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Nothing's Shocking

I'm not sure I understand why everyone is getting so up in arms about Alex Rodriguez opting out of his contract with the Yankees. Take Hank Steinbrenner's reaction:

"He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field. I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."

Or Selena Roberts in the New York Times:

But apparently salary records are more important than history’s snapshots to Alex. Apparently, Alex’s wife put signing for ego dough on his honey-do list.

And Mike Vaccaro of the Post:

And if this is indeed his final dash out the side door – and if we are to take the Yankees at their word, it is absolutely that – then it comes as part of a perfect A-Rod opera, a me-first symphony that would be appalling if it weren't so predictable.

That's the point, it's totally predictable. It's totally predictable because he's had this clause in his contract for years, because everyone has talked about his opt-out clause ad nauseum and because he's the same guy he always was. So is Scott Boras. This is the same pair that took a deal with a bad Rangers team because it offered the most money not because it gave him a chance to become an iconic player on a winning team. This is the same pair that negotiated opt-out and escalator clauses in a contract because it was more important to be the highest-paid player in baseball at the expense of anything and everything else.

Don't believe Boras' nonsense about the Yankees being in a transition mode, that had nothing to do with why Rodriguez is opting out of his contract. He wants the mega-payday, he wants the bidding war, he wants the spotlight more than he wants anything else. He always has and he always will. The only surprising thing that could have happened would be if A-Rod stayed with the Yankees under his existing deal. Everything else is going right according to plan.

Today On The FanHouse

A roundup of the day's posts to the FanHouse starting and ending with the Chicago Bears.

Bears Clear Up Their Credit History

Ray Lewis Questions Brian Billick's Playcalling

Broncos Tackle Schedule Conflict With Rockies

Red Sox Fans Have Some Writing to Do

Aaron Cook Added to Rockies Roster

Bears Need More Adrian Peterson

Today On The FanHouse

A quick link to all of my work at the FanHouse today:

Jets Woes Go Well Beyond Pennington

Bears Owe Ed Hochuli a Game Ball

Running Away From McGahee Costs Ravens was quickly followed by McGahee Was Dehydrated Not Ignored by Billick Yesterday

Price Check on Dontrelle Willis

That Kahlua's Gonna Cost You, Mr. Sheffield

Brandon Marshall Arrested for DUI

Woe Is Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling took to the internets today

to extol the virtues of the American League Champion Boston Red Sox. It makes me taste vomit in the back of my throat just to utter a congratulation in their direction but they deserve the honor. They got two gems from Josh Beckett, tons of good hitting and a little good luck here and there. I'll be rooting like hell for the Rockies to beat them in the Series but they are a worthy champion.

No fan of the media, Schilling isn't content to just celebrate his team's good play and a fourth trip to the Fall Classic. No, he has to take some time out to batter the people who gave Terry Francona a hard time when he was the manager of the Phillies from 1997-2000 as well as lob a few grenades at the media in Boston.

Congratulations to Terry Francona as well. In a city that features armchair QB’ing and media second guessing as legitimate paid professions, he stayed true to himself and true to us as players and managed his ass off. I still think he’s the most underrated manager in baseball.

Terry Francona is a genius since he arrived in Boston? Having been on his team the first day he managed in the big leagues through today I’ll tell you up front that he is not much different. He does suck much more at cribbage now than he ever did and his fantasy teams continue to suck as well, but as a manager he’s not really different. I think the interim jobs he had in Cleveland and Oakland showed him the inner workings of baseball front offices more and helped him in some areas but in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field he’s pretty much the same non-jersey wearing guy he was in Philly, he just has a front office comprised entirely of people that understand winning games on the field matters more than anything else. The ‘know it alls’ in Philadelphia, from Conlin to Cataldi to Macnow, aren’t really know it alls are they? Their people who’s life it is, who’s entire job description, revolves around creating news or stories where there is none, to make you think their ‘in’ and you’re not, and if you want to truly know or get smarter, listen to them. Pretty cool when you can be wrong pretty much 90% of the time and still be considered an expert.

Wonder how smart Tito looks to the guys that hacked him in Philly now? 3 post seasons, 2 world series appearances in 4 years here. Nice to know he gets that last laugh.

First things first. Francona isn't underrated. He's considered a very good manager by anyone and everyone who watches baseball. Most of the reason he's considered a good manager, however, is because of who he manages. Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett and Schilling, of course, have made him a winning manager which is a good manager in anyone's book. The reason he wasn't a "good" manager in Philadelphia is exactly the opposite.

