Happy 4th of July! July 4, 2009
Posted by Chris in Baseball.add a comment
Time for my monthly blog! And what better to blog about on the great American holiday of Independence Day than…baseball! I’m sitting at my desk, wearing my Dodgers cap as I watch the Dodgers on TV. Predictably, the hackneyed FOX broadcasters are beating me down with Manny Ramirez references: Manny in the dugout, Manny in the on-deck circle, Manny putting on his cap, Manny drinking water, Manny breathing air, ad nauseum. But FOX’s weak coverage can’t take away from the greatness of the Dodgers. So on the 4th of July, here’s four things I think are great about the Dodgers:
1. Dodger Stadium. It’s a great place to watch a game. Sunny, open, beautifully manicured, old school scoreboards, and those crazy-tilty roof panels around the outfield. Plus, SoCal weather doesn’t hurt. Although the worst sunburn I think I ever got was courtesy a Dodgers day home game.
2. Dodgers uniforms. The home whites are among the most classic uni-s in the majors (along with Yankees home, Cards home, Tigers home, Red Sox road).
3. Vin Scully. One of the all-time great voices of baseball. If you haven’t heard Scully call a game on the radio, you’ve missed something really cool. In his 60th year with the Dodgers, he now mostly just calls home games. But hey, he’s 81 years old. I hope I can recognize a baseball at age 81.
4. Dodger history. One of the most storied franchises, period. Brooklyn, Branch Rickey (a Methodist!), Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Walter O’Malley, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Tommy LaSorda, Davey Lopes, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Guerrero, Orel Hersheiser, Mike Piazza, et al. And, six World Series championships.
There you have it. And I didn’t even mention Dodger Dogs (they’re grilled and realllly good) or Joe Torre. Have a happy 4th!
Making the World a Better Place February 18, 2009
Posted by Chris in Baseball.2 comments
Newsday reports that Alex Rodriguez wants to “make the world a better place.” At least that’s what he said in his latest confusing presser.
Maybe he would like to teach the world to sing while he’s at it.
You want to make the world a better place, A-Rod? How about getting a base hit during the playoffs? At least hit a ball out of the infield this post-season (provided, of course, the Yankees make it to the post-season).
Oh, and one more thing. Quit holding press conferences.
Steroids and Apologies February 10, 2009
Posted by Chris in Baseball, Everything Else.2 comments
The news that Alex Rodriguez used steroids while with the Texas Rangers didn’t exactly shock me. It disappointed me. But shocking? Not really. In this now infamous “steroid era,” it almost seems more shocking to hear of a big league ballplayer who put up big numbers and didn’t use steroids.
What is shocking to me is the news that Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, wants an apology from A-Rod. The Dallas Morning News reports that Hicks claims to feel “personally betrayed” by Rodriguez. On A-Rod’s apology to Texas fans, Hicks waxes, “I’d rather have one further apology to the owner of the Texas Rangers who signed him to that contract. Then I’ll decide if I accept that apology.”
I place this in the category of unmitigated gall. Hicks seems to suggest that he was running a church camp until A-Roid came along. The facts do not support such a position. Does anyone remember Rafael Palmeiro and his famous finger-wagging denial? A partial list of other Texas Rangers who have fallen under the cloud of steroids (on Hicks’ watch) includes such luminaries as Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Gary Matthews, Jr, Ken Caminiti, Randy Velarde, Chad Allen, Sammy Sosa, et al. This doesn’t even include the would-be linchpin of modern MLB steroid use, Jose Canseco.
Hicks certainly has every right to be upset with Rodriguez’s lies. But does Tom Hicks really expect me to believe that as the owner of the team, he had absolutely NO idea what went on in his own clubhouse, apparently in large numbers? It now seems entirely possible that at least half of the 2002 Rangers lineup (that led baseball with 230 homeruns that season) may have been juiced.
Obviously, no one should expect Tom Hicks to personally go through every players’ locker. But as the CEO of the organization, doesn’t he have a responsibility to put into place a system of management and oversight that would prevent such widespread illicit activity? And doesn’t the ultimate responsibility for the failure of that system belong to Hicks himself? Yet he wants an apology from A-Rod.
What’s next for Hicks? Will he demand an apology from Chan Ho Park for all those balls hit off Park that have yet to land? Will he demand an apology from the Yankees for fleecing him in the A-Rod trade? Will he demand an apology from me for not buying enough five-dollar Lemon Chills?
This is about more than baseball. It is about corporate irresponsibility. Tom Hicks didn’t break any laws or violate any fiduciary responsibilities; it is, after all, his own money. But lack of CEO accountability is at least part of the stuff of which excessive Wall Street bonuses are made. More egregious examples of such behavior get you a cell next to Jeff Skilling.
I don’t blame Hicks for being mad. But now that it appears his organization had more syringes than strikeouts in 2002, I am wondering when Hicks will apologize to me. Be it ignorance, indifference, arrogance, naiveté, or something more sinister, Hicks’ handling of steroids in Arlington is yet another case in mismanagement. Which may explain why the Texas Rangers are one of only three MLB teams never to have appeared in the World Series. I await a lavish apology. Or at least a free Lemon Chill.
Elvis! January 14, 2009
Posted by Chris in Baseball.1 comment so far
I’ve never seen Elvis Andrus play. Most of you probably haven’t either, because he’s never played above AA level and he was not one of the Rangers’ September call-ups last season. But when discussing the relative merits of bringing in a wholly untested kid to play short at the major league level, whilst moving the AL Gold Glove shortstop to third, Rangers GM Jon Daniels reportedly said, “I think Elvis deserves the benefit of the doubt.” Kind of makes you wonder what Michael Young deserves. Maybe it’s Elvis’ name that Daniels finds so captivating. Suppose the Rangers will switch to blue suede shoes this year?
From short to third January 12, 2009
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Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young has been taking quite a bit of heat the last day or so over his recent refusal to move to third base. It seems that Rangers GM Jon Daniels “told” Young that he would be playing third instead of “asking” him if he would. Now Young is requesting a trade. My initial reaction was that it bothers me when someone appears to be less than a team player. Any staff member at AAUMC can tell you that few things irritate me more than hearing someone say “That’s not my job.” But by most accounts, Young has been the consummate team player for the Rangers over the last few seasons. The fact is that this situation is not solely of Young’s doing. It was the Rangers that gave him that huge contract extension (5 years, 80 million dollars) when they already had him locked up for another year. And although it wasn’t the Rangers that made him last year’s Gold Glove shortstop, you would think they at least read about it in the paper. Expecting Young to embrace a move to third when he now believes himself to be the best shortstop in the league—by virtue of his big money contract and his new Gold Glove—isn’t too smart. But then Rangers management/ownership isn’t often accused of being too smart. Oh, the problems we experience when we believe ourselves to be someone we’re not, no matter who tells us.
