WHY NO LONGER GREAT TEAMS IN BASEBALL? WHY NO 100-GAME WINNERS?

2001 Seattle Mariners led by Ichiro was the last team to win 100 games with  a MLB record 116-46

No team since has managed to win 100 games    Greatest Teams, steroids in baseball, drug use in baseball, #Giants PEDs, #PEDs, Banned substances in baseball, baseball drug testing, baseball players on drugs, cheating in baseball,The History of Baseball, Best Baseball Teams

WHY NO LONGER GREAT TEAMS IN BASEBALL?   NO 100-GAME WINNERS SINCE 2001.

Top 100-Game Winning Teams:

1928 New York Yankees 101-53          (154 game seasons)
1929 Philadelphia Athletics 104-46
1927 New York Yankees 110-44
1932 New York Yankees 107-47
1939 New York Yankees 106-45
1941 New York Yankees 101-53
1954 Cleveland Indians 111-43
1942 St. Louis Cardinals 106-48

-teams only played 154 games prior to 1960-

1961 New York Yankees 109-53           (162 game seasons)
1968 Detroit Tigers 103-59
1969 New York Mets 100-62
1967 St. Louis Cardinals 101-60
1970 Baltimore Orioles 108-54
1975 Cincinnati Reds 108-74
1976 Cincinnati Reds 102-60
1984 Detroit Tigers 104-58
1995 Cleveland  indians 100-44
2001 Seattle Mariners 116-46

(above courtesy of Bleacher Report's 50 Greatest Teams)

Bleacher Report has ranked the top 50 teams including ones winning less than
100 games. Not surprising they don't include either of the 2010 or 2012 Giants
teams but they do include some, like the 1989 Oakland Athletics, for, which we would NOT include or give a PED-aided askerisk  

1927 New York Yankees, backed by the Sultan of Swat won 110 games - in only  154 games. (Teams prior to 1961 only played 154 games.)

Interesting to note the dearth of great teams today. Sure, it's great to have competitive  races but this is ridiculous. Only one team, the Los Angeles Angels currently has a record
over .600 on a pace  to win 100 games - and that could change in a flash, just as have teams' records this year. If it does, it would be the first team since 2009 to win 100 games.  What's even more shocking is that teams play more games now (162 per year) vs. 154 prior to the mid- 1960s.  This makes all the pre-1960s 100-game teams that much more amazing. In the prior 4 decades before 2009 (1969-2009) 45 teams have won 100 games but in the last five years NONE have won 100 games




Since 2009, no teams have won 100 games, yet prior to that 45 teams had 100 wins in the four decades prior - that's over 10 teams per decade.    There have been no dominant teams since then, only sporadically effective ones during seasonal streaks. Even those that have won over 100 were usually by one or two games. Why such a drop-off in quality teams, despite 
the advantages of free agency and no salary cap?  



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 If anything , one would think there would be more disparity among teams since free agency. When wealthier teams today CAN PAY - as we have seen most recently in the Los Angeles Dodgers and its $220 million payroll faring less well than, say, the Oakland Athletics with a payroll in the low $100 millions.




In recent years we've never seen such mediocrity,or , shall we say, ups and downs, in baseball,
where teams will have great streaks only to suddenly drop off to bad losing streaks, ending up
with so-so records - no longer any 100 game winners. This is especially surprising that even
since free agency in 1975 the richer teams and lack of salary cap are not necessarily performing better. Richer teams are not necessarily faring better than than lower salaried teams. 
One might expect just the opposite, that there would be a much greater discrepancy than pre-free agency baseball. 



So, again, why no great baseball teams in over a decade?

The only theory we can come up with    focuses on   the steroid or PED  era.
Since the 1990s - or even the late '80s - estimates of up to 50% of major leagues players have
been using performance enhancing drugs. (We saw 20 players CAUGHT through the Biogenesis leak last year, without 
benefit of effective MLB drug testing - no major leaguers have been caught in years to our knowledge, not due to a lack of tainted players.)  Players must go off and on the drugs around
testing times, resulting in spikes of lower performance  . With slightly more frequent testing and stronger penalties today, players must be more careful and when they temporarily go off the drugs, the performance drops. The drug tests are - for whatever reasons - usUally announced ahead, and this is likely why we may see mass drop-offs by teams weeks before and after testing. It may take some time for a player to get back to his 'enhancement' , thus, the prolonged drop-offs of sometimes 2-4 weeks or even months - as we saw with the Giants.




