Last week I failed to mention and congraduate the four newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Randy Johnson Pedro Martinez, Craig Biggio, and John Smoltz. They will be inducted in late summer, and these four epitomize the true meaning of being a hall-of-famer. Sean Casey, the former Cincinnati Red was on the MLB network last week, and he mentioned the first time he faced Randy Johnson. He said that Johnson used all of his 6 11 inch frame and 3/4 sidearm delivery to not only intimidate, but to use it to his advantage. Casey said that when Johnson made his motion to the plate, (Johnson was left handed, and Sean Casey was a left handed batter) his arm was actually behind Caseys back upon delivery, thus making it very difficult to pick up the ball. Casey went on to say that he had to get use to Johnsons delivery in order to have any success against him, which was rarely. Ask John Kruk about the first time he faced Randy Johnson. Pedro Martinez wasnt very tall in stature, but he had one of the best change-ups ever to be seen in the modern era. He will be remembered for pushing New York Yankee coach Don Zimmer on the ground when Zimmer went after him in a brawl between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the play-offs years ago, but his pin point pitching in a brilliant career is what really matters. Craig Biggio was a throw back player if you will. He started out as a catcher, moved to second base, played center field, moved back to second base, collected 3,000 hits, and all with the Houston Astros. He sort of reminded me of Pete Rose in some ways with his hustling style of play. His pine tar coated batting helmit was his trade mark. How would you like to be John Smoltz? The number three man in a brilliant rotation which included fellow hall-of-famers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. I remember when my beloved Reds would face the Atlanta Braves during the 1990s for a three game series, they would at times have to face these three with Smoltz pitching the third game most of the time. They were the best pitching staff in my opinion in my lifetime. John Smoltz was the anchor man of this staff. Kudos to all four of these men. I know some people think that I am anti- Ohio State and college football, but this isnt necessarily true. I absolutely applaud OSU for winning this past years national championship, especially during the play-off format. Third string quarterback? Come on. Urban Meyer accomplished this during a three year period, and this is absolutely remarkable. My whole beef about college football for practically my whole life was the absence of a play-off system altogether. This was my favorite year for CF, but it does need to expand to at least 8 teams in the near future. (I would really like to see 16, but lets not get greedy.) When I was 10 years old, the underdog New York Jets played the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (Joe Namath guarenteed a victory and went out and the Jets defeated the Colts) and even at that age I couldnt understand why CF didnt have Super Bowl type game itself. I just never understood it. The mythical national championship is a thing of the past, I hope. I cant see a team being voted in opposed to playing for the right to called national champion. But CF is headed in the right direction now. I did eat a little crow last week when I predicted that the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys would be in this years Super Bowl, but Im not a crystal ball gazer. Peyton Manning looked almost human this past Sunday, (its reported that he has played with a torn Quadriceps muscle for almost a month) and the Indianapolis Colts claimed the right to be in the title game against the New England Patriots this coming Sunday evening. I wonder if Colts fans have forgotten about Peyton Manning now that Andrew Luck is establishing himself as a marquee QB? The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand played well enough to win, (san the Dez Bryant catch or non catch) but they didnt. Aaron Rodgers proved that he should be consisdered as an MVP candidate as he led his Green Bay Packers to victory, and all this on practically one leg. I have a new prediction now. Green Bay vs. New England in the Super Bowl with N.E. coming out on top. I havent really disclosed my favorite teams, but Im going to do so now. In this order. 1. The Cincinnati Reds 2. The Cincinnati Bengals 3. The Kentucky Wildcats basketball 4. Cedarville Indians football 5. Cedarville Indians baseball 6. Cedarville Indians (boys) basketball team. And thats it. Its been this way for many, many years, and I have no second favorite teams. It is what it is, point blank. You see, I have a very rigid way of thinking. Im not a fence rider (someone who likes teams who are always winning or successful) because it is more pleasant when your team does come out on top. Because lets face it. There is more losing in sports (on average) than there is winning. I love Ken Burns baseball, (he presented it on PBS in 1994) in which Roger Angel said that baseball was meant to break your heart, and this is absolutely true. But sports in general can be categorized in this as well. It isnt like the movie Pleasantville in which every basket from the basketball team goes in the hoop. Have a great week. P.S. I keep having these weird dreams. Last night I dreampt that I was being chased by former Hogans Hero actor, the late Bob Crane.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:12:43 +0000
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