Cleveland Ardians and Jose Ramirez agree to a partially front loaded 7 year deal, Almost as Sportscam Detective had suggested in previous article.

When I first heard the Cleveland Dians had signed Jose Ramirez to a 5 year contract extension, I felt Cleveland had earned their new name that starts with Gu.

When I heard the Cleveland Dians had actually been willing to front load Jose Ramirez's contract, I definitely felt the Dians had earned the Guar at the front.

However, The Cleveland Dians almost followed Sportscam Dectectives advice from my prior article on this site.  Almost, and for that reason, because they just could not do a solid and could only do the partial right thing, I am going to expand to the Cleveland Ardians. 

Perhaps the Cleveland Ardians lost a lot of money from COVID-19 and they just can't afford to completely front load Jose Ramirez's contract as I suggested, so they offered half of what I suggested, Front loading the first year of Jose's contract, and then dropping back down the following year and slowly incrementing up each and every year.

This is absolute NONSENSE. Jose Ramirez is in his prime. The Ardians should have offered the following.... 22, 22, 22, 22, 22, 15, 15. It's actually 1 million less but it FAIRLY front loads 17 million dollars instead of the approximately 10 million the way the contract is actually constructed. Front loaded money allows a ballplayer to re-invest and actually make more long term profit. It's probably the best way for smaller market teams to compete with the larger market teams.

This isn't just about the amount of the contract. It's about paying a player what he is worth when he is in his prime and then backing it down just a bit as he gets older but is still productive. As the contract is presently constructed, Jose's final year with the Indians, when it is quite possible his overall contributions will be less than they are now, he will be paid the most!

Six years from now fans with short attention spans may think Jose is selfish for being paid so much money at an older age when it was Jose Ramirez who produced so much more when he was in his prime. 

Pay the man what he is worth in his prime, now, with the knowledge that the final two years are at a lower salary, which makes a lot of sense.  Jose has been so steady and reliable for so many years that logic, AlexLOGIC dictates that the 21 million a year for the next five years, when he is in prime, is the Guardian thing to do.

You can study the foolishness the Ardians created for Jose Ramirez below. Counting every dollar in a way that is not in the interest of the player means I will not be using the GU whenever I write about the Ardians. Consider it my form of protest over not doing the right thing and front loading Jose's contract in a more equitable manner.

Mark my words, when this contract is in its final 2 years, and the Indians have to pay Jose Ramirez 22 million and 25 million dollars and as a result perhaps cannot make another Jose Ramirez type of deal to a future up and coming star, we will all see how unnecessarily selfish this deal was.

According to Spotrac

• Jose Ramirez signed a 7 year / $141,000,000 contract with the Cleveland Guardians, including $141,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $20,142,857. In 2022, Ramirez will earn a base salary of $22,000,000, while carrying a total salary of $22,000,000. 

  CONTRACT:7 yr(s) / $141,000,000

  SIGNING BONUS:-

  AVERAGE SALARY:$20,142,857

  FREE AGENT:2029 / UFA

  
  
  

  YEAR		AGE	STATUS	BASE SALARY	LUXURY TAX SALARY	PAYROLL SALARY	ADJUSTED SALARY	YEARLY CASH
  2022		29		$22,000,000	$20,142,857	$22,000,000	$22,000,000	$22,000,000($22,000,000)
  2023		30		$14,000,000		$14,000,000	$14,000,000	$14,000,000($36,000,000)
  2024		31		$17,000,000		$17,000,000	$17,000,000	$17,000,000($53,000,000)
  2025		32		$19,000,000		$19,000,000	$19,000,000	$19,000,000($72,000,000)
  2026		33		$21,000,000		$21,000,000	$21,000,000	$21,000,000($93,000,000)
  2027		34		$23,000,000		$23,000,000	$23,000,000	$23,000,000($116,000,000)
  2028		35		$25,000,000		$25,000,000	$25,000,000	$25,000,000($141,000,000)
  2029		36	UFA

As you can see 

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Cleveland Dians and Jose Ramirez could EASILY resolve their Contract Extension Negotiations, here's how.

Cleveland Dians could resolve the Jose Ramirez contract in the following way. FRONTLOAD the five year extension offer, place the current 2 year deal at the back end after the new five year deal. The extra 16 million over the next 2 years, if invested properly, will give Ramirez an extra 10 to 20 million five years from now when his salary would be reduced near the twilight of his career. If that is not enough, then offer a modest inflation adjustment on the present two years that would be pushed back to the end of the deal with a cap at 15 million a year. 

Done Deal. Or this going to be another example of the Dians "We tried" BS in which they know how to get to the precipice of a deal without actually making the deal by not doing the reasonably obvious.

