The legendary sandman enters his final season

Will Mariano Rivera’s retirement lead to the downfall of the New York Yankees’ legacy? The Yankees ace closer has been with the team for 19 seasons and contributed to five World Series wins. Throughout the years he has shown consistency and reliability as a closer and he has been essential in the ninth inning.

Mariano Rivera - Wikimedia Commons

Rivera said that he would have retired at the conclusion of last season if he did not tear his ACL on May 3, 2012. He was on the shelf most of that season; however, he did not want to retire due to an injury. "I didn't want to leave like that," Rivera said in a press conference before the 2013 season. "I felt like I wanted to give everything."

The New York Yankees need Rivera to elevate his abilities with some of their best players including Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez out due to injury. Rivera returned to baseball on April 4, 2013, leaving him a significant amount of time to recover and come back even stronger than last season. Rivera is the most tenured player on the team and his experience will play a major role for winning another World Series.

Although many did not expect the sandman to return after his ACL injury, Rivera has been very consistent this season. He started the season by saving Andy Pettitte’s eight inning performance against the Boston Red Sox in their third game of the season.

The Yankees are looking forward to a better opening to their season as far as they are concerned with their pitching. With some of their best and more reliable batters out pitching is where the Yankees really have to be aggressive. Rivera’s composure and consistency are exactly the attributes that the Yankees need during the pressure situations.

Contributed by Kian Zadeh and Din Islam

Pujols struggles, struggles, and struggles

Albert Pujols's slump has been no secret to baseball fans, nor the media.  The 32-year-old first baseman  was the biggest story this off season, as he left the St. Louis Cardinals for the Los Angeles Angels. Pujols, a three time MVP award winner, agreed to a 10 year $240 million dollar contract with the team, making him one of the richest players.

Albert Pujols receiving a pick off throw while with the St. Louis Cardinals /Hjelle / Flickr

However, through the first month and a half this season, Pujols hasn't just been bad, he's been dreadful. He's batting .198 with 11 RBIs and only one home run. This might not have been as big a story if the Angels were winning ballgames, however, they are not. The team is 14-18 and are in last in the AL West.

Currently, only three other players are being paid over $200 million. Alex Rodriguez, Prince Fielder, and Joey Votto. In Rodriguez's first year with the New York Yankees after agreeing to a 10 year $242 million dollar deal, he batted .286 with 36 home runs. In Fielder's first year with the Detroit Tigers, he is currently batting .309 with five homers and 15 RBIs. In Votto's first year after the extension with the Cincinnati Reds, he is batting .291 with two homers and 18 RBIs. All three players' first year after getting the big bucks, have been substantially better than Pujols has been in his first year with Los Angeles.

Angels fans have been told to calm down and not worry about Pujols's early slump. Many have said his performance will raise after he gets adjusted to his new team. However, Pujols's slump has lasted awfully long now and the question keeps pressing. Will Pujols be the same hitter that he was with the St. Louis Cardinals? "The game is not easy,'' Pujols said in an ESPN article. "Sometimes we make it look easy. Most times, it's not.'' In recent years, Pujols has indeed made it look easy. This year, Pujols is making baseball look harder than ever. Fans will simply have to wait to see if Pujols can start hitting well again. As the Angels continue to struggle, a dark cloud continues to hover over Angels Stadium.

Yanks start all over again, hoping for different result

If there was one real question that the New York Yankees had going into the 2012 season, it was whether they had enough pitching depth. General Manager Brian Cashman took care of that question by signing two pitchers who performed well last season, 23-year-old Michael Pineda from the Seattle Mariners, and 37-year-old Hiroki Kuroda from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pineda, who will only be pitching in his 2nd year in the majors, posted a 3.74 ERA last year and was voted to the All Star Game. Pineda is a humongous 6-7 280 lbs and possess a devastating fastball and slider giving him promising talent for the future. However, his changeup is what needs work and is “below average,” as Cashman said.

The Japanese pitcher, Kuroda, has four years of experience in the majors and has established himself as one of the few Japanese pitchers that has not had a tough transition from the Japanese league to MLB. His career 3.45 ERA is impressive and Kuroda is assured a spot on the starting rotation alongside CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pindea, and either Phil Hughes or Freddy Garcia. A concern is that, in recent years, the American League has been tougher pitchers than the National League. The top four teams in runs scored last year were all from the American League and with the addition of two sluggers, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder making the transition from the NL to the AL, it might be even tougher for pitchers.

While the Yankees appear to have a good starting rotation, they are also solid in the bullpen. Theoretically, if the Yankees starting pitching can get through six innings with the lead, the game looks promising with, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson, and the best closer in all of baseball, Mariano Rivera working out of the bullpen. Joba Chamberlain, a promising bullpen pitcher, had a season ending injury last year and will make a return to the bullpen most likely a little before the All Star break.

On offense the Yankees are a threat as usual with second baseman Robinson Cano, and center fielder Curtis Granderson. Both Cano and Granderson were candidates for the MVP award last year. Granderson blasted 41 homers and had 119 RBIs and Cano batted .302 with 118 RBIs. First baseman Mark Texeria and third baseman Alex Rodriguez are looking for bounce back years in 2012 after Texeria’s average was way down and Rodriguez plagued with injuries. If the two sluggers are productive in 2012, the Yankees should win the AL East and have a great chance to go all the way.

The Yankees finished with an impressive 97-65 record last year winning the AL East. However the season ended in disappointment after losing to the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS. The Yankees are hoping for a better finish this year. After winning only one World Series in the past 11 years, they are due for another title. With a promising team, the Yankees are set up for a 28th World Championship.

Steroids in the Hall of Fame?

Mark McGwire / Wikimedia Commons

Many players put up statistically remarkable careers during the "steroid era." Now that many of the implicated players career's are over or coming to an end, Major League Baseball faces two major questions; how to deal with their records and if they should be eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame. There are differing opinions as to how this situation should be handled; however, the most important thing is to have a consistent ruling across the board. This prevents writers and fans alike from having to pass judgment on the severity of individual players drug abuse.

The rule that should be imposed in Major League Baseball, which could be used in other sports as well, is only if the athlete has failed an official drug test administrated by the league would have their records erased and be ineligible for the Hll of Fame. This would mean that players who have just been rumored or implicated in drug use would be given the benefit of the doubt. For example Mark McGwire has never failed an official drug test but it is widely believed that he has used performance enhancing drugs. Therefore under this policy Mcwire would keep his records and not be penalized in Hall of Fame voting.

This solution is not perfect because during much of the steroid era players were not suspended for a first positive drug test so it was not made public when a player failed their first tests. Of the players suspended for steroid use, only Manny Ramirez and Rafael Palmeiro would have received serious consideration for the Hall of Fame. Under this policy Barry Bonds would not be eligible for the Hall of Fame, because although he was not suspended, he had a positive test for amphetamines which did not warrant a suspension for the first time offense. However, players such as Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez would still retain their records and be treated as any other player would be in Hall of Fame Voting.

Even though the past is cloudy and this policy may allow some drug abusers into the Hall of Fame, it would accomplish the most important goal which is to judge every player equally and prevent Hall of Fame voters from having to decide whether the athlete was guilty.



Contributed to by Haoli Mei.