Which Way to the Juice Bar? The Rise and Demise of Alex Rodriguez

Typically when I write columns, I like to stick with stats to back up opinion. Seldom can you not find stats to back up opinions when it comes to sports or entertainment in general. But this, this is much more personal. 

When I was a young Rivera, I fell in love with the game of baseball. The agility, the power, the speed, the skill, all came together to shape verses that formed beautiful poetry on the baseball diamond. Along with the beauty of the sport, one of the most glorious things for my eyes to behold at my young age was the interlocking N and Y of the New York Yankee logo. The pinstripes, the clean shaven faces and the baseball cathedral that is Yankee Stadium grew to be a haven for me, saving me from the stresses of girls with cooties and math worksheets. To this day, the cracks of the Yankee bats and the home pinstripes and away grays of the Bronx Bombers take me away to a stress-free mindset that I have yet to be able to duplicate in any other facet or activity in my life. The whirlwinds of issues and problems vanish upon the pop of the first pitch hitting the glove of the catcher. 

On August 5, 2013, I'm sure Alex Rodriguez feels the same way.

In addition to bad knees and hips, Rodriguez is suffering a bruised ego after being told he will be forced to sit out the 2014 season. That's right, after about a month of speculation and nail-biting suspense, Major League Baseball handed A-Fraud - sorry, A-Roid - oops, A-Rod, a nice, robust 211 game suspension that will carry him through the end of the next season. Rodriguez, ever the fighter, ever the optimist (read as: egoist), is appealing the suspension in hopes to get it thrown out (fittingly, much like he is) to continue his fading, injury-plagued career. The baseball diamond tonight is his asylum. It's his place to get away from everything - if only for 27 outs, 9 innings, 1 game. A man that was once revered by many to be the greatest player of all time, the most talented player of all time, a man that was going to break every conceivable offensive record known to man, is, in his own words, "fighting for his [baseball] life." We finally saw a humanized A-Rod during his press conference on Monday evening, when his eyes turned glassy. What we saw was a broken man. A man that has nothing left to give or do but fight for what's left of his decimated career.

12 other players - 13 if you count the already suspended Ryan Braun - have accepted their suspensions at 50 games a piece (Braun for 65). A-Rod is planning to appeal, in which the results of the hearings won't come until well after the 2013 season is over, enabling A-Rod to play out the rest of the season. Some would say Rodriguez is being picked on. To that I say, for lack of a better and more eloquent phrase - bullsh*t! A-Rod has admitted before that he's taken Performance Enhancing Drugs from 2000-2003, and has been involved with shady figures in the medical field in the form of Anthony Galea. MLB's investigative arm linked 12 players, including Texas Ranger slugger Nelson Cruz and Detroit Tiger All-Star infielder Jhonny Peralta, to the Biogensis of America anti-aging clinic in Miami. Biogensis, already illegal with their practices, was handing out PEDs left and right, with Rodriguez even being accused as "recruiting" players to try this place. So, while some people take their talents to South Beach, other people find their talent there. 

The reason why this is so personal to me, is that when I was growing up, when I was 10 or 11 years old, I watched in awe as A-Rod hit towering home runs at virtually every ballpark he was playing in. When I played backyard baseball, I wanted to be him. In my naivety, I didn't think A-Rod was juicing. I didn't think that when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire took the country by storm in the summer of '98 with one swing at a time, they were loading themselves up with something more than Dominican food and McGwire's Androstenedione. I didn't know. I couldn't have known better. Then, BALCO happened. Then, Barry Bonds' forehead was used by the government to bounce radio signals into space. Then, Rafael Palmeiro wagged his finger at Congress (Period). Then, Roger Clemens was in Steinbrenner's Bawx (Thank you, Suzyn Waldman). They were all loading up the home runs as they were loading the syringes - sorry - ALLEGEDLY loading up the syringes and taking designer steroids such as the "Cream" and the "Clear". A-Rod was no different.

As I grew older, that player that I had idolized, the player that I pretended to be when I laced a frozen rope double between the light post and the rosebush in my backyard, was a phony. A fake. A cheater. The man has proven to be nothing more than a sanctimonious, lying, cheating, fraud. Plain and simple.

Still, the baseball romantic inside of me held out hope that it wasn't true. A-Rod? A juicer? No way. Has to be a mix-up. Then his cousin got involved. Then Katie Couric happened. Then Galea showed up. Then Biogensis. Then, today, the suspension.

I'd like to believe that this round of suspensions is the definitive end of what is now known as the Steroid Era in baseball. No more steroids. No more HGH. No more cheaters and frauds. But, as indicated by the lack of positive tests in the 12 players suspended today, who knows how many more are out there, still in their clubhouse bathrooms, poking themselves in the buttcheeks with needles.