If the Dians don't take my suggestion, and don't extend Jose Ramirez's contract when they easily could considering their paltry 50 million dollar 2022 payroll when their Television revenue is 100 million dollars, then it just proves what a joke the name the Guardians actually is. A team that cannot keep their own home grown talent for more than the customary 6 years has not earned the name Guardian. Guardian's don't get replaced over silly and solvable contract disputes.

Ballplayers who sign long term deals once they are 30 or older face the prospect of being overpaid as their skills begin to diminish. If Jose is able to produce six years from now, but maybe not as he did in his prime, the 13 to 15 million dollar per year over the final two years will still be a good deal for both Jose and Cleveland, 

I would hate to see Jose booed near the end of his career because he was making 21 million a year when at 13 to 15 million he is still either a good deal or fans are just glad he stayed.

Two perfect examples to consider are Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. Pujols final few years with the Los Angeles Angels were somewhat of a disappointment in part because he could barely run and also because he became more of a singles hitter. At 30 million a year that is crazy, at 13 million fans probably would have been ok as Pujols seemed to get some key hits.

Miguel Cabrera is another example. There is a chasm of a difference between a successful power hitter being paid 30 million a year versus 13 million a year when they are in the twilight of their career. 

Not sure how Jose Ramirez will fare five years from now, but hopefully he will still be a contact hitter who knows how to run the bases, and the lower amount over the final two years of his deal will just keep Cleveland fans liking him as he probably is breaking some type of Cleveland offense records, whereas six years from now 21 million a year he may be seen a hostile light, and nobody wants that. 

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Just how much time do Female Track and Field Runners lose because of their Floppy Pony Tails?

Why do Track Coaches let their Female Track Athletes run races with flopping pony tails? There is absolutely NO WAY that a flopping pony tail does not slow down a track athlete. Even if the slow down is of the most microscopic amount, micro seconds can easily turn into 0.1 seconds each time around the track. 

A race with 6 laps could conservatively mean 0.6 seconds lost because of a floppy pony tail. I would suggest a floppy pony produces a loss of 0.15 to 0.20 seconds each time around the track. So a race comprised of 6 laps equals 0.9 seconds to 1.2 seconds lost because of a floppy ponytail.

On a quarter mile track, a floppy pony tail probably equals 0.25 seconds lost each time around the track. The cruel irony is were a female to take my advice and get their hair put into a bun instead of a pony tail, DO NOT go to the local hair salon and breath in who knows what chemicals and fumes while getting one's hair put into a bun as the inhaling of who knows what chemicals might offset the gain the bun would otherwise give.

You don't believe me that a bun makes a difference, check this video out. Only one runner in this field had a bun...

In case you are wondering why the idea of going with a bun versus a pony tail has probably not been widely discussed before, the pony tail flopping braking effect has been neutralized because normally everyone in the field with bouncy hair, has a pony tail! If everyone with bouncy hair has a pony tail, then the negative effect of the pony tail is neutralized.

You don't believe me? Check out this race. Everyone had a Pony Tail and the result was one of the closest finishes among the top three runners, all sporting Pony Tails. If the woman who finished third did not look over at her competition, and also had gone with a bun, she probably wins this race instead of finishing third.

Sure this article has been posted on April 1st, 2022 but it is not an April Fools Joke, It just has been made to look like an April Fools Joke. Or, is it even a crueler joke by posting a serious article that sounds like a joke, on April Fools day?

 

Either way, you Track Coaches and your Female Track Stars won't know until you start asking your star female track runners to run with a bun.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber / Nick Castellanos signings made possible courtesy of the DH in the National League.

When Nick Castellanos was a Detroit Tiger a few years ago there was talk of trading him to a playoff contender. Allegedly the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) were considered interested in Castellanos.   

My memory of Castellanos back then was he was a poor defensive outfielder and any marginal advantage he would provide offensively would be offset by poor fielding and limited defensive range in right field.

What was even more troubling was the Tigers had offered Castellanos a chance to play first base, a position Castellanos could probably handle effectively, and Castellanos refused.

To Castellanos's credit he has improved his outfield defense from a few years back while his offense has improved by an even more remarkable amount.

However, the DH being added to the National League basically makes the Castellanos signing of 5 years for 100 million dollars somewhat of a no brainer for the Philadelphia Phillies. Should Castellanos falter or start to diminish on the defensive side of the field, the Phillies now have the DH where Castellanos can still flourish.

Not only is 20 million dollars a year an interesting number for both sides, the DH probably allowed Philadelphia to agree to a five year deal. If there was no DH in the National League, I wonder if Philadelphia would have gone more than 3 years.

