Two things:
1. I think they should now have to give homefield advantage to the AL in the World Series.
2. Do you think he got them from A-Rod’s cousin?[^roids]
[^roids]: Yes, I’m a bitter, bitter Red Sox fan.
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Category: Sports
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Who is to Blame for the Red Sox?
Peter Abraham with a sobering breakdown, including:
> John Lackey and Carl Crawford are obviously uncomfortable in Boston and it has affected their play. If Adrian Gonzalez was indeed the ringleader against Valentine — and he didn’t deny Passan’s charge that he was — that speaks poorly about his character, too. It is worth noting that Valentine was a staunch defender of Gonzalez in the spring when the first baseman was hitting .256 and going weeks between home runs.
> …
> Dustin Pedroia is the de facto captain of the team. Plenty of players follow him whether he has a “C” on his jersey or not. That he was so tight with Francona was going to be a problem for Valentine. Both men needed to find common ground in spring training and it seems that never happened.
This line probably sums it up best:
> Somehow — and this is the crux of the matter — the Red Sox went from being a franchise of grind-it-out, hard-nosed players to being entitled, selfish and unlikable.
Can we just end this season now?
> Boston Red Sox players blasted manager Bobby Valentine to owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino during a heated meeting called after a text message was sent by a group of frustrated players to the team and ownership in late July, three sources familiar with the meeting told Yahoo! Sports.
This season just gets better and better. At this point, I just think the Red Sox should:
* Fire Valentine
* Sign Ortiz to a 2-year Contract
* Shut Ortiz down for the rest of the year
* Give Lavarnway reps behind the plate[^fn1]
* Officially shut down Middlebrooks for the rest of the year
* Use the next few weeks to get work on getting Beckett and Lester into a good place mentally.
They can use the offseason to find a new manager, but for now, just get Valentine out of there.
[^fn1]: This is made easier by the [Shoppach Trade](http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/20220814sox_trade_kelly_shoppach_to_mets/)
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Evaluating NESN
What do you write about when the Red Sox are out of the playoff race this early in the season? The network that broadcasts their games.
> It has become a chore to listen to and watch NESN’s amateurish Red Sox broadcasts.
> Fans routinely misses pitches because NESN tries to cram an excessive number of commercials between innings, airs excessive replays, and lingers on irrelevant dugout shots. NESN gives us worthless “tours” of concrete hallways in other stadiums and asinine non-baseball segments. Worse than that, the network often fails to show the action on the field.
> Announcers Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy have become sad parodies of themselves. While Orsillo still calls a decent play-by-play, he also swamps viewers with waves of useless information between pitches and batters. Remy, ostensibly an analyst, offers no analysis whatsoever.
I have admittedly not been watching as many games this year[^fn1], however, I have always enjoyed the Orsillo-Remy broadcast team. I agree with Fangraphs, [who ranked them as the #5 best television broadcasting team in baseball](http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/broadcaster-rankings-tv-10-1/):
> **Three [Fangraphs] Reader Comments**
> • “The broadcasts feel appropriately ‘regional.’ (Accents help.)”
> • “They can be hilarious. Sometimes being hilarious is unprofessional. Sometimes being hilarious leads to unintentionally unrestrained laughter-squeaks and pauses in commentary due to breath-catching. Never have I seen/hear this from other broadcasting teams, so it’s pleasantly unique.”
> • “They don’t try to do too much, they’re comfortable with their audience, and they can be hilarious. They almost never tell me something I don’t know though, and tell me things I know are wrong not unfrequently.”
> **Notes**
> The comment about the broadcast being regionally appropriate is astute, I think. The accents, yeah, but also the nature of the banter between Ramy and Orsillo. My guess is that the sorts of things that readers dislike about Remy and Orsillo are the sorts of things they dislike about Bostonians, generally.
[^fn1]: I do not enjoy watching as much when things seem to always break against the Sox
I thought this was a given at this point? Doug Farrar of Yahoo Sports is not impressed with how things are going:
> To be frank, [the NFL’s comments about the quality of officiating are] a load of crap. The NFL has an aggressive proposal on the table that is designed to recalibrate the leverage enjoyed by the NFL over the officials, and if it means that the integrity of the game is compromised, that’s just too bad, folks.
ESPN and NBC might as well just plan on dedicating 20 minutes of their recap shows to officiating mistakes.