In the 2011 film Moneyball based on the Michael Lewis book, Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is quoted as saying, "How can you not get romantic about baseball?" At least we have guys like Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen that show that those naturally talented players still exist. Hopefully Chris Davis' 2013 season isn't A.) a fluke and B.) steroid induced so we can continue watch him hit moonshots for the next 15 years. Guys like Yasiel Puig and Bryce Harper are playing with nothing but hustle and heart, with loads of potential and talent that are here to play hard and entertain. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are continuing their Hall of Fame careers, with Rivera until the end of this season. So how can you NOT get romantic about baseball?

Well, the day any one of those guys fail a drug test, you'll find the answer to that question.

New School Science: How Sabermetrics are Saving The Show

For those who don't follow baseball, an at-bat can seem as simple as a guy with a club trying to hit a ball hurled from another guy standing 60 and a half feet away.

For those who follow baseball, it's about the hitter's batting average, and the velocity of the pitcher's fastball.

For those who love baseball, it's about the hitter's batting average against the right handed pitcher on the mound, and the late movement on the pitcher's 95 MPH fastball, the hitter's approach to the pitcher, the pitcher's strategy against the hitter, the hitter's at-bats on the day, the pitcher's last last three outings that haven't been so great, the hitter coming into the at-bat as 14 for his last 30, with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs...

And then...there are sabermetricians.

Sabermetricians are proponents of new school baseball ideologies. Sabermetricians use mathematical analysis, known as sabermetrics, to study advanced baseball statistics and numbers. Simply put, sabermetrics are the Lamborghini to old school baseball thinking's '95 Honda Civic. The word sabermetrics is (somewhat fittingly) derived from SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, a group that was founded in the early 70s by Bob Davids. Davids organized a group of others much like himself, with their sole purpose to dissect, investigate and evaluate some of baseballs' more traditional numbers (batting average, for example), and come up with a more efficient and accurate way to determine a ballplayer's production and value. SABR has influenced other well-known statistical analysis groups today, such as Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs.

The main idea behind sabermetrics, to make it simple without delving deep into how statistics are calculated or derived, is to exploit inefficiencies in the statistics we use (and DON'T use) today and to find worth in undervalued players. 15 years ago, we would have viewed a player with a low batting average, a high strikeout rate and a low Runs Batted In (RBI) total as replaceable. However, thanks to sabermetrics, we look at a player more deeply than we ever have before. That player with a low average that barely matches his listed weight? He has a high On-Base Percentage (OBP) to counter his low average. OBP holds much more weight than average, since it dictates how often a player is on base (and by NOT giving up baseball's most valued commodity; outs), rather than knowing how often a player is on base by way of base hits. A player that's on base 40% of the time is only giving up outs 60% of the time. While a player with a .300 OBP gives up outs 70 percent of the time. Strikes out a lot? While it's an issue, it's not that serious of a problem, because striking out - while still giving up an out - is still better than grounding into a double play and giving up two. That 80 runs that he drove in? That's a low number, but RBIs are more reliant on the other players on your team getting on base and the context of the game. So, because we looked at more than just the surface numbers, we find out this player is more valuable than we originally thought. And since the players that exhibit these particular statistics well are incredibly undervalued in the open market, they come cheap. This is the perfect philosophy for smaller market teams who can't spend as much money as the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc.

(It's still important to note that hitting is still prevalent, but it isn't the end-all-be-all to what a baseball player should be.)

While sabermetrics and its supporters have been around for 40 years, it's growth has been stunted by classical baseball thinkers. First ballot Hall of Famer Joe Morgan has always been one of the biggest opponents of sabermetrics. Morgan, like many other players past and present, believe that baseball is a game that can't be judged by numbers. It's a sport that can't be judged by a couple of desk jockeys sitting with a TI-34 in a cubicle, crunching numbers until the last pitch of the season is thrown. In one of the better examples of this idea, Joe Torre quotes himself in his book The Yankee Years as telling Yankee General Manager (and closet sabermetrician) Brian Cashman, "Don't forget the game has a heartbeat." Sabermetricians have typically been ridiculed, bullied and rejected throughout their existence, since they can't seem to factor this into their equations. It's true, the game has a heartbeat. The game is played by humans. The game have players who demonstrate extraordinary amounts of courage, will and heart. But have you ever tried paying your bills with courage, will and heart? Doesn't exactly work that way. You try walking up to your manager with your piss-poor .269 OBP after being benched and saying, "But Skip, my intangibles are incredible!"

Sabermetrics have also given the game a slew of new school thinkers in high positions. General Managers such as Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics uses a more analytic approach to signing players. Beane and the 2002 Oakland Athletics were put in the spotlight in the 2003 book Moneyball written by Michael Lewis. The '02 A's were put together using sabermetric principles, such as OBP, to keep their payroll low (only around $41 million) and stay competitive with bigger market teams such as the New York Yankees (at over $150 million). Even though they didn't make it far into the postseason, the A's won an American League record 20 games in a row that season.

