Blame the Manager

The two worst teams in the American League saw their futures change within the past couple of weeks; one for the better - Baltimore Orioles - and one for the worse (can it get much worse?) - the Seattle Mariners. Both of those changes were due not to changes on the field, but in the managerial positions. Buck Showalter was hired as new manager of the O's and since he started, they have swept the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and took 3 of 4 from the Chicago White Sox. Don Wakamatsu was fired from the Mariners yesterday after having managed one of the worst months ever, finishing July at 6-22.

Buck Showalter has proven throughout the years to be a pretty decent manager, he boasts a winning record, and twice received Manager of the Year honors. Most importantly though, in the years after being let go from the New York Yankees, and then the Arizona Diamondbacks, those teams went on to win the World Series, in 1996 and 2001 respectively. He had a subpar tenure with the Texas Rangers, but O's fans can hope that firing him and then winning the World Series will happen a third time.

Wakamatsu came into a terrible situation in Seattle. The M's were coming off an awful 2008, and hired an inexperienced manager. The outlook for 2009 was dismal, but Wakamatsu managed the M's to a winning record, for probably one of the best turn arounds in baseball history. 2010 offered a ton of promise following that great season and offseason acquisitions of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Milton Bradley. All of that promised was squandered as they started the season slow and never sped up. The best 1-2 punch in the big leagues in Felix Hernandez and Lee was split up when Lee was traded to their divisional rival, the Rangers.

So the M's have to hire yet another manager, it seems like they go through managers like players go through cleats. The O's also have a new manager, who fans hope can bring them the hope that Jeffrey Maier snatched away. This brings in question as to how critical the right manager is, and how much managers really mean to a team.

Football and basketball head coaches are crucial to their teams winning. Without them calling plays, and substituting the right players, both sports are essentially streetball. A coach is needed in both of those sports to win, whether it be deciding to go for it on 4th down, or who to give the ball to for the final shot. Even if teams play their very best, a good coach is needed to win, as proven by Phil Jackson and Bill Bellicheck winning so much with Kobe and Brady, while Mike Brown and Wade Phillips not winning with LeBron James and Tony Romo. It takes the perfect combination of good players, and good coaching.

In baseball, I see the managerial role as being more limited. It's the pitching and hitting coaches' jobs to ensure each player is technically playing right, in their swing and pitching motions. The manager decides when to substitute pitchers, who to pinch hit and many other small facets of each game. In baseball though, either the team is good or bad, and the managers have little say in winning the game, only losing. If CC Sabathia is pitching a gem, obviously he'll pitch at least 8, then depending on the score, Mariano Rivera comes in to close it out. If AJ Burnett can't get through 3 innings, there is not much a manager can do to bring the team back.

Pitchers have more say than coaches in baseball. If they have a good day, their team will win, if not their team will lose. Sure, there are games where a manager needs to decide when to take the pitcher out because the game is close, but even then, their decision is scrutinized if either the starter or reliever then fails. This is why, I think Joe Girardi has yet to be offered an extension. The Yanks have such a good team on paper, only a bad manager could mess it up.

This may be just me being a fan, but I think I could manage the Yankees. Given that talent, winning games shouldn't be difficult. What are your thoughts? Am I not giving managers enough credit? Or are they given too much credit? Joe Torre is considered one of the best managers in the game right now, but could Buck Showalter have managed the late 90s Yanks to multiple World Series? I'm more inclined to believe Torre got lucky landing the job in 96, going to a team prime for glory.

Change is necessary in sports to keep teams from getting stale, but the M's seem to change too often. Managers who are considered to be good, aren't very good on bad teams, take Lou Pinella in Tampa for example. Managers need good talent to flourish. Showalter may have arrived in Baltimore at just the right time, as they finally have some hype surrounding their young talent. Wakamatsu had a talented team but couldn't succeed.

How much of that is his fault, and how much can be blamed on the GM, who took away his best pitcher? And how much is blamed on the underperforming players, and is their underperforming Wakamatsu's fault?

Answers anyone?

Dez Bryant, Take Notice

Hazing has been making news this summer, some good, some bad. Respect is a quality that is earned, and hazing enforces that. Most rookies, especially those picked early in the draft, are considered the best college had to offer from the previous season. This causes inflated egos that need to be taken down a notch before the rest of the league takes it down for them.

