I saw this in my email inbox this morning. Now, perhaps if they added "Like David Ortiz misses fastballs", they could be onto something.
Showing posts with label David Ortiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Ortiz. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Directv May Want to Reconsider Their Choice of MLB Player
I saw this in my email inbox this morning. Now, perhaps if they added "Like David Ortiz misses fastballs", they could be onto something.
Friday, April 09, 2010
What to Do about Big Papi
It’s officially baseball season in Boston, which can only mean one thing: we are doomed.
This week’s “we are doomed” is mostly a result of David Ortiz. Screw the war overseas, what the hell are we going to do about this guy?! It’s a matter of national crisis, a hot topic of debate, and if you say the wrong thing, you may lose a finger.
Honestly though, what are we going to do about Big Papi? His production has steadily declined over the past couple years, no doubt a result of aging (and dare I say a lack of PEDs). We really can’t expect him to hit 54 home runs or knock in 137 RBIs. Unfortunately, the way the team is set up this year, that’s what we need.
In theory, the Red Sox team is a haven for Golden Glovers. A defensive paradise, if you will. While run prevention is all sorts of fabulous, we’re still going to need to score runs. If this was the 2006 or 2007 Red Sox, we’d be all set. Papi would be our man, hitting fastballs with the greatest of ease. Well guys, he can’t do that anymore. He probably won’t exceed 30 home runs this year, and I doubt he’ll get over 100 RBIs either. This isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but when you’ve got a team that’s all about defense, you need at least one strong hitter on offense. Also, if we have to wait until mid-season for this guy to start hitting I will lose my mind.
“But he had a hit Wednesday night against the Yankees!”
Screw you. He’s 1 for 11. Meanwhile, we’ve got Mike Lowell on the bench. Is Lowell really a better hitter than Ortiz? In terms of consistent production, I’d say yes. I think that Lowell is someone that we’re not going to have to wait until halfway through the season to see results from. Put him in the DH position now and he’ll be hitting in Dustin Pedroia and maybe V-Mart with some frequency. But instead, Theo and Tito are waiting it out. I can maybe understand this strategy if Ortiz just had an iffy year last year. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that he’s been consistently declining though. I’m apt to think that these guys have lost their minds. I mean, at least throw Lowell in against a lefty pitcher. You’re paying him, Papi is bad against lefties, so use Lowell. This is not rocket science.
This is a sport, not a best friend contest. When a player isn’t producing, and hasn’t been producing, over a period of time, you sit him and try someone else. Forget about hurt egos and hurt feelings, that’s what you’re signing up for when you get involved in any athletic activity. I’m aware that it’s still early. We’ve only played 3 games. But for a guy with something to prove, he needs to be stronger than he is now.
All I’m asking is that if the end of April Big Papi is not hitting, pull him and try Lowell as your regular starting DH. I want to remember Ortiz as a home-run hitting beast, not a declining player who swears at the media.
Samantha Lewis is a conference production assistant by day and a sports writer by night. In her free time she hits opposite field home runs. You can read more from her at Beantown Athletic Supporters.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
RELEASING THE LIST
You can add my voice to the chorus demanding the release of the list.
But my list isn’t “The List,” the one containing the names of 104 players – seven of whom have already been outed - who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in baseball’s ’03 survey. I don’t care who’s on that list, nor, by all accounts, does the general public. The only people who care about the names on The List are media folks, some of whom, like The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt, go to extraordinary lengths - including willfully violating the law - to satisfy their own curiosity.
The 25-year-old Schmidt is the reporter who broke the news last week that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were on The List (Schmidt revealed earlier this year that Sammy Sosa was also on The List). The Times cited “lawyers with knowledge of the results” as sources for the story and went on to say “the lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by court order.”
What the Times didn’t report is that it’s a crime to divulge information under court seal. In fact, as outgoing MLBPA executive director Donald Fehr stated through a spokesman, it’s also a crime “to actively pursue information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal.” Which makes Schmidt as guilty as his sources.
