Why Jericho Scott Can’t Pitch for Your Son’s BaseballTeam
August 27, 2008
Nine-year old Jericho Scott won’t be playing any more baseball this year. The young black boy, a pitcher, was banned from the Youth Baseball League of New Haven (Connecticut). Why?
Because league officials deemed that ‘he throws too hard.”
Scott throws a 40 mile per hour fastball. His team was headed to the playoffs. Officials for the three-year old league fired Wilfred Vidro - Scott’s coach - because he refused to banish Scott and split the players up among the other eight teams in the league. They even attempted to manipulate the press, saying Vidro resigned rather than telling the truth.
Barack Obama Picks Joe Biden as Vice President
August 23, 2008
The text message came into my phone at 3:07 AM. “Barack Obama has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee, watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.barackobama.com”
Here are some quick thoughts:
From purely a politically strategic point of view, I think that I like it, but need to do some more homework. Sure, there will be some negative commentary on past Biden “debate clips”, and we will hear about how “clean” he thinks Obama is. In between, he may fill the perceived voter doubts about Obama’s foreign policy experience. I deliberately say “perceived” because I believe that Obama is already 1000 times more qualified than McCain on foreign policy. Any president — save our current one — can hire experts around them to fill in their gaps, but Obama goes into foreign policy dialogue as someone who is actually LIKED and RESPECTED all around the world. This is the first step of productive dialogue with any foreign nation. The fact that Obama is far superior a communicator than McCain doesn’t hurt either. But I digress.
I also like the pick for something that will most likely not reach the nightly news anytime soon. An Obama-Biden ticket is America’s best chance to signal an end to the despicable, devastating, disgusting, and discriminatory “crack vs. cocaine” disparity laws. This law along with mandatory minimum sentencing, prisons for profit, “3-Strikes”, and others were all enacted in the years after the success of the Civil Rights movement. In other words, they are Jim Crow’ direct off-spring the way Jim Crow was slavery’s first-born. Of course, this doesn’t mention a whole host of nephews, nieces, and cousins – but I digress.
Unlike Mccain, Obama is on record stating that he wants to end the crack vs. cocaine disparity. Biden is quite significant because not only does he want to end the disparity — but he is one of the original fools who strongly supported the legislation in the first place. And in the last couple of years, even he has been fighting hard to overturn them.
Anyway, something to consider. Expect a more thorough future post on this subject.
The Sports Writing Blues: Confessions of an Angry White Fan
August 20, 2008
“I’m not Dead Yet”: Why are Stars Past their Prime Treated so Badly?
August 13, 2008
Recently we saw both Manny Ramirez and Brett Favre being escorted off the premises in Boston and Green Bay. Both had delivered a title to each city after decades of losing. Both were slightly past their prime, but still at least among the top 25% in the league at their position. Yet they were widely vilified for their attitudes, and management tried hard to get rid of them. Why did this happen? Are you going to tell me that Manny and Brett’s attitudes have spontaneously changed from team player to spoiled divo as they aged? Or that their attitudes were so bad that they could only be tolerated when playing at an MVP level? Both theories are highly suspect.
NBA Linkin’ Park: 5 Players You Forgot About
August 6, 2008
Kermit Washington’s Remarkable Redemption - The Starting Five: It is long past time to forget “The Punch”. In 1994, Washington took a trip to Rwanda to see how he could help out post-genocide. He has been doing tremendous work ever since. Also, listen to Washington give an unfiltered assessment of the Ron Artest you might not know.
Shawn Kemp Confirms Rumors - SLAM Online: The last time you saw him, he was looking a little hefty dragging himself down the court. In this video a 38 year old Kemp looks like he is back close to his “Reign Man” weight and will be playing in Italy this year — perhaps to fill the giant void left by Danilo Gallinari.
Earl Boykins Latest to Go Overseas - Yahoo: Boykins is also heading to Italy, but unlike Kemp he will become Italy’s highest paid player at 3.5 mil for one year. Boykins is one of my favorites as what is mot to like about a guy 5′5″ and 130 soaking wet. Given his slight build, I give Boykins the nod over Mugsy Bogues as the NBA’s all-time best feel-good-you-can-achieve-anything-underdog stories.
