Brad Bergesen, please, please, please don’t fall off of any pitching mounds again.

If we can all learn one thing from Bergesen’s most recent injury, it is to make sure that you are fully recovered from an injury before trying to film a commercial. It is a little known fact that camera crews and the intensity of a local TV commercial are the leading causes for injury to a baseball player. It’s written in the science books.

Back in the middle of February, Bergesen decided to help film an ad to promote the Orioles’ upcoming season. The goal was to attempt to make the Orioles an attractive team to watch by featuring the players that performed well last season. Bergesen, who went 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA last year, was one of those players to whom fans seemed to find a fast connection with. Whether it is his strikingly good looks, his ability to look like a winner while wearing an Orioles’ uniform, or the fact that there is literally no other pitcher on the team that anybody has any faith in, Bergesen wanted to do more for the team.

Little did he know, his biggest rival was the pitching mound.

While filming the commercial, Bergesen thought it would be the best idea to pitch at game speed in order to give the real effect. You can’t blame him; A 10 year old could go out there and throw as hard as possible a couple of times with the risk of injury about as high as winning the lottery. It would only make sense.

Unfortunately for Brad, that decision had a lot riding on it. He ended up hurting his shoulder, knocking him out of spring training until the middle of March. Bergesen, who could have used the extra work this spring in order to prepare to continue his major league success, has instead had to watch the games from the dugout. While his spot in the rotation is not at risk, his preparation for the upcoming season may very well be lacking.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brad was injured last July when he was hit on the shin by a line drive. The hit ended his superb season, and left little hope for the Orioles’ fans, who had discovered that the Orioles may actually be good in a year or two. We’ve all been waiting for him to come back and show us what he is capable of, and to prove that last year was not a fluke.

But then there was that damn pitching mound.

The strangest part of the saga was that it took this incident for the Orioles to realize that maybe they should keep an eye on the operations of outside sources when dealing with the players. There was no Orioles’ medical personnel or trainers on the site of where the commercial was being filmed, and there was no policy regarding the use of players in commercial shoots.

Really?

Maybe it’s just me, but I think that if I’m spending money on these players-players who are supposed to be the bright future for the team- that maybe, just maybe, I’d make sure to have somebody to keep track of what is taking place outside of the Orioles’ facilities. Bergesen is a young guy coming off of an injury, and natural instinct is likely to be that of a stabled horse, ready to run free in pastures and meadows and, maybe, the Kentucky Derby. Without any guidance on set, there was nobody to let Brad know that it might have been to his benefit not to put 100% behind his throwing motion, especially since he was recovering from an injury.

It’s almost as if parental instincts have to kick in. Your young players shouldn’t be granted as much freedom, regardless of whether they push for it or not. You’re not going to let an 8 year old go play at a friend’s house if the parents are not there. Nolan Reimold should not be allowed to go play a charity flag football game without having the proper medical personnel on hand, making sure that he doesn’t do anything above and beyond what is smart and healthy.

However, the Orioles have since instated a policy regarding commercial shoots (and hopefully everything that could be considered similar). So if you’re concerned about Nick Markakis or Matt Wieters going out and tripping over a base, or being slapped in the face with a stray baseball glove, don’t worry. The Orioles now have the common sense not to let their million dollar, prized possessions into the hands of strangers without a little adult supervision.

This is kind of old news, but in case you haven’t heard, Dice-K developed “neck pain” earlier this week that was going to bump him to the DL, and force him to miss the beginning of the regular season.

I was immediately ready to jump into another anti-Dice tirade. I don’t like his style of play, and I definitely don’t think he’s worth the money the Sox paid to get him. Regardless, he came back at the end of the 2009 season after 3 months off to pitch in a very solid, non-Dice K type manner.

But the news of “neck pain” was right up there with last year’s “arm fatigue”. And I got the following text from Dave to further raise my blood pressure:

Dice K’s superior Japanese neck has issues. He’s a Toyota recall. Go Rays.

It’s this kind of talk that makes you wonder why you have friends in the first place. If the boys are good for anything, it’s to kick you when you’re down.

But the Red Sox Dirt Dawg talked me out of it.

