J Soul

Last month, I wrote a pretty bad, yet cheesy, poem about Jose Canseco, and what I thought about his ‘name calling’ in his books and interviews. I made up my mind about him from the beginning, and never gave his word a chance. But that changed today, when I finally gave in and bought one of his books. I bought his newest release, ‘Vindicated’, from a Penn Station bookstore that was selling it at 20% off (not that the discount is what led me to buy it). It was time for me to give ‘Jose’ another chance. After all, my former opinion of his ‘allegations’ and ‘name calling’ was mostly fueled by the media bigwigs at ESPN or CNNSI, instead of my own cerebrally-formed opinion. So, here it goes.

[Start of 'Bizarre Story' Break]

I was riding the LIRR with my girlfriend, on our way to visit my grandparents, when a whole bunch of Mets fans got on the train at Woodside (I say Mets fans because they all had Johan Santana jerseys on). One of them caught a glimpse of what I was reading, and said down at me, “What does it say about A-Rod?“. I ignored him, and kept on reading, because I wasn’t about to get into a conversation with a guy on his way to a baseball game who already looked drunk (at 11:00am, mind you). He turned to a friend of his and continued by saying, “This kid is reading that Canseco book. Man, @&#% Canseco… and @$&% A-rod too“. Kid? Amazing how an 18 year old “kid” calls a 26 year old a kid (I know he was 18 because a friend of his had said “you’re NOT drinking at the game, you’re only 18″). Okay, how in the world would he know I’m 26 anyway… but that’s besides the point. Back to the post…

[End of 'Bizarre Story' Break]

I’m not going to give away the meat of the book, because I believe everyone (who has an interest in this topic) should buy the book and give it a chance. The guy is simply recalling his life, from start to present day. Sure, he names a bunch of players and recalls a lot of conversations, but that’s purely secondary to what he really talks about in the book. The majority of this new book was focused on two things (at least from what I took from the book):

A) Why steroids and performance enhancing drugs were kept so ‘quiet’ during the post ‘Strike of 1994′ years of baseball. (I happened to have the same ‘theories’ that he had)
B) How steroids created a ‘Level Playing Field’. (That’s where I was a little skeptical)

My opinion on Jose’s claims haven’t change dramatically, but simply looking at what he has to say (lie-detector passed and all) has given me a whole bunch of new theories to rack my brain with. I will agree with him on this, though. “Chicks Dig The Longball”. How many of you remember that commercial with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Big Mac? Jose made a reference to that commercial in the book, and how it was a funny reference to the state of baseball back in the (now referred to as the ‘Juiced’) era. Fans (and sports coverage hounds like ESPN and others) love the home run ball. Whether it’s a solo shot, a grand slam, or a game-winner… there’s something about the ball being crushed into the next atmosphere that gives baseball fans an incredible rush. After reading this book, I’m starting to believe in the idea that Steroid use was kept quiet because it kept fans (notice I didn’t say ‘all fans’) in their seats, buying more tickets, buying more food/alcohol, and fueling the baseball economy.

None of this means I’m a believer in everything Jose says. What it means, is that I was knowingly hand-fed media garbage and used their opinions as my own. I accepted it without questioning it, and now I want my own opinion back.

So what have I learned from all this? While I never did know a whole lot about Jose Canseco, his book has given me some neat theories to play around with. Thanks Jose!

Believe what you want. Believe who you want. We’ll all believe who we want and what we want. It’s our god-given right to do so. But me? After all of the ‘Canseco Nay-Saying’ I did? I’m glad he opened his big mouth. Then again, the media-opinion-hungry kid on the inside wants this guy to fade away into the darkness that is the “Steroid Era” and never been heard from or seen again, along with everyone else involved. But then I’d just be a media-puppet… and we all know that’s no fun!

Respect My Authoritah!

This morning, I read an article on ESPN.com about another “big” signing in Major League Baseball. The Detroit Tigers are all set to sign newly acquired 3rd Baseman, Miguel Cabrera, to an 8-year contract worth $153.3 Million! If I wasn’t annoyed about salaries in professional sports, I am now. I’m not going to make any “Statistical” arguments about why nobody in baseball should make nearly that much. I’m going to make a more practical argument.

