Musings from an Optimistic Redbird Fan – 2013

Hall of Fame – Once again there’s controversy regarding the baseball Hall of Fame voting. This time, no eligible players were voted into the hall of fame. This includes many of the so-called “steroid era” players. These players include Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens and others. I’m not in the mood to debate these players inclusion or not into the hall of fame again this year. But, Major League Baseball really needs to resolve this ridiculous issue. And the rules for Hall of Fame voting should be changed or modified because, clearly, there are issues that need to be addressed. And please, spare me the rhetoric about “steroid era” players being cheaters. Such selective logic is annoying, since there are other players currently in the hall of fame that are cheaters in other aspects of the game. In my opinion, the hall of fame board of directors should open up the voting to others besides the BBWA.  And, MLB should clearly define, exactly what cheating means since, it clearly has different meanings to different individuals. To view the current rules for HOF voting, click here: http://bbwaa.com/voting-faq/ .

Free agency – Lance Berkman, former St. Louis Cardinal is now a Texas Ranger. He passed the physical and will be, most likely, a designated hitter for the Rangers. He reportedly signed a one year contract for $10 million. On the other hand, Kyle Lohse, former Cardinals starter is still looking for a team. How pathetic is that for a pitcher with Lohse’s talent. Not knocking Berkman at all but, he had an injury riddled last season and is on the downside of his career. But a pitcher that had the highest winning percentage and finished in the top ten in many pitching categories, and is still unsigned, doesn’t seem right. And by the way, another former Cardinal Pitcher signed with a four year/$52 million contract. This pitcher had a losing record and an ERA over 4 for a team that led the league in wins. The pitcher, Edwin Jackson, late of the Washington Nationals and currently a Chicago Cub.

New testing – Major League Baseball will be implementing a new drug testing program next season. They will begin testing for human growth hormone (HGH) and artificial testosterone.  These tests are in addition to the other test for performance enhancing drugs.

Mark Calendar – The Cardinal’s home opener will be nationally televised by ESPN. Mark your calendar for April 1 at 10:00 PM EST.

Thanks for reading and have a nice weekend.