The years of the Padres being locks to win the AAAA Lest are over. Due partly to the fact that they don't have the talent they used to have and partly to the fact that the rest of the division is catching up.
Gone is G.M. Kevin Towers and his replacement Jed Hoyer (used to work for Theo) had a busy off-season signing a few new players, trading a few loved Padres away and hiring some front office staff. He needs to just crawl under a rock and hide for a little while. He has made his statements about how it was a nice area where he kept the kid, and we might have believed him. That is, until his video came out showing the area where he kept a college sophomore. He locked a kid up like he was some sort of barn animal because he was not sure if the kid was actually injured. Never mind the fact that Leach is a coach, not a doctor.
Of course, there are also the remarks of other current players essentially saying that Leach is a bully. Then on the last day of 2009 he came out with the beautiful interview where he made a statement from a doctor about how putting a kid with a concussion in a shed does not endanger him even if the kid did have a concussion.
I get that Leach thinks the kid is faking a concussion. But that is not Leach's decision. The doctor's said that he did and that should have been good enough for Leach and his staff.
Furthermore, it doesn't matter if you put him in danger, putting a kid in a shed because of an injury is just wrong. There is nothing more needed to know.
To be fair, the guilt doesn't lie completely with Leach. In America we have taken the whole warrior mentality for athletics too far. It is a useful metaphor as long as it doesn't cause us to lose sight of what college athletics are actually about.
I realized this the other day as I was listening to the post game interview on one of the bowl games.
The winning coach talked about his kids being warriors and how they battled during the game. Then he said the only truthful statement of his interview. He said, "They put on quite a show tonight."
That is the truth of it; college football is entertainment. Coaches are not training kids to go to war. They are not making warriors; they are making entertainers. They are getting rich while the kids make next to nothing.
Ideally, the kids learn some life principles and get a decent education in the process. Of course, there's a few too many stories out there (FSU anyone?) that cause me to doubt even that most basic tenet of college athletics.
The metaphor of warrior has gone on for too long.
It has enabled men like Leach to actually think that putting someone in a shed is an acceptable behavior because it could teach them discipline or some other sort of warrior mentality. Leach has confused the position of coach with that of a drill sergent.
Listen to your local talk radio, if it is like mine, you will hear "war stories" about atrocities high school coaches could inflict on kids in the "good ole' days" of yesteryear. Anyone who would dare to not play and subject themselves to what the all mighty coach wanted to do was and is somehow less of a man.
We feed a kids a lie from the time they start playing as little four and five year olds. We tell them that what they're doing is going to matter beyond them. We make it into some sort of mytholgical tale. Of course, it's just a tale.
Don't believe me? Then you never played high school athletics. Why is it cliche for the guy who has not done anything as an adult to always fall back into telling stories about his High School days? Because he was sold a lie.
Like medicine that is helpful when taken in appropriate doses, but dangerous when used in excess this metaphor/lie is tearing at the very fabric of the values our sports are supposed to be teaching.
Mike Leatch's actions are just one more example of how dangerous this metaphor actually is and the danger it can cause if left to go unchecked.
]]>He should be voted in. Read Ken's (Can I call you that Ken?) thoughts here.
]]>The Yankees middle relief is the most interesting of their pitching to me. Last year Girardi seemed to know how to use it to maximum effect but was that a fluke. Was that just a misconception on my part? Which brings me to the next piece of this puzzle to consider, management. Is Girardi the best guy to lead this team? The truth is I don't know. I loved Girardi as a player and catcher's often make great managers, but he seems a little high strung for this team. I hope I'm wrong, but to me, he is the second biggest wild card (behind Cano and Jorge). What kind of job will he do? My guess is that if the Yankees don't get out of the gate fast, we may see a new manager, or at the very least Girardi will feel some real heat from ownership and fans alike.
On the whole I think this team is the best team the Yankees have had in a few years and
Tommorrow: Why the Yanks should sign Milton Bradley and dump Hideki
]]>The Yanks have had quite the off-season. There's a lot of "experts" out there talking about how it's the same old same old from the Bronx Bombers, but is it? Yes, they've been spending money on some stars. I'd argue that they're not only getting talent, they're getting talent that is in or near it's prime. Last year, the Yankees relied too much on "could be's", "never were's" and "used to be's" with a few proven players scattered in there. This year, they'll be younger, and more proven. Taking a quick look at each position and you can see they'll be better talent wise at almost every position.
