Miami Doping

Miami doping questions puts a damper on a bright team and shows that drugs are still very much a part of baseball.

By Kelvin Read

AP Photo/ Willfredo Lee

With new PED reports coming out in the past couple of weeks linking players from Alex Rodriguez to Gio Gonzalez to PEDs, college students have come away almost unscathed. One person being linked to drug use is Miami strength coach Jimmy Goins. Goins is currently under investigation by the MLB, but hasn’t been convicted of any illegal activity yet.

The University of Miami released a statement saying that none of their students had tested positive for steroids since 2005, when it started to release its test results, but that doesn’t mean that untested and illegal substances aren’t being used. There is no test for HGH, a commonly used drug for injured players. Additionally, we recently learned about Deer Antler Spray and its mischievous usage. Drugs like these are common in baseball and other sports. Oddly, though, there are no plans to implement more severe testing procedures in order to diminish the prevalence.

Miami is currently ranked 29^th in the first week of college baseball. While this investigation is unlikely to impact the team’s season, a shadow has been cast on Miami’s success. More testing needs to be done. Drug use is rampant in junior college baseball, where players are striving to get picked up by more competitive teams. Players like Rodriguez are not the real problem. It’s young men that use drugs starting in their teens and twenties. It’s unfortunate that we must have such a watchful eye on the young men who are enjoying their prime years, but the Miami report means that oversight of their superiors is needed.

High school and college testing will have to become much more severe. College may be a time where you can make some mistakes in your life, but PED usage to gain an advantage should not be allowed.

Can you get excited for MLB?

Though hope springs eternal, not every MLB fan base can look onto the looming season with championship aspirations. By Jason Krakower 

          Jason Krakower is a junior newspaper major at Syracuse University. Somewhat of a baseball nut, Jason plays for the club team at SU (the university doesn't offer a varsity team) and loves to watch his Orioles each summer. Now, let's go to Jason.

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          For my first column at EP, I originally wanted to do a legitimate preview for the upcoming Strasburg-less baseball season.  Then I realized that walking into a sports site and spouting off some thoughts and predictions for people who don’t know me is kind of like Smalls wandering into the outfield, except I wouldn’t have Benny the Jet to hit one straight into my glove.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home to the O's and some of the best sights in pro baseball.

The season’s still over a month away, so I’ll get into that later.  First I want to tell you something about myself that should help you get to know me a little, as well as help you understand why I’m not as excited as John Kruk to jump into the season so quickly.

I’ve been a diehard baseball fan and player for nearly my entire life.  I’m also an Orioles fan.  I tell people that my first real sports memory is watching Cal Ripken, Jr. running a victory lap around Camden Yards after breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak in 1995.  There probably couldn’t have been a better moment for a young baseball fan in Maryland to watch at that time.

Toughness defined.

This is not that story.  This is my second real sports memory.

            I want (but really don’t want) to fast forward over a year later, to Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS between the Orioles and Yankees.  The Yanks are down 4-3 in the bottom of the 8^th inning, and rookie shortstop Derek Jeter steps to the plate.  The Orioles had an outstanding team in ’96, which included Hall-of-Famers like Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Eddie Murray, and naturally strong guys like Brady Anderson and Rafael Palmeiro.  If Armando Benitez could get Jeter and get through the next inning, the O’s would take a huge away game at Yankee Stadium and a huge step toward a first World Series appearance since 1983.

          Most people know what happens next.  Jeter hits a deep fly ball to right.  A kid whose name I can’t bear to say reaches down into the field and grabs it.  Umpire calls it a home run.  Yanks win in extra innings.  Orioles lose the series 4-1.  Yanks win the World Series for the first time in 18 years.  Orioles make the playoffs again in ’97, then never again.

That was tough to write.

           

Maier: Loved in NYC. Loathed in Baltimore.

           One thing that comes with being a huge baseball fan/player is that we tend to be extremely superstitious.  We think that every minor action will affect something…it’s kind of like Mild Athletic OCD.  So even though it probably isn’t true, I maintain that the Orioles broke when That Kid stole that ball.

