The Nationals Should Roy-Up

For the last decade, the Astros Roy Oswalt has quietly been one of the most dominant pitchers in the National League, compiling 140 wins and an earned run average of 3.21 since 2001. In what has been an up and down decade for Houston, Oswalt has been the constant. But the times they are a-changin', and at 16-32, good for last place in the NL Central, Oswalt has gotten fed up and is asking for a trade. You can't blame him, really. After all, his 3-6 record is not nearly indicative of how he has pitched this year. His 2.36 ERA is 7th in the NL, and his walks and hits per inning (WHIP) is 5th. Unfortunately, though, his offense is giving him 2.07 runs of support per game. This shouldn't be so surprising, considered the 'Stros are dead last in batting average, runs scored, home runs, and slugging percentage. Do the math: 2.36 runs allowed is more than 2.07 runs scored, which equates to losses. There are many teams rumored to be interested in his services, including Texas and possibly Los Angeles. The only problem is that he's due $15 million this year and $16 million next. At 32, a team will likely only want him for an October pennant race.

But there is one team out there that has expressed interest in the righty, and I think it would be an absolutely perfect fit: the Washington Nationals.

At 25-24 the Nationals are in 4th place in the competitive NL East, but are only 3 games behind division-leader Philadelphia. In short, no one would have predicted that 50 games into the season Washington would be any good. Adding Oswalt would have monumental effects that could keep the Nationals around in the wild-card race for awhile, and I'm not only talking about 2010.

The Nationals biggest weakness has always been pitching. This year is no different, as they are in the bottom half of the league in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and home runs allowed. Their bullpen is, in a word, atrocious. This is where Oswalt comes in. He can't help the bullpen woes, but by giving 7+ strong innings in 75-80% of his starts, it's a load off for the pen knowing they might not have to clean up a mess when he starts. Add his already stellar statistics and give him an offense can actually hit a baseball (the Nats are 5th in the NL in batting average), and the results might show off right away.

(Random trivia: As of May 29th, who has the highest team batting average in baseball? The Kansas City Royals.)

Then there's the leadership quality that he'll bring to the team. He's been around for a decade, been to the postseason 3 times, including the 2005 World Series. For one of the youngest teams in baseball, he and the surprising 35-year-old Livan Hernandez (4-3, 2.08 ERA) the experience they bring to the rotation can be key in what is appearing to be a tight race for that last playoff spot come September and October. Not to mention, allegedly there is this rookie in the Nationals organization who is creating quite a stir with his dominance in AAA Syracuse. You might have heard of him? Stephen Strasburg is the most talked about rookie we've seen in a looooong time, and having a mentor like Oswalt when he finally gets the call up to the Big Show would be invaluable. Both throw very hard (Strasburg can hit 98 on average, even as his pitch count increases, while Oswalt can somehow get 97 mph out of that 6-foot, 192 lb frame) with good off-speed stuff. Few pitchers in baseball are as good at getting every possible ounce of energy go into a pitch as Oswalt, and to think he might be able to add 1 or 2 miles per hour and/or movement to Strasburg's already incredible fastball should seem scary to opponents who will have to see the phenom soon. And since it seems that he will be the face of the franchise for the next 15 years (He might be already. After all, can you name the Nationals starting line-up? How about just the infield?), the amount of pressure will be enormous right away. A veteran who has been around the block and is still pretty darn good could help the youngster deal with and possibly even take off that pressure.

Roy Oswalt wants out of Houston because he wants to play for a contender. He clearly still has the stuff to improve a good team. And it appears as though the Washington Nationals might be in the race to stay. The two seem like a perfect fit. There are short-term and long-term effects to the deal that work in favor of the Nats' organization. They should be willing to go out and spend the money before it's too late and Oswalt lands somewhere else.

Thanks For the Memories, But...

With each generation comes a new wave of phenoms and potential superstars. In Major League Baseball, Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward are leading the pack. But with the arrival of new stars means the departure of old ones, and this year in baseball there appears to be numerous ex-superstars to whom teams need to say good-bye. It's one of the most difficult things a manager or GM can do, but it has to be done eventually. The only question is when exactly it should be done. Does a front office let it fester to the point where it becomes sad to watch, hoping for a sign of life when it matters (think the 2010 Boston Celtics)? Or is it a "Thanks for everything, but..." kind of ordeal right away? For two teams in particular, this issue is becoming more and more prevalent each and every day.

