“Right here. Right where I’ve always been. Just waiting for the time to be right again. Had to get my head clear and now I think the old skull’s screwed on tight”.
That’s kind of how I imagine a pretend conversation with Jason Giambi's stats could sound later this year. I think he's going to have a good year.
It’s a tired old topic. One whose boat I missed in the past few months… and quite frankly… missed intentionally.
A-Rod… Jose… Can-Sec… Ole(“O-Lay” for you Spanish-Mexican challenged)
Scratching… Temples… Saying… Oi Vay (You don’t speak Yiddish either?)
Go after the big ones if you must but if you ask me most of them cheated. This whole stinkin’ era is tainted. You know what that means. That means it’s all good or all bad depending on whether you’re a glass half full or glass half empty kind of guy.
It’s simple math basically. They can change the curriculum… They can increase the standards... They can introduce no child (or cheater) left behind…but let’s be real here. There’ve been plenty of cheatersleft behind in baseball’s witch-hunt no matter how you count the heads.
Think of entry-level high school truth tables for example. You can change things all you want…You can tell me that Pluto really isn’t a planet… You can put slang in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate... Michael Jackson can turn into a child-hating albino for all I care... But when in comes to basic high school math then a positive plus a positive equals a positive…OR… a negative plus a negative equals a positive as well.
As Yogi Berra (or was it Casey Stengel) once said…"You can look it up".
If that’s the case then the following holds true regardless if you’re a positive, negative, glass half-full or glass half-empty sort of person:
Juiced up hitters plus juiced up pitchersequals positively fair baseball.
Also…you can’t compare eras(as if) due to improvements throughout history in medicine, nutrition, health awareness, fitness and technology. So what do we have left? A fair and equal playing field, that’s what. Steroids were there for the taking during the last 15-20 years and many… if not most… players took them (at least once).
I bet The Babe himself would have taken them if he were around. I’m just not so sure it would have helped the hot dog eating, liquor drinking, womanizing, pot-bellied, American apple pie hero we seldom discuss. Like I said…you can’t fairly compare eras.
“Let’s get the big fish. Let’s make them squirm. We can’t get them all but if we get the big ones then the dust from the impact crater will make those commoner dummies forget about the bigger picture. Take it on the chin Roger…Take it to the gut Barry…Take it for the good of the game you guys”…(Bud Selig speaking in his sleep).
You know what? I empathize with Roger and Barry for their perceived lies. Why should they be the fall guys even if they looked a lot skinnier 20 years ago?
I guess they’re just being punished for the riches and accolades that records buy. Well screw that…the sentences should be no different for the little guys.
Oh well. I could run in circles all day, which would only serve to make us even dizzier. That’s why I suggest we all move on…preferably on the straight and narrow…no more ‘roids from here on out... and when the cream of the crop still rises to the top…it will still be the same old baseball it always was. A game of HAVES, HAVE NOTS AND SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. Barry won’t have the home run record for long and Roger isn’t the all time leader in WINS, Ks, or ERA so let’s get over it shall we?
Which finally brings me to The Giambino…Jason Giambi…The Sultan of Suave…Greasy LookingHair Product that is. You know…the one steroid guy who actually told the truth…well kind of…at least what they were willing to let us know…I guess he’s just not a big enough fish in the baseball sea…kind of like a flounder in a Chilean Sea Bass sort of world.
Can you imagine what big news it would have been if Barry or Roger had come AS clean as Giambi?”
STOP THE PRESSES (OR AT LEAST GET THEM WARMED UP)!!!
Like former Arizona Cardinals former head football coach Denny Green once said, “They are what we thought they were!!!”. Instead of talking about the Chicago Bears I’m talking about The Giambino’s stats.
First of all NO athlete is a total dummy. Sure steroids might enhance performance but every credible source states that the use of steroids definitely increases the risk of injury and/or disease. The players acutely know this so it’s not like they “juice 24-7”. Chances are they “indulged” when they are either nursing an injury (most common) or looking for a “lil’ boost”. Giambi’s body notonly broke down but he also developed a problem with his pituitary gland that correlated with steroid use.
Let’s pick an arbitrary number for after all…speculation is rather arbitrary…is it not?
What if during Jason Giambi’s 12-½ year major league career he “juiced 10% of the time? What would we have?
Over the course of a full 162 game season, Jason averaged the following numbers in his career:
35 HRs…112 RBIs…. 289 AVG…. 411 OBP…100 RUNS
Obviously most people DO NOT play all 162 games a year but for a former MVP like Jason it gives us a barometer from which to work with.
If we reduce all his career stats by that moderately fair (as any other and probably closer to the truth than we realize) number of 10%,then we are left with the following:
31 HRs…101 RBIs…. 260 AVG…. 370 OBP…90 RUNS.
Do you see what I see (other than absolutely nothing at all)? We are left with only one conclusion. With or without steroids Jason Giambi was (and is) still a pretty BLEEPIN’ good Major League Baseball player (and Eli must not be so bad either).
However… take it a step further and look at Jason’s injury plagued (probably? due to steroid use) 2004 and 2007 seasons combined. During these two yearsJason only accumulated:
163 games played total…26 HRs…79 RBIs…64 RUNS…. 222 AVG…. 349 OBP.
If you keep in mind that Jason played hurt, was credited for participating in games where he only served as a pinch hitter and was removed early due to injury or for defensive purposes then the decrease in numbers really don’t appear so bad. He always remained a threat to hit a homerun or at least get on base by drawing a walk. He was always a dangerous player even in his most weakened state.
What if steroids “hurt” Jason Giambi during the bad times just as much as they “helped” him during the good? Isn’t it conceivable that the numbers balanced themselves out over the course of his career? Could it be that Jason really was what the back of his baseball card says he was?
I’d say probably and you know what?
You and I really don’t have a choice and that’s just the way it is. David Eckstein could have smoked bull gonads and he’d still be what he always was (zero 10homerun seasons).
The players may seemtainted but the game remains the same. The best players always identify themselves through their abilities. We can only judge people using a jury of their peers. Steroids or no steroids…hall of fame superstar or role player…the playing field is, has and always will be equal. It just changes from day to day…decade to decade… depending on what someone had for breakfast… or how late they stayed up partying the night before…whether they popped an Advil… or a cortisone shot...if they’re unlikable (Barry Bonds/Pacman Jones)…or if someone drops dimes and rats them out (Roger Clemens/Michael Vick).
You know…the NBA equally ignores truly addressing marijuana…the NFL equally ignores truly addressingsteroids…and MLB equally ignores truly addressing anything and everything.
Which is actually great. They’re still just the same old games. Only the double standards we place on the athletes have changed. I choose to ignore those and just watch.
In honor of the REAL opening day…(today)…PLAY BALL…and long live equality in sports (hee-hee).
Miguel Cotto 30-0 25 KOs vs. Shane Mosley 44-4 37 KOs
There's a fight tonight…A big fight tonight…Man how I love me some big time fight nights…especially when it reminds me of “throwback” fight nights.
