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An Introduction to the Trampoline
The sport of trampolining reflects man's age-old desire to defy gravity. The trampoline in its current form (a mat mounted on a steel frame) dates back to the early 1800, if newspaper reports are to be believed, when a circus in London displayed...
Mark Martin now back in the saddle for NASCAR 2006: Will the sake of justice prevail?
Mark Martin, born January 9,1959, has been runner-up for the
NASCAR championship for 1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002. He has
compiled 35 Nextel Cup victories during his racing days. Mark
has also been in the top 10 for 13 straight seasons.
It...
Online shopping for bike accessories
At one time you could only buy bike components at your local bike shop, if they had what you wanted or you had to hope they could order it and then you would have to wait for it to come and hope it was the right size, colour or price. Then bicycle...
Sport View for October
For those of you keeping score at home, my preseason picks for the World Series were in fact Anaheim over Houston. Up until a week ago it wasn’t looking the least bit likely, now it’s at least possible (I will admit maybe not probable). But I do...
The Origin Of Pocket Bikes
The concept of pocket bikes also known as mini bikes, mini motos, or mini motorcycles) began years ago in Japan, a country known for miniaturizing full-scale products. As crude mockups of the first pocket bikes were developed and ridden, a brand...
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MLB: What part of “No (Trade Clause)” don’t you understand?
The Phil Nevin proposed trade to the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend for Pitcher Sidney Ponson was a simple case of management finally getting back to them what they’ve been giving to the players over the past few years. In case you haven’t heard, the Padres organization announced this big trade on Sunday without uttering a word about the fact that the slugging first baseman had a limited no-trade clause written into his contract. They even got Xavier Nady prepped and ready to take over at first base since the Nevin deal was supposedly “done”.
They wanted Nevin out of there for good, and since are now willing to damage this man in the national media if necessary. Say what you want about Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, but he took care of his top players, even though it hurt the on-field performance, even to this day.
Basically, because of Nevin’s commitment to this Padres team and his family, he now stands at odds with an organization that has tried to unload him on several different occasions since becoming a hometown favorite since his heroic play in the 1999 season (the year they went to the World Series). After putting up 24 homeruns and 85 rbi’s that season, Nevin followed that up with an even better year in 2000 (31 HR 107 RBI) and even better than that in 2001 (41 HR 126 RBI).
Then, came his big back-loaded contract ($34 million) after the 2001 season; followed by two injury plagued seasons in 2002 and 2003. General Manager Kevin Towers tried to unload Nevin in 2000 for Jeromy Burnitz, but it was Burnitz who vetoed that deal. After that, Towes was talking trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Ken Griffey Jr, but Nevin’s agent
scuttled that one before it got out of the gate. Once Nevin starting getting healthy, San Diego ownership didn’t help matters much for Nevin when they decided to make Petco Park into a pitchers paradise, even though their top hitters were all sluggers (Nevin, Ryan Klesko, and Brian Giles). Obviously, 2003 was a season of discontent for the Padres batters; they were heard loud and clear (and told to shut up).
Nevin is now 34 years old and not putting up the numbers he did in previous years. You can blame the ballpark, or the constant trade rumors; hard to have a good relationship if you’re always in jeopardy of being dumped, you know. But, management now gets to drink their own medicine for once. Nevin’s current contract doesn’t expire till after next season, so the Pads will have to absorb a big chunk of the contract either by releasing him, or trading him to one of the 8 teams where Nevin would be willing to go.
Most team officials are fairly quick to point fingers and whine to the media when a player holds out for a new contract, or because he doesn’t feel appreciated. Now, a guy is exercising his contractual rights and being made to look like a selfish guy for doing so. And believe me; it’ll get worse in the papers for Nevin before it gets better. But, I say, “More power to you, Phil Nevin!!” You made your deal; have honored your contract, and now you’ve been benched and about to take a verbal lashing in the press for it. Stand your ground, Phil, you’ve earned it!!!
About the Author
John Onan is sports writer/moderator at the online players union www.onlineplayersunion.com and football contributor at www.realfootball365.com
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