Wait, Manny can count to 500?

Manny Ramirez hit his 500th home run Saturday night, becoming the 24th player in MLB history to reach that mark.

Ramirez hit the big fly in Baltimore, the site of his famous “high-five double-play” earlier this season. After the homer, instead of running around the bases, Manny ran straight past second and toward the left field wall, where he slapped a Boston fan’s hand, before running back to the infield, touching third and reaching home, doing the moonwalk. He was praised by the national media for the next week for being “fun to watch.”

In all seriousness: As goofy as this guy is, and as lost as he can look: damn, he’s good. At the risk of entering into the realm of hyperbole, he’s going to go down as one of the best hitters of all-time, though top 5 is probably a bit much, people. Still, he’s certainly one of the top hitters of this era.

He enters a 500 home run club that — while diluted in recent years — is still in pretty heady territory. And the best part: you don’t have to ask the question with Manny. There’s no doubt about the legitimacy of his numbers. Clearly, he doesn’t care enough to be using performance enhancing drugs. And c’mon, could you even imagine Manny with roid rage?

As for him being fun-to-watch. It’s an overused phrase. But there is some sort of innate goodness about him that is hard to resist. I think that’s why he can say and do whatever and get away with it.

And look! We just made it through a whole post without saying “that’s just Manny being Manny.” Oh, wait. Damn. Nevermind.

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Andrew Friedman should write a book

And that book should be called “How to Play the Major League Market.”

The anti-dynasty

It’s amazing to think that when this started in 2004, when Detroit took down the Lakers in five games to win the NBA title, the Pistons were the model of the ultimate team.

Unselfish. Fun-loving. Hard-working.

After losing to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, it’s clear that Detroit has become the example of how not to play or act.

Over-confident. Whiny. Arrogant.

And because of the attitude this team has adopted over the past few years — because of the way this team let success get to its head — the Pistons have also become colossal underachievers, leaving opportunity after opportunity on the table, unclaimed. Leaving promise after promise, unfulfilled.

And there’s no one to blame, but themselves.

Death Blow…Courtesy of Rondo

(Courtesy Getty Images)

The man above, Rajon Rondo, should be given a great deal of the credit for Boston’s win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday.

Comeback? Plus, RIP Luc Bourdon

(Courtesy Canadian Press)

Luc Bourdon, a very promising defense prospect for the Vancouver Canucks, was killed Thursday morning near his hometown in the province of New Brunswick, Canada when his motorcycle struck a tractor trailer.

He was 21.

The death of a dynasty?

Can you hear that? No? Well, listen carefully. It’s the sound of the San Antonio Spurs free-falling (flopping and flailing the entire way, of course) toward a messy collision with elimination and uncertainty.

So, look. Look while you can and get one last glimpse of the most consistently-great — yes, great — team of the last decade. Because this time, when the Spurs hit the ground, there’s good reason to believe they’ll never be the same again.

This isn’t about being down 3-1 to the Lakers, or being a prisoner of the moment. This is about looking beyond the moment, and watching a team getting older, while other teams get better.

You probably don’t like the Spurs, and who could blame you?Their style of play is somewhat grating and boring. Their star players all seem to have some sort of fear of charisma, not to mention the remarkable ability to look whiny and appalled every single time a foul is called. But as obnoxious as this team has been, you must respect them if you love this game

Best Unproven Team

What’s the best 25-man roster you can build of current major leaguers using the following criteria:

5 STARTING PITCHERS

-Has made at least 8 major league starts

-Never won more than 8 games in a season prior to 2008

-Has pitched less than 150 major league innings prior to 2008

7 RELIEF PITCHERS

-Has made at least 5 major league appearances

-Never recorded more than 15 holds or 10 saves in a season prior to 2008

-Has pitched less than 100 major league innings prior to 2008

13 POSITION PLAYERS (Must field an American League roster w/4 reserves)

-Has made at least 75 major league plate appearances

-Never recorded more than 10 home runs or 50 hits in a season prior to 2008

-Has made less than 300 major league plate appearances prior to 2008

Your team should be built for success this season and beyond, but I’d like to avoid loading up on the Clayton Kershaws and Max Scherzers of the world (the phenoms) while at the same time keeping the Ryan Brauns and Josh Hamiltons of the world (young superstars) off the team.

Think you can beat this team below? Let’s see it.

Dee-troit what? And some Tiger talk

This is a little something we like to call three questions. Every Monday, we’ll take a look at three of the most intriguing questions across the world of sports for the upcoming week and offer dueling opinions. What could be better than an argument? It’s like Around the Horn, without yelling sports journalists.

This week, we delve into the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the NHL Western Conference Finals and Tiger’s potential return to the PGA Tour.

Sunday thoughts…while live blogging the elimination games

So, Penguins hosting the Flyers with a chance to reach the Stanley Cup, and the Celtics hosting the Cavs with a trip to Eastern Conference Finals on the line. I don’t feel like truly “live blogging” both games, so I’ll interject at points about each while spouting about a random topic

Today’s random topic: At MLB’s quarter pole, who are the frontrunners for the AL Cy Young Award?

Just to give you a hint, the first name of the AL’s current leader starts with “C” and ends with “liff.” But check back throughout the day and I’ll tell you why, despite one of the greatest starts in major league history, Cliff Lee won’t win the AL Cy Young.

Night in Review

With just one playoff game between the NHL and NBA and no big MMA or boxing cards, Horse Racing to make the nation forget an overblown tragedy at the May 3 Kentucky Derby with the second leg of the Triple Crown. Big Brown certainly did his part, putting on one of the most impressive Preakness performances in a long time, holding off through the first 3/4 mile before annihilating the field down the stretch to win by five lengths.

My initial thoughts after the race were that, while impressive, Big Brown is benefiting from a weaker-than-usual class of 3 year olds. I stand by that, to a point, especially when considering how the only competitive horses in yesterday’s race got there by burning themselves out early and simply holding off the dregs of the field to finish in or near the money. The burnout performances of Gayego and Hey Byrn were indicative of the fact that nobody from this field should be racing in three weeks at the Belmont Stakes.

Casino Drive, a Japanese colt with just two starts (but two wins) under his belt, is likely the only thing standing between Big Brown and the Triple Crown. He’ll be in New York again after a dominating win at the Peter Pan Stakes.