Boxing is dead? Who the hell said? Not me…like McDonald’s …"I’m loving it".
Boxing is still king. King of the ring. Long live the king…just not that wild haired Don fellow thing.
Lace up the gloves and nothing else matters. No kicks to the head…No super-atomic slams…No tricky-dickey submission holds…No choke-outs…Let’s just shoot the hands…Only the hands… That’s what makes it so sweet… The sweet science… I like your style…Now try mine.
Styles make fights or so I’ve been told. Try this one on for style. Tonight we get to see “Sugar” Ray Leonard take on Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran all over again. Except this time the year is 2007. It’s the same fight…only the names have been changed and they’re not innocent.
“Sugar” Shane Mosley battles Miguel “No Nickname That I Know Of” Cotto. If I had to pick one it would be a short list. A list of one as a matter of fact. In the ring Cotto is an assassin to the body. He’s the “Body Snatcher”. Taking your breath away is what he does. A punch in the side…a punch to the gut…a punch below the belt…you’d better watch out.
Ask Zab “Super” Judah all about that. Just back in June Zab wasn’t feeling so super. After zapping Cotto’s chin…Cotto’s suspect chin…a couple of times over again...Cotto decided to take the fight to Zab’s “little friend”…Far below the belt just wasn't nice...Once wasn't enough so he did it twice.
Zab’s voice rose two octaves and the tempo was set. A barrage to the body that he'd never before met. Zab “Super” Judah crashed like a jet.
Now here is Shane Mosley. The modern day “Sugar” fighting the modern day Duran. Duran was tough as nails too and dirty as a snake. Sugar is quick as lighting just like his namesake. Sugar packs a wallop to complement his speed. He’ll do whatever it takes based on the need. He can box you all night or he can turn out your lights. Make you look silly or display all his might. A knockout… a knockout…that’s what I’m talking about.
I already told you that Cotto’s chin is soft. The light hitting DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley made Miguel do the two-step in early 2005 after chopping his jaw. Some guy named Ricardo Torres had him down twice later that same year. The thing is that Cotto got back up. Wobbly as a weeble but he got back up. Showing great survival instincts he managed to recoup. Came out madder the next round and opened his can of whoop…there it is. Patented punches to the body…whoop there they is.
This isn’t Corley tonight. This isn’t Torres tonight. This is the best Cotto has ever faced tonight. This is one of the best of this generation tonight…This is maybe one of the best ever tonight…This is Cotto’s chance to tell the world…LOOK AT ME TONIGHT!!!
How’s it going to go? I’m not certain and I’m not even sure that I care. All I know is that Cotto better not get caught coming in early cause that could make it an early night. Did I tell you his chin is fragile as glass? Why yes I did…I know that I did... but the longer the fight goes on the more if favors the “Body Snatcher”.
Speed kills and Shane’s got plenty… but you know what kills speed, don’tcha? A few well placed hooks to the body that’s what. With Cotto in the ring there will be a bit more than the little… in fact it's quite a lot.
Styles make fight and this fight is styling. It could last one round or it could last twelve. All I know is that it’s going to be a war…a bloodbath per se…a long or a short one...I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now pay your $50 you cheap bums you. Get some friends to chip in is what you should do. There’s other big names on the under card too. Boxing is dead? Nah... that just isn't true.
Prediction: Lots of Oohssss...Aahssss...Ohhssss...and Yo-ssss
Player haters why do you hate? So much gets made out of knocking star athletes, teams or coaches off their lofty, self-created pedestals. The problem is that no matter how many people claim to “hate” these individuals, there’s always a fan base ready to step up in their defense. I’m typically the first person to defend just about anyone, but the real reason that some attract so much ire has nothing to do with the standard accusations that we’ve become accustomed to.
Take for example the “you’re just jealous approach”. What exactly should we be jealous of? Is it millions of dollars that we’ve never possessed? Is it fame and advantages that we'd more than likely be uncomfortable with? You don’t miss what you’ve never had. Besides, if that were the case then we should basically hate every athlete since even most bench warmers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, if not far more. Nope, that can't be it.
Maybe it’s because we're tired of certain teams constantly tar and feathering our favorite squads. Take it from me I know that feeling. I’m a New York Jets fan. I watched Dan Marino gather a disproportionate amount of his career stats at Gang Green’s expense. When Buffalo was losing fourSuper Bowls in the early 90s my crew practically went oh for the decade against them. Don’t even get me started with everyone’s favorite team to currently hate… the New England Patriots. I may not have “liked” Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Tom Brady but they have nothing but my respect.
How about the theory that nobody likes the guy on top? If I remember correctly even Knicks fans almost masochistically enjoyed watching Michael Jordan dismantle Patrick Ewing and friends on the Broadway stage. We waited with baited breath to see what magic His Airiness would pull from his bag of tricks to stick yet another dagger into our hearts. You just couldn’t avert your eyes from the train wreck waiting to happen. You’d peek out from between your fingers and grudgingly appreciate the history you were watching.
It’s not even the perceived arrogance involved. In the sports world the literal definition of the word arrogant is actually a necessary evil. Without arrogance all athletes lose their edge. If you do not unconditionally believe in your heart that you are at least the equal of the person standing in front of you… then you’ve already lost. Arrogance may not be the most enviable trait in mankind’s repertoire but in athletics it’s a cap where one size better fit all.
What is IT then? What brings otherwise sensible people to almost blind fits of rage whenever they discuss that certain someone they despise? Depending on who’s doing the talking, ITis a word that gets conveniently replaced by positive adjectives such as proud, confident and competitive when it suits our purposes. That word is smug.
Smug: well satisfied, or too obviously pleased, with oneself
Self-absorbed people
Making ridiculously rude and
Unnecessary choices that
Gratify only them
Smug is Kobe Bryant putting his desires in front of the team to participate in running Shaquille O’Neil out of Los Angeles, even if Shaq's ego played an equally significant and petty role. For that matter smug is also what allowed his reputation to be further sullied by brazenly putting himself in a situation where he could be accused of rape… even if the girl in question was possibly a mentally unstable young girl looking to set him up.
Smug is Alex Rodriguez's notorious double-speak…during a year of tremendous statistical significance… where he practically single handedly carried the Yankees on his back…culminated by the widely criticized negotiations with Joe Torre...following a season of unjustified booing and catcalls at the hands of his very own fan base...that finally saw public opinion sway to his side. Smug is then choosing to make his “opt-out” announcement on the day that the rival Boston Red Sox won a second World Series title and demanding 350 million dollars as the starting point of negotiations. Talk about a fleeting moment of renewed popularity.
Smug is New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick making a mockery of long held standards in the NFL. Smug is including Tom Brady on his “injury report” for roughly 5 straight seasons as “probable” due to a shoulder injury… just because he can. The whole world knows by now that Tom Terrific is just hunky-dory… especially after 33touchdowns in only 9games. Smug is shoving a cameraman in the back of the head to shake Jets coach Eric Mangini’s hand after a game, simply to “prove” that you’re really a “good” guy. Smugis running up the score against any and all opponents, including fellow legendary coaches such as Joe Gibbs, simply because you have a vendetta against the league because you got caught cheating…whether it was insignificant or not.
