By Eddie Mayrose
Major League MVP?
That Derek Jeter is enjoying perhaps the finest season of his Hall of Fame career comes as no surprise to those who 
believed he should have always been the Yankees’ leadoff man. Why it took so long to insert him into the top spot remains a mystery, especially since he was always the choice to bat first in most of the post season games played during the dynasty of the late 90’s. Regardless, he’s there now and is one of the main reasons the Bombers seem poised for another World Series run. What Jeter is not, however, is a serious candidate for the American League MVP award, as Minnesota’s Joe Mauer should be the unanimous choice.
Over the last two seasons, we’ve seen deserving, small-market candidates like Justin Morneau and Matt Holliday robbed of the award as voters focused on the more highly publicized exploits of Dustin Pedroia and Jimmy Rollins. To shun Mauer, though, would be a monumental oversight, as his incredible performance at the plate may be second only to the job he’s done behind it. Never has a catcher so prodigiously combined such excellent defense with as lofty a batting average. That he’s also on pace for 30 HR and 100 RBI despite missing a month to injury only adds to the resume.
So, celebrate Jeter’s season as one of his best and settle in for a long playoff run. Just don’t go overboard when Awards Season rolls around.
A New Yankees Closer?
Is Joe Torre a Cheap Seats reader? Maybe not, but he was my hero for a day last week when he used his closer (and best available pitcher) Jonathan Broxton to face the middle of the Cubs’ batting order in the 8th inning. George Sherrill finished the game by facing the bottom of Chicago’s lineup in the ninth. Finally, a manager chose not to drink the Tony LaRussa kool-aid.
After the game, Torre faced questions about whether Broxton would be upset that he wasn’t credited with a save. A sticky point, actually, as saves are the basis for a closer’s salary level. “We’re not as concerned about who gets the stat, as the only stat that’s important is that ‘W’ on the left-hand side”, said Torre. “If somebody gets offended by pitching to the 3-4-5 hitters in the eighth inning, they’re not the person I think they are.”
Regular readers are well aware of where I stand on how closers are used. I do acknowledge, however, that, as long as the current statistical situation exists, bullpen stoppers will insist on being in position to get the save. So, how about a rule change that puts the onus on the official scorer to assign the save? After all, in facing the meat of the order, hadn’t Broxton done more to preserve the lead than Sherrill? A similar rule already exists to cover situations where a starter does not go the mandatory five innings for a win. In such cases, the win is assigned by the scorer to the reliever determined to be the most deserving; not necesarily the first man out of the pen. Well, maybe that’s too much to ask in one column. I’ll have to be satisfied with a little progress and hope for more.
NY Jets’ Worst Kept Secret
Jets’ Head Coach Rex Ryan revealed the worst kept secret in New York when he named Mark Sanchez his starting quarterback this week. Considering all the Jets gave up to acquire Sanchez; two picks, three players and $50 million, there was no way Ryan could hand the car keys to Kellen Clemens.
Sanchez has a world of talent and all of the tools to become a star in the NFL. It just won’t happen overnight. So, with the Jets likely facing, at best, a 1-3 start to their season, here’s hoping Jets’ brass and fans have the patience to allow the rookie all the mistakes necessary to learn the league and achieve that lofty status.
Mets and the ER
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the emergency room, Oliver Perez and Johan Santana become the latest members of the Mets’ casualty list. If you’re scoring at home, that’s four starting pitchers, one reliever and the number one, four and five hitters down for the season. In addition, every opening day starter has had at least one stint on the disabled list. So, how, exactly, can manager Jerry Manuel be held responsible for a lost season? Love him or hate him, you can’t decide on him till next year.
Michael Vick
….appeared in a Newport News, Va. courtroom yesterday morning to address the details of his Chapter 11 filing and then returned to Philadelphia in time for the Eagles’ exhibition game last night. In doing so, he might be the first person transported to and from his own bankruptcy hearing on a private jet.
Little League World Series Coverage
As I do every August, I’ve enjoyed the Little League World Series from Williamsport, Pa.; this year’s version, especially, as it featured the Mid-Atlantic champs from Staten Island. And, as I also do each year, I’ve resisted the urge to throw a shoe at my television every time ESPN/ABC commentator Orel Hershiser tries to minimize the commitment, skill and aptitude of these accomplished Little Leaguers.
Hershiser would have us believe that the actual playing of the tournament games is almost an inconvenience to these kids; that the swimming pool, food and video games offered to the players in their living quarters, (“the Grove” as Orel endlessly reminds us), are the main reasons they’ve come to Williamsport. Pitcher gives up a home run? “He’ll forget about it in a minute once he starts playing video games back at the Grove”. Second baseman makes a crucial error? “He’ll be fine once he has some pizza and gets in the pool.”
Now, I have five children of my own and have coached a few hundred others so no one need educate me on the qualities of resilience possessed by a child. However, to promote the idea that these players don’t really care all that much about their own performance is to disrespect the hours of practice and sacrifice they’ve endured to get to this level. As a matter of fact, Hershiser’s very presence contradicts his own theory. His employer pays big bucks for the exclusive rights to broadcast the event. Would that be the case if, as Hershiser asserts, the outcome didn’t really matter to its participants?
