Bip's Inside Pitch

Thanks to the Wildcard and the Wild West the final weekend of the season brought drama that only baseball can provide. The Padres gave an awesome effort, but in the end the hole they had to climb out of was just too deep. Congrat's to the Giants and the Braves for being the final two entries into the playoffs. As I said before, it came down to the final weekend and what a weekend it was.

I'm looking forward to the playoffs, but there's something else on my mind. I'm not affiliated with the University of California at Berkeley, but being a Californian and a resident of the Bay Area I'm in a state of shock that they have eliminated all of those sports, namely baseball! I know that times are very difficult economically right now, but how do you justify the elimination of such storied programs in the blink of an eye? Well, being on the outside looking in, I do have my suspicions. And let's just say the Cal/Stanford rivalry may have just reached a level never seen before.

There are two things that go into making a program successful: 1) support and 2) winning. And usually they go hand in hand. Particularly, in baseball and basketball, the Cal athletic department decided to hire Stanford guys in each of those head coaching post. Nothing against either Coach Esker or Coach Montgomery, but these moves couldn't have exactly excited the alumni or any Cal enthusiast. I happen to know a few grads that actually took that as a bit of a slap in the face. Lets just say that didn’t help in the support department. And what about the winning? Cal Baseball hasn’t exactly lived up to the programs standards since the elimination of names like Zuber (Cal Hall of Fame) and Milano (3 College World Series appearances). The winning way of Cal baseball has been all but lost and as a witness to the players that have come and gone, it’s not because of the talent. Guys still get drafted out of the program. Three losing appearances in the NCAA regional over the past 11 years is simply unacceptable for a program of their stature. Looking at these moves from the surface the Cardinal have seemingly infiltrated the athletic program at Cal Trojan horse style (I may be a bit dramatic here, but I think I make my point).

These are strong comments, but the elimination of the sports they’ve eliminated is a stronger statement – economics not withstanding. In the age of the Trillion-dollar bailout it’s hard for me to believe a university with the stature of a Cal is in a position to lose historical programs over a few million dollars. Disturbing… My beloved home state of California has seemingly had its politics seep over into its university system. When you elect/hire people to the wrong positions over time, states and universities begin to go into the tank. This is just another example of that. It’s unbelievable to me how a university can completely lose focus of it’s own identity so quickly and alienate so many of it’s supporters at the cost of student-athletics.

Till next time,

Bip

The year is 1989. I'm a member of the San Diego Padres and the race for the NL west crown is between us and the San Francisco Giants. There's not much more than a week left in the season and we still have a "huge" series shaping up with the Giants, which looks like it will decide the West. But before that series is to take place we have to take care of business versus none other than the Cincinnati Reds. Long story made short, the Reds basically put us out of contention and the Giants go on to the World Series.

Fast forward 21 years and sure enough here we are again with the Padres facing off with the Reds in advance of what's shaping up to be a showdown for the NL West crown on the final weekend in San Francisco versus those same Giants. This time the around the Giants are riding a pitching staff on a historic run of stinginess that's never been seen before in the live ball era. Also, this time around there's the Wildcard playoff birth that's been added to the equation leaving what looks like three teams eligible for two spots in the coveted playoffs: The Giants, the Padres, and the Braves (although its hard to count out the Rockies, it looks like Arizona just finished putting the final nails in their coffin). And that painful 1989 flashback doesn't seem to bode well for the Pad's.

That said, each of these teams is in effect playing playoff games every day. The emotional roller coaster that each of these teams are riding will serve whomever makes it through to the playoffs very well in October and whichever team doesn't make it will be the team that handled the pressure cooker the worst. So as Terrell Owens once said, "get your popcorn ready" because this last week is shaping up to deliver more drama than those Atlanta Housewives.

What a season it's been, especially for Jose Bautista who just eclipsed the 50 home run mark which is an amazing feat. That's an awesome number of homers and deserves all the recognition it's received. It's unfortunate and understandable that there are whispers surrounding this event due to the dreaded steroid era. But I must say it again, hiring a guy like Victor Conte would go a long way toward legitimizing such great feats as Mr. Bautista's.

