Often, I interact with the folks at Talking Chop, which is an Atlanta Braves blog slash community. All throughout the year, and more so recently, has been the discussion of Andruw Jones' imminent departure from Atlanta. It seems inevitable that he is as good as gone, because his agent is the "evil" Scott Boras, he of Alex Rodriguez get-eth the $225 million contract, and also he of the Chan Ho Park get-eth the $65 million contract.
And in the same vein as all of his clients, Andruw Jones is following in similar footsteps, by the things he is doing. He says he wants to stay in ______. Atlanta, in Jones' case. He has shed weight. He's even on occasion started swiping bases again, a skill he seemingly forgot in 2001. And Andruw Jones is having a monstrous season.
Or at least, he's been trying to.
Batting a scorching .221, with 134 whiffs, somehow he still has 26 homers, and 92 RBIs. Aside from the average, the numbers aren't that horrendous, but for a guy like Jones who has been averaging much better throughout the last few years, this season has more or less been a fluke of a bust. Everyone knows his intent to have a great season, but the numbers, do not always tell the story. I can't even begin to recall how many times he has struck out, hit into double plays, or single-handedly killed rallies and ended games with poor performance.
In a trip to Boston earlier this year, I watched Andruw Jones strike out to tend the game with the bases loaded against Jonathan Papelbon, after Jeff Francoeur and Matt Diaz got two-out singles against the flame throwing closer, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia showed some rookie balls by drawing a run-scoring walk. Andruw Jones went 0-5 that day, with a total of five strikeouts.
In a pivotal game against the Mets at Shea Stadium, Chipper Jones victimized the Mets by hitting a 9th inning double off of Billy Wagner. Francoeur singled, and pinch-hitting Chris Woodward capitalized on a sac-bunt situation and drew a walk to load the bases. With one out, and down a run, a sac-fly would tie the game, and a single would've likely taken the lead. Andruw Jones promptly hits a ground ball right to Luis Castillo who 3-6-1, ends the game on a double play.
I could go on with this, but I don't want to drag on - I would've posted this on Talking Chop, but I was afraid that people would get tired of reading.
So the bottom line is that Andruw Jones, teamed with Scott Boras wants money, and regardless of the fluke season, will probably get money. Which has everyone asking, "Just how much money does he need?"
It's easy for us "commoners" to ask such a question, for the most part, we're all working-class citizens who have mortgages/rent to pay, bills, car payments, and other tedious expenses. Older folks have children, and all of their expenses. Baseball games for us are a form of recreation, or a means to relax, or both. If we made Andruw Jones' 2006 $13.5 million salary for even one year, I'd hope that the majority of us would have the groundwork laid out for a long-term savings or investment plan.
Look at a professional athlete, from a couple steps back. The average pro athlete is like anywhere from 22-36. Baseball players, since they don't have to run suicides or ram into other players, and have the luxury of lasting longer, resulting in the Greg Madduxes and Roger Clemenses. And then we have the freaks like Julio Franco, but that's a different story. But the bottom line is that these grown men are playing games, that kids play for recreation and exercise. The only difference is that the grown men get paid to do it, where the kids do it for fun, and maybe bragging rights.
To a professional athlete, a lot of them, just haven't grown up - they've still got the mindset of a kid. Like Manny Ramirez. It's like they make $16 million, so they're going to spend $10 million of it, that year. Big-ass house, lots of cars they'll hardly drive, and tons of shit they really don't need. They develop a lifestyle, that if they were to suddenly not have it, it may as very well be fatal.
Agents know this, which is why they continue to evolve the concept of free agency, and pressure, and push teams into giving more money for services. They brainwash players into believing they're worth ludicrous amounts, and then they brainwash teams into believing they need the services of a certain player. Ultimately, they will be fall of professional sports, because professional sports are forgetting why they exist.
