Talk of Pujols' demise premature

By Jeff

Albert Pujols is probably going to miss the rest of the season with a plantar fasciitis. That has led all the of the sports media to begin speculating if he is a bust with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and if he has the worst contract in baseball history.

Let me start by saying that the deal the Angels to Pujols was a terrible deal for the team. Anytime you are obligated to be paying a baseball players at least $29 million when they are 40 or older, the contract is bad.

With that being said, I think all these baseball analysts are a bit premature to be calling Pujols a bust. He hasn't played two full seasons with the Angels yet. While his offensive numbers may have been down in both seasons, that can happen to power hitters. Especially when said power hitters are playing with lower body injuries.

I doubt he will hit 40 homers in a season again, but last year he had 30 and was on pace to hit 30 again this year. I really think if he comes back next season in full health, he could easily replicate his 2007 and 2011 seasons. If he has three or four seasons with the Angels hitting .300 and 30 to 35 bombs, I wouldn't call him a bust.

What Pujols has going in his favor is he plays in the American League. If his body can't hold up to playing the field 150 games each season, he can DH. The perfect example if David Ortiz. The Boston DH is having one of his best seasons since his crazy goods stretch between 2004 and 2007. Back in 2008 and 2009 analysts and fans were asking these same questions of Ortiz that they're asking about Pujols. Is he done? What happened to the Papi of old?

Well, Ortiz responded with four consecutive All-Star appearances. He continues to mash the ball and is a major reason the Red Sox are the best team in the American League.

There is no reason why Pujols can't have that same kind of resurgence once he gets healthy. He will never live up to the contract he signed, no one could live up to a $200+ million deal. But to label him a bust after less than two, unhealthy seasons is unfair.

Steelers camp brings excitement, questions

By Jeff

This has been a weird summer for Pittsburgh sports fans. I can only speak for myself, but I think there has been a lot less attention paid to the Steelers, as the Pirates have been having an incredible season.

Of course, the Steelers collapse at the end of last season might have fans less excited about this year. If you don't know Pittsburgh fans, they tend to pile on the pessimism when the tiniest thing goes wrong with a team, let alone a legitimate collapse.

Well, training camp is here so fans can't hide from the Steelers any more. There are some serious concerns coming into this year.

The biggest is Ben Roethlisberger. It's amazing to think he has been in the league 10 years. For the majority of that time, Roethlisberger has been about as clutch as they come. When the team was down late or needed someone to make a play, he usually answered the call and did what was necessary to win or put the team in position to win.

That all changed last year.

Fans got a taste in Week 1 of what was to come for the rest of the season. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger threw a interception returned for a touchdown.

He recovered and played some of the best football of his career in the middle of the season, but then things went south again. With the playoffs on the line, Roethlisberger cost the team three consecutive games in December. He could have been the hero we had all come to expect him to be late in games and instead through game-changing picks.

If the team gets that Roethlisberger again, it's going to be a long season for the team and fans.

While the quarterback is the most important man on the roster, there are some other offensive uncertainties that could affect Roethlisberger's play this year.

Can Antonio Brown be a reliable No. 1 receiver? He closed out 2012 strong with touchdowns in the final four games, but his yards per reception on the season took a huge hit. It dropped from 16.1 in 2011 to 11.9 in 2012.

More importantly, can Emmanuel Sanders contribute as a starter? He's never had more than 44 catches in a season.

If these two can carry the load and fill the void left by Mike Wallace, then the team is in trouble. There is not a lot of depth at receiver on this team.

Then there is the offensive line. This is always a weakness for the Steelers. Three of the team's regular linemen from last year are gone. As a result, Marcus Gilbert will be relied upon at left tackle to protect Roethlisberger's blind side, David DeCastro will have to stay healthy at right guard, Mike Adams will have to improve at right tackle from an up and down rookie year (He also got friggin' stabbed in the offseason!), and Maurkice Pouncey needs to stay healthy.

