Cincinnati Reds Report Cards: Jay Bruce

When Jay Bruce came up from Louisville in 2008 he showed shades of brilliance. He reminded me in a small way of Mickey Mantle. He certainly had the strikeouts down pat.

After settling down, he showed no further signs of greatness last season.

In 2009 his power revealed itself on the major league level. He had 15 home runs before Memorial Day and looked like he was set for a 40/HR year.

His average bottomed and we see now a true .240 hitter with excellent power.

He had three games of multiple homers, the highlight of the season for him coming on Sept. 29th in a home game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bruce hit two round-trippers and knocked in five runs.

He was on the Disabled List from July 11 until Sept. 14 with a broken wrist.

Bruce is a better-than-average outfielder, with range enough to play center field in a pinch. He possesses a very strong throwing arm, throwing out 11 runners.

His base running is nothing spectacular, and can be made to look foolish when swinging at bad pitches.

Here are his 2009 statistics:

AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS+	RISP
345	47	77	22	58	.223	.303	.470	100	.229

Jay only appeared in 101 games in 2009, just seven less than the year before. With short seasons it is hard to get a good read on what he can really do.

He blends in well with this young team and should be a force to reckon with in years to come. This season, however, I have to hand him a C-, the home runs being the only thing keeping him from a D.

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report where this article was first published.

My Baseball Christmas List

What do I want for Christmas? A million bucks in small bills. I realize that is not going to show up under my tree, so let me think again.

Oh yeah, how about a wish-list, baseball style. Yes, that’s it!

First, I would like to see Roy Halladay end up with the Cincinnati Reds this offseason. Probably won’t happen, but I didn’t think I was going to get that “fanner 50” toy pistol when I was a kid either.

Next, I think I would like to hear the great Randy Johnson say that the time has come to say “that is enough”. He has been my favorite pitcher since Tommy John and I can’t stand too much more of the 4+ ERA and nearly as many losses as wins. He won his 300th and then some, there is really nothing left to prove. He is second in the universe in strikeouts and nobody will ever catch him.

I would like to see Jim Thome sent to a team where he can DH regularly. He is now sitting at 564 lifetime home runs, and i feel like one good year would put him over the top into the 600 club, assuring him of a place in the Hall of Fame.

I would like to see the following players retire immediately: John Smoltz, Tom Glavine (I know he didn’t play anywhere last season, but he hasn’t officially hung them up yet), Ken Griffey, Jr (I know he has already decided to stay, but that is a big mistake), Jason Giambi, Jamie Moyer, and Omar Vizquel (He just signed a deal with the White Sox, but I still want to see him go). These guys are ruining their statistics by hanging on, not to mention their legacy.

I would like to see the Molina Brothers learn acrobatics and call themselves the Flyin’ Molina Brothers. They could travel with a circus during the offseason.

I wish Evan Longoria would change his name to Evan Longoria-Parker.

I wish people would stop calling the Florida Marlins the “Fish”. That sounds so degrading, it would be like calling a prestidigitator a “Magician”.

I would like to see ALL sports announcers cease using the term “a buck sixty-five” or whatever for describing someones anemic batting average or incredible earned run average. Please, just stop them. It was cool 10 years ago, let us find a new catch phrase and move on.

I am asking this way in advance, but I would like to see at least one 20-game winner next season. Just one, please.

I don’t know who fulfills these wishes or what channels I need to go through, but they all seem like small requests to me. So, let’s all wish real strong that the grantor of Christmas wishes sees these and responds in a positive manner.

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report where this article was first published.

Should There Be a Height Limit in Weight Classes in Boxing ?

After all the crying I witnessed in a recent article, I thought this would be a fair question for debate.

The article in question was “Could Manny Pacquiao beat Paul Williams at 147”.  Apparently, the better question would have been, ‘could Pacquiao beat Williams at 5-6’.

I don’t understand the absurdity of such a fight. Boxers who haven’t had the notoriety that Pacman has garnered,  fought taller men every time out, sometimes as much as seven or eight inches.

The same fans who decry such a fight had no problems calling Floyd Mayweather a “ducker” for not fighting Williams. The difference in height between Pretty Boy and Manny is an inch and a half. So, obviously with Mayweather it is no big deal, but with Pacman it is suddenly a Munchkin trying to throw hands with Godzilla.

