Tag Archives: Grady Sizemore

Nov 30

How much should you know?

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Yes, they are in the public eye, and yes your dollars go toward their salaries. But, just what should your right to know be?

Within the past few days, golfer Tiger Woods and Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore had their personal lives go public. Woods, with the holiday car accident, that might have been triggered by an alleged affair, and Sizemore, for nude photos of himself to his girlfriend now on the Internet.

As a journalist, I want to know as much as I can, but the off-the-field behavior would have to impact his performance as an athlete or his relationship with the public. If image is such that they capitalize on endorsements with their image, and that image becomes tainted, then it should be out there for all to see. In Woods’ case, he already pulled out of a tournament. He’s a corporate spokesman; his image gets him commercial money. That image is now on the line, and because of it, the events of that night should be made public.

As much as he would like it, there are no mulligans for Woods.

If Sizemore gets heckled to where he loses concentration and it hurts his play, yeah, that would count, also. He’s also the Indians’ most visible – no pun intended – player. The team sells tickets because of Sizemore’s play and image.

I get comments all the time from people telling me why their personal lives are an issue, and my response it that above and that people read that stuff. Woods was the number one topic on Google over the weekend.

So, tell me why or why not an athlete’s private lives should be made public.

Oct 22

James: Mets’ core pretty good.

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James: Likes Wright and Reyes.

James: Likes Wright and Reyes.

The young core some people would like to break up ranks high with analyst Bill James, who ranks David Wright fourth and Jose Reyes ninth in his list of the top major leaguers under 30 years old in his book, “Young Talent Inventory.”

Overall, the Mets are ranked 16th in terms of young talent, which is in the middle of the pack and nothing to get excited about.

Here’s James’ top 25:

?1. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman, age 24
?2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins shortstop, age 24
?3. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants pitcher, age 24
?4. David Wright, New York Mets third baseman, age 25
?5. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers left fielder, age 24
?6. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox second baseman, age 24
?7. Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder, age 23
?8. Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels pitcher, age 26
?9. Jose Reyes, New York Mets shortstop, age 25
10. Nick Markakis, Baltimore Orioles right fielder, age 24
11. Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals pitcher, age 24
12. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals third baseman, age 23
13. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, age 24
14. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies shortstop, age 23
15. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners pitcher, age 22
16. Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox pitcher, age 24
17. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman, age 22
18. John Danks, Chicago White Sox pitcher, age 23
19. Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres first baseman, age 26
20. James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman, age 24
21. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop, age 25
22. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves catcher, age 24
23. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers first baseman, age 25
24. Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians center fielder, age 25
25. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds first baseman, age 24

Three other Mets’ prospects, reliever Eddie Kunz, catcher Josh Thole and outfielder Daniel Murphy were selected to play in AFL All-Star Game Friday night.