MLB and MLBPA need to sit down NOW!!!!!!

Let me preface my remarks by stating unequivocably that I am now and always have been a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan. I have been through the decades of "bad" and the decade of "good" . We all want our team to win, but let's look at what is happening in Major League Baseball. As you know, there is no salary cap in this sport, so the teams that have the financial resources are going to be more successful overall. Occasionally, a team with a low payroll, has some young up-and-coming players, who perform above and beyond the norm and the team is competitive briefly. Later on, those players leave for " greener pastures" with the rich teams.

But let's look at the big picture. The "richest" teams are clearly the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers and the "poorest" teams are the Royals, A's,Orioles, Astros and Pirates. Which ones do we always talk about as "winners" or "potential winners" and which ones never are in the discussion?

How would you like to be a fan of the KC Royals, knowing that the before the season started, you entire team's payroll is less than that of just Jeter and A-Rod. You have no chance, so unless you are just a fan of the game, you don't go to many or any games and attendance figures are horrible, meaning even less revenue.

During the season, teams such as the Yankees have the luxury of constant re-evaluation and additions to the roster and payroll. Their contract with the YES Network, their advertisers and huge fan base basically make it so that there is NO CEILING whatsoever to what they can spend. They are already this year at $230M, which is at least $75M more than the next team in line and more than 5 times as much as the majority of other major league teams. They have a struggling pitcher. That's OK; let's go buy another one or trade for another one. A player gets hurt; OK, let's go get a replacement player. When you look at the Yankees, you see A-Rod, Teixeira, Granderson, Sabathia, Petitte, Swisher, Burnett and realize that these guys all came to the Yankees as free agents and other teams could not afford to pay what the Yankees could. The Yankees were the highest bidder for each of them, by a mile. Paying a luxury ( overspending ) tax is of no issue to the Yankees. They could literally run their payroll to $400M and still be in the black, just with media deals. They have a city of 15M people and a new park with nice seats and expensive souvenirs and food. Tickets run up to $750 per game and they still nearly fill it. Some of the poor teams are offering 10 game blocks of tickets for $99, just to get people in the park.

Does anyone think that this disparity is going to get better? It's not. The Yankees have an all-star team. One of their worst regular players is Swisher, a virtual star on any other team. With no salary cap, their potential to win World Championships increases each year as more teams fall behind.

Worse than the thought of the Yankees winning the world Series multiple years or decades in a row, is the thought that bankruptcy looms in the future for many low budget teams. It's hard to atract fans when you always lose. The Pittsburgh Pirates, once a proud franchise, is drawing under 11,000 fans per game. They won't last very much longer that way. They are on their way to their 20th consecutive losing season. It's the same for KC, Oakland, Houston and a host of other clubs. We don't need to lose baseball in major cities now and head back to only having 8 teams.

The 19-39 year olds are not that interested in baseball now, because of its lack of constant action. This is a generation that needs a reason to come back. Losing won't help that happen in the cities they reside.

Some teams should be getting better, because when the rich teams play a luxury tax, the money goes to the poorer teams, supposedly to go out and buy free agents. The last few years has shown that this isn't happening. The money is being used to pay regular bills that otherwise unpaid, would push the teams toward bankruptcy. The system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

Remember, I am a Sox fan, and I know that a salary cap would bring all the teams to the approximate same level. That's OK with me, because I like real competition.

Some people beleive that it has nothing to do with the teams, but rather it's the hiring of good managers. This is total nonsense. Look at the successful managers recently.

Terry Francona was a horrible manager in Philadelphia, when they wouldn't spend any money. He comes to Boston and wins 2 titles. Did he suddenly get smart? No, he sudden;y had money behind him to get players ( Ramirez, Ortiz,Beckett, etc ).

Is Joe Girardi some kind of brain child? Anyone could coach that team in NY right now. Just fill out the card and send them out there. Everyone thought Joe Torre was a briliant manager. That's not true. How was he before the Yankees and now with the LA Dodgers? Did he suddenly get stupid or did the money pit run dry?

