I’m not sure how to feel about this one. Manny Ramirez has quite a reputation as a slugger. He also has a reputation as a bit of a prima donna. I hope that we get more of the former and little to non of the latter. Ozzie provides enough character for the whole team, he doesn’t need Manny fodder.

Steve Nesius, AP

Here’s my take on A-Rod’s quest for 600 homers. Think back a few years ago, when Barry Bonds was hunting down the all time HR record, and people wanted the record book to contain asterisks next his name for every record he has. After Bonds toppled Aaron and retired, there was talk of A-Rod possibly surpassing Bonds and maybe even reaching 1,000 HR ( a long shot, yes, but some thought it was possible). And what would make it better was that A-Rod had done it cleanly. Or so we thought. Now we know he’s no cleaner than Bonds and whether he catches Bonds makes no difference. The record will stand, asterisk or no.

I have always been a Chicago White Sox fan, and part of being a fan of the AL in baseball was a pre-requisite to hate the New York Yankees. And with someone like George Steinbrenner out in front, driving up prices by paying for big name stars, it was real easy to hate them. Steinbrenner died this morning of a heart attack, and I don’t know what it is about death, or maybe it’s that I saw my team win the World Series in 2005, but I wish him no ill will in his passing. He did what he felt he had to do to make sure his investment and his team won. I guess you can say that is something we all would do if we were in his position, but some of us might have gone about it differently.

Dallas Braden, of the Oakland A’s, became only the 19th player in the history of baseball to throw a perfect game. 3 batters, 3 straight outs, for 9 straight innings. No walks, no base hits, just 27 retired batters in a row. The reason this is such a monumental feat is that with the umpire calling balls and strikes, there’s the chance he might issue a walk on questionable calls. Also, a batter might get lucky with a little bloop hit just out of reach of a fielder. And speaking of fielders, there’s always the chance for that one in a million error from the guy who never commits one. So, to throw a perfect game is very rare, especially considering there are only 19 in the over 200,000 baseball games played ever. I always thought it funny that some people, upon hearing someone threw a perfect game, will ask, “Did they win?”

One of the last great names in radio for baseball has passed. Ernie Harwell, longtime voice of the Detroit Tigers, succumbed to cancer yesterday. For thos of you who are not baseball fans, it may be hard to understand the significance of a baseball announcer. I grew up in Chicago, and even though I root for the White Sox, I would happily watch a Cubs game on TV. The voice of the Cubs was Harry Caray, who became an icon in the city. Some will debate his effectiveness as a baseball play-by-play guy, but when I heard him speak, I started thinking of trips I had made to Wrigley Field as part of school field trips. I’m sure Harwell did the same for Tigers fans. Baseball is a game perfect for radio. It’s leisurely pace creates quite a bit of down time between pitches and if you can’t keep a crowd entertained on the radio, you’re not going to last. And when the action picks up when the ball is in play, you have to convey the excitement with nothing more than your voice.  Fans loved Harwell’s voice, Southern drawl and quirky sayings. I wish I would have had a chance to listen to him broadcast a game. RIP, Mr. Harwell.

I just watched the video of that 17 year old who ran out onto the field during the Phillies-Cards game. If you’re not familiar with the story, security used a taser gun to subdue this kid since running onto the field is a misdemeanor and cops have authority to tase someone who is fleeing. The funny part is the kid appears to do a head first slide when he’s hit. I expected to see him start shuddering before collapsing to the ground and flop around like a fish. If you didn’t know any better you might think that this kids just tripped.

Well, the baseball season has started and some in my family are celebrating, some are watching calmly and others are preparing the hangman’s noose.  I grew up in a family of five, with my dad, my little brother and me all rooting for different teams. My dad loves the Minnesota Twins and they’re off to a good start, as always. I root for the White Sox, who are one game below .500 at this point, and my brother roots for the Cubs, who are at the same level as the sox.  As if that didn’t make life fun enough, my sister married a guy who roots for St. Louis. So, let me paint aa typical summer get together. My Dad and I trade barbs over our teams while my brother and brother in-law trade barbs over their teams. Then, to throw some more fuel on the fire, my brother and I trade barbs on the cross-town teams.  Obviously, we all love each other and do this all in good fun. I guess it could be worse. We could have a Yankees and Red Sox fan in the immediate family.

Well, MLB decided to open the 2010 season with a game only East Coast and hardcore baseball fans find interesting. The defending champ New York Yankees opened the season against the Boston Red Sox. Coming from a guy who lives in the Midwest and cheers for Chicago, this is like rooting for the matchup in the title. The Yankees have been the quintessential team to beat for years becuase of their history. I always said rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for air: it’s too easy. And their opponents, the Red Sox, managed to go from lovable losers to insufferable winners after their Series win in ’04. I think that comes mostly from the Boston fans themselves who seem to have this complex that is like a cheese grater to my skin. So, with that being said, I do have to say I’m happier that New York started the season 0-1, now if we can just get Boston to 1-1 in their next game, I’ll be happy.

Well, this year opening day falls on Easter Sunday. So, not only will you be able to enjoy your Easter Ham with family, not only will you have the chance to watch the Masters golf tournament, you can watch the Yankees and Boston open the 2010 season. All things considered, that’s not a bad deal.

From the “I need to fulfill a word quota” department comes this article from Tony DeMarco. In it he discusses the nature of statistics and how owners are making decisions on who to acquire. I’d like to send a big shout out of “D’UH!” to this guy.  Since baseball became a business, statistics have helped owners determine player value.  Pitchers with low ERAs? Get them. Batter with an averages near .300? Offer him a contract and he might take us to the Series.  The only thing different now is that the statistics are more in-depth involving complex calculations.  Pretty soon fans will be discussing a player’s VORP rating in addition to on-base percentage. Numbers have always been part of the game, we’re just adding more numbers.