Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Ken/bloggers - did Carlos Delgado simply quit in a "Manny" way in order to undermine Willie Randolph?

And for the hockey set - a factoid for you - Padres pitcher Chris Young is married to the granddaugther of Lester Patrick

Well said, Ken, but did you remember to cc those who post at Deadspin and DailyKos? ;-) Welcome back, Jim!

Also, Ken, what did you make of Steven Goldman's recent column on Cashman and the need to rebuild, lest the Yanks start resembling the '96 Orioles? http://www.nysun.com/sports/cashman-or-not-yankees-must-embrace-rebuilding/85171/

By the way, did everyone hear the interview Djokovic gave after defeating Roddick last night? I have heard lots of partisan cheering at the US Open, but cannot recall such overt hostility toward a player! You would have thought that the Iron Sheik had made a cameo!

JE, love the Iron Sheik reference! I did not hear it...though I'll try to youtube it later.

Great question Bob about Delgado. I wont give you my opinion, other than to say, he will never be rooted for by me. Game 7, I hope he strikes out.

JE, Djokovic has been accused of bailing out of matches because of injuries and at time he would be dogging it. Also Roddick talks some trash to Djokovic before the match, and we saw what happen last night. Well at least Roddick has a hot engaged woman in Brooklyn Decker.
Nice to hear that Jim will be back soon. A lot of things went on this past week.
All of a sudden the Cubs have injury issues with their starting pitching. First Carlos Zambrano's right shoulder has inflammation and rotator-cuff tendinitis and needed a anti-inflammatory shot on his right shoulder and will miss a start. And Rich Harden will miss a start also. So now all is not well in Cubs land at the moment.
Ken, Your Michigan Wolverines play Miami (Ohio) tomorrow at the Big House. I don't know if you know the head coach, Rich Rodriguez at all, so I'll give you some stuff on him. He was the head coach at West Virginia before he bail out to come to Michigan and things got ugly between Rodriguez and WVU. In the end, Rodriguez and Michigan pay $4 miilllon to WVU after WVU suit Rodriguez over the buyout on his contract. Rodriguez likes to runs the Spread offense, but right now Michigan doesn't have the personal to run that style of offense. There offense will be a work in progress. Let's hope they play better against Miami (Ohio) after what happen last week against Utah. Let's also hope he does better against Ohio State because since Jim Tressel became head coach of the Buckeyes in 2001, the Buckeyes are 6-1 against Michigan.

JE - I thought I was the only one with a NY Sun subscription. As you said, Marchman writes some contrary and interesting pieces.

How about those Brewers? Four losses in a row since the "no-hitter". (Five if you count the lost appeal!).

If Sabathia loses to the Padres today (unlikely), they are in danger of a serious freefall that can only be broekn by the fact that the Phils and Cards are playing lackluster ball right now.

I dont follow tennis very closely, is Djokovic the one who is accused of (possibly) tanking matches because people noticed strange betting habits overseas?
Bob--I believe Delgado and Beltran both went into the tank against Willie. And there was a telling quote by Bernazard in yesterday's NYDN which I can't find right now that said CD benefitted from a change in direction.
Fortunately for the Brewers the Cubs are exactly playing stellar baseball lately either and Zambrano is hurt possibly more seriously than they will admit.

Read this column by Buzz Bissinger on the Barry Bonds case. It is very interesting. It was in the NYT yesterday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/opinion/05bissinger.html?ref=sports

People that don't like Bonds, including me, are rooting for him to beat the feds.

More later.

K -

Adrian Zmed shared top billing with Tom Hanks! Zmed and Peter Scolari should form a support group.

Delgado and Beltran obviously tanked it for Willie.

Rock

Sandy, its Nikolay Davydenko who is being accused of tanking tennis matches.

Thanks for sharing the Bissinger op-ed, Jim. I am not a Buzz fan, to be sure, but what do we say about broken clocks being right twice a day? That is not to excuse perjury charges, of course, but this criminal prosecution now appears WAY over the top.

As you know, Bob, most of the Sun's other baseball columnists are affiliated with BP or are alumni. (I linked above to Steven Goldman's excellent piece from the other day.) Still, I never understood what publisher Seth Lipsky was thinking when he started the paper. Where was the niche he sought to carve out? Your average white-collar NY Republican tends to read the Journal for the hard news and the Post for everything else -- and seems satisfied doing so.

Bob, re: Delgado, I think it's OK to be suspicious, yes. The timing of his turnaround, vis-a-vis Willie's departure, is remarkable.

JE, I think Goldman is rushing to judgment way too much on the Yankees' farm system. To compare these Yankees to the 1997 Orioles seems a major stretch. In Wang and Joba alone, they have some base to their starting rotation, and the "experts" like Baseball America think the Yankees have some decent kids on the way.

