Archive for July, 2008

Magic Carpet Ride

sandcrabs July 15th, 2008

It’s All-Star time.  That wonderful mid-summer classic.  Really?  Wonderful?  Call me a cynic (I won’t argue) but today’s game doesn’t hold the same allure as days gone by.  Baseball, New York, Fox or Chevrolet (it’s kind of hard to tell who is responsible for this) are hosting a red carpet ride down 6th avenue in New York ending at Central Park.  It’s a mix of current stars and hall of famers.  It’s great to see some of my boyhood heroes, no matter how old they’re getting.  Why aren’t there anymore players like that nowadays?  Oh sure, Derek Jeter appears to be the face of baseball.  Josh Hamilton is a great story (his wife is hot!).  But nobody today can hold the jockstrap of those I grew up watching.  Watching Saturday baseball games on NBC was about all me and my dad had together.  My best friend was way more athletic than I so I kept a close eye on who he rooted for.  I may have picked them up from another, but I held onto those heroes as long as I could.

The interviewers are none other than the Slump-Buster himself, Mark Grace.  Does everybody remember his discussion about what he did whenever he was in a hitting slump?  Whichever town he was currently in, he would go to a bar, get lit, find the biggest woman he could find, and I quote, “Lay the wood to her.”  How classic is that?  And this guy is interviewing some of baseball’s royalty.  Fox has some bimbo named Charissa Thompson doing the other interviews.  She is quite a hottie, but dumb as a post.  She interviewed Jonathon Papelbon about the possible decision that he, and not Mariano Rivera closing the game, and he made a comment about needing to be in the Popemobile.  Ms. Thompson didn’t quite understand his analogy (that’s a comparison for those who are vocabularly challenged) and laughed it off saying it was some sort of technical thing.  Well, she doesn’t have to be smart.  Just looking at her is good enough.  Great legs.

Interviews have been done with such great players as George Brett, whose infamous Pine-tar incident was in…..New York.  Each new block, George gets the chant of “pine-tar; pine-tar”.  Gotta love those New York fans.  Mike Schmidt looks old next to Chase Utley, but man did that dude have a stick.  And at the hot corner, what a beast.

Heroes of old were so much fun to watch.  They consistently made the difficult look routine, and the impossible look spectacular.  Some of my favorites were Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and who I still will argue was the best baseball player ever….Willie Mays.  To watch these men play a game with such ease inspired every little boy with a glove to have dreams of becoming a major league player.  Hell, I used to wear #9 in Little League, Reggie Jackson’s number while he was with the A’s.

Players today, without a doubt, are much more the physical speciman than those who played long ago.  I can’t argue that but with technology as it is today, with the grind of the game, this is more of a requirement.  There’s something missing today though.  Something that leaves me somewhat empty.  I can’t relate.  Was it a little boy’s dream of wanting to be as good as his friend?  Wanting to be just like Willie, Henry or Reggie?  It’s hard to say.  Something back in those days seemed so pure.  Maybe a little innocent, or romantic about it?  OH MY GOD!!!!  The bimbo is interviewing the Hammer!  Just seeing him on TV brings chills down my spine.  Having the homerun record and the trials he endured were more than a lot of players now can handle.  He had to put up with death threats all the time.  Kind of makes rumors about banging Madonna seem like a walk in the park.  In fact, I wish somebody would accuse me of having an affair with Madonna.

Yankee Stadium is one of the last, grand cathederals left.  The history that will only be remembered in film and minds is some of what made baseball so great.  Moving to a new “Yankee Stadium” kind of seems hollow to me.  It’s just an example of how far baseball is moving away from the golden times.  As much as I loathe the Red Sox, Fenway should never be recreated or destroyed.  Same with Wrigley field.  Shlink Lincoln and I started to think about stadiums we would want to put on our Bucket List and those two are at the top.  Make things pure again.  I love the gesture of trying to link to the glorious past of baseball, but it may be too little too late.

Uhhhh, really?

sandcrabs July 5th, 2008

So, the NBA draft last week had a hell of a lot of changes and trades.  That’s pretty normal, but what bugs me is that the trades aren’t official until July 9.  Why?  Oh, I know it has something to do with their free agency period and the collective bargaining agreement, but it sucks to hear team officials dance around the questions about trades.  Do it like football.  Announce the trade during the draft and allow everybody to explain themselves right away.