With new baseball rules, testing is required a minimum of two times during a baseball
season (to our knowledge) - it used to be only required in spring training. So, once
tests are given , say, for example early and mid-season,  players can go back on
the juice knowing they probably won't be tested again and, if they are they'll usually
be given advanced notice, anyway.  This is how we see the Giants go on their late season
surges with even the weakest players hitting 30-80 points above their non-enhanced
(prior) averages.

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The trend has  never been more apparent this year than with the San Francisco Giants. People actually thought the Giants had the NL West wrapped up after the first two months of 2014
with a better than .650 record and eight games ahead of the second place Los Angeles Dodgers.
But as quick as they could do no wrong, the team could do no write, finishing with
the worst losing streak in baseball over most of June and July. Once again,
the Giants turned this around with one of the best records during late August and
early September as they closed the gap to two games behind the Dogers as of September 7.
The Giants have done similarly  in recent years they won the World Series, 2010 and 2012
finishing with majors' best win loss records in September both years. 
Other streaky teams have included the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, BalTimore Orioles,and Washington  -depending upon what you call a streak.The San Francisco Giants have had the longest overall streaks  of any team as described above.




What happened to consistency by teams? A good team should stay generally 'good'
through the season without drastic ups and downs. Even a blockbuster trade or
acquisition shouldn't make that much difference in baseball where you have teams
of 25 players including strong backups. Nor should injuries make that much difference - all
teams have injuries - and with good backup players it shouldn't be a problem. And, we see similar trends happen year after year as described elsewhere.



Now with numbers of KNOWN PED users allowed back in the game after their 50 (now 80) game suspensions, we've seen  most of  teams with 'PED' players making the playoffs, perhaps thanks to at one or two of those players.    It's not to say they're all still 'using,' but one doesn't have to be blind or 'dumb or dumber' (to quote Balco's Victor Conte) 
to see some of these players continue to hit well above their career averages - and getting
away with it, propelling their teams often to playoffs and World Series victories.  So, PEDs not only make for an uneven playing field , they pose a threat to player health and now, also seem to be bringing mediocrity to the game.(Perhaps the powers that be and others like the more even distribution we're now seeing but baseball without great teams - or real weak ones, for that matter - is NOT baseball.  It's ARTIFICIAL baseball - in more ways than one, in our opinion. 




GOLDEN YEARS OF BASEBALL - Which were the truly greatest teams

Giants' Juan Marichal with Willie McCovey, 1962 World Series runner-ups, Runners-up best team



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WHY NO LONGER GREAT TEAMS IN BASEBALL?   NO 100-GAME WINNERS SINCE 2001.

10 Years of Charmed Lies Finally Catching Up with Giants?

Kids from my generation were taught to 'save for the future,'  but that philosophy  no longer seems apt today whether it be   government budgeting or a baseball team like the Giants stocking their minor leagues for the future.  

The San Francisco Giants'  'live for today' philosophy has come back to bite them.

With the return of former Giants 1st round draft pick now playing for Mets-the result of the Giants trade for Carlos Beltran in 2011 - Zack  Wheeler has made that trade and similar deals look bad for Giants .  Only one of two big names GM Sabean has gone after, Carlos Beltran, was  of little help to the Giants drive towards a pennant in 2011 but he's gone now  and the Giants lost the top prospect who could be a much needed starter today - and have nothing to show for the loss of Wheeler, now. This and similar deals have left their minor league resources in shambles.