Having just turned 30 during 2022 spring training, and having had his best offensive year last season, the Castellanos signing by Philadelphia most likely pleases Bryce Howard, who had asked for another big bat in the line-up and the Phillies complied by getting both Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos

However there is a DH X-Factor to consider. Bryce Harper has been known to rough himself up playing defense and having the DH available allows Howard to both heal and still DH, a situation that most likely will come up in 2022. Can Philly remain competitive with both Schwarber and Castellanos playing in the field at the same time whenever another player needs a defensive day off by hitting DH?

The Revenge of the DH occurs when average to below average defenders end up playing the field so other regulars can have a defensive day off at DH, the result being that the regular DH has to play the field and doesn't make plays better defenders would make, thus extending the inning and the pitcher's pitch count. It is this DH X factor which could prove meddlesome for the Philadelphia Phillies in the coming years since both Schwarber's and Castellanos's best position may be DH.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

MLB needs to optimize the Extra Innings Ghost Runner rule for the 2022 season, here's how MLB can do it.

What a difference 90 feet makes in the game of baseball. As Major League Baseball contemplates whether they will add the Ghost Runner second base rule at the start of extra innings for the 2022 year, they miss the most ideal scenario of all.

Why won't MLB place the ghost runner at first base instead of second base? A ghost runner at first creates a chance for fans to see successful small ball from first base. Some teams will of course try to move the runner to second base via a steal or sacrifice, while other teams will hit away hoping to avoid the dreaded double play.

Starting an extra base inning with a Ghost Runner at First Base creates so much more drama that is not based on the "sudden death" mantra that is created with a Ghost Runner on Second base. 

Look at all the options available to the manager that makes the game so much more interesting for the fan when the Ghost Runner is at first base instead of second...Hit and Run, Attempting a Stolen base, Sacrifice bunt, First to third on a single but having to challenge the arm of the right fielder, a pick-off play, the dreaded double play unless it is the opposing team up to bat.  Trying to score from first on a double, 

All of that is basically reduced to nothing more than one hit and will the runner try to score from second when the Ghost Runner starts extra innings at second base.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Katie Meyer's "Suicide" may actually be the direct result of Stanford College not providing a competent legal advocate to Katie Meyers regarding an upcoming disciplinary hearing.

Successful Athlete, Role Model, approaching graduation and a possible future in Professional Women's Soccer, Katie Meyers Suicide may may have been caused by the College Nanny Brigade repeatedly harassing Ms. Meyers for an alleged college infraction while possibly not providing Ms. Meyers with a competent legal advocate. 

The same Nanny mentality that seems to pervade the pseudo intellectual world of College and those who administer College protocol, may be responsible for Katie Myers suicide.

Now is not the time to imply Katie Holmes needed mental counseling. Katie Meyers required competent legal representation provided for by the same college that was charging her with some type of infraction serious enough that the college was preparing a disciplinary hearing that may have caused her to commit suicide when they sent her one or more letters about her upcoming hearing.

Now is the time for protesting the cruel mistreatment Katie Holmes received from college protocol that apparently felt it was ok to send a menacing letter or letters to Ms. Holmes about a future college hearing without providing her with the proper legal representation to help guide her through the process. Ms. Holmes may have been treated worse than if she had committed a serious crime against another person when one considers Ms. Holmes was most likely not assigned a legal advocate. The lack of competent free legal representation that should have been provided for by the college may be the very reason Ms. Holmes committed suicide. 

Not only can a prestigious college financially bleed some of their student's families dry with no guarantee their son or daughter will have a successful career, apparently a college can isolate a student while preparing that student for some type of "trial" that may not have supplied basic safeguards guaranteed to the common criminal, a public defender to represent the accused.

I plead for the Holmes family to seek out answers as to why Katie Holmes may have bore the entire weight of a future disciplinary trial without the college also offering a competent legal advocate to ensure she was mentally, legally and publicly protected by the same nanny brigade that constantly tries to guilt the world into bowing at the feet of the educated and scientific communities.

The mere insinuation that Katie Holmes should have gotten mental health assistance may be nothing more than a method for covering up what could be the College's pretentious method of disciplining students without free, fair and competent legal representation to interpret the letters the college sends out to vulnerable college students.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

A year after Sportscam Detective said it, Tom Brady advocates rules change regarding helmet to knee tackling.

Tom Brady advocates for NFL rules change regarding helmet to knee contact tackling one year after Sportscam Detective (Alessandro Machi)  made a youtube video on the exact same issue.     