In addition to Beane, we've seen Theo Epstein (formerly) of the Boston Red Sox bring two World Series titles to Fenway Park after an 86 year drought, alongside the tutelage and guidance of sabermetric wizard and legend, Bill James (James is known as the godfather of sabermetrics). We're seeing sabermetrician (and Beane's mentor) Sandy Alderson rebuild a New York Mets franchise that was left decimated after Omar Minaya's failed "Latinization" of the team and broke because of owner Fred Wilpon's relationship with Bernie Madoff. Going back further, thanks to the baseball intelligence of then Yankee GM Gene "Stick" Michael (and then successor Brian Cashman), we saw the Yankee dynasty of the '90s built on basic sabermetric principles; drawing walks, hitting for power, getting on base.

Even with all the advancements made in baseball statistics and analysis thanks to sabermetrics, it still has its flaws. While there's an extensive and all-inclusive stat for almost everything now (including defense), that in itself lies a problem. That heart, courage and will that may not pay the bills is still an important factor for any big league ballplayer. There are the fabled "intangibles" that a player can have. In the 2006 Baseball Prospectus book Baseball Between the Numbers, the authors try quantifying the "clutch" ability of a player. That is, the ability to get big hits and drive in runs in game-changing situations. While they did a fairly good job presenting an argument as to why the clutch gene doesn't really exist, what they fail to realize is clutch is one of those things that you just...can't measure. You can't measure how a person feels against the pressure in any situation. When there's 50,000 screaming fans in attendance and it's the bottom of the 9th and the tying run is on second, you can bet that Tony Womack probably won't handle that situation as well as a Derek Jeter or a David Ortiz would. The bottom line? Maybe that sabermetrical Lamborghini isn't looking as sexy as we originally thought. However, there's one thing that's indisputable at this point; sabermetrics are saving and re-energizing baseball.

Sabermetrics aren't saving the game because they're better, more efficient statistics. Sabermetrics aren't saving the game because it's giving value to players that would have been on the scrapheap 20 or 30 years ago. Sabermetrics are saving the game because it has gotten fans, young and old, traditional and new school, more involved. It's gotten fans to defend their ideas. It's gotten fans to stand up for what they feel, is the right way to analyze the game. It's gotten players, retired or not, GMs, current or unemployed, out to the water cooler and fighting over ideologies like two Trekkies fighting over which incarnation of Star Trek was the best. Sabermetrics have given small market teams a means to combat the big bad Bronx Bombers, or the BoSox, or the Phillies, or any team in a big market that is used to spending exorbitant amounts of money to put butts in seats and wins in the ledger. Hell, sabermetrics has even gotten people that AREN'T fans to get involved, get interested, if only to analyze and wear out the digits on a calculator.

To even promote this idea further, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Network recently debuted a new show (MLB Now) that capitalizes on New School vs. Old School, by way of number-crunching sabermetrician Brian Kenny and retired ballplayer Harold Reynolds. They debate the days' hot topics, with Kenny taking the role of analyst and Reynolds standing in the corner of "human." In addition to this, more and more teams are including members of the new school ideology in their commentary booths to poke this beehive just a little bit more. (David Cone on Yankees broadcasts, just as an example.)

Sabermetrics are giving the game a proverbial face-lift. While everyone enjoys the long-ball, Major League Baseball needs to do everything it can to distance itself from the Steroid Era. With the book about to close on one of the darker chapter in the game's history, the sabermetrics popularity boom could not have come at a better time. Rather than having fans debating who's juicing and who isn't, they're arguing over whether or not Nick Swisher, a player who is revered by traditionalists as well as sabermetricians, is really worth the money the Cleveland Indians decided to pay him.

Whether you're a new school thinker or a baseball traditionalist, there's one fact that remains; sabermetrics are here to stay. I'd like to believe that both schools of thought will come to terms with one another and live together as well as a cat and mouse can some day, but until then I'll sit by idly and watch the war between the two rage on. However, with America's Pastime being over 200 years old, I can see and understand why traditional baseball followers want to stave off the onslaught of those pesky sabermetricians; don't fix what isn't broken. In the same vein, I can understand why sabermetricians want to change the way we think about the game, the way we watch the game and the way we analyze the game. There is a game within a game, whether traditionalists want to admit it or not. But the game also has a heartbeat, whether the sabermetricians want to admit that or not. There isn't a right or wrong way to think, but the important thing to remember as baseball fans is that whether you are new or old, traditional or advanced, whichever school you want to follow, baseball will always have drama. Baseball will always have excitement. Baseball will always have fun...

...because it wouldn't be nicknamed "The Show" if it didn't.

Why the Yankees Really Suck (And Why They Really Don't).

You can blame them for sucking the fun out of the game. You can blame them for "buying" championship titles. You can even blame them for ruining baseball. These days, the average baseball fan will hate the Yankees for those very reasons (however silly that may be - I'll prove it). After all, it's the Yankees' faults that they suck, that they ruined the game of baseball...

