I've Gathered My Thoughts

You a baseball fan? Good. Have I got a team for you.

I've got a rookie right fielder who drove in more than 90 runs this season. Only 22 rookies have done that in the last 50 years. The list is topped by Mark McGwire, who had 118 RBI as a rookie in 1986.

I've got a left fielder who is only the second player in the history of Major League Baseball to increase his home run total and batting average over five consecutive years. You may have heard of the first one: Rogers Hornsby. My guy is leading the league in stolen bases this year, is second in triples, and is nearing the top-ten in batting average. Plus, he's great with the kids, lending his name and time to his team's effort to rebuild run-down Little League ballparks in his community.

My center fielder is an absolute stud. He played in just 95 Major League games from 2004 through 2006, but once he came up full-time in '07, he blew up: .303 average, 24 homers, 82 RBI. His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is an obscene .913. Did I mention that he's got a rocket for an arm?

In the infield, I've got a first baseman who is playing for his fifth team in his 7-year career, but he broke out this season -- 42 homers as of this writing, good for second in the American League behind Alex Rodriguez. He's also driven in over 100 runs for the first time in his career. He's peaking. Best part is, my guy is an absolute doll, personable, smart, impossible not to like, and willing to do just about anything in the community.

My third baseman was a five-time All-Star and a six-time Gold Glove winner in the Central League in Japan.

My shortstop hit .290 or better in April, May, June, and July. My second baseman can play three infield positions.

I've got two pitchers who logged over 200 innings this season. Workhorses. They're both among the top 15 in the league in strikeouts. One of them became his team's all-time winningest pitcher this year.

My manager led this team to the most home wins in franchise history last season. He spent 31 years in the Angels organization, which is only the envy of every club in the majors. And on that note, Baseball America ranks my team's farm system as the most loaded in the game.

So, whattaya think? You in? Ready to climb on board?

Good.

I have just described the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who have already lost 90 games for the 10th consecutive season -- every single year of their Major League life.

And frankly, I have no idea how that happened. Again.

While on the subject of things that stump me: why in the hell are we letting Isiah Thomas off the hook yet again?

What I mean is, how has this story not captured the headlines and cranked up the Rightous Indignation Machine on the level of Michael Vick, the "Jena Six," and Bill BeliCheat?

In case you missed it: Isiah was one of the best basketball players ever to don a uniform. As I wrote on this blog in May of last year: Hall of Famer, NBA's 50 Greatest, 12-time All-Star, two-time NBA champion. 19 points and nine assists per game in a 13-year, 979-game career. Zeke. The Babyfaced Assassin. On the court, his credentials are impeccable.

But once he stopped playing and ventured into NBA management, he was a human train wreck. I've been there already; no use re-writing that entry now.

Point being, no reasonable manager would hire this guy to run a Dairy Queen, much less one of the most visible franchises in the history of American professional sports. Yet, the Knicks have placed their trust in Thomas's hands since December of 2003, when he was named the team's President of Basketball Operations.

Why?

Why did he get that job in the first place?

Is there anything on Thomas's resume' that would merit such an investment? When you read the story about Thomas's alleged abusive treatment of former Knicks executive Anucha Brown Sanders, were your sensibilities more insulted by his supposed comments, or were you, like me, wondering why in the world he was ever in a position to make them at all?

Why does any NBA franchise still consider Isiah Thomas to be a viable candidate for anything?

Stumped. No clue. He's the Devil Rays, in my view, of the NBA.

Just wondering.

On an unrelated note: UCF killed Memphis, USF blistered North Carolina, and Florida Atlantic won a game in conference. The Orlando Sentinel chose the term "Next Three."

Me, I still like "Big Five."