THE SILLY SEASON AND MORE

 **Congratulations to the two winners of the MVP title, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox and Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves. I am passionate about words and to me, MVP means Most Valuable Player. Not the best hitter or the pitcher with the most wins (even that title has lost some meaning), but the player without whom the team would not have won. Therefore, by definition, your team HAS to win for you to be valuable. A General Manager on a last place team back in the 50's, while in negotiations with his star player, told him, "You're not getting a raise. We lost with you and we can lose without you."  So, both winners had very good years and while neither MVP winner played on a team that won the World Series, they played on teams that made it to the playoffs and that's good enough for me. 

**Analysts continue to amaze me. They can't seem to speak English. Here's the latest one from that wordsmith, Chris Collingsworth. He has come up with a new, long-form term for receivers: “Catchers of the football.” Pretty soon we'll have "Inhibitors of defenders" for blockers. How about "Hasten the hurler" instead of rushing the passer. Gee, I hope Collingsworth doesn't procure these. Baseball has them, too. The Yankee hasn't had a starter all season, but, according to David Cone,  they have had "Garrit Cole on the bump."

**As always, sports writers are the biggest contributors to "The Silly Season." They don't care if their predictions make any sense, they just make them as outrageous as possible and as many as possible. So far this year, Yankee Beat Writers have had Gary Sanchez, Traded to the Mets, spent extra time with a hitting coach, released outright, sent back to the minors and be relegated to back up status. I'm surprised they haven't put him in charge of the post-game refreshments. Maybe they have; he doesn't look like he's passed on too many hot dogs.

On the other hand,sometimes these pretend words come in handy. With the possibility of Trevor Bauer joining the Yanks to form a 1-2 punch with Garrit Cole, they didn't want to start a possible feud by fostering the bad relationship the two of them had in college, so they now call them "Frenemies."

**Theo Epstein, once GM of the Boston Red Sox, has stepped down as General Manager of the Cubs. 10 years ago , He and Brian Cashman of the Yankees were hailed as the two brightest (and youngest) GMs in baseball. Epstein says he'll be back but not this year.

Sadly, Dodgers icon and Hall of Famer, Tommy Lasorda, has been hospitalized with heart complications. He 93 and we wish him well.  

**More sad news. Robinson Cano, current Met and former Yankee has tested positive for using PEDs for the second time. He's been suspended for the 2021 season and has blown his $24 million salary for that year. The Mets are still on the mark for his last two years at $24 million. Some writers have said that he's probably blown his chances at the Hall of Fame too, but that's a while off. With so much at stake - the money and more importantly, his legacy - why would a player do something so crazy? 

**This is the strangest Silly Season I've ever seen. Because of the pandemic, no crowds were allowed to attend the regular season games and every team, who still had to pay the players, front office personnel and stadium crews, lost money. With no guarantee that the COVID-19 situation will be resolved by next season, sports writers are talking more about who WON'T be offered big money contracts and what players who will be released outright, than who will be traded and and what teams will spend money. This is no fun.  How am I going to argue with my friends over what big trade or signing my team is going to do? Come on sports writers, start with some juicy rumors.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. 

 ***THEY SAID IT***

"Raiders now have 11 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list as they prepare to host Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. So what happens in Vegas stays off the field in Vegas?"  -- Janice Hough

"Tommy Tuberville — the former Auburn football coach and newly elected senator from Alabama — rattled off the three branches of the federal government as “the House, the Senate and executive.” At least he didn’t say offense, defense and special teams."  -- Dwight Perry

"The NYC Marathon has considered erasing Lance Armstrong's result from the 2006 race. Armstrong finished 868th. Can you imagine the excitement for the runner who finished 869th?"  -- RJ Currie

"ESPN reporting that LSU ignored sexual assault complaints against several football players. Gosh, you mean the school prioritized football over protecting women? I am shocked, shocked…"  -- Janice Hough

"NBCneeds to replace the retiring Doc Emrick on it's hockey broadcasts, which is like trying to replace Frank Sinatra as a lead singer."  -- Steve Simmons

 "After Notre Dame upset Clemson in South Bend, thousands of Irish fans stormed and covered the field. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta called this Notre Dame’s Spread Offence."  -- Bill Littlejohn

"Social-distancing went out the window when giddy Notre Dame football fans stormed the field after their team’s double-OT win over No. 1 Clemson.There went any plans for the school’s “Notre Dame Fighting Virus” public-service ad campaign."  -- Dwight Perry

Chad Picasner

 

A LITTLE MORE BASEBALL NEWS

 **Baseball has announced the winners of the Manager Of The Year award in both leagues. Don Mattingly, Miami Marlins, in the National League, Kevin Cash, Tampa Bay Rays, In the American League. Both are fine managers and Mattingly is a gentleman who respects the game and all it's participants. Kevin Cash, I'm not so sure about, but congratulations to both.

**White Sox manager, Tony LaRussa, will be in the news often this coming season as he is not one to shy from controversy. Lets hope Chicago never gets into a feud with another team because LaRussa tends to over-react in these situations. If one of his players gets hit by a pitch, it's okay to want to protect your players, but rather than try to diffuse the situation, he tends to exacerbate the problem: "You hit one of my players, I'll hit two of yours." This is an exact quote and will certainly not help calm any tempers. Now I see that Tony is already in the news being charged with a DUI in October of this year. According to police reports, he had an interesting response to questioning by police officers: "I'm a Hall of Famer baseball person." Another quote. It is the second drunken-driving arrest for La Russa, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI in Florida in 2007. Well, I see we're off and running.

**The Mets new owner, Steve Cohen is making waves already, cleaning house in the front office and setting a goal of a World Series title in 3-5 years. He also intends to spend money to better the team. “This is a major market team and should have a budget commensurate with that.” He also pledged to let his baseball people make the baseball decisions. New York fans are familiar with this promise and the actual result from the George Steinbrenner years with the Yankees. Do you know of any billionaire who got where they are by letting other people make decisions? 

**The Red Sox have officially rehired Alex Cora as their manager. In his press conference, he actually acknowledged his wrong doing with the Astros and apologized for it. "I deserved what happened this year. I'm not proud of it. ... In the end, I got my penalty and served it." I don't think I've ever heard a professional athlete say that before. Usually they talk about their mistakes as though they don't understand what everybody is upset about ("If anyone was offended, I  apologize"). I'm impressed, Alex.

**This is the advent of what I call, THE SILLY SEASON, where all 30 teams think they are just one player short of being favored to win their division. We'll have to discuss this in more detail in the future.

***THEY SAID IT*** 

"Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald once instituted a mandatory nap for his Wildcats prior to games. Not to be outdone, Adam Gase's NY Jets frequently take naps during games."  -- RJ Currie 

"Mets President Sandy Alderson says with new owner Steve Cohen he wants to turn the team into an “Iconic franchise.” Well, for comedy writers, they already are."  -- Janice Hough 

"The Alabama-LSU game has been canceled due to Covid. It's just as well. Bo Pelini's defense probably couldn't hold 'Bama to under 100 points."  -- Brad Dickson

 "During Michigan St.-Michigan, Fox’s Gus Johnson said that MSU RB “Ricky White is having a career game. He was a freshman, playing his second game."  -- Mike Panasuk, Boston, MA

 "As always, follow the TV money. Saturday’s Arizona St.-Southern Cal will begin here at noon, 9 a.m. West Coast time, for Fox money. This allows students the opportunity to be hungover by 1 p.m."  -- Phil Mushnick

"Federal agents are questioning USC football players in connection to a fraud investigation. Penalties may be stiff. Some pf the players may be forced to attend classes."  -- Alex Kaseberg

"A question for Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger: "Was it easier to win the World Series when the other team wasn't cheating.""  -- Jimmy Kimmel

"In a response to inquiries from New York Jets and Houston Texans fans, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta informed them that they must continue to wear masks, even under the paper bags over their heads."  -- Bill Littlejohn

"The NFL suspended Bears receiver Javon Wims for two games cheap-shotting the Saints’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson — one game for the blows and, presumably, another game for being stupid enough to repeatedly punch a guy’s helmet."  -- Dwight Perry

"Packers beat San Francisco 34-17 Thursday night: The Niners put up a struggle but, with eight starters out of the lineup from the outset, they brought brass knuckles to an ax fight."  -- Jack Finarelli

Chad Picasner

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO RECYCLING

 Baseball has a history of recycling managers, and not a proud one. Every time a manager gets fired, clubs delve into the list of out-of-work managers fired from other teams. Sometimes they have been fired by the teams who are currently looking. The most famous, of course, is Billy Martin, who was hired and fired five times over the space of 13 years.

Currently, the Boston Red Sox are looking and, of course, are considering rehiring Alex Cora who was fired early this year over a cheating scandal. The Chicago White Sox just rehired Tony LaRusso, who last managed the team in 1986.

But this is no longer the norm. Usually, out of 30 possible jobs, you might find two or three rookie managers. This year, only 9 of a possible 29 jobs are held by men who have managed at least one other team. Baseball used to be considered to be an Old Boys Club, but no more. The biggest reason for this is the reliance on computer-driven statistics. When potential managers are being interviewed, there is a major concern by the front offices that the candidate is committed to the sabermetrics currently in vogue. Outside of a few "legends of the past," such as Joe Maddon or Tony LaRusso,you have little chance of being hired if you think a laptop is where you let girls sit. The days of using only your eyes and experience of making decisions is long past. If you want to see a good example of this, watch the movie "Moneyball," especially the first half hour.

Even coaching is feeling the brunt of the new metrics. You used to judge a pitcher by things like, how good is his curve ball or how hard does he throw.  Now you need to know spin rates, arm angles and BABIP, which is Batting Average of Balls In Play. Hitting coaches have to know bat speed, time in the zone and launch angles. Base running coaches need to know...a different career, since the new metrics frown on stealing bases. But don't worry, there are plenty of other jobs. It used to be that a manager had a first base coach, a third base coach and a pitching coach. Not any more.  A manager has that plus:

Fielding Coach      Outfield Coach    Throwing Coach       Catching Coach    Bench Coach

Bullpen Coach       Hitting Coach       Asst Hitting Coach   Strength Coach    And some I missed

And let's not forget the translators, since ballplayers no longer feel the need to learn English. The Yankees Masahiro Tanaka has been with the team for seven years, but if a coach goes out to talk to him, the Japanese interpreter is right with him. Here's a question for the ages: Gary Sanchez, Yankee catcher, needs a Spanish interpreter during interviews. When he goes to the mound to talk to Tanaka, how do they communicate? And why do they cover their mouths? Bad breath? There's a question I'd like to hear in an interview.

Not a lot of choices for the quotes part of the blog. Most writers were concerned with the political end and I only include sports related quotes, But there were still some good ones.

***THEY SAID IT***

 "Don’t believe what you see: At the end of three quarters, Saturday, Fox’s Joel Klatt praised Nebraska’s defense for being quick and alert. At the time, Ohio State was up, 38-17, with nearly 400 yards gained."  -- Phil Mushnick

"A majority of ESPN’s NFL headlines are about COVID-19, tests, penalties, mask violations cases. Well, NY fans have to be glad at least they aren’t about the Giants or Jets"   -- Janice Hough 

"Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, 76, became just the third 75-or-older manager in MLB history when the White Sox hired him last week. Hey, it was either that or a cardboard cutout of Connie Mack."  -- Dwight Perry

"In case you missed it, National Fossil Day was on October 14. It will not be on November 28th, the revised fight date between retirees Mike Tyson and Roy Jones."  -- RJ Currie

"Now that the troublesome Antonio Brown is joining Tom Brady’s Bucs, people need to stop saying that everybody deserves a second chance. By rough estimate, this is Brown’s fourth."  -- Bob Molinaro

"Heading into this weekend's Dallas game, the Philadelphia Eagles lead the NFL is most sacks given up. The Cowboys lead the league in giving up."  -- RJ Currie

 "Meanwhile NFL is looking at a 16 team playoff if more games get cancelled due to COVID. If they keep this up we’ll soon be looking at almost all teams in the NFC except the NFC East."  -- Janice Hough

"A bettor plunked down $8,600 on No. 1 Clemson — at minus-1,000 odds — to beat Syracuse and collected $8.60 from FanDuel for his troubles. That’s like shelling out for the Kobe beef and Maine lobster just to get the after-dinner mint."  -- Dwight Perry

Chad Picasner