not as popular as most nominees.  I don't think he'll ever get selected.)   :-(  

(Craig Biggio was on my original list because he was a catcher, he reached 3.000 hits, and he had boyish good looks, but I agree with Peter Gammons on this one - he just wasn't spectacular enough to be a Hall of Famer.  Sorry, Craig!)

So yeah, of the current list of players, I only found 4 of them to be worthy of Hall of Fame status (I know, I'm a hard-ass, but I take my fictitious voting very seriously!).  No Sosa, no McGwire (I "mis-remembered" to vote for him), no Bonds, and no Clemens.  We'll find out next week if any of my selections were actually chosen by the BBWAA writers; for now, if you're a current baseball player reading this (and there are many of you, I'm sure!), hit the ball hard, be nice to the media, stay healthy, and keep your nose clean.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll be voting for you someday!