...or is it?

First, we start with this season.

Manager Joe Girardi is still looking for his ass, since he's managed it off this year. He's been given the likes of Vernon Wells, who during April and parts of May played well, but now he couldn't hit a watermelon off of a tee if he was asked to. Adorning the line-up card as well is Lyle Overbay, who has always been known for his solid defense at first base but not so much his bat. The last time Overbay hit over .300 was 2006. The last time Overbay has gotten on base 35% of the time was 2009. Not exactly known for his offensive prowess, Overbay, much like Wells, was serviceable in the first month and a half of the season. Now, he's batting .243 with a .287 On-Base Percentage. Not exactly smacking the cover off the ball. However, we shouldn't single out these vets. They are joined by players like Jayson Nix, a journeyman utility infielder, who is trying to fill the cleats of the injured Yankee captain, Derek Jeter. This season, Nix is batting .249 with a .313 OBP, 20 RBIs and 2 home runs. He also has this unbelievable (or hyper-believable) ability to come up small in big spots. Nix is joined by rookie third basemen David Adams, solid defensive catcher (but weak offensively) Chris Stewart, an aging Ichiro Suzuki, and injury prone outfielder Travis Hafner. Someone get me Brian Cashman's number. I want answers.

Regardless of these offensive woes, there are still some bright spots. Robinson Cano is burdened with more offensive pressure while big names like Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez all recovering from injuries that pitted them on the DL. In his free agent year, Cano is batting an average average of .276. However, he's getting on base more than 35% of the time, while playing a great second base and on pace to set a career high in home runs. It's also important to note that Brett Gardner seems to have found his swing, while he remains hot in the month of June. You can couple their few offensive bright spots and sometimes timely and clutch hitting with their solid rotation lead by the grit of CC Sabathia and excellent bullpen, rounded out by that ageless, Panamanian wonder Mariano Rivera.

...So why do they suck, again?

It's June 26th and the Yankees, with all their injuries and holes in the line-up, are sitting at 42-35, and just 3.5 games back of Boston for first place in the AL East. HOWEVA, these numbers are very deceptive. With the Yankees 42-35 record, they're 14-2 against the likes of the barely two games over .500 Cleveland Indians and the 39-38 Toronto Blue Jays. Without that 14-2? 28-33 against the rest of baseball. That's right, folk - those damned Yankees are a below average team when they play games against division leaders and good teams..so rejoice Yankee haters! At the end of the day, they're really just not that good. Granted, baseball is a funny game, and they could be catapulted to 15 games over .500 in a blink of an eye. Three words: That's baseball, Suzyn.

To really put in perspective on how bad this team is offensively, they're batting a collective .239, which is good for 14th out of 15 American League teams. Their total team OBP (not counting pitchers) is .302, which is good for 12th in the AL. With 297 runs, they're good for 12th in the American League - yet they're still over .500. It's appalling, which is why I believe Girardi deserves some credit for what they've been able to accomplish this season to this point.

Mediocrity layered in a flashy wrapper and distorted numbers explains the Yankees season thus far.

But, have the Yankees ruined baseball? No, they have not. Baseball isn't ruined, but if you're going to point a finger as to why BJ Upton is making 75 million dollars, why AJ Burnett was paid 82.5 mil, why Carl Crawford is making a whopping 142 million dollars, don't blame the Yankees; blame the market.

You can't blame the Yankees for being able to shell out cash to get that big name free agent. After all, it is a business that's masked by a game. There's only a handful of teams in baseball that can even afford the services of an A-Rod, a Hamilton, a Pujols, a Gonzalez, etc. If there's anything that fans should know, it's that under the current model of buy big name players and win championships, the Yankees have won nothing, and most teams have failed. The 2012 Miami Marlins are and the 2013 LA Dodgers (to this point) are both failed projects with massive payrolls. In addition to this, the Yankees had their share of terrible, awful, beyond bad, three-month-old milk in the fridge contracts. Jaret Wright (to a lesser extent), anyone? AJ Burnett, line 2. I think the Yankees just put Carl Pavano on the DL again. Kei Igawa...really? That's beside the point, however.

As players elect for free agency more often, rather than negotiating with teams prior to or during their free agent seasons, sports agents go in for the kill. These highly persuasive, highly annoying gang of leeches suck organizations for every last penny they can spare. They play the markets so soundly that it gets to a point that teams have to negotiate at such high salaries. It's basic economical concepts. You can bet if the Yankees don't pay A-Rod 200 million plus, the Red Sox will. That's the name of the game. What people fail to realize is, that not only are you signing a player to play for your team, but you're signing a player away from the opposition. It sounds like common sense, but it's not a point of view that's looked at regularly. Here are the facts: if Aaron Boone doesn't tear his ACL playing a game of pick up basketball, the Yankees never get on the phone with the Rangers to trade for A-Rod. It's a well known fact at this point that the Red Sox were the front runners to trade for A-Rod prior to the 2004 season, and if it wasn't for the Players Association vetoing the trade, the Yankees would never punch the Rangers' digits. Period. So did the Yankees ruin baseball? Of course not. "It's nothing personal. It's just business."

