The Most Underrated Player in Sports

The most underrated player in any professional sport is Ichiro Suzuki.

Simply put he is one of the greatest baseball players of all-time and he gets very little respect from the fans and very little media coverage. Not only are his career statistics mind blowing but he is also a pioneer in the sport and a pretty funny guy.

Since 2001 Ichiro has been playing right field for the Seattle Mariners. He was the first Japanese born everyday position player in MLB history and paved the way for many other Japanese stars like Hideki Matsui of the Nnew York Yankees and Kosuke Fukedome of the Chicago Cubs. In this sense he is a true pioneer and is pretty much a God in Japan.

Ichiro's agent Tony Attanasio once described his client's status in an interview with ESPN: "When you mail Ichiro something from the States, you only have to use that name on the address and he gets it [in Japan]. He's that big."

Despite his godlike status in Japan Ichiro remains relatively ignored in North America despite his phenomenal accomplishments. This is not to say that he hasn't be rewarded for his hard work but the praise he receives is not on par with the numbers he puts up. Here are a list of his accomplishments since moving to MLB in 2001:

• 9× MLB All-Star selection (2001-2009)
• 8× MLB Gold Glove Award winner (2001-2008)
• 2× MLB Silver Slugger Award winner (2001, 2007)
• 2× MLB Batting Champion (2001, 2004)
• 2001 AL MVP
• 2001 AL Rookie of the Year
• 2001 AL Stolen Base Champion
• 2007 MLB All-Star Game MVP
• Single-season MLB record with 262 hits
• 9 consecutive seasons of 200 or more hits (MLB record)

Look very closely at that last record. 9 consecutive seasons with 200 or more hits. 9! That is unreal. What isn't mentioned in that list is that he has also hit at least .300 every year he has been in the league. In his worst year he hit .303 and in his best he hit .372. How is this man not in the discussion for best baseball player alive?

His career numbers are gaudy and are as follows: 2021 Hits, 84 HR, 515 RBI, 341 SB, and a lifetime Batting Average of .333. But before you go and point out that these numbers are impressive but not crazy you must remember that these are his numbers since being in MLB. He also played 9 years in the Japanese league where he compiled over 1,200 hits and had over 100 more steals.

Obviously the Japanese league isn't on par with MLB but it is still a professional league and Ichiro's stats need to be kept in mind. Some people argue that his Japanese numbers should be combined with his MLB numbers but I think that is a stupid idea and they should be separate but still have significance.

Aside from just hitting the ball Ichiro has other talents as well. He is easily one of the fastest players in MLB stealing at least 26 bases in each of his 9 seasons and he is great in the field made obvious by his 9 Gold Glove awards. His great speed allows him to get to balls he has no business catching and he has one of the best arms in all of MLB.

Lastly Ichirco is also a pretty funny guy. In an interview with the New York Times Ichiro had this to say about his low power numbers, "Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me. I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

So while Ichiro may have the hardware to show that he is appreciated by MLB and his fellow players he still does not get nearly enough credit from fans and the media. His MLB career has been amazing and when it is all over he will hopefully go down as one of the best players of all-time and may even be known as the best hitter of all-time.

One thing is for sure Ichiro Suzuki is by far the most underrated player in sports.

Random YouTube Video

Get Over It

I was reading a baseball rumor website today and saw a post that said the Boston Red Sox were looking into acquiring Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners in the off-season. As a Red Sox fan I was pumped to read this because King Felix is a solid young pitcher who would be an excellent addition to the Red Sox rotation.

As I continued to read the post I saw there was a section where people could leave comments. I started to read the comments and became instantly frustrated as every comment seemed to be along the lines of 'Red Sox and Yankees ruining baseball' and 'small market teams can't compete anymore.'

To everyone who feels this way I have only one response...shove it.

I have so many problems with these people that I don't even know where to being but I guess there is no better place to start than the payroll.

People constantly try and lump the Red Sox in with the Yankees when it comes to spending money. Yes the Red Sox have a high payroll but so do a lot of other teams. Here is the top 10:

Yankees - $201 million

Mets -$149 million

Cubs - $134 million

Red Sox - $121 million

Tigers - $115 million

Angels - $113 million

Phillies - $113 million

Astros - $102 million

Dodgers - $100 million

Mariners - $98 million

The Red Sox are 4th. Not 2nd and they aren't anywhere close to the Yankees so anyone who lumps the two teams together is a moron. The Sox do spend a lot of money on their team but that is because the team generates so much revenue from ticket sales and merchandise.

