The Blue Workhorse

Not only are the San Diego Padres one of the worst teams in baseball. Not only have they been outscored by 94 runs this season (the second worst margin in baseball behind only the lowly Nationals). But it appears the Padres can’t even pull off a simple “hit” on Manny Ramirez because they can’t read a calendar.

Ramirez is set to make his return from his 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs tonight against San Diego in Petco Park. Luckily, for the Dodgers and Mannywood an attempt to maim and possibly kill Manny went awry when someone read the calendar incorrectly.

Instead of Manny being engulfed in a swarm of 1000s of bees on the day of his return to left field for LA, Petco was enamored by the presence of the bees during yesterday’s day game against Houston.

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Every year, while others blatantly either just vote for players that play on their favorite teams (yea, you, Cubs fans) or from their country (yea, you, Japanese fans voting for Hideki Matsui) or just straight up don’t know anything about baseball (yea, you, anyone who didn’t have a problem with Jason Varitek being an All-Star last year), I try to come as close to being unbiased as is possible of a big-time fan when making my MLB All-Star votes 20-30 times.

So while everyone else is getting it wrong, here’s who I’ll be voting into this season’s MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis (all stats as of Saturday):

After a .396 batting average, 17 home runs, and 53 RBI in 53 games; leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to the division title; and a tumultuous offseason of contract negotiations, he’s baaaccckkk. That’s right Manny Ramirez is back in Dodger Blue for his first full season with LA. Batting in the midst of one of the strongest lineups in the National League, Manny will try to lead the Dodgers back to the promised land of the playoffs and hopefully to their first World Series appearance since 1988.

Before Manny helped propel the Dodgers in the last month of the season, it was the Arizona Diamondbacks at the top of the standings after they jumped out to the best record in baseball at the beginning of the season. The Baby Backs struggled down the stretch as they racked up strikeouts like they were going out of style but are hoping a year of maturation for their young players, along with their dominant starting pitching, will bring the division title back to the desert.

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The Blue Workhorse 2009 Outlook:
Solid is the best word used to describe the Dodgers.

An above average offense (likely the best in the National League) with speed and power is what the Dodgers have constructed, and they have an above average, seasoned manger steering the boat.

AND…more…including why the Hometown feels…The LA Dodgers WILL win the World Series…

Our second random former player played for 15 seasons for 5 different teams from the span of 1982-1998. After playing sparingly in the majors from ‘82-84, Eisenreich retired from baseball. Not because he couldn’t hack it on the field but instead because he was suffering and being ridiculed for it:

In 1982, Minnesota Twins rookie Jim Eisenreich stood in left field of Fenway Park trying to block out the taunts of the Red Sox faithful, “Shake, shake, shake,” they jeered from the stands. The taunts were eerily similar to the cruel words that Eisenreich had heard many times before — from classmates, teachers and even coaches. But this time, it was different. This time, the taunts raining down on him from Fenway Park’s storied outfield were in full view of the public eye. A camera briefly caught the outfielder fighting back tears and eventually struggling to return to the dugout at mid-inning. - Craig Maupin

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We played the baseball name game on a lot of different road trips, including our trip to New York City and Yankee Stadium last summer. Coincidentally, when you are playing the baseball name game, a lot of random players that you may not have thought about in ages (such as Francisco Cabrera or Randy St. Claire) end up getting named.

With these players in mind combined with the inspiration of The No Look Pass’s “We Like Obscure NBA Players” & Sharapova’s Thigh’s “Random Retro Baseball Player” we’ve decided to start our own series of random former players titled “Remember Me? I’m…”

Our initial random former player played for 13 seasons for 5 different teams. He played all four infield and all three outfield positions, but he is most known for his days prowling the dirt of second base.Without further ado:

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With their 3-1 victory over Boston and the Red Sox Nation in Game 7 Sunday night, the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays have advanced to their first ever World Series where they will face off with the Philadelphia Phillies.

While I feel sorry for the Phillies fans that had to endure the opposing fan treatment (yea, stay classy LA), I will be rooting for my Rays and here are 23 reasons why you should be rooting for them as well.

1. Worst to First - The Rays are the new Atlanta Braves.

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Earlier this year, we individually previewed each and every MLB team giving you a team’s record from the 2007 season, key additions and key losses in ‘08, projected starting lineups and pitching rotations, an overall outlook, fantasy impact players, and our prediction for this season.

So were we right?

Well, we got some things right like predicting Josh Hamilton’s huge season, but we also got some things way off like saying the Florida Marlins would be the laughing stock of the league.

What did we get right? What did we get wrong? This week we’ll start in the National League with the NL East:

Mets, Phils, or Braves: NL East Preview (March 6, 2008)

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