Oh, and the team will be without arguably their best player last year in Heath Miller. Call me crazy, but I am not excited to have Matt Spaeth and David Paulson trying to fill the void left by Miller.

I'm not too concerned on the other side of the ball. James Harrison last season was not the ferocious James Harrison of old. He is in decline and I think a healthy Jason Worilds will do just fine at outside linebacker.

The question with the defense, as it is every year, is can Troy Polamalu stay healthy? When he is near 100 percent (He will never be 100 percent again in his life), Polamalu is one of the top defensive playmakers in the league. Teams have to plan around him, and even then it's hard to have any idea where the hell he is going to end up on the field. But he has no idea how to tackle properly and just launches his body with no regard for his own health, so he is never healthy.

On paper, the Steelers look like another 8-8 team. But this is the NFL. Guys like Worilds and Sanders could finally have that breakout season and make the team look brilliant for letting veterans walk. It's impossible to predict how it turns out, so I'm saying 10-6 and the Wild Card.

How did I miss this Pirates story?

By Jeff

Apparently there was a porn star dressed as a unicorn who got kicked out of PNC Park earlier this month for dancing like a stripper.

I guess one of the things that comes with a winning ball club is adult film stars dressed as mythical creatures attending games. I can think of worse things...

http://deadspin.com/unicorn-mask-wearing-porn-star-kicked-out-of-pnc-park-f-825617644

Yigo as a pup

By Jeff

Yigo was already 5 to 8 months old when I found him at the Guam Animals in Needs (G.A.I.N.) shelter on Guam in 2008. So I never got to see the little cutie as a puppy.

Until now. Kind of.

G.A.I.N. just brought in a pair of puppies off the streets of Guam and look just like I imagine Yigo did when he was just a pup being pulled out of the jungles. What do you think?

Maybe Yigo sneaked out of the house when I was away, flew to Guam,
reversed his nuetering and fathered these cuties. Maybe.

This is why someone should adopt those puppies above.
This will be what these puppies look like in a year.

Little Yigo in the Big Apple

By Jeff

My dog Yigo has made quite a journey. He was scavenging the jungles of Guam at this time five years ago. Who would have thought that today he'd be in front of a national television audience on "The View"?

That's right, my little Long-Haired Guamanian Jungle Shepherd joined nine other dogs as part of "The View's 5th Annual Mutt Show". Part of the prize was we got to spend a night in New York City. 

Now, Yigo is a very skittish dog. He is frightened when you open the freezer door (For some reason he has no issue with the refrigerator door, even though they are a part of the same machine.), and gets startled by any loud noise. With this in mind, we were thinking the sights and sounds of New York City would send the little dude into sensory overload.

Not so.

The little guy was a champ navigating his way through the crazy and crowded streets of Times Square. The only hiccups were the vents on the sidewalks. Yigo refused to walk on them, which led to a few traffic jams on the sidewalks.

 

Yigo loved Times Square and all the people.

I think Yigo enjoyed Times Square because he loves people, and there were a ton of people! The tourists and people of New York City loved Yigo. Countless people stopped to say how cute he was and ask how old the "puppy" was. When my wife and I informed others that Yigo is actually about 6 years old the results were looks of shock and disbelief that became a common theme of the trip.

Of course, there was no way Yigo was going to NYC and not hitting up Central Park. He tried to jump into one of the many softball games going on, but we thought it might not go over so well. We settled on taking him over the bridges and through the tunnels of the park and he seemed content with that.

What was surprising is I think he actually enjoyed Times Square more than Central Park. You see, Yigo is not a big fan of dogs he doesn't live with. The old jungle/street dog mentality kicks in and he wants others to know he is baddest mofo on the block. This tough guy mentality would come into play the next day on "The View"...

Yigo couldn't care less about the camera,
because he's ready to pounce on a pair Yorkies.