Great Bissinger piece, Jim. As JE wrote, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Dennis, while I appreciate the Rich-Rod info, I assure you that I am a pretty devoted U-M fan and that I don't need the primer. Thank you, though.

Jim - Buzz is almost correct. He wastes time saying that "everyone knew". What did they know? That people were suspected of taking substances to enhance their game. What drugs? Which ones were legitimate and/or legal?

Reporters knew, but most only told us after they made money off feel good stories on McGwire and Sosa (Lupica hypocrisy alert!) and public opinion switched so that they could then make money writing about the other side of the issue.

Reporters loosely throw around the word "steroids" in articles. But what do they mean? Andro and DHEA, both steroid precursors, were legal and could be bought over the counter. The clear (THG) wasn't declared a controlled substance under FDA Schedule III until after the 2003 season. And the cream was a masking agent for THG. So, is Bonds charged with numerous counts of lying about taking a legal substance and using a masking agent to cover up its use?

Therew was much discussion about the First Amendment rights of Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. These rights exist so that reporters can question not just citizens, but more importantly, our government on our behalf. These two and other scribes actually joined the government prosecution willingly in the Bonds case - and very few performed in the noble tradition of Peter Zenger.

A nationwide network of sports reporters lobbied their papers fellow reporters and editors to write articles supporting Mark and Lance. When was this conflict of interest goping to be exposed on our behalf? By other reporters investigating themselves? Hah!

On last item..I wrote an editorial critical of the drug laws and the steroid witch hunt in the NY Sun. The head of communications at the SF DA's office called another reporter two days later after he had written a similar article demanding to know abnout me and whether the other reporter has used my article as basis for his piece.

Sorry...off the soapbox and I will refrian from PED references for awhile.

Very eye opening and enlightening article by Bissinger.

I would have liked it even better if he threw in a "dumbing down" reference to the prosecuters in the article.
(Probably not NYT worthy, though).

His "Dumbing down" line is in the lead so far this year for my Top 5 Catchphrases of the Year.

Ken, as for your serious comment about this being a community. This is my belief only.

But I think if politics are involved, the problems will remain. Politics bring passion, and passion brings conflict. There's a reason your not supposed to speak politics, and there's a reason fathers and sons who have nothing in common can talk baseball. Baseball brings people together and politics tears them apart. Also, I think if you encourage us to talk politics, which you clearly have, you should join our discussion in your blog. I think we all want to hear it. If you dont feel comfortable enough to share your opinions in your own blog, then we should't be talking about them here. Again, thats just my opinion and I certainly maybe in the minority.

back to baseball....6th September:

Larry Lucchino's birthday and the 13th anniversary of Cal Ripken breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak. A shout out to call and the "Evil Empire's" conqueror!

Thanks Dennis.

There are two ways to look at the Bonds thing. The first one is the government wants to punish someone for taking steroids to make people believe they are actually cracking down on steroid abuse and Bonds, since he is despised by everyone is the perfect victim in this, because nobody feels sorry in the least for him.
The second one is Bonds made an enemy who is extremely powerful and can pull strings to get his revenge.

Sandy - the lin from Jhn Harper's column.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/09/03/2008-09-03_without_willie_randolph_mets_make_sweepi.html

Richie, fair point about sharing my political viewpoints...but I'm just not going there. If that means no politics discussed whatsoever, then so be it.

Michigan Wolverines-New coach, New players, New system! They must have a QB with speed and quickness to succesfully run the spread offense. They don't seem to have one, at the moment. Could be a long, painful year.

back to baseball....

I'm waiting for a comment about the Brewers going 0-4 and playing poorly since CC's not a no-no...and not exhibiting huslte and grit...Kendall naking bad decisions, Fielder not hustling, Hall almost hitting Schneider in the head...did this unleash a culture of me that will replicate the August 2007 swoon?

I hope this doesn't appear twice...

No way that I think Carlos Delgado laid down while Willie was managing. Delgado was close to being benched, traded or even outright waived out of NY.

Delgado, a native of Puerto Rico, is a huge fan of the late Roberto Clemente (hence the #21 on his jersey). Clemente would not have underperformed on the field nor would Delgado, in my opinion.

I can recommend David Maraniss' "Clemente" if you want more info about Roberto.

Bob...I dont think CC's one-hitter and failed bit for a postgame no-hitter has anything to do with why the Brewers started to lose. I dont think Fielder decided not to hustle because CC was denied his no-hitter. I dont think any of their bad plays were influenced by it. Now if CC gives up 9 runs...then maybe. I could see him being depressed. But I'd be surprised because I saw his interviews and he seems fine with it.

