Heat and Ace

Stephen Strasburg pawed the mound; he zapped 14 strikeouts without a sweat. Bryce Harper stepped up to the plate; he belted a run in with a long double at Dodger Stadium, with 500 tons of force waiting in his arms. Two phenoms were separated by only a year in the drafts and a difference in play, but they are the same in their prospects. Yet, which one is better for baseball? It’s a question that angers a lot of fans (especially Washington Nationals fans) who believe both are the future kings of Major League Baseball. Some see Strasburg as the next Randy Johnson of pitching dominance. Some see Harper as the next Albert Pujols of power hitting. With such comparisons, who would dare say that these two kids may have flaws?

I do!

The future isn’t now, that’s the fact. And the reality is that they may both be what we want for the future of the game, but they both aren’t what we need. One of these future super stars can ruin the image of the game – especially for children whom look up to him. We all know who that is.

Strasburg’s and Harper’s games are different, that’s obvious. Strasburg is one of the best players out there once every five days, while Harper is slated to be one of the best players out there every day. It’s only natural that Harper will get more hype eventually, if he produces as expected.

Coming into the draft, Harper was a monster, even as a 15 year-old. His stats and power were staggering: He once hit a 570 foot home run out of his high school’s ballpark in Las Vegas. He once hit a 502 foot home run at Tropicana Field. As part of USA Baseball's 16U team in the Pan Am Championships in Mexico, Harper batted .571 in the tournament with four home runs in eight games, a 1.214 slugging average, a .676 on-base percentage, and went six for six in stolen base attempts. He has the ability to throw a 96 mph fastball. He can score on wild pitches…from second base. And by May of 2010, right before he was drafted by the Nats, Harper had already hit .420 with 23 home runs and 68 runs batted in 57 games for the College of Southern Nevada, at age 17.

Strasburg, on the other hand, was quiet for some time. He went undrafted out of high school, an unremarkable who barely won any games. He wasn’t pampered with talent, as he was advised by his strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State to quit the team because he was so out of out of shape and unmotivated. But in the end, he reached the same path as Harper, being praised as the ultra-phenom. Once Strasburg kicked himself in the tail to work harder and work out more, he soon accumulated an Earned Run Average under 2 for a season as early as his Sophomore year of college. He won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, posting a 2.45 ERA. In his last season in college he compiled a 13-1 record with a 1.32 ERA and more than 190 Ks. The minor leagues were most of the same: During his short stint there, Strasburg went 7-2 with a 1.3 ERA before being called up by the Nationals in June of 2010.

But ever since these two men came back-to-back at the top of the MLB drafts in 2009 (Strasburg) and 2010 (Harper), their transitions into the game haven’t changed: Strasburg has remained reserved despite all his success and hype, while Harper remains big-headed and a narcissist. Harper has big dreams, but he does it to show off. When asked about his hype once, Harper said he would shut up all the doubters and loves to show off his arm. He claims he’ll be the greatest ever, likes to beat up on the big guys, and overall wants everyone to see how good he is and revel in it. There is no modesty to him at all, despite all that he has been given; There’s only overflowing cockiness. Strasburg, however, considers every honor, well, to be an honor. When the Washington Nationals said he could only pitch 160 innings for the 2012 season, Strasburg didn’t pout and complain that he would be limited in his playing time like Harper would. He didn’t say he would lose out on the chance to dominate hitters either. No, he said that the decision was the Nationals’, he was fine with it, and that he was honored to be the Opening Day starter for his team. “I’ve still got a lot to learn, and it’s going to be that way for a while,” he said. Harper, however, acts out whenever things don’t go his way, such as screaming into the face of a Minor League umpire when he was called out on strikes in one game. His booming pride and love for his talent is at the complete opposite spectrum of a man who is just as talented as he is. One man is willing to accept that he isn’t the be-all and end-all to the game, while one man thinks that that’s already a fact of the past.

The difference between these two young men is clear: Stephen Strasburg sits quietly in the dugout and examines the game, while Bryce Harper struts onto the field, holding his arms open for fanfare, not even fully mature as a person. They both shine in the light, but Harper isn’t even playing a man’s game; he’s living a child’s world. A single decision many years ago was enough to show the difference between these two stars: Strasburg stayed in school and watched as stardom chased after him, while Harper flung himself into it as soon as his body was grown and he was legally able to. Bryce Harper couldn’t wait to embellish himself in the glamour and lights. He knows that barring injuries and a lack of production, he is going to be one of the premier hitters in the game one day. He knows he is going to be the man that children want to model themselves after. Is that good for baseball? Should the future adults grin with shades on, throw their attitudes at everyone, and pout until they get what they want? Should the future ballplayers be programmed for narcissism?

Strasburg showed patience and poise. He demonstrated maturity simply by staying in school and letting himself grow more. Harper is still a child in a man’s game, but he expects everyone to bow before him. He has the talent to do so, but why should such a jerk be the heir apparent to MLB? Why should someone already posing for the camera go into a world where the flashes multiply? And why has he not yet learned that the youngsters are already copying him? For their sake, let’s hope that Stephen Strasburg one day has a perfect 0.00 ERA season and the kids will stop looking at the bat of tomorrow as a role model.

Mariano Rivera is not done as a pitcher just yet.

Probably.

In all likelihood, Mo will be back to close out games. He may be 42, he may be fighting in a tough division, and the Yankees will definitely seem ancient by the time he comes back, but he should be back to pitch again.

It would be a sad ending to his career if this is the end. The end wasn’t because he broke his arm celebrating after Game 7 of the World Series. The end wasn’t because he took a shot from a batter on the mound. The end wasn’t because he dove for a grounder to save a run. No, he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus because of what happened outside of the game. He ran after a practice fly ball in Kansas City, fell out of nowhere, and then his season ended.

No doubt everyone expected (or expects if Rivera returns from injury) that Mariano Rivera was going to have a grand end to his resume. 608 saves, a 2.21 Earned Run Average, a WHIP of 1, a Batting Average Against of .210, and more than a thousand games, innings, and strikeouts decorate Rivera’s career. With so many alien statistics, it would only seem fitting that the greatest ninth inning pitcher ever would go out the right way: after another World Series; after fighting his heart out in a postseason loss; after setting more records. Fans of Mo everywhere – and even those who simply respect a good player – would want a first-ballot Hall of Famer to go out on his own terms. Rivera dictated his entire career, never was threatened in his dominance, and always, always, cared for his team. A career of nearly two decades of pitching in high-pressure situations, winning the Yankees five championships, and setting the all-time saves record last year – a resume like that deserves to have a pretty ending.

But he didn’t have it go his way yesterday. If Rivera doesn’t come back from his torn ACL, then everyone will remember the great Mariano Rivera as the man who dominated the pressure-cooker mounds, sawed off bats, baffled all-stars with two pitches, had an aura of invincibility, and then all of a sudden vanished from the game because he was hurt in practice. That sentence doesn’t sound right.

