Author Topic: INSIDE BASEBALL-Hey, Red Sox Nation: daily drama is a bit much to the rest of us  (Read 2760 times)

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Online DCPatriot

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Hey, Red Sox Nation: daily drama is a bit much to the rest of us


Dustin Pedroia and Bobby Valentine crossed paths last month in one of the many controversies to swirl around Boston


There aren't a lot of accessories in Flyover Country. No beaches, no mountains, few really tall buildings. In Cincinnati, there isn't a lot of history stored in museums. We are not The Hub of the Universe, the way Boston has decided it is.

But we're not nuts.

Here's what you notice, after you've lived on the East Coast for most of the first three decades of your life, then spent the next two decades elsewhere:

Elsewhere actually exists.

It's not a loud place. It doesn't obsess over itself. It's provincial. Every place is provincial. But it doesn't, you know, dwell on it.

Which gets us to the Boston Red Sox. Around here, the Boston Red Sox look like a bunch of fools. They're a klatsch of 1950s housewives playing Mah Jong and complaining about their husbands. Their followers are so self-absorbed, they think it's perfectly normal.

It's not normal. It's daytime TV, every day, weekends included. In Boston, everything is coated with the goo of melodrama. Do they actually play hardball in Fenway Park? Or simply gather to complain and speculate?

The other day, David Ortiz had something to complain about. I'm guessing he had to take a number. "I don't get no respect," Big Papi declared. "Not from the media. Not from the front office. What I do is never the right thing. You hit 54 home runs, then hit 35, it's not good enough. How many people hit 35? Never good enough, bro. That's why I don't care.''

Ortiz was mad, apparently, because he suspected he hadn't been getting enough credit as a "leader in the clubhouse.'' (What does that require in Boston? A whip and a chair, or a guest spot on Desperate Housewives?) "No matter what you do, it's not good enough. And you can only call leaders the guys who are out diving for balls on the field or calling pitches behind the plate?"

The last was apparently a reference to retired catcher Jason Varitek and all-star second baseman Dustin Pedroia. But it could have been about anyone. So never mind.

A month or so ago, the new manager, Bobby Valentine, suggested that cornerstone third baseman Kevin Youkilis wasn't trying hard enough. Lots of baseball savants believed adding the volatile Bobby V to the Boston mix was a bad move. Please don't smoke that cigar next to that pile of oily rags.

Actually, it was genius. A manager who loves himself, partnered with 25 guys who feel the same way. Still, to question Youkilis' dedication was a little much, even in Boston. "That's not the way we do things around here,'' Pedroia suggested, in rebuttal.

It's not?

Because pettiness, insecurity and egotism abhor a vacuum in Boston, we had to hear about Josh Beckett playing golf. Earlier this month, he played the day after he was scratched from a start with a sore lat muscle. Then he got bombed his next time out. (Check that. He got hit really hard.)

Here's a newsflash: Pitchers play golf. In season. Especially starting pitchers. You could argue stridently that Beckett shouldn't have played when he did, if only for appearances sake. But it wasn't quite the Hindenburg. Except in Boston, where everything is the Hindenburg.

We don't behave this way elsewhere. More often than not, we allow the games to speak for themselves, and the players to describe the games. If they play well, they're not superhuman and infallible. If they don't, it wasn't because they weren't dedicated or played golf on an off day or drank beer on days they weren't pitching. It was because they had a bad day.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/paul_daugherty/05/23/red.sox.controversies/index.html

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"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.

Online DCPatriot

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A fun article to read....even if you're a Red Sox fan!    :beer:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.

Offline Chieftain

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Last I heard, my Cleveland Indians are still lookin' pretty good so far.....

See me after the All Star break, and then we can start talking serious baseball.....

 :beer:

Online DCPatriot

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Last I heard, my Cleveland Indians are still lookin' pretty good so far.....

See me after the All Star break, and then we can start talking serious baseball.....

 :beer:

Glad to know you appreciate the Game, Chief!

The baseball world is upside down.

The Yankees and Red Sox are fighting for the cellar....and the Baltimore Orioles are playing .600 ball in 1st place with one of the best W-L records in the major leagues.

Over in the National League, the Phillies are fodder for the Washington Nationals.

I can't wait until the Break......not with this going on!

NOTE:  Hamel is pitching tonight.    He plunked Bryce "The Natural" Harper....and he should get drilled tonight for sure in retaliation.  LOL!
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.

Offline sinkspur

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The four teams with the highest payrolls--Philadelphia, the Yankees, Boston, and LA Angels--are all in LAST PLACE in their divisions.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline Lipstick on a Hillary

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2 of the Phillies highest paid players and best hitters) are out recuperating from injuries.

Online DCPatriot

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2 of the Phillies highest paid players and best hitters) are out recuperating from injuries.

Howard and ???

The Nationals have ex-Phillie Jayson Werth out with a wrist injury.  He's a spark when he's in the dugout.
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.

Offline Puss-N-Boots

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Fun article!  I'm surprised Valentine is still around.

That team of self-absorbed whiners needs a shock... how about we do a manager exchange program and give them Mike Scioscia for a few months?
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Offline jmyrlefuller

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The four teams with the highest payrolls--Philadelphia, the Yankees, Boston, and LA Angels--are all in LAST PLACE in their divisions.
It's May.

By September, order will be restored. It's Major League Baseball-- just like the Pirates' improbable rise to the top of the standings last year, regression to the mean will eventually happen.

By playoff time, the Yanks will be atop the AL East. Too much money in baseball not to have it happen. (And I'm not even a Yankees fan.)
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Online DCPatriot

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Hey there Sink!

What the hell's happening to your Rangers?  The "Moneyball" A's took a series from them.

They Yanks are rising.......the Orioles are gasping....and Bryce Harper is THE NATURAL.
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.

Online DCPatriot

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Looking for a WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS World Series this year?

Could happen.

BTW....Bryce Harper's numbers almost mirror Ken Griffey, Jr.'s rookie season, age 19.

Compared to the rest of the lineup, Harper's struggling at the plate.  But we're supposed to accept a 250 hitting outfielder?

He won't dive out over the plate to take the outside pitch.....where EVERYBODY is now pitching him breaking balls...to go the other way to left field.  He continues to try to jack everything to right field.

Right now, he's a swinger, not a hitter.

Over in the Rangers' clubhouse, Josh Hamilton is asking for a Rooster's foot.....to help him ward off evil spirits trying to get him to chew tobacco again.

 :patriot:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Hello Darkness, my old Friend...stood up too fast once again! Paul Simon 2024.