So basically that means the fans spend money which means the team has more money to spend which in turn leads to success. Therefore if fans want their team do spend more money try GOING TO THE FUCKING GAMES!

I love hearing Jays fans bitch about the Jays need to spend more money yet they don't help their team out at all. They only go to Jays games when it is a Toonie Tuesday game and they don't buy merchandise. The jays have the SkyDome which can hold like 50,000 people yet it is only sold out on opening day and that's it. So stop you're bitching.

I also love to hear Jays fans whine about how they are a small market team and can't compete financially with the Red Sox and Yankees. Are you kidding me? Do you know which company owns your team? The Toronto Blue Jays are owned by the Rogers Corporation which is Canada's largest telecommunications company. The annual net income of Rogers is $1.26 billion. Your team is owned and operated by the richest company in Canada. Just because they choose not to spend the money on the team, probably because no one goes to the games, doesn't make you a small market team. It makes you cheap.

It really boggles my mind when people try and condemn the Sox and Yankees for spending a tonne of money. As if they should approach baseball like the majority of other teams and penny pinch only to wind up 15 games out of the Wild Card every year (Pirates, Nationals, Reds, Royals, and Orioles). The team has money and chooses to spend it. End of story.

Forget about the whole idea of money for a second and just look at the original subject of the post, that being Felix Hernandez. Why wouldn't the Sox go after this kid? He is 16-5 this year with a 2.45 ERA and 196 Ks and he is only 23 years old. Every team in the league should be pursuing him if he is available.

The condemnation of teams that have money and choose to spend it needs to stop. Is the economic system in MLB perfect? Obviously not. Is the system going to change anytime soon? Of course not so teams and fans need to either accept this fact or quit. All I know is fans crying because their team is cheap is not acceptable and needs to stop.

Get over it.

Random YouTube Video

What a Difference A Year Makes

Going into this season many people thought that the Philadelphia Phillies had a great shot at defending their World Series championship. Right now things look good for the Phillies as they are 88-63 and have all but clinched their division. However a few key players are having terrible years which could bring down the whole ship.

Brad Lidge

For about the last 3 weeks every time I go to watch Sportsnet they play a promo where they show all the sports that they cover. In one part of the promo they talk about how they cover the World Series. In this particular clip they show Brad Lidge on his knees in Game 5 of the World Series just after striking out Eric Hinske to win the series for the Philadelphia Phillies.

That moment capped off one of the greatest single seasons for a closer in MLB history. 12 months later Lidge is having one of the worst seasons of his career. He is 0-7 with a 7.24 ERA and 10 blown saves in 41 chances and is 0-2 with 5 saves and a 10.29 ERA in his last nine appearances.

Lidge's fall from grace has been catastrophic. Last year he was brilliant going 2-0 with 41 Saves in 41 opportunities and had a 1.95 ERA becoming the first closer in Phillies history to have a perfect season.

He would continue his amazing success in the playoffs going 7 for 7 in save chances and bringing a World Series title back to Philly for the first time in 28 years.

Lidge was one of the feel good stories of the year as his career had gone off track after falling apart in Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS when he gave up that mammoth home run to Albert Pujols but it was not to be. Many thought that he had turned a corner and would once again return to his role as an elite closer in the league.

The Phillies have guaranteed themselves a place in the playoffs and will hope that Lidge can regain his form so they can make another World Series run.

Cole Hamels

Last year Cole Hamels was proving himself to be a true MLB ace and was considered by many to be one of the best pitchers in the NL. This year he has been anything but and has looked ordinary. His pitches lack the movement they had last year and his stats are worse across the board.

2008 - 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and 196 Ks

2009 - 10-9 with a 4.07 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and 157 Ks

Not only is Hamels no longer the best pitcher in the NL but he isn't even the best pitcher on his own team. Jamie Moyer leads the team in wins (12), Cliff Lee leads the team in ERA (2.65), and J.A. Happ leads the team in complete games (3).