In fact Beltran was one of only two bonifide stars the Giants acquired in recent years and the other, Melky Cabrera , was bounced for drug  use after leading the Giants  to the playoffs despite being out the second half of season. His replacement, in effect, Marcos Scutaro, a friend and fellow countryman from Venezuela, continued Cabreras ' unlikely .350 average
after only hitting .260 first half of season at Colorado -this for a 37 year old who had never hit over .299 ; he also cut his strikeouts in half after coming to the Giants. Yes, we ARE  inferring that Scutaro was getting 'help', in our opinion,  ala Cabrera - and likely others on the Giants- as chronicled in these pages ant others that were inexplicably removed from the Internet.
Looking back at the World Series years it is very unusual to see a team go all the way with journeymen players in their twilight years brought in who suddenly hit 30-50 points above their career averages -and some with power. Remember Huff. Burl, Ross ,Renteria, Uribe, Guillen and Mota- the latter two also let go for drug use with the Giants - AND BEFORE!

The Giants had three players busted during their World Series years which makes one wonder how many more have gotten away with PED use in this permissive era.
Only four players were busted last year - two of them on the Giants - for being what  Balco and PED expert, Victor Conte, calleld 'dumb and dumber' to get caught (the new designer testosterone can be out of one's system in hours). The Giants  had no problem bringing back Mota twice and were leaning to bring back Cabrera but for negative reaction to his   'Internet' excuse for his PEDs and running out on fellow players without saying goodbye.  All above mentioned players either retired or had major  drop offs with other teams after leaving the Giants .    Start connecting the dots, er, PEDs...

The 2012 Giants basically pulled off the same stunt with an almost completely different cast of characters.   Again,  journeymen  cast-offs were brought in and had unlikely career years  -   Scutaro, Pagan,  Blanco,    Mijares- all new 'culprits'  since 2010 . Pure coincidence?Not. Only Sandoval was a holdover, among the hitters playing over their career numbers.


Other items rankle us.. .. We listen to all the major league announcers and must say Giants announcers , accross the board, are the most self serving 'homers' of all. They are constantly questioning umpire calls -  of course ,usually those   that go against the Giants. They are hired by the Giants, and obviously are part of the 'Giants defense team'  that don't dare talk against the home boys. And we wonder how much longer  we  will continue  to be told of more consecutive 'sellouts '  even as we notice  large  blocks of empty seats , more and more along with  stepped up advertising, half price and promo tickets.  not to mention  the Giants ballot stuffing All Star campaigns including effort to put   a .270 hitting Pence into the All Star game.
 

I really was beginning to think that Kansas City Royals were the Giants  AAA minor league team where  Sabean and co.  would bring up  marginal players  from this  'Melky school'  - and wouldn't have been surprised to see another World Series this year with  such machinations but now it  looks like he may have run out of   K. C.  and  Venezuelan 'talent'. But wait . Flash. True to form, looks like the Giants  just picked up Jeff Franquer , a  .260 hitter from KC.   Watch him suddenly hit .290 or better with the Giants..


We hate to think where the Giants would be this year without the PEDs, in our blunt, researched opinion . (Yes, we have the numbers, even if they were taken down along with our website.)  They got away with two World Series , already, without nary a superstar - and  two almost completely different lineups - and it's finally caught up with them



As for the latest Giants news , re. pitcher Chad Goudin and his hospital brush with fame, it just goes with the territory (besides his sudden , elevated pitching velocity and success). The Giants continue to bring in players with questionable backgrounds   - not all - but many like Cabrera, Mota, Guillen and now Goudin  - and those are only the ones who've been caught doing things of late...   And, this stuff isn't new. Remember , during the Bonds era it wasn't only Bonds but Santiago, Aurelia, Williams, Bernard, etc - over 20 indicted or associated PED users (10 in Mitchell report, alone) , by far more than on any other team.  A simple screening of players' characters would seem a routine procedure but   that might upset the whole Giants'  scheme   and leave them with few players to draw from - and a losing team.

Even if  local sportswriters  turn a blind eye, it looks as though justice may finally win out after the Giants' decade - long run of deceipt , in our  opinion. Maybe traditional, HONEST, baseball may have a chance again for us old school fans. Sure, there are other players in the game using PEDs, but it's never been as widespread as with  the Giants, a team that has gone out of its way to 'look the other way '  from Bonds to Cabrera, for over a decade.

