Wednesday's Quick Hits

The Pittsburgh Pirates are attempting to shoot the moon...

You ever play the card game "hearts" and instead of trying to keep as little hearts as possible, you try to get them all and "shoot the moon" as they like to call it? It's a strategy that will win you the game if played right, but it also carries a risk. Well, the Pirates are in the midst of this risky strategy, except not in the card game, in real life. In a blog a few weeks ago, I questioned why the Pirates were trading practically every meaningful player on their team. I meant it back then, but I really mean it now!

They just traded one of their two LaRoches, Adam, to Boston. And they're about to dump their entire middle infield, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez, who are both very talented. Those three players that I just mentioned were just about all the Pirates had in terms of solid veterans. So, the team seems to be tossing in all of their top cards(proven veterans), and keeping all of the ones that you're not really supposed to have(unproven rookies)...unless of course they can successfully shoot the moon and build a future contender. We'll just have to wait and see if their risk was worth it.

Ricky Rubio still a possibility for the NBA this year...

This year's draft class didn't have the "wow" factor that it has had in recent years. But what it did have was Ricky Rubio. The now 18-year old point guard from Spain is absolutely incredible to watch. Scouts and people that have played against him say that he has passing abilities and instincts that haven't come around for a long time. And if you're like me, you're always searching for a point of interest in the NBA. Sure, it has made recent strides, but it still needs someone who can provide a different kind of excitement. I know LeBron, Dwight Howard, and Kobe can have their "how did he do that?" moments, but i was dying to see a guy like Rubio. A guy who can make behind-the-back or no look passes with ease and regularity.

So naturally, when he fell to Minnesota, I was disappointed. Then I would say that I was borderline distraught once the Timberwolves drafted another point guard, Jonny Flynn because you knew that wasn't going to go over well with Rubio. For awhile it looked like Rubio would go back to Spain for a few more years because of his unfavorable NBA situation, but the news broke today that he is going to leave his team in Spain for good. The ball is now in Minnesota's court. If they want the soon-to-be-superstar, then they better put together a nice offer for him. Otherwise, I will again be very disappointed when he signs with a team like Real Madrid or Barcelona (no not the soccer teams) for a few more years. I hope that for the sake of excitement in the league, Minnesota pulls it together and brings him to the U.S. because people would just love to watch what this kid can do.

Psycho disguised as a Major League Baseball executive...

A guy bursts into a minor league baseball locker room, starts cussing his ass off and calling out players and then takes his shirt off and challenges the entire team to a fight...no punch line. This actually happened this past week. So it was just some crazy drunk that somehow snuck in, right? No. It was a 52-year old New York Mets player development executive! The team was the Mets AA-affiliate in Binghamton, NY and Tony Bernazard, the executive, seemed to have taken exception with how the team was playing. So he went into the locker room for a little post-game talk and ended up yelling, taking his shirt off and encouraging the team members to fight him.

How this guy got a job as an executive for a major league team is beyond me, but this clown should be fired immediately. I mean, taking your shirt off to fight? Where are we, a grungy bar where a bunch of morons want an excuse to show off their chest to adoring women? Come on. You're 52 years old, Tony. You know better than to pull a move like that. What he did, while stupid, was actually funny to me just because it was so immature and ridiculous. Perhaps he should have thought about his job before he decided to go on an outrageous tirade.