Smug is a cat with your canary in its mouth… staring at you with an expression that says, “Who me? Ain’t I cute?”
Smug is why some people “hate” those that we blindly root for. Now wipe that smug look off your face every time you look in the bathroom mirror… just because your favorite team happens to be really good at the moment… because it won’t last forever… and sooner or later you’ll have to admit the truth
(In my imagination half of New England just gave me the finger).
I’m not exactly the most knowledgeable college football fan in the world. Unfortunately when it comes to the subject my favorite team is actually the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I can’t even remember the exact reason why I like them in the first place. It seemed liked a good idea way backwhen Lou Holtz rejuvenated the program and brought them back into national prominence from the depths of Scrubville. Tim Brown, Rocket Ismael, Ricky Williams and Jerome Bettis were so easy to like. Maybe I simply chose to root for the team that so many loved to hate. Maybe I enjoyed the movie Rudy a tad too much. Maybe I just didn’t know any better. Whatever the case may be this latest debacle is downright embarrassing.
In case you missed it or were asleep all weekend, Notre Dame lost 46-44 to Navy in triple overtime on Saturday. This just happened to end a losing streak that dates back to the presidential administration of John F. Kennedy.
Speaking of a Bay of Pigs…what exactly is head coach Charlie Weis doing? Isn’t he part of the Bill Parcells coaching tree? Perhaps it’s the Bill Belichick coaching tree that I’m thinking about. Then again isn’t that one and the same? If Israelis and Palestinians are technically inter-connected after all these centuries, then shouldn’t the same hold true for any coach… that used to coach… under any coach… that once coached... under Bill Parcells? Dang... if I’m confused then maybe you are too. At this moment I’d settle for a disciple from the Rich Kotite coaching tree.
Anyway, back to the portly Charlie Weis. I thought he was supposed to be a great coach. I also thought Notre Dame was allegedly an institution of higher learning that blamed the flaws of its football team on rigorous academic standards. If everyone in South Bend is so smart then how in heaven’s name did they hire a nincom#### like Weis? Didn’t he take Winning Football 101 back at Parcellsichick U.? Sounds more like Notre Dumb to me.
With approximately 40 or so seconds left in regulation the score was tied 28-28. Notre Dumb had the ball on the Navy 25-yard line after being stopped on 3rd and long. Rather than kick a potential game winning field goal of slightly more than 40 yards, the coaching guru Weis elected to go for the first down instead of go for the win. What!?!? In that situation I think you should make an attempt at 3 points even with a mediocre kicker. Why the hell is he on the team in the first place?. Keep in mind that the kicker already has a career long of 48 yards. Needless to say the Notre Dame quarterback got sacked and the rest is history. Well… at least it finally changed history…for Navy that is.
I understand that the Irish were already a de####able 1-7 entering the game but this is ridiculous. There’s a reason why Navy hadn’t beaten the Irish since long before the Vietnam War was close to ending. I think it has something to do with the fact that high school kids who actually want to play top-level collegiate football do not apply to the Naval Academy anymore. Apparently Charlie Weis is having trouble out-recruiting a military school that hasn’t figured prominently in the collegiate football scene since the long gone days of Roger Staubach. Either that or he has no idea what he's doing on the sidelines. Personally I think it's quite a bit of both.
The Notre Dame athletic director needs to seriously consider firing Charlie Weis’ under-performing ample arse. If they could run former head coach Ty Willingam out of town then what exactly does this qualify as? Let’s not forget that this is Weis’ third year at the university. In his first two seasons he went 9-3 and 10-3 with personnel he inherited from the recruitment efforts of his predecessor. If he was supposed to be such a drastic improvement, then one win after nine games during his third year on the job is thoroughly unacceptable. He shouldn't take the phrase, "Win just onefor the Gipper" so literally. It really is okay to win a few more. Charlie isn’t exactly coaching the Temple Owls… although something tells me that this match up would be a lot more competitive than we could’ve ever imagined.
Charlie the “Un-Weis (conveniently pronounced Wise in this instance) must go. I can’t think of another who would have done as poorly a job considering the high expectations and fanfare with which he assumed the position. Given the current state of affairs the only position that comes to mind is missionary. Unfortunately for the Notre Dame faithful he’s created a mess that could take a long time to clean up.
A-Rod was telling the truth when he said he really wants to be in New York. That doesn’t mean he isn’t talking out of both sides of his mouth as he's often been accused. He does want to stay in the Big Apple…just not as a Yankee.
New York City is where his ambitious heart has always longed to be. It's the site of the largest media microscope…a habitat where attention starved individuals such as Rodriguez often find themselves. It's also the home of Derek Jeter…A-Rod’s not-so-well-hidden obsession. In recent years this has been portrayed as Much Ado About Nothing, but the envy is still there and always has been.
Let’s take a stroll down Memory Lane. When Jeter and A-Rod first came up they quickly became fast friends. The handsome, scrappy, “American pie” (Jeter) and the handsome, slugging, “this kid could be the best ever” (Rodriguez) probably enjoyed picking up women with the same frequency that most of us pick up dirty clothes from our bathroom floors. Ironically, I believe it was a woman that ultimately sent the widely speculated grudge match past the point of no return. Aren't women often at the root of these things?
It was prior to the 2001 seasonthat Rodriguez (and Jeter) signed their enormous contracts. A-Rod’s contract would become an albatross that people would never stop reminding him of. Jeter’s nearly as obscene deal became an afterthought in baseball history. However, derogatory comments made by Alex before the season started about Derek in Esquire Magazine live in infamy. You know…something about how "It was unfair to compare the two since Jeter’s power numbers weren’t even close to his and that Derek wasn’t even the main guy other teams feared when they faced the Yankees” (paraphrasing here but that was the gist). In all honesty it was probably a valid opinion…even if lacking any class. Especially since the guy was his best friend.
The ensuing history regarding the “rift that would not be spoken of” was easier to track from then on. It was still 2001 and Rodriguez had his sights set on an up and coming Latina singer by the name of Joy Enriquez. It’s alleged that he went out of his way to meet her. The problem is that she also wound up meeting Jeter, his notorious partner-in-Wine & Dine. That is where the story got really good. According to sources, the sexy Enriquez was moreinterested in Jeter than she was A-Rod. As a result it was Jeter she wound up dating, which was likely a damaging blow to Rodriguez’s fragile ego. Kind of like Marcia and Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch, I can see Alex stomping his foot whining “DEREK…DEREK…DEREK!!!”
What’s that saying…”Hell hath no fury like an egomaniac scorned... for his best friend that he recently dissed big time”? Yeah, I think that’s it.