The Status of Greg Oden - TrueHoop: Admit it, you kind sorta forgot about him when you were trying to decide if Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, or OJ Mayo would win next year’s Rookie of the Year award. Oden is coming along slowly but surely. Great anecdote here how he basically knocks out his coach Nate McMillan. Also, for those who don’t know, back in February, Oden publicly endorsed Barack Obama. In other words, I’m liking Oden’s game thus far on and off the court. Usually it’s a choice! (see Etan Thomas & Ira Newble).
MJ is Still at It! - HoopsVibe! You might not have forgot about the man, but forgot that he’s still playing sort of… He says it would be “no contest” against Kobe if he was in his prime. What’s also interesting about the video is that ultra-competitive MJ won’t take it easy no matter if an 18 or 8 year old is guarding him.
Bonus - Basketbawful: Okay, you haven’t forgot about Baron Davis and Steve Nash, but this video is funny!
Weekend Think Links: Manny Being Slammied; Olympic Swimmers
August 4, 2008
Some quick hits on the events of the past weekend:
Adding a bit to D-Wil’s early post on the Manny Ramirez trade, and Boston Red Sox management’s general habit of tarnishing or diminishing the character of their former players almost immediately after trading them, here is a recap of the stories out of Boston, and LA, since the trade. Read more
Smearing Manny (with a Mike and Mike in the Morning and a David Ortiz update)
August 4, 2008
Manny’s in La-La.
Meantime, Theo and John Henry are busy back across the country scuffing Manny’s image like a Phil Niekro offering just like the dynamic dupes did Ramon spelled backwards…. remember, Pedro got done the same way, too. The pair didn’t and won’t use the Globe or even the Herald to exact their pound of person meat from Ramirez (though you can always count on some writers there to be senseless and unkind); they know better. They know the writers there know the real deal. No, they went to Rhode Island - Providence to be exact - to do their dirt and used the natural hater tendencies of the scribes in New Yaaawk to do their dusty deeds. Scoopin’ up the Theo-Henry poop exactly as planned, the boys with a chip because they don’t live in Massachusetts and the boys with a chip cause they haven’t won none in a few years ran with the hateful message like Tyson Gay on his best day.
And like a good dog ESPN came a’ lappin’. They picked up the finger nail file-frayed ball and repeated the Ramirez as bad egg words and swore to the nation they never threw a dirty pitch.
Good thing Manny’s got a fuck you attitude because his uni is still old school baggy and even Joe T. won’t make him shore his magic “Manny Locks” - and 2-for-3 when the Big Unit was bumpin’ the bump after traveling all day, going straight to the park to look at Chavez Ravine for the first time in your life is a great way to show how truly great a ball player you are.
Man-Ram Gone to LA - Red Sox Postseason Hopes Might Be Gone with Him
July 31, 2008
Wonder boy and his boss just outdid themselves…
Way to go Theo Epstein and John Henry. You just ruined your team’s batting order and blew your team’s chances at the playoffs. Oh, and the Los angeles Dodgers got the bat they needed - your player Manny Ramirez - for nothing when you could have allowed him to produce for you and lead you to the playoffs and then let him go.
And you got Jason Bay.
For a shoe-in Hall of Fame player you got J-A-S-O-N frigging Bay.
You guys - the Boston Red Sox - took what, a century to catch up to the New York Yankees? And you, Theo Epstein, were the spearhead of the Red Sox revival. Your 21st century baseball insight overtook the Big Apple 20th century machine. You brought in the right players from other teams, promoted the right guys from the minors, and stood firm when everyone around you in the American League was scuffling to make that magic move.
But today you blinked. You blinked hard, too. Maybe you could have traded Ramirez for Mark Texiera — maaaay-be. And that might have been okay. Might have.
*Breaking* Ivan Rodriguez Traded to Yankees! (plus the reactions from the New York press)
July 30, 2008
Wow!
The Detroit Tigers have battled their way back to within 5.5 games of the AL Central lead, so what do they do? Trade Ivan Rodriguez to the New York Yankees for right-handed relief pitcher, Kyle Farnsworth.
The move is a masterstroke for Brian Cashman as the Yankees get a catcher who can automatically settle the entire pitching staff, and act as the battery leader that has been sorely missing since Jorge Posada went down to injury.
