Posts Tagged ‘Stan Grossfeld’
I’m watching the 2009 Caribbean World Series on the MLB Network this week. If you aren’t watching it, you’re missing some really exciting baseball (And Jose Offerman! He looks exactly the same as he did when he played in Boston. Maybe even better. After this incident, Jose actually has a job in baseball? He’s the manager of the Dominican Republic team. Go figure. Well, I guess if Roger Clemens got to keep his job after chucking a bat at Mike Piazza, Offerman deserves another chance).
 Christian Abraham of the Connecticut Post/Associated Press got the photos of the incident back in 2007 |
I wrote that back in February. A few throwaway lines about a former Red Sox player. Didn’t really give it much thought at the time. But, thanks to the fabulous Stan Grossfeld (check it out – it’s a must-read!), we now know the aftermath of that incident. I don’t usually like to create a blog entry out of work someone else has done, but Stan’s story upset me too much to just let it slide.
Offerman was arrested at the ballpark and charged with two counts of felony assault, which carried a maximum sentence of 10 years. But a Bridgeport Superior Court judge granted Offerman “accelerated rehabilitation” – two years probation – and ordered him to receive anger management treatment and pay for the medical expenses of Nathans and Beech. His record would then be expunged.
That’s what happened to Offerman. What about the two players he hit with the bat?
On Aug. 14, 2007, Nathans was struck in the head attempting to stop a bat-wielding Jose Offerman, the former Red Sox second baseman, who charged the mound after being hit by a pitch in a game between the Bridgeport Blues and the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League. Bridgeport pitcher Matt Beech suffered a broken middle finger on his non-pitching hand but was spared further injury thanks to Nathan’s actions.
John Nathans, the, now, 29 year-old catcher Offerman hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat, won’t ever play baseball again. He has difficulty doing every-day tasks, let alone dealing with the rigors of being an athlete. Because of his injury, caused by a tantrum Jose Offerman threw because he was hit by a pitch on the calf, his equilibrium is off. Most of the time he gets dizzy and/or nauseated and gets headaches and has trouble concentrating. He’s in physical therapy (keep in mind this is physical therapy he’s going through almost two years after the incident) “several” times a week and some days he can’t handle any kind of “outside stimuli”.
Stan Grossfeld is the kind of writer I dream of being. His stories are heartfelt and without purposeful malice toward anyone. He just finds a story that he knows people will want to read and writes some of the best pieces to be published in the Boston Globe. But even Stan has to point out that Jose Offerman, essentially, blames Nathans for his injury, saying he taunted Offerman about running slowly around the bases when he hit a home run in his first at bat and that Nathans got in the way while Offerman had his fit and was swinging the bat. Usually Stan’s articles make you want to find the subject and give them a hug or a pat on the back. This one made me want to do that, but it also made me want to find Jose Offerman and hit him with a baseball bat. Fortunately for Jose, I consider myself a better person than that and wouldn’t dream of attacking defenseless people with a weapon.
I blame no one but Offerman for his actions but, certainly, you can’t help but think that part of this is because fighting (and anger, or as they call it in athletics, passion) is so accepted in sports. You get mad because a hitter owns you (which doesn’t seem to be the case for Matt Beech hitting Offerman even though Offerman did hit a home run off of him) and you plunk him. It’s widely accepted in baseball. You get shown up by the opposing team in some way? Someone needs to watch their back. (After claiming he didn’t see Aubrey Huff’s fistpumps on Sunday, Joba Chamberlain told the media “This won’t be the last time I face him.” That quote came after Joba said “If he wants to do a backflip, he can do a backflip. It doesn’t bother me.” Guess Joba is going to play both sides of the fence until the Orioles and Yankees meet again. Then what? Then Joba lets a fastball loose and hits Huff in the head “by accident”? When does it stop?
Joba seems to have, well let’s just say ‘issues’ that show on the mound. He obviously has a lot of intensity/anger/passion whatever you would like to call it, that results in players getting hit or almost getting hit all too often. He’s 23 years old. No one is telling him that he needs to start acting like an adult. What happens the day his “passion” gets the best of him and another player ends up like John Nathans?
