Hi, I'm Ken Davidoff. Welcome to my blog. I know, I'm a little late to this party, but I've always been tardy when it comes to technology and style. I purchased my first CD in 1998, and that was only for a friend's band. And I didn't get sideburns (okay, maybe it's closer to this) until 2003. So relatively speaking, for myself, I'm ahead of the pack.
As Newsday's national baseball writer, my job differs from those of our Mets and Yankees beat writers, David Lennon and Kat O'Brien. While I spend a good amount of my time with the Mets and Yankees, I also cover the industry as a whole. Last week, for instance, I attended Daisuke Matsuzaka's Fenway Park debut, and in the coming months, I'll be writing plenty about Barry Bonds.
So this blog will be a potpourri of baseball issues local and national. There'll be some opinions, some reporting, some personal memories of the game that will hopefully open your own memory banks. But really, I'll work off your feedback. This blog will be shaped by your likes and dislikes. And by the discussions and dialogues (let's keep it PG-13) that we can create.
My initial plan is to post Monday through Friday, having something up by 9:30 or so, and then adding items as the news and buzz warrant it. But again, this is very much a work in progress, so we'll see how it goes. For now, I encourage you to check in here each morning. I'm off to Philadelphia for the Mets' two-game visit to Citizens Bank Park, and we'll see if we can actually get a game in tonight.
Comments (8)
Nice spin Davidoff, but the fact remains that the Mets have always had a luke warm relationship with black and non-white players. I started following baseball when I was 8. I lived in Brooklyn near the site of the old Ebbets Field in Crown Heights on Bedford Ave. My first live baseball game game was a school trip to Shea stadium in 1963 for a game against the also exapnsion Astros. The appeal was that the #7 train left you right at the entrance (a remnant of the World's Fair) and seats were always available.
The Mets always seemed to have promotions to encourage support of the younger fans. Things like Banner day, and various give away days.
Then on TV you had Kiner's Korner where you got to know the players persoanlly. One of the first I remember seeing was 1B Ed Kranepool. You watched a championship team being built up to 1969. My dad and Brother were die hard Yankee fans and looked down at the Mets Until the Yanks were crap in the late 60's just as the Mets were rising. There were some in Brooklyn who never forgave the NL for deserting NY by letting the
Dodgers and Giants leave for the money to be made on the West Coast and refused to support the Mets. Some still haven't gotten over it. In the 60's and 70's there was an influx of black and latino players in the NL. All this time it was always strange that the Mets never had more than 1 or 2 (CF Agee, Lf Jones and 1B Clendenon in '69, Millan and 40 year old Willi Mays in 73, 1B Milner, Singleton and then Steve Henderson as part of the Seaver trade). I stopped following the Mets for awhile because they were bad and resentment of them trading Seaver to the Reds.
Milner later won with the Pirates and Singleton won with the Orioles.
It always seemed odd that the Mets couldn't sign more of the players that alweays seem to be stars for the Pirates and Cardinals thru the 70's and 80's. I guess the point is that the Mets talk a good game about diversity but their actions over time say a lot more about their philosophy.
Ken...welcome to "around the world in 80 blogs"...as you know I'm an old-time Brooklyn Dodger fan whose heart was broken when they moved...the Mets became my adopted team...looking forward to your indepth analysis of the 2007 baseball season.
i like your style and writing ken... referring specifically to the naming of "citifield" though.. has anyone made mention that citibank announced only 4 days ago that is laying off 15,000 workers? would paying $20 million a year to the mets have anything to do with that, or will that affect it at all?
I certainly think if i worked for citibank (thank god i don't) that i would be at least a little uncomfortable about their situation - combined with how well the naming of other stadiums has gone - everyone remember enron field? the texas rangers have gone back to their original name as well... and the SF giants stadium has changed names so many times i don't know what it is right now...
Mets Ballpark at Citifield would have been more appropriate, as would about $5 million a year and the people who are getting canned might agree...
Ray, those are fair points. I do think, however, that Citigroup has a longer history than did Enron or Ameriquest (Rangers), and is far less likely to be swallowed up in a merger than was Pac Bell or SBC (the previous two Giants names). I'm no economist, but I doubt that Citigroup's investment in the Mets had anything to do with the layoffs. $25 million is "ash tray money" for them, to steal a phrase from the NY Post's George King.
Ken, so glad to see you finally have a blog! Looking forward to your daily musings on the world of baseball.
I like the Blog so far, and as for technology, well, I didn't even know what a Debit Card was until last year. Glad to see you finally embracing the technology. Keep up the great writing!
Melky is ahead of where Bernie was at the same age. Upside is huge. He is going to be 23 next season. Many high Celing draftees in last year's and this year's draft are OLDER than him. Gordon, #1 prospect in Baseball, is older than him.
He is 5 years away from his prime. Hunter is a year or two away from being Johnny Damon-II.