As for Detroit, well they have only one catcher listed on their roster - and that’s “Pudge,” as Rodriguez is known. Rodriguez, 36, has won 13 Gold Gloves and was hitting .295 with five homers in 82 games with Detroit this season.
The Tigers will most likely move Brandon Inge back to his natural position as a catcher with Rodriguez’s departure.
More to come…..
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Word has it that Tigers president Dave Dombrowski did not want to trade Rodriguez, but felt the team had more urgent needs in the bullpen:
“First let me say that Pudge has done an outstanding job for us,” Dombrowski told reporters before Detroit played the Cleveland Indians. “I’m sure he was very surprised by this, but for him this is a good situation. He’s going to New York City, and they are in contention.”
Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras:
“Pudge had a no-trade clause and he waived it today to go to New York,” Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, told The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon. “Pudge has always wanted to play in New York and Detroit felt it needed a relief pitcher, so both sides were able to get what they wanted to some degree.”
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Here’s the news from the Detroit Free Press:
…the club believes Brandon Inge is ready to succeed Rodriguez as the No. 1 catcher for the rest of this season. “Brandon Inge is ready to tackle being the everyday catcher. He gives us a quality chance to win on a day-in, day-out basis and this allows us to address the one area of our club that needs to be addressed the most, which is our bullpen, ” Dombrowski explained. He also said Inge will be the No. 1 catcher next season.
Lastly, the Tigers need bullpen help. “Our major focus was our bullpen,” said Dombrowski. Todd Jones has been replaced at closer by Fernando Rodney, but neither Rodney nor Joel Zumaya, who were injured much of the year, are as durable right now as the Tigers hope they will be. Rodney has struggled with his control in both of his outings since he replaced Jones at closer.
He stressed that the deal doesn’t in any way represent a retreat from the Tigers’ playoff aspirations for this season. He said he believes the trade makes the club stronger now….
After his 4-for-4 performance on Sunday, he had the best offensive numbers of any prospective free-agent catcher. He is hitting .295 with five homers in 82 games this season. Among all catchers with at least 290 at-bats, Rodriguez ranks fifth in on-base-plus-slugging percentage, with .759. The four catchers ahead of him this year are All-Stars Brian McCann, Joe Mauer, Geovany Soto and Russell Martin.
Farnsworth, like Rodriguez, can be a free agent after this season. He pitched for the Tigers in 2005. At the trading deadline that year, the Tigers traded him to Atlanta for pitchers Zach Miner (now a Tigers starter) and Roman Colon (since dealt to Kansas City). The Tigers made the deal after Farnsworth, also a pending free agent that season, turned down a multi-year contract offer from them.
This season, Farnsworth is 1-2 in 45 appearances. His statistic that would raise the most concern is homers allowed: 11 in 44 1/3 innings.
“He has been throwing well lately, between 94 and 98 mph,” Dombrowski said.
With Thursday’s 4 p.m. trading deadline about 24 hours away, Dombrowski said, “I’ve talked to a dozen clubs today. I don’t think I’m close on anything. You never know when things take place this time of year. This one (the Rodriguez trade) came out of the blue. This deal all really happened today.”
Dombrowski said the club hadn’t held any contract discussions with Rodriguez about next season.
In a related development, Dane Sardinha was called up from Triple-A Toledo to be the No. 2 catcher behind Inge.
And just this morning, Detroit Free Press columnist Lynn Hennings had this to say about the Tigers as they neared the trade deadline:
A gut feeling throughout July’s shopping bazaar known as the non-waiver trade deadline is that the Tigers’ deals would be summed up accordingly:
Nothing.
This was more or less confirmed Tuesday when Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers president and general manager, was asked if he anticipated Detroit dealing for short-term, or long-haul, help ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
“I do not know what will happen,” Dombrowski said. “But we continue to talk with clubs to have a feel about what will be taking place.”
Although Dombrowski obviously and intentionally offered not a shred of insight there, it’s highly unlikely the Tigers will do anything remotely close to significant ahead of Thursday’s 4 p.m. deadline, for a couple of reasons.
