V for Valentine

Although no deal has been officially announced, media outlets are reporting that the Red Sox have hired Bobby Valentine as their new manager. While some may consider this a gamble, especially as Valentine has not managed in the US since leaving the Mets in 2002 under acrimonious terms, I think it’s a genius move. I don’t care if he was team president Larry Lucchino’s first choice rather than new GM Ben Cherington’s, the bottom line is that the Red Sox disintegrated down the stretch and therefore need a strong personality to right the ship. And with Valentine, they got someone who once came back to the dugout wearing a mustache after being kicked out by an umpire, earning a 3 game suspension in the process. Classic!

While with the Mets, Valentine clashed not only with then-GM Steve Phillips but also with players like Bobby Bonilla (justifiably) and the media on occasion (a given in New York). Yet, he also managed to take the Mets all the way to the World Series in 2000, a feat I’m still amazed by over 10 years later as that was an overachieving team with only one legit offensive star in Mike Piazza and Al Leiter as the ace of their rotation. So we know he can handle the pressure which is good because the Red Sox will be under an intense spotlight once the season begins, if only to check whether beer and chicken wings are being consumed in the clubhouse. Plus, MLB fans tend to view everything baseball-related that happens outside the U.S  as insignificant but in Japan, where baseball is enormous, Valentine is a cult hero. Always a bright mind, Valentine probably benefited alot from that experience and, at the very least, maybe he can get Dice K moving in the right direction again.   

Who knows how this will pan out in the end but in my opinion the Red Sox gave themselves the best chance of remaining competitive with Valentine’s hire. However, if they want to win the division, the front office has to contribute by shoring up their pitching staff and replacing closer Jonathan Papelbon.  Otherwise, they may be in for a long season which is music to this Yankees fan’s ears

Bizuayehu Tesfaye/ AP Photo

Pujols and the Yankees: a match made in heaven?

On the eve of Game 1 of the World Series, all anyone seems to care about is Albert Pujols’ impending free agency. Or is that just me? As I don’t care who wins, my focus is on how the Yankees can improve for next season. Their first step must be to sign CC Sabathia and then fill out the rest of the starting rotation (another World Series participant CJ Wilson may be an option). But the intriguing question of whether to go after Pujols, who after a slow start most blamed on the break-down of his contract negotiations hit .299 with 99 RBIs, remains. Here are my thoughts in no particular order.

Pujols is the first player in MLB history to bat .300, hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in his first 10 seasons making him far and away the best player in baseball. Of course, the same could be said of Alex Rodriguez when the Yankees signed him to a ridiculously long-term contract, essentially out-bidding themselves as no other team had any intention of paying  out that much money. The difference with Pujols is that he has a proven post-season track-record with one World Series title already in his possession. This time around, he’s batting .419 which A-Rod can only dream of!

The other issue is that Pujols is a first baseman and the Yankees have already handed out another hefty contract to Mark Teixeira to play that position. I know Tex had another rough post-season but he’s not going anywhere, nor is he moving to DH as he is great defensively.  I doubt a player of Pujols’ caliber will agree to DH at this point in his career as he has many good years left.

In sum, while it may be tempting for Cashman to go after the biggest name out there, buying a collection of star players does not automatically lead to a championship. Of course, the wild card in all this is Hank Steinbrenner who is dying to make his mark on the team and has already over-ruled Cashman by signed Raphael Soriano which, as we all know, didn’t work out too well. Hopefully, common sense will prevail but this being the Yankees, I expect some drama this off-season!

AP Photo / Albert Pujols

 

