I've got an idea for a baseball column.  And this is it, we'll just feel this out and see how it goes.  Yesterday was a huge day in baseball, lets cover the big three.  We'll try and keep the swearing and name calling to a minimum.  Promise.  We'll do what we can.

Strike One (Just testing the waters)

Let's start this off nice and friendly.  Ken Griffey Jr. said goodbye to baseball yesterday, and baseball waved goodbye to the best clean hitter of the Juice Era.  The Kid hit 630 homeruns off of God knows how many steroid enhanced pitchers.  He saved baseball in the city of Seattle, which is more than Bud Selig ever did.   And Griffey was one of the only #1 overall picks to truly live up to his hype.  (In fact, the Mariners have had 3 #1 overall picks and used them on 2 future Hall of Famers and an All-Star/World Champion pitcher. For reference, the Yankees once used a #1 on Brien Taylor)

The Kid never claimed a World Series title.  Yet he was a 13-time All-Star with 10 Gold Gloves.  But in the end his body broke down and the former MVP's skills diminished, as it normally happens in not HGH indulged humans.  He leaves the game 5th on the all-time homerun list, thankfully ahead of known cheater contemporaries such as Sosa, McGwire, Ramirez, & Palmiero.  Someday soon Alex Rodriguez will pass him (ironically the other #1 overall future Hall of Famer drafted by the Seattle Mariners).  We can only hope that baseball historians will separate the honest greats from those who enhanced their standing artificially.  Then Griffey will stand out on the all-time lists with the true legends: Aaron, Ruth, Mays etc.


Strike Two (And our next most prestigious candidate is...)

As soon as Griffey Jr retired, Vladimir Guerrero became the most accomplished active baseball player without a World Series ring.  He's an 8-time All-Star headed for his 9th.  A former MVP with 7 Silver Sluggers, Vlad has known bad luck before (like when he aged 2 years in one off-season).  Last year he struggled with injuries and suffered through the worst full season of his career.  Worries about future injuries led everyone except the Texas Rangers to pass on him in free agency. 

However, taking a batted ball off the face during batting practice was a new way to add insult to injury.  In his first full season as DH Guerrero was in the top 6 in the AL in all 3 triple crown categories.  He should be back in the lineup by the weekend.  But still, it's another injury for a superstar who seems to be aging a bit too quickly.


Strike Three (Speaking of getting hit in the face, that call was bullshit)

Where should I begin?  Armando Gallaraga threw a perfect game.  There should be no dispute.  We can put a man on the fucking moon, we can correct this oversight.  We have the technology.

I've never been more upset about a game that I had no vested interest in.  What in the hell was Jim Joyce thinking?  Even if it was a tie, why would you not give the call to the pitcher who was throwing a perfect game.  If you're going to blow it, don't cheat Gallaraga out of his one chance at history.  I don't  want to compare Gallaraga to say, Bud Smith.  But there's probably no other way he's going down in the annals of baseball history.

And why was he so nice?  Armando, dude, you just got raped and you're taking it better than Andy Dufresne.  Can't you at least throw something?  Haven't you ever seen a Jodie Foster movie?  You're in Detroit, hit somebody, burn a car, no one will think the worse of you.  Pull a fucking Ugueth Urbina, you just got cheated worse than Elin Nordegren Woods.  Machete, golf club, it doesn't matter, grab something and swing it in anger.

At first I was ready to praise Jim Leyland for letting Joyce have it after the call, and continuing to berate him after the game.  But Leyland lost his edge and started the walking the line as if Bud Selig personally delivered a suitcase of Marlboro cartons to his locker.   The "human element"?  We have to respect baseball's "human element"?  Why should we respect a game that doesn't respect itself enough to  give its fans the correct outcome? 

This should all boil down to Bud "The Shrug" Selig.  Sadly baseball isn't the only sport that rejects the fairness of the all seeing eyes of video (see FIFA).  Much like in politics, change is the bane of all old men grasping to hold on to their power when the times are shifting.  It is no secret that baseball is dying in America.  Selig has let the game pass him by.  He had the chance to fix a problem today.  And instead he did the only thing he knows how to do.

Shrug.