Mathematically, they’re still in the playoff chase. Realistically, they haven’t come close to changing their competitive personality this season. It’s a stretch to believe any trade-deadline dealing will alter realities there.
The Tigers have to be careful about making any bold trades that would in any way further deplete their core of young talent that’s the key to this ballclub remaining competitive in the years ahead.
That’s how much a surprise the Pudge to New York trade is.
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Most of the New York baseball writers haven’t yet weighed in on the trade. But here’s a quote from a New York Times brief on the breaking news:
“You’re talking about a Hall of Fame catcher coming in here,” [Yankees manager, Joe] Girardi said. “He’s been playing very well.”
While Girardi, who was emotional about losing Farnsworth, would not specifically say Rodriguez will start over Molina, he did say, “Pudge is going to play.”
6:44 (EST): From the NY Daily News:
Here comes the Pudge.
Two days after announcing Jorge Posada would have season-ending shoulder surgery, the Yankees moved swiftly, obtaining 14-time All-Star Ivan Rodriguez from Detroit on Wednesday for reliever Kyle Farnsworth….
As for Farnsworth, his tumultuous pinstriped tenure ended just as he was pitching at his most effective level in three seasons with the Yanks. He was in tears as he spoke and received hugs from several Yankees, including closer Mariano Rivera.
Farnsworth had seemingly solidified his spot as Joe Girardi’s primary eighth-inning setup man since Joba Chamberlain was moved to the starting rotation in June.
Farnsworth is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA in a team-high 45 relief appearances, including a stretch of 11 straight games without allowing a run (9-1/3 innings) before he was tagged for two Monday night against Baltimore.
He appeared in 46 games for the Tigers before getting traded to Atlanta during the 2005 season.
And from Newsday, which includes quotes from Brian Cashman on the trade:
The Yankees are apparently all in on the 2008 season. They traded for Tigers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez Wednesday afternoon, sending setup man Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit.
It was a quick-developing deal, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, beginning with a 10 a.m. phone call from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski. Dombrowski wanted to know if Cashman would be interested in a straight-up Farnsworth-for-Rodriguez trade. Cashman spoke with all the relevant parties, from manager Joe Girardi to Yankees co-chairmen Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, and during the game, he got back to Dombrowski with a “yes.”
The Tigers spoke to Rodriguez, who agreed to waive his no-trade clause, and by the eighth inning, it was a done deal.
“We want this (playoff) race to be interesting,” Cashman said, “and we want to cross that finish line and play a 163rd game.”…
The Yankees have used Jose Molina as their starting catcher most of the season… And as good as Molina is behind the plate, Rodriguez is among the best ever.
“This is Pudge Rodriguez we’re talking about,” Cashman said.
Said Girardi: “I know he still shuts down a running game. He can still catch. … Guys like Pudge Rodriguez don’t come along every day.”
But getting Rodriguez did not come at no cost. Farnsworth has been tremendous for the Yankees. After having more downs than ups in the first two years of his three-year contract, he performed well this season after being reunited with his former teammate Girardi. Farnsworth had a 3.65 ERA in 45 games and 44 1/3 innings for the Yankees.
Farnsworth was teary after hearing the news, and Cashman said it was one of the more difficult trade conversations he’s had.
“Farnsy did a hell of a job for us,” Cashman said. “We are robbing Peter to pay Paul here, so I hope it works out.”
Notes: Gang Signin’ in the NFL; Camby was a Chess Piece; More Goods on Roger the Rapin’ Roider; Jennings Signs with Italian Team
July 16, 2008
Crip signin’… right?
The NFL is concerned about its image - again. The league has hired “experts” to review and identify “hand signals” thrown up by NFL players during games:
“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” said Milt Ahlerich, the league’s vice president of security. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”
Ahlerich says the league has long warned its players about the influence of gangs and other forms of organized crime, but that those admonishments have intensified since the 2007 killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was gunned down after an altercation involving known gang members.
The issue of athletes flashing signs gained national attention in April when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making “menacing gestures” as he walked toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench during a game.
While acknowledging that he wasn’t “into the etymology of gestures,” NBA Commissioner David Stern took immediate action after league officials examined video of the incident.
“And our decision is that there were two menacing gestures,” Stern said at the time.
