Friday Rants and Raves

Today was the first day in a while that I felt good running. It is a wonder what a good night sleep can do. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill Wednesday and today. On Wednesday I ran the 5 miles in 42:20 and today I ran the same in 41:40. On Wednesday, I felt like I pulled something in my buttocks. It bothered me Wednesday and Thursday, but disappeared today. I will probably run a slow 6 miles on Saturday and how long I run on Sunday will depend on how I feel and how early I can start.

Rants and Raves

Michael Vick - Michael Vick is not a nice guy and and idiot. However, he has been punished enough for his crimes with dog fighting. In the poor rural south where Vick grew up, dog fighting is a part of the culture. I would like to see PETA focus more on stopping dog fighting rather than preventing Michael Vick from moving on with his life after spending almost two years in prison. However, I have a feeling they are going to be protesting and calling for boycotts against the team that Vick eventually signs with.

Lawrence Phillips was a major star in college at Nebraska that was constantly in trouble and there was always controversy about him. There was a lot of talk about the Ravens drafting him out of college. The Ravens made out well by selecting Jonathan Ogden instead of Phillips. I felt like there was so much talk about Phillips' off the field issues that they never focused on whether he was really a good enough player on the field to warrant being a top draft pick. Nebraska's offensive line was so good, anybody could have put up big numbers as their starting tailback. I feel the same way about Vick. He was pretty average in Atlanta. The one thing he has going for him is his speed and how much has he lost in the last couple of years? Vick will be 29 next month, which is the time when athletes start losing their speed and his training the last couple year has been limited. He will likely play some in a wildcat type offense, but it remains to be seen if the wildcat is a fad or a lasting part of NFL football.

Felix Hernandez - I play in an American League fantasy baseball league where we keep eight players each season. Felix Hernandez was a super prospoect as an 18 year when I drafted him in 2005. I have protected him every year since then so I have watched his career very closely. He has some of the best stuff in baseball, but is wildly inconsistent. Felix is still only 23. It always appears that Hernandez is much better when Kenji Johjima is not his catcher . http://bleacherreport.com/articles/182948-casey-at-the-bat-johjima-a-detriment-to-ms-pitching-staff Now Johjima has broken is toe and is out for six to eight weeks so it will be interesting to see how Felix does during this time. Johjima is also on my team, but it has gotten to the point where I was happy when Johjima was out of the line up when Felix was piching.

Peter Angelos - Peter Angelos was named by Sports Illustrated as the worst owner in baseball http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/05/08/mlb.owners/index.html?eref=T1. I would agree with this if this from several years ago. However, I think Angelos has finally learned to hire capable baseball people and let them run the team. I don't have a problem with anything that Angelos has done from the last few years. In addition, Ted Lerner of the Nationals, who was listed as the 5th worse owner, clearly deserves the title of the worst owner in baseball. The Nationals appear to be run as cheaply as possible and the honeymoon period of having a baseball team and new stadium in goodwill was over quicker than I would have thought possible.

Baltimore Orioles - Growing up I was a diehard Oriole fan. Right around the time that Alex was born, the Orioles got bad and I lost interest and started paying move attention to my fantasy team than the Orioles. I guess I am a fairweather fan but those were some rough years under Syd Thrift.

When the Orioles hired Andy MacPhail to run the team two years ago, the team started to make smart decisions. They have focused on young players, particularly pitchers. They has a whole crop of strong arms. The thinking is that some will make it and others will get hurt or not perform as hoped. MacPhail traded Erik Bedard to the Mariners in what looks like with one the great trades in recent year for a package including Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and George Sherrill. It takes time to turn a baseball franchise around especially in a division with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.

Since moving near Frederick about five years ago, I go to a few Frederick Keys games a year and see the Orioles propspects in High class A ball. It was clear the last two years that the Keys had more top prospects than previous years.

All of the sudden in the last couple weeks it seems like everything is coming together. The outfield of Nick Markakis, Jones and recently promoted Nolan Reimold looks like it may together for quite some time. Some of the young pitchers (Brad Bergesen Jason Berken and David Hernandez) are now in the starting rotation, while the top pitching prospects (Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz) are still being groomed in the minors. Today the best propspect in baseball, Matt Wieters will be making his major league debut. It has been along time for Orioles fan, but it is finally time to get excited again.