A year earlier Sportscam Detective (aka Alessandro Machi), was making the exact same complaint about helmet to knee tackling as Tom Brady is now making. Sportscam Detective also mentioned how using the helmet to knock out the ball carrier who then fumbles the ball while unconscious still counts as a FUMBLE is dispicable!  

I also questioned using the helmet to spear the football since it is basically identical to a kamikazee style of play because if the NFL tackler misses contacting the football with their helmet they are going to do serious damage to the ball carrier body.

In the video I also mention that as helmet technology improves, the player fearlessness to helmet hunt is increased. While inroads are being made, I watched my Brownies lose to Kansas City in the Playoffs because a KC player head hunted the ball carrier causing a concussion and then an out of the end zone fumble that returned the ball to KC and allowed KC to get a field goal. The 10 point differential cost the Browns the playoff game last year yet no rule changes came forth.

I don't know which is worse, the fact that the NFL failed the Brownies, or that in the following offseason NOTHING was done to fix the obvious targeting flaw of allowing a targeted hit to the helmet that causes a concussion which causes a fumble to be non reviewable.

The NFL is proving to be too slow to correct and improve the safety of their game. It's because of their inbred style of decision making that creates elongated time delays before improvements are implemented. 

Yes, I am available for NFL consulting. Just saying it.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Cleveland Cavaliers have an opportunity to use Tall Ball to develop late game three point perimeter of confusion Defense.

The Cavaliers now have three tall defenders who can handle center. Jarret Allen, Power forward and the wing position (Mobley and Markkanen) at the same time (Kevin Love is more of an offensive scoring and rebound threat). They can then slide Osman and Okoro into the guard slots 6' 7" and 6" 5" and use Tall ball to thwart an oppositions attempt to shoot a late game three.

When the opposing team is losing by 3 or 4 points with under 30 seconds left in the game, the LAST thing the Cavaliers want to do is give up a three point play as they twice did against the Washington Wizards with under 30 seconds left and the Cavs clinging to what was a 4 point lead. If the Wizards are inbounding the ball at mid court, the Cavs could use tall ball by placing three or four of their tall players OUTSIDE of the three point line, not inside. This forces the other team to play really deep and go for a three that is 10 feet beyond the 3 point line, or, go for the two point play while Jarret Allen is there for a possible block at the rim.

Against Washington on November 10, 2021, the Cavs allowed two 3 point shots that were canned within five seconds of the throw in from mid court. In both situations, a 2 point shot would have given the Cavs a much better strategic situation. Presently Love and Markkanen are out because of COVID protocols, so Tall Ball could have still worked, but with a less experienced player such as Wade

What is nice about the Tall Ball circle of confusion perimeter defense is if the ball is thrown past the three point line to a cutting player, the move can be countered by someone on the three point line opposite from where the ball is being thrown cutting towards the rim who avoids contact, and the best the opposition can do is get a two point play. 

Of course, once this 3 point defense is used and then studied by the opposition, the counter move might be to dish to a cutting player and as the three point defense collapses, dishing out to another player on the three point line as the defense is collapsing inwards. Nonetheless, this requires an extra pass and perfect timing which is preferable to for some strange reason thinking the best way to guard against the three is to stay behind the three point line.

Washington ended up scoring 8 points from the moment they inbounded the ball with 31 seconds left in the game and down by four. Washington managed to win by 3 points but it was getting 2 three point shots so quickly that was the difference maker. Both three point shots could have been prevented with the Tall Ball circle of confusion perimeter defense.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

MLB play at first base mistakenly reverses an out back into a safe call in game between Cleveland and Kansas City.

Updated: November 5, 2025 to improve the overall quality of my writing, lol.

 

In this evening's game, Wednesday, September 1, 2021, between Cleveland and KC, the throw to first base beat the runner...

However... 

an out, somehow magically turned back into a safe call.

 

Kansas City fans may remember a play at first many years ago against Cleveland where it was alleged that Carlos Santana occupied too much of the first base bag and the KC runner collided with Santana and was out for a few months, (was that Dyson who was hurt?), so let's not discount Bradley's attempt to avoid a collision with the base runner even as it compromised his ability to catch the ball deeper in the webbing of his glove.

 

Bradley did the Sportsmanship thing and tried to restrict how much of the runners path past first base his glove occupied.  

 

The result was the throw was caught in the very upper region of his webbing, making it susceptible to being knocked out by contact.

 

Although the throw to first base clearly beat the baserunner

 

 

 

the runner collides with the first baseman's glove AFTER passing first base, knocking the ball out of the glove.

 

 

The problem with calling the runner safe is the runner was already out and therefore should no longer impact the play.  

The baserunner is on borrowed time that ends the moment the first baseman has his foot on first base and the ball is in his glove before the baserunner has touched first base.

