Results tagged ‘ Roger Clemens ’
Matt Harvey looks like NL Cy Young material
When I look around the game today and see what I have seen so far there have been some surprises: Tampa Bay in last in the East, Angels 4-10 start, Atlanta’s 12-2 start. But these are team surprises.
When I look at players who have been surprises, the one that jumps out at me the most. I can’t really even say it is that big of a surprise. What Matt Harvey is doing for the Mets is phenomenal! I say it’s not that big of a surprise because of what I saw out of him last year. I said he is the closest thing I’ve seen to Roger Clemens come along. Not just his stuff. But more importantly the way he carries himself on the mound. That is what reminds me most of Clemens. In ’86, having to sit across the field from “Rocket” was so impressive. He had that look on his face that told every hitter, ‘You have no chance.’
That is what I see in Harvey, from his first start last year through three starts this year. This kid doesn’t believe anyone can beat him! It is all over his face. He steps up on the mound and the hitter looks out there and sees a set of eyes that have no question marks in them. He knows what he wants to do, and he does it. He has a fastball that he will throw from 93-98 mph, and above average secondary pitches.
If you go back to last year and look at his stats, they are staggering. He made 10 starts last year and went 3-5 with a 2.73 ERA, also 59.1 IP, 42 hits, 26 walks and 70 strikeouts. His WHIP was 1.15 last year his BAA was 200. Now we jump to this year and three starts into this season he has thrown 22 innings and given up a grand total of 12 base runners, 6 hits and 6 walks. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 0.82. And struck out 25, averaging 7.1 innings per start. He would qualify for Rookie of the Year, but I can tell you this, if he continues to pitch like he is right now he will win the Cy Young Award.
The thing that is most impressive to me about him isn’t his stuff, which by the way is off the charts. It is the way he goes about his business on the mound. Big league hitters will adjust to him and find ways to attack him at the plate. But I see a 24-year-old kid who will make the adjustments right along with the hitters.
I picked Stephen Strasburg to win the NL Cy Young before the season. But I am changing my mind three starts into the season. I truly believe that Harvey is the best pitcher in the NL. He has above average stuff as demonstrated by the six hits he has allowed in his first 22 innings pitched. Most guys would be happy to have a WHIP that is around 1.3; his is .55, and the staggering number is the BAA. The league is hitting .088 against this kid. It is a small sample and only three starts. But I don’t see this guy slowing down. I truly think he is going to win the NL Cy.
They say that Zack Wheeler, another young arm in the Mets system, has better stuff than Harvey. I haven’t seen much of Wheeler, but I can say this for sure, the stuff that really matters, the six or seven inches between the ears, I can’t see any way that Wheeler can be be better than Harvey. There isn’t another pitcher in the game right now that is stronger than Harvey in that area!
Clemens and clearing one’s name
Now that the verdict is in on the Roger Clemens trial and he was found not guilty on all charges, can we finally put a stop to this ridiculous waste of our American tax dollars? Please!
I am not a law expert. I’m sure those of you that have heard me speak or read what I’ve written before are not shocked to find this out. But just as a person with what I consider pretty good common sense, I knew from Day One that the government had no chance of winning this case.
My law knowledge stems from watching Law & Order, NCIS and pretty much any show that has to do with the law. What I’m saying is that I ain’t no rocket scientist, but common sense told me right away that the prosecution’s physical evidence had been stored in an old beer can. Ryan Braun’s suspension was overturned because the man who collected the sample — which by the way was triple-sealed — took the sample home with him to ship at the next earliest possible opportunity, which to my understanding is following protocol in that situation.
But the government went ahead with this trial anyway, spending no telling how much of our tax money in doing so. On a case that to anyone with common sense at all was unwinnable.
In the case of steroids or PEDs of any kind, Major League Baseball has done a great job of putting the new testing in place and enforcing the penalties that come with testing positive.
The problem as I see it is this: because we had a “Steroid Era” in baseball, anyone who had a long and productive career during that time is guilty until proven innocent. That is the exact opposite of our legal system. In our country, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The problem here is that Roger Clemens should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but the people who vote on the Hall of Fame had made up their minds before the trial. If there is any justice in this case, the voters will take into consideration what a jury found after hearing all of the evidence and vote Clemens in on the first ballot. But I promise that won’t happen.
I have stated many times that if you are proven to have used steroids — or if you have admitted to using them – you should not be a Hall of Famer. In this case, Clemens was found not guilty. What he can never get back is his good name. That has been tarnished forever, and it appears the people doing the accusing were wrong.
When we look back at our game, there have been what I call “freaks of nature.” Nolan Ryan was still throwing 95 miles per hour at 46 years old. No one ever questioned Nolan. Nor should they. He had a work ethic second to none. Clemens was cut from that same cloth. When Roger was with Boston, he would not report to Spring Training early, because he worked harder at home than they did in Spring Training. There are and always will be guys who are just superior athletes with superior work ethics.
What will this lead to now? If it were me, I would be filing a suit against the government for defamation of character. And guess what folks, it will be our tax dollars hard at work there, too.
It is time to put all of this Steroid Era garbage behind us. Between MLB and the Players Association, the problem has been resolved. I for one am sick to death of hearing about it. It was a big black eye on our game. It is healed.