To address the title question here, what would be a reasonable maximum height for welter-weights. 5-11 or just under six feet?

It is an absurd question and an absurd defense to be used. Fighters have been gauged by their weight since the inception of weight classes.

Sam Langford was the same height as Manny Pacquiao and fought fighters from light-weight all the way to heavy-weight. In Fact, Nat Fleischer (Bert Sugar’s old boss) rated Langford as one of the 10 best heavyweights of all time.

Langford never won the heavy-weight belt. He was beaten by Jack Johnson by decision in 1906. Against Johnson, Sam gave up seven inches in height and 29 pounds (156 – 185), yet went 15 grueling rounds and was never afforded a rematch by the Champion.

So, you see, like the old adage goes, “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog”.

Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano, who both stood only 5’10 were constantly at a height and reach disadvantage. Marciano was undefeated and Tyson was seemingly invincible until he met up with Buster Douglas.

History is replete with smaller men who defeated their own “goliaths”. A man should not be penalized, or disenfranchised from fighting the best fighters because he lives inside a tall frame. The smaller man, by the same token, should not use that as a defense from fighting the best.

Boxing is ruled by weight, not height. Fighters have grown through the decades. When they made 176 pounds the threshold to enter for the heavyweight division, I doubt they expected heavyweights to average 6″3″ and weigh 238 pounds. Athletes of today, in all sports, are bigger, stronger, faster and have more endurance than the “average” athlete of yesteryear.

So, as John Prine put it so well, “A question is not a question, if you know the answer too.”

 

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report where this article was first published.

Is Joe Mauer the Best Player in Major League Baseball ?

I recently took a written beating for saying that I thought Joe Mauer was helped greatly by being a catcher, in his recent naming as the American League’s Most Valuable Player for 2009.

With that being said, is Mauer not only the best catcher in the game, is he also the best player in MLB? Let’s not throw pitchers in this mix, I would like to be able to compare “apples with apples.”

First order of business, let’s look at what competition he actually has, at least in my opinion. Forget steroid talk, age of the player, futuristic possibilities, etc. These will appear in no particular order in the following list:

A) Albert Pujols

B) Miguel Cabrera

C) Alex Rodriguez

D) Mark Teixeira

E) Hanley Ramirez

F) Ryan Howard

G) Ichiro Suzuki

H) Chase Utley

These are the only contenders in my view. If you disagree, you are cordially invited to toss someone else in the mix.

These statistics reflect averages for 162 games:

PLAYER	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS+	RISP
Joe Mauer	97	196	17	92	.327	.408	.483	136	.347
Albert Pujols	124	199	42	129	.334	.427	.628	172	.345
Miguel Cabrera	98	190	33	117	.311	.383	.542	140	.318
Alex Rodriguez	126	189	44	128	.305	.390	.576	147	.301
Mark Teixeira	102	178	37	122	.290	.378	.545	136	.314
Hanley Ramirez	123	202	27	82	.316	.386	.531	138	.305
Ryan Howard	103	166	49	142	.279	.376	.586	142	.278
Ichiro Suzuki	111	231	10	59	.333	.378	.434	118	.340
Chase Utley	109	178	29	106	.295	.379	.523	129	.291

I believe that if you were just relying on statistics, Pujols would win this contest in walk-off fashion. He leads the pack in four of the nine categories.

Now we all know that stats only show us so much of the player’s ability. Many B/R readers believe that 1B is the easiest to play and C is the hardest. Therefore, according to some, an intangible factor would need to be invented to sway things the way of the catcher.

It is interesting to note that of the nine players I chose, four play 1B, one 2B, one SS, one C, one 3B and one OF.

I am not a mathematician, nor do I play one on TV, and therefore could not come up with a numerical factor to represent the different positions. So it would seem justifiable to come to the conclusion that Albert Pujols is the best player in the game today.

OK, I am ready. Let’s hear it.

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.

Could Manny Pacquiao Beat Paul Williams at 147 Pounds ?

Manny Pacquiao has seemingly improved with every fight. He has taken a good deal of  punishment throughout his brilliant career, however not nearly as much as he has delivered to his adversaries.