             

          We in Maryland haven’t been excited for a baseball season in what seems like a decade, and I know that feeling seems ridiculous for everyone here in New York who expect a title every year.  Maybe not in Pittsburgh.  Thank God for the Pirates. (Ed note: as a Pirates fan,  not cool. Not cool.)

Anyway, I’ll do my predictions and previews for the season, but it’ll take some work – as always – to get myself psyched for it.  So for the time being, and speaking on behalf of all Orioles fans to That Kid…YOU’RE KILLING ME SMALLS!

EP's 2010 MLB Playoffs Preview

by Mike Izzo

With the playoffs finally upon us, we can narrow the eventual champion down to eight teams. So who will win? Will the Yankees successfully defend last year’s title? Will the Phillies reach the World Series for the third year in a row? Will The Rangers win the first pennant in franchise history?

Let’s consult EP’s crystal ball to find out.

(Yes, this is an authentic crystal ball.)

Divisional Series

Tampa Bay Rays/Texas Rangers: Rays

The American League seems a little easier to call than the National League for a number of reasons. Here we have a young, but experienced Rays team (remember they made it to the World Series just two years ago) against a Rangers team that hasn’t even really sniffed the playoffs until this year.

Sure the Rangers have some bats (namely Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton), but so do the Rays (Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford). On paper, these teams may appear evenly matched but expect experience to be the key factor. Then again, the Rays were the young and inexperienced team two years ago so who knows? Anything can happen in five games.

Minnesota Twins/New York Yankees: Yankees

The Twins will be without Justin Morneau. That’s a playoff killer, but the Twins have been winning without him for months so there is no reason to think that missing Morneau would begin to hurt them now. Plus, any team with Joe Mauer is going to have a fighting chance to win some games. But will they be able to take down the defending champion Yankees? I don’t think so.

The Yankees need Andy Petite or Phil Hughes to replicate their first half form and the hitters deep in their lineup to get hot. If they do, the Yanks can go on the same tear that they did when they swept the Twins in the ALDS last year.

It’s too hard to go against Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter in the playoffs. Think they’re having down years? Not in October.

Philadelphia Phillies/Cincinnati Reds: Phillies

Man, the Reds drew the short straw. They are the underdog team in the National League–the one that the casual fan will likely root for if their team isn’t in the playoffs–but they are stuck playing the perennial playoff powerhouse in a five game series. While the Reds may matchup all right in the hitting and fielding departments (Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips vs. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, respectively) the same cannot be said for pitching.

Can Edinson Volquez be the ace of a World Series-caliber team? Doubtful, especially when the Phillies are able to throw out Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, easily the best three-man rotation in the playoffs. Look for Philly to win this series handedly. Halladay threw a no-hitter - only the second in postseason history - in Game 1 of the series.

San Francisco Giants/Atlanta Braves: Giants

This one is tougher to call. Neither team has made it to the postseason in years. Both teams have gotten into the playoffs due to phenomenal pitching (the Giants have the best earned run average in the majors with a 3.36 mark and the Braves are ranked 3^rd with 3.56). So who wins?

When in doubt in the playoffs, look towards the starting pitching. If a team gets rocked in the early innings, it’s hard to come back, especially in a five game series. As great as it is to see Tim Hudson bounce back from Tommy John surgery to lead the Braves to the playoffs, I don’t think Hudson along with Derek Lowe and Tommy Hanson will be enough to win this series.

The Giants have three starting pitchers they can count on in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez.Almost. Either way, this one goes to the Giants.

League Championship Series
Tampa Bay Rays/New York Yankees: Yankees
They went back and fourth atop the AL east all year, and the Rays came out on top by a single game. Something tells me Sabathia and Jeter weren't too thrilled with this result...

Philadelphia Phillies/San Francisco Giants: Phillies
Expect to see plenty of great pitching matchups in this series. Halladay vs. Lincecum may be the best pitchers duel the playoffs have seen in years.


2010 World Series
New York Yankees/Philadelphia Phillies: Phillies
If the Yankees have any shot at repeating, they are going to have to tear apart the Phillies bullpen. Something tells me Halladay and Oswalt, keen on their first rings, won't even need a bullpen.