Everyday in this country, teachers are getting short-changed. Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. I’m not a teacher, but I have a lot of friends who are, and who are struggling to make a living for themselves because they don’t make nearly as much as they deserve. What can a teacher do for you? A teacher can give you building blocks and motivate you to be whoever and do whatever you want to be successful. A teacher can show you that you should always reach for your dreams and goals. Education is so important in the growth of our children in this country, and all over the world. As a matter of fact, teachers are so important, that they could teach people like Rosanne Barr how NOT to sing the National Anthem like this…

I remember this… and I remember throwing up afterwards…

They could also give Ashlee Simpson’s sound guy come sound career advice when he screws things up for poor Miss Simpson…

“Saving her voice” my @ss. If she can’t hold her own on stage and resorts to ‘over-dubbing’, then she shouldn’t be performing live…

What kind of message does this Cabrera contract signing send towards the children of this country who need education and teachers? In my own opinion, it doesn’t send any positive messages towards the kids of America, except for a message of greed. Basically, if you can play baseball well, you’ll be rewarded with all the money you could dream of. So, play the game to get rich… because if you play the game unselfishly and because you love the game, you’ll end up making as much as a Tampa Bay Ray. (I still think of them as the Devil Rays)

When I see my elementary school, middle school, and high school teacher friends making as much as professional athletes, I’ll be more interested in the sport of baseball, and other professional sports, like I was when I was growing up. It’s one thing to earn a living, being a professional athlete. But to play the game for greed is a whole other story.

But on another note, as a Mets fan, I sure am glad to see Miguel in the American League. Happy Trails, Miguel!

I may have called him a jerk because he should realize that he’s gonna be on TV, being a MLB ballplayer and all… and because kids watch baseball games too… but I laughed… a lot!

[ This post can also be found on the Global New York Mets Fan Blog ]

I’m sure this post will bring in a lot of flack from Phillies fans and fans of other NL East teams, but I’m not concerned. I’m confident there are “decent typing” fans out there who can tell the difference between a direct insult and a generalization (which is what I’m doing here). So what might be on the mind of Mets fans going into the 2008 Season? After a conversation with a friend, and fellow Mets fan, I thought I would share his mindset in the form of a picture show. Each one of these photos speak thousands of words into how my friend felt about the events of last season, the events of the offseason, and what he wishes for the upcoming season. Please enjoy: Inside the Mind of a Mets fan: A Picture Show!

“What I wanted was a repeat of…”

“But then there was…”

“And I felt like…”

“But then I saw…”

“And then we got…”

“And it would awesome if he could…”

“Because what I really want now is…”

The End

[ This post can also be found on the Global New York Mets Fan Blog ]

Last night, I finally got a look at the new logo for CitiField (The new stadium for the New York Mets opening in 2009). Before I make any obscene gestures, let me say that I was really disappointed when I saw the logo. The only way to logo relates to the Mets, in my own opinion, is the orange and blue color scheme. Other than that, it looks pretty terrible. Can anyone tell me who created the logo? Who do I have to hunt down and yell at? Now, while I made some obscene gestures at my computer screen, feast your eyes on the logo of the new stadium of the New York Mets.

Thanks to Kingman over at Loge13 for the Logo.

Isn’t it lovely?… (Insert groans and whines here)

You know, it reminds me of another logo that I see all over the place… hmm… what could it be… Maybe it’s a ticket stub? Maybe it’s a Domino?… Wait! A domino! That’s why it looks like…

          
“Get the door, you’ve got Johan!”

I’m proud to be a Mets fan, but I’m certainly no fan of Citifield… yet.
I’m gonna miss Shea Stadium…

Let’s Go Mets!

At about 4:22pm, I received a Google Chat IM from my friend, Zac. He promptly informed me that the Mets have officially landed Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins, in exchange for Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Did I believe him at first? Not a chance. But when he sent me this link, I almost jumped out of my chair and through the roof! So, in celebration of this awesome move by Omar Minaya, I am writing the following letter to Johan Santana, and sharing a sweet video with all of you!

“Dear Johan,

I have nothing inspirational to say, so I’ll start and finish with…. Welcome to New York!

Sincerely,
A Rejuvenated Mets Fan”

Exactly…

Choked, just like his team.

Last night, I celebrated my 3 year anniversary with my girlfriend. We went out for dinner at this awesome Thai restaurant called “Galanga”, in the west village. Then, we went to the east village to see “The Heartbreak Kid” which was hilarious! As you could imagine, there wasn’t a lot of time for me to check the scores of the playoff games that were going on. This morning, however, I raced out of bed to see if today would be a wonderful day, and it is! I awoke to the news of the Phillies being swept out of Colorado, after making a Cinderella-type run at the postseason and dashing the hopes of Mets fans just like myself.

While this doesn’t make up for the terrible collapse of the Mets, the 0-3 playoff run of the Phillies does make the healing process a bit easier. Then again, who’s going to beat the Rockies anyway? After all, they’ve won 17 of their last 18 games, including a sick 11 game winning streak that kept them alive throughout September. To further explain my point about the Rockies, lets bring in ESPN writer, Jim Caple.

“How good are the Rockies going? The Phillies intentionally walked Kaz Matsui in Game 3, a move that likely sent Mets fans screaming onto their fire escapes.”

Fire escapes? Maybe not. But screaming? If I had watched the game last night, I definitely would’ve screamed after a move like that. Kaz has been on an insane run of his own through the first 3 playoff games.

But that’s enough about that. The Phillies were swept out of the playoffs. The Yankees are one game away from going home. Life is good for us Mets fans at the moment… but only for the moment…

*cough*… Go Rockies… *cough*…