You have to admit, for awhile Jeter was living a charmed life. He ran through beautiful women like an express train through a subway tunnel. Championship rings were collected as easily as ring-pops. His face was the most recognizable in all of baseball even if he wasn't even close to being its best player. All A-Rod did was put up huge numbers while getting significantly less exposure and publicity. He was yet another great player, stuck in a smallish market, that most people rarely got to see in action.
Let’s keep in mind other bits of “evidence’ demonstrating A-Rod’s obsession with one-upping Jeter in any category not associated with homeruns and RBIs.
Prior to both the signing of his enormous contract with the Texas Rangers and the Esquire fiasco, it was the New York Mets that Alex wanted to play for. The Mets happened to be his favorite childhood team. What better way to upstage his buddy Jeter and his 4 World Series rings, than to steal the city from him by playing for the cross town club? The problem was that he asked for far too much in the eyes of then GM Steve Phillips and manager Bobby Valentine. The salary expectations, plus demands from A-Rod for office space at Shea to run his “marketing empire”, seemed too arrogant and prima Donna-ish to the Mets hierarchy…so they passed. Only after Alex was spurned, did the Rangers come calling with 252 million reasons to temporarily forget Jeter.
The problem with playing in Texas from 2001-2003 is that…well…they sucked. If there had been little opportunity for face-time in Seattle playing alongside Ken Griffey Jr., it was much worse in stifling Arlington, Texas. Rodriquez put up legendary statistics that once again went mostly unnoticed. Meanwhile in those same 3 years Jeter played on division winners that won 2 AL pennants (losing to Arizona and Florida in the 2001 & 2003 World Series respectively). A-Rod wanted out of The Lone Star State (how fitting) and badly.
Next stop the Boston Red Sox for little more than a day. Aaron Boone’s infamous game 7 ALCS homerun in 2003 left Red Sox Nation smarting. Back before they hated A-Rod they lusted for him. The feeling was mutual. He wanted a chance to play for a winner and rightfully so. This also provided another opportunity to get back at Jeter by playing for the hated rival of the Yankees. Alex even tried to give some of his contract back to sweeten the deal (Tell me he wasn’t obsessed). Unfortunately for him the greedy players’ association put the kibosh on his trade to Boston. Sawx fans would later claim they never wanted him in the first place (yeah right… but I guess it all worked out).
Plan B in his “I must have vengeance” vendetta was: If I can’t beat him then I’ll join him. Yankees brass was more than willing to once again upstage their Boston brethren. Jeter, seeing an opportunity for more rings, likely feigned happiness. A-Rod fully intended to take the town by storm and become the Big Apple’s favorite son. It's an understatement to say it didn’t quite work out that way. However, the plan came perilously close to working. If not for an invasion of Midge Flies in Cleveland during game 2 of this year’s ALDS, nobody can say for certain what might have happened. Perhaps the Yankees would have won that series in five games... beaten Boston in the ALCS... and won the World Series to punctuate A-Rod’s second MVP season in the Bronx. Hey, if biting insects can appear from out of nowhere like a plague from the bible then this was certainly a possibility.
Now he has opted out of his contract and in his typical tabloid fashion. Will A-Rod be a Cub? How about an Angel? Reunite with Torre in Dodger Blue? You so crazy if you’re buying that one. You do remember that Clueless Joe publicly humiliated A-Rod in the 2006 playoffs by dropping him to 8th in the batting order, don’t you? Could he still re-sign with the Yankees or get taken in by the Red Sox? Yeah, maybe when pigs mate with midge flies. There is only one logical destination and that is with the New York Metropolitans. Alex is just waiting for the right moment.
It’s so easy a caveman could do it. The Mets have the cash. They will move David Wright over from third base to play second. Instantly their infield has arguably the greatest regular season player in history, the slickest shortstop in all of baseball (Jose Reyes) and the best hitting second baseman in the game this side of Philadelphia’s Chase Utley. Don’t think for a second that David Wright cannot physically make the transition or that he would be unwilling to do so. He is a great athlete and a true team player.
Oh, and most importantly…A-Rod gets one final chance at finally beating Jeter. If he takes the Mets to a World Series title, he will dethrone Jeter as the King of New York. Mets fans will be sure to thumb their noses at Yankees fans by treating Alex with nothing but love.
However, if he keeps coming up with post-season clunkers he’ll be forced to continue living the equivalent of a modern day Greek Tragedy. Mets fans will be sure to take care of that too. The great "hero"…destined to meet with perpetual doom and gloom. And to think it all started out like Helen of Troy except this time her name was Joy and she was from Latin America.
Joy of Troy has a good ring to it. Will A–Rod finally find true joy? If you believe in bad karma then probably not.
Hypocrisy knows no end and the saga of Joe Torre is living proof. Am I calling Torre a hypocrite? Absolutely not. I think he's a genuine person who carries himself with integrity. What I am referring to is the way that literally thousands of people can resort to revisionist history to suit themselves.
Prior to the 1996 baseball season, the hiring of Joe Torre by the Yankees was almost universally questioned and criticized. The tabloids tactlessly referred to him as “Clueless Joe”. His managerial record was atrocious during his stints as skipper of the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. He had the reputation of being a good human being who was a bad manager due to a simplistic and passive style of leadership (hence the title of Clueless). Quite frankly the description of Joe the person still remains exactly the same. How is it though, that after 12 seasons with the Yankees many of these same people now contend that he is a great manager?
I’ll tell you why. To their many legions of haters, everyday is a great day to criticize the Yankees. On top of that, this is exactly the type of story the media will exploit to no end.
Ask yourself this. Why is it that the majority of people who now defend Joe Torre are not fans or even followers of the Yankees? I may not have conducted a Gallup poll but I do know LOTSof Yankees fans. Most of the ones I know aren’t disappointed to see Joe go. Sad perhaps but not angry. Somebody will no doubt tell me that these Yankees fans are not upset to see him leave because Yankees fans are… and always have been… total A-Holes. Yeah, that’s a great argument…but bring it if that’s all you got. Besides, that would only serve to reinforce my point about the blind hatred of all things Yankee that so many have.
I remember when the team was on its run of 4 World Series titles in 5 seasons. The common perception of Joe Torre was that he was not an elite manager and that a #### could lead the club. The team had great players and anything they were lacking could be easily attained using their vast finances. All Torre had to do was kick up his feet, get caught picking his nose on camera at least twice a game, collect his check and enjoy the ride. The Yankees were the Evil Empire, they were “ruining” baseball by winning all the time and it had nothing to do with the ability of “Clueless Joe” (their words not mine).
Now that New York hasn’t won a title for 7 straight seasons Joe Torre suddenly becomes a great... no make that legendary manager. Somebody please explain to me how that works. His teams win in the late 90s and according to his critics he had little or nothing to with it. Since 2001 Torre’s teams lose and these same pundits claim the players are a bunch of overpaid bums that are wasting the efforts of their divine leader. The fact that he managed the team to post-season appearances every year of his tenure is now proof of his abilities, but it wasn'tbefore? WHAT?!?!?!