After getting back from Central Park, Yigo was pretty much beat. The little guy had a long day being cooped up in the car for almost three hours and then walking to Central Park and back. Too bad we had some more walking to do. The hotel we were staying at didn't have any greenery around it. The woman at the front desk said that Bryant Park was our best bet to find a place he could do his business.

The only problem with that is Bryant Park does not allow dogs. Fortunately, Yigo can't read and did his business right in the middle of the park while he enjoyed the view of the NYC Public Library.

Yigo is pretty proud of himself for peeing in
Bryant Park and not getting kicked out.

Thursday was the big day. The taping of Mutt Show and Yigo's shining moment. He met his competition early that morning in the lobby. They were all cute dogs, but none of them were on the same level as Yigo (I know, I'm bias). Of the other pups, Yigo really didn't like Copper, a 2-year-old collie mix. Any time Copper came close, which was very often because his owner had very little control over him, Yigo would tense up and get ready to throw down.

If you see this dog, beware. Copper will distract you with
cuteness and then eat yours and your dog's food.

The whole experience with "The View" was fun and interesting. Unless you're in the industry, you don't understand or appreciate all the work that goes into a television taping. Every little detail is scrutinized and debated. One minute you think you're doing one thing, the next it's being completely changed and an intern is being yelled at by a jerk of a director. Well, he was a jerk unless you were an attractive woman...

As soon as we got there we went through rehearsals. We all had to pack into this small waiting room in the order we would be called out. Well, Yigo is tight places with strange dogs is a bit problematic. Especially when Yigo and I had to pass the other dogs in a space no wider than a doorway. Needless to say, there was growling and some lunges. I wish I could say it was mutual, but really it was all Yigo. The other dogs were just being friendly and Yigo was telling them he had enough friends.

Can you blame him? This was a competition. Yigo had come all the way from Guam and wasn't going to let pleasantries get in the way. Would you like it if the Steelers and Ravens were hanging out before a game and playing video games together? Hell no! I figured he was also having flashbacks of living in the jungle when other packs of dogs tried to take his food or water and he wasn't going to have any of that!

Don't let those adorable eyes fool you,
Yigo will pounce if a dog gets in his grill.

Surprisingly, the best part of the day was not the taping itself. The studio only has one elevator taking audience members to the taping. This leads to a huge line of excited women waiting in the lobby that we had to pass by in order to take Yigo out for a last-second potty break. While the other owners and their dogs just passed by, Yigo stopped and let dozens of these women pet him and tell him how cute he was. Several thought he was an adoptable dog and offered to rescue him. It was incredible. Several women even undid the partition so they could get closer to Yigo, and he loved every second of it.

At this point, we had been in the studio from about 7 a.m. to noon. You'd think that the talent or the special guest judge and highly promoted dog lover Harrison Forbes would stop by the staging room at least once to say hello to the pups and meet them. Nope. Forbes may have said a dozen words to the five contestants and their dogs when the camera wasn't rolling. I've got to imagine Cesar Millan is much cooler.

Things got really interesting when it was time to take our places backstage and prepare for the actual taping. That room that was really cramped when it was just the five dogs, their owners and a producer was now filled with multiple show employees, including Whoopi Goldberg and Margaret Cho. Needless to say, the room was more cramped than ever and Yigo was a whole lot closer to a bunch of dogs he didn't like. Copper got a little too close again and Yigo was ready to throw down. The problem this time was Goldberg was right there and bolted out of the room, terrified that she would become collateral damage.

Not the best start for Yigo if he wanted to win and become a national celebrity!

Now, not everyone who reads this blog has seen the episode yet, so I won't spoil who was selected as the mutt of the year. What I can tell you is that when Yigo came out, those women who saw him in the lobby remembered him and gave him the biggest ovation any of the other dogs received. It was incredible. And the best part was the little guy didn't back down. The bright lights and loud noises had no effect on him. He jumped right on the podium and made no attempts to bolt for the nearest door.