 

This was not a tag play where control of the ball is essential even with contact, this was a force at first base where a tag of the batter / baserunner is not required, thus knocking the ball out of the glove after passing first base should not have changed the call. 

 

 

The saying, What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, applies here. 

What happens AFTER the first baseman catches the ball while touching first base BEFORE the baserunner has touched the first base bag stays in Vegas, the play is over. The out baserunner does not get to "un out" themselves. 

 

 

There is no "Back to the Future" option here in which the baserunner, after clearly being out, can become unout by hitting the infielder's glove downstream of the first base bag.

When AROD did the same thing in the World Series, he did it before he reached first base and frankly, AROD had no choice because a second infielder was also blocking the base path meaning AROD had nowhere to go. But that is another article for another day.

Ironically, AROD was called out when he was a live runner with a right to the base path in front of him that was being occupied by two infielders, not one. 

 

In this situation the base runner is past the first base bag and should be thought of as a mosquito being zapped by an electric filament the moment the first baseman had possession of the throw while touching the first base bag before the batter turned base runner reaches the base. 

 

What happened after the runner crosses first base should not be used to retroactively change the call. (note-unless the first baseman gave the base runner no space for the base runner to safely slow down and stop without being involved in a collision).

These kind of nuanced situations drive Sportscam Detective nuts because the specific event happens and is over so quickly, and then is rarely if ever revisited  by the MLB rules committee so the rule is improved before it happens again.

 

When Armando Galarraga lost his perfect game on what could have been the final out of the game, Galarraga bobbling the throw clearly influenced Umpire James Joyce into calling the runner safe at first base.

While Sportscam Detective was one of the few on the planet that agreed with Joyce's call (under my alter ego of Dashcam Detective), the wiggle room for calling the runner out at first place would be to argue that any bobble that happened after the runner had touched first base would be moot, the remaining issue being was there enough of a bobble BEFORE the runner touched first base to warrant the safe call. 

Unfortunately for all concerned, the Detroit Sports Announcers and the replay crew REFUSED to discuss the OBVIOUS bobble by Galarraga,  choosing to freeze the video frame during instant replay to mask the bobble, so the Galarraga bobble was never discussed.

 

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Sportscam Detective reveals the real reason Cleveland Guardians was selected as the replacement name.

Before SportsCam Detective reveals the real reason for the Cleveland Indians name change to the Cleveland Guardians, 

• a brief recap is in order of what names could have been chosen, 
• why the name the Guardians is an awful choice, 
• and why the name the Guardians may be the best choice.

Sportscam Detective likes the name the Cleveland Beltways. The reason I like the name at first is a head scratcher but when the reasons are given for the name Beltways the entire Cleveland region's reputation is embellished.

My top choices are….

The Cleveland Beltways (click link for full article)

The Cleveland Chasers (Cleveland is always chasing after a championship in multiple sports. Lebron James, who helped chase down the first championship for Cleveland in 50 years, also became known for his ability to chase down a player from behind and block their lay-ups).

The Cleveland Shakers. Shaker Heights is a core part of Cleveland and I like the name, Cleveland Shakers.

The Cleveland Colavitos. If only Cleveland had given to Rocky Colavito what Mr. Colavito was relentlessly giving to the Cleveland Indians, this would be a no brainer.

I do NOT like Cleveland Guardians for many reasons. 

• Baseball is the one sport where one team does not perpetually guard all of the the other team's starting players. 
• Basketball, Football, and Hockey ALL require guarding all of the players from the opposing team that are on the field, court, or ice rink at all times.  
• Even when there is a need to guard a baserunner in baseball it is still one position player doing the guarding and ironically, the player guarding the baserunner actually stops guarding the base runner so they can get into position as the next pitch is being thrown to the plate.

I also do not like the name Guardians because there are frightening examples of Guardianship fraud in the U.S. 

• Senior’s rights and their wealth is being taken from them without their consent all over the country and complicit judicial systems are involved. 
• There are many cases in which a Guardianship victim’s own family may be denied visitation access to their parents or grandparents after a Guardianship coup has been performed by either a Government worker or a member of the family who cunningly creates a secretive Guardianship scenario without letting anyone else who is related to the the person being “guarded” know what is going on, until it is too late to change it.

Possibly the grimmest and saddest reason of all to detest the name Guardians is Cleveland MLB baseball has a pathetic history of keeping its most popular player’s, aka fans favorites, or Guardians, in a Cleveland Uniform.

