Opinion

If you are reading this article then you most likely read the title.  You probably put two and two together and found out that I am considering myself in a "Slump", a "Writer's Slump".  You are right, ever since I won the Article of The Day, a couple of months ago, I have a feeling that my writing hasn't been the same.  

I recognize that you don't throw questions like this one around just because of a half season of mediocre baseball. Still, I want to know what the Cubs Community thinks: has Lou lost the fire in his belly?

Again, this is not an overreaction to what has occurred this season, though that is certainly part of it. The concern is based on the following:

Yesterday, before the Yankees walloped the Mets (very nice, I like), there was a bit of a tussle in the outfield. As anybody who cares knows, the confrontation was the culmination of two whiny jocks pretending to be tough.

Brian Bruney lambasted Fransisco Rodriguez for his excessive celebration on the mound. I agree that the excessive celebration (I'm looking at you Joba, Papelbon etc.) has got to go, but take it to him on the field.

Calling K-Rod out in an interview is cowardly and a desperate cry for attention.

Long after were all gone, people of the year 4718 will uncover some long lost DVDs. Scientists will analyze these videos for years upon years trying to figure out who it is. Some will say he was the prophet. Other may say he's God's second child. No one can figure out who this man was.

They will ask Peter Gammons (who reported on Jesus Christ's stickball league all them years ago) who this man was and if he has any relation to Christ. Peter will look up at the monitor and as if he was the old lady in the movie Titanic, he'll start having vivid flashbacks.

Is Hanley Ramirez talking his way out of South Florida? 

Marlins fans would certainly hope he is not, though his antics this season are certainly a growing concern.

In yet another bout of immaturity, the Marlins star player chose to speak out to the media regarding an 88 mph fastball he took off of the elbow in the sixth inning of yesterday's game. The pitch, coming from Toronto Blue Jays reliever Dirk Hayhurst, came two innings after a pitch found its way into Jeremy Hermida.

The All Star Game has taken its fair share of hits over the last 10 years. Whether it's ending in a tie or being the deciding factor for home field advantage in the World Series, the ASG has seen its better days.

Cliff Eastham just wrote a piece on the top 10 shortstops in the Hall of Fame and I was very interested in the piece.

One of the reasons it was so interesting to me is that I wrote a piece last week about the best 50 players in baseball history, but done considering positions so that I composed two teams who could theoretically play one another.

By doing the analysis in that way I had to consider who were the best catchers, who were the best third basemen, etc.

And of course, I had to consider the best shortstops.

Angels fans suffered a blow this weekend, even while their team was romping on the field at home for a change, mercilessly sweeping a visiting Padres team from down the 5 freeway in San Diego.

What was lost in all of the positives this weekend, and also in the debacle that has been the Angels bullpen thus far, was the end of the season declaration from one Mr. Scot Shields.

Ever since the New York Yankees have moved across the street from their old home that hosted them for the last 85 years, the Yankees moved into the New Yankee Stadium, which contained the same dimensions as the old stadium, and had a staggering price of 1.6 Billion Dollars to build.

However, ever since the new stadium has opened, home runs have been leaving the stadium at a record rate as it has allowed 87 home runs in its first 23 games, which is a major league record. Also, it's on pace to break Coors Field's 1999 record of 303 home runs yielded in a season.

During the Mets' brutal loss to the Yankees on Sunday, something very rare happened: David Wright got in an umpire's face about a called third strike for only the second time in his career.

Manager Jerry Manuel has often said he will defend his players 110 percent if they are right. If not, so be it, which is fine. But why did he wait for Wright to return to the dugout before coming out to argue with the umpire?

The pitch to Wright in the sixth inning was definitely over the plate, but well below his knees, and the ball was dropped by the catcher.