We have some other damaging info, readily available on the internet or in the news,, where we acquire all of our information. We will hold this back for now but  it's VERY uncomforting to us old time fans brought up on Mays and McCovey and chewing tobacco. 


san francisco giants, #Giants PEDs, sf giants, #PEDs, steroids, baseball PEDs, cheating in baseball, drugs in baseball, brian sabean

Mota, Testosterone, San Francisco Giants - Sabean Makes More Excuses

Mota, Testosterone, San Francisco Giants - Sabean Makes More Excuses

The Chronicle reached Giants general manager Brian Sabean by phone a few minutes ago, and he offered this explanation on the team’s decision to activate reliever Guillermo Mota 8/31/12, SFGate,com:

 “Our organization, before MLB was doing anything, before baseball even tested, we tested in the minor leagues. We strictly adhere to the program. We feel the program is a good one, and it’s working. Whether there will be changes made, that’s not for me to say because of collective bargaining. The long and short of it is, the club has no right to impugn anyone any more. You have to go case by case. We’re aware of Mota’s case inside and out, and we feel it was an honest mistake.”

 On any concerns about the perception of the Giants, given Melky Cabrera’s recent suspension for testosterone use: “We’re always concerned about our brand, about how you’re perceived. But we’ve done nothing wrong. The player has done something wrong, faced the music, and under the policy of Major League Baseball we don’t have the right to shut him out. We don’t have the right to further sanction him.”

  But, Brian, you do have the responsiblity to bring in players NOT suspected of drug  and especially NOT  two time convicted ones.  To say that Mota made an 'honest mistake' is laughable....NOT READING THE COUGH MEDICINE LABEL!  That's even worse than Bond's 'flaxseed oil' excuse because not only Mota is saying the testosterone was in cough medicine but he also said he didn't read the label. Then, on top of that, it's his SECOND CONVICTION! Come on Brian! Fool be once...

  Is it shear coincidence that during your reign you've brought in 10 convicted users and a number more of suspected ones. No other team has brought in more than one ro two, and usually made a point to carefully check them out after that. Why do you think Mota and other suspected guys cleared waivers? Other teams have the decency not to mess with them, even if it would mean (illegally) helping their team

.

Bringing in Jose Guillen , alone, gave you several game winning hits, enough to cover the one game finish over San Diego. This year,  recently-banned Melky Cabrera probably meant another 5-10 wins in the time he was here.  And now two time convicted user, Mota , is back , not to mention several other suspected users.  As Arizona manager Kirk Gibson points out, it's not fair to the other (abiding) teams to knowingly acquire such players. (Sorry , Brian, but other teams knew better and so you got a real deal for both Cabrera and  Mota.  No due dilligence here.  These and other players you go after had dramatic spikes in their stats, were malcontents with prior teams (when a player plays on four different teams in four years you must wonder, too). Nuff evidence. Nuff said. Stop it now or finally step in Stupid Selig.

Mota, Testosterone, San Francisco Giants - Sabean Makes More Excuses

 

PEFORMANCE  ENHANCING SUPPLEMENTS - Mota: Giants Continue to Thrive , Get  Away with Drug-enhanced Players

Giants Welcoming back Two Time Offender Mota Must Make Purists Wonder about Giants, Baseball Today

In light of the SF Giants reactivating Guillermo 'I did not read the label on the cough medicine'  Mota following his second drug violation and 100 game suspension, baseball purists must question how the Giants can get away or have the balls to keep taking on known drug users or reputed ones. And they're winning, why of course, with players other teams respectfully turned away. Meanwhile the Giants continue to win and affect other teams' chances, eg Arizona Dbacks,  with tainted players while baseball turns it's head (with rare exception, ieKirk Gibson).

It's true that the average modern baseball fan is not as concerned with such infractions if a player is entertaining him . Witness Barry Bonds' 10 year steoriod career when the Giants and fans totally supported their meal ticket while getting rid of players and management that didnb't subscribe to the idea, eg best natural team player Jeff Kent and team head Bill Neucomb.