Of course, Mo doesn’t have to really worry. He’s validated his entire career already and there isn’t much that can change about that fact. He proved his last doubters on September 19, 2011 against the Minnesota Twins that he is the best closer of all time. Save 602 was the last icing on the cake and the last stat that would make any lesser man spread out his arms, smile, and shake his head and say, “uh huh.”

Rivera doesn’t even need to validate his playoff career because he’s been amazing there too. 42 postseason saves, only one loss, only 11 earned runs surrendered in 96 appearances, and a WHIP of 0.76 to go with an ERA of 0.7. 1-2-3 was how he averaged his go-arounds. There was nothing flashy, just quiet efficiency that won the Yankees some titles. Rivera has contributed in almost every way to the Yankees, so in reality, his entire career is the perfect ending for him.

Mo was likely going to finish his contract and career at the end of 2012. He didn’t officially say he planned to retire, but everyone knew. It was all set up so perfectly. The Yankees splurged in the market to buy the last piece of the championship puzzle, starting pitching. The lineup and bullpen was dominant, and Mo was still unbelievable. 2012 was meant to have a grand ending for the Yankees overall, as it would likely be the last year Rivera would pitch and the last year the remaining hitting veterans would play well. It would be a justified ending to Mo’s great career: a dominant team that wins the championship. It seemed so scripted.

Then, everything fell apart. The Yankees started off the month not even in second place in their division, the starting pitching was terrible, and then Michael Pineda was lost for the year. The picture-perfect ending stopped looking so good for Mo.

Then, it was all thrown out the window when Rivera tore his ACL. Goodbye, 2012; goodbye, Rivera? That’s the frightening ending that Mo’s injury brought about Thursday. Could the Yankees really win a World Series with such bad starting pitching? Could the Yankees win without Pineda? And even worse, could the last year of Mariano Rivera’s illustrious career end with him being carted off the field?

Probably not: He’ll be back.

Mo wants to win. And if he wants to win, then he will be back to close out games for the Yankees. He won’t be back this year and the Yankees won’t win a World Series without him, but he won’t let his tale end like this. As long as Rivera can help his team (and we all know a year away from pitching probably won’t ruin his cut fastball), then he won’t go out. Rivera won’t let his career end until it ends by his terms. He’s going to want to play one last season and try his best to win ring number six. Then, and only then after that one last season – the one he wanted to be 2012 – will he hang up his jersey.

The explanation is so simple, but that’s the kind of person Mo has been throughout his career. He made his destiny off one pitch and rode that to become the greatest closer of all. He doesn’t need anything too fancy. He’s a simple man in everything he does – speaking, celebration, hair, pitching, life. Even though he’s been a Yankee forever, Mariano Rivera has never needed to be grand. He’s content with being simple and carrying out his duties, reserving his heart and true faith in compassion and his faith in God. He’s never needed a deceiving changeup, or an electric curveball. He’s never deceived anyone with his stuff and Mo tries to hide his electric feelings. He comes out, everyone knows what to expect, and he still shines. So, he doesn’t need some wild validation to come back. He just needs to decide if he wants a better finish to an already fulfilled career and if he still believes he can help his team win a championship. With Mariano Rivera, it’s always an automatic possibility. So, he will probably be back. He’ll probably grace a Major League pitching mound at least one more time, breaking bats, and devastating hitters. Mariano Rivera is a simple guy, so it’s a simple decision. But he shouldn’t be shagging fly balls. Come on, Mo, you’re a 42 year-old closer; you’re never going to be in the outfield in an actual game anymore.

While Chelsea FC is currently in sixth place in the Barclays Premier League – a paltry standing compared to their runner-up finish last year – their season is far from lost. After a tortuous season, Chelsea is in prime position to validate their season by winning a trophy – and possibly a historic result on May 19^th in Munich.

The road for Chelsea has certainly not been easy. Their recent news over the past two years since they last won the league-cup double has often been filled with trial, error, and anguish: A £50 million transfer fee for Fernando Torres that has resulted in him scoring only nine goals thus far; a runner-up finish in the 2010-2011 BPL race to rival, Manchester United; Carlo Ancelotti’s firing after the 2010-2011 season ended without any titles; the hiring of an inexperienced Andre Villas-Boas; and in early-March, the sacking of AVB after less than a season of time with the Blues. Further embarrassment for the club comes in the form of their current standing in the English Premier League. With four matches left for the Blues in the BPL, Chelsea has only 58 points and is looking outside of any European competition. Turmoil in the clubhouse, a lack of scoring and league victories, questions about the authority of veteran players, and an overall sense of chaos permeated in one of the most famous football clubs for most of the 2011-2012 season.

Oh, it seemed like a completely different era from the Chelsea of today.

While the past is still in players and fans’ minds and Chelsea is still in sixth place in the EPL, they are on the verge of having a historical season. They are in the FA Cup Final against Liverpool FC after taking down their London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur FC, handedly in the Semi-final by a score of 5-1. They are in the UEFA Champions League Final for only the second time in their history after taking down the defending champions FC Barcelona in the Semi-finals. When the going got tough, the Blues went from AVB to RDM (Roberto Di Matteo). And when the pressure was focused on one game in knockout competitions, Chelsea didn’t falter. No Premier League title, no Carling Cup title, no problem. Most people won’t care about Chelsea’s early season if they win these last two finals. They may have begun badly in the EPL and may not finish in the top four, but the end result is what they care about. Under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea has only lost one domestic league match, a 2-1 loss to second-place Manchester City at Etihad Stadium. Under RDM, Chelsea has not been forced to a replay in the FA Cup. Under RDM, Chelsea has not lost a match in the UEFA Champions League, even when facing some of Europe’s best.

Their overall play has been far more superior to their state under AVB. The first thing you notice is that they’re scoring more. Before, their only speck of offense was from the young Juan Mata. Now that Di Matteo is the manager, the veterans are responding more. Didier Drogba is scoring far more, reminiscent of the old Drogba that could break away from all the defenders in an instant and score on pure physical talent alone. Drogba may be older now, but ever since Andre Villas-Boas was sacked, he is playing with a purpose. In the first leg of the UCL Semi-final match against Barcelona, Drogba scored the only goal and played the entire match – just days after his pivotal match against Tottenham in the FA Cup Semi-final. Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien – they are all getting more playing time and running with it, putting impressive effort into their matches.

But it has been Chelsea’s resiliency that’s so impressive. They have been down so often in many of their matches recently and never gave in. Forced to a replay against Birmingham City. Down two goals to SSC Napoli in the UCL. Down a man for an entire half against arguably the best team in the world, Barcelona. Before, Chelsea would have not answered. A one goal deficit seemed insurmountable, the bottom half teams seemed invincible, and title hopes were certainly gone. Chelsea was just trying to stay in a European competition.