Is Lou Piniella a bad manager or does he just have a bad team? Why can't anyone win in Baltimore? The answer is clear. They don't spend money for players. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shE#$^%@.

Every fall, fans of the NFL in nearly every city really beleive that their team can make it to the Super Bowl, because there is a cap on spending. In these games, talent wins out, the talent you already have, not the talent that you can spend freely to get later on.

I am naming MLB and the MLBPA my stiffs of the week, for failing to see what is happening to baseball and what will ultimately result in its demise. No player needs to make $20M+ a year to hit a ball. The integrity of this game is in serious jeopardy and something needs to be done now.

Anahein Angels Panic in AL West Race

I am very surprised to see such a laid back organization push the panic button in July and make a trade that makes no sense, short term or long term. They are getting Dan Haren, whose past is much better than his present, a guy who has been oft-injured and a guy who is coming back to the AL from the much less talented National League. He is 7-8 this year with a 4.60 earned rin average and hitters are batting .285 vs. him. Remember, every ninth hitter is the pitcher's spot in the NL and there's always a guy in the lineup whose job is to bunt or hit little punch-and-judy dribblers. The AL is a bunch of bangers up and down the lineup for the majority of teams.

In return, the Angels give up Joe Saunders, who is 6-10 this year with an ERA of 4.62 and hitters batting .290 vs. him. This is against AL teams, so the numbers for Haren and Saunders are a wash. They are virtually the same guy.

But that's not the end of the trade. The Angels gave up 25 year old pitcher Rafael Rodriguez, who is 5-3 with an ERA of 3.04 in AAA this year. He has 2-1 strikeouts to walks ratio and has a lot of upside.

They also gave up Patrick Corbin, 21 year old pitcher who in A ball has been 17-5 over the past 2 years. He has 152 strikeouts and 39 walks during that time.

The Angels will also give up a player to be named later.

This is a terrible trade for the Angels. They are banking on a guy whose best days are behind him, who has been out of the AL for years and they gave away an innings-eater in Saunders and 2 really good prospects.

This was a panic move for sure. There is no rhyme or reason to this. This team is just not good enough to stay with the Rangers this year and this trade won't close the gap unless the Rangers stop playing well and that'as not likely.

From Hero to Zero. Jason Bay w/ the Paper Mets.

It breaks my baseball heart to post this.

I was singing this stiff's praises just last year, but that was before he left the greatest city in the world to join the New York "paper" Mets.

In case you've never heard it before - they are the "paper" Mets because on paper they are MVPs, All Stars & Cy Young winners but on the field a bunch of underperforming stiffs.

Jason Bay was a hero in Boston. In 2008 he came to Boston from the lowly Pirates and in '08 & '09 had 30+ home runs & 100+ RBIs in each year.

He had no problem playing & PERFORMING in the pressure cooker that is Fenway Park, in front of the most passionate fans in the world.

He was the man. He had everyone saying, "Manny, who?"

But then it seems JBay got cocky and sold his soul on EBay. Someone should have told him that left field in New York is a lot further than in Boston - Green Monster or not.

Now JBay is hitting .257 with just 6 home runs and only 44 RBIs. Worse, he is batting .169 in July. Even worse, he went 0 for 6 last night (July 22nd) with 4 strike outs. And to top it all off - he has now been benched.

JBay, you couldn't have made it any easier for me. The stats really don't lie...

You are my stiff of the MONTH!

Tim Wakefield Needs to Go NOW!!!!!

The knuckleball isn't knuckling; the fastball can't reach 75mph; the changeup barely makes it to the plate. Everyone has figured him out. If the pitch starts at the waist, take it because it will be low. If it starts at shoulder level, it will come down right across the plate, so be ready.

