By MATTHEW WOODS
Staff Writer
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1. A-Rod’s Suspension Lifted
As Pablo Sandoval tracked down and caught the final out of the San Francisco Giants’ World Series title, many people were not thinking about what the impact of that final out meant to the game of baseball. It meant that baseball’s most polarizing figure was reinstated.
New York Yankees third baseman and designated hitter, Alex Rodriguez, will officially be back on the field come the start of spring training following his 162-game suspension from MLB for his involvement in the Biogenesis steroid ring.
Rodriguez, 39, has not made a public statement following his reinstatement to the Yankees 40-man roster; however, he has made appearances at other football and baseball games, including almost getting run over by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in the Week 6 matchup between the Giants and the Cowboys.
When Rodriguez does return to the field, many question his shape and whether or not he can still play third base and hit for power. There have been rumors swirling of Rodriguez possibly playing first base and backing up Mark Teixeira. Who knows how the Yankees will use him, but it is a sure thing that he will be in a Yankee uniform come opening day.
2. Lakers Rookie Julius Randle Breaks Leg in Debut
The Los Angeles Lakers were not expected to make much noise in the Western Conference this year, but they were looking for rookie Julius Randle to step up and make his presence felt. That came to an abrupt halt in the Lakers’ first regular season game, as Randle went down with a broken tibia in his debut.
Randle, the seventh overall selection in this past draft, was injured during the fourth quarter of the Lakers loss to the Houston Rockets when on a drive to the basket his right leg planted and collapsed awkwardly. He was carried off on a stretcher and had successful surgery on his tibia. It was announced that his season was immediately over.
The team’s highest draft choice since they drafted James Worthy first overall in 1982, 19-year-old Randle has a promising future when he returns to the NBA.
3. Maddon and Cubs
Agree on Deal
Former Rays’ manager Joe Maddon was not a free agent for long after opting out of his contract. Late last week, Maddon reached an agreement with the Chicago Cubs to become their manager. Although Maddon agreed upon a two year deal, he can’t officially be named the Cubs manager just yet.
This is a fantastic move for a team that could be on the rise in the next two seasons. Having experience with a young team, Maddon knows how to utilize young talent, and he has plenty of it within the Cubs organization with players like Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Starlin Castro, not to mention their other highly touted prospects.
This move will also help out the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, in the free agent market. Perhaps it could even land a spot for free agent and former Rays’ utility man Ben Zobrist.
The Rays have since filed tampering charges against the Cubs because of the leak about the deal being made. Either way, Maddon will be the new manager of the Cubs, so be sure to keep an eye on this team over the next few years.
4. Game Seven Lives Up
To The Hype
There are no two words better in sports than “game seven.” Game Seven, a matchup between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants lived up to the hype- and then some. With San Francisco prevailing in a nail biting 3-2 game, we saw World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner come in off of a two day rest to pitch five shutout innings to hold down the win.
With his performance in the playoffs this year, Bumgarner solidified his status as one of the best postseason pitchers in history. Bumgarner mixed his sneaky fastball with his creative off-speed pitches to fool the young Kansas City bats.
With this, their third World Series victory in six years, the San Francisco Giants are in fact a dynasty. Yes, they hadn’t made the playoffs in the years in between, but to have a run like this, they must be a dynasty. Manager Bruce Bochy also solidified himself as a Hall of Fame manager.
If we can take anything from this Giants game, it’s that this team might win another World Series in two years.
5. Vick Named Starter for Lame Jets
The New York Jets sat at 1-7 as they traveled to Kansas City to face off against the Chiefs this past Sunday, with all the attention on the starting quarterback position.
Last week, the Jets named Michael Vick the starter for the game against the Chiefs after Geno Smith’s poor performance, in which he completed more passes to the opposition than his own team. This move is not the end of Geno’s career, but it is a hint that he is clearly not the starter for this team.
Vick now takes over a team with a lack of weapons and an underachieving abysmal offense that turns the ball over more frequently than almost all other teams in the NFL.
Who is to blame for the lack of success for the Jets? None other than general manager John Idzik. Idzik had a lot of wiggle room to sign players to help this team out, but decided to look the other way and allow them to sign with other teams.
This is not a Rex Ryan issue, this is a player and personnel issue, as Idzik looks to get Ryan fired at the end of the season. If you are a Jets fan, I apologize for what you have to watch on Sundays, but this team is not winning any time in the near future.