1B: Tex over Giambi is a huge upgrade. Did the Yankees overpay for Tex? Maybe. But they certainly upgraded. Tex is one of the top three offensive first basemen in the league. He has no equal on defense. This has been a thorn in the Yankees side as long as Giambi has been there.
2B: This is a "We don't know" position. Will Cano return to form or will he struggle again? I don't know and frankly neither does anyone else. The Yankees seem to believe in him so that might count for something.
3B: A-Rod, love him or hate him this is an odd year, which has typically been a good year for him. (Of course I'm a little superstitious! I am a baseball fan). Even a down year for this guy is something to look forward to from an offensive POV. Of course, the question will be can he hit when it matters?
SS: A healthy Jeter is always welcome in my opinion.
Outfield/DH: This is still a bit of a cluttered mess. Who will play where? Is Gardner really that big of an improvement over Melky? Personally, I think Melky is a good to average centerfielder. If that is the case, Damon could play left and Swisher could DH/play left or right. Nady will be a good platoon guy and I think he could play LF everyday. He is the type of guy the Yankees had in spades during the last dynasty run in the late 90's. A hard working platoon guy that can play hard nosed defense and get some timely hits when needed.
DH
is the most interesting position to me. I think Matsui needs to go.
I've not been sold on him for a few years. I imagine that might hurt
the team from a business stand point as I am sure he brings in a lot of
revenue from the Japanese markets but his skills are just fading. If
they kept him, I think that he would be adequate. The depth here at OF
allows them some wiggle room in the trade department.
I think they should move Matsui for a MR guy and go after Manny to be a full time DH.
C: If Jorge is healthy, he will really lengthen their lineup this coming year. We'll see what happens there. I love Jorge but he is older. Molina isn't a bad back up because of his defensive skills but his offense leaves much to be desired. If Jorge is healthy this should be a huge upgrade over last year.
Tomorrow we'll look at the pitching and management.
I wonder if Yankees fans ever blush. What's so special about pulling for the bully at the end of the street who beats up on the smallest kid in town? What's cool is when you're rooting for a team that comes from nowhere. Most of us like the underdogs, and they still have their day in baseball, as we saw with the Rays this past season.I'll answer for you Todd. I do blush occasionally, but never about the Yankees. If I were a Pirates fan, I'd blush about my ownership. If I were a Marlins fan, I'd blush about my ownership. As a Yankees fan, I blush when I have to read drivel like yours.
One of my favorite Yankee Stadium memories is from when I was in college. We drove to the Stadium at the last minute. I snuck down from the nose bleed sections to the right field wall. Shawn Green still played for the Blue Jays. He missed a ball that should have been an easy out (after striking out on three pitches in the top half of the inning) and we rode him really hard. He actually pointed to us, uttered a few words about wanting to have "special relationships" with us. That clip of him pointing at us actually made it on ESPN, the world wide misleader, that night. Clemens was pitching for the Jays. There was this little girl that came to the game with her dad. She wore a pink dress, patent leather shoes, and had a poster hidden against her body. During one portion of the game where there was really not all that much going on, the fans started booing and chanting. I turned around and sure enough her poster said, "I love Roger." I have no idea what her dad was doing bringing her to that portion of the stadium. That is a fond memory.
Another fond memory was this large guy making fun of Bernie Williams. Now, I love Bernie. There was no need for him to be making fun of Bernie at this time (I think it was '97) so I turned around to see who was heckling Bernie. The guy looked like Newman.
So I turned around and went after the poor fellow. I asked him if they charged him for two seats and told him to let Bernie alone. The entire area of the stadium cheered me for that. (I know it was mean and I can only claim the lack of judgment that comes from youth).
None of that was my favorite memory from that game. My favorite memory from that game is the fact that Andy Pettitte pitched. Even as I sit and type this post I can still remember his pitching. It was magical. He was so fluid. Each body-motion was loaded with power, yet the overall motion was like a dancer performing a fine classical tune. Andy Pettitte is my favorite Yankee of my life time, maybe of all time...but
...it's time for him to accept the fact that he isn't worth 16 million dollars in this market. Is there another team out there that is going to give it to him? Maybe, maybe not, no one knows for sure. At what point though, does that become a moot point. Andy has said before that it's not just about the money for him. I believed him. Now, I'm starting to wonder. He has a chance to be part of one of the potentially greatest rotations in a long time to wear the Yankee pinstripes. When he left last time, I was crushed. It physically hurt and I imagine that this time will hurt some as well but he needs to be realistic.