A few weeks ago, Dez Bryant refused to carry Roy Williams' shoulder pads. Granted, the pads are probably wet from sweat and thus, not smelling like roses; but as the number 1 rookie on the Cowboys, Bryant should have carried the pads, and volunteered to carry Miles Austin's pads as well. Bryant went into the draft with "character issues," causing him to nearly drop out of the 1st round. Every chance he gets, he needs to prove that those issues are in the past. Being the best rookie on the team, the other rookies are looking to him for example. Carrying the pads would have strengthened the team instead of leaving the door open for rookie mutiny.

The complete other side of the spectrum is Tim Tebow. As part of Tebow's hazing, he was given a haircut, seen above. If given the choice of that haircut, and carrying pads, pads seem like the easiest choice, unless you are Jared Allen. Tebow may look ridiculous, but his teammates definitely respect his ability to take a joke and appear as a normal dude, even though he may be the most hyped rookie coming into this season.

Once he was drafted by the Denver Broncos, Tebow jerseys starting selling like hot cakes. Mmmmmm hot cakes. He is hyped, even though most analysts figure he won't excel as a QB in the NFL. I'm inclined to believe that as well. He was a perfect fit in Florida, but running QB's with subpar throwing ability usually fail in the NFL. You need accuracy and power, which come from throwing technique, and Tebow didn't learn that in Florida.

Even though he may not be great, he earned respect this weekend. I know I wouldn't do that to my head, mostly because the Lady wouldn't be happy, and I like keeping her happy. Tebow had no character issues going into the draft, except for maybe loving Jesus a little too much. He proved to be a cool dude, unlike Bryant, who just came off as a child.

Hazing should be a part of sports. It is now and those who take part seem to enjoy themselves. Take the Yankees and Red Sox the past couple years, dressing their rookies up as girls and characters from the Wizard of Oz. Tebow doesn't seem to mind the 'do, nor do the other players in the league who carry pads or are tied to goalposts.

Hazing can get out of hand, when mental and physical abuse occurs, seen mostly in fraternities and sororities. Professional sports hazing though is mostly light-hearted and makes everyone laugh. I hope to see more in the next few weeks, and I hope to see Tebow maintain the haircut all season, as it is quite legen-DARY.

Haynesworth isn't Hurt, Just Lazy

The tests results are back and Albert Haynesworth, you are the father. Whoops wrong channel, turned on Maury instead of Sportscenter. Haynesworth did receive MRI test results today though concerning his knee, and they came back negative for any injury. If I had the talent, I'd photoshop Haynesworth's face on Peter Griffin's body when he falls and hurts his knee.

I'm seeing this whole "my knee hurts," as a ploy by Haynesworth to weasel his way out of conditioning, and maybe all of training camp. How long will Mike Shanahan have the Washington Redskins' highest paid player sit through practice? Will Haynesworth be allowed to start games if he can't complete this conditioning test?

Haynesworth is coming off looking lazy due to all of this. Laziness is one of the worst qualities to have, not only for athletes, but for any profession. It is especially worse for Haynesworth though, given his enormous paycheck. Sure, Shanahan wants to make a lesson out of him, and some Redskins' players say the test is too hard, but Haynesworth has no one to blame but himself. If he showed up to the team's mandatory conditioning camp, instead of being a Bitter Betsy about Shanahan's 3-4 defensive scheme, there would be no discussion.

Haynesworth just looks bitter and lazy though. I'm inclined to believe that if he were only a couple seconds slow, but was showing the necessary effort, Shanahan would let him through. Athletes tend to forget that they have the jobs the rest of us average men dream of. They are paid enormous sums of dough, so we expect them to work for their paycheck. Steinbrenner paid his players more than they deserved because he expected them to work harder after payday. It is a pride issue. You get paid $10 million, but you work as if you are paid $20 million. Haynesworth is paid $100 million but plays like he is paid $1 million.

This hurts the Redskins greatly. They have much higher expectations coming into this season than usual. Winning the division over the Cowboys or Giants may be out of the question, but an 8-8 season is within reach; and following the debacle of last season, 8-8 would be success. After acquiring Donovan McNabb, the Redskins offense went from a QB that could manage games, Jason Campbell, to a QB that can win them. Plus he'll have a grudge against the Eagles, so those 2 games will be exciting.

