While I'm thinking of baseball at the moment, I felt the need to complain about something more annoying that also pertains to the New York Yankees and their seemingly endless stream of good fortune.
This morning, I saw on ESPN that Jason Giambi will receive absolutely no punishment for his admitted use of "performance enhancing drugs" because he participated so valiantly with the Mitchell investigation. While I can say that I'm not in the least bit surprised, it still makes me want to set fire to Bud Selig's car while he's inside getting sexual favors from a transvestite hooker.
To me, having Jason Giambi escape any punishment for admittance is not too far off from him having been involved in a murder, admitting to having pulled the trigger but also giving up his accomplices, thereby getting off scott free. Is that really fair? Sure, he did steroids "in the past" but the fact of the matter is that he did them and gets nothing. Not even a measley 5 game suspension. Nothing. Nadda. Zip.
Why? My best guess? Because he's not only a highly paid superstar (albeit one clearly on the downside of his phony career), but he's also part of the precious Yankees organization. I have no doubt that if Giambi played for the Brewers or Royals that they'd give him some sort of fine or suspension, if for no other reason than to make things look on the up-and-up. Instead, he gets nothing because god forbid, the Yankees are in the playoff hunt again and Bud Selig would do anything he could to keep them in the national spotlight, especially when they are winning.
Bud Selig can pat himself on the back all he wants for baseball's surge in popularity in the past 10 years all he wants. He never fails to hold himself in the highest esteem for creating interleague play, the expanded divisions and the Wild Card. He also never fails to pat himself on the back for things such as the "lowly" Marlins winning two championships, the Red Sox "breaking the curse" and the White Sox ending an 88-year drought all on his watch. He'd blow himself daily if he could bend down far enough. The only feather left in his cap would be for the Cubs to win a World Series under his watchful eye. Then, he can truly crown himself king.
The way I see it is that he's more or less created a situation that he wins under, no matter what happens. If some small market team like the Marlins or Pirates were to win it all with him at the helm, he would pound his chest and bask in his own glory for having created the revenue sharing program, boasting of how "this could not have happened without me", completely ignoring that teams like the Royals and Pirates had won it all prior to his emergence as king. If one of the big franchises goes all the way, MLB gets all the national attention and accolades as well as the big advertising dollars from boasting another Yankees or Red Sox title.
So, what is my point? My point is that while Bud Selig can clearly brag about his accomplishments, it's still blatantly obvious that he plays favorites when it comes to protecting his cash cow franchises such as the Yankees and Red Sox. He obviously wants the Yankees to have every tool in their shed available to them for the stretch run. If the Yankees make this season 11 straight division titles, it ensures non-stop sellouts in the Bronx in 2008. If they lose in Round 1, he can cuddle with himself and sleep tight knowing that his amazing revenue sharing program created such fairness across the board. If the Yankees face the Red Sox in the ALCS, it'll be huge money for MLB. Basically, no matter what happens, he comes out on top.
In my opinion, Bud Selig wants to have everything both ways. He wants to give his treasured franchises every advantage in the stretch run as possible to ensure that at least one of them plays in October but he also wants to squeeze in a least one dark horse every October to make himself look like a genius. Obviously, he can't physically stop a team like the Yankees from winning. Like it or not, their history gives them many advantages over everyone else as it is. All I am saying is that by punishing Giambi for a measley 5-10 games, it at least makes it look somewhat respectable rather than giving the juicer a free pass and giving the Yankees another bullet in their already overloaded arsenal.
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