Rico Brogna. Kevin Stocker. Mark Leiter. Mark Lewis. Desi Relaford. Carlton Loewer. Chad Ogea. Those are just a few of the reasons why Francona was fired as manager in 2000 and if the Red Sox had a similar cast of characters he would probably have been fired again by now. Look at Bill Belichick, Joe Torre, Jim Leyland and dozens of other well-respected coaches and managers and you'll realize that pushing the right buttons and "managing your ass off" only gets you so far.

If the point of Schilling's diatribe was to excoriate the front office of the Phillies that would be fine. God knows they deserve it but you'd think after 20 years in the big league he would have realized that part of the deal when you're a manager is that you take blame for things out of your control. I'm sure Francona wouldn't pick Rico Brogna as his first baseman, at least I assume he wouldn't, but that was the hand he was dealt and he took the hits because of it. That's baseball.

Schilling's a history buff so he probably wouldn't argue with the premise that leaders, be they of countries, armies or baseball teams, get too much credit for things they had little to do with and too much blame for things largely out of their control. That's why they say heavy is the head that wears the crown.

I'll close by again forcing the words congratulations to Schilling and the Red Sox and ask them to please, once and for all, drop this persecution complex that was once charming and is now infuriating beyond belief. You guys have a great team and a smart manager, no one worth their salt is saying otherwise. Now go out and get your asses swept by the Rock.

(H/T to The Postmen)

The Greatest

I was watching PTI at the gym this afternoon and in the first four stories Wilbon and Kornheiser called something the greatest of all time. First up were the Patriots, who Tony said would go 19-0 and were the best football team of all time. Then came Devin Hester, the greatest kick returner of all time. Finally, after a brief respite during a college football discussion that flirted with calling South Florida the greatest something or other of all time, up came the Colorado Rockies who are on the greatest hot streak of all time.

Cris Collinsworth did the same thing during halftime of last night's Sunday Night football game when he referred to New England as the best team he's ever seen. There's been scuttlebutt here and there that Tom Brady is having the greatest season of any quarterback ever, during last year's NCAA Tournament we heard that Greg Oden was the best Freshman to ever play college basketball. Unless it was Kevin Durant.

Elsewhere there are articles proclaiming Brett Favre, Joe Torre, the USC football program, Roger Federer, San Diego State kicker Parker Douglass, Floyd Mayweather, motocross racer Ricky Carmichael , high school running back Jerandon Bussey and Roger Clemens the Greatest ______ of All Time. Appalachian State's win over Michigan was called the greatest upset of all time until that USC football program was defeated by a Stanford team that ASU would probably handle with ease.

What's all the fuss about the greatest of all time? I think it has more to do with us than with anything these teams or players do in their chosen fields. We're obsessed with thinking that we are witnessing the absolute height of human achievement rather than just admitting that every era has its standouts, that its impossible to truly compare sports performances from one era against another except in the mind's eye. Sure, statisticians can create formulas that put things on an equal playing field but can anyone say with any degree of real certainty what would happen if Clemens took on Babe Ruth or if Tim Duncan's Spurs played the Knicks of Reed and Frazier?

I'd love to see both matchups but until someone harnesses 1.21 gigawatts it's going to remain a fantasy. These mythical titles seem to exist just to start the next debate - If the Patriots are the greatest team of all time and the Colts beat them does that make the Colts the greatest team of all time? - and in that next debate no one is going to be more inclined to temper their remarks.

I'm not saying any and all of these people are being mislabeled, except for the San Diego State kicker thing which is just hyperbole out of control. I'm just saying that our need to feel like we live in interesting and amazing times trumps any and all perspective about the length and variety of history.

They called World War I the "war to end all wars" and as you'll note by the ongoing muck of Iraq that was more than a little premature. The generation that won World War II, the "greatest generation," went on to get us into Vietnam, presided over Jim Crow and helped create divides in this country that are still being fought over. And those are things that actually matter. Wouldn't it be both easier and more accurate to say that huge things and magnificent individuals exist in every era and just celebrate them that way instead of resorting to hyperbole that only serves to make us feel better about ourselves?

What's New In Jets Land?

Pretty big game for the Jets this weekend. The Eagles, not exactly setting the world on fire themselves, are coming to town and Chad Pennington's fighting for his job and, perhaps, his future with the Jets. I discussed this weekend's matchup and a lot more with Brian Bassett of the always excellent The Jets Blog for his weekly podcast which you can listen to right here and I previewed the game over at the FanHouse.

