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PARK POINT… The New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez has recently joined the 3000 hit club, or did he? Not in my book. The MLB record book shows that he made it on to the list on June 19th in a game versus the Detroit Tigers, hitting a homerun in the bottom of the 1st inning at the new Yankee Stadium. Just over the holiday weekend the player, team and the fan who caught the ball, or more then likely, was the one who held on to it after a life and death struggle with other fans,  came to an agreement for the fan to return the ball back to Rodriguez for whatever he intends to do with it, which will most likely be to place it into the BBHOF, I guess.

It turns out that the fan, Zack Hample, is actually a pro’s pro at homerun and foul ball retrieval, nabbing 30 homerun balls and at least 8,000 others during his time as a fan of the game. So perhaps there wasn’t an epic struggle after all. Hample negotiated with the team and player to get a $150k donation made to a charitable organization he likes, Pitch in for Baseball, which helps get baseball equipment into the hands of underprivileged kids around the world who want learn and play the game. Hample got some autographed swag from A-Rod and everyone went away happy.

I simply can’t put this guy on the list. His alleged or admitted (which is it?) Performance Enhancing Drugs usage at various times in his career won’t allow me to add him. How many of those hits came to him while he was using? And above and beyond that I believe that all records gained during the PED era of MLB are suspect. That former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig didn’t aggressively attack this issue right at the get-go and put an immediate end to it are reasons that I could never support him. He was weak as a Commissioner and his ineffective tenure has placed a blight upon the game that can’t possibly be erased. These two have tinkled all over the game. I’m glad he is out and I will be just as glad when A-Rod is too…

ON THE OTHER SIDE of the fence, 76 years ago last Saturday (July 4th, 1939) maybe the greatest player AND person to ever play the game, Lou Gehrig, gave his famous speech at Yankee Stadium to his home crowd faithful, stating that he had to step away from the game due to a physical ailment that would take his life just a couple of years later. (Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS) This is arguably the most iconic speech ever given in baseball history by one of the greatest players and ambassadors the game has ever seen. Gehrig versus A-Rod? Don’t get me started. One is all class, the other is all jackass…

THE MINESOTA WILD HAVE gotten some of their off-season signings out of the way. Relative to last years roster the club has brought back, (obviously-Devan Dubnyk), minor leaguer Jared Knight, Ryan Carter, Nate Prosser and Mikael Granlund. There have been other signings and departures, but for the player affectionately known as “Granny” he got a 2 year, $6mil deal “bridge deal”. As much as I like Granny, I am not sure about this deal. Is this player worth this deal at this juncture of his young career? On the surface here are some stats; 158 games, 18G, 70A for 88 pts making him a .556 ppg scorer. He has a .499 faceoff win percent and has a better percent the season before. He is a career plus 10, 2 of his goals were scored on the PP and 4 of them were GW goals.

This past season he scored 8 goals in 68 games, that is 1 goal in every 8 ½ games. His goals percentage (goals scored divided by shots taken) was .08. On the teams depth chart he is listed as the number one center. Well, what do you think? I like this kid immensely, he is an outstanding young man. He was one of the best players in the tourney for Team Finland at the Sochi Olympics. I want to think that he still has a lot of upside in his game, and in the final analysis perhaps his true value is as a playmaker rather then as a sniper. I am just having a real rasslin’ match with this contract at the moment, the team had to keep him, yet need so much more from him…

THE ST. LOUIS BLUES have traded winger TJ Oshie to the Washington Capitals. This isn’t a surprise to me. I think this player has done about all he could do for this club, needed some fresh air and I have always felt that he was more of a “busy” player then a “productive” player. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have value for his team. However, if some of that value was as a shootout artist, two things for you; he ranked 24th in the NHL this past season on 4 for 11 shooting and with the new NHL Overtime rules coming up, the occurrence level of the shootout will most likely go down. This guy is a high energy player though, is very skilled and might be playing with better players on the Caps…

THE LIST OF PLAYERS with the Wild that turned Free Agents on July 1st features; Cody Almond, Stephane Veilleux, Chris Stewart, Jordan Leopold, Josh Harding, Kyle Brodziak (signed w/STL) Sean Bergenheim, Keith Ballard, and Stu Bickel. There are other names on this list but they played predominantly on the Iowa Wild roster. I expect Ballard and Harding to retire, and even if the team wanted Stewie back, I don’t know if they have the cap space or if he would agree to a reduced level contract. The team no doubt benefited from having a muscle guy on the roster. I think he fit into the room as well. Leopold? I don’t know. He would be a nice add if the club has the space, a veteran presence with a spot of offense.

At any rate, there will be more minor level deals before the roster is solidified for the upcoming campaign and I am positive GM Chuck Fletcher is working it for all he can. I’ll tell you though, I wouldn’t mind seeing a real good game right about now… PEACE