Boston Red Sox smear campaign

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll state right off the bat that I’m a Yankees fan so the Red Sox’s inability to close out the wild card made me extremely happy. However, what’s happening now is absolutely disgraceful, especially regarding former manager Terry Francona. I won’t reiterate all the mud being slung – just read the Boston Globe article or the myriad summaries on other news outlets like SI – but the bottom line is that Francona is being blamed for the 7-20 record down the stretch. I don’t care what pain killers he was taking (if I was a player, I’d never trust the medical team again after someone clearly tipped the media to this “issue”) or the extent of his marital problems, poor pitching is ultimately to blame for their lost season as an ERA of 7.08 in September won’t win alot of games! Honestly, would any of this come out if the Red Sox had managed to eek into the playoffs? Probably not. Francona won two World Series with that team yet when management refused to pick up his option, nobody came forward in his defense. How’s that for loyalty? Theo Epstein, who also has to take some flak for this season with bad, costly signings that will hinder Boston’s ability to rebuild from within the organization, has managed to bail for the tune of $20 million. I guess from his perspective, the Cubs clubhouse couldn’t be anymore dysfunctional! Ultimately, the Red Sox players who remain must take a good look in the mirror and “cowboy up” as they used to say in the good old days. I only hope Francona gets a second chance to prove his managerial skills and erase memories of what must have been a miserable season all around.

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona

My bucket list of sporting venues

One of the problems of living overseas is the lack of opportunity to attend U.S. sporting events; however, at some point in the future I plan to visit these 5 venues:

1) Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wisconsin) – aka the “Frozen Tundra”, home of “Titletown USA” where the “Lambeau Leap” has been engrained in our consciousness since 1993. In this era of stadiums named after corporate sponsors, thereby encouraging blandness instead of atmosphere, Lambeau hasn’t changed monikers and still honors the Packers’ founder.  The aura must be palpable as the Packers have won 7 NFL championships (5 under Vince Lombardi alone) and possess one of the best post-season home advantages due to the inclement weather conditions. In fact, the “Ice Bowl” played between the Packers and Cowboys in 1967 spawned the frozen tundra moniker as the natural grass turned into an ice rink from the sub-zero temperature and windchill. This is one venue you can’t visit in the summer!

Titletown, USA

2) Wrigley Field (Chicago, Illinois) -  Much like the aforementioned Packers, the Cubs have enjoyed long standing residency (96 years!) in their ballpark. The amazing history of this beautiful stadium can be found here (Wrigley Field Information – History | cubs.com: ballpark) but to me, the “Friendly Confines” represents what’s great about watching baseball: homey environment, a hand turned scoreboard and the 7th inning stretch singing of “Take Me Out to the Ballpark” popularized by Hall of Fame announcer Harry Carey.  Now, if they could only win the World Series!

Wrigley Field's famous ivy

 3) Millenium Stadium (Cardiff, Wales) – This venue might not be known amongst U.S. sports fans but as home to the Welsh rugby (and soccer) team, it’s quite a big deal on this side of the pond. Completed in time for the 2000 millenium celebrations, the stadium rivals those of NFL teams with a capacity of 74.500 - enormous considering the size of Wales! As the Rugby World Cup is nearing an end, Wales have made it all the way to the semi-finals against France advancing further than their bigger rivals England, Scotland and Ireland.  I’ve heard the atmosphere is incredible for national team games and I’ve been to two England matches at Twickenham so I’d love to experience it myself.

Millenium Stadium

4) Miller Park (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Ok, I just noticed that two of these venues are located in Wisconsin of all places – what are the odds of dragging my family out there? Anyway, I like this stadium for its fun atmosphere as well as the surprisingly elegant design featuring enormous panes of glass. But really, where else can you see a sausage race, a mascot that goes down an enormous slide after every Brewers home run (I must say that I preferred the slide into a mug of beer at County Stadium but I digress) and an ode to beer via a song during the Seventh Inning Stretch?

Facade of Miller Park

 5) Bell Centre (Montreal, Canada) – I know that the Montreal Forum will always be a shrine to hockey fans as home to the ghosts of Canadiens past including Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Toe Blake, Jacques Plante etc. I’d still like to see a game in the newish venue though to experience the history of Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, the oldest NHL franchise and winner of more Stanley Cups than any other team. Beforehand, I must remember to brush up on my Français as English is not the language of choice in Quebec!

