Archive for the ‘2008’ Category

Next time I’m going to have to be more specific.  (No offense to Josh Bard, I’m sure he’s a nice fella.  It’s just I still have nightmares about him catching Tim Wakefield.)

Kyle Snyder shown here to cleanse our palates of the asshattery I write about in this post.

I’ve been writing stories and such since I was about 8 years old.  (Cyn trivia:  The first piece I ever wrote was a 13-page script for “Charlie’s Angels”.  It was to win a contest in “Tiger Beat” magazine.  I never submitted it, but haven’t stopped writing since.)  I have some formal writing training and am always looking for a good class to help me bone up, especially since I’ ve been baseball blogging more than any other kind of writing for a while now.  I will never claim to have talent on the same level as a Dan Shaughnessy (try to remember back to the days when he wrote some amazing  pieces on the Boston Celtics and forget, for a moment, about the hack work he’s done lately) even though I do think I have it in me to make it professionally at some point (not necessarily in sports writing) if I’d just get off my ass and focus.

I was offline for most of last week and only today read Curt Schilling’s latest entry in his blog over at WEEI.com that he posted on Christmas (quick plug, I’m 99% certain I’ll be over there next week.  January 5th is supposed to be the start date.  There’s just the matter of a little paperwork to be finished up.) and for the most part it’s a big “whatever”.  Some interesting views on how he feels about Teixeira.  Fairly  innocuous stuff.  Until I came to this passage:
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Oh and one more thing. I really loathe to even mention CHB in anything anymore, due to his irrelevance on the Boston sports scene but I suck at keeping my tongue in places like this. CHB wrote the other day (thanks to the person forwarding this as it’s the first thing I’ve read that he’s written in five months)

“Best part of Curt Schilling’s blog on the WEEI website? Schill claims, ’I don’t get edited.’ Could he be more of a diva? Here’s a clue for the Big Lug – Ernest Hemingway had an editor. And Schill needs an editor more than I need a pitching coach.”

By edited I meant content Curly, because Lord knows I sure as hell need help with anything I write. But your last statement is laughable, because I think — and correct me if I am wrong — I am doing what you do for a living right?

I am pretty sure you’ve never stepped on a mound, well a field of any kind for that matter, and competed for something that truly mattered to people not on the field? So I am comfortable saying I am a lot closer to being able to do what you do, than you are able to do what I did …

The bolding is mine.  Good God in heaven above, does this  man really think he’s doing what Dan Shaughnessy does for a living?  Seriously?  He thinks writing a blog, on the level that HIS is, is the same as writing for a major newspaper?

And before I go on about the writing, how about the “you’ve  never stepped on a mound and competed for something that truly mattered” crap?  How does he know that the CHB didn’t play ball on any level (including little league)?  He doesn’t.  It’s just ego driving him yet again.  What HE does is amazing and difficult but what Shaughnessy does is so easy that HE can do that as well????

There are many, MANY well-written blogs out there.  Some written by professional writers, some written by people who aspire to be a professional writer and have the talent, just not the resume, some who just like to write and can do it well and some written by people who have an opinion they want to share but not necessarily the tools for writing well.   With respect to Curt, his blog can be interesting because it is written by a professional athlete who has an opinion on everything and loves to share it – especially when he knows it’s going to raise the hackles of many people.  This does not equate doing what Dan Shaughnessy does for a living.  It doesn’t even come close, unless you count the part where he pisses off a lot of people on a fairly regular basis.

How pissed am I that I’m in the position to defend the CHB??

Curt thinking he’s doing what any other professional writer is doing is laughable.  He doesn’t have a deadline, he doesn’t have to work to get people to talk to him, he doesn’t have to answer to anyone but himself and, most importantly to me, he doesn’t have the command of the English language or exceptional writing skills that you associate with a professional writer.  I know he has a hard-on for CHB and he’s just trying to get his licks in, but he’s working on a site with ACTUAL writers who have honed their craft and bust their butts to do what they do.  Belittling their profession is beneath even him.

Dan Shaughnessy might be a horse’s ass, but, in this case, so is Curt Schilling.  Pot, kettle and all, Curt.

(Kyle Snyder photo courtesy of drownedworld73 @ flickr)

I’d like to know why so many Boston sports writers (and Boston sports fans) are using the “If you say that the front office didn’t screw up you’re in denial” or “If you say you didn’t want Teixeira on your team you’re lying” arguments against any Red Sox fans who aren’t devastated that Mark Teixeira is in New York.

To me, this is akin to saying “If you don’t agree with my opinion, you’re stupid”. Way to connect with people. folks.

I could have taken or left Mark Teixeira. I know he’s a good player (although, I’d like to know when he became the best player in MLB? He’s not, folks. He really isn’t. So to the people who keep telling me I’m in denial or lying, I tell you to stop over-hyping this guy in the name of Sox bashing.) but I wasn’t champing at the bit to get him. Let’s see, we’ll move Youk back to third, find a team where we can ditch Lowell, carry the one…it just didn’t mean that much to me to get him. We were a healthy Josh Beckett away from the World Series this year – I don’t look at the Red Sox and think “Holy hell!!!! Theo hasn’t done ANYTHING this off-season, we’re DOOMED!!!!”. Good for you if you do but stop trying to drown me with your negativity.