Don’t think leaking evidence under seal is a crime? Tell it to Troy Ellerman, Victor Conte’s attorney who leaked information from the grand jury hearing on the BALCO investigation to reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle. Armed with that information, The Chronicle reporters published a book detailing Barry Bonds’ PED use. Much like Schmidt, they were lauded as heroes by their peers. Ellerman, on the other hand, received a 30-month prison sentence for his crime.
Fehr went on to say that the fact the Times’ informants “are lawyers, is both shocking and sad.” He’s half right. Sad, because we would like to think all lawyers are honest, honorable, law-abiding and ethical. Unfortunately, lawyers don’t exhibit those characteristics in any greater quantity than any other group in society, including bankers, politicians and used car salesmen. Which makes the news that lawyers are at the root of the illegal disclosures anything but shocking.
Disclosure of the remaining players on The List, which would require court approval, would be a meaningless exercise in voyeurism. None of the players on The List will be subject to legal or baseball sanctions. Revealing names won’t tell us all the players who cheated and which ones didn’t. It won’t tell us who was clean pre or post ’03. Nor will it tell us who was taking undetectable drugs or drugs that players weren’t tested for, like HGH. And the argument that knowing who is on The List will preserve the integrity of the Hall of Fame is bogus. You think no one in the HOF ever took PEDS?
Releasing The List will only serve to prove who the dumbest players in MLB were in 2003. Players were told by their union there would be a survey test of everyone on the 40-man roster, all 1,200 MLB players. They were told if less than 5% of the players tested positive, there would be no more testing. And there’s reason to believe that the union told the players to stop taking PEDs prior to the test.
And yet, 104 players either didn’t understand the message or couldn’t resist the urge to continue shooting up and inhaling illegal drugs. In either case, they should be permanently banned from the game. Anyone that dumb and reckless is dangerous, to himself and, as it turned out, to his brethren, the ones who juiced and the ones who didn’t.
Forget The List. The list I want to see is the one with the names of all the lawyers who are spilling their guts to the Times, violating their oath of office (lawyers are officers of the court), breaking the law, and selling out the honest and law-abiding members of their profession. I want to see that list published in The New York Times. And I want to see the people on that list get what they deserve.
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Jordan Kobritz is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University, teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming, and is a contributing author to the Business of Sports Network. Jordan can be reached at jkobritz@mindspring.com.
But my list isn’t “The List,” the one containing the names of 104 players – seven of whom have already been outed - who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in baseball’s ’03 survey. I don’t care who’s on that list, nor, by all accounts, does the general public. The only people who care about the names on The List are media folks, some of whom, like The New York Times’ Michael Schmidt, go to extraordinary lengths - including willfully violating the law - to satisfy their own curiosity.
The 25-year-old Schmidt is the reporter who broke the news last week that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were on The List (Schmidt revealed earlier this year that Sammy Sosa was also on The List). The Times cited “lawyers with knowledge of the results” as sources for the story and went on to say “the lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by court order.”
What the Times didn’t report is that it’s a crime to divulge information under court seal. In fact, as outgoing MLBPA executive director Donald Fehr stated through a spokesman, it’s also a crime “to actively pursue information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal.” Which makes Schmidt as guilty as his sources.
Don’t think leaking evidence under seal is a crime? Tell it to Troy Ellerman, Victor Conte’s attorney who leaked information from the grand jury hearing on the BALCO investigation to reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle. Armed with that information, The Chronicle reporters published a book detailing Barry Bonds’ PED use. Much like Schmidt, they were lauded as heroes by their peers. Ellerman, on the other hand, received a 30-month prison sentence for his crime.
Fehr went on to say that the fact the Times’ informants “are lawyers, is both shocking and sad.” He’s half right. Sad, because we would like to think all lawyers are honest, honorable, law-abiding and ethical. Unfortunately, lawyers don’t exhibit those characteristics in any greater quantity than any other group in society, including bankers, politicians and used car salesmen. Which makes the news that lawyers are at the root of the illegal disclosures anything but shocking.