The real news isn’t that Dice is having more injury problems. In fact, I think it’s doubtful his discomfort was anything more serious than a bad night’s sleep in an uncomfortable position. Especially after reading Boston.com’s article on his BP throwing session today. He threw 54 pitches and will throw in the bullpen tomorrow, followed by two minor league innings, and then his first spring training game.

The real news is that the starting rotation for the beginning of the season is now solidified as Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Buchholz and Wakefield.

These things always have a way of working themselves out, says the Dirt Dawg, and he’s right once again. The impending problem of one starter too many has been solved by Matsuzaka’s injuries. And I’m not saying the reports of his neck soreness were made up, but I feel safe saying the severity of the injury was exaggerated.

Why?

Last year, Wakefield was a monster on the mound before the All-Star Break. In 2009, he was 11-3, the most wins in the MLB for a pitcher before the break. He was the only Boston pitcher who wasn’t struggling. The other starters were crumbling around him. But his season more or less ended there. He had injuries to his lower back and calf, and the back injury required surgery. He wouldn’t pitch again until August 26. He finished the season 11-5.

For the 2010 season, it’s safe to assume Wake won’t last the whole year. He’s had a hard time staying healthy in the second half of the season since ‘04. By starting Dice later than the other pitchers, he is ready to slide into the hole left by an injured pitcher… whoever it is, without letting his arm go to waste in the bullpen.

It’s a long season, and I think the “sore neck” story is a good way to make sure we have the horses to go the whole distance.

Wakefield will attempt to break the most wins by a Red Sox pitcher this season. The current record is held by Roger Clemens and Cy Young… tied at 192. Wakefield is at 175.

Recall that, Dave.

With the defending World Series champion New York Yankees and the highly improved Boston Red Sox in their division the Tampa Bay Rays, American League champions in 2008, may be the forgotten team in the toughest division in baseball, the AL East.

The baseball world is projecting an above average season for the Rays, somewhere in the area of 90 wins, which in the AL East normally means a third place finish as your best result.

What’s to say the Rays cannot put up a higher win total and shockingly win the AL East or even oust one of their AL East rivals for the wild card spot?

The Rays feature a very complete squad, full of young talented players and an excellent coaching staff led by Joe Maddon.

The Rays starting pitching staff could easily be one of the best in baseball led by James Shields & Matt Garza who are joined by David Price, Jeff Niemann and one of either Wade Davis or Andy Sonnanstine.

Aside from Sonnanstine, all of the above listed pitchers are big, strong power type pitchers who are also durable and have plenty of mileage to withstand a full on season.

Shields and Garza have proven over the last few years that they are both capable of completely controlling a game.

Shields has won more than 10 games in each of the last three seasons and has also surpassed the 200 inning plateau along the same time period. His earned run average was at its highest last season at 4.14, which is still a very respectable mark.

Despite only winning nine ball games last season Garza was still impressive. He pitched over 200 innings (203 to be exact) for the first time in his career striking out 189 batters in the process. Garza like Shields is a workhorse who likes to finish what he started and can go deep into games when necessary.

"Big Game" James Shields heads a talented Rays staff.

Price, a former first overall selection in 2007 got to showcase his stuff for almost a full season at the Major League level last year, going 10-7 with a 4.42ERA in 23 games started.

Price is a big, strong left hander who the Rays project as a front of the line starter for years down the road. Price held opponents to a .241 average and looks to only improve upon last season which could make him a deadly weapon in the Rays starting rotation.

Niemann was a surprise in his rookie campaign for the Rays last season winning a rotation best 13 games for the Rays.

Niemann, a tower of intimidation on the mound at 6’9 was very close to winning American League Rookie of the Year losing to Oakland’s Andrew Bailey.

Niemann logged over 180 innings of work in his rookie campaign which is quite a bit for a rookie, but his arm seems to be holding up just fine thus far in Spring Training, as he has pitched solidly in three starts.

The final rotation spot for the Rays is between Andy Sonnanstine, a 13 game winner in 2008 and young pitching phenom Wade Davis, a rookie who impressed in six starts for the Rays at the end of last season.