Bell Centre

All-Star Fallacy

The All-Star game in Phoenix is one month away so, of course, it’s time for me to whine about the stupidity of the voting process! I realize that MLB has tried to make the game more relevant by bestowing home field advantage for the World Series to the winning League (which I actually think is a step in the right direction); however, the bottom line is that some players are included simply based on popularity. This year, fans can actually vote up to 25 times online so as Michael Kay helpfully pointed out during a recent Yankees broadcast, the team with the most tech savvy fans will have the highest representation. Too bad San Jose doesn’t have a baseball team then! Anyway, because I’m not immune to stuffing the ballot for my favorite Yankees, my recently submitted AL ballot (I only used 5 of my votes as I simply couldn’t be bothered) is as follows:

First Base: Mark Teixeira

Second Base: Robinson Cano

Shortstop: Derek Jeter

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez

Catcher: Russell Martin

DH: Michael Young (I still can’t believe Posada is even on the ballot!!)

Outfielders: Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher

If I’m completely honest, only two of those players – Granderson and Teixeira who are currently among the top 5 home run hitters in all of baseball- truly deserve to be on the All-Star roster but I don’t care how much better a Red Sox player may be, I’m still not voting for him purely on principle! And, before you point it out, I know Jose Bautista is having a monster year for the Blue Jays whereas Swisher’s batting average decline between last season and this one ranks among the highest but I’m still loyal to the Yankees.  I know I’m not the only one with this inner conflict so I fully expect Derek Jeter to be the starting AL shortstop despite his offensive struggles!

You would think that my voting for the National League should be more merit-based because I don’t root for any of those teams but you’d still be wrong.   I voted for Buster Posey as catcher purely because I felt sorry for him as he’s out for the season due to a collision at home plate! Plus, I simply don’t watch enough NL games to form a strong enough opinion of players but here’s my list anyway:

First Base: Ryan Howard

Second Base: Freddy Sanchez

Shortstop: Jose Reyes

Third Base: Pablo Sandoval

Catcher: Buster Posey

DH: Matt Holliday

Outfielders: Matt Kemp, Shane Victorino, Andre Ethier

I can’t wait for the pitching selections

 

 

More drama in the Bronx

Which is worse – the Yankees getting swept by the Red Sox this weekend at HOME (the first time since 2004) or a new distraction involving a star player? While Boston completely exposed New York’s many weaknesses from pitching to batting (I’ll say it again: a team cannot live by the home run alone!) to fielding even, unfortunately the correct answer is the latter. The reason is that this situation with Jorge Posada is just the tip of the iceberg for Yankees management as two other legends, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, are nearing the twilight of their great careers with the pinstripes. These players have had a remarkable run in the Bronx, contributing to multiple championships, and as a result were rewarded monetarily with huge, long term contracts. Time waits for nobody though and the rigors of long regular seasons followed almost every year by playoff series have taken their toll. GM Brian Cashman, who is already on the hot seat for not shoring up the starting rotation, had no choice but to respond harshly to Posada’s request to be taken out of the starting line-up.

Posada is currently batting .165 as the DH and while Jeter must’ve been slightly relieved not to answer questions about his own prolonged slump, the offensive struggles continue for him as well. I understand Posada’s frustration but Girardi was only doing what was necessary for the team when he moved the former catcher down in the line-up.  Clearly, this incident has been blown out of proportion (unsurprising given the Yankees’ struggles) by the media and Posada has since apologized which should really end the matter. However, Posada has been around long enough to know that the New York scribes won’t let this issue go away. To make matters worse, Big Papi decided to chime in and defend Posada by saying that the Yankees weren’t doing right by him and that DHing sucks. Thanks for the insight! While the latter may be true, what Ortiz forgets is that organizations like New York and Boston are paying players astronomical amounts of money to perform well. When this doesn’t happen, as is the case with all other employment situations, the employer has the right to make decisions that will resolve the problem. So, bottom line, I don’t want to hear any more whining – just play!

The Yankees right now have just about the same record as the other train wreck known as the Mets (yikes!) so they’d better use the upcoming road trip as a way to focus on playing fundamentally sound baseball for a change. Otherwise, I fear that this will be a looong season.

