Civil Rights? Native Americans still spit on by MLB
By The Heckler
Baseball Big Mouth baseball news
Some random thoughts as we make our way to Opening Day . . .
- Nice to see Major League Baseball having a Civil Rights game today. Ironically, those rights apparently don’t apply to a race of people still subjugated by MLB – Native Americans – as one of the teams in the inaugural game is the Cleveland Indians. How much longer do we have to endure the smiling, red-faced and overtly-racist depiction of a Native-American staring back at us in the form of Chief Wahoo? This logo should have gone by the wayside decades ago, and surely would have if the depiction was a denigrating caricature of, say, an African-American. How ridiculous is it that MLB fails to see their hypocrisy? It’s as plain as the toothy grin on Chief Wahoo’s face. Get rid of it once and for all. Maybe then everyone will truly have Civil Rights.
- Well, it looks as those who supposed the worst (or pretty close to it, at least from a baseball perspective) were on the money yesterday, as the Detroit Tigers Kenny Rogers is out for at least three months following surgery to remove a blood clot. The Heckler still says the Tigers will be okay, as their pitching depth will carry them through. Here’s hoping Rogers will at least be well enough to travel a bit with the team, as his influence off the field (or more aptly, in the dugout) is almost as valuable as his on-field contribution. Keep the faith, Tigers fans.
- I see former Tigers’ first baseman Carlos Pena failed to stick with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Yikes. If you can’t make the Devil Rays, isn’t it time to give it up? Not many can hit a ball further than Carlos, but unluckily for him, many more can apparently make consistent contact. Retire already.
- Oakland’s pickup of Todd Walker should be a good one. He’s a gamer that still should have some game left. He’ll fit right in on that Oakland club, too. A nice under-the-radar move following his release from Padres earlier in the week.
- Good to see Josh Phelps make the Bronx Bombers roster. Here’s a guy that, despite a good year last season at Triple A Toledo, just couldn’t crack a potent Detroit Tigers lineup, never getting a sniff of the bigs last year. The former Blue Jay can mash a bit, and could be a good comeback story this year. Plus, its always fun when the Yankees pick up the Tigers’ excess baggage and think they’ve found gold (i.e the injury-prone Humberto Sanchez).
- Finally, speaking of New York, talk about even more-desperate: the Yankees have tabbed the ever-eccentric, ridiciulously-overpaid, under-performing, poorest-excuse-for-a-big-league-pitcher-making-millions-in-the-game today known as Carl Pavanno as their Opening Day starter. Yeesh. Good luck with this guy, Yankee fan. Hopefully he won’t stub his toe on this way outta the dugout and end up on the 60-day DL.