Disclosure of the remaining players on The List, which would require court approval, would be a meaningless exercise in voyeurism. None of the players on The List will be subject to legal or baseball sanctions. Revealing names won’t tell us all the players who cheated and which ones didn’t. It won’t tell us who was clean pre or post ’03. Nor will it tell us who was taking undetectable drugs or drugs that players weren’t tested for, like HGH. And the argument that knowing who is on The List will preserve the integrity of the Hall of Fame is bogus. You think no one in the HOF ever took PEDS?
Releasing The List will only serve to prove who the dumbest players in MLB were in 2003. Players were told by their union there would be a survey test of everyone on the 40-man roster, all 1,200 MLB players. They were told if less than 5% of the players tested positive, there would be no more testing. And there’s reason to believe that the union told the players to stop taking PEDs prior to the test.
And yet, 104 players either didn’t understand the message or couldn’t resist the urge to continue shooting up and inhaling illegal drugs. In either case, they should be permanently banned from the game. Anyone that dumb and reckless is dangerous, to himself and, as it turned out, to his brethren, the ones who juiced and the ones who didn’t.
Forget The List. The list I want to see is the one with the names of all the lawyers who are spilling their guts to the Times, violating their oath of office (lawyers are officers of the court), breaking the law, and selling out the honest and law-abiding members of their profession. I want to see that list published in The New York Times. And I want to see the people on that list get what they deserve.
.JPG)
Jordan Kobritz is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University, teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming, and is a contributing author to the Business of Sports Network. Jordan can be reached at jkobritz@mindspring.com.Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday Morning Quick-Hits
A fan's attempt at saying hi to someone at home goes horribly, horribly, wrong.Off we go after a busy weekend...
- The John Smoltz experience has been a bust so far, and yesterday was no exception.
- If you didn't get out to Hadlock Field to see Junichi Tazawa, well, you're out of luck.
- The Sea Dogs took 2 out of 3 from New Hampshire after a win yesterday, and head out on the road for 7 games starting tonight in Harrisburg.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
WEDNESDAY MORNING QUICK HITTERS
Here are your Maine High School scores..Eastern Maine and Western Maine
The Portland Sea Dogs returned home Tuesday, beating the Erie SeaWolves 5 - 0. Sea Dogs Catcher Mark Wagner continues to excel going 2-3 with a sac fly.
Pete Warner of the Bangor Daily News keeps tabs on where the Maine Baseball team has spread out to since the season has been over.
- Tim Wakefield may have solidified his 1st All Star bid by handling the Florida Marlins 8 - 2 Tuesday at Fenway. David oritz hit his 4th HR in 9 games helping the Sox bat around in the 2nd inning.
- John Smoltz makes a rehab start tonight for the PawSox. Clay Buchholz will follow Smoltz out of the pen.
- Sammy Sosa, whom the CMSB had on their list of the "other 103 players", was found to be on the list with A-Rod. Please, hold your surprise. 102 to go...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Ortiz Says He Feels "100%", Works Crowd Into a Tizzy
Yeah, I took it from my camera phone...The David Ortiz traveling road show made it's first stop in Portland Monday, and by all indications and results things went very well. Ortiz finished 2-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in the Sea Dogs 8-2 win. He left the game in the 6th for a pinch runner after blooping a single to right. Ortiz put the crowd in a tizzy from the moment he first appeared (tizzy was used as a tribute to a conversation with NESN's Jayme Parker in the press box. NESN made a great choice sending her up here as she and her camera man John were tremendous), and he certainly did not disappoint the capacity crowd. When he was on third base in the first inning, he got a standing ovation just for tipping his batting helmet to the crowd on the third base side. It was quite an atmosphere, to say the least. In the post-game press conference, in which the media managed to brave a small family of skunks who hang out by the bullpen, Ortiz said he felt "100%" and was really using this time to "see more pitches and get my timing right" for Friday's Fenway return against the Yankees. It was quite a big-league atmosphere Monday night, good work by the Sea Dogs Media Relations (Chris Cameron and Jessica Johnson specifically) putting this together fairly smoothly, in spite of the weather and the wildlife.