I don’t mean to single out Joba, really, but right now he’s the one you see the most showing that fire on the mound. Fire that the Yankees and their fans love about him but that really worries me. There’s no place for anger (and make no mistake, a lot of Joba’s fire is fueled by anger. Take into consideration the way he acted when he walked Papi and then turning around and hitting Jason Bay last week. That was anger, pure and simple.) in a damn game.
Much to my disgust, Stan Grossfeld tells us Tom Glavine and Torii Hunter, two well-respected Major Leaguers, wrote letters of support for Jose Offerman, calling him a good, quiet person. I think John Nathans sums it all up best:
“Everybody’s a good person until they do something bad”
One of my favorite Timlin pictures of all time - taken by Stan Grossfeld
I don’t think it’s speaking out of school to mention that Mike Timlin and I have a mutual friend. I think I’ve written before about the first time I was introduced to Mike (in the middle of a game, at the bullpen!) so I don’t feel like I’m divulging anything I’m uncomfortable letting people in on.
Not too long ago, that friend emailed me that he had taken Mike and his family to the airport. They were off to Colorado since the season was over. My friend was sad about that and also indicated, or at least implied, that Mike wouldn’t be back. Which bummed me out, but it was something I expected so I didn’t take it too hard.
This though? I don’t know HOW to feel about it.
.
Epstein said that Mike Timlin wants to pitch next season, but it won’t be in Boston. Epstein found it remarkable that Timlin spent six seasons with the Red Sox.
I am totally not prepared for Mike Timlin to continue pitching and have it not be in Boston. Having written that, if this had happened after 2006, I would have been devastated. After 2007, it would have upset me, but I would have understood it from both sides and dealt with it fine. Now? I suppose there IS a part of me that believes Mike still has something to contribute to a team. But there’s a more selfish part of me that thinks another year of wear and tear on his body is going to diminish what he’s accomplished in his career and I don’t want to see that. I also really, REALLY wanted to see him retire as a Red Sox player.
You can’t always get what you want, eh?
Speaking of which, today is Election Day in the United States. If you haven’t already, please go out and vote. I’m not here to tell you which candidate to vote for. (That’s what my Facebook page is for 
) But I do think it’s important that everyone get out and make their voice heard. There are so many who don’t have this amazing privilege – don’t waste it. Especially you women! 1920 wasn’t SO long ago!
One last word on Mike. Ultimately, as not only a fan of the Red Sox, but a fan of his as well, I’ll support whatever he decides. So be prepared for updates on the Orioles or Rockies or whichever team he might end up with! Good luck, Mike!
Greg Montalbano Photo by Stan Grossfeld
When I met Stan Grossfeld in August, it was immediately apparent that he was a special person. If you read the Globe on any kind of regular basis, you’ll find his photos are the most touching and his stories the most gut-wrenching and inspiring. Today at Boston.com, you’ll find he, once again, doesn’t disappoint.
With his story about and photos of Greg Montalbano, Grossfeld reminds us that not ever story ends the way Jon Lester’s did. Not everyone has the luck and notoriety that Jon was blessed with. I remember Kelly Jefferson telling me about Greg when it became public. (KellyJ is a big supporter of the Worcester Tornadoes.) There weren’t many stories back then. No one selling bracelets or t-shirts in his name. But this kid suffered through and is still fighting with playing baseball just being a distant memory for him.
So check out Stan’s story today. You won’t be sorry you did.
I have no idea where this Tom Brady photo came from...I just figured some beefcake was appropriate for the start of football season!
This weekend has gone by much more quickly than I would prefer – but what are you going to do? Last night was suckorama for Red Sox fans. No PawSox game, Wake and the Red Sox getting their hats handed to them…I choose to focus on the fact that the BoSox lost no ground in the division. So we scrape last night off the bottom of our shoes and we move on to today.
