The Easy Way Out Of Life

After seeing the performance of New York Yankees starter, CC Sabathia- It got me thinking about "big time contracts" in all of Major League sports (MLB,NFL,NBA,NHL etc.) and it's freaking crazy! Before reaching the pros, college. Free college. Not working for about an average of 10-18 years of your life. Millionaire. Cars. Mansion. Can it get any better? But should that money be wasted on something more useful and not make athletes multi-millionaires every year. Education maybe?

The normal way of going through life is finishing grade school and then heading off to college. Right? We make our parents pay the tuition and we would have to start working to help them off. But not sports athletes. Now all of us have had dreams of playing for the Yankees or your home town team. It's normal. But what about the people who do achieve those goals. Coming out of high school these "future stars" get scholarships from big name schools like Notre Dame, Stanford, USC, UM, any school! Some dont have to waste a single penny in books or normal stuff like that. Thats not fair! For someone that will most likely be there for only 3 years and dont even have to pay the univeristy back is great! But what about the regular students. Some can't even finish school because its so god damn expensive. So what? Everyone should become basketball players or soccer players? No.

In the 2008 NFL draft the Miami Dolphins selected linemen Jake Long for the first overall selection of the draft. Without playing a SINGLE down he agreed to a five-year, $57.75 million deal with $30 million guaranteed. Lucky enough he didn't turn into a "bust", but it is a big risk to pay so much money for a player that we are not sure that he will become one hell of a player.

We can say that general managers take the 'risk' when they sign a player. It's not like George Steinbrenner knew Carl Pavano would only play in 26 games after signing a four-year contract worth $39.95 million. Bad luck or bad judgment? We might never know. So the best thing to do in my opinion is just put a limit in a teams salary cap for they wont waste so much damn money in someone that has a fastpass through life!

2009 Florida Marlins

Youth. Key word for the Marlins this season. The Marlins have the the second youngest pitching staff in all the league with an average of 24.2. The fish are one of seven teams in the majors with a pitching staff under 30. Ricky Nolasco, the ace of the club from last season had a solid outing in his first start of the young season pitching six innings, seven hits, five earned runs, and six strikeouts with no walks. In the second game of the season, the Marlins threw out Josh Johnson to pitch against the Nats. Coming back from Tommy John surgery, the 6-foot-7 twenty-five year old had no signs of rust. Pitching 6 2/3 shutout innings. The Nationals got seven hits off J.J, but struck out eight times while facing Johnson. To add to those stats, he allowed no walks during the game. First sweep of season? A young right handed pitcher was given the task to start the season 3-0. Chris Volstad, a twenty-two year old from Palm Beach Gardens is preparing for his first full major league season. How did he start? After a shaky first inning, Volstad calmed down and showed signs of being the face of the team for years to come. In five innings of work, he allowed two runs, one earned, two hits, four walks and seven K's, leading the Marlins to a 6-4 win and earning their first sweep of the season. Not to mention Anibal Sanchez, who could be the starter for the Mets game, threw a no-hitter in his first season in the show. There's more. Hanley Ramirez, the franchise player, could be a future MVP for being a five-tool player. Batting third in the lineup, he brings power and speed in the middle of the lineup. Just being twenty-four, he is projected to be a 30-30 player batting in the third whole. He is still a student of the game, but when he is done learning. Move out of the way A-Rod. In the off season the Fish traded Josh Willingham and south-paw Scott Olsen to the Nationals for a speedy middle infielder by the name of Emilio Bonifacio. Emi who? Who in the heck is that? Coming in spring training the Marlins were in doubt with who will be playing at the hot corner this season. Bonifacio, never playing a game at third, worked hard enough to earn the job. Now batting first in the lineup, it brings back memories of the Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo when the blazing speed was at the top of the lineup. He didn't disappoint the fans by having an inside the park home run the first game of the season. Dan Uggla, the power-hitting second baseman, can very well be the best hitting second basemen in all of baseball. Who wouldn't like to have a 30-35 home run hitter batting fifth in a lineup full of talent. Talent? Cameron Maybin, the starting center fielder, is a 'rookie of the year' candidate. Another speedster on the team, Maybin is just starting a promising career. Power, Speed, Defense, Pitching, the 2009 Florida Marlins are lock and loaded to make a run in the NL East and being a contender in all of baseball to play in the "Fall Classic" and bringing a third World Series title to sunny South Florida.