JT the Brick

I’ve about had it with every baseball fan that has called into my radio show wanting to give Andy Pettitte credit for finally coming clean and telling the truth about his use of human growth hormone. I will give him a little bit of credit for holding a press conference earlier in the week and speaking for close to an hour about his past mistakes. Let’s not forget that Pettitte got the HGH from his clinically obese father and then took this performance-enhancing drug in both 2002 and 2004.

He was cheating when he injected the drug and lied to his teammates and management while he tried to get an edge while recovering from injuries. Pettitte has developed the blue print for every athlete who is caught cheating and then has to ask for forgiveness in order to continue their high priced career. Don’t feel sorry for a guy who is making $16 million for one season and only pitches every fifth day. He embarrassed his club when he appeared in the Mitchell Report and had to end up testifying in front of Congress.

If Alex Rodriguez would let one of his daughters marry a guy like Pettitte, I have a feeling that his wife Cynthia better be the parent who screens their girls for potential boyfriends 15 years from now.

There is absolutely no chance that the Boston Red Sox will pick up Manny Ramirez’s contract option for 2009 and beyond. He would make $20 million per season if Boston kept him past this upcoming season and he is no longer worth that type of money. He is a sure first ballot Hall of Famer and deserves a lot of credit for helping the Red Sox get rid of the Curse of the Bambino to win world championships in 2004 and 2007. Manny will continue to be a flake off of the field, but should continue to hit in the clutch and give Boston fans a reason to believe that they can win their third title of this decade.

As for Curt Shilling, he also deserves a free pass from the media and fans, as he gets ready to rehab his ailing shoulder. He is a three-time world champion and doesn’t have to throw another pitch in Boston to prove that he is the ultimate competitor.

Don’t be surprised if Ramirez and Schilling push the buttons of the various media outlets in Boston throughout the season in order to let off a little steam and keep their high profile egos in play no matter what the future holds for them.

Several high profile trades have made the Western Conference more formidable in the past two weeks and I believe that we are witnessing the most competitive battle for playoff positioning in modern NBA history. Five games separate the top nine teams in the west and each of these teams can easily make the playoffs or get eliminated if they go on a dramatic one-week losing streak. The Lakers look like the team to beat with the addition of Pau Gasol and this trade only made Kobe Bryant more comfortable in his environment in LA.

The addition of Shaquille O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns makes this once soft team much more physical and confident as they look to match up with teams that like to slow down the pace once the playoffs start. The Dallas Mavericks now have a future Hall of Fame point guard in Jason Kidd to make better decisions in the post season when the pressure to win seems to always get to the Mark Cuban’s team. The addition of Kyle Korver has given the Utah Jazz another athletic scorer who has tremendous upside in Jerry Sloan’s system.