A Few MLB, NBA Observations

Here are a few thoughts on some of the top sports stories right now.

Obviously number 1 has to be the A-Rod steroid story. As a sports fan and a baseball fan, I think this was finally the last straw in the steroid era for me. I'll admit, I had cheered for A-Rod because of the belief that he was going to do clean what Bonds had done tainted. Unfortunately, we now know for sure that A-Rod cheated (he admitted as much) while Bonds continues to deny any wrongdoing (not that anyone believes him). My feeling now is that the entire Steroid Era in baseball should be separated from the rest of baseball history. Jim Rome made an interesting point on his radio show yesterday: with all of the conflicting stories on steroids, the public has only two options: assume no one used, or assume everyone used. Looks like assuming everyone used is a pretty safe bet these days.

So here's what baseball should do (are you listening, Bud Selig?): anyone that played from 1985 on will be considered to have used some form of performance enhancing drug, and it's okay. They were not illegal in the sport at the time. However, all such players will be held to a separate standard when considered for entry into the Hall of Fame, and statistics compiled during this period will be kept as if unrelated to historical baseball numbers. Barry Bonds will be the Steroid Era Home Run King, while Hank Aaron will retain his title as all-time HR King. Bonds will also keep his SE single-season HR record, but so will Roger Maris keep his single-season mark. The baseball Hall of Fame is in a precarious position, and they have shown a propensity to hold suspected steroid use against players (see Mark McGuire). To remedy this, just create a separate wing in the Hall for those that played in the Steroid Era. Maybe a few bad apples will be tarnishing the accomplishments of many great, clean players, but the evidence seems to indicate the contrary.

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Now that football season is officially over, it's time to start shifting gears to basketball. The NBA All-Star break is coming up this weekend, which means the trading deadline is right around the corner as well. Many experts and NBA executives seem to think that this could be one of the most active trade deadlines we've seen in years, although it may not involve many star players. The reason for this is, of course, the economy. Teams that are losing this year and not getting good attendance will be looking to unload expensive players that they literally cannot afford to keep. Meanwhile, other teams will be looking to position themselves for the Summer of 2010 free agent class (remember, includes LeBron, D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Steve Nash, among others). This means trades will be made with teams eying their salary cap a year and a half from now.

The biggest rumor currently swirling around is that the Phoenix Suns are looking to move Amar'e Stoudamire. This seems like a clear case of cutting off the nose to spite your face. The Suns have been a disappointment this year, and the reason is that their players do not match the playing style wanted by their head coach, Terry Porter. Again, these are the same players that led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals two years ago and consistently put up 50-win seasons under Mike D'antoni. But the Suns management decided to go another direction, bringing in a slow-it-down, defensive-minded coach in to replace Mike D and trying to make the players play the coaches style. This has not worked at all, and the players appear to be turning on the coach. So what is GM Steve Kerr going to do? Not get rid of the coach, but instead blow up the nucleus that's had so much success over the years.

Stoudamire, just 26 years old, is among those that will be in the famed Summer of 2010 class, and thus is going to require a big payday. He will be a coveted prize and thus can fetch a very nice package now because: 1) he's an All-Star caliber player at his best, and 2) he has an expiring contract in 2010, which means he'll create cap room that summer. Is Kerr making the right move shopping him? Well, for one thing, he'd better trade him now, because knowing the guy has been criticized for his work ethic before all this, you can just imagine how hard he'll try playing for a team that openly discussed moving him. I think the Suns would be better off trying to move Shaq, but almost no one would even consider taking on his huge contract for another year after this one, even if it does mean cap relief in 2010. But if the Suns do trade Amar'e, then they'd better be prepared to let Nash go in 2010 as well and be ready to start from scratch.

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One last NBA note. The Houston Rockets are self-destructing right before our eyes. This team, one that many think has the talent to be among the 5-6 championship contenders this year, has been in a tailspin the last month or so. They have not yet been the unit that was expected when Ron Artest was acquired in the offseason, and this is largely because their stars (Artest, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady) have not been healthy at the same time all year. Now, they claim, they are healthy and ready to make a strong stretch run. So how do they start it? By getting blown out by a terrible Milwaukee team last night that was missing three of its top players. The Rockets already have 6 losses this season to last place teams, and while their 31-21 record is not bad at all, it may be time to wonder just how far this team can go if they keep playing this poorly. They're not that far removed from the #9 spot in the West, meaning they'll probably need to be better than .500 over their last 30 games to make the playoffs.

What troubles me most is that it sounds like the locker room is beginning to splinter. After the Rockets loss a few days ago, Artest evidently called out T-Mac for not playing hard on defense. McGrady then went to the media and said that the team "talks too much." If this isn't the start of a meltdown, I don't know what is. On top of that, the fact is, McGrady (whether he's truly hurt or that's just an excuse) is a shell of his former self. He's only 30, but he's been in the league since he was a teenager and he plays like he's closer to 40. He's got no lift on his jumper (which was never great to begin with, and is now downright bad) and he can't get to the rim like he used to. He's a mediocre (at best) player right now. I suspect the Rockets would actually consider trading him if it weren't for the fact that he is due $20+ million next year, making him unpalatable for any team that might think he still has something in the tank. Looks like the Rockets are stuck with him for the rest of this year, and they have to hope that things get better before the playoffs. Either way, McGrady might be moved next offseason the way the Nuggets rid themselves of Allen Iverson, to a team looking for an expiring contract.

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