The question I have, especially in the throes of all the madness about a Gazillion Dollar fight with Pretty Boy Floyd, could he beat Paul (The Punisher) Williams ?

The question has been thrown at Mayweather fans so long, concerning his alleged ducking of Williams, that I wonder about the possibility of Pacman and the Punisher getting together.

Williams has fought as a welter-weight, junior middle-weight, middle-weight and super middle-weight during his 8-plus year professional career. He has fought at weights ranging from 145 1/2 against Walter Matthysse in 2006, to 160 against Robert Muhammad in 2001 and James Young in 2000.

Therefore it shouldn’t be a stretch for him to slide back down to 147 for a fight with a warrior such as Manny.

The age difference is not convincingly different—Manny being 30 while Williams is only 28. If this fight were ever made, it would truly be a David and Goliath conflict. Williams standing a towering 6’1″ or 6″2″ (depending upon where you read about him) would be menacing looking to a 5’6″  Pacquiao.

The height disparity was so obvious when Williams stepped into the ring against Carlos Quintana (at 5’9″) it looked like a grown man fighting a kid. Can you imagine how it would look with someone nearly three inches shorter than Carlos?

Pacquiao’s constant motion would clearly be a test for the Punisher who averages throwing around 100 punches per round.

If nothing else, Quintana’s first fight with Williams, which he won by an unanimous decision, lifted the veil of invincibility from Paul. Quintana landed jabs and right hooks all night long against the taller southpaw.

I doubt if the fight would ever be made. With so many boxing fans wanting the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to happen, I believe they would rob a liquor store to get enough money to watch it.

Manny is on an 11 fight win streak is currently 50-3-2 with 38 KO. Williams is 37-1 with 27 KO, currently riding a four fight win streak of his own.

Williams’ height and build is reminiscent of Tommy Hearns , a great fighter who began as a welter-weight at 146 and retired in the cruiser-weight division, fighting as heavy as 191 against Uriah Grant.

I think it would be a great fight, exciting to watch, and who knows it could mimic the drama of the first Hearns/Leonard fight of 1981, which Sugar Ray won with a 14th round TKO.

What are your thoughts concerning such a confrontation?

Cincinnati Reds Report Cards: Willy Taveras

This is the sixth installment of the grading of the starters for the Cincinnati Reds’ 2009 performances.

Willy Taveras is my biggest disappointment of the Reds’ acquisitions last season. He came in as the reigning National League stolen base champ with 68.

This season, he “tentatively” stole only 25 bases and finished a dismal ninth in the league. Michael Bourn of the Houston Astros was the league’s most prolific thief this year with 61.

When a player’s OBP doesn’t equal a real good batting average, something is wrong. A .275 OBP is a notch or two below anemic. His .240 average was a career low as well.

He missed 34 games in August and September while spending time on the disabled list.

His disappointing season is another terrible return on our money—$2.25 M basically poured down the drain. He did not perform as the table setter most of us expected him to be. He ran “cautiously” at best, rarely attempting to steal, appearing as though he was unable to get a read on the pitcher.

Prior to coming to the Queen City, Taveras was a respectable .283 career hitter. He only scored 56 runs and collected 97 hits. His OPS+ was a microscopic 48. That isn’t a typo; there are only two digits in the number.

His defense was adequate, but again, not up to expectations. In all, it was just a miserable season for the 27-year-old Dominican.

If Walt Jocketty and the other Muckety Mucks think Willy is a bona fide center fielder that will lead us anywhere but the lower portion of the Central Division, he is on the Chinese pipe.

Look at these statistics he posted in 2009:

AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	SB	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
404	56	97	11	2	1	15	.240	25	.275	.285	.559	48

Unfortunately, Willy ends the year with a weak D.

Next up: Jay Bruce

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist for the Cincinnati Reds at Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.

Is Albert Pujols the Best Cardinal Ever, Including Stan Musial ?

As you know, Albert Pujols recently won his second consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Award. He didn’t just win it, he won it unanimously. Every single voter had him as their No. 1 pick.

Pujols’ exploits have been well chronicled. I think he is the best baseball player who is currently playing baseball on Planet Earth. Some would disagree, but that is the prerogative of baseball fans everywhere.