Right now there is no better place to look than in Boston, where David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, and Mike Lowell are all at the we-get-playing-time-because-of-our-past stage of their careers. It has got to eat Terry Francona and Theo Epstein up knowing that, at 19-20 and 9 games out of first place in the AL East, now is not the time to get nostalgic. Big Papi is surely the greatest clutch performer in team history, and his heroics in the 2004 playoffs will live in Sox lore forever, but that was six years ago. Now he is a 34-year-old designated hitter with a mega salary who strikes out 40% of the time (literally... 38 K's in 102 at-bats), can only hit the ball to the right side, and has a ridiculously long and slow swing. He has begun to find his power as of late, but with an unstable wrist, I can't see the power being sustained for five months. Jason Varitek is the team captain and has been the mainstay behind the plate for over a decade. But he is 38, which for a catcher might as well be 100. Victor Martinez is (finally) beginning to hit, which means 'Tek is a great fill-in, but unfortunately that is it. The same thing goes for Wakefield. His arm may be that of a 25-year-old, but with the rotation of Beckett-Lester-Lackey-Buchholz-Matsuzaka, there's simply no room left for one of my personal favorite Red Sox. And Mike Lowell, whom I despised at first because he replaced Bill Mueller, turned into another favorite of mine, but a nagging hip injury and the signing of Adrian Beltre means the end of a somewhat short, yet sweet time.

So what can be done with all of these past-their-prime performers? Unfortunately, the bench seems like the most logical place. I can't see Papi's leash being too long anymore, and Beltre, Martinez, and the rotation appears to be pretty set. All except Papi can be used as trade bait for a contender that needs a short-term, experienced answer at a position (perhaps a San Diego, Cincinnati, Texas, or -- dare I say it -- the 20-19 Washington Nationals?). If anything were to actually happen (which I doubt it would), Lowell would be the most likely to go simply because he is the most dispensable, especially if Boston agrees to pay his salary.

But this issue extends well beyond the borders of Fenway Park. The Red Sox are certainly not the only team struggling to let go of its aging veterans. In Seattle, one of the greatest players ever in Ken Griffey, Jr. is hitting .182 with 0 home runs, 6 runs batted in, and an on-base percentage of .247. To put it kindly, "The Kid" is no longer that by any stretch of the imagination. He is the most compelling "What if?" story in the history of baseball (as in, "What if injuries hadn't derailed his career?", the answer to which is: "He would be one of the Top 3 greatest players ever alongside Willie Mays and Babe Ruth, and the home run king would not need an asterisk next to his name.") He is now a pudgy 40-year-old who can only DH and, apparently, enjoys a nice in-game nap every once in a while. Right now the Mariners might be giving Junior his grand farewell tour in the city where it all began, but right now Seattle is 10 games under .500 and in last place in the AL West, making those who picked them to win the division look pretty damn stupid. The team can't score runs, and it may be time to get a DH who can produce runs, at the cost of its all-time greatest player.

It's something that no team ever wants to think about or do, yet living in the past doesn't work. There will come a time when, one day, the decision has to be made to bench or trade -- just in general go on without -- the players who were once the face of the franchise. Right now Boston and Seattle are the ones who have to struggle with this. In the coming years it will continue to happen, and for some it will hit home really, really hard (I'm talking to you, New York. Jeter, Posada, Rivera, and Pettitte can't play forever. Life might begin to suck at that point in time). But we move on to the next great generation, and create new memories not with the intention of replacing the old ones, but instead adding to the collection that we as sports fans cherish so much.

Could the King De-Throne Cleveland?

Another day, another season, another early exit for the Cleveland Cavaliers? While I am certainly enjoying the Cavs being on the verge of elimination yet again (quite thoroughly mind you), I am also a little saddened by what could possibly happen should Boston pull out a win in Game 6 or 7. Come July 1, the most talented -- and hyped -- free agency class ever gets to set sail and roam freely in the NBA waters. King James leads this class, and ever since 2008 teams have been licking their chops waiting to get their hands on him any way possible, even if it means throwing away a few games here or there (see: Knicks, New York). I never really thought LeBron would actually leave Cleveland, considering he grew up in Ohio, is adored beyond belief, wants a championship for the city, all while receiving a maximum contract. However, now I'm not so sure. Looking at the cast around him, there is no reason to believe that the Cavs will be any better next year. If the Celtics advance, I think it will be the last time LeBron James will don the maroon and gold.