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RIP Johnny Pesky
The best Johnny Pesky obituary I read today was from Gordon Edes:
> More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky embodied the Red Sox. More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky loved the Red Sox. More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky shared that love with anyone who ever asked for a picture, an autograph, a smile, a story. And often, you didn’t even have to ask.
Rest in peace #6.
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An Ode to Will Middlebrooks
> The way the ball leaves Will Middlebrooks’ bat after he hits a home run is something special. Like being launched from a cannon, as if the baseball was a tiny piece of metal rocketing towards some sort of super magnet looming above the Green Monster, a laser, a bullet, a sling shot from home plate. None of these are just right.
Can we just end this season now and start spring training for next year?
> No, the final round at Kiawah Island felt different. Despite the fact that he won by a record eight shots — eclipsing Jack Nicklaus’ seven-shot win at the PGA in 1980 — there was no pomp and circumstance as the 23-year-old demolished the field with a clinical 6-under 66 round to win his second major championship in the last two years, becoming the youngest player in golf history to do so.
Rory looked unstoppable this weekend. It was pretty fun to watch. Of course, we [should avoid labeling him the next Tiger Woods](http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/rory-mcilroy-not-next-tiger-woods/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter):
> Mostly, though, it’s because no player should be saddled with the responsibility of having to be The Next anyone, especially if that title is followed by the name of a 14-time major champion.
Really good piece from Jason Sobel, who I had lost track of since he left ESPN. I’m glad I found where he’s writing now.
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Andrew Bailey to Be Activated Today
Only a few days after the season ended too.
> As intriguing as this possibility is, it’s difficult to see it becoming a reality. Mathieu knew the consequences of drug use at LSU and he continued to engage in it anyway. To be dismissed from the team, Mathieu had to have failed at least three tests. This is a substance abuse problem and he needs medical help. Can he get that? Of course. But would whoever helps him recommend him going back to the environment that put him there in the first place? Probably not.
I just assumed he would play I-AA ball this year and then be a top-10 pick in the draft. It might be a good counterweight on his character if he sticks around without being able to play. It worked for LarGarette Blount.
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Farewell to Bob Ryan
> I do want it known that I have spent 44 years doing it from the heart. I have never once written to provoke or to attract attention. I have always done what has come naturally, which doesn’t mean it’s always been right. No one is right all the time.
He was the last person at the Boston Globe that I still read. I wish him the best of luck and hope I still get to hear his opinions, whether they are written or spoken, for years to come.
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The Wrist of Will Middlebrooks
I woke up yesterday to the [horrible news](http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/2012/08/globe-middlebrooks-has-broken-wrist.html) that [Will Middlebrooks had a broken wrist](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/8/11/3235416/will-middlebrooks-has-a-broken-wrist). I guess it is a positive that [he will not need surgery on that wrist](http://blogs.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/2012/08/middlebrooks-shouldnt-need-surgery.html), but I am still apprehensive about any wrist injury and its effects on the long term health of a player (*see, e.g.,* Nomar Garciaparra.)
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Questioning Roger Goodell’s Authority
Not good for the commissioner:
> From the start, Judge Berrigan sided with Vilma and noted that the steps taken by the NFL when gathering, processing, and using their information to mete out justice were specious at best. When Peter Ginsberg, Vilma’s attorney, said that Vilma was suspended for cart-off hits, and there was no specific proof of Vilma’s involvement. Judge Berrigan responded thusly: “I would like to rule in Vilma’s favor. I do think you [Vilma] exhausted your remedies.”
At this point, Commissioner Goodell needs to put forth the evidence that he feels shows Jonathan Vilma participated in the alleged bounty program. Personally, I would be fine with Goodell losing his grip on the disciplinary power. I think it is time for him to have to reign it in a bit.
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Olympic Blade Runner
The story of Oscar Pistorious, the South African Olympic athlete who had both legs amputated at the knee, has been one of the most heartwarming of the Olympics. Dan Wetzel recaps part of the race today:
> When Pistorius got the baton, they were in eighth place, but he dug deep, turned it on during the backstretch, barreled through the second turn, and gave every ounce he had until he crossed the line.
> South Africa was still in eighth, but Pistorius’s split of 45.67 was second-fastest on the team. They picked up .17 seconds on Venezuela and .62 on Belgium, the seventh- and sixth-place finishers, respectively.
I hope that we get to see the Blade Runner on the international stage for many years to come.