Yankee games are already financially impossible for a family of four to attend, because New York has to supplement Alex Rodriguez's salary. I learned this from the family of eleven that traveled to Baltimore to watch the Yankees, because even with the travel, food and lodging costs, it was still cheaper to watch them in Maryland instead of New York.
If they already haven't, kids aren't playing sports because they're fun, but they realize they're good at it, and potentially could make millions if they continue to be good at it through their twenties. To me, sports should never been seen as a way to a different life. That is what the brain is for.
When people stop playing sports for the love of their game, and solely for money, sports as we know it will officially be dead.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
An open letter to the Atlanta Braves organization
Dear Atlanta Braves staff and management,
I have accepted the fact that the mathematical chances for the Braves to advance into the playoffs are very slim, but regardless of the outcome, I have still purchased tickets to all remaining home games, and I plan on scheduling in the remaining regular season games into my schedule for the next week. Summer is not over until the regular season comes to an end. No matter what the outcome of the regular season is, I will remain a fan. That is something that should not be in question.
I would like to, however, offer some suggestions for next year. I hope that these suggestions are taken with some seriousness, and have some consideration taken towards them.
∙ Retire or burn, prohibit the use of the #49 for any player's jersey number. For some reason, the organization has been fixated on placing the number 49 on the unofficial designated "left-handed specialist" relief pitcher. Macay McBride started the season wearing that number, and upon his departure, each new southpaw reliever was adorned with that number. Allow me to be as blunt as possible with the following statement: Macay McBride stank. He was never really that good of a pitcher. Why Mr. Bobby Cox constantly gave him chances to improve yet fail is completely beyond myself, as well as other Atlanta Braves fans I have interacted with, but the more concerning fact is that every left-handed pitcher who came in to take his place has shown the same tendencies and incompetence that McBride had left impression-ed on the number. Wilfredo Ledezma, who was touted to have potential as both a reliever and a starter was received in the McBride transaction, but then he came to Atlanta and was incapable of doing any better than McBride did. Ultimately, Ledezma was part of a deal that included the more experienced, well-traveled Ron Mahay. He started off well, but seeing #49 on the back of his jersey continued to, for lack of a better term, give me indigestion every time I saw him pitch. And tonight, Mahay walked in the go-ahead run to the Milwaukee Brewers, on four straight pitches. If this is not a red flag for incompetence, I fear the future.
∙ Sever relations with relief pitcher Tyler Yates. He has been given many chances throughout the last two years, but I am afraid to say that his time is ultimately up. He is far too one-dimensional, and only has a fastball that tops out at an impressive 98 mph. Unfortunately, that is the only pitch he has, sans a mediocre slider, and a change-up that he cannot throw for strikes. Two relievers that have been recently around in Manny Acosta and Jose Ascanio have comparable velocity, as well as additional pitches in their repertoires, as well as stronger mental capacities. Yates has become unreliable, and lacks the stamina to continue pitching after July. I would suggest trading him for the popular Player-to-be-Named-Later.
∙ I do not wish for Bobby Cox to change, except for one thing - tune down the loyalty to his starting pitchers from 11 to perhaps 9, and when a starting pitcher is evidently struggling to record an out, to pull him. Tim Hudson perhaps should have 20 wins at this point in the season, if not for decisions that let him remain in the game too long. Pull him after the first single he gives up; especially in a one-run game. John Smoltz should probably have 2-3 additional wins as well, if not for the "one more inning" that Cox apparently milks of his starters. A bullpen was constructed in order for the starters to fall back onto.
I hope that my suggestions are well read and considered, and I am by no stretch of the imagination saying that I can run the Braves better than anyone currently on staff. But sometimes, an outside perspective is necessary to see things that those on the inside can't see so clearly.
Sincerely, a proud fan,
DH
I have accepted the fact that the mathematical chances for the Braves to advance into the playoffs are very slim, but regardless of the outcome, I have still purchased tickets to all remaining home games, and I plan on scheduling in the remaining regular season games into my schedule for the next week. Summer is not over until the regular season comes to an end. No matter what the outcome of the regular season is, I will remain a fan. That is something that should not be in question.