You don't judge a young player on what he has performed so far (which is exceptional as it is), but what you expect to get out of him in near future.
Melky can only get better. He showed flashes of power and improved plate discipline. He outplayed Vernon Wells, Toronto's 100 million dollar man. If not for a slump at end of the season, where he ran out of gas, his numbers would be ridiculously good and he would be a HOT commodity in this year's trade talks.
Come to think of it, I am glad that late season slump happenned because it increases his probability to stay in Pinstripes.
Melky is going to be ALL-STAR in couple of years from now. Hope Mr. Davidoff can then laugh about this blog entry.
Ken:
The 2008 MLB season has passed the halfway mark and it may be a good time to put the Joe Torre era in proper perspective. That Torre led the New York Yankees to 12 post season appearances in his 12 years as manager was not enough for his critics who asked “What have you done for us lately?” After all, the last time the Yankees won the World Series was seven years ago and their last appearance in the “Fall Classic” was four years ago. Torre’s critics also point out that he had little success as a manager until George Steinbrenner hired him prior to the 1996 season.
To put Joe Torre’s managerial career in perspective let’s take a look at the careers of three former Yankees’ managers all of whom are members of Baseball’s Hall of Fame, Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel.
Before being hired by the Yankees, Huggins managed the St. Louis Cardinals for five years. His cumulative record with St. Louis was 346-415. Under Huggins the Cardinals finished 8th in 1913, 3rd in 1914, 6th in 1915, 7th in 1916 and 3rd in 1917. Despite a losing record, he was hired to manage the Yankees in 1918 and remained at the helm through the 1929 season. During his 12 years as manager, the Yankees won 6 American League pennants and 3 World Series. His teams featured the slugging of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and several others premier players.
Joe McCarthy came to the Yankees after five years as the manager of the Chicago Cubs. His record in the “Windy City” was a respectable 442-321. His 1926 and 1927 teams finished 4th. The 1928 Cubs finished 3rd. His 1929 team won the National League pennant, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. His 1930 team finished 2nd. One league championship in five years was good enough to land him the Yankees’ managerial job in 1931. In 16 years with the Yankees, McCarthy had a 1460-867 record that included 8 American League pennants and 7 World Championships. He was let go by the Yankees after a 3rd place finish in 1946 and was hired by the Red Sox in 1948. He spent 2 full seasons and part of a third in Boston. He compiled a 223-149 record with two 2nd place finishes and one 3rd place finish. His Yankee teams featured Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey. Frank Crosetti and several other players of star quality. But just 8 post season appearances in 16 years. Would he have survived if the current Yankees ownership was in place during his reign? How would he have been treated by the talk show hosts if talk shows were part of the sports scene in the 1930s and 1940s?
Perhaps the best known Hall of Fame manager of the Yankees was Casey Stengel. Prior to his arrival in the Bronx, Stengel managed the Brooklyn Dodgers for three years and the Boston Braves (aka Bees) for six years. His nine year record managing in the National League was 581-742. His teams finished 5th twice, 6th twice and 7th five times. He then spent four years managing in the Pacific Coast League before being hired by the Yankees in 1949. Stengel led the Yankees to 10 American League pennants and 7 World Championships in 12 years. His players included Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle. After being “retired” by the Yankees management, Casey managed the hapless New York Mets for four seasons. All four of his Mets teams finished last and his record in Flushing was 175-404.
Keep in mind that all of the aforementioned New York Yankees managers, Huggins, McCarthy and Stengel are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. If judged by their records while managing teams other than the Yankees, none of them would have been so honored.
That brings us to Joe Torre, who had a similarly undistinguished record as manager of the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals prior to his arrival in the Bronx. His lone National League success was in 1982 when his Atlanta Braves won the National League’s Eastern Division championship. During his three years with the Braves his teams finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Following the 1984 season, Joe left the dugout for the broadcasting booth of the California Angels. He resurfaced as the Cardinals’ skipper during the 1990 season. He took over a struggling team for its last 58 games and a 6th place finish. During the next four plus seasons his Cardinals finished 2nd, then 3rd three seasons in a row. He was fired 47 games into the 1995 season. His cumulative record with St. Louis was 351-354. His combined record with the Mets, Braves and Cardinals was 894-1003. But just as Huggins, McCarthy and Stengel before him, Joe proved to be a winner with the Yankees.
Keep in mind that Huggins, McCarthy and Stengel did not have to deal with post-season intra-league playoffs prior to the World Series. They qualified for the World Series by winning the championship of an eight team league in a 154 game season. It was rare when the World Series was still being played in mid-October. When you look at what Joe Torre accomplished during his twelve years as the Manager of the New York Yankees and compare his accomplishments with those of the Hall of Fame managers of the Yankees who preceded him, he certainly comes out looking better than his detractors want him to be perceived. And he should fare a lot better in his post-Yankees days with the Los Angeles Dodgers than Casey Stengel did with the New York Mets after being “retired” by the Yankees.