Sonnanstine has the experience edge, but the Rays feel Davis is more than Major League ready, which is what prompted the Rays to trade Scott Kazmir to the Los Angles Angels of Anaheim last season.

Davis seems like the better fit with Sonnanstine more fitted to a long relief role in the bullpen, but should Davis fail early in the season expect Sonnanstine to be his replacement.

Aside from a loaded and talented starting pitching staff the Rays feature a bullpen that can pitch with the best of them.

Last season the Rays were missing one key element in an otherwise solid bullpen, a closer. The Rays addressed this concern by acquiring Rafael Soriano from the Atlanta Braves for Jesse Chavez in the off-season.

Soriano will anchor the backend of the Rays bullpen, hopefully continuing his success of last season where he converted 27 of 31 save chances with an ERA of 2.97 while striking out 102 in 75.2 innings of work. Soriano also held opponents to a .194 batting average.

If Soriano can stay healthy the Rays may have found themselves the closer they desperately needed last season.

Can the addition of Rafael Soriano as closer help solidify the Rays bullpen?

Joining Soriano in the bullpen is hard throwing Aussie Grant Balfour, finesse man J.P Howell, situational lefty Randy Choate, righty Lance Cormier & veteran Dan Wheeler.

All returnees from last season.

Dale Thayer is also on the Rays active roster and did pitch in minimal work for the club last season while the Rays also added Mike Ekstrom to their roster in the offseason via waivers from the San Diego Padres.

The Rays also have Jeremy Hellickson, Jake McGee & Alexander Torres on their spring roster, but they are definite long shots to make the squad, while non roster invitee Joaquin Benoit and a slew of others have a chance at making the team out of spring.

The Rays infield remains as one of the better defensive units in all of baseball, while packing a punch from the plate.

The Rays will see the return of Evan Longoria at third, Jason Bartlett at shortstop, Ben Zobrist at second & Carlos Pena at first.

Longoria continues to prove that he is an elite player in the Majors despite only being 24 years old, notching his second All-Star appearance last season.

Longoria improved upon his Rookie of the Year season in 2008 by hitting for an average of .281 while hitting 33HR & driving in 113RBI in 2009. Longoria earned a Silver Slugger award for his offensive contributions.

Along with his potent offense Longoria earned his first Gold Glove award at third, allowing 13 errors in 150 started games last season for the Rays.

The Rays feature one of the more under-rated players in the game at shortstop in team leader Jason Bartlett.

Bartlett had a career year last season hitting .320 with 14HR & 66RBI while stealing 30 bases and getting on base at a .389 clip.

Bartlett also played solid defense at short for Tampa and can only improve as time goes on.

At second base Ben Zobrist had such an impressive season for the Rays filling in for starter Akinori Iwamura the Rays were forced to trade the Japanese import to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Zobrist had a monster year hitting .297 with 27HR & 91RBI, all a career high in his first season as a full time player. “Zorilla” as teammates and fans like to call him, also stole seventeen bases and got on base at a ridiculous .405 mark.

Zobrist was all over the field for the Rays last season playing second base, the outfield, first base, pretty much anywhere he could get himself at bats.

This season Zobrist is inline to play second base on an everyday basis and if he can continue to put up numbers similar to last season he may be considered one of the best trade steals of all time, as the Rays acquired Zobrist from the Houston Astros along with pitcher Mitch Talbot for Aubrey Huff.

Will "Zorilla" have another monster-like season?

The Rays big power source in their everyday line-up comes from Carlos Pena at the first base position.

Pena, once a scrap heap pickup for the Rays is now one of the most feared home run hitters in baseball.

Pena jacked 39HR while driving in 100RBI last season for the Rays. The Rays never expect much from an average standpoint out of Pena who hit a measly .227 last season.

Pena, who won a Gold Glove in 2008, continued impressive defensive play at first with only 10 errors in 1155 innings played, although that was an increase from his 2008 totals.

Pena is eligible for free agency after this season and is expected to enter the field with other notable free agent first baseman such as Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee & Paul Konerko, so Pena will want to have an outstanding year to gain himself a possible big ticket contract if the Rays allow him to leave.