Quick and dirty, things don't look good for the Jets. The Eagles have Brian Westbrook and Gang Green can't stop the run while the Eagles have a pretty decent defense and the Jets have, well, very little to offer offensively. At least they'll look sharp in their throwback unis. Yep, that's what the Jets will be wearing this weekend. Scoff if you will but the Eagles put up 56 points in their old-school duds so maybe there's something to turning back the clock.

Who's #7 On The Knicks?

If you tune into tonight's preseason game between the Knicks and Maccabi Tel Aviv you might experience a bit of deja vu. With a twist. The 6'6" shooting guard will look familiar and the sweet shooting stroke will tickle both the twine and the far reaches of your memory bank yet you'll find yourself saying "I don't remember any Knick player wearing number 7 recently."

That's cause there isn't one but that player you recognize is none other than Allan Houston, author of one of the most memorable Knick moments in history and attempter of a comeback I don't think anyone saw coming. Sure, Houston's been talking about it for a while but the last place I thought he'd end up is back with the Dolan carnival. If he can still go it will be as a long-range shooter off the bench, the perfect complement to a good team looking for a weapon.

These Knicks do have backcourt needs but they begin at the point, not at the two. If Houston does make the team he'd take the spot of rookie Demetris Nichols, a sharpshooter, and he wasn't the best defensive player during his prime. Those skills probably haven't improved with time off and I'd rather see the Knicks get younger than older after years spent flailing about with old, expensive players.

Houston won't cost much and doesn't have a guaranteed contract so that's not the big complaint about the signing. I think James Dolan and Isiah cooked this up as a way to deflect some attention from their recent courtroom farce. Bring back a beloved veteran of better days, let the media attention flow to coverage of his comeback and try to foster some goodwill in a town that thinks the whole organization has gone to pot under their watch.

Oh yeah, the reason he's not wearing number 20 is because Jared Jeffries hasn't been given cement boots and a toss from a boat in the Hudson yet and the NBA, in its infinite wisdom, has a rule that says players can't switch numbers without notice given to the league before training camp begins. Because there's so much call for Jared Jeffries jerseys around the country.

A Bronx Cheer For Me, Yankees

 

Yeah, I know it's been awhile. I've been wrapped up with the new gig at the FanHouse and shirking my duties to the horse that brung me. For that I'm deeply sorry and will try my best to make up for the long absence. What better place to start making up for lost time than with the Yankees.

There are all kinds of answers to why the Yankees lost in four games to the Cleveland Indians. The starting pitching was abysmal, the lineup went colder than the proverbial witch's tit and the Indians played great baseball, especially in clutch situations. Alex Rodriguez wasn't the reason why, despite what the back pages might tell you, nor was Joe Torre, despite what the owner might tell you, but the loss may well cost the team each of them.

Why in the world would Rodriguez want to come back to this team, outside of money? Why would he want to come back to a place where leading the league in home runs and RBI, carrying the team on his back and winning the MVP award isn't enough to stop the speculation that he was the reason the team flopped in the playoffs. Maybe on the Red Sox or Mets there could be that much put on one player's shoulders but otherwise why not just take your money, play your game and enjoy adulation and respect rather than the cutting remarks of newspapermen and fans. The Yankees should do everything in their power to keep him - those offensive failures aren't going to disappear if A-Rod does - but I wouldn't stay if there was another fair harbor.

As for Torre, I've grown less and less happy with his game-management skills but I don't doubt for a second that he's the best manager for the off-field rigamarole that follows this team around. Plenty of good teams have gone into the tank with less thrown at them than the Yankees faced this season and discounting Torre's role in steering them through rough seas is done with peril. He doesn't "deserve" to be fired but if the team is truly turning a page, an inescaple canard if you read papers or the web, watch TV or listen to the radio then it probably is time for Torre to go.

If you are going to go with Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy in major roles and continue to build from within they why not bring in someone new to build with. I don't know that Don Mattingly's that guy and whoever comes next will be forced to live up to the impossibly high standards Torre set over the past dozen years but they could grow with their players to return to similar heights.

They just need to be prepared for some rocky seas. Young pitchers experience growing pains under the best of circumstances and if the Bombers devote themselves to living through them may not result in a playoff berth. That's hard to swallow after 13 straight Octobers but its true. The one thing they can't do is half-ass their way through the process. Picking up a veteran here and there to fill holes might make things easier in the short term but it doesn't make any sense. Taking a step backward this year will allow two or more steps forward, that's what the team needs otherwise the gap between championships will just keep on growing.