It’s a Long Way to the Top.

Kobe’s Beef: Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has been playing brilliantly all season.  However, the Laker’s front office is the real nomination on my Bottom 5.  Since this past offseason, the Lakers have tried to find a new home for Pau Gasol and the situation has not worked out well.  They almost acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets that would have sent Gasol to the Houston Rockets but the NBA ended up sending Paul to Los Angeles Side B (the Clippers).  Bryant has expressed his frustration through the media and to his bosses, but the Lakers management is just making itself look bad with the Gasol trade situation.  It is hard for a player to go out and perform well knowing that he might be gone the next day and in a compacted season, you need fresh legs on a consistent basis.  Will Gasol be traded this year?  Most likely, but the Lakers front office better make their decision soon so the team does not lose too many games.

 Sign Unwanted: The arrival of Albert Pujols has L.A. buzzing.  Staying within Kobe Bryant’s city limits, the next nomination on my Bottom 5 is the L.A. Angels’ marketing managers for putting up billboards (left) of Pujols that the slugger does not want up.  While Pujols is a humble player that does not attract attention to himself other than turning heads with his outstanding play, it is not surprising that he does not want giant billboards of him with “El Hombre” around town.  Pujols may not mind the attention but he has clearly stated that he does not like the title “El Hombre” because “The Man” was Stan Musial’s nickname.  Why would the marketing department give Albert Pujols a nickname?  Isn’t that for the players and coaches to assign?  Here’s a message to the Angels marketing team: Let Pujols put up MVP numbers and then advertise him.

The Coward Strikes!: WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. called the Jeremy Lin hype racist because he is Asian.  Mayweather claims that if Lin was black, no one would care.  While the new Knicks superstar is attracting international attention, especially in Taiwan, calling someone’s amazing play out because of race is ridiculous.  Mayweather should concentrate more on defending his title or better yet, fight Manny Pacquiao!  He is mismanaging his situation—he’s in no position to be calling out anyone based on race.  Mayweather is a coward since he calls out Asians for receiving a lot of media attention even though they are playing great.  Even if Jeremy Lin was black, he would still get attention.  Media hype comes with the territory of being a New York Knick.  Hysteria always happens around the Big Apple and when a player performs well, they get a lot of attention.  This sports staffer cannot stand this type of racism, because if Mayweather really wants to make a statement against Asians, he should do so against his boxing counterpart, Pacquiao, or keep his comments to himself.

Mellowing In or Out?: Staying with the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony and  his diva-like personality have returned to the hardwood floor after missing 7 games due to a groin injury.  When the Knicks acquired him from the Denver Nuggets last year, they thought they were bringing in someone who would lead them to a championship.  Unfortunately, the Knicks have mismanaged their situation.  While NBA experts say Anthony and rising superstar Jeremy Lin can coexist, it’s time to face reality.  Anthony has been—and always will be—a ballhog and this hurts the team.  The Knicks are 30-31 when Anthony plays, regardless of what numbers he puts up.  They were swept out of the playoffs last year by the Boston Celtics and the Knicks may be better off dumping Anthony for some much needed depth.  Lin can only do so much and the ball should be in his hands, not Anthony’s.  The Knicks have not won a playoff game in nearly a decade, and if they hope to win one this year, they should trade Anthony to allow Lin and the team to blossom.

Who Controls the Rodeo?: The Dallas Cowboys have once again entered an offseason wondering who really leads the team.  This is merely from a player’s standpoint as Head Coach Jason Garrett is decent job security heading into the season.  With so many Pro-Bowl and former Pro-Bowl players, it becomes hard to differentiate who the leaders are.  Naturally the QB is the leader but do the players really want to ride the Romo-coaster?  Jason Whitten has shown flashes of brilliance but how often do people follow a TE?  Demarcus Ware seems like a legit leader based on his play, but is he really the heart and soul of the team?  I could go on and on about which players play well enough to be leaders, but there are too many I’s on this team to name.  As soon as the Cowboys eliminate their drama, they will learn how to manage themselves better and ultimately win a game in the playoffs.  Maybe I’m dreaming too much but just food for thought.

The post Bottom 5: Mismanaged appeared first on KRUI Radio.

