A Change to a Pastime

The addition of instant replay on MLB's opening day is nicely summarized in the article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/04/01/mlb-instant-replay-first-challenges/7160551/

          

          In Major League Baseball  (MLB) there was added a major change to the rules in the new 2014 season. In the new season the addition of reviews of plays has been put into play. As the new season began on Monday, March 31, there were 5 challenged plays during the set of 13 opening day games. In that five two of the challenges were overturned and three were upheld with only one of the challenges called by an umpire. The average time of the reviews only lasted 93 seconds with all five challenges. The Cubs manager Rick Renteria gets credited with the first ever challenge called in the MLB but his called was upheld. With the new challenge rule the managers are now slowly getting adjusted to the availability of the challenge. They have began to use new signals to each other such as the “never-mind” signal when they go to argue but are then reassured that the play was correct they will back down. Along with this “never-mind” signal the managers are now starting to meander to the umpires instead of the usual bolting from the dugout. The players and managers of the MLB are slowly adjusting to this major change to the game.

            The challenge rule added to the MLB is between me. I see the advantages but also the disadvantages in my head. The new change will answer many questions to whether the right call was made or not. One major advantage of the challenges is how quick they can look at the play and either uphold the call or overturn it. The umpires are all connected to one main headquarters in New York in which other umpires and technicians are there to go over the challenged plays called in so its not like the umpires in the game are all running off the field to take a second look at it like in football. The challenges allow for managers to be more laid back as a call is made as they can just take a second look at it if they don’t agree with it. They no longer will have to taking that bolt off the bench to spit in the umpires face that they did not like the call they just made. The advantages are clear and will very much help the game make better calls.

On the other hand though, I don’t particularly like this new system because it strives for the perfection of the game in which just can never be reached. They are taking away the tradition of the game and changing it by adding the challenge. There will be no more tossing of the managers from yelling at the umpire at the call they disagree with. Just look at all the great moments of managers going bezerk over a bad call when they get in the umpires face and throw their little temper tantrums. The game has been played without the challenge for as long as its been around and it has been the nations pastime being the way it is so I do not see a reason why they should add the challenge. The players and managers will have a lot to adjust to with the new addition of challenge on all calls and it may take awhile for they have played their whole lives of the game without it already.

A-rod's Ambition

Site to article:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/01/13/keidel-a-rod-never-knew-when-to-say-when-and-that-killed-his-dream-life/

This is an article about the New York Yankee baseball icon, Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez had it all, he was living the dream that many people would love to have but he ruined that life for himself. The article talks about Rodriguez's drug scandal and how he handle it compared to the other players that had the same experience along with him and how he ruined his dream life. Rodriguez kept on fighting the officials instead of just accepting what he did and what his consequences were. He pushed it to the limit that he may not play again in the MLB, in which he could've accepted his punishment and had the guaranteed chance to play once more. The author puts emphases on the point of Rodriguez's characteristic to keep pushing the limits and wanting more and more than what he already had and not knowing when to say enough. This article criticizes Rodriguez for all the wrong he has done and said by not just stopping but being over ambitious and keep going farther with himself.

My personal opinion on Rodriguez is that I do not like the man. Now that is for two reasons, I am a Boston Red Sox fan and that I believe that Rodriguez is more cocky in the sport and himself than he should be and I do not like that aspect of him yet alone any other sports athlete. One comment that sticks out to me that Rodriguez has said is mentioned in the article in which Rodriguez tells reporters that Derek Jeter is not the one to worry about when playing the Yankees. This comment sets itself out from others by having the arrogance and over ambitiousness of Rodriguez has he believes that he is one of the best players ever next to who I believe is actually one of the best ever to play the game, Derek Jeter. Rodriguez ruined himself by having that craving for more that what he needed and could've easily saved himself and his career but he had to be the best out there and took extreme measures to do so and not follow the same rules as everyone else has before him and aside him. Rodriguez got what he deserved with all the consequences not being able to play the 2014 season due to his ambitiousness that he was right and took to outside measures. Alex Rodriguez is an example of a negative aspect of ambition.

Kohl, Coal, and Cole

There are many things that I enjoy doing during my days as a teenager. One of my main interests is sports. During the summer i take up the sport of baseball, which is my favorite thing to do, in the fall I part take in the sport of football, and in the winter I wrestled for a year and am taking a break for one and will have a possible return next year to the Prep Wrestling Team and I also am part of Dirty Jack and the Squad, my YMCA basketball team. During my two years at Prep I have experienced many things and have been awarded many oppurtunities to excell in. During my first year playing football in highschool I was able to be on the Frosh A Football team where I played linebacker and carried that on to my sophmore year which I played on the Sophmore team. I had a fun time playing in which I got to help carry my team to the best Sophmore team record in Prep history and played linebacker, fullback, and every special teams play. I was given the oppertunity to play on the JV team for a few games and help them at the linebacker position and then at the end of the season practice with the varsity as they prepared for the playoffs. I really hope to be a varsity player next year and have the spot to start at linebacker and play on Friday nights. Baseball is my main sport and my favorite sport by far. I love the summer time especially for the reason of baseball. The best time of summer for my is when the CWS comes to town and I get the chance to watch all of the best college teams play. Baseball will calm me down and allow me to think no matter when  or what it is about. I looked forward to playing baseball everytime of the year and miss it when it has to end. During the summer I love to go to tropical places with my family for vacation and get the chance to relax. My family has been to Florida multiple times, down to Cabo San Lucas, a cruise through the Caribbean, and to Atlantis in the Bahamas. To go back to Sports some sports teams I like to follow are the Boston Red Sox, my favorite sports team, Denver Broncos, and few college teams like the Huskers, Gators, Seminoles, and of course the Creighton Bluejays. Other things that I like are foods, music, friends, big dogs (I don't like small dogs), driving, my country, polo, fishing, boating, anchorman, lamp, water activities and girls. I am a very active person. When I am at home I cannot just sit around playing video games or watching TV, I will have to get up and go do something outside or something active inside. One interseting fact about me is that my dog once ate a whole wheel of cheese and pooped in the fridge and I was not mad...it was quite amazing.