There's the microwave going off, popcorns ready.

Bip

We've officially gotten down to the nitty gritty and although the dust for all intensive purposes is settled in the American League, the National League is a completely different story - with the exception of The Reds (yep, I called that). Pennant fever is in the air in a handful of Major League cities and its great for the game.
Amazing stories are unfolding in the east as the Phillies are charging toward another Eastern Division title, leaving a stalling Braves team clinging for there wildcard lives. Anything can happen, but the East looks to be all but decided. So that leaves us with four teams fighting for two spots: The Braves, The Giants, The Padres, and The Rockies. And with 2.5 games separating them all, there's no telling how things will eventually shake out.

One thing that is for certain is the level of excitement in so many cities around the country is extremely high. This energy that baseball is providing to so many fans around the country is contagious. Living in the Bay Area San Francisco Giants fans are so pumped they are taking over other clubs stadiums (you should be ashamed Padre fans)! September baseball with a Wildcard at stake is proving to be as entertaining as ever before.

It would be easy for me to look at every teams remaining schedule and tell you who the favorites are based on "strength of schedule". But as someone who knows from first hand experience - any major league team can beat any major league team on any given night. So throw the remaining schedules out the window, it's going to come down to which of those four teams plays the best all around baseball down the stretch. It’s going to come down to clutch play, offensively & defensively. Every team still in it wants it, so the will to win will not be in question. As for the players and teams that are out of it, they all still have something still left to play for: jobs. And if you know what its like to have your job on the line, you already know what its like to have to perform. So all I can say is strap on your seatbelts we're all in for a hell of a finish. My only prediction is those final two playoff spots will be clenched on the final weekend.

Till next time,

Bip

I want to talk baseball, I really do. I want to talk about the playoff chase and all the great September match-ups like this weekends Wild West Showdown going on in San Diego between the Giants and Padres. But once again, I can’t.

I can’t when in my own backyard (Oakland, CA) - a backyard that’s produced a ton of Major League talent over the years - is all of the sudden a place where a scout won’t bother coming to anymore because it’s fields are unplayable, unkempt, and even unoccupied because the city will not fix them. Or that same scout won’t bother coming because the game has become so inaccessible to so many of the youth in the inner city areas (the very same areas that produced guys like myself, Willie McGhee, Ricky Henderson, Dave Stewart, the list goes on & on). Many times this is due to the fact the fields are horrible and many cannot afford the dues needed to play. We all have the birthright to play. The truth of the matter is the talent is still there, it’s the cultivation that is not anymore. The state of the game in Oakland, as well as so many other inner cities across America, is a sad one to say the least.

Two years ago at a MLB season kickoff event I posed a question that was never answered: “Where’s our baseball academy?”… Today I’m asking the same question to MLB - where’s our academy? With MLB academies doing great things in places like Venezuela, the Dominican, and even inner city LA. Major League Baseball Academies have proven to have positive impacts on the youth in these areas. MLB has a responsibility to the underserved youths in Oakland and around the country to make the game accessible to all. It’s the American pastime for richer or for poorer and once again the inner city getting the shaft. I’ve done everything in my power up until now, having coached, set up programs to donate money to programs, given of my own money for equipment, etc. MLB has not lived up to its responsibility here in northern California to cultivate our game. Let me be the first one to work with the MLB to bring an academy to the underserved youths of Northern California. Once again, there’s no better time than the present to do the right thing. And there’s no better time than the present for MLB to reinvest into the communities that have served it so well over the years.

Ahhh! I feel so much better now that I got that off of my chest. As Sammy Sosa once said, “baseball’s been very, very good to me”, I just would like for that to continue for those after me in situations similar to what I had to deal with coming up.

Thank you all for your comments. Let me apologize for not having replied to all of your comments, but I will do my best to make to sure that I do so from here on out. So keep them coming and remember to follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/bipster10.

Bip

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With September baseball upon us and pennant races flaring up to fever pitches (as well as tempers), the steroid issue outside of Roger Clemens is relatively a quiet one. The Steroid Era is seemingly exiting stage left and I’m witnessing what looks like the beginning of a return to baseball the way it was meant to be played, with speed, grace and athleticism; a game without steroids.