Like Lidge Hamels was a massive part of the Phillies success in the playoffs last year and will once again be counted on. In 2008 Hamels made 5 starts in the post-season and went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and was named MVP of the World Series. Don't mean to sound like a broken record but Hamels needs to get better in a hurry.

Jimmy Rollins

Talk about taking a nosedive. Rollins has had one of the biggest drop offs statistically of any player in MLB this year. Here is a list of the statistical categories in which he has seen a decline:

Triples - from 9 down to 4

Walks - from 58 down to 40

Stolen Bases - from 47 down to 30

Batting Average - .277 down to .245

On Base % - from .349 down to .290

Slugging - from .437 down to .411

OPS - from .786 down to .701

He has seen his power numbers increase but at the cost of everything else. It was only 2 years ago that Rollins was named NL MVP and now his numbers are brutal. He has lost a lot of his effectiveness at the plate and has also taken a slip with his defense. J Roll needs to step up his game.

Random YouTube Video

MLB Awards

The MLB season is fast coming to an end and since none of the playoff races are very interesting I am left with nothing to talk about except my picks for the MLB awards. So here are my picks for the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager awards.

AL MVP - Joe Mauer

Easy pick. He leads the AL in batting average, slugging %, and OBP. He has 28 HR and 89 RBI and he is a catcher which means he doesn't play every game. That batting average by the way is a godlike .372. The guy is a great baseball player and has kept the Twins playoff hopes alive almost single handedly.

Runner Up - Mark Teixeira

Best $180 million the Yankees ever spent. Tex has 37 HR and 118 RBI to go along with his .290 batting average and Gold Glove defense. The guy is an amazing baseball player and if it wasn't for Joe Mauer batting like he is playing against the farm team every night then he would have won the award for sure.

NL MVP - Albert Pujols

Best player in baseball hands down. The guy is a phenomenal hitter who is going to break every hitting record there is by the time he is done. He is hitting .330 with 47 HR and 129 RBI and is leading the majors in OBP and slugging %. This will be one of many MVP awards he wins by the time his career is over.

Runner Up - Prince Fielder

The Prince has 41 HR with 129 RBI and a solid .296 batting average. Going to be a lot of 2nd place trophies for this man as long as he plays in the same league as Pujols.

AL Cy Young - Zack Greinke

Now no pitcher has ever won the Cy Young with less than 16 wins and Greinke currently has 15 so he will either need to improve on that. Other than the lack of wins (he plays for the Kansas City Royals remember) Greinke is a statistical beast. He leads the AL in ERA with a 2.08 which is unreal and is 2nd in the AL in strikeouts with 229. He has been a workhorse this year for the Royals pitching 216.1 innings with 6 complete games (only 1 behind Roy Halladay).

Runner Up - Felix Hernandez

King Felix has had a great year posting 16 wins, a 2.45 ERA, and 196 strikeouts. His numbers are real impressive but not as impressive as Greinke's.

NL Cy Young - Adam Wainwright

Wainwright has had an amazing year for the St. Louis Cardinals and along with Chris Carpenter has formed one of the best 1-2 combos in baseball. He leads the NL in wins with 18 and is 3rd in ERA with a 2.59. Now Carpenter has a better ERA and Tim Lincecum has more strikeouts (247 to Wainwright's 193) but Wainwright was a former closer who was made a starter out of neccesity and I think that he deserves it more.

Runner Up - Tim Lincecum

Mitch Kramer (Dazed and Confused reference) has been great this year. He has a solid ERA and has been getting the strikeouts as usual but Wainwright has just been better. Add the fact Lincecum only has 14 of the Giants 81 wins and it makes my choice clearer.

AL Rookie of the Year - Andrew Bailey

25 saves (9th in the AL) and a 1.95 ERA (2nd only to Mariano Rivera) and 1st in strikeouts among closers with 85. The guy came out of nowhere and has been great for the Oakland A's who always seem to have a good closer. No doubt he will be traded while on the podium accepting his award.

Runner Up - Ricky Romero

Not the best record in the world (12-9) and not a great ERA (4.28) but he stepped into the #2 role in the Blue Jays rotation and showed signs of brilliance. If he had a better team behind him he may have done better.

NL Rookie of the Year - J.A. Happ

10-4. 2.77 ERA. 105 strikeouts

Runner Up - Tommy Hanson

10-4. 2.85 ERA. 100 strikeouts. Close but no cigar.