The salary of a player isn't dictated by a team. You might be shaking your head in disagreement, and disapproval, but again, it's nothing but business. Supply and demand. A player of A-Rod's stature, or Pujols' stature, or Hamilton, Fielder, etc., don't come along very often. If you aren't actively grooming farm talent to become those players, then you will be scouring the free agent market looking for them, and you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be other teams that will want them, too. There are some teams, however unfortunate, are essentially major league farm clubs. If you look at a small market team like the Tampa Bay Rays, who groom their young talent (predominantly pitching) to a point where they are bona fide stars on the Major League level, then when those players hit free agency, the Rays are left with their pockets turned inside out because these players wind up elsewhere. Again, it's unfortunate, but this is the nature of the game. The Rays, somewhat miraculously, continue to win on such a limited payroll (and budget) with a plethora of young, inexperienced, misfits.

Why would you want to blame the Yankees for doing what they feel is best for their fans, their organization? Certainly, your team does the same thing.

A lot of people seem to forget how the Yankees entered the 1996 World Series the underdogs to the defending champion Atlanta Braves. It was a team built with the youth of an up-and-coming star in Derek Jeter, the future three time All Star starting pitcher Andy Pettitte and a little-known relief pitcher by the name of Mariano Rivera (he went on to have a successful career as a spokesperson for Acura). While future Yankee backstop Jorge Posada wasn't a pivotal part on the 1996 World Series team, he would go on to join Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera in 1998 for their second championship, and his first. The "Core Four" as they are so affectionately and passionately known by the Yankee faithful went on to be the cornerstones for four World Series titles (while Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera each have one more ring from that 1996 Series), including one Subway Series win against the gritty bunch from Queens. The Core Four were homegrown talent (something that the Yankees sorely need now), and not free agent signings. The Yankees made a big acquisition by trading for Tino Martinez, the heir apparent to the great Don Mattingly at first base.

However, this isn't a history lesson. The World Series titles that followed are all well documented and can be found by reading a book or Wikipedia. The fact of the matter is this; the Yankees 90s dynasty was formed by key acquisitions and youth, NOT buying players. So the Yankee haters that claim they buy their championships should probably check the facts.

 They were mocked and ridiculed by the media when they signed Scott Brosius, who hit just .203 in 1997 with the Oakland Athletics. They were disrespected when they went down 0-2 against Atlanta in 1996. When, in 1998, they played to an 114-48 regular season record and they went on to sweep the San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series, no one questioned their payroll. Between the years of 2001 and 2009, the Yankees had the highest payroll in baseball, but just one World Series ring to show for it. So, the people that hate on the Yankees for buying players to win championships need to relax, because it obviously doesn't work. Admittedly, in 2009 they did have the highest payroll in baseball and they did win the World Series. However, if it wasn't for smart acquisitions like CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira during that offseason, they more than likely wouldn't have won a championship. It's debatable. Highly debatable.

Yes. It's hard explaining to people I'm a Yankee fan because these days the there's a certain...stench that's attached to it. It's almost as painful as explaining to someone you're a member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

These days, the common "Yankee fan" will always fall back on the argument of "27". These "Yankee fans" fail to realize that no one gives a damn about who won the World Series in 1937. These "Yankee fans" fail to realize that buying players left and right to ridiculous long term contracts isn't an effective business strategy to win championships. These "Yankee fans" fail to realize that you NEED to use money to develop young talent, to scout, to research, rather than waiting for other teams to develop those players and swoop in with blank checks, which is what the Yankees have been doing this past decade. It's unfortunate to think that the Yankees farm system, which was once top five in all of baseball and rich with talent, is now completely decimated because of a lack of proper development in the minors. The truth is, the Yankees just haven't been a smart organization in the last 12 to 13 years, regardless of their one World Series victory in 2009. It's EMBARASSING that the Yankees haven't been able to develop a serviceable utility infielder to plug their holes this season. What's the point of trading for Vernon Wells when you have a guy like Zoilo Almonte, a Yankees top 10 outfield prospect, waiting in the wings? What's the point of keeping Joba on the roster when there are younger, more serviceable relief pitchers in your minor league system? What's the point of trading away a sure thing in outfield prospect Austin Jackson for a feast-or-famine player in Curtis Granderson?