This said, I’m not naïve enough to see past the fact that with the stakes as high as they are and seasons being as long & mentally/physically grueling as they are, players are still willing to do WHATEVER it takes, including risking a 50-game, 100-game, or a lifetime suspension from the game by getting caught using steroids. I am also not naïve enough not to realize that the steroid business is always a step ahead of the steroid detection business. Having had to fight for every success I’ve had in the game and having done it legitimately, I utterly detest the use of performance enhancing drugs designed to provide unfair advantages. It’s bad for the person using (health wise) and it's horrible for the game (both aesthetically & historically).

Now is the time for Bud to nip this steroid era in the bud once and for all. And if I were commissioner of Major League Baseball I would do so by hiring Victor Conte. Yes, Victor Conte.

Who better to protect the game from steroids than a man brilliant enough to circumvent the current system? Who better to collaborate with the players union in terms of offering legal ways to promote the physical health of players who put their bodies through the meat grinder of a 162-game season (not to mention preseason, fall ball and winter ball in most cases)? Taking care of the major league body requires more than steak, potatoes, and vegetables day in and day out.

Having met and gotten to know Victor recently I have come to find out that he is a fascinating and brilliant man, not to mention he was a member of Tower of Power in the 70’s. He is a man of high character and I hold him in high regard, but more to the point: if you can’t beat him (and MLB can’t beat Victor) join him. Or in the case of MLB, hire him!


Thank you for all your comments. Keep them coming. And follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/bipster10.

Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t the easy thing to do. I applaud Major League Baseball for what they have done thus far to clean the game up (especially in the minor leagues where the system has gotten even tougher), but now’s the time to take it a step further and close the door on the matter.

Bip

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As I go about my day-to-day life it seems like I'm always in conversation about sports & entertainment. I can be at the gym & I'm talking baseball, or at the barbershop chopping all things sports & music, or out on the town talking with any group of people and it's most likely about SPORTS. You get the picture? And not a week goes by where I'm not amazed at what I hear! It has become apparent to me that the truth is an elusive creature and that I see things a little differently than the average person I run into.

With all the BS that's out there I wanted, no, I needed a place to sound off, a place where I can tell it like it is, a place where people are simply looking for the truth of the matter, rather than the spin that's usually put on it. I found that place right here at YARDBARKER.COM.

Living in the SF Bay Area & on occasion doing Analyst work for the Giants, I field questions on Pablo Sandoval (The Panda) everyday. At an event I was emceeing recently I was asked, "Why isn't he (Sandoval) the same player as last year? What happened to his swing?”… Listen. Baseball is a spiritual game. In order to play it at its highest levels your spirit must be at rest, giving your mind a chance to be sharp, in turn allowing your body to produce greatness. For the entire first half of this year Pablo had been going through a divorce and he'd been going through it MILES away from home. That can take a lot out of a person and there's no doubt it’s affected Pablo as it does most everyone going through the same thing. The truth of the matter is since his divorce has become final he's gotten back to being his old hitting self. Just look at what he's done since he came back from his personal leave of absence 1 month ago exactly. As the saying goes, baseball's 90 percent mental and going through a divorce, whether you're a pro ball player or a pro business man or woman, tends to be a traumatic experience on & off the field (in & out the workplace). And if your mind is not completely into what you're doing and you're competing at the highest of levels, you're in trouble. Just ask Tiger! Whom I must say is proving me right on this simple truth, just look at how he played his first round off his divorce being made final.

I want to acknowledge all of you women out there who are just as knowledgeable as the men about sports. I want to encourage your comments & questions as much as the men.

You can expect a blog from me every Friday until further notice.

Special thanks to YARDBARKER for your support.

• If you'd like to know why I believe MLB SHOULD HIRE VICTOR CONTE tune in

• How much of an effect do steroids really have on the game??? Tune in

• Whatever you'd like to know just ask, tune in and let the Bipster hip you to it

Follow me on Twitter at Bipster10

Till next week remember if your mind, body, and soul are not at rest its tough to perform at your best.

Bip

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