Without the giant mass of Haynesworth putting forth 100% effort on the D-Line though, the Skins' D is vulnerable. Even with McNabb, the Skins' offense will need some help from the D. Haynesworth needs to show some effort, join the practice squad and when the season starts, sack some QBs, stomp some faces, and win some games.

If he is the reason the Skins don't win games this year, he could be more hated in the district than Dan Snyder.

The 600 Club*

There are plenty of clubs us males would like to be in; the Mile High Club, the 40/40 club (both the establishment, and MLB standard of 40 home runs and stolen bases in a season), the He-Man Woman Haters Club, and before the Steroid Era, the 600 Club. Before the Steroid Era of baseball, there were only three members of that elite club; Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. Four have been added in this Club in this past decade alone, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., and now Alex Rodriguez. This "Club" is now jaded in the eyes of fans and only time, and definite proof of an enhancing free league, will have the fans respecting these records again.

Of the new four, three are at least suspected enhancers; Sosa, Bonds, and Rodriguez. Of those 3, Bonds and Rodriguez would have made the Club, regardless of enhancing. Bonds finished his career with 762 and Rodriguez could finish with over 800. These numbers are inflated due to the Era, but given their talent, 600 would have definitely been attainable had they not enhanced. 600 would not have happened for Sosa, since he only ended with 609.

Comparing players of yesterday to the ones of today is impossible, which renders all of these records useless. Reggie Jackson was one of the bigger players of his day, but looks tiny next to Rodriguez. Even without enhancing, players have an advantage now, that wasn't available in the past. Scouting is better, conditioning is better, and the pay is better. Players don't have to take on second jobs to support their families while they play a game all summer. Spring training isn't as necessary for position players anymore due to the year round conditioning. And teams hire numerous scouts in addition to the countless hours of film watched to prepare for opponents.

This is true in every sport. The game evolves, players improve, and records are broken. As fans, we like to see the better style of play, we just don't like to hear about the enhancing. Players are held to a insanely high standard as role models. Some can handle that pressure, but for every Derek Jeter there are 10 Jose Canseco's. We don't put ourselves in the players shoes enough. Once a player breaks a rule, the law or just does something wrong, they are immediately judged. "How could they do that?", "What were they thinking?"

If I were in any of their shoes, I can't say I wouldn't enhance. Take Rodriguez for example. He knew very early on that he was the most talented hitter of his generation. Someone whispers into his ear telling him he could hit 800+ home runs, but he'll probably need to enhance. Don't worry, there is no testing yet. You won't get into any trouble.

800 home runs!

That is a ridiculous number. Given the fame that's already clouded his vision, it is not surprising the best hitter at the time would enhance. It is attributed to his competitive nature and cocky attitude. He wants to be the best, and wants everyone's eyes on him. Hitting 800 home runs would put his name on top. He would be mentioned forever as the best baseball hitter ever, probably best player ever given his excellent fielding.

Then he got caught.

So reaching 600 didn't matter. Reaching 700 probably won't matter. And now who knows about 800? But putting Rodriguez, Bonds, and Sosa in the same sentence as Ruth, Mays, Aaron, and Griffey Jr. certainly makes people cringe. Ruth was fat, drank and smoke as did many players. Mickey Mantle would show up severely hungover to games. Imagine what they could have done in this Era, even without enhancing. Ruth probably could have hit 1000 home runs. But now we'll just have to deal with tainted numbers, and this generation's best players being kept out of the Hall of Fame because of enhancing.

Why do I still like this sport?

Brett Farve.

Ah, yes. The never ending story of Brett Favre's career in the NFL. He texted his teammates that he would be retiring this summer, setting off a media fury. It's not really the dog days of summer without the speculation surrounding Favre's "Indecision." (Why didn't ESPN pay Favre's charity of choice some dough to air an hour long broadcast of this?) It would end in the same fashion as LeBron James' "Decision," with fans disappointed their star player won't be with them to lead a struggling franchise to glory.