Trophies mean everything to Chelsea. Their owner, Roman Abramovich, sacks any manager who isn’t producing titles. There is no EPL title for the Blues this year, but Chelsea has renewed their FA Cup dominance by setting up final a match up with Liverpool. And now all of sudden, Chelsea is on the edge of history. If they win the FA Cup, people will automatically believe Chelsea is back to their mid and late 2000s form. But if they win the Champions League for the first time ever, then total pandemonium will occur. Roberto Di Matteo will seem like a social genius, Drogba will seem like he’s 27, and the club will be called one of the best teams in Europe once again. Chelsea has made history due to their comebacks already, but two more wins can be the difference between an embarrassing season and a validated and magical one.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Chelsea will automatically have a spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League if they win the Final in Munich? Yeah, maybe the UCL is more than icing on the cake for some clubs.

The New York Knicks breathed a little easier once they secured a playoff spot on Thursday night, but they shouldn’t breathe too easy. The fact still remains that the Knicks have an uphill battle once they playoffs come around.

While the Knicks were impressive against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night when they scored 72 points in the first half, and had more than 50 points off the bench, a win like that one is unlikely to come from them in the playoffs. They haven’t struggled under interim Head Coach Mike Woodson when facing the teams currently in the top eight positions in the Eastern Conference this season, as they are 7-4 against such teams, but the Knicks have two major flaws that could tank their championship hopes quickly: injuries and playoff seeding.

The injuries to Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin are glaring blemishes to the playoff Knicks. While New York still has two healthy superstars for the playoffs – Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler – and have an impressive scoring and defensive bench filled with the likes of J.R. Smith, Steve Novak, and Jared Jeffries, these guys alone aren’t enough. The Knicks may have nine wins out of their last 13 without Stoudemire or Lin, but they can’t rely on Carmelo to carry them offensively throughout the playoffs. Even though he is averaging an unusually low 17.6 Points Per Game, Amar’e is still Amar’e. He is always a threat to make easy perimeter shots and fast break dunks. Teams play defense differently as soon as they see Stoudemire on the court, and shift a little pressure off Anthony and onto him, if Stoudemire is in the lineup. And even though Stoudemire might be back as soon as today, the Knicks are still without their star Point Guard that can spread teams out with sharp passing and 6.2 assists per game. The Knicks may love Woodsanity, but Linsanity still has some fire. Yep, that’s right, I said it.

Injuries have had strange effects on the Knicks this season, as they are doing well with two starters out, and had their longest winning streak of the season (seven games) while Carmelo Anthony was injured in early February. But the Knicks would rather have their players than being without them come playoff time, simply so they have depth. When facing NBA playoff teams, a couple of stars can’t win an entire series on their own. The Knicks saw this last year when they were swept by Boston in the first round and one of their stars, Chauncey Billups, was injured for most of the series. The teams with the most talent when playoffs come around are usually the ones that advance. There are hardly any bad players that are seen in the playoffs –unlike the regular season which has plenty of such players. So, teams that wish to compete in May and June need to have as many stars on their playoff roster as possible, or risk being blown out by the huge pool of talent. After all, when a team faces LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh in a series where one game could mean the end of a season, having only one player who is on the level of one of these guys usually translates into a loss. Sorry, Melo, but you aren’t good enough to take on those three monsters on your own. I hope I didn’t burst your bubble.

But the more pressing concern for the Knicks is their playoff seeding. The Knicks are currently the 7^th seed in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers in the standings. They likely won’t advance any further than the 7^th spot, as they are three games behind the Orlando Magic for the 6^th spot with four games to go. And the Knicks certainly can’t hope for home-court advantage in the first round, as the Celtics just sealed up the Atlantic Division on Wednesday. So, Knicks fans automatically know what it means to not be able to advance further than the 7^th spot in the East. Yes, the Knicks will probably end up facing either the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat in the first round.

Such a fate is likely a disaster for the Knicks. The Knicks may have beaten the Bulls recently, but that was against a weak Derek Rose. The Bulls still have Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Richard Hamilton, and Joakim Noah, even if Rose isn’t healthy, so they have plenty of talent that could beat nearly any team in the playoffs. Sure, the Bulls may not be as good offensively without Rose, as they have only scored more than 100 points six times in their last 18 games – 15 of which the reigning MVP has missed – but this Bulls team is still scary on defense. So, facing a one-headed monster of a Knicks team shouldn’t be too hard for Chicago if they face them in the first round.

The Heat are probably an even better team than Chicago. Their big three of James, Wade, and Bosh speaks for itself, but they even have depth outside of them. They have Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, and more. Miami’s bench may not be as reliable as Chicago, as the Heat’s bench has averaged 24 points and 1.2 blocks compared to the Bull’s 29.2 points and 2.7 blocks. But the overall talent that Miami possesses is as good as it gets. They may be questioned right now, but this same team was considered to be overrated going into the playoffs last year before thy tore through every team they faced until the NBA Finals – including this same Bull’s team. Considering the Heat have a winning streak so close to the start of the playoffs, and they’ve beaten New York in every match up this season, facing Miami is probably worse than playing Chicago, for the Knicks.

The Knicks have turned around their season for the better over the last few weeks. They have lost only five games during Mike Woodson’s tenure so far. But the difference between the regular season and the playoffs is obvious. The level of play that separates most of the teams the Knicks have faced, from the top two teams in the East, is colossal. Carmelo Anthony can’t make up that difference on his own even if he continues to average more than 30 points a game. With Stoudemire and Lin back in the lineup, then perhaps the Knicks have a chance, but they still can’t change the looming match up. Soon, the Knicks will have to find a way to string a number of upsets just to get through the first round. You’ve made the playoffs, New York: breathe easy – oh, wait, no!

The Boston Red Sox were still on the receiving end of taunts about their late-season collapse when April began. But then it all compounded a few days into the month when one man’s injury plummeted the Red Sox’s season chances. Yep, the 2012 Boston Red Sox without Andrew Bailey is likely another season lost.

The Red Sox were hoping Bailey would pan out. After their star closer Jonathan Papelbon went to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Sox signed the former Rookie of the Year, Andrew Bailey. Despite low save opportunities with the Oakland Athletics and being in the majors only three years, Bailey has managed to roll out 75 saves, a WHIP of 0.95, a BAA of .188, and has blown only nine saves in his entire career. In the same three-year span, Papelbon never had a BAA under .207, and has blown 14 saves. So, with a basic look, Bailey looked like a practical signing.