Al Bello / Getty Images

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Derek Jeter’s drought

I was in the U.S. for almost two weeks recently and could finally watch Yankees games live instead of the recorded version. There were two things that struck me the most about this season’s team: one, the percentage of runs scored via homers is astoundingly high (almost 60% at one point, by far the highest of any MLB team) and two, Derek Jeter is off to a terrible start. Regarding the latter, I’ve never been one of those alarmists who declare a player’s season over in April or even May simply because of a low batting average – look at Mark Teixeira’s historically slow starts or more recently, David Ortiz who bounced back from an abysmal April with a rash of homers last year. Plus, I’ve always tended to give a player of Jeter’s status the benefit of the doubt because of all his accomplishments. In fact, barring catastrophic injury, Jeter should reach 3,000 career hits, the first player to do so wearing only a Yankees uniform which is incredible given the history of the franchise. To some extent, I think the pursuit of the record may be subconsciously affecting Jeter as it did for A-Rod last season (even I was tired of waiting for the 600th homer!)

Unfortunately, I don’t think the record alone is the issue as Jeter simply seems uncomfortable at the plate. He worked with hitting coach Kevin Long in the offseason to improve on his sub-par 2010 stats; however, these tweaks have proved futile as he’s not even hitting the ball hard. As players get older, the number of homers are bound to decline but in Jeter’s case even his trademark line drives are few and far between. In several cases, he’s either struck out or grounded into a double play with runners in scoring position so Girardi must be wondering whether to move him further down in the line-up although is reluctant to admit it.  To be fair, Jeter’s not the only player to waste such opportunities as the Yankees have relied – too heavily – on the long ball to get runners across. In fact, if they don’t start playing “small ball” I seriously worry about their postseason chances.

So, is this the end of Jeter’s storied tenure in New York? Certainly not, despite what some idiot fans who chanted for his trade might think. As the Captain, he undoubtedly plays an important role on the team but unless his productivity increases, some line-up changes must be made. Jeter has deservedly enjoyed the spotlight and all the perks that come from being a star in New York but there is also no tougher place to play, especially when the going gets tough.

Fan Violence

Having lived in Europe for 7 years, I’ve seen and heard of lots of bad behavior by soccer crowds, mostly in Italy as police have managed to reduce hooliganism at UK Premier League games. These anti-social tendencies ranged from throwing lit firecrackers onto the field, riots outside stadiums involving police, and racial epithets hurled at black players. In the one Serie A game I attended at Juventus’ (Turin-based) temporary stadium, I was shocked by how few women and children were in the stands. Apparently, this is normal as soccer teams don’t cater to this demographic which I personally think is ridiculous but that’s besides the point. I wouldn’t feel safe bringing my 4-year old to a soccer game there and until now, I was quite smug in my insistence that US sports fans didn’t take games too seriously; hence, the much higher ratio of families in the crowd. Unfortunately, the tide has started to turn as several fans at NFL games have complained about being harassed by drunks and just a few days ago, a fan was tasered and clubbed by police at a Pirates game for disorderly conduct. I can’t imagine how I would explain this to my daughter if we had been unlucky enough to witness this. By far the worse incident however is almost too horrible to even contemplate as a Giants fan was beaten into a coma at Dodgers Stadium simply for wearing the away team’s jersey. My first reaction was to wonder where security personnel were hiding because, for example, upon leaving Yankees Stadium you can’t walk 2 feet without passing a cop. In any event, the only good to come out of this incident has been the reaction of both teams involved who are understandably upset. I loved the fact that players from both teams stood together to address the crowd before the game and that the Giants gave Uribe his World Series ring publicly despite his signing with the Dodgers in the offseason. Read more about this moment here Giants, Dodgers players remind fans that baseball is just a game – Ann Killion – SI.com. In the meantime, here’s to hoping that this is an isolated issue which will not rear its head again – rivalries should be kept on the field of play!

Jeremy Affeldt addressing the crowd taken from SI article

Yankees vs Red Sox Game 2

I had a spare few hours to watch today’s Yankees-Red Sox game and here are my observations:

1) After 7 games, the Yankees have scored 41 runs, 14 of which were homers, the highest percentage in MLB so far. With 4 in today’s game alone, that number should increase even more. While clearly living up to the nickname “Bronx Bombers”, the Yankees shouldn’t expect to maintain that production all season. Hopefully, when the inevitable slumps occur, they’ll remember how to play small ball! The good news is that the bottom part of the line-up has been great, especially Russell Martin who contributed 2 homers against the Red Sox and has impressed me in this young season.