While we shower Prince Albert with praise that he is absolutely deserving of, I would like to ask a question. Is he the best player to ever play for the St. Louis Cardinals ?

All you must do is look out front of Busch Stadium to see the statue of the “face of the franchise,  Stan “The Man” Musial, to see his only competitor for that particular honor. You need look no further.

Stan Musial was one of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball. He played 22 seasons, all with the Cards, from 1941 until 1963. He is a three-time winner of the MVP award—as is Pujols, was on 24 All-Star teams (two games were played from 1959-62) at four different positions.

Musial also won seven batting titles, two RBI Crowns, was the league leader in runs scored five times, in hits six times, had over 200 hits six times, led the league in doubles eight times, triples five times, in OBP six times, in SLG six times, in OPS seven times, and OPS+ six times (once at 200). He also was the league leader in total bases six times. His career OPS+ is 159. In 17 seasons, he batted over .300, 16 consecutively. He also hit 30 or more HR six times, and drove in over 100 runs 10 times, while scoring over 100 runs 11 times.

In 24 All-Star appearances (a record he shares with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron) he hit six HR (a record which still stands), 10 RBI and batted .317.

His career stats are nearly unbelievable.

BA=.331, R=1949, H=3630 (1815 at home, 1815 away), HR=475, RBI=1951.

Pujols, like Musial, hit the ground running. In 2001, he won the Rookie of the Year award while putting up MVP-type numbers: 37 HR, 130 RBI, and a .329 average.

He has played nine seasons thus far and .314 is the lowest season average he has posted. He has hit over 40 HR five times, while belting 30 or more the other four. He has had at least 103 RBI each season he has played.

In 2003, he won the National League batting title with a .359 average. This past season (2009) he won his first HR crown, with 47. He led the league in hits in 2003 with 212. He has been on the All-Star team each year with the exception of 2002 when he placed second in the MVP voting. He led the league in OBP once, in SLG three times, OPS three times and OPS+ three times. He was also the league leader in TB four times.

In seven All-Star appearances Pujols has batted .353 with three RBI.

His career numbers are as unbelievable—albeit incomplete—as Musial’s.

BA=.334, R=1071, H=1717, HR=366, RBI=1112. His career OPS+ is 172.

Two great players from two time periods on the same squad. Obviously if Pujols continues to put up the crazy numbers we have become accustomed to expect for a few more years, he will surpass many of Stan’s numbers and be the best Cardinal ever.

Until that day, I believe Stan Musial is still the best Cardinal in history.

What are your thoughts?

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.

Is Floyd Mayweather, Jr the Best Boxer of All Time ?

That may be a foolish question to some boxing fans, experts, and enthusiasts.

There have been scores of great fighters, hundreds of very good fighters, and thousands of good fighters.

It is impossible to accurately say that one fighter would beat another fighter from a different era. It is, however, one of the things that makes boxing one of the most debatable and colorful sports there is.

There are obviously fighters in the past, and even currently, who possess(ed) more power than Floyd. Some would be willing to get hit seven or eight times to be able to launch one bomb.

Floyd is virtually unmarked as a fighter, hence the moniker Pretty Boy Floyd. He looks more like a movie star than a pugilist.

While drinking a pint in a tavern, nothing whiles away the time better than a good old fashioned discussion about how Ali could have knocked out Marciano, or how Willie Pep could have given a boxing lesson to Manny Pacquiao (when he was a featherweight).

Thus, we have two factions warring against one another. Old school fans and experts tend to want to give the edge to the guys that they grew up idolizing or following closely.

Secondly, we have the new age fans, who can’t seem to imagine how anybody could be better than the current field. Advanced training methods with bigger, stronger, and faster fighters make today’s competition much more fierce than in days gone by.

I suppose I would be called old school because of my age, however, I am making a case today for the current best in the world, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

I have thought about it for some time, and have finally pushed myself to a decision. I believe Pretty Boy is the best “boxer” in the history of the sport.

I said boxer, not fighter. Let me illustrate. When you look up the word “boxer” in the dictionary, Wikipedia, or whatever, you should see an image of him right there on the page. He epitomizes the word.