AL Manager of the Year - Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers

Last year the Rangers were 79-83. This year they are 82-68 and challenged for a Wild Card birth. Washington has done a great job with his young pitching staff and even rejuvenated the career of fatass Andruw Jones. If he doesn't win this award then baseball is fixed.

NL Manager of the Year - Jim Tracy of the Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are currently leading the Wild Card race by 5 games and are a lock to make the playoffs. The Rockies are 86-65 right now which is a massive improvement from last year when they finished 74-88. Tracy has done a great job with very little and the Rockies could be dangerous in the playoffs with Jason Marquis and Jorge De La Rosa in the rotation.

Random YouTube Video

Diamonds in the Rough

This year marks the 15th year in a row that the Toronto Blue Jays will not be playing baseball in October. The team started off strong going 27-16 and taking the division lead but since then have gone a pathetic 39-64.

To make matters worse the team has been surrounded with negativity all season as "star players" Vernon Wells and Alex Rios (who was shipped off to the Chicago White Sox for nothing in return) vastly under achieved. Add to the this the fact that ace pitcher Roy Halladay was involved in trade rumors for half the year and you have yourself a real problem.

The Halladay trade deadline talk really hurt not only the team's play but also the Blue Jays as an organization as it made them look foolish and very unorganized. Many fans were calling for GM JP Riccardi's head and even other baseball executives around the league were scratching their heads at the way Riccardi was handling the team.

Despite all of this negativity some players have managed to have amazing seasons providing the Jays with some optimism moving forward.

Adam Lind has had a MONSTER season. He is one of only 3 players in the MLB to be hitting .300 or better with at least 30 HR and 100 RBI. The other two are Derek Lee and Albert Pujols. Lind is also tied for 2nd in the league in doubles with 46 behind only Brian Roberts. These are crazy numbers for a guy who is in his 3rd season in the big leagues and really only his 1st full season. He will only get better as he moves forward and he is the kind of player that the Jays can build a team around.

Aaron Hill is another guy who has had a breakout year. He currently leads the Blue Jays and all second baseman in the league with 32 HR and 98 RBI. He is also hitting a healthy .285 and is playing his usual stellar defense. When Hill first came into the league I was pretty down on him but he has grown on me and time after time he has produced when called upon. The guy is a great baseball player and at 27 he should provide the Jays with stability at the position for years to come.

Marco Scutaro is another guy is producing. Granted his numbers have tailed off a bit after his crazy start but they are still pretty solid. 12 HR 60 RBI and a .285 average from your lead off man is pretty good. He also leads the team in OBP with a .382 and runs scored with 100 (9th in MLB). It would be nice if he could steal a few more bases, only has 14, but he gets the job done nicely. The problem with Scutaro is that he will become a free agent at the end of the season and might want some big bucks.

As always Halladay has been amazing. He leads the team in wins (15), ERA 3.03, inning pitched (214), strikeouts (189) and complete games (7). The man is an absolute beast who can eat up innings and win games on his own. Now he does have 9 losses but that is because he didn't get much run support at the beginning of the season and he also struggled a bit near the trade deadline when rumors were swirling. The Jays may trade him in the off season but if they decide to keep him then he will be solid again next year.

Going into next year the Jays will also have an abundance of young pitchers to choose from. Robert Ray, Brett Cecil, Mark Rzepczynski, and Ricky Romero have all shown flashes of brilliance this year. While their stats may not be very impressive they are all still very young and very talented and should provide some good competition at spring training.

As always the Jays bullpen was solid this year with Jason Fraser and Scott Downs splitting time as the closer nicely. Jeremy Accardo had himself a pretty nice year as did Shawn Camp. The Jays will need to get themselves a solid closer if they want to compete next year however as no one they have right now is a stellar closer. They have guys who can fill in nicely but no one that can come in and just shut down the opposition.

So while it may seem like the Jays suck there are reasons to be positive. If Travis Snyder can have a full season in the majors and the new stand outs on the team can continue their success then the Jays can build. Sign a couple of free agents in the off season, maybe dump Vernon Wells and his fat head and contract and you might have something.

I also must remind everybody that Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan should be back next year adding some much needed stability to the Jays rotation and allowing the team to trade some of their young pitchers for some solid bats.

Maybe 2010 could be the year the Jays finally get back into the playoffs.