The Vikings NEED Favre this year. Losing him drops them from contending for a Super Bowl to struggling to make the playoffs. They need a healthy Favre though and his main reason for not returning this time is a bum ankle. Old man Favre with one leg is still better than Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenthal. The Vikings should plead with Favre to play one more season. Finish up at an even twenty. Promise the offensive line will step their game up and not let Julius Peppers eat him alive.

If Favre returns again, for the 3rd time out of retirement, his legacy will not be tarnished. He tarnished it enough by joining his long time rivals, the Vikings. Him joining the Vikings would be liking Derek Jeter playing for the Boston Red Sox. It's just hurtful to a fanbase and shows how little athletes care who they play for, or what it represents.

Also tarnishing his legacy is ESPN. Their 24/7 coverage of the "Favre Saga" is tiresome. There is plenty of baseball on and football training camps are underway, yet 80% of their programming is devoted to Favre and speculation as to if this time it's for real. ESPN speculates about everything, and they beat every compelling topic to death. Beaten so much that I'll turn off sports and watch "Teen Mom" or "Real Housewives of NJ" with the lady.

Other than that, his legacy is solidified in the record books. Just open them up, and Favre's name is at the top of all quarterback categories, including interceptions. For all of the good games he has had, there have been plenty riddled with gun-slinging atrocities. Having said that, Favre will still be remembered as one of the top 5 quarterbacks of all time.

If the ankle really is the issue, Favre is done. Problem is, his ankle will probably feel better with a few more weeks of rest. Once he realizes his ankle will support playing in an NFL game, the urge to play, which he hasn't been able to quell yet, will be irresistible. Given this is an uncapped year in football, the Vikings can open their checkbook and give Favre whatever he wants.

Favre is the boy who cried retirement, giving this claim zero credibility, and won't be believed till the season is over without him playing one snap. He'll be back though and I hope he comes back every season til he's 50. Try to break his records then Peyton Manning.

UPDATE 12:45 PM - Brett Favre has already told ESPN today in an interview that he has not ruled out playing if the ankle feels better. Sounds like someone just wants to skip training camp. Maybe Coach Brad Childress should force him to run 300 yard shuttle runs like Albert Haynesworth.

The "World" Series

“I say, why do we have Japanese interpreters and we don’t have a Spanish one. I always say that. Why do they have that privilege and we don’t? Don’t take this wrong, but they take advantage of us. We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid … go to the minor leagues, good luck. Good luck. And it’s always going to be like that. It’s never going to change. But that’s the way it is.”

.. (on PEDs)"It's somebody behind the scene making money out of those kids and telling them to take something they're not supposed to. If you tell me, you take this ... you're going to be Vladimir Guerrero, you're going to be Miguel Cabrera, you're going to be this guy ... I'll do it. Because I have seven brothers that sleep in the same room. I have to take care of my mother, my dad. ... Out of this I'm going to make money to make them better. I'm the only one to teach the Latinos about not to use. I'm the only one and Major League Baseball doesn't (care). All they care about - how many times I argue with the umpires, what I say to the media. But I'm the only one in baseball to come up to the Latino kids and say not to use this and I don't get any credit for that."

Ozzie Guillen is known to be a highly entertaining crazy person. You could fill a book with all of the quotes he has spewed throughout the his career. He is a volatile manager, who while being crazy, usually brings up good discussion. Because of his lack of a filter though, his rants are littered with profanity and sometimes the point is missed. His rant this time approaches some new, undiscussed topics and interesting scenarios.

It is not surprising that Japanese players are treated better by teams than the Latin players. The Japanese are already proven professionals by the time they sign with an American team, and normally sign for large contracts. The emphasis on the amount of money they are receiving means teams will ensure that investment is taken care of as to bring back plenty of return. Wouldn't you take better care of a Rolls Royce than a Hyundai, until that Hyundai develops into a Rolls?

Latin players on the other hand are usually signed as unproven, raw talent at a young age. It is a vicious cycle for the Dominican Winter Baseball League and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Until they gain the legitimacy of the US and Japanese professional leagues, players will continue to jump ship, literally if they're coming from Cuba, and play in the MLB. They will never gain the legitimacy unless players stay.

The lure of the American dollar is what attracts most Latin players to the MLB. The countries they are leaving aren't the most wealthy, and their talents can provide their families a much better life than others. Without proper education as to why enhancing is wrong, Guillen is certainly correct as to why players enhance. The more home runs you hit, the more money you make. If enhancing will make you more money, wouldn't you? These players did not grow up in America, why should they care about the "sacred" record book of MLB?

