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Looking Forward: The MLB Season
Photo courtesy of Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Written by Zack Schwartz, Staff Writer
The boys of summer are back as the MLB season is beginning to heat up. So far this season there have already been plenty of highlights. There have been two no hitters with one of them being a perfect game.
The best players so far this season are:
1. Roy Halladay, Phillies: When Doc Halladay was traded to Philly, fans predicted a Cy Young caliber season out of him, and so far they picked right. Doc is tied for first place in the league with six wins, and has the fourth best earned running average (ERA) in the league, standing at 1.45. If his numbers continue, Halladay won’t have a problem winning the Cy Young award. He will also be able to help the Phillies get back to the World Series for the third straight year.
2. Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies: After having the best year of his career so far, Jimenez seems to have finally arrived. At 26, Jimenez has become the ace of the Rockies pitching rotation. He pitched a no hitter against the Braves, and, like Halladay, Jimenez is tied for first place in the league with six wins. Jimenez is also tied for fourth in strikeouts, with forty-nine, and has the best ERA in the league at 0.93. If he keeps this up, Jimenez can pitch the Rockies back into the playoffs.
3. Dallas Braden, Athletics: Braden is having the best year of his career as well. Although his numbers don’t match that of Doc or Jimenez, he is starting to come into his own. He pitched the second perfect game in Athletics history on Mothers day against the Rays. Going forward, the Athletics, who are currently in first place, will look to Braden to get them deep into the playoffs.
So this season has been a great one so far, and as summer begins, the season should continue to heat up.
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Marlins Finally Open Their Wallet
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Written by Andrew Stempel, Print Sports Editor
Another off-season for the Florida Marlins is passing by and it seems there has been some hope and change in the front office. The Marlins reached an agreement to allow the MLB to monitor their spending for the next three years. This will run until the open up their new $645 million dollar stadium in the heart of Miami. The Marlins, who have had the lowest payroll in baseball for the past several years, still are a force in the MLB. Last year with the lowest payroll in the majors, they won 87 games, the tenth most in the league.
The Marlins wasted no time in spending the money they were forced to spend this past week. They started resigning players by giving young ace Josh Johnson, a 4 year, $39 million dollar contract. Johnson is excited to be staying in South Florida and ready to lead the Marlins out on the mound. A few days after keeping Johnson, the Marlins locked down their star second baseman, Dan Uggla, for at least another year paying him $7.8 million for next season. Keeping these two players mixed with one of the best players in baseball, Hanley Ramirez, the Marlins seem they plan on contending this year. In addition, they resigned Jorge Cantu and Leo Nunez to one year deals worth $6 and $2 million respectively. Ever player that the Marlins have resigned will make more money than they did last year.
This many off-season resigning comes as a relief to many Marlin fans, who are used to the organization dismantling their team after each season. After finishing only six games behind the eventual NL Champion, Philadelphia Phillies, the Marlins are close to making the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series in 2003. The expected payroll for the Phish is expected to be around $45 million, the highest in five years. The odd thing though is that the Marlins aren’t used to spending in order to win. They have been near the bottom of the league in lowest payroll, yet always finish the season a couple games out of the postseason. Maybe after spending some money this off-season, the team will be able to experience the postseason for the third time in franchise history. And the two other times the Marlins made the playoffs, they won the World Series.
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That’s like Kel leaving Goodburger for Mondo Burger. Say it ain’t so, Dwyane."
What Has Become of Dwayne Wade?
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Dwayne Wade and his new Air Jordans
Written by David Jacobson, Media Editor
“With the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the Miami Heat select…” It was a star-studded night on the evening of June 23, 2003 in Madison Square Garden. David Stern stood at the podium as he addressed eager hoop (and rowdy, to say the least, Knicks) fans before him, already calling upon the names of three soon-to-be franchise players and a bum kid named Darko. It seemed that no one was left to bring the Heat, who finished last in the Atlantic Davison the previous year, back to NBA relevance. So when the name, “Dwyane Wade” was uttered from the commissioner Stern’s lip, only a handful of spectators who happened to catch the Final Four were not mistaking the Heat’s newest prodigy for the main character of the 1980’s sitcom a Different World.
Well, one NBA championship and Finals MVP, 5 All-Star appearances, one scoring championship, one Olympic Gold Medal, and a much more chiseled physique later, its safe to say the Miami Heat organization made a solid selection. It was evident that the Marquette alumni would leave his mark on the franchise for years to come, leading a sluggish Heat squad just a year before who boasted a 25-57 record to a 40-42 record and deep into the NBA playoffs. It began to seem as if D-Wade could do no wrong, immensely improving on the hardwood every year. Not to mention off the court, the kid seemed flawless and it was as if everything he touched turned to gold. He revived the Converse Basketball brand since its Dr. J Magic Johnson, Larry Bird days. Dwyane was living happily ever after with his high-school sweet heart and wife Siohvaughn and their two children in their Miami home. He was always making noise on the court, but no one heard a peep from him off it. Wade quickly became not only one of the most prominent faces of the association, but a model citizen for all to admire.
Now lets take a look back on this summer. D-Wade was coming off a scoring title, averaging nearly 29 points per game, but the Heat were sent home early after arguably the ugliest seven-game series in NBA history. Dwyane could not possibly be satisfied. Then, with the madness is the year 2010 approaching, the “what ifs” began to circulate. Would it still be “Wade County” as loyal Miami hoops fan hoped? Or, would he elope to a distorted and lost franchise (the Knicks…cough…cough).
Let’s look even further into D-Wade’s off-season: after six years of being the (only) face of the Converse Brand, he decided to leave them in the dust and become Nike Air Jordan’s newest affiliate. That’s like Kel leaving Goodburger for Mondo Burger. Say it ain’t so, Dwyane.
So what was next you ask? After pulling a “Saban” and ditching the brand that Chuck Taylor started, the only thing worse would be D-Wade leaving his lovely high-school sweatheart, Siohvaughn, for a Hollywood actress/model. Oh, wait: that DID happen.
But that was the summer, and his prolific play through the season thus far averaging 27 points a night mitigated fans (or at least my own) pain from his recent disappointments. Then he pulled a personal all-time worst, something that NBA fans alike would never expect from the recent Gold medal recipient: a complaint. Recently, he was heard accusing teammates for, “not getting him open enough.”
After being one of the very few model citizens that the NBA obtains, could these recent mishaps be premonition to the future? We’ll soon know the answer to this, of course, in the year 2010. Let’s just hope this time next year, D-Wade has the crowd on their feet while exclaiming, “Esta es mi casa!” with everyone able to understand.
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