Finally, in the infield the Rays improved at yet another position where they suffered offensively last season, the catcher position.

The Rays traded for Cleveland Indians power hitting catcher Kelly Shoppach in exchange for pitcher Mitch Talbot in the off-season to split catching duties with underachieving Dioner Navarro.

The one-two punch of Navarro and Shoppach could be deadly if Navarro returns to his 2008 form where he hit .295. Add the high average of Navarro and Shoppach’s possible power potential (21HR in 2008) and the Rays may have the catching combo they will need to win ballgames.

Defensively the pair is above average with Navarro having the better arm as well as defensive numbers behind the plate.

In the outfield the Rays feature one of the best all around five tool players in the American League in left fielder Carl Crawford along with highly talented centre fielder BJ Upton and returning veteran Gabe Kapler in right field.

Crawford had an outstanding year for the Rays in 2009, gaining his third All-Star appearance and an All-Star game MVP, while hitting .305 with 15HR & 68RBI and stealing 60 bases while getting on base at a .364 mark.

Crawford manned left field for the Rays in a superb manner; only making four errors in 1282.2 innings played and may have been overlooked for his first Gold Glove.

Crawford, who is every scouts dream, mixes power, speed, athleticism and agility into his game and is in the final year of his contract. Many teams including the powerhouse New York Yankees are licking their chops at acquiring a player such as Crawford, which leads me to believe that he will have a career year in almost every statistical category.

BJ Upton has been a bit of an enigma at times for the Rays, possessing the talent and potential to dominate a game offensively and dazzle defensively.

After having a stellar 2008 playoffs, Upton was sprung into the spotlight for the Rays only to disappoint in 2009 with 11HR & 55RBI in 144 games played while hitting .241.

One of the only positives for Upton in 2009 was his 42 stolen bases in 56 attempts.

Upton has not lived up to his hype. Some may attribute that to injuries, some to laziness, and some seeing him being too hyped up as the next big thing.

Upton has told the media he is 100% healthy this season, beginning his hitting regime months ahead of schedule.

Perhaps the large contract handed to his younger brother Justin by the Arizona Diamondbacks is also more of a reason for BJ to step up his game and show the world that all the hype surrounding him is in fact true.

Rounding out the outfield is veteran Gabe Kapler, who shared right field duties last season with Gabe Gross.

Kapler, who had retired from baseball to coach prior to his reemergence in Milwaukee as a Brewer in 2008 is the grandfather of his ballclub at 34 years of age.

Kapler’s offensive numbers are not high for a starting right fielder having split time with Gross last season. Kapler hit .239 with 8HR & 32RBI in 205 at bats.

It’s quite possible Kapler could share right field duties with highly touted outfielder Matt Joyce, who is having a great spring or Justin Ruggiano who is having an even better spring than Joyce.

Kapler’s veteran presence should help either of the two younger players in Ruggiano or Joyce improve in their day to day games, which is a sign of why Kapler is a crucial part of this ballclub.

Finally, rounding out the Rays starting lineup is Pat Burrell.

Burrell came to the Rays last offseason via free agency as the extra needed pop they required from the designated hitter’s role and Burrell failed miserably in his first season as a Ray.

Burrell only hit .221 with 14HR & 64RBI even though he got the majority of at-bats out of the DH spot.

Burrell also did not have to play nearly as much defensively which means he should have been well rested for his new role.

Burrell will need to turn things around because his two year deal with the Rays ends after this season and being only 34 when the season comes to an end Burrell will most likely seek a new deal.

If Burrell can provide closer to 90RBI’s per season out of the Rays DH spot than the Rays should be in good shape as far as the DH situation is concerned.

Pat Burrell will need to turn things around in '10.

The Rays also feature an above average bench with an outstanding super utility man in Willy Aybar who can just about play anywhere in the infield except catcher and features enough pop (12HR, 41RBI) to DH if Burrell struggles like last season.

Joining Aybar is either Navarro or Shoppach at catcher, whichever does not play that day, possible young outfielders Matt Joyce and/or Justin Ruggiano and most likely Sean Rodriguez (acquired in the Kazmir trade) who is tearing it up in Spring Training (.433, 5HR, 11RBI).