Remember the off-season of 2003?  Sure you do.  Everyone and their brother had us signing Alex Rodriguez including, for a time, Alex Rodriguez, right?  Back then, I was a regularly posting member of the Red Sox Fan Forum over at redsox.com.  The place was abuzz for weeks with talk of getting ARod.  I forget the specifics, but wasn’t the plan back then to trade ARod for Manny Ramirez and then trade Nomar Garciaparra for Magglio Ordonez?   I HATED this idea, long before it all went south.  And there were many, MANY people willing to voice the same opinion over at redsox.com.  Then once everything fell through and Slappy ended up with the Yankees, from out of the woodwork came the people taunting those of us who didn’t care.  “Oh you have to say that to make  yourself feel better about your team screwing this up!” was a common refrain.  No, I said it because I didn’t want to lose Manny and Nomar for ARod and Magglio.  Don’t care now and didn’t care then if people thought I was choosing loyalty to players over improving the team (which, in a sense, I guess I was.  I just never liked ARod – never – and there are some players I never want to have to root for – he’s one of them).

Mark Teixeira isn’t one of them, though.  Never really had anything against him, but I like the way this team looks (for the most part.  Have I mentioned that we need a catcher?  I’d much prefer Theo sign a starting catcher right now.  Seems kind of an important piece of the team that is currently, well, MISSING right now.) and I didn’t see the need of signing a Teixeira just for the sake of doing so.  Wouldn’t have been too upset if they did (although the ultimate loss of Mike Lowell would have been greatly upsetting) but, again, really not devastated that they didn’t.

So the Sox didn’t get Teixeira and the Yankees did.  I’m not giving up tickets to the Red Sox games in protest, that’s for sure.  If anything, it’s nice to (once again) have a bit of a “bring it on” attitude in regard to the Yankees.  Rivalries are fun and the Steinbrenners just kicked it up a notch again.

But, seriously Theo, a catcher.  A catcher would be good.

Cheers, Mike!

Usually, when I prepare for a post like this I read every article or blog that covers it so I either have information to use or to ensure I don’t copy whatever someone else has written.

This time, I’m flying solo.  The idea of reading any of the whining I know is coming in regard to Mark Teixeira makes my eye twitch.

I’m not sorry the Sox didn’t get him.  I’m truly not.  But reading people bash the front office because the Yankees decided to throw a ridiculous contract at yet ANOTHER free agent isn’t how I want to spend my evening.

Wait, I lied.  I read Red’s take on it.  My favorite subject line of the day.  And, actually, Denton’s view (also over at Surviving Grady) is one I share:

Wherever he lands, it will be his 4th team in just his 7th big-league season, not to mention the non-signing with the Red Sox back in the 1998 draft. I don’t know how he’s done it, but Teixeira has avoided any and all criticism for doing exactly what guys like A-Rod, Pedro and Clemens have done: pimping themselves out to the highest bidder.

So you have the understanding that I’m not exactly broken up about the Yankees signing Teixeira.  I don’t see this as a failure by Theo/the Front Office.  I don’t think they were outsmarted or outmaneuvered.   Cashman is determined to buy up all the free agents this off-season and that’s what he’s doing.  Why this surprises anyone is beyond me.

I don’t live in a cave, I know Teixeira is good.  But he’s not a good as the contract he got and no one will convince me that he is.  With this acquisition, the Yankees will employ the four highest paid players in Major League Baseball.  They just came off a season where they finished behind the Red Sox and the Rays – so why are people acting like Cashman’s spending spree is an oddity?

I received an email this afternoon from a Yankee fan who used to comment on my blog more regularly (read:  when they weren’t in third place).  He was gloating about Teixeira and became defensive when I wouldn’t take the bait and join him in a flame war.   “Don’t pretend that you aren’t heartbroken that Cashman shoved it up Epstein’s ass” is a direct quote from one of his messages to me.  I didn’t even bother to respond because that idea is just too funny to me.  All Cashman did was show MLB that the idea of building his team around young and homegrown talent is out the window.  The decision has been made that the only way to win it all is to buy it.  Now, I don’t have much of a problem with that, bring the players in who you believe will make your team successful…except for one small issue:  the Yankees have been “buying” for years and all they have to show for it these past 8 seasons is a bunch of AL East Champion banners.  Color me unimpressed.

I’m proud that our front office has created limits for themselves.   They set a number and stuck to it (and held to their resolve to not give out no-trade clauses) and Boras couldn’t force their hand.  The Yankees are definitely a better team for having picked up Teixeira, but the Red Sox aren’t a worse team for not getting him.  That’s good enough for me.

Now let’s work on the catcher situation, eh Theo?