The reason Japanese players have never been speculated to have enhanced is not just education, it is their culture. Bringing shame to a family is not something people want to be doing in most Asian cultures. Being caught enhancing would certainly bring shame to a player, and his family, so I don't think Japanese players would risk that. Latin players on the other hand won't experience that much shame, as their families would be grateful their player did everything possible to bring them out of poverty.

Speaking of shame, it is shameful that MLB does not provide translators to Latin players. If they aren't even offering, they should start. I would think many players would accept a translator, if only just for press conferences or interviews so that they could sound more intelligent and understand the questions better. The schools MLB provides in Latin America teach players English, but many players are still difficult to understand and some in the league never learned.

My solution for this is to have MLB fund the Latin leagues. Bring those leagues to the level of MLB and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. I think then it would be cool to have a "real" World Series. It would be a dream to see the New York Yankees play the Yomiuri Giants for the title of champion of the world.

Unfortunately, that's all it will be, a dream. It is in MLB's best interest, financially, to keep those Latin leagues from thriving. The best talent in the world needs to come to the best league in the world. That is why the Japanese players come - for the challenge. To create similar leagues, with money to pay players similar to what they're making here, would diminish the MLB.

So Ozzie seems correct in his statements this time. The MLB should do something to have players treated more fairly. Bring in Spanish translators, educate Latinos more on why not to enhance. Pretty simple and inexpensive solutions. Until Bud Selig resigns though, simple solutions are never the way. Maybe now that a Latin voice has spoke out, something will be done. Just maybe.

I Give Up

There was a flurry of trades just before the deadline as many teams made improvements for the push to the postseason. The Phillies needed starting pitching, so they traded for the best starting pitcher available, Roy Oswalt. The Yankees needed help at DH, off the bench, and in the bullpen, so Brian Cashman traded for Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns, and Kerry Wood; all upgrades. The Braves and Rays made trades to upgrade their weak spots as well. This builds compelling divisional races in both the AL and NL East.

Two notable teams are left out of the races, the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets. While the BoSox were decimated by injuries, and could see a burst once everyone returns, upper management better hope no one else goes down for the stretch.

By not making any trades by the deadline, it seems the upper management of the BoSox and Mets have given up on this season. Both teams are less than 10 games out of first, over .500, and have plenty of games left with the teams above them. With a few key trades, both could make a run for at least the Wild Card. Instead, both teams just told their players and manager, you're on your own.

Both teams enter every season with high expectations. Fans expect them to make the playoffs. The Mets, for the third time now, saw the best pitcher available go to their biggest rival. First was Cliff Lee, last year's deadline, then Roy Halladay in the offseason, now Oswalt. There wasn't even discussion of him going to NY. Their starting pitching hasn't been bad this season, but Mike Pelfrey hasn't been able to continue his hot start, and a trade like this would show the players that management still thinks they have a shot to climb the standings.

As I said earlier, the BoSox have many players returning from injury over the next few weeks. That may be too little too late. They have a 4 game series with the Yanks coming up and a few losses there could seal their season's fate. Theo Epstein should have put some band-aids on the wounds the injuries created, but did nothing for months, and can only hope something comes off the waiver wire.

Epstein has a job in Boston for life, as does Terry Francona since they ended the curse, but Omar Minaya and definitely Jerry Manuel, are on the firing block if the Mets don't pull off a miracle. Manuel doesn't deserve it as much, since Minaya did nothing this deadline, and little in the offseason, but the Mets are missing the playoffs all too often, while the Yankees keep winning.

Who knows if any of the trades will work out? Oswalt looked awful outing and Berkman has 1 hit in 2 games and 1 flop at 1st base. Just the fact that management brought help shows belief in the players and pumps up the team.

We'll see if management caring turns into competitive players on the field. And vice versa for management not caring. Will the BoSox and Mets rise or fall in the standings? At this point, I say the Mets finish just above the Nationals, and the BoSox finish barely above the Blue Jays, with the top 2 teams in each division, Yanks and Rays, Braves and Phils, finishing only a game or two from each other.