Of course, these things aren't apparent to the average "Yankee fan" because the average "Yankee fan" sees Ichiro hitting a walk off home run, or Alex Rodriguez hitting a 3 run bomb in a meaningless game in May in a rout against the Houston Astros. These things aren't apparent to the average "Yankee fan" because they see a 42-35 record and they're deceived by that. The average "Yankee fan" will slap on a "got rings?" t-shirt and shout "TWENTY SEVEN!!" whenever their knowledge of the team they so...lukewarmly support is questioned. If you're one of these people, you should really be careful what you say. No one cares that the Yankees won the 1928 World Series. They care about the here and now, and while you're busy Googling what years they did win World Series titles, the San Francisco Giants (with the 5th highest payroll in baseball) are going to continue to be the consummate team and win World Series after World Series. Or how a team like the St. Louis Cardinals can be contenders every year; because they develop and groom young talent.

So, while it's easy to say the Yankees suck (which they do), they don't at the same time. Historically, they are a successful franchise but the glory days of the 90s dynasty team full of grinders like O'Neill and Brosius seem a far cry to what we're witnessing today. Maybe one day we'll see a return to those days but...I'm not going to hold my breath.

Joe Talks About....His Top 10 Favorite Songs of So Far In His Life.

Music. It speaks to us, embraces us, gets us pumped for the day and gets us ready for sleep. Every once in a while, that one song you hear on the radio, or that brand new album, speaks to you. It gets in your head, and you just...vibe. Not to get cheesy, but you really just kinda feel it. Out of thousands of songs I've heard in my life time, it really is hard to pick out just 10, but, from my deep music library, I was able to pick out 10 of my favorite songs I've heard so far in my life.

Disclaimer: Note how nowhere in this have I mentioned the word "best." This is not a "best of all time" list. Music is subjective and everyone hears it different, so keep that in mind while you read.

10.) "Take A Look Around" - Limp Bizkit 

 From the Album "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water"

Listen Here

"Take A Look Around", you may know it as the Mission: Impossible II theme, is one of those songs that just gets me pumped up. I know, it's Limp Bizkit, and even Fred Durst considers the song somewhat of a joke (playing it at some music festivals as a "prank"), but this song seriously just makes you wanna run into a brick wall. The lyrics actually make sense (Unlike Limp's metal version of the Hokey Pokey, "Rollin'". Seriously. Listen to the words), but when it gets to the heavy Mission: Impossible guitar riff later in the song, it's just straight badass.

9.) "Lateralus" - Tool

From the Album "Lateralus"

 Listen Here

  

A 9 minute, epic, musical masterpiece, "Lateralus" utilizes the Fibonacci sequence at times in its lyrics, demonstrating the pure music genius of lead singer Maynard James Keenan. Keenan demonstrates his pure, unadulterated, and eclectic voice throughout the song, from moments of almost whispering and gentle singing to grainy, almost screaming and growling, the song builds up to it's epic ending for all 9 minutes. Let's not forget that Danny Carey is an absolutely PHENOMENAL drummer. He's a human metronome, and his skills with abrupt time signature changes and style changes throughout the song are put on display for all to see. Phenomenal song.

8.) "Citizen Erased" - Muse

From the Album "Origin of Symmetry"

 Listen Here

Before most of the watered-down garbage you hear from Muse these days, there was Origin of Symmetry. This album smacked you in the face with crazy screechy guitar riffs, Matthew Bellamy's mix of his angelic/demonic/angelic again voice, and different feels for different songs, Citizen Erased demonstrates a fantastic shift of style and tempo throughout. A truly badass riff, mixed with some confusing and easily understood and easy to relate lyrics, make this a really fantastic song. If you haven't heard any Muse stuff before "The Resistance", then get ready, because this is much heavier, and if you ask me, the true Muse.

7.) "So Far Away" - Staind

From the Album "14 Shades of Grey"

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Another one of those simplistic, straightforward songs. For a while, this was my life anthem. The lyrics just kind of strike a nerve, as the song builds up strong, hits its peak, and softly lets you down on the ending. Awesome song.

6.) "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone" - Silversun Pickups

From the Album "Swoon"

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I haven't known about the Silversun Pickups for that long. I first heard this song off the MLB 2010 Soundtrack, and fell immediately in love with the simplicity of their music. What most people don't seem to realize, is sometimes simplicity is better. After listening to the likes of Tool, Dream Theater, and The Fall of Troy almost every day for 2 years, this song (and band) was a fantastic change of pace. From fast, furious, metal, screaming, wild, crazy guitar rock, to something a lot more simple, a little slower paced, with the lead singer's voice a little more - dare I say - feminine, this song continues to quietly build until it reaches it's full crescendo near the end of the song. The ending verse just gives me chills, and makes the whole song almost ethereal.

 

5.) "Walk of Fame" - The Fall of Troy

From the Album "In The Unlikely Event"

 Listen Here (It Says "Webs" but it's "Walk of Fame")

If there was ever a song, ever made, that had an absolutely clear message to anybody out there, it's this song. Aside from that, lead singer and guitarist Thomas Erak is some kind of God. The guy is absolutely amazing on the guitar, and the complex rhythms and patterns of the song are absolutely mind boggling, but at the same time, you know exactly what's going on. It's not like noise. You hear every subtlety of the song, from the drummer's bass kick to the crazy patterns of the riffs on guitar. Not to mention, the lyrics are straightforward and tell a story of how Hollywood and L.A. are tearing apart society. Song is straight cash.