I suppose with the Red Sox signing of Brad Penny may give Andy some more room to negotiate with the Yanks but not much. I really hope he comes back. I think his leadership and personality will be good for the Yankees. He's one of the best post season pitchers of all time. The Yankees could use him, but they don't need him.
]]>Last year, LSU proved that the proper spin is more important than wins or losses.]]>
This is the third installment of a 9 part series of things I've learned over the years about life whiling playing, coaching, watching or umpiring baseball. You can find principle #1 here and principle #2 here.
Principle #1 is "Losers Make Excuses, Winners Make Changes"
Principle #2 is "Don't Worry About What Just Happened; Focus On What is About To Happen"
Principle #3 is "Without the Will to Prepare, the Will to Win is Pointless. Nothing More Than Glorified Hubris."
Most
of the time baseball is a game that is won before the first pitch is
ever thrown so preparation is the key (Note: I only say most of the
time because I shudder at universal statements). Sure the walk off
Larry gets the most attention but how much preparation goes into that
moment? How many decisions over the course of the game lead to that
moment? Recently I watched a game end in a 2-0 shut out. The losing
pitcher gave up zero earned runs. He still lost. I wonder if the short
stop or the right fielder put in enough practice time to be confident
in that game situation.
It always amazes me how people seem to
think that successful people just wake up one day as successful people.
It just doesn't work that way. It takes hard work and preparation. The
will to win without the will to prepare to win is useless.
Success follows preparation, period. It's true in baseball and it's
true in life. I used to work in the food service business and nowhere
was this principle more evident to me than there. The difference
between successful servers and non-successful servers was the fact that
the successful ones prepared. The difference in a good shifts and bad
shifts was the level of preparation that went into each shift.
No one can step up to a plate and just hit successfully. No pitcher can
be successfully over the long haul if he doesn't prepare. If he doesn't
hone his skill and study his opponent he will not succeed on pure
talent alone. It's in the preparation that we hone those skills. How
does a guy who can't hit a curveball learn to hit it? You guessed it,
preparation. So baseball has taught me that preparation is the key to
success. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Study, study, study.
Hone
your skills. If you try something and fail, study what you did. Look at
what went right, what went wrong. Schedule time in your day to look at
what you're doing. Take time to prepare. Have a will to prepare, at the
end of the day that is far more important than your will to win.
[Melvin]...shows a complete lack of understanding of a superior athlete's desire to feel wanted and the business behind baseball in the Bronx, especially at this moment in franchise history.
Let's hope the businessman explains the basics to the baseball man.]]>
One of the realities you learn to live with when you cheer for the Yankees is everyone complaing about the Yankees "buying a championship." It usually sounds like this:
Me: I like the Yankees
Them: OH they just wah wah wah wah wah, buy, wah wah wah, cry cry cry, their, wah wah wah, championships.
I get so tired of hearing it. As if it's the Yankees fault that half the world buys their stuff and that they are the most successful franchise in the history of the world.
This year is no exception. Of course with the signing of C.C. and AJ this year is no different. But is it true? Of course, the Yankees haven't won a world series in years despite adding to their line-up and their payroll. This year, things seem a little different though, the Yankees are getting younger and their going after pitching.
The Yankees farm system is stacked with pitching talent and they are building the talent on the fielding side. They currently have in the system Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, and Philip Hughes--all potential big timers
Next years starting rotation looks something like this:
1. Sabathia, 28 yo
2. Burnett, 32 yo
3. Wang, 29 yo
4. Chamberlain, 23 yo
5. Pettite, 36 (I am speculating here)
This is where the Yankee haters are most bothersome. If this
rotation were the Mets, or the Red Sux the world wide miss leader would be
heralding it as one of the greatest potential rotations ever. Yes, the 2009 Yankees have some holes to
fill. Yes, they may not be where they want to be yet, but they are moving in
the right direction and the last few months have proven that.
The Yankees may well be the team to beat in '09.