It doesn’t matter if the Yankees win or lose because no matter what the situation there are those who will look to discredit someone or something within the organization. When they were on top Torre got zero props. Now that the team keeps falling short these same people use Torre as a means to take pot shots at the players. Hate the Yankees all you want but at least keep your stories straight. Torre is the same manager he always has been… and that would be an average one.
The fact that so many Yankees players spoke up for Torre should surprise no one. For Jeter, Posada and Rivera he is practically the onlymanager they have ever known. They briefly played for Buck Showalter in 1995 but that was as late season call-ups. Other players would support him too. Why wouldn’t they? He doesn’t get on their backs when they play poorly and he lets them do their thing. He’s an emotional fatherly figure with a kind heart. How could they dislike him? They certainly wouldn’t blame him, nor should they have.
I’m not saying that teams need to fear their managers or love them to be successful. Ultimately it is a working relationship or at least it should be. Things obviously haven’t been working in Yankees Land during the last 7 post-seasons. You know... the land where only a championship will do. Yeah, if that were the case then Joe would have been axed no later than after the 2003 World Series loss to the Florida Marlins. Just pointing that out since "championship or bust" is another misconception Yankees haters harp on.
In reality the blame is shared between Joe and his former team. As we know you can't fire all the players and keep the manager. However, there is a fine line that separates an elite manager from an average one such as Torre. People only remember this next point when it’s convenient, but so much of achieving success in any sport is mental. The elite coaches are the ones who can provide their teams with an edge where it matters most. That would be in their heads. This ability is lacking in Torre and it always has been. It just got covered up during the early years of his tenure with New York. The team won 4 World Series in spite of Joe Torre, not because of him. The real leader was Paul O’ Neill. For all intents and purposes he was virtually a player manager. Paul led by example on the field and in the clubhouse. It’s no coincidence that the fire has been missing since he retired.
George Steinbrenner should have conducted his business behind closed doors. Joe Torre was owed that. I’ll tell you this though. Joe Torre owes Steinbrenner and the Yankees a lot more than they owe him. They hired him when everyone else scoffed. They used a “blank check” policy to lavish him with players to field an elite level team year after year. They made him the highest paid manager in professional baseball…AND despite knowing better they still made him an offer to come back next season. An offer they knew he might refuse…but an offer that would have still kept him the most highly compensated manager in the sport by far. Just because it was a one-year deal that implied, "this is your last chance to win it all", doesn’t change the fact the Torre is the one who decided to leave. Point blank, the Yankees provided him with the opportunity to enjoy the best 12 years of his managerial life.
I love you Joe Torre but good riddance. The distraction you had become to the team, along with your managerial flaws, is not worth 5 million dollars. Change is good.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. As a die-hard Yankees fan I have absolutely no business defending anything within 100 miles of Red Sox Nation. Unfortunately the responses regarding Manny Ramirez’s admiration of his own homerun against Cleveland in the ALCS has brought me the brink of athletic sacrilege.
In case you missed it (or live on Planet Man-Ram which is the imaginary home of Manny as envisioned by Jim Rome), the wildly eccentric Ramirez watched adoringly as his homerun traveled majestically through the night sky over Jacobs Field. Never mind that this only reduced the deficit to 7-3 in the Indians favor. Never mind that this capped back-to back- to back homeruns that included blasts from Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. Never mind that it was done in the national spotlight of post-season baseball. Never mind that it was one of the most impressive homeruns that anyone could ever hope to see. Never mindthat it was the intellectually challenged Manny that broke one of those notorious “unwritten rules”. Rule breakers must be punished (sarcasm alert).
There’s a reason those rules aren’t written. It’s because they’re dumb and they typically bother wimps with sticks stuck up their butts the most. Take some other scenarios in baseball that are widely frowned upon. For example, it’s been said that a player should never bunt to break up a no-hitter. Oh really now? If a pitcher wants to hurl a no-no then he better “know-know” how to field his position.
How about the belief that it's improper to swing away on a 3-0 count when your team holds a big lead? That sounds counter-productive to me. The pitcher is probably going to throw a cookie and a batter is supposed to just let it slide by? The pitcher put himself in that hole in the first place. Besides, he’ll probably follow the first cookie up with an equally enticing Oreo Double Stuff on the ensuing 3-1 pitch… but it’s okay if the batter swings at that one. What an asinine concept.
Another one I just don’t get is the disdain people have for players that make attempts at stealing signs. Maybe a team should do a better job disguising their signals and then they wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Hmmm…does that mean I’m sticking up for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in a round about sort of way? I think I’m about to make myself sick just considering it. Forgive me New York.
There are several more of these unenforceable standards that many people hold sacred. “Act like you’ve been there before when scoring a touchdown in football” & “Don’t run the full court press with a big lead in basketball” come to mind. Who cares that touchdowns are typically hard to come by or that the full court press helped get the lead in the first place? These acts are totally classless and warrant swift retaliation (sarcasm alert #2).
Which brings us back full circle to Mr. Ramirez. The most commonly held opinion about his elongated homerun trot from the other night is that C.C. Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians should promptly drill Manny with a 95 MPH fastball when he comes to the plate in Game 5 of the ALCS…and preferably right on his ear. How’s that for totally classless? See what you get for watching your own homerun. A homerun that made everybody who saw it say “Holy ####”. If I could hit a ball like that you’d better believe that I’d watch it too. But no…Manny should be sensitive and show compassion for the pitcher’s witty-bitty hurt feelings. NEWS FLASH: serving up a meatball to Manny IS NOT a good idea.
Let’s not forget that this is Manny Ramirez we’re talking about. As corny and tired as the “Manny Being Manny” cliche has become… the shoe does fit…and if the shoe does fit then we must acquit. Hey, if the glove thing worked for O.J. then this defense should certainly work for Man-Ram. Not to make excuses for him but face it people… he’s a dimwitted nitwit and his actions over time have been as redundant as the term I just called him.
Keep in mind his oddball track record. He often likes to hang out during pitching changes at Fenway Park… behind the Green Monster. He commented in 2003 that he would one day like to play… for the Yankees. While in left field during 2004 he dove to cut off a throw…from centerfielderJohnny Damon which resulted in an inside the park homerun. He once requested a trade… to Boston’s AAA team. On the day the trade deadline passed in 2005 Manny stated, “Boston was the place to be”…even though it was widely reported that he had been trying to force his way out of Bean Town.
If Manny was a stereotype for Halloween he’d be a ditzy blonde… and ditzy blondes all over America should be very insulted by the fact that I just wrote that.
Maybe I’m crazy or maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for those whose brains are a wee bit slow on the uptake. My own mind must definitely be slipping if I’m sticking up for a guy who plays for the Chowdah-Heads… but that’s not the point. Just leave the guy alone already. He’s not too smart and probably has a mid-level IQ at best. All he did was break a rule that doesn’t exist in the first place. A rule by that way that is idiotic to begin with.
As simplistically moronic as Ramirez may seem, he is right about something else. If the Red Sox go on and lose to Cleveland, it really isn't the end of the world. Now go and rip him a new one for that too. It obviously means that he likes losing (sarcasm alert #3).