I have seen boxers since the late fifties and there have been some dandies. Cassius Clay (the caterpillar who turned into the butterfly Muhammad Ali), Floyd Patterson, Archie Moore, Emile Griffith, Joe Frazier, George Foreman (twice), Sugar Ray Leonard, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tommy Hearns, Julio Caesar Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, Alexis Arguello, Aaron Pryor, Bobby Foster, Roberto Duran, and Larry Holmes, just to name a few.

I watched those fighters while they were still active and I saw films of most of the other great ones.

There is not one, in my opinion, who is or was superior to Floyd Mayweather. If there ever was a complete package in one boxer, he would be it.

His defense is beyond description, he is as hard to hit as a bat flying in front of you at night.

He has the fastest hands I believe I ever saw. His punch placement is as good or better than Ali’s. He wastes no gas. He is as effective with his punches as anyone ever has been. He has developed a respectful portion of power over the years.

It is a joy to watch him as he commands the ring, dictating how the fight goes. His stinging jabs keep the brawlers off balance and measures them for a strong right hand.

Do I think he could have beaten fighters of other eras? Yes, I do. I think he could have won decisions over Robinson, Leonard, and any other fighters who were in his weight classes.

Pound for pound, he is the best ever. I realize this is speculative at best, and everybody has their own opinions, but I believe he is the one.

There have been other fighters who have retired undefeated. The great Rocky Marciano and even more recent than he, Joe Calzaghe (who quit just in time considering he was down in round one and barely won a split decision over Bernard Hopkins).

Money has beaten everyone who had the stones to throw with him. Some of today’s best have witnessed his hand being raised at the end of their bout with him; Oscar De Le Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Zab Judah, Diego Corrales, Arturo Gatti, Jose Luis Castillo, Chop Chop Corley, Sharmba Mitchell, and Juan Manuel Marquez.

He is in fact, the best boxer in the history of the sport.

Joe Mauer: Is the Twins’ Catcher’s Position the Main Reason He Won MVP?

In a showdown of American League’s “best,” it probably comes as a surprise to very few (living outside of New York) that Joe Mauer won the Most Valuable Player Award walking away. The only other first-place vote went to Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.

Catchers seem to have a bone tossed their way on a regular basis, don’t they?

What’s that? You disagree, you say?

We must look no further than last season (2008) when Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto won the National League Rookie of the Year Award (running away) from should-have-been winner Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds.

Doubt me if you must, but just check the numbers. Votto batted .297 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI. Soto’s numbers were similar but inferior: .285, 23 HR, 86 RBI. Surely you will show me more respect than to attempt to say those two RBI assured him passage on such a runaway train.

I don’t wish to digress from the purpose of this piece; I was just offering up a recent example of “behind the plate” preferences. I could go on, but then what is the point?

Am I attempting to diminish Mauer’s great year and his first MVP trophy, not to mention that incredible .365 average? No, not at all.

Should it have been one of the New York Yankees since they did win the World Series—say, perhaps, Mark Teixeira or Derek Jeter? Yes, I think Tex should have been the winner, and let me tell you why.

Teixeira won two legs of the Triple Crown, tied with Carlos Pena for the league lead in homers with 39, and was the league leader in RBI with 122. The only remaining leg of the Crown was won in convincing fashion by Mauer with an incredible .365 batting average. Mauer did lead the league in OBP, slugging percentage, and OPS.

Both men are Gold Glove winners, but if there is another first basemen with the defensive skills of Tex, I wish someone would bring him to the forefront so we could lay hands on him. He also tied for the league lead in total bases with Cabrera, at 344.

The best “overall” year at the plate of anyone in the American League was crafted by Cabrera. It is still hard for me to believe he is only 26 years old. Let us get out our pencils and compare apples to apples—that is to say Cabrera and Mauer. Cabrera’s vital signs were .324 with 34 homers and 103 RBI. The Tigers first baseman had more runs (96-94), hits (198-191), doubles (34-30), home runs (34-28), RBI (103-96), and total bases (344-307) than Mauer.

As is the case nearly every year, there are disputes in many of the categories voted on by those slick-talking sages (baseball writers) who are oozing with acumen.

Condensing a long story into a “Reader’s Digest” format, do I think Joe Mauer is undeserving of the award? No, of course not; I just think Mark Teixeira is a tad more deserving.

