Random Rumblings: Anonymity is baseball's biggest problem

We blame the steroids. We blame the late starts to the World Series. God knows we blame the excessively long games. But baseball’s biggest problem took center stage Sunday afternoon, when the most interesting person in the sport was standing at a podium and not at the plate or on the mound.

No, Rickey Henderson is not what’s wrong with baseball.

Not having a Rickey Henderson is the issue.

If this is the cleanest the sport has been in a long time, it’s also the quietest. The best player on the planet, Albert Pujols, has a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner in 42 years and I feel like I know nothing about the guy. Same goes for Hanley Ramirez, who has the tools of a young Ken Griffey Jr., but is about as interesting as the Public Access channel. Take any of the game’s young stars. Mauer, Lincecum, Fielder; we don’t hate any of ‘em, but we sure as hell don’t love ‘em either.

If Henderson was playing today, he’d be tweeting from the outfield. Some would love him, plenty would loathe him, but at least people would have an opinion on a ball player. Look at the other sports. We’ve known everything about LeBron since he was in high school. Brett Favre is a twelve month story. Gossip rags follow Tom Brady everywhere. Baseball is no where close. These players have Peter Gammons wishing he could cover NFL training camps.

Henderson confirmed that he was all done with baseball on Sunday, and if the sport doesn’t act quickly, the fans will follow him right out the door. Sometimes when people talk about golf, they ask what the PGA Tour would be without Tiger. The answer’s simple.

It would be baseball.

• Receiving an endorsement from Terrell Owens is about as beneficial as republicans getting one from George W. Bush, but you’ve got to hand it to the often-controversial Bills receiver. At least he’s willing to step up and pledge his support to Michael Vick at a time when so many other players are scared to hurt their image.
  
  And when Owens points out that “there's a number of guys around the league that have done far more worse things than that and gotten a second chance,” he’s absolutely on the mark.
  
  
• You know what’s more indicative of the racial problems in our country than Sergeant Crowley and Professor’s Gates’ little run-in last week? The fact that Ben Roethlisberger is accused of raping a woman and no one seems to believe her. Because if it were Santonio Holmes or any other black guy in the NFL, I guarantee the media would be taking the alleged victim’s claims a little more seriously.
  
  
• Whenever Hank Aaron speaks about performance-enhancing drugs, it should be pointed out that he has admitted to taking amphetamines – once.
  
  Right. Once.
  
  
• For the record, Stephon Marbury gave better quotes this week via uStream than any athlete has given in a long time. And in between long periods of laugh-out-loud commentary, he did offer great insight about his personal life, particularly his time in Minnesota.
  
  He talked about being a teenager who had gone from the projects in Coney Island to Georgia Tech and then over to Minnesota and basically admitted to just being homesick. It felt like the realest thing I’ve ever heard an athlete say and I respect that.
  
  
• Let me close with the hypocrites of the week: The four major sports leagues and the NCAA, who are suing to block sports betting in the state of Delaware. Do these leagues realize fantasy sports play a major role in any sport’s popularity? They can’t honestly think we all play fantasy for free, right? And I hope they all know their most passionate fans are paying attention to the sports betting odds for a reason.
  
  This is a case I can’t see the sports winning. Delaware is facing a huge deficit and many believe the state can make up millions from legalizing sports betting. If that’s the case, then I’m all for it.
  
  Plus it makes Delaware worth visiting.

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Random Rumblings (The problem with MMA)

(NOTE: The Random Rumblings column appears every Monday, featuring quick thoughts on various issues in the world of sports.)

• It’s the epic individual matches in sports like the Federer/Nadal Wimbledon Final that really makes you miss what boxing used to be, or if you’re under 30, what you’ve heard boxing used to be. Now, Mixed Martial Arts is all the craze, but even that sport lacks a truly great rivalry, or for that matter, a truly dominate figure.
  
  Every time I start to hear about a great MMA fighter, he ends up getting beat shortly after. That goes back to Ken Shamrock and Tank Abbott and has continued through Chuck Liddell and most recently, Quinton (Rampage) Jackson.
  
  The hardcore fans will point to parity as the driving force in the sport and some use the “anyone can be knocked out at any time” excuse that has become cliché. But the truth is, we don’t want just anyone to win. We want a top guy that can knock everyone out and we want one, maybe two guys right that there trying to take him out.
  
  Until that happens, count me out.
  
  
• Jerry Manuel couldn’t have been more on the money when he said his Mets were second to the Yankees in New York during the Subway Series. And his point couldn’t have been more valid when the All Star teams were announced and his biggest star, Jose Reyes, was not voted in as a starter.
  
  Look, Derek Jeter has done more in the sport, but there is no question that Reyes is the best shortstop in New York. But Jeter is going to be the All Star starter for the rest of his career and Reyes is going to consistently lose out to a Florida Marlin.
  
  
• That said, the Florida Marlin in question, Hanley Ramirez, is probably one of the top three players in baseball, so it will be nice to see at least one deserving starter from a small market.
  
  
• In almost any clutch situation, I’d take Manny Ramirez over almost any other hitter in the history of baseball, but in the ninth inning last night with the scored tied, Terry Francona might as well have let Craig Hansen hit against Mariano Rivera instead.
  
  Considering the week he had, there was no chance of Manny just being Manny in that spot.
  
  
• Smart move by the Brewers in trading for C.C. Sabathia. They had an ace in Ben Sheets carry them through half a season, and once the inevitable happens and he breaks down, they’ll have ace to carry them to the playoffs.
  
  
• You would Cynthia Rodriguez would have timed it better and waited for the playoffs to file for divorce, but then again, that would mean the Yankees would actually have to make it to October.

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