PEFORMANCE  ENHANCING SUPPLEMENTS - Giants Continue to Thrive , Get  Away with Drug-enhanced Players

Giants management claims ignorance when acquiring these tainted players, believing that MLB should do the screening.  If other teams let such players as Cabrera get away for a player like Jonahtan Sanchez one has to know something is going on; then, looking at the numbers and finding Cabrera's sudden resurgence really says something. So much for due dilligence on the part of GM Sabean. Meanwhile the Jints are winning with these players other teams had the respect to turn away. Is it fair to other teams? No. Does it make the Giants and baseball a laughing stock to old school baseball players and fans? Yes.

From 2000  the team has been rampant with convicted and suspected steroid users (in a time before advanced testing was adopted), eg Santiago, Benitas, Bernard in addidtion to Bonds. One must wonder how many others had gone undetected.

The Giants rode their major League leading Drug reputation into the world series in 2002 after acquiring another convicted drug offender, Jose Guillen. After he came to the team, we saw a sudden spike of homeruns and hitting by the giants, with newly acquired Cody Ross hitting 8 homers in a short span and several in the playoffs. Then there were others with equally surprising numbers, like Jose uribe , Renteria and the aforementioned convicted Mota. Note the Latin connection, and most of the success happening after fellow Dominican Guillen joined the team in August. Guillen alone had several game winning hits, enough by himself to make up the one game margin the Giants needed to beat out San Diego IN the playoffs in 2010.

This year the trend contines with Mota and another Dominican, Joaquin Arias outhitting the league since the Allstar break. Arias, who had never hit a homerun in his prevous 2,000 at bats over five seasons has already hit three in the homer unfriendly San Francisco At&t Park. His 12 doubles are double the most he ever hit in a single season prior.

 At an age when most players start slowing down, Angel Pagan   is having a career power year with 8 homers and 29 doubles thru 8/31, again, in theSan Franciso ballpark unfriendly to hitters. Pagan only once hit more homes in a year, in the smaller New York  Met's ball park.

Yet a third player, Gregor Blanco, has hit 5 homers this year in 111 games for the giants which is more than the three he hit  his previous three years and 250 at bats in the big leaques, combined, again, playing in the large ballpark, unfriendly for hitting homers.

It's all very reminiscent of the 2010 team that featured the aforementioned number of Latin players who mysteriously became power hitters with the giants in the large ballpark.'

The Giants are basically thumbing their nose at major league baseball with their 'win-at-any-cost' attitude; they already have two of the five convicted drug users in 2012 in Moto and Melky Cabrera and may well have more who have gone undetected. And, so what if they lose a player like Cabrera.. They got a lot of victories out of his tainted player - at a reducedcost- that could well propel them into the playoffs again.

Sabean as long overlooked the team's drug use, but now even usually cerebral manager Bruce Bochy dismissed any problem with bringing back Mota, saying that the Giants, unlike other teams, are more concerned with a player's well-being and that they should be given another chance, in this case a third. GM Brian Sabean is even more obvious, saying that it's up to major league baseball ot police the players. Now, if Mota performs well one can assume he's still on 'cough medicine.' If he is off the performance enhancing drugs  now, what's the point of having him around. No doubt the Giants hope he's still using PEDs -- at keast long enough to help get them in the playoffs. Let him get ' detected later.

And another recent acquisition, Hunter Pence , has been rumoured to be on and perhaps now off PEDs, based on his recent decline. The Giants may lose on this one unless  Pence decides to risk going back on the drug. In any case it's a win-win propositon for the giants. They can't lose. Get a guy cheap and hope he gets away with it long enough to help propel the team...

So there you you go... The San Franicso Giant's Win-At-Any-Cost attitude. It'a affecting the pennant races, favoring the Giants by far yet only Arizona manager Kirk Gibson has brought up the discrepancy... Bud Selig where are you again? Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio? Baseball has become more like westling or roller derby today - an exhibition rather than a true measure of players' talents. Sadly , the ones who are playing it honest, which is still the majority are playing an an unfair field,being affected adversely by the cheaters.her prices for untained ones.  Mota, Testosterone, San Francisco Giants - Sabean Makes More Excuses