I would like to, however, offer some suggestions for next year. I hope that these suggestions are taken with some seriousness, and have some consideration taken towards them.
∙ Retire or burn, prohibit the use of the #49 for any player's jersey number. For some reason, the organization has been fixated on placing the number 49 on the unofficial designated "left-handed specialist" relief pitcher. Macay McBride started the season wearing that number, and upon his departure, each new southpaw reliever was adorned with that number. Allow me to be as blunt as possible with the following statement: Macay McBride stank. He was never really that good of a pitcher. Why Mr. Bobby Cox constantly gave him chances to improve yet fail is completely beyond myself, as well as other Atlanta Braves fans I have interacted with, but the more concerning fact is that every left-handed pitcher who came in to take his place has shown the same tendencies and incompetence that McBride had left impression-ed on the number. Wilfredo Ledezma, who was touted to have potential as both a reliever and a starter was received in the McBride transaction, but then he came to Atlanta and was incapable of doing any better than McBride did. Ultimately, Ledezma was part of a deal that included the more experienced, well-traveled Ron Mahay. He started off well, but seeing #49 on the back of his jersey continued to, for lack of a better term, give me indigestion every time I saw him pitch. And tonight, Mahay walked in the go-ahead run to the Milwaukee Brewers, on four straight pitches. If this is not a red flag for incompetence, I fear the future.
∙ Sever relations with relief pitcher Tyler Yates. He has been given many chances throughout the last two years, but I am afraid to say that his time is ultimately up. He is far too one-dimensional, and only has a fastball that tops out at an impressive 98 mph. Unfortunately, that is the only pitch he has, sans a mediocre slider, and a change-up that he cannot throw for strikes. Two relievers that have been recently around in Manny Acosta and Jose Ascanio have comparable velocity, as well as additional pitches in their repertoires, as well as stronger mental capacities. Yates has become unreliable, and lacks the stamina to continue pitching after July. I would suggest trading him for the popular Player-to-be-Named-Later.
∙ I do not wish for Bobby Cox to change, except for one thing - tune down the loyalty to his starting pitchers from 11 to perhaps 9, and when a starting pitcher is evidently struggling to record an out, to pull him. Tim Hudson perhaps should have 20 wins at this point in the season, if not for decisions that let him remain in the game too long. Pull him after the first single he gives up; especially in a one-run game. John Smoltz should probably have 2-3 additional wins as well, if not for the "one more inning" that Cox apparently milks of his starters. A bullpen was constructed in order for the starters to fall back onto.
I hope that my suggestions are well read and considered, and I am by no stretch of the imagination saying that I can run the Braves better than anyone currently on staff. But sometimes, an outside perspective is necessary to see things that those on the inside can't see so clearly.
Sincerely, a proud fan,
DH
Rule Two: Second Guessing is Dumb
“The kick and the pitch, it is hit a long way to deep centerfield. Going back is the centerfield, and all he can do is turn and watch, I guess he shouldn’t have thrown that pitch.”
I guess he shouldn’t have either, but maybe he should have. Is it our job as baseball fans to second-guess every move a team makes? Bob Gibson hated the media to ask him what pitch he threw when he gave up a homerun. He felt that people just didn’t understand that sometimes good pitches get hit. Pitching is one of the most second guessed aspects of the game. The fans believe that their pitcher no matter who he is should be able to get the batter out no matter who he is, and if he doesn’t then the pitcher made a mistake. A better example of second guessing comes with managers, because most fans don’t care about every single pitch.
The most securitized moves a manager can make are the ones that affect his pitching staff. A manager can try and save his bullpen by sacrificing a starter by allowing him to go a couple innings too long, but this will result in a lot of second guessing. A manager can lift the pitcher because he trusts his bullpen, but if the new pitcher gets hit then that move will be wrong. There is really no way to win in these situations. The right move will always be the one the manager didn’t make.