• Let’s start with Rocky Colavito. If ever there was a Guardian for Indians Baseball it is Rocky Colavito. Before Cleveland Baseball twice gave up on Colavito, Colavito hit 150 home runs in the Minors prior to being called up, and then. Colavito hit another 374 in the Majors. When Colavito retired after 1968, it was not as an Indian. 
• Nobody in Cleveland among ownership and the media had the foresight to encourage Rocky Colavito to try and get in shape and be the Cleveland DH in 1971. If Mr. Colavito had made a comeback by only having to focus on being a DH, can you imagine the excitement that would have been created in Cleveland? What if Colavito, who was known for having a great arm, had come back as a pinch hitter, DH, and reliever? 
• Hank Aaron was able to extend his home run record with two years of DH’ing, Colavito was only 6 months older than Aaron, yet nobody suggested he try be a pinch hitter, DH, and reliever? 
• Aaron played 10 more years than Colavito did. I think part of the reason was Colavito never had his forever fans and forever stadium like many greats of his time did. 
• Many great players of the 60' s and 70's remained with the same team their entire career, if Colavito had been treated equally to those other stars, he would be in the Hall of Fame and Cleveland fans of the early 70's would have had their own Guardian Sports player to root for.

Speaking of Guardians, after Rocky Colavito I like to think there were several Cleveland Star players who could have been  Cleveland Guardians. 

However, the list of Cleveland baseball players who left via free agency rather than sign a team friendly contract includes Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor, Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee. CC Sabathia did give up two years of free agency to ensure a nice pre-departure contract, but ultimately he too left for a long career in New York. 

Possibly the most ironic Guardian departure was Francisco Lindor. Lindor was literally the Cleveland Indians logo Doppleganger who probably could have done amazing things for Native Americans yet never hestitated when it came to going for the biggest contract possible. Even after the success Cleveland had in 2016 and then again in 2017 (22 game winning streak) both of which occurred near the beginning of Lindor's career in Cleveland, Lindor still wanted the largest contract he could get. 

However, one wonders if Cleveland did enough as Guardians for Lindor and Roberto Perez's family in Puerto Rico during the savage hurricane season of 2017.

The saddest of all may be Michael Brantley. The Indians could not afford to keep Mr. Meticulous and his plus .300 batting average which would have made the last several seasons trying to cobble together a platoon in left field a non-issue and possibly kept Cleveland’s playoff aspirations more relevant over the past few seasons.

However, having said all of the above…the real reason the name Guardians was chosen has never been revealed until now. I believe the reason why the Guardians name was selected is Paul Dolan Jr. is tributing mostly his father, and to some degree himself as the Guardians of Cleveland Indians baseball. Without their ownership the team may have fled to another State by now.

Who can argue against that? 

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Simone Biles may have a physical impairment, not an emotional one, so why is everyone stating it is an emotional issue, cuz she's a girl?

Amidst the media cackling about Simone Biles "mental health exist" were Simone's own words that seem to make her withdrawal from 2021 Olympic events a physical issue and not an emotional one.....paraphrasing Simone...."I did not know where I was when I was in the air just before landing"....   

The video Sportscam Detective saw backs up Simone's statement  about loss of equilibrium by how much her legs collapsed on impact. The ground came up faster than Simone could plan for and as powerful as she is in elevating herself into the air, not knowing when to prepare for a proper landing could result in a severe injury.

So why has Nanny journalism decided to call Simone Biles dropping out of an Olympic event a "mental health exist" when it was a solid decision based on the acknowledgement that her timing was off.  Someone built as powerfully as Simone Biles cannot afford to be off on her landings because that power means she can launch herself higher in the air than anyone else who opposes her.

The media has devolved into an "I'm ok, you're ok, we're all ok, no matter what we do" agenda in which nothing is ever really wrong or, unknown.

According to the news media, there was no voter fraud in 2020 even though the Media did virtually zero pre-investigations into the possibilities that the record number of ballots being mailed out could result in some type of illegal ballot harvesting.

We still don't know if a batch of ballots can be run through and counted twice because nobody thought to do such an investigation before the election, therefore it never happened.

Now Simone Biles makes a completely proficient decision to not endanger her own health from not knowing when to brace for her landings, and the nanny media calls it an emotional welfare decision.

 

The consequences of running a story without the right type of investigating makes the Simone Biles situation worse. What if we come to discover that some kind of lighting quirk based on the intensity of the lighting, how close the light arrays are to each other, the speed at which they strobe, and how high up the lights were, and whatever other element may have gone into the lighting is what caused Simone Biles to lose her equilibrium?

What if we discover Simone Biles had an inner ear infection that resulted in her losing her equilibrium in the middle of a routine while she was in mid air?

