Can’t help but disagree with the state of today’s media. I blog, so have no gripes there. Qualified people should be able to talk about the topics of their choosing without it having to be their job. Passion and career are so often separated, so I like that people with sound opinions and judgments have a forum to enrich their readers.

What I have a problem with is the empowerment of an unruly readership to slander and hiss at the writers they read. The more qualified, the more exposed a writer is, the worse it gets. Absolutely anyone in the world has an outlet for their negativity and is so intent on expressing it. Why can’t people relax, humbly disagree and move on with their lives? Read more »

Forget comeback player of the year, Indians ace Cliff Lee would settle for nothing less than perfection. That is why Lee was awarded American League Cy Young Award last week, receiving 24 of the 28 first place votes.

Compiling a 2.54 ERA, Lee dominated opposing hitters all season long. Even more impressive than his miniscule earned run average, was his overwhelming 22-3 record for the losing Cleveland Indians.

After a disappointing 2007 season which he struggled to a 6.29 ERA, Lee had even the most optimistic Indians fans thinking his 2005 season was a fluke. He had to earn the respect of everyone from fans to teammates in ‘08 and work his way towards his spot in the rotation. He proved all doubters wrong, and now stands atop the ranks of American League starting pitchers.

While Lee ran away with the vote, the race probably should have been much closer than it was. Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay finished a distant second place with just four first place votes. His lack of votes does not fairly credit the season he had, however. Pitching to the tune of a 2.78 ERA and 206 strikeouts, the “Doc” was a workhorse for Toronto, as he stretched his arm to pitch 246 innings.

Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez finished a distant third place. The free agent set the Major League saves record at 62. While the Angels have admitted they will turn in another direction for the ninth inning role in 2009, several teams are hot on “K-Rod’s” heels, specifically the New York Mets.

Regardless of where Rodriguez lands, the potential Most Valuable Player candidate is sure to be carrying a much thicker wallet once he signs on the dotted line.

When President Elect Barack Obama announced change was coming, he did not anticipate it to be negative. However, after the stock market proceeded to drop another 650 points, Americans of all walks of life were hit even harder by a struggling economy.

However, do the economic stumbles affect professional athletes? Unlike most Americans, athletes don’t have to worry about putting food on the table. With the minimum salary set at $370,000, baseball players have the luxury of leading comfortable lives, making Joe the Plumber quite jealous. Read more »

The Chicago Tribune has speculated this week that the Cubs would be interested in making a deal for San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The Tribune reported that a potential deal involving Derrek Lee could be offered in a blockbuster that also involves Padres ace Jake Peavy.

This entire line of thinking seems like a longshot, but you never know. What the Cubs gain is apparent — a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter and a young left-handed power bat — but what they send back to San Diego is a mystery. Lee is a nice start, but may not be enough to lure Gonzalez, a franchise building block, away from the Padres. Read more »

The ship has sailed for the Tampa Bay Rays on a potential World Series championship. The Rays had their opportunities early in the series, and by failing to cash in, they gave the Phillies more than enough time to get comfortable and find their rhythm.

This series turned out to be a race to that point. Who would break out of their funks first, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria or Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins?

While Howard and Rollins emerged in big ways the last two games, Pena and Longoria may not wake up until spring training. Both players are in search of their first hits in the series — they are a combined 0-for-29 — and Phillies pitchers are searching for threats in the rest of the Rays lineup. Read more »

The Philadelphia Phillies are a well-publicized 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position in this World Series. The team has had little problem getting to Tampa Bay Rays pitchers, but from there, it has inexplicably frozen up and responded poorly in the clutch. Every player in the lineup has been part of the problem, which is equal parts good pitching, bad execution and flat out not getting the job done.

Take the early part of Game 2, for instance. After the Phillies botched a couple of key chances, they had virtually no chance of overcoming a 3-0 deficit on the road.

In the second inning, with runners on first and second with no outs, Shane Victorino fouled out to third base and failed to advance runners. Had Victorino executed and been productive with his out, a wild pitch by James Shields to the next batter, Greg Dobbs, would have scored a run. Read more »

All season long, the Tampa Bay Rays won with balance. Hitting in the clutch, strong team defense, and solid pitching led the team to 97 victories. But, in the Game 1 loss to Philadephia in the World Series, the hitting faltered and all sense of balance was off.

Compiling only five team hits, the Rays lineup was stifled by opposing pitcher Cole Hamels all game long. The meat of the Ray’s order - B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena - were held without a hit in 12 at bats.

In attempt to offset the struggles of their teammates, Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford gave their best efforts to pick up the slack. Iwamura went 3-for-4, while Crawford added a home run. However, their effots were not enough to carry the team to victory, as the Rays fell into a 1-0 series deficit. Read more »

After a grueling 162 game regular season and weeks of playoff baseball in rigorous cold weather, the World Series has finally arrived pitting the Philadelphia Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays. Hold onto your hats because history is about to be made, regardless of who wins.

Can the Phillies bring Philadelphia its first major sports championship since 1983, or do the Tampa Bay Rays win their first World Series in franchise history? ImaginaryDiamond.com is here to break down both teams, and tell you who is going to raise the hardware at series end. Read more »

Joe Maddon’s veteran relievers were shaken. Most of them were already used as Maddon tried to work through an adventurous eighth inning. The two arms left were Grant Balfour’s right one, which gave up the first three runs in a seven-run comeback in Game 5, and rookie David Price’s left one, which had just 15 innings of Major League experience. Though uconventional, calling on the young lefty was the perfect move for Maddon.

Buster Olney points out that Price was an unknown for the Red Sox, the Rays’ only pitcher left who the Red Sox hadn’t seen and ultimately conquered. But, he was also an unknown for the Rays, who could have never known for sure that he would deliver a dominant, four-out appearance and propel his team into the World Series. Read more »

The year was 1908. William Taft had control of the white house, Ford’s Model T was the popular choice of automobile, and the ball dropped in New York City for the first time. The National Basketball Association and National Football League would not be founded in their current form for several decades, but Major League Baseball was in full swing.

Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford were the toughest outs at the plate, and Christy Matthewson and Cy Young dominated on the mound. Above all else, the Chicago Cubs ruled supreme. Winning back-to-back World Series, and appearing in three of the them in the five-year existence of the event, the Chicago Cubs were the league’s most dominant team. With such a high degree of dominance, how can the Chicago Cubs fans not expect a great future ahead filled with World Series Championships? Read more »