However, the Red Sox are now seeing that Bailey is an injury risk. After his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2009, Bailey has averaged only 45.1 innings pitched and his appearance totals have dropped. This cumulated in a jammed right thumb injury in that ended up turning into ligament damage. Now, he’s gone for three to four months due to thumb surgery. In clearer terms, Bailey busted his right thumb, tried to pitch through it, and made it even worse. If the Red Sox knew this and let him pitch on, then maybe they are hungrier for masochism than critics tease them about.

In any case, the loss of Bailey spells disaster for the Red Sox. Even as an injury risk, Bailey was their only viable option at closer. The Sox had no real path to go from there because they expected (or prayed) that Bailey would remain whole. Instead, they had to throw out a couple of plans and use Alfredo Aceves as their closer – a guy who had a total of four saves before this season and has never averaged a strikeout an inning. Those are the opposite prerequisites of a closer.

While it is early to make grand predictions based on less than a week of Aceves’s play (an ERA of 27 and a blown save through three games), the loss of Bailey truly is significant. The Red Sox already had a weak bullpen, as no one surrendered fewer than 21 earned runs last year. But now in an even more powerful American League East where the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have both improved their pitching, a bullpen with no head could very well mean the Sox will sit out postseason baseball again. In a division where no team scored less than 4.36 runs a game last year, and with an overall Boston pitching staff that ranked 9^th in the AL, the Red Sox are far more hard-pressed this year. The Red Sox’s offense was what carried them to 90 wins last year, but that means nothing if their rotation and bullpen are terrible this season. A baseball team could rank low in a league in one category and still succeed, but that’s only if all their other facets are top-notch. The Red Sox won last year with offense and scrapped through with their rotation and pen. This year, their bullpen has even less depth and almost every Red Sox reliever is struggling out of the gate.

A closer is key to any bullpen. Teams will shell out millions of dollars every year on these types of players who, if put into a starting pitcher’s role, would probably fail. But there are still many closers who can strike out a batter or more an inning and give up no runs in almost every save opportunity. A good closer can mean everything in the postseason when starters can’t go deep when they face the game’s best offenses. Mariano Rivera often single-handedly saved the Yankees during the late 90s postseasons. That’s how important a closer is. Andrew Bailey may not be incredibly experienced and certainly isn’t in the same class as Rivera, but he was slated to give the Red Sox some stability in a highly unstable bullpen. Even with him, the Red Sox would have been hard-pressed to compete with the improved Rays and Yankees and their strong pitching. But they could have at least had a chance with a strong offense and decent pitching. Now without Bailey, however, they have to rely on a middle-relief guy to anchor a bullpen of relievers who you look at and say, “Meh.” A bullpen like that without a savior means the Red Sox could be more than 10 games back in a postseason race by the time Andrew Bailey comes back.

Two and a half months ago, Tottenham Hotspur F.C. was in third place in the Barclays Premier League, only two points behind Manchester United and Manchester City for first place. They were on the cusp of going into first place and making a possible top-flight English football title run for the first time since they won in the 1960-1961 season. Today, they are in fourth place in the English Premier League, only five points ahead of Chelsea F.C. and Newcastle United F.C. for a UEFA Champions League spot, and three points behind their North London rivals, Arsenal F.C. Tottenham once had a 13 point lead over Arsenal, but the Spurs have won only two games out of their last 10, while Arsenal has won their last seven matches.

Less than ten days ago, Tottenham was knocked out of third place. Arsenal was facing Everton F.C. while the Hotspurs were playing Stoke City F.C. Harry Redknapps’s club was comfortably in third place for quite some time, but they didn’t do much with it. From mid-November to March, Tottenham was the bronze team in the EPL. It was an impressive stay in a key position, but the Spurs never seemed to be able to move up. Manchester City and Manchester United have been flipping between second and first place at a few intervals since Week 1, never truly threatened. No doubt Tottenham had an immense drive to advance into at least the two spot. They surely must have realized that this EPL season has been the best chance for teams that usually don’t win, to move in and try and steal the title glory from Man U. Many clubs saw the success of City, a team that until last year hadn’t broken into the top 4 of top-flight English football since their 1976-1977 season, and found hope. The Spurs had a fire to them, a belief that they could win it all and be put into greater relevance than a middle-of-the-pack English team.

But despite that, the Spurs couldn’t find a way past the enigma that was Man U and Man City. They hardly ever seemed to lose, and the Spurs had to give it their all just to keep somewhat close in the standings. They were near the top two, hoping that a string of big wins could lead them to at least a tie in the table.

But that string never happened, and Tottenham began to fall further back.

Tottenham was excogitated to surpass City and Man U, but the hype wasn’t terribly warranted. Even before their match against Manchester City when they were only two points behind first place, the Spurs were having trouble making strides forward. Just the match before, they tied with league-worst Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. when a win could have put them even with City and Man U for the first time in the season. The tie with the Wolves may seem like an oversight and nothing significant when compared to their loss against City, but it is interesting to note. Manchester City and Manchester United have had no trouble maintaining their positions at the top of the EPL. 90 percent of the time no matter who they are facing, they win. They gobble up points at a tremendous rate, hardly ever slowing down. Tottenham, however, has struggled in many matches that could have given them key points. They have defeated only two of the top five teams all season. At the same time, Arsenal has made a habit of beating the important teams and taking key points when they needed it, as they beat the Spurs 5-2 in a crucial match just a month ago when they needed a win to put them within single digits of the Spurs.

Draws have also been an issue for the Spurs. While Tottenham has one less loss than Arsenal, Chelsea, and Newcastle United, the Hotspurs also have three more draws than Arsenal. Many games Tottenham could have closed out and came away with two more points a game, were left without a victor. Many of these draws came against major teams. A recent one stands out starkly, as Tottenham drew 0-0 against Chelsea last Saturday. The result was more detrimental for Chelsea since they were put eight points back of the automatic Champions League spot and ended up tied with Newcastle in the standings after, but it stung the Spurs as well because Arsenal won their match that week, making a further gap between them. Draws against the top teams of Newcastle United, Liverpool, and an earlier one against Chelsea all stand out as games in which the Spurs could have vaulted themselves much further ahead of the teams that are on their heels – something major now considering a UCL spot hangs in the balance and is hardly secured by Tottenham. These draws may not usually be a major critique, but considering the Spurs have barely won more than half of their games, they are flaws in their title chances.

But in the end, the back breaker for the Spurs’s title hopes was that January game against Manchester City. They were only two points behind City and a win could have propelled them not only in the standings, but in morale as well. The knowledge that Tottenham beat the league-leading team could have boosted the players to fire on all cylinders and make them truly believe they could overcome City and Manchester United. The game looked quite hopeful too. After falling behind City 2-0, the Spurs roared back for two quick goals in the 60^th and 65^th minutes to make it even. The Spurs then had about 30 minutes to come up with one last goal to put them into second place in the EPL for the first time all season. But Tottenham couldn’t break past City’s defense, forcing keeper Joe Hart to make only one save during the entire game. City was continuing to bear down and still hadn’t lost at home all season, but Tottenham looked to at least draw and come away with one key point so they could be even closer in the standings.