This is a list of current Major League Baseball players that we expect to go to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  The highest ranked is who is most likely to make the HOF.  We have decided to leave out players who have reportedly used performance enhancing drugs.  All stats are as of April 16th, 2011

1. Albert Pujols (#5, First Basemen, St. Louis Cardinals)

Credentials: 3 Most Valuable Player Awards( 2005, 2008, 2009), 9 All-Star Games, National League Rookie Of the Year, Silver Slugger: 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2 Gold Glove Awards (2006, 2010)

There is absolutely no question that Albert Pujols is on a fast-track to Cooperstown and it is pure blasphemy to disagree.  Along with the 3 MVP’s he has won, he got second 4 other times, 2 of those to juiced out Barry Bonds, and another to Ryan Howard, in a year in which most Cardinals fans will tell you he deserved to win over Howard.  El Hombre has a career batting average of .331 which ranks 31^st all-time and 1^st among active players.  His OPS (OBP + Slugging %) comes in at an incredible 1.047, which ranks 5^th all-time and 1^st among active players.  He ranks 45^th all-time in homeruns with 412, and he is only 31 years old and looking to possibly sign one of the biggest contracts in the history of the game that could exceed even the jaw-dropping salary that Alex Rodriguez (Not on the list due to performance-enhancing drugs) is getting paid in New York.  Albert Pujols is the overall best player in Major League Baseball currently and he will be a first-ballot inductee into Cooperstown and live for eternity among the legends.

2. Mariano Rivera (#42, Relief Pitcher, New York Yankees)

Credentials: 11 ASG, 2.22 ERA (1^st among Active P, 13^th All-time), 565 Saves (2^nd All-time)

Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time (Sorry Trevor).  As soon as he retires, his jersey will be on display in Cooperstown and his number will be retired across all of baseball (retired currently since it’s the number Jackie Robinson wore).  His 2.22 career earned run average actually does not explain how dominant he was because it included his 10 career starts which were not very good.  He has finished with a sub 2.00 ERA ten times and led the league in saves three times.  These totals garnered him MVP votes in 9 seasons and Cy Young Award votes in 5 seasons.  After retiring, he will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame forever and anyone who has faced him will remember his cut fastball for just as long.

3. Ichiro Suzuki (#51, Outfielder, Seattle Mariners)

Credentials:  AL ROY (2001), MVP (2001), 10 ASG(2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), 3 SS, 10 GG (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010).

Ichiro revolutionized the left-handed batter in Major League Baseball.  Ichiro came into the league in 2001 and immediately made his presence known by becoming the second player in history to win the ROY and MVP awards in the same season, the other being Fred Lynn.  Ichiro is the only player to ever record 200+ hits over 10 straight seasons and he has maintained a .421 batting average in the postseason, which is 2^nd all-time.  Not only has he done it with his bat, but he has been lights-out in the outfield and has demonstrated arguably the best defensive skills of any current player in Major League Baseball.

4. Derek Jeter (#2, Shortstop, New York Yankees)

Credentials: AL ROY, 10 ASG, 4 SS, 5 GG, .313 Career BA, 2938 Hits (1^st among Active, 31^st All-time), 1693 runs (2^nd Active, 27^th All-time), 185 Hits in the Postseason (1^st All-time), 101 Runs in the Postseason (1^st All-time), 283 TB in the Postseason (1^st All-time), 30 2B in the Postseason (1^st All-time).

Derek Jeter maybe the most famous Yankee captain in history.  His leadership, ability, and will to win has helped the most winning franchise in sports history to five more World Series Championships (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009).  Jeter’s consistency has made him a member of the Steinbrenner family and I suspect he will have his very own memorial at Yankee Stadium soon after his retirement.  He deserves to be in the exclusive group of Yankee legends with the like of Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, etc.  Personally, I feel lucky to have watched this guy play, whether it’s his patented jump throw from the hole in the left side of the infield or his lean across the plate on a pitch outside.

5. Roy Halladay (#34, Starting Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies)

Credentials: 2 CYA (2003, 2010,)7 ASG

Roy Halladay is probably the best pitcher in baseball right now playing on one of the best teams in the game.  He has a career ERA of 3.30, a career WHIP of 1.178, and he has placed himself into the elites of Major League pitching with an incredible work ethic that sports reporters are not shy to discuss.   He was one of the most sought after free-agents in 2009 and when he became a member of the Phillies, they automatically became even more of a contender than they already were with their lethal line-up.  He has struck out more than 200 batters in 4 of his 14 seasons and Roy Halladay will have his jersey hanging in Cooperstown exactly 5 years after he decides to call it quits.