If the philosophy behind the move is the right one and it doesn’t work out can we really criticize it? If a manager has a poor left handed batter coming up to bat against a left handed pitcher with runners at first and second and one out, and he lifts this batter for a right handed pinch hitter who is a much better hitter. Can we really say it was the wrong move if the batter grounds into a double play? We cannot. It was the right move to make. Every decision cannot be easy. If they were then it wouldn’t be a decision.
Second guessing is something that a lot of fans do. A day after a tough loss, where a move didn’t work out, take some time to listen to the common fan. They will question why a move was made or a pitcher threw a certain pitch or any number of other things. It is easy to see what should have been done from the future. The only thing we can do is examine the philosophy behind the moves, and if that is wrong then we should question the decision, but if it was a good move that just didn’t work out then it is just petty second guessing.
I guess he shouldn’t have either, but maybe he should have. Is it our job as baseball fans to second-guess every move a team makes? Bob Gibson hated the media to ask him what pitch he threw when he gave up a homerun. He felt that people just didn’t understand that sometimes good pitches get hit. Pitching is one of the most second guessed aspects of the game. The fans believe that their pitcher no matter who he is should be able to get the batter out no matter who he is, and if he doesn’t then the pitcher made a mistake. A better example of second guessing comes with managers, because most fans don’t care about every single pitch.
The most securitized moves a manager can make are the ones that affect his pitching staff. A manager can try and save his bullpen by sacrificing a starter by allowing him to go a couple innings too long, but this will result in a lot of second guessing. A manager can lift the pitcher because he trusts his bullpen, but if the new pitcher gets hit then that move will be wrong. There is really no way to win in these situations. The right move will always be the one the manager didn’t make.
If the philosophy behind the move is the right one and it doesn’t work out can we really criticize it? If a manager has a poor left handed batter coming up to bat against a left handed pitcher with runners at first and second and one out, and he lifts this batter for a right handed pinch hitter who is a much better hitter. Can we really say it was the wrong move if the batter grounds into a double play? We cannot. It was the right move to make. Every decision cannot be easy. If they were then it wouldn’t be a decision.
Second guessing is something that a lot of fans do. A day after a tough loss, where a move didn’t work out, take some time to listen to the common fan. They will question why a move was made or a pitcher threw a certain pitch or any number of other things. It is easy to see what should have been done from the future. The only thing we can do is examine the philosophy behind the moves, and if that is wrong then we should question the decision, but if it was a good move that just didn’t work out then it is just petty second guessing.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Winding down the great season
Since the Atlanta Braves are pretty much all but completely mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, my season is just about almost over. Even more so, the fact that home games left in Atlanta are left with today through Sunday, and then the last six on the road against the surging Phillies, and the Houston Astros, who I'm pretty certain, have not forgotten the C-blocking that the Braves gave to them at the end of last season.
Tonight marks John Smoltz statue night, and tomorrow is the final evening game at Turner Field. Saturday has been flexed to be broadcast on FOX, likely because the Braves aren't completely eliminated from contention, and the Brewers are still very well in the mix of the NL Central; for lack of a better term, it's probably one of the only appealing matchups between two teams who have everything to lose. Sunday is the final home game at Turner Field for this season, and then it's off to Philly and Houston to wind it all down.
If I attend all four games, that will push my overall game attendance to 38 games on the season. What makes me proud is the fact that nine of those were not home games, but expanding my horizons to parks outside of Atlanta.
• Safeco Field, in Seattle
• Fenway Park, in Boston
• Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia
• The Diamond (Richmond Braves), in Richmond
• Camden Yards, in Baltimore
• Rogers Centre, in Toronto
• RFK Stadium, x3, in Washington DC
And speaking of Washington DC; fairly recently, and fairly quietly, the Nationals won and have since left behind win #63. What does this mean? For all of the people, media, sports "broadcasters," who believed that the 2007 Washington Nationals were the worst team in the history of baseball, and were without a shadow of a doubt going to lose over 120 games, shattering the Mets' record, well, they're all fucking wrong. There are times in which it felt like the only people in this country who didn't believe that the Nationals could at least hold off 100 losses were myself and my co-writer.