I’d love to say that the 1pm Pats game will fill the void until the 3pm Sox game…but that would be a lie. Sure, I want the Pats to win but September is still my baseball time. Once the post-season ends (even if the Sox aren’t in it, October is dedicated, mostly for me, to baseball) I can focus on caring about whether or not the Pats are winning. Although, in my first season playing Fantasy Football, I admit to being a little giddy that I have Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress on my team, thus giving me what will probably be the only lead I have all season in the league!
As a kind of wrap-up of the Taylor Family story…Tru will be on WRKO radio tonight with Kevin Whalen to talk about what happened at Fenway and how the family is doing. It’s on at 9:30 tonight and folks can call in with questions if they like. You can click here and listen live if you don’t get RKO in your area. Here’s where I really do have to send out another “thank you” to Stan Grossfeld because interest in the family and their well-being has just increased with the publishing of his story. I hope the good karma comes back to him!
Paul Byrd on the mound today in the rubber game. I want the Sox to win (obviously) because I want them to continue winning each series they’re in (especially with the Rays coming to town this week). I still don’t have blind faith in Byrd, but, hell, I certainly want him to help the team win.
PawSox at 5pm in a make or break game. They win and they live to play another game…they lose and the Red Sox can start picking from the roster, if they want, with no concerns about the playoffs because the PawSox will be out of it. Bartolo Colon takes the mound against Philip Hughes. You can listen to it OR watch it live through milb.com (or do what KellyO and I do and watch it without the sound on and listen to the PawSox dudes’ radio broadcast!). Good luck, fellas! With any luck, the postponed game will give Kyle another opportunity to pitch and his season won’t be over just yet!
It’s a beautiful, sunny day here today…I hope everyone reading this has toughed out the the bad weather and has a great day to enjoy!
Jackson Taylor - Four years old and less of a baby than I was! (Photo by me)
This is about me. Because, ultimately, no matter who you are, it’s always about you, right?
Besides, Tru did such a fabulous job detailing the day, I didn’t think I needed to re-invent the wheel.
I had my purse stolen last Thursday. I wrote about it briefly here. What I didn’t write about was how it made me feel. I went from being okay with it, to being mad, to being so upset I had a brief period when I couldn’t stop crying, to being frightened, to being mad again. I don’t usually wallow in self-pity, but Thursday night I sure did. I had spent the last month doing something for others. Collecting donations for the Taylor family to ensure that their stay in Boston didn’t break their bank. And I didn’t ask for anything in return. Not one thing. So the way I was repaid was to have a huge chunk of my life stolen from me just before what had worked out to be a very important weekend in my life. I was not only pissed at the jackass who stole my purse, but at karma, or God or whoever (or whatever) you believe controls the universe. What the hell was the point of the last month if I wasn’t even going to be able to buy Tru a beer for all he had done?
The Taylor boys insisted on a photo with Stan Grossfeld (photo by Me)
In an effort to not inundate you all with too many posts at the same time, I have the post for today timestamped to publish at different intervals during the day. As I promised, Taylorpalooza!
I made a promise on Friday night that I was more than happy to keep. I didn’t want to risk writing about the Taylors here and having another writer “scoop” Stan Grossfeld from the Boston Globe. Stan spent the day with us on Friday and was absolutely wonderful (you’ll read more about Stan in both Tru’s and my recollections of the day later today). He also had space promised for the story about the Taylors in Wednesday’s Globe (changed, during the week, to Thursday’s edition). Anyone publishing the story could have messed with that happening and I told Stan I didn’t want to be the one to cause his story to get the ax. So I waited. I really appreciate how patient you’ve all been! (I should note that Stan never once asked me to NOT write about the evening. It wasn’t his idea to hold off, it was mine.)
Stan does such a terrific job of capturing the day and he also gives you an amazing look into my friend Tru…aka Tom Nardozzi. Tru won’t tell you this, but he busted his butt to get this all done, with no reward but the thanks of the Taylors (which, you’ll find out later this morning, was more than enough for him) and this beautifully written piece by Stan. I’m extremely proud to call him my friend.
So, I’m going to do something I almost never do – tell you to go read the Boston Globe (or boston.com)! Stan’s story is here and it really is worth reading.
(Edited to add a link to the photos Stan took!)