Other bench candidates are shortstop Reid Brignac (.379, 0HR, 13RBI in ’10 spring), second baseman Elliott Johnson (.360, 0HR, 3BI in ‘10 spring) & first baseman Dan Johnson (.238, 0HR, 0RBI in ’10 spring).

The Rays also invited veteran Hank Blalock to spring as he has the best shot amongst the non-roster invitees of making the squad. Blalock cranked 25HR for the Rangers last season.

The Rays are a very good all around ballclub featuring some of the most talented, young ballplayers in the MLB.

If the Rays can have turn around seasons from Burrell & Upton and maintain what they have been doing for the last two seasons playing their up-tempo speed game mixed with a nice assortment of power, pitching and defense I could see the Rays surprising everyone and sliding their way into a playoff spot.

However, if the Rays have a similar season to 2009, expect another third place finish behind the Yankees and Red Sox in the toughest division of them all.

Do not forget to follow me on Twitter @BryanMcwilliam or join my facebook group

It’s a tournament that you, the fan, can partake in and influence the decision. All you have to do is comment and I will take into consideration your argument to either move that athlete on or knock them out.

Dumb can be defined many ways. Dictionary.com defines it as “lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted”. I’ll leave it a bit broad for this post and say “it’s when someone hasn’t made brightest move available to them.” We’ve all done and made some not so bright moves and we’ve seen people do them too, but we’re not in the limelight and I’m guessing most of us don’t have millions to squander due to dumb ass mistakes.

Much thought went into the selection process and not everybody made it. Frerotte and Gramatica were bubble idiots and barely fielded and unknowns like New Mexico State soccer player Elizabeth Lambert came out of nowhere and shocked everyone with a 5th seed. Most are picking trendy favorites like Tiger, Tyson or Vick; but Cinderella’s like Ryan Leaf and Gilbert Arenas are always there and may rise up for the challenge and make a run for the final four.

With all this said, I’m happy to say it’s tournament time and may the dumbest athlete win. 

East Regional

#1 Mike Tyson vs #8 Bob Probert

#2 Chris Henry vs #7 Jon Daly

#3 Adam “Pac Man” Jones vs #6 Bam Morris

#4 Big Ben Roethlisberger vs #5 Antonie Walker

South Regional

#1 Tiger Woods vs #8 Bill Gramatica

#2 Daryl Strawberry vs #7 Jamal Lewis

#3 Plaxico Burress vs #6 Gilbert Arenas

#4 Dwight Gooden vs #5 Elizabeth Lambert

Northern Regional

#1 Michael Vick vs #8 Mark McGuire

#2 OJ Simpson vs #7 Alex Rodriguez

#3 Maurice Clarett vs #6 Nate Newton

#4 Tonya Harding vs #5 Mark McGwire

West Regional

#1 Ron Artest vs #8 Gus Frerotte

#2 Rae Carruth vs #7 Shawn Kemp

#3 Pete Rose vs #6 Tank Johnson

#4 Ricky Williams vs #5 Ryan Leaf

The latest news to shockingly hit the baseball world in the side of the head is the recent admission of a positive test for cocaine use by Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington.

Washington, the respected manager of the Rangers, who seems to have the team on the right track in his tenure as manager, recently told Sports Illustrated.com the following

“I did make a mistake and I regret that I did it,”

“I am really embarrassed and I am really sorry.”
“Any attempt to try to explain it is going to sound like excuses,” he said. “There is no right way to explain something wrong, and I did wrong. Was it tension? Maybe. Anxiety?’”

Washington followed that up with a statement that including the following:

“I am here today to apologize for a huge mistake I made during the first half of the season in 2009.

“I am not here to make excuses. There are none. I am not here to ask for sympathy. That would be asking too much.

“I fully understand that I disappointed a lot of people — my family, my players, coaches, as well as the team’s leadership, especially Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels, as well as young people who may have looked up to me.

“I am truly sorry for my careless, dangerous, and frankly, stupid, behavior last year.