What’s your story?

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.

Did You Know That Miguel Cotto is Really Fernando Vargas ?

A boxer’s identity is something they have worked long and hard to achieve. Whether they want to be perceived as charming, polite, and gracious such as the identity crafted by the Golden Boy, Oscar de La Hoya; or a mean, frightful, vicious persona such as Ferocious Fernando Vargas.

The identity the boxer chooses is one that generally affects what the public perceives them to be. I think of Oscar and I think of something so pure it farts rainbows. On the other end of the spectrum when I think of Vargas I think of a monster who would rip your heart out and show it to you before your untimely demise.

The two fighters in this article, Vargas and Miguel Cotto, both like to present the feeling that they would absolutely die on their sword and be carried out on their shield rather than give up the conquest.

They both started out meteorically. Fernando Vargas reeled off 20 consecutive wins before sampling the acidic taste of defeat. On the other hand, Cotto had fought 32 times before his initial undoing.

Why do I draw comparisons between these two? What do they have in common?

Vargas and Cotto both fought some very good fighters on their way to the spotlight. Vargas was good enough to win a majority decision against Winky Wright in an IBF Light Middleweight title fight in 1999. That fight provided the impetus for Wright to go on a nearly seven-year streak where he didn’t lose again.

Miguel Cotto’s first fight with a marquee opponent, in my opinion, was in 2006 when he dealt Carlos Quintana his first defeat for the vacant WBA Welterweight title. Cotto beat Quintana into submission forcing him to retire in five rounds.

Vargas went on to beat Ike Quartey and Ross Thompson before giving us one of the most thrilling fights of the year when he succumbed to Felix Trinidad in a unification of the IBF and WBA Light Middleweight crowns. Vargas nearly fell on his own sword as Trinidad knocked him out in the 12th and final round. Both men had been down previously in the contest, Vargas twice in round one and three times in the final round. Trinidad was knocked down in the fourth.

After Cotto dispatched Quintana he went on to defeat Zab Judah, Shane Mosley and Alfonso Gomez before he met his “controversial” Waterloo. In a fight which he was being soundly whipped by Antonio Margarita, the corner threw in the towel near the beginning of the 11th round. Cotto’s camp claimed that Margarita had used an illegal substance in his gloves during the fight. It certainly tainted a beautiful performance by Margarita, but meanwhile left Cotto’s “superman” status somewhat deflated.

After Vargas was starched by Trinidad, he went on a successful two-fight rebuilding tour that brought him to the gates of Goldentown. That’s right a war with the Golden Boy.  Oscar beat him badly that night and Fernando was tested positive for steroids, resulting in a suspension of nine months and a $100,000 fine. Vargas denied the abuse of drugs but served the sentence and paid the fine.

Cotto knocked out Michael Jennings in a comeback cruise that was comprised of two fights. In the second fight he won a hard-fought split decision over Joshua Clottey in September of 2009, setting up what would be a fight for the ages with Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound champion in the world.

Fernando Vargas went on to win against four handpicked opponents in the next two years and set up a big money fight with Sugar Shane Mosley. Mosley beat him like he stole something, twice actually, and then he lost a decision to Ricardo Mayorga, whose claim to fame was a three-round devastation of the late Vernon Forrest, and for smoking a cigarette in the ring after the fight. Vargas retired after that fight realizing that whatever he had once was gone.

In Cotto’s showdown with Manny it was evident that the beating he took at the hands of Margarito had taken its toll. He looked good for the first round or two but then was completely outclassed and ultimately disassembled by the non-stop action of Pacman.

There you have a portrait of two careers, both promising at the beginning. Both promoted highly by HBO and other puntiffs of the sport. Both fighters eventually revealing a chink in their proverbial armor, and both having it handed to them but a superior fighter.

Though Vargas’ career is over, the light switch hasn’t been turned off yet by Cotto. There is still millions to make, stiffs to fight, and much, much rebuilding to do if he should get another big money fight.

There is nobody left that Cotto can beat. Mosley would pick him apart this time, as would Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather.

The end has come to Cotto’s tenure of greatness just as it did with Ricky “Hitman” Hatton.

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.