4.) "Yellow Ledbetter" - Pearl Jam

From the Album "Ten"

 Listen Here

Wow. Where do I even start with this song? Also known as "The Subway Anthem" (for the select few who get this inside joke), it is an absolute masterpiece. Even though no one knows exactly what Eddie Vedder is trying to sing (no, really. No one knows the true lyrics of the song, not even Eddie himself. Many different versions of the lyrics have been sung live by them, so who the hell knows), the guitar riff and just overall feel of the song is otherworldly. From the beginning to the end, it's a non-stop chill ride. Most versions of the lyrics deal with a man whose brother went to war and isn't coming home. Pure emotion, and pure awesome, this song is a staple in the bridge between music then and music now.

 

3.) "Without You" - Breaking Benjamin

From the Album "Dear Agony"

 Listen Here

When I first heard Dear Agony, I decided it was the album of my life. Every single song speaks to me in some way, shape, or form, but the last song off the album spoke to me the most. Every lyric related to me in some way, and the lack of pure anger and hatred (which to me is Breaking Benjamin's true signature) in the song made it a refreshing change of style for this album. I have yet to hear a better song, on any album ever made, to finish off the CD than Without You. The ending strings give me chills just thinking about it.

2.) "Black" - Pearl Jam

From the Album "Ten"

 Listen Here

Two Pearl Jam songs in the top 5?! I think so! Black was written by Eddie Vedder, which helped him describe heartbreak and sadness. I know, it's depressing, but the true beauty of the song lies in it's straightforward lyrics and epic ending. Eddie Vedder shows to us that he actually CAN enunciate when he speaks, which is fantastic, because this is probably one of the best rock songs ever made, and for it to be tainted by weird, Vedder-signature, marble mouthed mumbling, would be detrimental. But this song is truly beautiful. And not to mention, one of the most epic endings I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. If you listen closely during the end, you can still hear Vedder wailing at times. It's pure, unbridled emotion channeled into music. We need more of that now. And not stuff like, "I whip my hair back and forth!" But, I digress.

 

1.) "Blurry" - Puddle of Mudd

From the Album "Come Clean"

 Listen Here

Wow. 10 years later and this song still holds a special place with me. Absolutely phenomenal song. Every one who has turned on the radio in the past decade has definitely heard this song, or see it on TV, or heard it somewhere. Another one of those songs which channeled pure emotion into a song, describing the distance from a loved one, or the loss of a loved one. Yeah, Puddle of Mudd isn't the best band in the world, and nothing will ever top this song (ok, so we don't know what the future holds, but come on). This is the greatest songs I've ever heard, and arguably, ever made. From the guitars, to the emotion in the lead singer's voice, to climactic ending, my favorite song of all time. Absolutely perfect.

Well, there you have it. Again, favorite songs of all time. Not best. Best is subjective. Thanks.

Joe Talks About...The NBA.

Ah, the NBA. The glitz and glamor of flashy dunks, buzzer-beating shots, and fancy ball-handling has held a special place in my heart since I was a young'n. A league that isn't overrun by steroids (MLB), or rapists, (Ben Roethlisberger), or indifference (NHL. Sorry, this isn't Canada). A league that has had stars of the sport for years and years, from Wilt, to Kareem, to Larry Legend and Magic, to Jordan, to Kobe to, dare I say, LeBron James. Oh, LeBron...

Before the Summer of 2010, the amount of love for LeBron was only surpassed by the amount of love a fat kid has for a Carvel ice cream cake. It was far and wide, from the corners of Amurrica to the corners of the globe. He dazzled us with huge dunks, his ability to put a team on his back and win a game (or playoff series), the revitalization of an NBA franchise, and most of all, he answered our questions as to whether or not there was ever going to be another Michael. Within his first year, the debates in my middle school gym class rose:

"He's going to be as good as Michael."

"There will never be another Jordan."

"He's already better than Jordan!"

Etc., etc., etc. Everyone had their own opinion on LeBron and what he was going to become. As the years passed, and the Knicks were getting MUCH better in the "Irrelevance" Department, LeBron and Kobe were the only two players in the NBA that held my interest. Kobe, cold-blooded, calculating, the precision of a surgeon, and he always knew when to flip that switch and become the best closer in the NBA, and LeBron, dominating, unstoppable force, throwing down fierce dunks and always making his "Larger than Life" presence known (as demonstrated by his pregame powder toss). These two NBA Superstars took the Association by its throat and squeezed every ounce of awesome out of it. LeBron quickly became one of my favorite athletes beside Derek Jeter, Curtis Martin (No matter how long he's been retired), Tiger Woods (Before the whole 87 mistresses thing), and Rafa Nadal.