“Clearly, you have never seen me speak from a script before. But this is a time that I need to get the words exactly right.

“Here’s the biggest question: ‘How and why did this happen?’

“That’s a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors. I’ve learned a lot about myself personally, and I recognize that this episode was an attempt to dodge personal anxieties and personal issues I needed to confront.

“That was the wrong way to do it. It was self-serving, and believe me, not worth it. I know you will ask, and so here’s the answer: this was the one and only time I used this drug.

“I made a huge mistake, and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life.

“Shortly after I did this, MLB notified me that I would have a routine drug test. Before even taking the test, I notified the league about the drug use. Right after that test, I told Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan about my shameful behavior. I offered them my resignation.

“They asked a lot of difficult questions. Remarkably, these two men, after a lot of thought and prayer, allowed me to stay here through last season.

“However, they also directed me to immediately begin MLB’s drug treatment program, which is a thorough and exhaustive process, and it includes the administration of drug tests at least three times a week.

“I am proud to report to you that I have completed that program. I am not proud to admit this terrible error.

“This morning, I talked to our players. I assured them that this will never happen again, and I asked them to forgive me. In the true spirit of a ‘team,” they seemed to embrace me not only as a manager but as a human being. I won’t let you down again. Please know that I will personally take on the challenge of telling young people my story and my mistake. I don’t know what form that will take, but I am committed to do that.

“I am hopeful that our fans, both Rangers fans and Major League Baseball fans, will accept this heartfelt and humble attempt to say: I’m so sorry for what I did.”

Washington’s admitted drug use, which was a minimalistic one time use, was obviously the wrong choice, especially for a man of his age.

But I have to say I give Washington a large amount of respect for letting the media know about the incident, the extent of the incident and his admittance to his bosses before the Major League Baseball testing that the incident occurred, so the Rangers organization was not put in the uncomfortable situation of why they lied about employing Washington when he tested positive for a substance.

Washington garners my respect for addressing the incidents before the situation could get out of hand.

He let the MLB know of the incident before he was going to be tested. He offered his resignation to the Texas Rangers to keep them out of hot water. Washington entered himself into MLB’S drug treatment program and has had nothing but positive results passing all tests with flying colours.

It’s very apparent from his statement and from investigations that Washington simply made a mistake by turning to an illegal substance as a quick fix when he was feeling anxious about life in general.

Washington has the full support of his players, his fellow managers and the entire Texas Rangers organization, which means they too know that it was a mistake of a small nature that Washington quickly tried to resolve.

Washington’s positive way of dealing with the matter may also be a good thing for Josh Hamilton, a recovering alcohol and drug addict himself.

Although, some media sources believe that Hamilton may take Washington’s admittance of drug use as a sign that it is okay for him to turn back to the wild life he once lived, I think it is the polar opposite.

It shows Hamilton that other people make mistakes in life, that humans are humans and we all make mistakes.

It could help Hamilton in a way, because if his coach can make a mistake than the mistakes Hamilton made in his own life he wouldn’t need to get so down about when he thought about it.

Hamilton now knows that if he ever did think about a possible relapse or if he was under the impression that his therapy was not working that he had an aid in Washington to help him though any tough moments.

I am not saying what Washington did was a good thing. Drugs are never the answer, especially in the world of sports.

What I am saying is that Washington’s incident can be a good lesson learned and may even bring Washington and Hamilton closer as player and coach in the future.

Again, I respect Washington’s way of handling this incident and wish him nothing but luck in the near future, as the Rangers themselves look poised for a serious playoff run this season.

Do not forget to follow me on Twitter @BryanMcwilliam or join my facebook group

Jon Gruden does not work for free. Ask ESPN , who seems to have anointed their next Brett Farve to shove down our throats on a continuous loop.

Tim Tebow is still legally a college football player?

How did Tebow afford to have Gruden prepare him for Florida Universirty’s Pro Day?

You know Gruden did not take an I.O.U. from Tebow for “services rendered”.

Who paid for Gruden? How about the Gator boosters? It seems pretty obvious someone other than Tebow footed the Gruden bill?