Gerry, I want to be with you on Delgado. But a lot of fans didn't think he was playing with passion during Willie's tenure. I do think success breeds success and it breeds better body language. So I think its a chicken crossing the road type thing in some areas. But for me, the 2008 Willie Randolph Mets were impossible to root for, but the Jerry Manuel Mets are impossible not to root for.

Though there are two current Mets I do not root for. Delgado and Castillo.

Agreed, RG, but do consider that, in retrospect, it looked absolutely silly for Melvin to be freaking out over the official scorer's call, a decision that had zero bearing on the outcome of the game -- unless we debate whether CC would have still been pitching in the ninth inning of a blowout. To my knowledge, none of us here are Brewers fans, but has anyone seen or heard Melvin get so jazzed over an umpiring controversy this year? The time to wig out is when you feel the TEAM has been robbed, not your starting pitcher....

Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Jim Abbott's no-hitter against the Indians. With Yankee Stadium closing at the and of this mouth, Abbott's no-hitter seems to get lost in the shuffle.

I second Gerry’s recommendation on David Maraniss’ book “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero.” It is a very good read.

Dennis, thanks for the welcome back and you are right; Brooklyn Decker is hot. No, make that HOT.

Bob, thanks for the shout-out through Ken. I’ll be in touch.

Ken, I was thinking the same thing on Bissinger. Eventually, he has to be right about something.

Rock, I don’t have the slightest doubt in my mind that Randolph was utterly incapable of motivating Delgado and Beltran. Maybe pros shouldn’t need that motivation, but Willie just didn’t seem able to reach them. Manuel does.

I have been thinking about the Bonds case and how it will eventually conclude. I really do believe that it is just less than 50-50 that he gets it thrown out of court. If the charges (or most them) stand, I think it is a little better than 50-50 that he plea bargains. Although, I cannot imagine the government letting him off the hook without at least 4 months in jail and $1 million fine and an annoying probation/parole that would involve drug testing, etc. They have invested too much in the case not to want to walk away with at least a portion of scalp.

Bonds can’t risk getting convicted on multiple counts and spending 2-3 years in prison. With the government turning up the heat on Anderson’s relatives, the pressure will grow for Bonds to reach a deal and plead guilty.

None of this lessens my disdain for how the government has acted in this case.

Gerry/Jim:

I also liked Rob Ruck "The Tropic of Baseball - Baseball in the Dominican Republic".

When the crash happened, many people rushed to the nearest part of the island to the disaster.

Rusty Torres was one of the people. He started to go into the water, feeling that he had to try to do something. His friends dragged him back, because Rusty had forgotten that despite growing up on an island, he couldn't swim.

JE, I am on opposite ends of you and Bob on this one. I think his freak out was a way of showing his players that if you earn it, I will have your back. Thats the way I looked at it. I dont think it took the focus away from the game.

I know lots of people liked the Mike and the Mad Dog Show. I didn’t and found it next to impossible to listen to them. I don’t know if it was Russo, or the combination of Russo and Francesa, but I never could make it beyond 10 or 15 minutes – tops. However, I do find Mike to be much better by himself. I found his interview earlier this afternoon with Jerry Manuel to be excellent. Manuel impressed me with his honesty and he seemed very much at ease and very unscripted. He seemed comfortable in his own skin, so to speak.

I might be in the minority, but I think Mike F. by himself is a vast improvement. He is a very good interviewer alone.

Here is a link to an interesting item posted this afternoon on the New York Times website and the demolition of Yankee Stadium: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/see-ya-demolishing-yankee-stadium-carefully/index.html?hp

Bob, do you know anything about the early November extravaganza being planned by your good friend Billy Crystal? It is supposed to include all kinds of luminaries, video presentations, etc.

The problem with Francesca during interviews is he wants to show the interviewee how much HE knows instead of getting out the information from the person he's interviewing.

He also cant shut up before he asks the question. He stammers and leads the interviewee into the answer he expects.

The best interviewer by far I've ever heard on the radio is Dan Patrick. He doesn't use any wasted words, and asks the question one time.

The interview Francesa did today with Jerry M was really excellent. Listeners learned a lot. They seemed to hit it off with each other. Maybe he will be better without Russo? Ego aside, I always thought Francesa was more knowledgeable than Chris.

Dan Patrick is a real pro.

I have heard some good interviews on XM radio, too.

Jim:

They will use Crystal's slow and controlled demolitian of his own career as a model of how to take Yankee Stadium down.

Jim -

I heard the same interview...Francessa did well.

For whatever reason Bad Dog would always pursue questions that were either odd or had nothing to do with what Mike F was trying glean from a person.

Omar must feel vindicated...at least so far.

Omar lives in the town that I grew up in. He's liked by most everyone. My dad told me recently that he left tickets for the most inveterate baseball fans in town...the nuns !