With the show taping completed, we headed for the elevator. It was at that moment that the doors opened up and Goldberg asked Yigo, Julianna and I to join her. She understood that Yigo was a sweetie and just needed to be away from the other dogs to be his pleasant self. While it was a great experience, I would die a happy man if I never heard Whoopi Goldberg say the word "stank" again.

In case you couldn't tell, Yigo hates to he held.

All in all, it was an amazing journey for Yigo. We can now add New York City to Guam, Honolulu, Houston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as places Yigo, the world traveling dog, has visited in his life.

Grilli feeling dreaded forearm tightness

By Jeff

There are certain phrases in baseball you never want to hear in the same sentence with players on the teams you cheer.

The first thing is "Dr. James Andrew." If you have a player seeing that guy, more often then not it is a serious injury. The second is shoulder or forearm tightness. Those terms usually are followed by Tommy John or rotator cuff surgery.

Well, last night, Pirates closer and All-Star Jason Grilli left in the bottom of the ninth inning with forearm tightness. With the news comes speculation from the local and national media. Many are fearing that Grilli could be done for the year.

Losing your All-Star closer, who has the second most saves in the league, is usually a pretty tough pill to swallow. Fortunately for the Buccos and their fans, the bullpen is one area they could afford an injury of this magnitude. If Grilli is out for an extended period of time, current set-up man Mark Melancon will do fine in the closer role. He has an ERA and WHIP below one.

If Melancon can't handle the stress of the closer role, then the Pirates have other options in Tony Watson, Justin Wilson or Vin Mazzaro who should be able to do the job if need be.

While injuries to All-Stars are never good, the Buccos lucked out in this one. If they were to lose Andrew McCutchen or Pedro Alvarez, there would be very little optimism for a playoff run.

Braun suspended for remainder of season

By Jeff

Another big name has fallen in Major League Baseball. According to a report on ESPN, MLB has suspended Milwaukee Brewers outfielder and former NL MVP Ryan Braun for the remaining 65 games of the season. The official reasoning was "violations of the Basic Agreement and its Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program."

Braun, as you may recall, escaped a 50-game suspension last year for using performance enhancing drugs. He did not get off because the another test game back negative or anything, but because the drug tester apparently did not follow the proper procedures when mailing in the test sample.

The suspension was not surprising. Braun was listed in the Biogenesis scandal. What was a little surprising is that the suspension is 65 games. If players test positive for steroids or other PEDs, they receive an automatic 50-game suspension. Technically, Braun still hasn't tested positive for steroids. There is evidence that he did indeed use sort of banned substance, but not positive tests that did not get overturned.

Those facts lead to another surprise. Braun is not fighting the suspension. MLB must have quite a case against Braun, and probably others mentioned in the Biogenesis scandal like Alex Rodriquez, if Braun and the players' association isn't appealing the suspension.

In the story on ESPN linked here, Braun admits that he has "...made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions." This is the Jason Giambi strategy that has become the go-to when it comes to PED cases. Braun says he did something wrong. But he doesn't say what it is, and probably never will, in hopes that he will serve his time and be welcomed back with open arms.

A report released in 2005 said Giambi admitted to a grand jury that he did steroids before and after joining the New York Yankees in 2002. Giambi had a press conference where he apologized for his actions, but never used the words steroids or PEDs. He just apologized for something. Just like Braun is doing. The strategy worked, people forgave Giambi and he ended up winning Comeback Player of the Year in 2005.

How ridiculous would it be if Braun comes back in 2014 in MVP form and wins Comeback Player of Year? I doubt it happens, because Braun is the only player I remember who actually appealed a drug suspension from MLB and won. I can't see them awarding him in any way next year.

While Braun is certainly the best player on the Biogenesis list, he will not be the only one to get hit with a suspension. There are rumors out there that A-Rod could get 150 games. There were also another 18 names on that list, so I fully expect at least a few more to get hit with at least 50-game suspensions