I will be in Foxwoods the next couple of days, but quick-hitters will be posted just like normal. Also all of the recent podcasts, namely Saturday's interview and Sunday's WJZF simulcast, are online and uploaded. Thanks to Talkshoe for working though the technical difficulties.
I will be in Foxwoods the next couple of days, but quick-hitters will be posted just like normal. Also all of the recent podcasts, namely Saturday's interview and Sunday's WJZF simulcast, are online and uploaded. Thanks to Talkshoe for working though the technical difficulties.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The Phirst Place Phillies
Chase Utley is so hot right now he can't stand in front of a refrigerator without spoiling the food. He hit a homerun in his 5th straight game last night, helping the Phillies beat the Reds 5-4. His defense also ended the game, so this is not your typical one way player. Barring injury, Utley is goig to be the MVP this year, write it down and keep it, that's a freebie. The Phillies are now a game and a half ahead of the Marlins in the NL East, and they won't give this lead up again this season.
David Ortiz is out at least a month with a bad wrist, and that's not good. Wrist injuries are notoriously lingering (ask Derek Lee), but keep in mind when a hitter like Ortiz loses his wrist, he is not the same for a while. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Red Sox lineup, and they start a three game series tonight with the first place Tampa Rays in Fenway tonight with Justin Masterson on the mound.
Kyle Farnsworth proved that he is still Kyle Farnsworth last night, and proved that the Yankees bullpen minus Joba the Hutt(who makes his first start tonight in case you haven't heard) is in big trouble. I wonder if the Brian Fuentes rumors will have any legs to them (or Damaso Marte).
The Penguins stayed alive with a goal with 35 seconds left in regulation, and then managed to ride Marc-Ande Fleury's zone to a win in 3 overtimes. This was a long game and I watched it from the start of the first overtime, there is nothing like watching one team keep it's season alive and knowing that if they give up one goal the season is over.
The Lakers and Celtics series is still slated to start on Thursday. I just wanted to point out how stupid it is to wait this long.
Remember the Sports Vortex has another show tonight, a Celtics/Lakers preview and as always news from around the Major Leagues courtesy of MLB Extra Innings. If you can't get their live (8:30 PM tonight) remember you can always listen to the show here on the CMSPLOG (upper right hand corner). All the shows are archived.
David Ortiz is out at least a month with a bad wrist, and that's not good. Wrist injuries are notoriously lingering (ask Derek Lee), but keep in mind when a hitter like Ortiz loses his wrist, he is not the same for a while. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Red Sox lineup, and they start a three game series tonight with the first place Tampa Rays in Fenway tonight with Justin Masterson on the mound.
Kyle Farnsworth proved that he is still Kyle Farnsworth last night, and proved that the Yankees bullpen minus Joba the Hutt(who makes his first start tonight in case you haven't heard) is in big trouble. I wonder if the Brian Fuentes rumors will have any legs to them (or Damaso Marte).
The Penguins stayed alive with a goal with 35 seconds left in regulation, and then managed to ride Marc-Ande Fleury's zone to a win in 3 overtimes. This was a long game and I watched it from the start of the first overtime, there is nothing like watching one team keep it's season alive and knowing that if they give up one goal the season is over.
The Lakers and Celtics series is still slated to start on Thursday. I just wanted to point out how stupid it is to wait this long.
Remember the Sports Vortex has another show tonight, a Celtics/Lakers preview and as always news from around the Major Leagues courtesy of MLB Extra Innings. If you can't get their live (8:30 PM tonight) remember you can always listen to the show here on the CMSPLOG (upper right hand corner). All the shows are archived.
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