He has back problems, especially the last 3 years. Strikeouts are down, hits are up; ERA is approaching 6.00 and he is 3-8 and should be 3-13. The time has come for this Red Sox legend to step away from the game with some dignity. He no longer eats innings for the team. He can't get out of the 3rd inning anymore. His role according to Francona was always that he was an " innings eater ".

Putting him in the bullpen is not an answer. He is taking up a roster spot no matter where he is. He has been a real soldier for this team, but the time comes for everyone to leave the game and his time is now.

He has been a Red Sox pitcher for 16 years and he is 20 games over .500 for them in that time. That means each year he has one more win than loss on average. This is when he was good. Now he is terrible. Terry Francona needs to take a good hard look at the aging veterans on this team and start making some tough decisions.

The team is 8 games out now in the loss column and can't beat Oakland. This road trp could be the last straw. He does not need to pitch again. Put him on the 60-day disabled list and let that be the end of him. That's pretty much what they've done to Lowell. What's the difference?

Stats don't lie!!!!! Wakefield's stats are bad, getting worse every time he pitches and loyal Red Sox people want to dwell on the past. Thanks for the memories Tim.....it's time to go away. Tim, you are a stiff, officially.

Alex Rodriguez closing in on 600 Home Runs

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week or you don't care about sports at all, you should be aware that Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees third baseman, is closing in on 600 home runs for his career. There are only 6 players with that many home runs in a career, so you would think this is a big deal...not so fast my friend.

A-Rod, ( or A-Roid ), as some of us affectionately refer to him, has been linked in the past to steroid use and his "somewhat" admission of using illegal substances early in his career seems to have all of a sudden earned him a free pass.

Well, just how many home runs did he hit while on the juice? Was it 100?, 200? or a lot more? Most pro athletes when they admit to wrongdoing, tend to undertsate the true scope of their transgressions. For example, Andy Pettitte claimed that he only used the juice one time when he was getting over an injury. One time Andy, really? Just one time? Just one little shot in the buttocks on one occasion? Does anyone really beleive that?

Just as Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and all the rest of the cheaters won't be looking at Hall of Fame status anytime soon, we can all bet that A-Rod will join that list for a good long time when he finally hangs the syringe up next to his glove.

Barry Bonds was villified for streroid use and he never failed a test for steroids. Why is A-Rod so special that he would think that we all should forgive him and act as though it never happened?

Besides his steroid use, A-Rod is a disaster waiting to happen, whether it's his flavor-of-the-month girlfriends, his GQ photo shoot, his loose tongue or his inability to stay under the radar.

Derek Jeter has dated at least a half dozen of the hottest women in the world according to Maxim's Top 100 list, yet we don't hear about it. He knows how to stay classy and keep private things just that, private. He does not have that " look at me" attitude all the time.

We all think that A-Rod has had it tough. That is so wrong. He did not grow up poor in a bad neighborhood. He did not have drug sales on the streets where he lived. He went to a preppy high school and hung out with preppy people. He always thought that he was above the rest and the arrogance continues today.

At games, Derek Jeter is always amenable to having photos taken with fans and signing balls, programs and hats. A-Rod just ignores whomever calls his name, forgetting that these are the people who pay his salary.

He was a loser in Seattle, a loser in Texas and a loser in New York until the Steinbrenner family went out and spent $230 million dollars to help surround him with enough talent to win.

I don't think for one second that he and some of these other maximum production guys are not still on some juice, whether it be HGH or something else that can't be tested for.

We'll never know what his stats would have looked like had he not been on the steroids. We do know that Bonds was a great player well before the steroid scandal hit. A-Rod would never make the Hall of Fame if I had a vote, right along with the other aforementioned cheaters. Hank Aaron will always be the home run champion in my mind, along with Ruth, Mays and Griffey.

A-Rod is the stiff of the week this week, but he's a stiff every week. No one is THAT important. This is a game, a game enjoyed by millions of hard-working people who come to admire excellence, not decadence and cheating.