Man-He sure can rake though. Get it…Man-He instead of Manny? Oh well, the jokes can’t all be winners but that sure was one hell of a home run the other night. It was a winner even in defeat… and admit it…you’d have watched it for a while too.
The holiest of days is here. The FIRST full Sunday of NFL action. Can I get some hallelujahs from all the football Home Boys across America?
With football comes opinions, or is it A-Holes. We’ve all got em’ and love to share em’ even if nobody else gives a ####. I’ve got 4 predictions in mind for you.
Mexican Standoff: The marquee game of the day has to be Bears-Chargers. Two stud defenses, two young QBS, two teams that love to pound the rock on the ground, two sets of unheralded big play receivers but only one Antonio Gates. Maybe the Chargers are able to run the ball a bit more effectively…maybe Grossman hits a couple of homeruns early with Bernard Berrien…maybe the defenses and special teams make the deciding plays in the game…nobody knows for sure but I’m watching.
Prediction: A scrappy Bears team falls short and loses 20-16.
Shoot-out: Dunt…dunt…dunt…dunttttt…dunt-dunt…dunt-dunt! Looking for some scoring this week? Look no further than Monday Night Football. Hope the folks on the East Coast are patient cause they’ll have to wait until the second Monday Night special kicks-off at 10:00 PM when the Cardinals play the 49ers. Matt Leinart, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Edgerrin James look to outscore Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Darrell Jackson and Vernon Davis! What?!?!?! In names alone this could become a fantasy bonanza especially since both defenses have much to prove.
Prediction: San Francisco has done more to improve their defense and has the better offensive line. Arizona has the best duo of receivers this side of Marvin Harrison & Reggie Wayne. The 49ers outpoint the Cardinals 38-30.
Upset Special: Tom Brady is in the house! Bill Belichick is in the house! Richard Seymour isn’t. Rodney “Nobody Gives A #### About Performance Enhancers in The NFL” Harrison isn’t. Asante Samuel just showed up. Randy Moss just showed up (maybe). Somebody wake up old men Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel from their mid-morning naps and tell them they need to go chase somebody. “Eric Mangenius” is in the house! Chad “Tom Brady Light” Pennington is in the house. Little Big Man Laveraneus Coles is in the house! Thomas Jones is in the house! And by the way they’re playing in the Jets house…or is it the Giants house? So freakin’ what.
Prediction: An inspired Jet team gives the Patriots a first week black-eye and kick a late field goal to upset New England 20-17.
Ugly Rout: The Pittsburgh Steelers go to Cleveland and play marching band as they head up and down the field at will. The chants of Brady Quinn---Brady Quinn---Brady-Quinn start in week one as starting QB Charlie Frye gets pummeled. Willie Parker will shred the Browns on the ground and the combination of Ben Roethlisberger/Hines Ward/Santonio Holmes will carve up the secondary…just like they all did last season. The new Pittsburgh staff led by rookie head coach Mike Tomlin is looking to make a statement that this isn’t Bill Cowher’s Steelers anymore and that they can still play SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL!
Prediction: Steelers trounce the Browns 31-10.
Football is back…football is back!!! As Tom Cruise once said to Renee Zellweger in his role as Jerry McGuire, “You Complete Me.” Well maybe not… but the sentiment is the same and I’m happy as can be.
I don’t know. Call me a cynic. It just seems as though every time something new comes along to feel good about there’s an unforeseeable scandal looking to cast a shadow on our “Hip-Hip Hooray Parade”.
Take Rick “HGH” Ankiel for example. Like Roy Hobbs out of the movie script The Natural, Ankiel emerged from obscurity to capture the hearts of baseball fans across America. In true Hollywood fashion, Rick returned from our distant Wild-Thing memories to slug homeruns at an astonishing rate and catapult his team back into pennant contention. Unfortunately we’ve now learned that he’s a “cheater”. That is if you consider a cheater to be a person who "broke" the rules prior to their existence (Ankiel is reputed to have received prescriptions for HGH in 2004 to recover fromsurgery). HGH was not banned in MLB until 2005.
So what? Last I checked this is 2007. Let the man have his moment of glory and inspire our imaginations. Has our self-righteous society deteriorated so far that we are at the point where we would rather tear down an athletic nobody to uphold our pious standards of nothingness. Most people are overly competitive to a fault. Almost anyone of us would stoop to uncommon levels to gain a competitive edge that would allow us more notoriety, prestige and material assets. Why is it that when athletes do the same so many are quick to discredit their abilities?
As much as we like feel-good stories they always come with a “standard”. These tales must remain “pure” because otherwise they lose all relevance and integrity. It’s almost as though us commoners believe we were capable enough and could have accomplished these achievements ourselves under different circumstances (Yeah, like we basically didn’t sucktoo much to become professional athletes). I could use HGH for a decade, possess biceps like Hulk Hogan and yet still hit 4 homeruns a year in A-Ball if I was lucky.
Inherently, for unknown reasons, athletics turn us into a bunch of blabbering hypocrites. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.
Peyton Manning couldn’t win the “Big One” but once he did we were forced into watching two-dozen of his commercials on “Thursday Night Football” to open the NFL regular season. Now he is arguably the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) and the Indianapolis Colts are a shoe-in to repeat.
Alex Rodriguez was reduced to water-cooler insults for his unprecedented failures in the clutch, yet he is once again the “most talented” player in MLB. His former detractors now claim that the Yankees should pay him 30+ million dollars a year or risk losing him to the dreaded Boston Red Sox.
Speaking of A-Rod, American tennis player Andy Roddick still can’t beat Roger Federer and is therefore a no talent bum. Why bother mentioning that Federer just may be the most dominant tennis star that any of us has ever seen?
Anyone checked the “Dream Team” lately at the FIBA Americas basketball tournament. I guess James Naismith’s game hasn’t passed America by. The word on the street is that the current Team USA just might be the “best” version ever.
Michael Vick (and yes he’s shady) has become Public Enemy #1. Who cares that people have been threatening to “sic” their dogs on those they do not like (and their pets too) since canines became domesticated centuries ago? And for the record I do not endorse dog fighting or abusing animals but did most Americans really not know that this happens?
Speaking of surprises how about NBA referee Tim Donaghy and point shaving? Haven’t we truly always known this went on? I think commissioner David Stern certainly has. The outrage…YAWN!!! Just ask homophobe and former Miami Heat player Tim Hardaway about #### “Knick” Bavetta.
Heaven forbid if the Yankees should happen to win the World Series this year. Then everybody and their mother would claim that they “saw it coming all along”.
While we’re at it what if the J-E-T-S beat the New England Patriots to open the season? Will Eric Mangini really earn genius status… or will the Patsies simply have an old group of linebackers, truly miss the often injured defensive endRichard Seymour, rue the day that Rodney Harrison failed the drug test that nobody this side of MLB seems to care about, blame it on Randy Moss’ hamstring, claim that Asante Samuel isn’t in game shape or fail to mention that Tom “Wedlock” Brady has a sore throwing shoulder from swinging so many hot chicks? God I sure hope so.