There is a lot of coverage today about how the Washington Nationals are handling their young ace. A [long column by Jayson Stark](http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8253442/shut-stephen-strasburg-just-let-pitch) got things started:
> No matter how loudly you scream, no matter how eloquently you argue, no matter how many compelling counterpoints you present, the Washington Nationals aren’t changing their minds. Period. That’s a wrap.
> So there is going to come a day, sometime in September, when the Nationals pat their ace on the butt, place his golden right arm in bubble wrap, and say, “Thanks for playing.” It’s as inevitable as the next Kristen Stewart tabloid blockbuster.
Then [Rob Neyer](http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/10/3233801/stephen-strasburg-nationals-innings-limit) and [Fangraphs](http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/strasburgs-innings-cap-revealed-to-be-180-ip/) took their turns[^180]. Though Fangraphs focuses on using the innings count to estimate when the Nationals will shut him down, Mr. Neyer is more critical:
> It seems like the Nationals have replaced an old paradigm — let pitchers pitch until they get hurt, which has actually been out of style for a while now — with something new that’s nearly as ill-considered as the old one. The only way to keep Strasburg healthy is to bench him after 160 innings and no time off? Really?
Pitching too much can be bad, so limiting the amount of pitching is good, right? I cannot wait to see the reaction when the Nationals refuse to their ace as they are playing a key playoff game. What a media circus that will be.
[^180]: Fangraphs cites a tweet from Jeff Passan that Strasburg’s inning limit is 180.
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The End of the Honey Badger at LSU
Tommy Tomlinson writing on Joe Posnanski’s new site:
> He called the press conference at the LSU football complex to announce that Tyrann Mathieu was off the team, effective now. On the roster Mathieu played cornerback, but on the field his position was YouTube clip creator. [A strip-and-score](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=posm0hebvgU) against Oregon. [A drive-by, slap-the-ball-free, pick-it-up-and-run](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDH5uzHdM5Y) against Kentucky. [A long punt return](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04WAUd3xAOU) against Arkansas. And the capper, [a punt return against Georgia](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF1xuc1XJRA) that included four cutbacks, three broken tackles and one demoralized Bulldogs team. At the moment Mathieu caught that punt, the Dawgs were up 10-0. They lost 42-10.
The reason for the dismissal has not come out yet. I imagine that it will before the end of the weekend. Something this big is just too hard to keep secret.
Pat Forde on Manteo Mitchell running on a broken leg during yesterday’s 4×400 qualifying:
> “I knew if I finished strong we could still get it [the baton] around,” Mitchell said. “I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad. I’m pretty amazed that I still split 45 seconds on a broken leg.”
Talk about giving the extra effort for your teammates.
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Clemson A.D.’s Legacy is the Facilities
Dabo Swinney:
> “What [retiring athletic directory Terry Don Phillips] has done with the facilities in all our sports has been incredible. I know it hasn’t always been that way. He’s been persistent and he’s persevered. He has given us a chance to compete at the highest level from a facilities standpoint, a staff standpoint, contracts, all that stuff.
I remember listening to Tommy Bowden, during his second year at Clemson[^fn1], say that the football program will not take the next step until they get an indoor practice facility. Come December, that practice facility will exist.
[^fn1]: That would be 2000 for those counting along at home
> NFL teams can be fined or otherwise sanctioned if the league feels like it for taking after officials based on in-game situations, but it seems as if the league is just a bit more sensitive about the issue of public criticism of its officials while the actual refs are locked out in a labor dispute.
> To that end, the NFL has sent out a memo to all teams instructing them to avoid any public criticism of the replacement officials, who will work until a new collective bargaining agreement is struck between the NFL and the NFL Referees’ Association.
They cannot be any worse than the regular referees right?[^link]
[^link]: Please do not bring up this post when a bad call ends up costing the Patriots a game early in the year.
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The Story of Urban Meyer
Excellent piece on Urban Meyer by Wright Thompson over at ESPN. I especially like the description of what his family made him promise before he accepted the Ohio State job:
> Framed above his desk hung the contract he signed with his kids, written on pink notebook paper.
> 1. My family will always come first.
> 2. I will take care of myself and maintain good health.
> 3. I will go on a trip once a year with Nicki — MINIMUM.
> 4. I will not go more than nine hours a day at the office.
> 5. I will sleep with my cellphone on silent.
> 6. I will continue to communicate daily with my kids.
> 7. I will trust God’s plan and not be overanxious.
> 8. I will keep the lake house.
> 9. I will find a way to watch Nicki and Gigi play volleyball.
> 10. I will eat three meals a day.