In many people's eyes, LeBron was a savior. He's a man that brought not only the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the city of Cleveland from the depths of sports irrelevance and unimportance, to a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. He was a man that gave us the talk of being the "Chosen One" to replace Jordan, and become the posterboy of basketball as we know it. We were all "Witnesses". But this was before the Summer of 2010.

Summer of '10 for the NBA gave us the biggest Free Agent class in NBA history. There were more big-name players on the move than Mexicans across the border at 2 in the morning. Among these players included Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, and the biggest and most sought after of them all, LeBron James.

For a few years, LeBron was cheating on Cleveland with New York. Whenever he visited the Garden, there was an electricity in the air that hadn't been there since Patrick Ewing donned the Orange and Blue in the early 90's. Every time he was there, there was something else going on; either free hot dogs for the Garden crowd, or T-Shirts, or even advertising his "Big Apple Red" Sneakers. If this isn't cheating, I'm sure my ex-girlfriends are feeling a lot better about their karma right now. Alas, I digress.

Initially, all signs pointed towards LeBron heading for New York. But then, the rumors started to surface. LeBron was going to Chicago, then he was going to New York, then he was going to New Jersey, then he was going to stay in Cleveland, then Delonte' West started banging his mom (allegedly), then he was going back to New York, then, Miami. I think the collective NBA audience groaned when hearing about Miami Thrice (3 big name Free Agents in Bosh, Wade, and James). Then, in a shocking (or not so shocking) act of egotism, LeBron gave himself an hour special on ESPN named "The Decision." You can guess what took place there.

The NBA Fan-Base held their collective breath from 8:00 PM to 8:23 PM on Thursday, July 8th, waiting for LeBron to make his decision, when finally, those fateful words drooled out of his mouth:

"In this Fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat."

When I heard this, I fell out of my chair. The next words that came out were, "LeBron, you're a God damn sell out."

Jordan didn't leave the Bulls to play with any other superstar. He made the players around him better, built his team around him, and made Pippen a great player. I can go on and on, but I think I made my point there.

The rest is history. Every NBA fan (Who isn't a Heat fan) enjoyed watching the early difficulties of the Heat in the 2010-11 NBA season. But, unfortunately, they found their rhythm and now they're kind of destroying every team in their way. But, fortunately, the Heat aren't the only headline in the NBA today.

I think David Stern breathed a sigh of relief when Blake Griffin emerged as a dominating force in the NBA this year. Sitting out his first year in the NBA with knee problems and subsequent knee surgery, Griffin came out this year all guns blazing. I've never seen anyone get higher, other than Dave Chappelle in Half-Baked. He owns the rim and everyone around it, and hopefully we'll see a rebirth of the NBA Dunk Contest when he brings his talents to...well, keeps his talents in the Staples Center in LA during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend.

I'm sure David Stern is also smiling a little bit when he sees the renaissance of New York basketball, when Amar'e joined the Knicks this past off-season. With a single phrase, "The New York Knicks are back", Amar'e (along with Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and rookie Landry Fields) is leading the way for future Knicks prominence in the Eastern Conference.

Thank goodness for Blake Griffin, and the Knicks deciding they wanted to be good again this year. If not, my head would have probably exploded from all this LeBron crap. Oh well, no use in wishing harm or bad luck on LeBron, anyway. I hope he enjoys South Beach. We want winners in New York, not cowards and punks.

I'd rather have 'Melo, anyway.

Thanks.

Hellooooooooo!

Looking for deep, intellectual conversation? For a place where someone captures your ideas and emotions through use of deep, meaningful words? Looking for the epitome of intelligent conversation and pensive thought?

Well, click the red X in the corner, 'cause you ain't gonna find it here.

My name's Joe (if you couldn't guess already, by the title of the damn thing), and I'm here to entertain you.

All 10 of you. You're probably all related/friends with me, too. That's depressing.

The point of this blog is, to talk about things. Anything that comes to mind. Will I do entertainment reviews? Definitely. Will I channel my inner Rex Ryan and talk up my favorite sports teams (I promise not to be overly obnoxious)? Yes. Will I talk about video games, comics, and nerdy things? Without a doubt. Will I engage in deep political, ethical, current events, etc. conversation? It's a stretch, but I give the people what they want. And of course, a little self-promotion and egotism won't hurt...

You're probably asking myself, "Why should I care? Why should I read this rather than watch Jersey Shore?"

Well, the answer is quite simple. I have no idea.

If you haven't already left the page, or for the 5 of you that are still awake/reading, I just want to say thanks in advance for choosing to read this. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while, and whether or not I get positive feed back will determine if this experiment will continue or go up in violent flames, much like Cuba Gooding Jr.'s career after making "Daddy Day Camp."

Just sit back, relax, and let the hilarity (or lack thereof) ensue.

Thanks.