Where have all the Cowboys gone?

What happened baseball? What happened to you? You had me, and then you lost me. Those few years with all different types of teams winning the World Series, man that was fun. But along the way something happened. We lost the superstar players, and maybe some of it is baseballs terrible marketing, they just expect things to sell themselves. But I ask you, who are the stars in baseball nowadays? Where are my Hall of Fame players?

Now maybe it is just the cycle in sports, and it takes a few years for the turnopver of a new generation of players. We are realizing that potential in the NBA now, it took a few years but those yougn stars are now beginning to take over the league, heck this is even true in hockey with the emergence of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin (both appointment viewing for me this NHL Playoff season). But baseball seems to be lacking in this resepect. Their seems to be a lost generation of players and part of that is because of the steroid era and there are still residual effects. Guys like A-Rod, Manny, Magglio Ordonez, Pujols, Chipper, Miggy Tejada, Todd Helton, Bobby Abreu and obviously Bonds.

Now Martin and some other baseball junkies are going to tell me about all the great young players in the league, and while I understand that, they have yet to captivate me and that is my point. I know Evan Longoria, the Upton brothers, Connor Jackson, Hanley Ramirez and Prince Fielder just to name a few. I do believe in about 3 or 4 years we will be comparing some of these guys to the all time greats but right now the league is mired with guys whom I have never heard of and who just don’t sell tickets or move the TV meter.

I ask you who are the best pitchers in baseball right now? Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Johan Santana, Chien Ming Wang, Carlos Zambrano just to name a few. But again I ask you, are any of those guys appointment viewing. Listen I love baseball, I love Chien Ming Wang but he doesn’t even positively make me tune in to the Yankees. Here are some of theleague leaders in ERA right now are Edinson Volquez, Aaron Cook (didn’t we go to middle school with him), Shawn Marcum and some guy from the KC Royals named Zach Grienke (the Royals havent been relevant since Mark Gubicza pitched for them).

The overall point is ten years ago or so you could always positively identify the top players in the game. Those players made me tune in to watch them play. I watched Pedro pitch, Tony Gwynn hit, Barry Bonds or McGwire mash, Kenny Lofton run and the Big Unit mow guys down. Now I am watching Cliff Lee pitch, Pedro Lopez hit, Carlos Quentin (I have never even heard this guys name until I looked at the league leaders) or Dan Uggla mash, Michael Bourn (I loved his movies) run, and Javier Vazquez mow people down (didn’t the Yankees pay this guy about $14 mill one year to go .500?).