However, the Spurs’s season seemed to come crashing to earth just as the game was about to close. In the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the match, Ledley King fouled Mario Balotelli in the Penalty Box, allowing Balotelli to score the winning goal on a Penalty Kick, moving Manchester City five points ahead of the Spurs. The opportunity had passed; the Spurs were still in third place.

Now, the title seems completely out of reach for Tottenham. They are 18 points out of first place with two months left in the season. They are trying to hold on to at least a fourth place finish and enter the UCL. But while the title race is essentially a two-team battle, the clash for a UCL spot is far from uninvolved. Four teams – Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Newcastle United – are all fighting for two Champions League spots with eight games left to the season. Tottenham may be five points ahead of Chelsea and Newcastle United, but they know better than anyone that no lead is truly safe. A 13 point lead over Arsenal that has vanished in the past two months is a constant reminder that Tottenham is fighting for their lives to just get into Europe’s best competition.

When National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the punishments to the New Orleans Saints this week for their bounty program scandal, he made one thing very clear: No one is above the rules of the game that Goodell is enforcing. While some may say the discipline was a bit harsh and that the entire organization shouldn’t be penalized for Williams’ mistakes, the reality is that Sean Payton, Gregg Williams, and others either handed out the money straight to the players, or simply spun around, whistled, and walked away as if they were looking a blank void. The end result meant that opposing players and the league suffered for their negligence.

Roger Goodell hasn’t always been a popular Commissioner. Some of his moves left people confused and wondered if he knew how bad he made the NFL look at points. Goodell let (in the nicest way to say it ) a convicted dog abuser back into the game after he helped crash an entire franchise’s hopes; he let a suspected rapist play again after serving only a four-game suspension; and many blamed Goodell for his role in the NFL lockout that lasted 130 days in 2011. Goodell is often criticized for not being able to negotiate with the Players Association and the owners to get his game back on track until it was clear that the NFL was about to lose hundreds of millions of dollars if a deal wasn’t made. Yes, Roger Goodell certainly hasn’t won universal popularity as Commissioner, but pretty much everyone outside of New Orleans would agree that his decisions concerning the Saints were justified.

Effective April 1^st, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton will be suspended without pay for about 10 months. Payton was ignoring Saints’s former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’s bounty program and the incentives that were handed out to Saints who knocked out or took an opposing player in a game. The bounty system was in place during Williams’s time with the Saints and Williams himself handed out payments to players. Williams has been suspended by the NFL indefinitely, and the Saints’s General Manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games of the regular season for overlooking the situation and lying to the league about the Saints’s bounty program. The Saints’s assistant coach Joe Vitt was also suspended for the team’s first six games of the 2012 regular season.

The bounty system that the Saints were running was probably not a novel system. A throng of former players gave accounts and accusations of bounty systems that were in place on NFL teams years before the investigation into the Saints’s bounty system went public. It’s unknown how many of these accounts are actually true, but the odds are that at least some of them are authentic.

Football has, and always will be, a rough game where one of the main aspects that drive the culture is to take out other players. If you’re a NFL player and your job is to defend and knock someone down, then pushing a little harder to help your team win may not seem horrible. It’s a valid point that the Saints’s bounty system may have only encouraged greater effort for defensive players to help their team win. It may very well have been a small push or yell from Gregg Williams to run a little faster, take a harder route, and take out the legs of other players. The incentives for a few thousand dollars were, after all, chunk change these Saints’s players who make hundreds of thousands of dollars a game. So, it is a valid point that the bounty system may have not affected the players’ drive too much.

However, this rationalization doesn’t address the cold hard facts about any bounty system: It’s wrong. The goal of a football game is to win, not to seriously hurt another player. Yes, taking a player out of the game with a good tackle certainly will help a team’s chances to win, but there’s a point when it’s too harsh – even for football. A lot of pro football players are hot-heated and may deep down hate opposing players, but honestly, how many actually want to take those guys off the field for months and perhaps ruin their health for the rest of their lives? Deep down, players just want to win, not give another player a concussion and possible brain damage. The number of players who do want to inflict such pain aren’t a large percentage.

Even if all NFL players are that violent and malicious, the coaches under no circumstances should be involved in rewarding these violent actions or ignoring the obvious truth. Many NFL coaches may be former players, but they all have to realize that they can’t keep that hot-headed mentality once they’re leading a team. Players are bound to the rules of the NFL and must abide by safety rules, but the coaches are exponentially more responsible. NFL coaches have to be the be-all and end-all of their teams and be responsible for every mistake their players commit. On any level of any sport, any coach’s priority is to ensure their players’ safety when they play. These players are coaches’ investments, hopes, and even their friends. So, how would a coach feel on the other end if his player was targeted and violently hit so someone else could make a little extra money?

Coaches know bounty systems are not acceptable. They know that it’s dangerous and encourages bad behavior in athletes. That’s why Sean Payton and the entire Saints organization didn’t try to fight back once they were caught. They knew they helped encourage a terrible culture by handing out money to their players and looking the other way. Sean Payton may not have been directly responsible, may have not been like Gregg Williams and told his players to target Quarterbacks and gave them incentives if an opposing player was carted off the field, but he completely forgot the priority of a coach: safety. He forgot that advocating the safety of his players was completely ridiculous when he was allowing his own men to hurt another coach’s. He forgot that every NFL coach at one point has had to stare in fear as one of their own friends on the field was hauled off and his future health was compromised.

Roger Goodell did the right thing by not pulling any punches with his punishments. A bounty system in unacceptable in any sport. You can’t reward someone for having malice to break a player. Even if Sean Payton wasn’t directly responsible and Gregg Williams was the true villain, it would have been disgraceful if Goodell didn’t come down on Payton. Sean Payton is the man who works directly with all the Saints players and is responsible to know all the inner workings of his team. That’s what every professional head coach signs up for and is a major reason why they are paid millions of dollars. But what Sean Payton did was far worse than not being perceptive to what his team was doing: He had the knowledge of the bounty system and could have snuffed it from its start – just as every NFL head coach is ordered to do each season if the coach has knowledge of any incentive program occurring within his team. Yet, Payton lied about his ignorance and let violence go on in a game that is trying to clean up its image. The NFL is trying to ensure that their rough and gruff 70’s attitude towards player safety doesn’t carry over to the game of today. In a new age of football where the players can be safer and the league can still make billions of dollars every year, Roger Goodell is justified in coming down on anyone who violates the game’s statute of safety.