When I was sixteen, I relieved our ace pitcher in the eighth inning of a championship game that would eventually go eleven. In the top of the eleventh, the opposing catcher, big kid named Perez, took me deep on the longest ball I’d ever seen hit, costing us the title. Today, thirty one years later, I just wrote that sentence with clenched teeth. I rebounded, enjoyed the rest of my summer and came back the next season but never got to a point where I wasn’t upset when I thought about it. I just thought about it less as time went on. However, it still bothers me now because it mattered so much then. Just as it matters so much to these Little Leaguers and, I suspect, just as it mattered to Hershiser when he was young.
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Sports Illustrated runs a small piece each week called, This Week’s Sign That The Apocalypse Is Upon Us. Often funny and always eye popping; it lists incredibly bad decisions or actions from all areas of the sports world. It’s one of the features I immediately turn to when the magazine arrives in the mail. Every once in a while, I have my own ideas about something that should be listed, like the Little League All Star team I recently saw that had four players wearing the following numbers: 02, 05, 07, 08. Or the marketing of a weekday afternoon game by an MLB team that encouraged students to “Play hookey from school.” I didn’t have to wait for my SI this week, however, as FOX Sports and fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers gave early notice.
On Saturday, during steroid cheat Manny Ramirez’s second game back after serving a fifty game suspension, FOX cut away from their Mets-Phillies broadcast to show each of Manny’s at bats against the Padres. Just as they would if a player was chasing 3,000 hits, 500 HR or some in-season record or streak. In other words, FOX afforded Ramirez, the first big star to violate MLB’s current policy, the same treatment given the likes of Henry Aaron, Rod Carew or George Brett. That no one at the network thought this was a bad message to send is shameful.
And what of the Dodger fans that drove to San Diego to cheer their hero from underneath their Manny wigs? This is the same guy that had no concern for his organization, teammates or fans while he was so carelessly using the PED’s that forced his suspension. Do you think any of them experienced such strong feelings of forgiveness when Alex Rodriguez was caught? Or Roger Clemens? To single out the fan base of any one team is unfair, though, as steroid cheats are welcomed back by fans throughout the game as long as they are productive. Something to keep in mind the next time someone gets his shorts in a bunch about whether any of these guys belong in the Hall of Fame. No matter how many times fans say, “No”, their actions tell a completely different story
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Speaking of Manny, is anyone smiling more than Red Sox GM Theo Epstein? Last year, faced with the impossible task of getting equal value for one of the game’s superstars, Epstein not only removed a problem from his clubhouse but replaced him with Jason Bay, currently the AL’s RBI leader.
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All right, I’ll admit it. I did watch much of the fifth set of the Wimbledon Men’s (I’m sorry, Gentlemen’s) Final on Sunday. In what turned into a marathon contest, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick for his record setting 15th Grand Slam title. One thing that made no sense to me, however, was that the fifth set went thirty games as Federer finally prevailed 16-14 while, in contrast, Federer posted 7-6 victories in sets two and three via tiebreakers. My question is, how can a championship event be governed by two sets of rules? Some will say that a title shouldn’t be decided by a tiebreaker. I get that. Others point out that, without the tie breaker, sets two and three could have gone as long as the fifth. Another valid point. But neither explains away the silliness of two different rules being used in the same match. Isn’t it possible that Roddick may have won one of those sets absent the tiebreaker? Whatever your opinion, I’ve already spent entirely too much time discussing tennis.
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Many are impressed by the intensity that Jimmy Rollins brings to each of the Phillies’ matchups with the Mets. That he is able to raise his game to such a high level during every meeting with his hated rival is amazing. I’m wondering, however, if Philly brass is a little annoyed that he’s batting about .200 against the rest of the NL. They’re paying him to play against every team, aren’t they?
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So, let me see if I’ve got this straight. Despite Joba Chamberlain’s tremendous success as a reliever, the Yankees are adamant about keeping him in the starting rotation no matter how much he struggles. But, when it comes to Philip Hughes, they refuse to return him to his natural position as a starter because of his success in the bullpen. Huh?
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Complain all you want about MLB’s All Star selection process, and much of the griping is warranted, but every once in a while, they get one right. Such is the case this year with Tim Wakefield, a true professional and one of baseball’s good guys. Since bursting on the scene with the Pirates in 1991, Wakefield has fashioned a very impressive career, mostly in Boston, that has included just about everything except an All Star appearance. That it comes to him for the first time at 42 years of age is a thrill for his many fans, one of whom, I must confess, is me.
About twelve years ago, the Hausier’s Krowedum Fantasy Baseball League’s annual junket took its members to Fenway Park. Well, Boston actually, as more than a few of the boys never made it out of the Cask and Flagon. Those of us that did make it to the game found that our seats were in the first row behind the Bosox bullpen in right field. Wakefield wasn’t pitching that day and was hanging with the relief crew. Sometime around the fourth inning he came out to get a little work in and struck up a conversation with us. He proceeded to pull a chair up to the fence and spend the rest of the game as one of our contingent. He went into detail about the knuckleball; how he holds it and files his cuticles for a better grip. We laughed at his response to the question of his catchers’ opinion of the knuckler: “They hate my guts.” There were arguments over the worth of certain players in the game as he marveled at how our team loyalties dictated how we felt about different guys. When one of them, Bobby Bonilla, came up to bat, we bet him a hot dog that the ex-Met would strike out. Wakefield demanded we pay up after Bonilla’s double and happily downed the dog. I have no recollection of who won that game, but I still have the baseball he tossed me when it was over and won’t ever forget how much fun it was to watch a game while getting a big leaguer’s perspective. Here’s hoping AL manager Joe Maddon recognizes the opportunity to do something special and gives Wakefield the ball next Tuesday.