Will it be investigated? Most likely not. You won’t hear a whimper of this discussed by ESPN’s “journalists”, but you better believe they might if Gruden worked for FOX Sports.

The NCAA Committee is as dirty as the workout that was perpetrated yesterday. Payola, or “hush money”, was fed to all the proper pockets so everyone will blindly accept things “as is”.

What did we learn from the workout? That Tebow still has no arm, and should think about throwing the ball with his right hand over his left.Even in the current rules that caters to quarterbacks and makes the NFL’s chosen divas jobs much easier year to year.

As he got tired, the ball lollipopped more and more. The accuracy waned. ESPN valiantly tried to keep their cameras on him instead of the ball, except for a few of his earlier passes on the most simple of routes. The verdict stayed the same ultimately, despite Gruden’s “unbiased” ESPN report that Tebow was a future starter. The guy is no more than a project.

What we really learned is dirty money is flowing in the Sunshine State. Now we truly see why Florida gets all the top recruits and will continue to do so. Kids will see that the school will pay for top experts to teach them to be better players without any expense to them. The Gator’s will foot the bill, along with the usual housing, clothing, vehicle, female companionship bills they typically take care of for all of their players.

Florida University has blatantly officially taken football recruiting to another level, and the NCAA will gladly follow blindly with stuff wallets continuously fed by the boosters of the school.

ESPN’s faux pas journalism will continue to shove your next hero down your throats as long as you tune in. Favre’s name is mentioned every 20 minutes on all channels because of legal obligation. It reeks of reminiscence of the “Devil And Daniel Webster”.

Now that Brett finally appears to have one last year to wear slovenly on America’s conscious, they have the next Golden Boy in waiting. So confident they are in their investment, they sent “Chucky” to teach the kid to look the part of NFL QB.

Part of this madness might be because of draft day. Tebow has to be the first third round prospect ever to be invited to sit in the green room during the draft. If you were utterly sickened by having to watch a constant close up of the crying Brady Quinn for 22 rounds in 2007, get ready to puke at 70+ rounds of watching Tebow wait for the call on April 22nd.

ESPN is ready. Are you? They have plenty of tape from his days in college on the projector to get ready to shove down your consciousnesses as the already written scripts are ready for their “experts” to lament for several hours as to why he hasn’t been drafted yet.

Any team that drafts him before the third round needs their heads examined because Tebow is quite simply a poor man’s Bobby Douglass.

Unlike Tebow, Douglass had a good, strong arm. Like Tebow, Douglass was a left-hander with accuracy issues his entire career.

Bobby Douglass spent nine years in the NFL between 1969 – 1978, and was a full time starter in two seasons. His best season was in 1972 with the Chicago Bears, and it is not remembered because of his arm. He ran for an then-NFL record 968 yards that year on 141 carries, leading the NFL with a 6.9 yards per carry average. He ran the ball in for eight scores, while tossing a career best nine more scores against 12 interceptions.

Ultimately, he threw 36 touchdowns against 64 interceptions for his career. His yards rushing record for a quarterback was surpassed by 71 yards in 2006 by Michael Vick, though it took two extra games on the schedule to break it. Douglass was drafted in the second round, but you can bet the farm his Alma Mater Kansas University never paid for a coach to come in for six weeks to try to improve his draft stock.

If they had, the NCAA would have put them on probation because they have a set list on who can buy off their silence. Florida is on it, and Kansas never has been. In football. Basketball is a completely different story. Whomever makes them the most cash in each sport has the best chance to line the NCAA pockets and zip their lips with a nodding off acceptance.

If the NCAA or ESPN were legitimate entities, then Florida would thoroughly be investigated to see who bought Jon Gruden. ESPN would have their employee cooperate with the investigation, then break the story when the proper culprits are exposed.

But this will not happen, so just go to sleep and blindly accept the constantly shifting rules. It is exactly what is expected of you.

The Patriots showed up on Monday to begin off season work outs at Gillette.

The news from Boston.com is that Hoodie won’t be using a Defensive Coordinator this season. Dean Pees elected not to come back at the end of his contract in January of this year.