I mean, seriously - it takes a severe lack of talent to lose 100 games. "Severe lack of talent" could easily describe teams like the Devil Rays, but even now they have guys like Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, and Al Reyes who have gotten to the point where they could lose all their remaining games and still barely not touch 100 losses (but that would put them at 99). The Nationals have talent, whether it is yet to be fully tapped (Ryan Zimmerman), or was always there but forgotten to the public (Dmitri Young). Their farm system is full of potential, and has shown glimpses of it from guys like John Lannan. They shrugged off Mike Bacsik's fanboy dream to be in the histories of baseball when he gave up Barry Bonds' 756th, and despite the hoopla behind it - the Nationals still won that game. The worst team in history wouldn't have done that, and it would've instead prompted Frank Robinson to come out of his ground-level retirement home, look up to the skies, and say "can't no niggas play dis got-damn game???"
I love being right sometimes.
OH, and speaking of which, as of today, the New York Yankees as are 1.5 games behind in the AL East divisional race. The same people who said the Nationals were destined for 121 losses, were usually the same ones who declared the Yankees dead, and the Red Sox already the World Series champions. And just as they were wrong about the Nationals, they were wrong to declare that the Yankees were a dead team, and that their reign of nine consecutive division titles was about to end. The biggest mistake any of those people said was a mathematical equasion, stating how well the Yankees needed to play to remain in the hunt for October (which was like a 76% winning percentage or something). And apparently the Yankees read that article, and not only have they been playing 76% ball, they're playing more like 88% ball. And now they're thinking, fuck the Wild Card, let's take what's rightfully ours.
I'm not a Yankees fan, by any stretch of the imagination. But I do like to think that I'm an intelligent fan, and if there's one thing I've learned in my limited experience, is that it's never smart to bet against the Yankees. They did it in 2005, when Boston collapsed, and the Yankees literally stole the division out from under them on the second-to-last day of the season. Seriously, they finished with identical records, but the Yankees won the season series. Why should this year be any different? The Red Sox are no better than being able to be called the Atlanta Braves of the AL - they do well all the time, but really only have one championship to show for it - they collapse often in the playoffs just as much; the only real differences is that they are in Boston and have boatloads more money in their budget.
So yeah, the Yankees have taken their once 14.5 GB deficit, and sliced it to 1.5, with plenty of time to take the division. Ortiz is gimpy, Dice-K's out of gas, Schilling would rather blog, and Manny is still being Manny. Meanwhile, A-Rod is still slugging, Posada is quietly having one of the best years of his career, Yankee relievers are getting starters rest, and Pettitte is being, well, once again, Pettitte. To refer back to 2005 again, the White Sox let their once gargantuan lead slip to one game to the Indians - and then they mauled their last few opponents, and then swept the Indians, gave them malaria, forced them off their land, and then ate their lunch, to end the regular season, and then lost like, once, while their starting pitching threw like ten complete games, en route to the World Series championship.
Baseball is baseball - anything can happen. It's unwise for anyone to label anyone prematurely, because you never know what's going to happen next. Boston can respond like a rabid pitbull, or they can go down swinging like a tasteless Michael Vick joke.
Did I mention how much I love being right?
Tonight marks John Smoltz statue night, and tomorrow is the final evening game at Turner Field. Saturday has been flexed to be broadcast on FOX, likely because the Braves aren't completely eliminated from contention, and the Brewers are still very well in the mix of the NL Central; for lack of a better term, it's probably one of the only appealing matchups between two teams who have everything to lose. Sunday is the final home game at Turner Field for this season, and then it's off to Philly and Houston to wind it all down.
If I attend all four games, that will push my overall game attendance to 38 games on the season. What makes me proud is the fact that nine of those were not home games, but expanding my horizons to parks outside of Atlanta.