Random YouTube Video

The Weekend That Was

Busy week in the world of sports as UFC 101 took place on Saturday, Tiger Woods chased history on Sunday, the Red Sox got bent over all weekend, and teenagers beat up civilians for 20 cents. Without further delay let's get to the stories you need to know.

Who's Your Daddy?!

Going in to their 4 game series with the Yankees in New York the Red Sox sat 2 1/2 games back of the division lead. Coming out of their 4 game series the Red Sox now sit 6 1/2 games back. That's what a 4 game sweep will do to you. The Sox were swept by the Yankees in a 4 game series for the first time in 24 years and looked pathetic the whole time.

Tell me how a team with the offensive threats the Red Sox possess score only 6 runs in 4 games. At one point going 30 innings without scoring a single run.

Going into the series the Red Sox had beaten the Yankees 8 games in a row and people were saying that the rivalry was over as it had become one sided. Now the Sox have to be on the other end of that and it blows.

It also needs to be stated that John Smoltz had his career officially euthanized on Friday night in front of more than 40,000 people. RIP Smoltz.

Woods Wins Again

On Sunday Tiger Woods won his 70th career PGA tour event moving him into 3rd all-time behind Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead. Woods accomplished the feat at 33 which was 10 years faster than Nicklaus did it.

The event Tiger won was the Bridgestone Invitational an event he pretty much owns. It was his 7th time winning the tournament (another PGA record) out of 10 tries and he has finished in the top 5 every one of those 10 tournaments.

Going into the 16th hole Woods was neck and neck with Padraig Harrington but Harrington buckled under the pressure and Woods was able to close out the tournament winning by 4 strokes.

Woods has won 5 times on the tour this year with 4 of those wins coming in the tournament right before a major. Next week is the Players Championship and Tiger will of course be the favorite as he looks to add more W's to his stat sheet.

UFC 101 Recap

The first 2 fights on the card were uneventful and boring as both went to a decision and involved little to no real action.

The 3rd fight, the true UFC debut of Amir Sadollah, was also brutal but for a different reason. Sadollah was rocked by a punch from Johny Hendricks and was attempting to stand back up when the fight was stopped. Sadollah was clearly able to defend himself and was in the process of standing up when the ref called the fight. So sad that these refs don't understand what is happening in the ring.

If a fighter is sitting there eating punches then stop it. If he is moving to his feet then don't. It isn't rocket science and I think more people would rather have late stoppages than early ones. Now Sadollah is forced to take that loss on his record, which will be the first of his career, and start again.

Next Anderson Silva toyed with Forrest Griffin in a manner that was laughable. Silva head faked Griffin countless times and would pop him with one good shot and then step back. Silva even offered to help Griffin off the mat after he had knocked him down which was a total show of disrespect. The fight would end late in the first round after Silva knocked down Griffin with a soft jab and Griffin would beg for mercy. Here is a link to the whole fight if you want to see it: http://www.mmaroot.com/anderson-silva-vs-forrest-griffin-fight-video-ufc-101/.

After Griffin got beat he ran from the ring refusing to be interviewed. This is becoming common for Forrest who acts like a total baby when he loses. He is one of my favorite fighters and this pisses me off as he should act like a man.

The main event was the Lightweight Championship match between Kenny Florian and BJ Penn. Florian spent the entire fight trying to push BJ up against the cage and tire him out to eventually score a take down but it never worked. BJ withstood the onslaught and in the 4th round took down Florian and choked him out easily.

Fighting for Spare Change

Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, the top overall pick in the 2007 NHL draft, was arrested early Sunday morning in Buffalo, N.Y., and charged with robbery and other counts following an altercation with a cab driver in his hometown.

The 20-year-old Kane and his cousin, James M. Kane, 21, were taken into police custody at about 5 a.m. ET after allegedly punching the driver and taking $15 in fare they had given him after he said he didn't have 20 cents in change, a police report says. Police say the cousins apparently caught a cab from the city's downtown nightclub district at about 4 a.m. Sunday.

You make millions of dollars and you are punching out cabbies for quarters? Weak dude. I wonder if this will affect sales of NHL 2010 which is scheduled to be released in September. Maybe this will start a spin off of the Madden Curse and be the NHL curse.

________________________________________

Random YouTube Video