That leaves room for players to step up and have more of a leadership role. And that was a big problem for the 2009. Well that, and the Pats giving up the 4th quarter way too often.

Linebacker Jerod Mayo wants to step into more of a leadership role with the new space left by Pees:

“I think I can definitely step my game up as far as being a vocal leader on this team,’’ Mayo said. “Last year, I still was a second-year player. I still tried to lead by example, but this year I think losing guys like Junior [Seau] and Tedy Bruschi, even though that was a couple of years ago, I think it was a void as far as having that vocal guy on this team in general.

I had planned to write about the #2 thing I would like to see at Spring Training this year (if I were going).

Unfortunately, this post will be devoted to a breaking news story about the Rangers’ skipper.

Last July, Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine use during MLB’s annual random drug testing of Rangers coaches, clubhouse staff and personnel. To his credit, he called the Rangers’ front office and the commissioner’s office before the test results came back to let them know that he would most likely fail. Washington did say that it was the first and only time in his life (he’s 57 years old) that he tried cocaine. Personally, I think the odds of that being true are just a little better than my odds of winning the Texas Lotto tonight. And I didn’t even buy a ticket. But, following the failed test, Wash went throught the MLB’s counseling program and was tested regularly for the rest of the season. He passed every test.

The Rangers chose to stand by their skipper last July.

I’ll admit…I’m struggling with several emotions right now. I’m angry, saddened, shocked and befuddled.

Mostly, I’m disappointed.

He was given the opportunity to manage a Major League Baseball team.

My team.

Why, under any circumstance, would he jeopardize a life’s worth of work for something so foolish?  Many already considered him in the hot seat. I bet the seat’s smoking now.

Do I think the Rangers should fire him?

No.

Not now.

I would have had no issue if the Rangers had decided to fire him last July. Completely understandable. He makes the day-to-day decisions for the ball club. That’s a lot of responsibility to place on a guy if your not sure he is stable.

But they stuck with him, and it seems he has righted the ship.

The Rangers shouldn’t fire him now that the story hit the media mainstream. What message would that send?

But I’ll tell you one thing. The hiring of Clint Hurdle as the hitting coach certainly was a smart move. Not only is he a great hitting coach, but he also serves as one heck of a contingency plan should Wash fall off the wagon.

I hope this is the last we hear of this. For Wash’s sake, and for the Rangers.

The Toronto Blue Jays were dominant in today’s 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

The Jays used an outstanding pitching starting pitching performance combined with stellar bullpen work and a decent offensive day to shutdown their division rivals.

Jays starter Brian Tallet was masterful, allowing one hit to lead off hitter Cesar Izturis in the top of the first than was lights out afterwards.

Tallet did not allow another runner to reach base after the Izturis single.

Tallet pitched four innings in total, allowing one hit and striking out three. Tallet mainly used his two seam fastball which in turn provided him with a lot of groundball outs.

Reliever Shawn Camp pitched a scoreless, hitless inning striking out one.

Manager Cito Gaston let the media know that today he would announce a primary closer, ruling out a closer by committee option. The battle for closer would be between Scott Downs, Jason Frasor & Kevin Gregg.

All three players got in work today against Baltimore.

Downs pitched one inning allowing one walk and striking out one. Gregg duplicated Downs line in his inning of work, while Frasor would top them both by pitching a clean inning of work, getting two groundball outs along with one flyout.

Finally, flame thrower Merkin Valdez closed out the ninth inning, allowing one run on a two out RBI to Miguel Abreu breaking up the Jays shutout nod.

The Jays offense came courtesy of a Travis Snider (2-3) solo shot to deep left centre in the fifth inning and RBI’s courtesy of Brian Dopirak (4) & Brad Emaus (6). Emaus was two for three on the day and has really been hitting the ball well in spring batting for an average of .367 after today’s game.

Alex Gonzalez also had a nice day going two for four with a run scored and Chris Lubanski added a triple to his stat line.

The Jays pitching was impeccable today as the team only allowed two Baltimore hits.

The Jays continue a home in home with Baltimore tomorrow as they host the O’s in Dunedin at 1:05pm EST.

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