• Safeco Field, in Seattle
• Fenway Park, in Boston
• Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia
• The Diamond (Richmond Braves), in Richmond
• Camden Yards, in Baltimore
• Rogers Centre, in Toronto
• RFK Stadium, x3, in Washington DC
And speaking of Washington DC; fairly recently, and fairly quietly, the Nationals won and have since left behind win #63. What does this mean? For all of the people, media, sports "broadcasters," who believed that the 2007 Washington Nationals were the worst team in the history of baseball, and were without a shadow of a doubt going to lose over 120 games, shattering the Mets' record, well, they're all fucking wrong. There are times in which it felt like the only people in this country who didn't believe that the Nationals could at least hold off 100 losses were myself and my co-writer.
I mean, seriously - it takes a severe lack of talent to lose 100 games. "Severe lack of talent" could easily describe teams like the Devil Rays, but even now they have guys like Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, and Al Reyes who have gotten to the point where they could lose all their remaining games and still barely not touch 100 losses (but that would put them at 99). The Nationals have talent, whether it is yet to be fully tapped (Ryan Zimmerman), or was always there but forgotten to the public (Dmitri Young). Their farm system is full of potential, and has shown glimpses of it from guys like John Lannan. They shrugged off Mike Bacsik's fanboy dream to be in the histories of baseball when he gave up Barry Bonds' 756th, and despite the hoopla behind it - the Nationals still won that game. The worst team in history wouldn't have done that, and it would've instead prompted Frank Robinson to come out of his ground-level retirement home, look up to the skies, and say "can't no niggas play dis got-damn game???"
I love being right sometimes.
OH, and speaking of which, as of today, the New York Yankees as are 1.5 games behind in the AL East divisional race. The same people who said the Nationals were destined for 121 losses, were usually the same ones who declared the Yankees dead, and the Red Sox already the World Series champions. And just as they were wrong about the Nationals, they were wrong to declare that the Yankees were a dead team, and that their reign of nine consecutive division titles was about to end. The biggest mistake any of those people said was a mathematical equasion, stating how well the Yankees needed to play to remain in the hunt for October (which was like a 76% winning percentage or something). And apparently the Yankees read that article, and not only have they been playing 76% ball, they're playing more like 88% ball. And now they're thinking, fuck the Wild Card, let's take what's rightfully ours.
I'm not a Yankees fan, by any stretch of the imagination. But I do like to think that I'm an intelligent fan, and if there's one thing I've learned in my limited experience, is that it's never smart to bet against the Yankees. They did it in 2005, when Boston collapsed, and the Yankees literally stole the division out from under them on the second-to-last day of the season. Seriously, they finished with identical records, but the Yankees won the season series. Why should this year be any different? The Red Sox are no better than being able to be called the Atlanta Braves of the AL - they do well all the time, but really only have one championship to show for it - they collapse often in the playoffs just as much; the only real differences is that they are in Boston and have boatloads more money in their budget.
So yeah, the Yankees have taken their once 14.5 GB deficit, and sliced it to 1.5, with plenty of time to take the division. Ortiz is gimpy, Dice-K's out of gas, Schilling would rather blog, and Manny is still being Manny. Meanwhile, A-Rod is still slugging, Posada is quietly having one of the best years of his career, Yankee relievers are getting starters rest, and Pettitte is being, well, once again, Pettitte. To refer back to 2005 again, the White Sox let their once gargantuan lead slip to one game to the Indians - and then they mauled their last few opponents, and then swept the Indians, gave them malaria, forced them off their land, and then ate their lunch, to end the regular season, and then lost like, once, while their starting pitching threw like ten complete games, en route to the World Series championship.
Baseball is baseball - anything can happen. It's unwise for anyone to label anyone prematurely, because you never know what's going to happen next. Boston can respond like a rabid pitbull, or they can go down swinging like a tasteless Michael Vick joke.
Did I mention how much I love being right?
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