Okay, enough on that.  I sit here changing channels between 3rd round coverage of the PGA AT&T National and the Yankees/Red Sox game.  First, an opinion on the state of the PGA (of course you knew I have an opinion).  I think Tiger being out is one of the better things for the PGA.  My reasoning is that the occassional viewer can now get to know the games of players they may not have necessarily known had Tiger stayed healthy.  It’s usually “Hey!  Let’s see Tiger’s shot and, oh by the way, the leader just made eagle on 7….which we will replay for you after we watch Tiger.”  Nothing against Tiger.  I’m a big fan of Eldrick’s.  I love watching some of the freaking crazy shots that guy makes.  It totally bakes my noodle watching another human being do the things that he does.  No.  My point is that we will get to see at least a dozen more players who each week do very well.  Kenny Perry is the next big thing.  His redneck, easy-going demeanor is just what the sport needs.  Steve Stricker is a might fine player in his own right.

I could go on and on listing those who I feel deserve some extra attention, but you should check it out for yourself.  I know there will be more than a few names you’ve never heard of but will show up for the FedEx Cup playoffs as well as the Ryder Cup.

Now, I have a question to ask of you….and please comment with your answer and some examples.  Is it possible to hate a particular organization but really like and respect the individuals who play for them?  I mentioned the Yankees and Red Sox.  Two of the most polarizing franchises in all of sports.  You either hate them or love them.  Of course, if you love the Yankees you absolutely hate the Red Sox.  If you love the Red Sox, nothing gets you more fired up than anything having to do with the Yankees.  I can’t stand either.  Oh, it was nice to see Boston finally win a World Series, but enough.  Shut up and go away for another 86 years.

There are more than a few players on each team that I truly enjoy to watch.  Regardless of what anybody thinks personally of the man, Derek Jeter is one of the greatest players ever.  He is always a professional, consistent and you know exactly what you’re going to get from him.  A lot of people continue to pile on A-Rod.  Enough is enough.  Yeah, I loathed him during the “Pay-Rod” era when he initially went to Texas.  However, the guy just keeps producing and, barring injury or a drug scandle, could very well challenge the career home run  record.  Oh, and the dude can run.  (He just stole second)  Mike Mussina, Johnny Damon, Melki Cabrera (A-Rod just took 3rd) and the only guy in all of Major League Baseball that has been honest about their steroid use, Jason Giambi.  The manager, Joe Girardi, is a very good manager.  He got totally jobbed in Florida who didn’t have enough sense to keep the individual who won Manager of the Year.  Wow.  That’s pretty stupid.  Of course this list isn’t all inclusive.

On the Red Sox side you’ve got Tim Wakefield, Oregon native Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youklis, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew.  Power, speed, professionalism.  Very good to great players all.  But I just can’t stand the organization.  Same with the Yankees.  I root for these players individually, but I don’t want to see the team (franchise) have any success.

Notice I didn’t mention Manny Ramirez.  Is there a bigger putz in all of baseball?  The mantra “Manny being Manny” is an old, tired excuse.  Let me refresh some memories on what a jackass this guy is.  A few weeks ago Manny had to be separated from Kevin Youklis in the dugout over what’s being termed a “misunderstanding.”  Then, just this week, a Red Sox travelling secretary (It was a guy, don’t get all freaked out) advised Ramirez he may not be able to come up with the 16 tickets Manny wanted for that night’s game.  Enraged, Ramirez knocked that guy to the floor.  Some reports indicate it was a shove, but as big and strong as Ramirez is….he knocked the guy down.  He’s still on the team and there was no discipline.  Quite ironice that Shawn Chacon of the Astros did pretty much the same thing to his General Manager and he was released.  I know there are differences here.  Chacon shoved his General Manager while Ramirez knocked down a lowly secretary.  Who gives a damn?!  They each had a physical confrontation with a team employee.  The other difference was that Chacon was struggling and Ramirez is one of the best in baseball.  It was just “Manny being Manny”.  Bullcrap!  Somebody needs to send this joker a message that his behavior is no longer quaint.  He should have been at least suspended but since he’s as good as he is it would never happen. 

Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I can’t stand these franchises.  The way they do business is a joke.  Sure, they make millions of dollars but we as fans deserve better.  Oh well.  I’m just one voice.  They don’t care what I think and never will.  You can be sure that the wuss know as Commissioner Selig will keep his craggy head in the sand and continue to let “Manny be Manny.”