Yes it’s root-root-root for the home team and as long as they win it’s the same…or it’s one…two…three strikes your out at the public opinion game.
Can’t they all just play ball? Oh yeah wait…that’s already the case. That is what they do. We’re the ones getting our panties in a bunch.
I got a game to watch and so do you. Just do it…Nike style…or doggie style…whatever you prefer…cause it’s all good until we say it isn’t.
“I don’t wanna work…I wanna #### on the drum all day!”
I’ve got the next 3 weeks off for vacation and JUST in time for some prime-time August baseball. I was away this weekend and noticed that the Yankees-Red Sox smack talk REALLY heated up here at Fox Sports while I was gone. Me-thinks the pressure cooker is just getting warmed up and tempers will soon start a-flarin’. Rather than stoke the flames with words here is some “picturesque” smack talk for your viewing pleasure.
Enjoy…and as an early disclaimer…where the hell is your sense of humor?
Clickthe links to find out what both fan bases are thinking.
The All-Time homerun record: 756 and counting. It’s been called the most hallowedrecord in sports and Barry Bonds has finally broken it. Bonds can now place this accomplishment alongside the single-season homerun mark he already held with 73 round-trippers in 2001. Let’s call that the most hallowed record in sports 1A. For some reason whenever a player approaches any significant homerun milestone, the atmosphere becomes more Halloween-like than hallowed. Why is that?
It all starts of course with Mr. George Herman Ruth. (714 career HRs, 60 HRs in 1927) The one and only Bambino. There began what can only be considered a sinister trail of long-ball woe. This is the true “Curse of the Bambino”. If Babe could “keep” World Series conquests away from Boston for 86 years he surely was capable of making a plague out of all future homerun records. Unless you don’t believe in curses of course. Then we just call it “an unexplainable and coincidental string of bad luck that feels like it will never end”.
Most people admit that Babe Ruth was arguably the first ever superstar athlete. He was Hollywood while everybody was still watching silent films. He partied like a rock star before they existed. He lived to excess when there was little excess to be found. People loved him for it and created a legend not always fabricated from truth.
Did you know that Little George Ruth was placed in the St. Mary’s Industrial (i.e. reform) School for Boys at the age of 7 by his parents because he was “incorrigible and vicious” beyond their control? He lived there for the next 12 years of his life. It’s also where he learned to play baseball. If not for the Xaverian Brothers of the school, Ruth likely wouldn't have amounted to much. Even so his wild spirit was never tamed.
During his playing days Babe was just as famous for his gluttonous activities off the field as for his exploits on it. He was a regular visitor to the illegal speakeasies of the day during the era of prohibition. He lavished himself with expensive automobiles that were frequently wrecked in high-speed escapades.He was most likely an alcoholic as well as a serial adulterer. He thumbed his nose at authority and openly defied direct instructions from the commissioner of baseball resulting in suspensions. He publicly feuded with the legendary Ty Cobb and they often had to be physically separated from one another. The Babe was no saint. In fact I’d say he’d fit right in with many of the athletes of our modern day. The press was far different in his time though. Back then his antics were glossed over or ignored entirely. In our era the media would probably have torn Mr. Ruth in half.
Not surprisingly Ruth’s fame and fortune couldn't buy happiness. According to his daughter
e stinkin’ era is tainted. You know what that means. That means it’s all good or all bad depending on whether you’re a glass half full or glass half empty kind of guy. 
comes to basic high school math then a positive plus a positive equals a positive…OR… a negative plus a negative equals a positive as well. 
nutrition, health awareness, fitness and technology. So what do we have left? A fair and equal playing field, that’s what. Steroids were there for the taking during the last 15-20 years and many… if not most… players took them (at least once). 
I guess they’re just being punished for the riches and accolades that records buy. Well screw that…the sentences should be no different for the little guys. 
big enough fish in the baseball sea…kind of like a flounder in a Chilean Sea Bass sort of world. 
Obviously most people DO NOT play all 162 games a year but for a former MVP like Jason it gives us a barometer from which to work with. 
card says he was? 
Styles make fights or so I’ve been told. Try this one on for style. Tonight we get to see “Sugar” Ray Leonard take on Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran all over again. Except this time the year is 2007. It’s the same fight…only the names have been changed and they’re not innocent. 
zapping Cotto’s chin…Cotto’s suspect chin…a couple of times over again...Cotto decided to take the fight to Zab’s “little friend”…Far below the belt just wasn't nice...Once wasn't enough so he did it twice. 
Torres had him down twice later that same year. The thing is that Cotto got back up. Wobbly as a weeble but he got back up. Showing great survival instincts he managed to recoup. Came out madder the next round and opened his can of whoop…there it is. Patented punches to the body…whoop there they is. 
Player haters why do you hate? So much gets made out of knocking star athletes, teams or coaches off their lofty, self-created pedestals. The problem is that no matter how many people claim to “hate” these individuals, there’s always a fan base ready to step up in their defense. I’m typically the first person to defend just about anyone, but the real reason that some attract so much ire has nothing to do with the standard accusations that we’ve become accustomed to. 
Besides, if that were the case then we should basically hate every athlete since even most bench warmers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, if not far more. Nope, that can't be it. 
on sway to his side. Smug is then choosing to make his “opt-out” announcement on the day that the rival Boston Red Sox won a second World Series title and demanding 350 million dollars as the starting point of negotiations. Talk about a fleeting moment of renewed popularity. 
gined. 
The ensuing history regarding the “rift that would not be spoken of” was easier to track from then on. It was still 2001 and Rodriguez had his sights set on an up and coming Latina singer by the name of Joy Enriquez. It’s alleged that he went out of his way to meet her. The problem is that she also wound up meeting Jeter, his notorious partner-in-Wine & Dine. That is where the story got really good. According to sources, the sexy Enriquez was more interested in Jeter than she was A-Rod. As a result it was Jeter she wound up dating, which was likely a damaging blow to Rodriguez’s fragile ego. Kind of like Marcia and Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch, I can see Alex stomping his foot whining “DEREK…DEREK…DEREK!!!” 
women like an express train through a subway tunnel. Championship rings were collected as easily as ring-pops. His face was the most recognizable in all of baseball even if he wasn't even close to being its best player. All A-Rod did was put up huge numbers while getting significantly less exposure and publicity. He was yet another great player, stuck in a smallish market, that most people rarely got to see in action. 
hated A-Rod they lusted for him. The feeling was mutual. He wanted a chance to play for a winner and rightfully so. This also provided another opportunity to get back at Jeter by playing for the hated rival of the Yankees. Alex even tried to give some of his contract back to sweeten the deal (Tell me he wasn’t obsessed). Unfortunately for him the greedy players’ association put the kibosh on his trade to Boston. Sawx fans would later claim they never wanted him in the first place (yeah right… but I guess it all worked out). 
t over from third base to play second. Instantly their infield has arguably the greatest regular season player in history, the slickest shortstop in all of baseball (Jose Reyes) and the best hitting second baseman in the game this side of Philadelphia’s Chase Utley. Don’t think for a second that David Wright cannot physically make the transition or that he would be unwilling to do so. He is a great athlete and a true team player. 
if he keeps coming up with post-season clunkers he’ll be forced to continue living the equivalent of a modern day Greek Tragedy. Mets fans will be sure to take care of that too. The great "hero"…destined to meet with perpetual doom and gloom. And to think it all started out like Helen of Troy except this time her name was Joy and she was from Latin America. 
thousands of people can resort to revisionist history to suit themselves. 
