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Ahh… after a couple of days it has finally set in. Baseball season is here. More so than any other sport, baseball elicits so many different emotions and memories. I first got into sports around the tender age of 8. This happened to be the summer or 1991, and the Atlanta Braves were poised to make history. A miracle season. Worst to first.

Wait; before you stop reading, this is not a diatribe about the greatness of the Braves. No, the importance of this summer is that this is when I fell in love with baseball. Falling asleep listening to Skip Carey and Don Sutton call a game. Running outside to my front lawn to see the fireworks over the stadium after a victory. Going to my first ball games with my dad, while he pointed out players and gave me history lessons about previous teams and players. I have been in love with the game ever since.

My enjoyment of baseball has evolved over the years. The strike of 1994 was devastating (hell, at least we got most of the season in). But then Big Mac and Slammy Sammy made us believe in the greatness of baseball again. And then steroids made us question everything we ever thought of the last 25 years. It has been a rollercoaster of an affair. But it is in affair that has pursued.

I still listen to baseball games on the radio, but now it is with a group of my buddies on a lazy and hot summer evening. Sitting by the pool, grilling some food. I still go to games, only now I can tailgate. I even make a point to see a game or two with the old man, just to hear him tell me stories of Ted Turner riding ostriches during 7th inning stretches in front of a paltry crowd at crappy old Fulton County Stadium.

So what I am trying to say is that baseball is not just an entertaining sport. It is a way of life. Watching opening day (or two or three) was not just about watching a game. All of a sudden I was filled with the anticipation of warm weather and a great summer. So baseball may have its problems, but it will always have a place in my heart.

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If only Jeff Francis had spent more time working on his slider and less time on laundry…

To randomly change the subject, Bill Simmons’ wrote a surprisingly good column regarding the Red Sox victory in which he makes an excellent point about the Yankees and Red Sox finally learning what to do with their money. They’ve realized teams are no longer allowing their good players to hit free agency and therefore the best thing for them to do with their money is invest it in their farm systems. Now they’re spending a lot on draft picks (see: Brackman, Andrew) and Latin American operations.

Just Imagine if Latin American scouting improves enough that every decent player gets gobbled up by big market teams. Imagine if instead of spending $5 million on a garbage middle reliever, the Red Sox hire 50 full time scouts, statisticians, or analysts. Don’t you think that will give them an insurmountable advantage over the Royals? It should be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

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Did you know the Rockies are 13-1 this year when the Broncos are coming off a loss the previous week. The Steelers may have just ruined the Rockies chances.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s my World Series prediction: I have no fucking idea who will win.

I do, however, think one of two things are likely to happen. The first possibility is that the Red Sox will show the American League’s superiority is the only thing that matters. Beckett will get them started with another shutout and they’ll sweep the Rockies. The second possibility is that the Rockies will show that no matter who you play you need to be doing a lot of things right to go 21-1. The Red Sox won’t be able to win in Coors Field and the Rockies will beat them in five with flawless postseason baseball.

Of course nobody ever predicts a lopsided series because if their winner loses they look like an idiot, and so everybody will probably just end up saying Sox is six or Rockies in seven. The thing is, I just can’t see this being a close series because nobody knows how good the Rockies really are. Either the Red Sox are head and shoulders above Rockies, or everybody is underestimating the Rockies and they’re actually head and shoulders about the Red Sox. I don’t think there’s any way this is an evenly matched series.

Therefore I’ll be bold and say the Rockies in five…or the Red Sox in four. And Dane Cook’s next movie will be eliminated from the theaters in one [weekend].

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Well, one thing has led to another and Shakedownsports now has a new layout.  Hopefully it’s not too disorienting.  Enjoy.

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ShakedownSports is moving servers!! As a result there are some issues with the site right now—most notably the lack of a banner and a blogroll. Hopefully this will all be worked out in the next day or two.

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The MLB draft is usually Scott Boras’ time to shine. Not this year.

Going into Wednesday’s signing deadline, 5th overall pick Matt Wieters was Boras’ marquee unsigned client. Boras was seeking a major league contract worth at least $10-11 million. The Orioles were offering a signing bonus in the area of $5-6 million. When the midnight deadline finally approached Boras caved and Wieters signed for a $6 million bonus.

The worst part for Boras is that #1 overall pick David Price got an $11.25 million major league contract from the Devil Rays. There’s a chance that money (or a similar amount) would have gone to Wieters if Boras hadn’t scared off the first four teams in the draft with rumors of his $10 million contract demands. Once Wieters fell to 5th, it was harder for Boras to make the case that he deserved an eight figure contract.

I will give Boras credit for at least taking what the Orioles offered. There is no doubt that the best thing for Wieters is to start his MLB career right now, and Boras did the right thing by not brainwashing Wieters into thinking he was better off going back into the draft next year. If only Boras had done the same thing in 2001 with Matt Harrington.

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