To call Simone Biles withdrawal from 2021 Olympic events a mental health issue when it appears to be based on her loss of equilibrium may be one of the greatest injustices done to female athletes by the Nanny Media.

The Nanny Media has left the impression that women opt out for valid emotional reasons while men opt out due to physical injury.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Both the NFL and MLB have flaws in their instant replay guidelines that need to be immediately corrected.

Both the NFL and MLB have failed to acknowledge that a play that has more time elapse, will then need more time to be reviewed. In the NFL, if a running back with the football runs around the corner and goes out bounds five yards down field, the time needed to decide whether to question where the ball was placed is adequate. If however, the runner runs around the corner and downfield 40 yards, the defense will need more time to review if the runner may have stepped out of bounds at some point during their run. This situation actually happened in 2020 and it may have influenced who would make the playoffs because the defense just did not have enough time to review the entire play. The player actually stepped out of bounds relatively early in their long run, but there was just not enough time to review the entire play before the next play started.

The same mistake is occurring in Major League Baseball. A batter who hits a double and then tries for a triple but pops off the base for a moment as the tag is being applied is mistakenly called safe. Unlike a play at first base that takes 4 seconds and can be more easily reviewed, a play that spans three can take 12 seconds to complete, yet the review time is the same as a play that only took 4 seconds to complete. This is insanity, and just plain wrong. Not only does the play at third take an extra 8 seconds, but reviewing different camera angles adds additional time. Technology does exist that allows all the camera angles to be "locked" together so in theory the review process is faster. But besides seeing if the runner's foot came off the third base base while the tag was being applied, a review to determine if a challenge will be called should also include making sure the runner touched first base and second base and make sure the hit was fair. All of that cannot be accomplished in the same amount of time as runner beating out a throw from the shortstop at first base.  

There is NO WAY a potential triple can be reviewed in the same amount of time as a play at first base. There is NO WAY a 35 yard running gain can be reviewed in the same amount of time as a 5 yard gain. Yet in both the NFL and MLB examples provided above, both plays for each sport gets the same amount of time to be reviewed. 

Please, NFL and MLB, correct this silly instant replay pre-review oversight. As more and more fans bet on games, these are the kind easily preventable mistakes that one day could lead to someone who bet on a game and lost because of this inconsistent instant replay  silliness, thus losing their bet and their mind and possibly harming others out of anger and frustration because they knew they were ripped off by a system that was too elitist to fix an obvious oversight.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Jon Rahm should be allowed to play his final round AFTER everyone else finishes their final round.

Jon Rahm has been disqualified from participating in the final round of the PGA Memorial Weekend Golf Tournament. Sportscam Detective disagrees with this poorly thought out decision.  

Since Mr. Rahm had already finished his third round he should be allowed to come onto the course well after the other participants are either several holes ahead and there is no chance of contamination or after they have complete their days activities.

When the PGA / COVID rule was created, I doubt anybody put much thought into this exact scenario that has occurred in which a golfer who was leading by plenty tests positive with only one round left.

Let Mr. Rahm play on Sunday, just make sure it is after the other players and fans have moved on and are much farther down the course.

This is the problem with living with quickly made up rules and then  not being able to pivot at the last minute.  Shame on the PGA. 

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

DK Metcalf was a lot closer to winning his first 100m heat than most realized, according to Sportscam Detective.

Studying the video of DK Metcalf running the 100 meters Sportscam Detective noticed something that could mean DK Metcalf can reduce his times by at least .225 seconds to as much as .45 seconds.

Sportscam Detective noticed during DK Metcalf's 100m Olympic qualifying trial his track shoes were flexing twice as long per step as the other runners on every impact his shoe had with the track surface. 

Los Angeles Emmy Winner & Video Forensics Expert Alessandro Machi

explains how DK Metcalf can still run faster than his 10.37 100m time.

Sportscam Detective believes with a custom made track shoe and track cleats that are based on DK Metcalf's height, mass and torque he could reduce the time each foot is on the ground by .005 to .01 seconds. 

DK Metcalf took exactly 45 steps during his 100m run. Minus .005 to .01 seconds per step would mean a reduction in time of .225 to .45 seconds.   

With the properly designed track shoe DK Metcalf could turn his 10.37 run into a 10.145 on the conservative side all the way down to a 9.92 second run on the optimal side.

July 6, 2021 Update: A discussion about the new breakthrough technology for shoes and spikes...

Does anyone recall what happened to Zion Williamson when his shoe seemed to explode? Zion's mass times his torque and agility basically caused his left shoe to disintegrate.

Who was it who said, "It's gotta be the shoes"? 

Sportscam Detective can offer two more pieces of evidence that DK Metcalf was nowhere near his true, "ready to go" potential. 