6. Vladimir Guerrero (#27, Designated Hitter and Outfielder, Baltimore Orioles)

Credentials: MVP (2004), 9 ASG, 8 SS, .319 Career BA, 437 Career HR (5^th among Active, 38^th All-time), 1437 RBI (5^th among Active, 61^st All-time), 2442 Hits (8^th among Active, 109^th All-time), 4291 Total Bases (5^th among Active, 55^th All-time), 126 Assists as Right Fielder (2^nd among Active, 22^nd All-time)

Big, bad, Vlad is considered to be the best player in Montreal Expos history after compiling gaudy numbers there over 8 seasons (.323 BA, 234 HR, 702 RBI, 123 SB, .390 OBP, .978 OPS).  Not too bad for a 16-year old who showed up for a pro tryout in the Dominican Republic, arriving on the back of a motorcycle and with two different sized baseball spikes.  Guerrero is one of the greatest natural athletes on earth.  He has made a living off of swinging at any pitch he believes he can crush and his strike zone is somewhat arbitrary after that.  He has never worn batting gloves throughout his career and he used to have the best arm from right field in the game (42 runs better than replacement and I witnessed a missile at old Comiskey Park).  Vlad is truly old school, fun to watch and will be a Hall of Fame inductee.

7. Larry “Chipper” Jones (#27, Third Basemen, Atlanta Braves)

Credentials: MVP (1999), 6 ASG (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2008), 2 SS (1998, 1999)

Chipper Jones has been on some incredible ball clubs.  He played a huge role in the Braves’ 14 season division winning streak as he came into the majors in the 5^th year of the streak.  Chipper has a career batting average of .306, with 972 extra-base hits, which ranks 38^th all-time.  He had become the face of the franchise that made a run every year under soon-to-be hall-of-famer Bobby Cox.  Chipper Jones has had an incredible career and there is absolutely no doubt that he will be honored with the greats in the hall.

8. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez (#7, Catcher, Washington Nationals)

Credentials: MVP (1999), 14 ASG, 7 SS, 13 GG, .297 Career BA, 310 HR, 1330 RBI, 1345 Runs, 2821 Hits (2^nd among Active, 45^th All-time), 566 2B (1^st among Active, 21^st All-time)

Nobody in Major League Baseball history has played the catcher position in more games than Pudge Rodriguez (2398) and very few have performed as well offensively and defensively.  While his offensive numbers are very impressive, defensively he had the highest caught stealing percentage in the league 9 times and this included a streak of 6 straight seasons from 1996-2001.  He is also the most durable catcher to have ever played and he proved that by playing more than 140 games five times in his career.  It is hard to believe this backstop was drafted before I was born, but he is still playing and helping out the Washington Nationals.

9. Jim Thome (#25, First Basemen and Designated Hitter, Minnesota Twins)

Credentials:  1 SS (1996), 5 ASG (1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006)

Jim Thome has some incredible power numbers.  He is 8^th all-time in homeruns with 590 bombs, and he ranks 29^th all-time in runs batted in with 1629.  Thome’s career has been plagued by injury, but he has still managed to hit the ball over the wall with great consistency, hitting over 30 homeruns in 13 out of 15 seasons in which he actually played the whole year without being injured.  Thome will rank among the great designated hitters as well, having reached an OPS of over 1.000 2 times since moving to the American league, the only 2 times in his career.  Jim Thome has been one of the best big bats in the game over the past two decades and he will be rewarded handsomely in Cooperstown with his number on the wall and a spot in history.

10. Tim Lincecum (#55, Starting Pitcher, San Francisco Giants)

Credentials: 2 CYA, 3 ASG, 3 Strikeout Titles, 57-28 Career, 830.1 Career Innings, Career 3.01 ERA, 929 Career Strikeouts, 4-1 in the Postseason, 2.43 Postseason ERA, 43 Strikeouts

When was the last time a 5’11” 165 pound hurler was intimidating on the mound?  Yes, Pedro Martinez, and he is going to the Hall.  The “Freak” is by far the youngest player on our list and we fully understand that if his career ended right now, he would not be a Hall of Fame inductee.  However, he is on an amazing pace now pitching in his 5^th season in the Major Leagues.  With 70 more strikeouts he will reach 1000 which puts him on pace to be at 3000 in nine and a half more seasons.  His accomplishments already have him as one of the best pitchers in Giants history.  Lincecum check list: All-Star Starter, 2-time Cy Young Award Winner, and World Series Winner.  We expect his list to increase and have hall of fame on it over the next decade.

Honorable Mention:

Omar Vizquel, Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Todd Helton “The Toddfather”, Felix Hernandez, Ryan Howard, Miguel Cabrera

Photo Credits:

Pujols Rivera Ichiro Derek Roy Vlad Chipper Pudge Thome Lincecum

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