Ask yourself this. Why is it that the majority of people who now defend Joe Torre are not fans or even followers of the Yankees? I may not have conducted a Gallup poll but I do know LOTS of Yankees fans. Most of the ones I know aren’t disappointed to see Joe go. Sad perhaps but not angry. Somebody will no doubt tell me that these Yankees fans are not upset to see him leave because Yankees fans are… and always have been… total A-Holes. Yeah, that’s a great argument…but bring it if that’s all you got. Besides, that would only serve to reinforce my point about the blind hatred of all things Yankee that so many have. 
common perception of Joe Torre was that he was not an elite manager and that a 
The fact that so many Yankees players spoke up for Torre should surprise no one. For Jeter, Posada and Rivera he is practically the only manager they have ever known. They briefly played for Buck Showalter in 1995 but that was as late season call-ups. Other players would support him too. Why wouldn’t they? He doesn’t get on their backs when they play poorly and he lets them do their thing. He’s an emotional fatherly figure with a kind heart. How could they dislike him? They certainly wouldn’t blame him, nor should they have. 
separates an elite manager from an average one such as Torre. People only remember this next point when it’s convenient, but so much of achieving success in any sport is mental. The elite coaches are the ones who can provide their teams with an edge where it matters most. That would be in their heads. This ability is lacking in Torre and it always has been. It just got covered up during the early years of his tenure with New York. The team won 4 World Series in spite of Joe Torre, not because of him. The real leader was Paul O’ Neill. For all intents and purposes he was virtually a player manager. Paul led by example on the field and in the clubhouse. It’s no coincidence that the fire has been missing since he retired. 
players to field an elite level team year after year. They made him the highest paid manager in professional baseball…AND despite knowing better they still made him an offer to come back next season. An offer they knew he might refuse…but an offer that would have still kept him the most highly compensated manager in the sport by far. Just because it was a one-year deal that implied, "this is your last chance to win it all", doesn’t change the fact the Torre is the one who decided to leave. Point blank, the Yankees provided him with the opportunity to enjoy the best 12 years of his managerial life. 
Manny as envisioned by Jim Rome), the wildly eccentric Ramirez watched adoringly as his homerun traveled majestically through the night sky over Jacobs Field. Never mind that this only reduced the deficit to 7-3 in the Indians favor. Never mind that this capped back-to back- to back homeruns that included blasts from Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. Never mind that it was done in the national spotlight of post-season baseball. Never mind that it was one of the most impressive homeruns that anyone could ever hope to see. Never mind that it was the intellectually challenged Manny that broke one of those notorious “unwritten rules”. Rule breakers must be punished (sarcasm alert). 
Keep in mind his oddball track record. He often likes to hang out during pitching changes at Fenway Park… behind the Green Monster. He commented in 2003 that he would one day like to play… for the Yankees. While in left field during 2004 he dove to cut off a throw…from centerfielder Johnny Damon which resulted in an inside the park homerun. He once requested a trade… to Boston’s AAA team. On the day the trade deadline passed in 2005 Manny stated, “Boston was the place to be”…even though it was widely reported that he had been trying to force his way out of Bean Town. 
hallelujahs from all the football Home Boys across America? 
Shoot-out: Dunt…dunt…dunt…dunttttt…dunt-dunt…dunt-dunt! Looking for some scoring this week? Look no further than Monday Night Football. Hope the folks on the East Coast are patient cause they’ll have to wait until the second Monday Night special kicks-off at 10:00 PM when the Cardinals play the 49ers. Matt Leinart, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Edgerrin James look to outscore Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Darrell Jackson and Vernon Davis! What?!?!?! In names alone this could become a fantasy bonanza especially since both defenses have much to prove. 
Upset Special: Tom Brady is in the house! Bill Belichick is in the house! Richard Seymour isn’t. Rodney “Nobody Gives A 
Ugly Rout: The Pittsburgh Steelers go to Cleveland and play marching band as they head up and down the field at will. The chants of Brady Quinn---Brady Quinn---Brady-Quinn start in week one as starting QB Charlie Frye gets pummeled. Willie Parker will shred the Browns on the ground and the combination of Ben Roethlisberger/Hines Ward/Santonio Holmes will carve up the secondary…just like they all did last season. The new Pittsburgh staff led by rookie head coach Mike Tomlin is looking to make a statement that this isn’t Bill Cowher’s Steelers anymore and that they can still play SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL! 
true Hollywood fashion, Rick returned from our distant Wild-Thing memories to slug homeruns at an astonishing rate and catapult his team back into pennant contention. Unfortunately we’ve now learned that he’s a “cheater”. That is if you consider a cheater to be a person who "broke" the rules prior to their existence (Ankiel is reputed to have received prescriptions for HGH in 2004 to recover from surgery). HGH was not banned in MLB until 2005. 
anyone of us would stoop to uncommon levels to gain a competitive edge that would allow us more notoriety, prestige and material assets. Why is it that when athletes do the same so many are quick to discredit their abilities? 
the clutch, yet he is once again the “most talented” player in MLB. His former detractors now claim that the Yankees should pay him 30+ million dollars a year or risk losing him to the dreaded Boston Red Sox. 
pets too) since canines became domesticated centuries ago? And for the record I do not endorse dog fighting or abusing animals but did most Americans really not know that this happens? 
Seymour, rue the day that Rodney Harrison failed the drug test that nobody this side of MLB seems to care about, blame it on Randy Moss’ hamstring, claim that Asante Samuel isn’t in game shape or fail to mention that Tom “Wedlock” Brady has a sore throwing shoulder from swinging so many hot chicks? God I sure hope so. 
Can’t they all just play ball? Oh yeah wait…that’s already the case. That is what they do. We’re the ones getting our panties in a bunch. 
record in sports and Barry Bonds has finally broken it. Bonds can now place this accomplishment alongside the single-season homerun mark he already held with 73 round-trippers in 2001. Let’s call that the most hallowed record in sports 1A. For some reason whenever a player approaches any significant homerun milestone, the atmosphere becomes more Halloween-like than hallowed. Why is that?
vicious” beyond their control? He lived there for the next 12 years of his life. It’s also where he learned to play baseball. If not for the Xaverian Brothers of the school, Ruth likely wouldn't have amounted to much. Even so his wild spirit was never tamed. 