2) Apparently, the showers in the Yankees locker room weren’t working after yesterday’s game which was the Red Sox’s home opener. Come on, I know Fenway is old (99 years) but that is suspicious timing to say the least!! Did they forget to renovate that part of the ballpark?

The ancient Fenway Park

3) Whenever these two teams play eachother, the games seem to last forever and a day, or at the very least 3 1/2 hours! I remember when umpire Joe West complained about the length of these games last season and was roundly criticized by Mariano Rivera among others; however, he definitely has a point. By the 6th inning the game starts to drag, especially when the pitching starts to falter which is not good for baseball viewers. Umpires should make every effort to ensure the game moves along which means, for example, the pitchers shouldn’t be allowed to take so long between pitches.

4) Fox Sports showed Theo Epstein watching the game from a box and it occurred to me that I’m about his age and I went to college (Wesleyan) with Jed Hoyer, the Padres’ GM; the combination is depressing given that I’m sitting here on my couch typing this blog! Oh well.

5) Does Ken Rosenthal think his bowtie is sexy? Seriously, does he look in the mirror before he comes to the ballpark? I don’t mean  to be nasty – I just have a problem with sideline reporters in any sport. Their commentary is just fluff and certainly nothing that couldn’t be said by the regular announcers.

6) This doesn’t specifically pertain to today’s game but former Red Sox player Manny Ramirez’s sudden retirement warrants a mention. He is undoubtedly one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen with 555 career homers and 12 All-Star appearances plus the 2004 World Series MVP. However, his career was marred by off-field issues including steroids use (his retirement came after MLB notified Ramirez that he faced a 100 game suspension for failing yet another drug test) and a seriously bad attitude. As you may have guessed, I’m not a Red Sox fans but what he did to that franchise towards the end of his tenure is unforgivable (pretending to be injured etc).  Instead of ending his playing days under his own terms on the way to a sure Hall of Fame nod, Ramirez instead leaves under a cloud of suspicion, like Bonds and Sosa before him.  I can’t imagine what the Rays must be thinking right now….

How stupid can you possibly be?

Random Thoughts

My daughter is off from school for Easter (yes, this early!) so I’ve spent the last few days entertaining her meaning my posts become entirely less cohesive. Anyway, here’s what’s on my mind:

1) I just watched the Butler-UConn title game last night (living in London means I don’t watch alot of live games) and I must say that I almost fell asleep during the second half. That was one of the most boring match-ups I’ve ever seen which is a shame given how exciting the tournament was. Butler’s shooting was horrendous -18.8% from the field and only 2 points in the paint – as they only managed 41 points.  UConn played well, especially Kemba Walker who undoubtedly will declare for the NBA draft, but Butler looked completely out of sorts offensively. While I’m glad the Big East was somewhat vindicated, I can’t help but thinking UConn should’ve been banned from tournament play for their recruiting violations.Their punishment was definitely a slap on the wrist.

2) The Reliant Energy Center should not host the Final Four again. I understand that massive numbers of people attended the games but watching on TV, I sensed no buzz whatsoever. That may be partly due to Butler’s presence as it’s a tiny school (under 3,000 undergrads compared to a huge state school like UConn) but the venue is realistically a football stadium.

3) Who’s hot in baseball right (all of 5 games into the season): Mark Teixeira is batting .333 with 4 homers and 10 RBIs which will hopefully put to rest the annoying talk about his slow starts; the Baltimore Orioles are 4-0 and are leading the AL East – that won’t last but Buck Showalter as Manager is a major step in the right direction;  the Cincinnati Red are also undefeated and should prove that last season was no fluke.

4) Who’s not hot in baseball: Manny Ramirez is batting .063 and has been given a “rest” by Joe Maddon; the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are struggling as pitching has surprisingly been a weak point for both teams.

5) Is Tony Romo guaranteed to start for the Cowboys if there is a season? According to some of his teammates, Romo should be made to “compete” for his job with Kitna who did a great job at QB during Romo’s injury.  Always drama in Cowboyland!

 

AP Photo / Jessica Hill