Welcome

Well, I finally broke down and joined the wonderful world of blogs. I've been kicking around this idea for a while, but I never considered myself much of a writer so I just dismissed the idea all together. But, as I read more and more blogs, I realized you don't have to be a wordsmith to make an interesting point. I'm sure most of you already knew this but I've always been a little slow (example: I'm a Mexican who doesn't speak Spanish).

While I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, I like to think I have a little common sense, and common sense sure does go a long way. Unfortunately, this is exactly what's wrong with the sports world today. They've taken common sense out of reporting and replaced it with a heaping helping of inflated stories and a side dish of outlandish viewpoints.

I mean, seriously, did we really need 8 months of hay-side vigil for Barbaro? No. Was it sad? Yes. Do I feel terrible for everyone involved? Of course. Do I need to know every detail of the ordeal for the better part of a year? No! As for the outlandish viewpoints, the incident that pushed me over the edge happened in mid 2005 when John Kruk, an analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" confidently predicted 30 wins that year for Randy Johnson. 30 wins!! That was the year Johnson was traded to the Yankees from the Diamondbacks and was still considered a top-notch starter, but, the most games Johnson had even started in a year was 35. The mere thought of a pitcher in today's game of baseball winning 30 of 35 games started, and that's not even factoring in the no-decisions, is completely and utterly ludicrous. Keep in mind this opinion came from a former Major League ball player. With that in mind, I pose the following questions.

1. Are you tired of the shows on a certain cable channel previously mentioned where the main goal is to scream louder than the other guy, to constantly interrupt everyone, and to make the same point over and over again....only louder each time?

2. What about local journalists that only seem to be interested in their personal relationships with area athletes and obviously lack the....well....testicular fortitude required for objective and impartial journalism?

3. Do you think St. Louis has possibly the worst sports radio hosts in the entire country (Carpeeeee Blooooowhard!)?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you might just enjoy our little blog. The main goal is to offer a unique and fresh perspective on everything that is sports. With the help of a few friends, we'll be posting columns on baseball, football, basketball, horse racing, mixed martial arts, fantasy sports, and whatever else comes to mind. To start, I'll be posting columns twice a week (probably on Monday and Thursday) and will chime in on a regular basis with thoughts on breaking stories. There will also be frequent articles posted by the aforementioned friends, without whom this blog wouldn't be possible. Expect an introduction from them in near future.

So, to the 3 or 4 of you reading this (Hi Mom and Shelly), if you don't mind a little ranting and a lot of grammatical errors, I think you'll have a good time. Please feel free to pass the address on to 100 of your closest friends and remember, all comments are welcome....good, bad, or indifferent. If you have any requests for columns just let me know or if you want to tell me how bad I suck or how cool I am, drop a line. Without further ado, I present to you.....Bullpen Catcher.

Paul Loza
aka The People's Champ