The first piece of evidence was Metcalf had minimal second half acceleration once he was up to speed. In theory, a runner can build upon their initial speed if their mechanics are perfect. DK was ahead of one runner and alongside a couple others over the first 30 to 40 meters of the race, yet they all pulled away from DK over the final  30 meters even though it did not seem as if DK had tired or slowed down. Rather, DK's shoes did not give him the support and boost they could have given him if they had been specifically made for his height, weight and torque.

The second issue to consider are the cleats. DK Metcalf would probably need custom made cleats because his sheer size, weight and torque will give specially designed smaller lighter cleats better traction that a lighter weight runner would find too feeble. Placing the same type of cleats on DK's track shoes that lighter runners use is like placing a microscopic brake on every step DK takes.

In the bizarro world the bigger and stronger the runner, the smaller the cleats need to be since the sheer height, mass and torque of the runner will offset the cleat being smaller and shorter. This is easier said than done. Would the cleats actually be shorter, or would they be thinner in diameter? What combination of cleat size and thickness and how many cleats would DK actually need that would match perfectly for his height, weight and torque? 

I would suggest finding three guys who are similar in size and use them as test subject with standard track shoes and then with an improved design. Two of the subjects I would test old design to new design, the third person I would the opposite and tell them the opposite to remove the psychological aspect of thinking the new shoe is better and therefore one actually runs better.

What a great time to experiment. COVID-19 has been around, people have been stuck at home, other than congregating to come up with a vaccine, how about getting experts together to figure out if DK Metcalf has a 9.92 to 10.1425 in him with the proper shoe.

It was frustrating to see Mr. Metcalf in essence using a three speed bicycle while his competitors had perfected their shoe and cleat combinations and running on the equivalent of 10 speed bicycles.

If DK Metcalf had had the perfectly made track shoe and cleat for his 100m run, he might have won the race instead of finishing tied for last.

However, it should also be noted that the level of expertise and kinesiological skill required to create the optimal track shoe and cleat size is of such importance that any mistakes could result in a serious injury for an athlete that is used to running on surfaces that usually have more give to them so that too must be factored in to any endeavor to see if it's "gotta be the shoes".  Who said that?

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

This kind of MLB collision NEVER happens, until it does.

Nobody to blame. Hunter Dozier was just ducking his head to avoid hitting Yasmani Grandal on a high, but dumb little pop up barely 10 feet down the first base line. After ducking his head to get past Mr. Grandal, Mr. Dozier lifted his head up and the first thing he saw was Jose Abreu hard charging the pop-up as both players full on collided with each other, Full speed for Jose Abreu, plus half speed for Dozier, full, head on contact with each other.

In retrospect, everything happened so quickly I am not sure how this accident could have been prevented. When I was in little league there were two infield rules our coaches told us, don't let the pitcher catch a pop-up, ever, and, if an infielder and catcher can get to the same pop-up, let the infielder catch the ball because they are not dealing with a mask, whether to throw the mask off or not, and if there are runners on base let the catcher can get back to home plate just in case the ball is not caught.

Having said that, a little part of me is wondering, why not just cover first base, Jose, and if the ball is dropped, there might still be time to make a throw to first base. 

I wonder if this scenario has ever happened before in the past 125 years of Baseball, probably not. That is what makes Baseball so amazing, year after year somethings happens that has never happened before.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.

Why it is perfectly fine to use Instant Reply in Baseball to see if a Baserunner loses contact with the base on a slide.

Some knowledgeable baseball people (such as Cleveland Indians Radio announcer Tom Hamilton) think it is nit picking to use Instant Replay to see if the baserunner was able to keep contact with the base during and after their slide. 

Here is what is being left out of the MLB Instant Replay Review discussion about whether or not the baserunner has maintained contact with the base. The reason the baserunner is unable to keep contact with the base is they delay their slide an extra half step so they carry more speed into the base thus having a better chance of beating the throw.

I recall one year both Grady Sizemore and Shin Soo Choo made some late, late slides into second base. I wonder if those late slides were the precursor to the knee injuries that Grady Sizemore would suffer the following season or the season after.

I recall seeing Shin Soo Choo make one slide where he was literally 3 to 4 feet from the bag when he started his slide. Scary stuff to watch. If MLB loosens the rules on sliding late by not allowing Instant Replay to review if a ballplayer has lost contact with the base, they could be encouraging more late sliding which inevitably could lead to future knee injuries.

I agree using slow motion to see if a player maintains contact with the bag is somewhat of a ticky tack procedure, but teaching players to maintain contact with the bag at all times once they touch the bag is probably preventing future knee injuries by preventing late slides.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.