Watch the highlights from Game 5 on Monday night. There were times where James was nowhere to be found. For a team with Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, 38-year-old Shaq, and Anderson Varejao, that equates to bad things. There was one sequence where a Cavalier drove as LeBron stood in the far corner, a non-factor in the play. After not charging in for an offensive rebound, he lackadaisically jogged back on defense, didn't know who he was guarding (he asked to guard Rajon Rondo before the game, but didn't here), and stood there as a shot was missed. He started to jog back in anticipation of a teammate getting the rebound, although the ball was right where he was standing, which allowed the C's to grab the ball and swing it to Ray Allen for an open 3-pointer. It was like that for 48 minutes. There was no ferocity, no will to drive to the hoop, nothing. His shot selection was poor, the form was lazy, and he just looked dazed. His first field goal didn't come until the 3rd quarter. In retrospect, how this performance could affect the league is mind-blowing. Now there's a good chance he'll leave Cleveland for a max contract somewhere else. The entire landscape of the league just changed, and it could have happened in one night, because I honestly do not believe he would have left before Monday night. I can't say I would blame him for leaving, but I don't want it to happen (more on that later). But a good question to ask is, was that performance essentially writing his own ticket out of Cleveland?I mean, he has been THE guy since he was drafted 1st overall in 2003. He has had no Pippen to his Jordan in his seven years there -- not even a Derek Fisher to his Kobe, for that matter. Except for that two-game stretch in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals when Daniel Gibson played out of his mind, it has been all LeBron all the time. Shaq was supposed to be the force down low to replace Zydranas Ilgauskas, give it his all for another season and go out on top, winning one for the King. He missed almost 30 games, averaged 12 points during the season, and is grabbing only 5.7 rebounds a game this postseason. Then Antawn Jamison was supposed to be the guy to catapult the Cavs into the Finals, a sweet-shooting #2 scorer. But he has disappointed, too, being streaky at best and shooting only 29% from long range in the playoffs. Having to play an entire regular season, then get all hyped up for another 20+ games for the playoffs does get tiring.

(Ok, that was my rational argument. Truly, I think his performance Monday was unacceptable for a player of his caliber. He rested at the end of the regular season just for this, and probably could have more efficiently expended his energy to be fresh for now considering they clinched their division on March 17. Does Kobe ever take a night off like that? Sure, he has nights where he'll jack up 30 shots because he can, but he doesn't take games off in crunch time. Jordan would never in a hundred million years have done that in the playoffs. If he had lost a playoff series like James did last year to the Magic, he would have averaged 45 a night the next playoffs without a doubt. Dwyane Wade has had to go 100% every game for the past 4 years because, like LeBron, he is the only one on his team with any talent. After a grueling, non-stop regular season in which he had to fight every game, what did Wade do in Round 1? He single-handedly kept the Celtics from winning all 4 games by 35 points by averaging 33.2 points per game. That drive is partly the reason Flash has a ring, Kobe has 4, and Jordan has 6. The best player on the planet needs to go into that game with the mindset of "I'm taking over this game from the opening tip" and rip their hearts out. The other reason the players I mentioned all have rings, by the way, is the fact that all them had at least one other person who could either play or at least had the drive to show up when it mattered.)

But, like I said before, while I am enjoying this more than A-Rod when he looks at himself in the mirror, I am still a little saddened by what is likely to now happen. If the Akron Hammer leaves Cleveland, that means there is a very real chance he will sign with a team with enough money to get a Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudamire, too. That means a real possibility of LeBron James winning an NBA Championship. To me that would be nearly as bad as when A-Rod won a World Series last year, and the only reason that was worse was because it was with the Yankees. I want James to stay in Cleveland, keep playing with a bunch of nobodies and one or two "it" guys who never come through, continue to do his thing, all without ever winning a ring. I'm not sure why exactly I hate him, but I'm not too concerned with finding the root of the issue. I am perfectly content with my deep, passionate hatred for him, and will be as he continues his climb up the ladder of NBA greatness without the hardware all the others have.

It's bad enough Wade is probably going to leave Miami for somewhere else this summer. Can I at least get LeBron James to stay in Cleveland. I don't ask for much (in my mind I don't, at least). It would please me greatly if I had the honor -- no, no, the privilege -- of witnessing another few historic performances like the one King James gave on Monday. In terms of basketball, nothing would please me more.