Major league baseball is having a banner playoff year, yet it is marked with the controversy of the Yanks deciding to yank Alex Rodriguez, which captured prominent headlines.

 

Here are some of those other top stories:

MLB set a record when all four division series reached the maximum of five games bringing the total to a whopping six games where both teams faced elimination.

There have been many games featuring remarkable come from behind wins including the largest comeback ever in a winner-take-all post-season game (St. Louis, down 6-0 in the 3^rd and 7-5 with two outs in the 9^th winning 9-7 over Washington). The Nationals collapse raised more attention to Washington not using ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg in the playoffs.

 

The Tigers have had multiple masterpiece pitching performances from Justin Verlander but on the other hand, Detroit’s closer Jose Valverde has been awful.

 

The final four, two in each league, feature teams with long time traditional baseball markets and many stars in their line-up. In other words, the A’s and Orioles were nice stories but their no-name rosters can only captivate an audience for so long.

 

The Yankees have had the highs of the Raul Ibanez clutch homers (at age 40 he is the oldest player to hit a walk-off homer in the post-season) to the lows of the Derek Jeter fractured ankle and the struggles of many regulars at the plate.

With all these developments and more, the Rodriguez trials and tribulations have arguably been the most fascinating development.

 

This begs the question- at what point does treatment of a superstar change? A-Rod is baseball’s highest paid player this season with a $29 million salary. Rodriguez also has five years and $114 million left on a 10-year, $275 million contract (2008-2017). For the record, that is nearly $170,000 per game or about three times what the average worker makes in a year.

 

His performance against Baltimore was barely worth $170 per game. In the ALDS, Rodriguez was 2-for-16 with no RBI’s and nine strikeouts. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi pinch hit for him in games three and four and then sat him entirely in the game five 3-1 series clinching victory.

 

The 37-year-old third baseman started games one and two against the Tigers in the ALCS, but was benched again in games three and four after going 0-for-18 with 12 K’s against right-handers in the playoffs.

There is no book to read, no course to take at university and no one theory that features absolute answers on when a superstar stops getting special status treatment. I think we can all agree that if minimum wage John Smith had put up Rodriguez type of numbers he would have been benched without any fanfare or arguments.

 

What I found interesting was the huge public outcry that A-Rod should have been sat and then when he was, an even bigger furor that suggested he should not have been because there was always potential for him to hit the long ball. Rodriguez is 5^th all-time with 647 homers. There were also the suggestions that Girardi was picking on A-Rod because many other N.Y. Hitters were also struggling.

Girardi should be applauded for making a statement and a bold move that many managers would have avoided.

 

A Manager needs to use a line-up that gives his team the best chance to win, not one that is solely based on salary and contract. This sounds simple and practical but not always realistic.

 

We should commend Rodriguez and the Yankees for their issues and MLB for its drama. The baseball soap opera is far more intriguing than anything the NHL could provide. By the way, did anybody really miss not having the NHL in October ?

 

 

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The next three games for the P.G. Cougars are against the Spokane Chiefs. The Cougars should have one motivated goaltender ready to play.

Mac Engel, who lost his job with the Spokane in the pre-season, was acquired from the Chiefs for a 4^th round WHL bantam pick.

The Cougars have gone this route many times before, bringing in a veteran goalie via the trade. While it has not exactly worked out in the past to the team’s satisfaction, the Cats were handcuffed this season because it was clear that two inexpierenced goalies would not provide the answer.

Devon Fordyce was pulled twice in his four starts before he was sent packing, and Brett Zarowny has been inconsistent as a 17-year-old rookie and is more suited to a back-up role.
  
The 19-year-old Engel (6’0”, 193 pounds) came to Prince George with a winning record in the league (42-28-3-4) and in the 2010-11 season finished with the second best goals against average in the WHL (2.30). Now it’s up to Mac to be a Cougars leader of the pack. 

A report says that 350 Million people worldwide suffer from depression. No one had any idea the Maple Leafs had that many fans.

 

They are calling the man who jumped from outer space “Fearless Felix”. He should be called “Fearless Felix the 2nd” after another Felix, Potvin, who faced even greater danger having the Toronto Maple Leafs defensemen in front of him. The jump from the stratosphere is being called a leap of “Leafian” proportion after the yearly free-fall the Leafs take after winning a couple of exhibition games.

Electronics manufacturer Foxconn found underage interns as young as 14 working at one of its factories in China. A spokesman for the company says it was all just a misunderstanding as the workers were taking a break from gymnastic training for the 2016 Olympics.

 

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who spent 18 months in prison for operating a dogfighting ring, admitted that he once again owns a dog. The way Vick has been fumbling the ball this season, the animal had better be a retriever

 

 

Darius Heyward-Bey will make a full recovery after a helmet-to-facemask hit by Steelers Ryan Mundy. Mundy was reportedly so overcome with remorse that he donated his bounty check to charity.

 

 

 

James Young, the #5 basketball recruit in the country, says he’s going to Kentucky, adding “I’m not just looking for the NBA. I’m looking for an education and a national championship and that’s about it.” Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

Ah perspective. Texas Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan, discussing the end of the season, said the timing of Josh Hamilton’s decision to quit smokeless tobacco this summer “couldn’t have been worse.” Uh, is there ever a bad time to quit chewing tobacco?

Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, Californiawww.leftcoastsportsbabe.com

 

 

Now that Lance Armstrong is retired, he doesn’t take PEDs. But it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to start doping again if he wanted. I mean, it’s like riding a bicycle.

 

A California man was cooked in a steamer at a tuna processing plant. Wonder if he knew he was going to be canned at work that day. No word on whether the guy’s name was Charlie.

Honduras beat Canada in “futbal” 8-1. What?, we couldn’t even stop the 2 point convert?

 

Signs Winnipeg QB Buck Pierce isn’t over his concussion: