1. Further to yesterday’s column in which I decried the NBA’s apparent apathy towards enforcing at least some sort of punishment for the growing number of dubious pseudo-criminal characters that populate its ranks, we get this latest commandment coming down from the mountain atop which David Stern dispenses his missives. How exactly will this make the league better? While histrionics and bad behavior should be punished on the court, giving referees even more discretion to be unreasonable and arrogant isn’t the way to go. The old adage that an umpire’s (or ref, in this case) presence should never be felt in a game will go out the window. I just don’t understand what the NBA is doing. Why do I get the sense that some of the NBA’s refs, short-tempered and star-blinded as they are, will use this as carte-blanche to stamp their imprint on a nightly basis.
Every time I see LeBron James, I thank my lucky stars that he’s in the league. His presence helps to distract me from the fact that I’m tired of the criminals on the court and I’m just as tired of the heavy-handedness in which David Stern uses to run his league.
2. Fortunately it didn’t come to pass. Hopefully Lou Piniella signs with the Giants or the Cubs or some other team that is in the market for an ill-tempered man with no people skills and a penchant for killing pitchers. It would do the Yankees a great disservice to have to play the 2007 season with Piniella’s flabby, alcoholic shadow looming overhead.
Having said that, I’m wondering if letting Joe Torre go would not have been the best course of action. The end of the Torre era is inevitable, be it by firing, or by resignation, or by some mutual agreement. And when Torre does go, it will be a bittersweet day. But a part of me wonders if hiring Joe Girardi for 2007 wasn’t the right play and if he’ll represent “the one that got away.” The Yanks will still likely make the playoffs next year – their offense is still too much for most teams to overcome. But without better pitching, the World Series will be an uphill climb. That’s nothing that either Torre or Girardi could fix. But sometimes a bit of fresh-faced enthusiasm can pull off miracles.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the top pitcher in Japanese baseball, has been cleared to pursue a career in the major leagues. I don’t know which team will end up signing him but I know that all baseball fans should root for him. He is rumored to throw a trick pitch called the gyroball which looks absolutely devastating. I think it’ll be fun seeing American hitters swing over the top of a pitch that breaks as sharply as that...
Every time I see LeBron James, I thank my lucky stars that he’s in the league. His presence helps to distract me from the fact that I’m tired of the criminals on the court and I’m just as tired of the heavy-handedness in which David Stern uses to run his league.
2. Fortunately it didn’t come to pass. Hopefully Lou Piniella signs with the Giants or the Cubs or some other team that is in the market for an ill-tempered man with no people skills and a penchant for killing pitchers. It would do the Yankees a great disservice to have to play the 2007 season with Piniella’s flabby, alcoholic shadow looming overhead.
Having said that, I’m wondering if letting Joe Torre go would not have been the best course of action. The end of the Torre era is inevitable, be it by firing, or by resignation, or by some mutual agreement. And when Torre does go, it will be a bittersweet day. But a part of me wonders if hiring Joe Girardi for 2007 wasn’t the right play and if he’ll represent “the one that got away.” The Yanks will still likely make the playoffs next year – their offense is still too much for most teams to overcome. But without better pitching, the World Series will be an uphill climb. That’s nothing that either Torre or Girardi could fix. But sometimes a bit of fresh-faced enthusiasm can pull off miracles.
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the top pitcher in Japanese baseball, has been cleared to pursue a career in the major leagues. I don’t know which team will end up signing him but I know that all baseball fans should root for him. He is rumored to throw a trick pitch called the gyroball which looks absolutely devastating. I think it’ll be fun seeing American hitters swing over the top of a pitch that breaks as sharply as that...
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