Despite how exciting UEFA Champions League games are – despite the thrill of seeing the best clubs in Europe representing their city and nation while they clash against titans – there was no match in the UCL season thus far that was as amazing as Chelsea F.C. and SSC Napoli’s match on Thursday. In a match that was predetermined by many (I included) with Napoli advancing to the Quarter-finals of the 2011-2012 Champions League, the opposite came to reality: Chelsea, despite their constant struggles this season, emerged victorious in the match and came back from a 3-1 aggregate deficit to move on in the tournament.

Moving the clock back to the first leg match between Chelsea and Napoli, the time wasn’t good for the Blues. Chelsea had just slipped into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League, their hope for a league title essentially crushed; they had won only two of their last 10 EPL matches. Chelsea’s only other tournament they were still in the run to acquire silverware was the FA Cup; the Carling Cup was already over for them. The pressure was massive for the Blues. Despite the fact that Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich gave his public support to the manager, André Villas-Boas, the inner truth seemed very different: Villas-Boas was given a short leash and it would only get shorter if his team didn’t win. One year without silverware is like a decade for Chelsea, and AVB was making it seem like an eternity because his team was struggling so mightily. What was once a Premier League in which Chelsea was a perennial title contender, AVB’s version of the Blues was suddenly bolted out of the top four right before their first leg match with Napoli.

And then the icing turned sour.

What looked to be an easier UCL tournament than usual with Manchester United and Manchester City out instantly became an uphill battle. Chelsea played poorly compared to the Naples team, unable to answer after Napoli scored three response goals to Chelsea’s lone goal. The match looked hopeful right in the middle of the first half when Juan Mata scored to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead and a key away goal. But Ezequiel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani, and Ezequiel Lavezzi again made Chelsea’s season look horrific. Napoli scored three goals, winning the first leg 3-1, and had a nice two goal cushion heading to Stamford Bridge in three weeks time. Chelsea hoped that success in Europe could make their domestic troubles look a bit childish, but Napoli kept them still. Napoli’s offense was too strong at home, and Chelsea couldn’t get a foul break, committing 19 fouls in the match. Chelsea had to regroup and in three weeks had to, at the very least, put on a strong performance in front of their home crowd – if not a superb presentation.

The odds certainly weren’t in Chelsea’s favor. The minimum they needed to advance was two home goals and for their defense to shutout Napoli – a tall order for Chelsea since Napoli had four players with at least two goals in the Tournament phase (Edinson Cavani had even more, at five). Chelsea had been having trouble producing a large amount of offense in the past few weeks as it was, as they scored more than one goal in their last 10 matches only twice. Holding off Napoli’s offense would be difficult in itself, but Chelsea had to worry about their own legs. Even one Napoli goal would have been assumed to be the downfall of Chelsea, as that would have required three Chelsea goals in the 2^nd leg just to send the match to extra time.

But then, something happened to Chelsea. They played better. They began to produce more offense. They began winning – all before their UCL match with Napoli. They won two of their last three EPL matches, scoring three against Bolton. They even produced offense in their 5^th Round FA Cup match against Birmingham City, winning 2-0 on the road.

The ousting of Villas-Boas, however ugly it may have been, appeared to have helped Chelsea. They were overall playing better. They scored two goals against Birmingham City – almost one after another – and they took 21 total shots against Stoke City in the EPL, 10 on target. They had plenty of chances, as they had 14 corners. Their defense held well too, as Petr Čech only had to make one save. The sample size certainly isn’t large enough to make vast conclusions, but Chelsea’s recent results since firing AVB have been some of their best all season. Their win over Napoli was the best impression of the club’s recent play, as they brimmed with offense, scoring three goals in the first 90 minutes, and another in extra time to win it. Chelsea hardly let Napoli get many chances, as Napoli only had five shots on target and had less than 40 percent ball possession in the first half.

AVB may have often been the victim of the Abramovich system of ultra-scrutiny and the mandate for instant success that came along with it, but he didn’t help himself. He alienated many players and simply wasn’t the absolute leader he was expected to be. Villas-Boas was hardly older than John Terry, yet he was supposed to rope in the champion to listen to him while telling the former English captain that his role would be limited. The players wouldn’t have it. Veterans like Didier Drogba even drowned out AVB in the locker room and essentially tried to instruct the club instead of letting the manager do it.

But as soon as the pressure of AVB’s future was gone and the mess that came along with it was too, Chelsea began to prosper a bit. They seemed happier, if nothing else. It is too early to see how far the interim manager, Roberto Di Matteo will take the club, but his players seem willing to play under him right now. The lighter atmosphere and the air of a productive and hopeful club is evident. Di Matteo running to embrace his players on Thursday was just a small show of the different between him and Villas-Boas.

The Chelsea that appeared on Thursday was more than a sudden realization of talent that was waiting all season. It was a sudden realization of the old guard. Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien – all these veterans shined, and simply said, “We got this, just like the old days.” They were the driving force in the 2^nd leg match against Napoli. Lampard and Drogba both had an assist and a goal, and Terry had a goal too. There was no Fernando Torres as the star, but rather an appreciation of how good these older players still were. Drogba has been surprisingly good lately, as he has scored three goals in Chelsea’s last five matches, providing offense expected from Torres. The old guard of champions is longer is in the back as they were when Villas-Boas was the manager; they are embraced by Di Matteo and were shown faith that they could still get their legs revved up and show Europe what it means to play Chelsea.

This old guard, hidden by the likes of the newer Juan Mata and David Luiz, and pushed aside by the luxurious Fernando Torres, reminded everyone of something on Thursday: A happier and flowing team can bring about wonders. Oh, and that the Chelsea veterans can still kick tail. Regardless of the fact that silverware for Chelsea this season is still a mountain of chance and hard work away, the Blues’s performance at Stamford Bridge on Thursday showed that this Chelsea club won’t go away. They showed that English football is still a premium in Europe against the likes of the Italians and the Spaniards. They even managed to show that when it comes to football, an old guard may just be what a young, expensive team needs.

For those who pay attention to the state of soccer in the world, you would come across a noteworthy trend: Big teams are angry. They’re not angry because they’re not winning; they’re angry at UEFA because they feel like they’re being abused and held back from the salvation of Europe. In short, to such clubs like F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid C.F. who don’t find any competition in their own domestic leagues, they scream at UEFA for a major toy – a European Super League.

Oh yeah, did I mention that these clubs want this European Super League to get more money?

For many months now, some major clubs have been arguing for a Super League – a league much like a domestic one, except the best teams in Europe face each other twice a season and the club with the most points at the end wins the silverware.

It is an interesting proposition to think about. Imagine it: Teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and so many more fighting not to be the team that survives at the end or the team that has the best aggregate score, but to be the overall best team over the span of more than six months when facing every monster team in Europe.

It’s a bit exciting, especially since some of these clubs simply don’t play each other enough in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

But it does sound like a bit much.

All these teams face off in a European competition already and are involved in multiple tournaments every season. From domestic leagues, to domestic cups, to other domestic cups, and even more beyond that, these teams are constantly on the move. Isn’t there enough on all these clubs’ plates?

Apparently not. Clubs want this. Bad. Some are willing to go to extremes to try and produce a Super League. The threat of some of these teams separating from UEFA does loom, and Barcelona, for one example, looks serious about it. Discussion for months has been going on about Barcelona and Real Madrid leaving UEFA in order to form a Super League on their own.

Doesn’t that sound too gangster?

Again, apparently not. The European clubs aren’t obliged to follow the rules of UEFA once their memorandum of understanding expires in 2014. These clubs want more rights from the giant soccer organization of UEFA, and many are convinced they aren’t getting it.

UEFA certainly isn’t an angel. They often do abuse clubs around the world, raking in huge sums of money and enacting strict penalties on teams, even though these clubs are losing money by the droves. UEFA is angry that teams like Manchester City are spending hundreds of millions of pounds every year and UEFA is even going as far as banning teams that spend too much (even though UEFA makes hundreds of millions of dollars each year). Adding this onto the fact that UEFA has rules stating that clubs must release players for international competitions and the World Cup, and it is reasonable for European clubs to feel as if they don’t have a lot of power. They are held tight, don't see the fruits of their labor, and then are punished for it. "Bad spending teams!" says UEFA...or something like that.

But despite the recurrent ineffectiveness and corruption of UEFA, the bottom line remains the same: A European Super League just isn’t practical. Teams barely have enough scheduling flexibility between their domestic league, cups, and for the big teams, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Adding on any kind of regular league matches throughout Europe is essentially impossible. Yes, some people argue that the teams that participate in a Super League could simply not play in a domestic league and find proper competition in this Super League. Some say that grouping the richest and most powerful clubs in the world and letting them go at each other on a weekly basis is practical and would let smaller teams have a chance at domestic leagues. But clubs won’t go for this annual separation and shouldn’t. There’s national pride involved in these domestic leagues. These clubs have a chance to proclaim themselves the best team and city in their countries, so why would they want to forsake that pride and history every year?

And is anyone forgetting the UEFA Champions League? This league is the most popular competition on the planet and in a way is already what the Super League would be. The best teams in Europe face each other; there is a group stage so that clubs have a chance to advance over a period of time instead of losing their entire tournament in one game; there’s a two-leg fixture for most of the Knockout Phase for those who want a playoff-like atmosphere. Many parts of the UCL is quite similar to a Super League. How do you put a league on steroids when it's already on it?

But let’s not forget who’s truly arguing for this European Super League: Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two teams who can’t find any competition in Spain and hardly any in Europe argue that they need better opposition…or simply more money. That’s kind of La Liga’s own fault. There’s such an absurd talent gap between the teams in top and the teams at the bottom. It’s Real Madrid or Barcelona – that’s it. There’s a 24 point difference between first place Madrid and third place Valencia, while Barcelona sits in the middle, 14 points ahead of Valencia. That’s just not fair, Barca and Madrid. Give back to the rest of La Liga and maybe you won’t be so bored. Because honestly, every other league in Europe has real competition to keep themselves entertained. Serie A often has at least four teams vying for the title; Fußball-Bundesliga has had an emergence of competition in recent years, as teams like Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, and Schalke 04 have made the title race a question for once. And of course in the Barclays Premier League the top seven teams are all in biting distance of the team in front and behind one another (except for maybe the top two clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United, but they aren't even unfathomably ahead of the others). In all these domestic leagues, the teams are competing. Up and down the league table, clubs are fighting and are in races to get as high as they can – to win a title, to make European competition, to stay out of regulation. The only league that is predetermined before it begins is La Liga, where every year the question is: Is it Barcelona or Madrid? In the last 27 years of La Liga play, only four winners not named F.C. Barcleona or Real Madrid C.F. have won the league.

If Super League advocates like Barcelona and Madrid really are only complaining about the fact that they aren’t utilizing the potential to make more money every year, here’s a news flash: All of these major clubs make a tremendous amount of capital each season. Real Madrid and Barcelona together make 60 percent of all television revenue in La Liga, while every other club splits the remaining 40 percent with each other. The disparity in fortune with many of the clubs in Europe is much like this. Teams like Manchester City can throw away more than $300 million and worry if they won't win silverware for a season, while teams like Aston Villa lose $85 million and worry if they will have to merge with the Cleveland Browns. Clubs desiring a European Super League should focus first on fixing the income disproportion before wanting to fight the top dogs on a regular basis. These are, after all, teams from the same nations as the top dogs.

Until mid-February, the biggest news of Manny Ramirez’s retirement was his arrest for slapping his wife. Now, he gets to slap Coco Crisp and Billy Beane in Oakland, and banter Bartolo Colom about how he managed to reverse the clock...for a few months. Yep, Manny’s back in baseball. Watch out, world….

After Ramirez suddenly began creating interest about a possible return from retirement (hiding away is a more accurate term for what he did), the Oakland Athletics decided to give him a shot and signed Manny to a one-year deal for the Minor League worth $500,000 – once he serves out his 50-game suspension for violating MLB drug policy. This move came less than two weeks after the A’s signed Cuban sensation, Yoenis Cespedes, to a four-year deal worth $36 million.

No, no, don’t worry: the Oakland Athletics have not been taken over by Brad Pitt.

While these two moves figure to be more eventful than the Oakland A’s 2011 season, they are slightly puzzling. After scrapping out most of the talent out of his club, Billy Beane suddenly decided he was going to get funky with his money and spent a chunk of change on a kid who is a big maybe, and a small amount of money on a guy who is…well, Manny. Risk 1, risk 2.

Gone are the exciting days of Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, and Andrew Bailey. These three pitchers – all the best players in the Oakland organization – were traded in the off season for prospects. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. The Oakland A’s know that their time span for keeping star players is a season, at best. They play Moneyball as hard as anyone does in the game. As soon as a player reaches their potential and people begin noticing him, uh oh, it’s time for Billy to restart the cycle.

While it was an excellent system that worked in the early 2000s, the results simply don’t come around with great fruitions for Oakland anymore. Since their 2006 ALCS appearance, the A’s have gone 381-428 – never surpassing .500 in a season. Billy Beane’s magic still produced many good players in that time, such as Dan Haren, Andrew Bailey, and Gio Gonzalez, but that’s about it. Why? Simple: Oakland became famous. Their Moneyball secret was discovered by the rest of the MLB. Starting with Theo Epstein in Boston after 2002, MLB teams began studying the methods of Billy Beane, Sandy Alderson, and of course, Bill James. Beane said it himself that the longer the A’s went unnoticed, the longer they would be able to win. Unfortunately for him, MLB realized Beane’s genius. Now, the A’s are studying up on the next saber metrics revolution to get ahead of the curve and buy a few more years of time. Until then, the A’s have to rely on Coco Crisp, Bartolo Colon, maybe Cespedes, and gasp, Manny Ramirez.

But the most interesting thing about this whole Manny-save-the-A’s situation isn’t the shock of him signing with Oakland. No, if anyone would sign Manny, it would be the Athletics simply to attract more fans, so that isn’t what’s startling about this move. What is surprising about this whole Manny situation is that he managed to avoid his 100-game suspension.

Despite Ramirez originally saying that he would serve his 100-game suspension, MLB didn’t follow through. They agreed to his request to reduce his 100-game suspension to 50 games in order to return to MLB.

MLB’s reason: Manny Ramirez sat out almost all of last season.

No, no, no, my fickle MLB friends. Manny Ramirez did not sit out almost all of last season; he ran away from his punishment.

It’s one of the more lame excuses I have heard MLB give about a player punishment in a long time.

Least we all forget what Manny has done in recent years. After amassing more than 500 home runs in his career and igniting a fire in Los Angeles Dodgers’s fans with a 53 game streak of a .396 average, .489 OBP, .743 slugging, 1.232 OPS, 17 home runs, and 53 RBIs, Manny lighted a bon fire. Then, he snuffed it out because he wasn’t manly anymore. Yep, who could forget Manny’s 50-game suspension for testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a fertility drug that can be used by athletes to return testosterone to normal levels after using PEDs. Yes, just months after handcuffing the Dodgers to pay him a massive 2-year, $45 million contract, Manny showed his appreciation of Los Angeles by using PEDs. Or did he get caught in the middle? Who knows, but I’m sure he loved them.

The second positive test for PEDs was a bit more amusing because he was just days into the 2011 regular season with the Tampa Bay Rays. I remember it clearly: I started up my computer, get onto my home page, and the first news headline I see is that Manny Ramirez was caught again for using PEDs and then retired.

Was it a dream? Could Manny really disappear that easily?

Apparently not. After the most cowardly move by a MLB player caught for juicing himself up, Manny waited for the coast to clear and came back, saying he wasn’t ready to retire.

No, of course not, Manny, you just wanted a vacation.

What really is bothersome and ridiculous about the whole signing isn’t the fact that it means Manny gets to come back to baseball and make us roll our eyes. Trust me, we all know that Manny Ramirez is a jerk, so that isn’t the main reason for my anger. What makes me mad is the simple fact that he got away with his second PED violation.

I say it again: Manny did not sit out 2011; he ran away. He was not forced to watch his teammates play while he was stuck in a gym; he did not get to face the media; he did not have to make an apology. No, there was no penalty. Manny just ran from Tampa Bay, baseball, and got to have a nice, little vacation while he waited for everyone’s tempers to cool down.

And now, he gets to come right back into the game and only misses two or three months of the regular season. How is that right?

How did Manny get away with throwing Tampa Bay under the bus? How did he get away with never giving an explanation for his actions - twice? How did he just get away from the game on a compromise and never truly had to pay for violating MLB twice? How did he get away with lying, cheating, and dishonoring the game of baseball?

However dishonorable all the other players caught using PEDs were, however they ruined the game, however much they lied, cheated, and pretended to cry for their teammates and say they were naïve, not one of them – not even Roger Clemens – did it a second time. They may have never truly learned from their mistake and only stopped using PEDs because MLB was following their behinds, but the fact remains that those were all one-time mistakes.

Manny Ramirez got caught doing it again after he was discovered the first time. He didn’t care about MLB’s policy or that he could cost his team 100 games of his play. He didn’t care how bad he would look as the only player in the history of MLB to mud the national pastime twice. No, Manny Ramirez said “screw you guys,” and simply didn’t care what happened after. He gave no reason, he felt no angst, and he never, ever truly was sorry. He didn’t even try to fake it.

What kind of ballplayer has such little respect for the game and MLB that he doesn’t even care to try and exonerate himself. Roger Clemens went to court and was indicted because he cared for his image; Barry Bonds was forced out of the game to protect his innocence; Ryan Braun had no future for his 2012 season because he was trying to prove himself as an open book. All these guys were caught using PEDs (whether Braun really did it or not is debatable, but he shared the drive with Bonds, Clemens, Tejada and everyone else to at least try). They tried for their families. They tried for their fans. And most importantly, they tried for themselves. Even if they didn’t care for the game, none of them flipped off baseball and said it was their own business. That’s the difference between everyone else. They all at least put in an effort for something. They cared. Manny Ramirez doesn’t.

And how does MLB react to this? They gave Manny half a slap on his wrist and let him go along, ignoring how he flipped them all off and ran from due justice. Manny got to laugh about how he got off without going down for more than half a season.

Trust me, MLB: Someone being retired for a year isn’t paying for violating the game.

MLB rightfully came down on players to clean up their game in the recent years, and while they failed in their efforts to justify looking the other way in the 1990s, they at least tried to make up for their errors. They enacted a harsher suspension policy and testing on players in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008. More random testing; 15 day suspension and a year suspension; 50 and 100 and life suspensions; exponential increase in testing. All of these improvements to baseball are thanks to MLB’s head honchos finally owning up for their mistakes and trying to be better. And it worked, as the power numbers in MLB have dropped. Since the peak in 2006 with 5,386 total home runs in the majors, the numbers have consistently dropped. A decrease of more than 100 home runs a season have occurred after 2006 and up until 2009.

MLB has done more to improve the game than Manny Ramirez has ever done since they were caught in trouble. MLB has created more PED education and testing since 2009; Manny has avoided giving two apologies and hid from baseball’s sight in that same time period.

It’s sad, to be honest. Manny Ramirez has been one of the more colorful players in MLB during his tenure. Hiding in Fenway and revitalizing a Los Angeles franchise for a few years have been just some of his amusing antics.

But it gets to a point where it’s just not funny anymore. Manny’s latest antic of coming back from an escape to the shadows didn’t make anyone throw back their heads and say, “Oh, that Manny.” No, everyone just got tired and didn’t care anymore. We had thrown Manny Ramirez out of his minds. We were happy to ignore him and focus on better players.

You can’t blame Billy Beane for wanting something to attract fans to the Coliseum. After losing all the stars of their team, the A’s needed some kind of talent around to pique enough interest in the fans to come out to the ballpark. There’s Yoenis Cespedes, and to a degree, Manny Ramirez.

But you can blame MLB for turning a blind eye on one of the biggest disgraces to their drug policy. And we can and should blame the man responsible for all this anger and sighs: Manny Ramirez. His desire to live in his own little world became so insatiable that he didn’t care how bad he made the game of baseball look with his second offense.

And now, he has a chance to inflict more damage to baseball – only a few months after one of the best comebacks and postseasons in years.

But we can take solace in one thing: If Manny disgraces the game one more time, he can never come back to it. Until then, Manny Ramirez is green. Poor Oakland.