As this 2008 season gets closer to wrapping up we are all vastly entertained by the races in both the AL and NL. There are, however, some teams not involved directly in those races that have some individuals who are coming up with career seasons. Here are some great performances thus far this season that certainly deserve awards.
The Stopper Award: This one goes to the starter who has the ability to win a game when the team is on a slide and most needs a victory. Gotta go with Mike Mussina (New York Yankees). Moose has been nails this year digging the yankees out of a hole. Cliff Lee (Cleveland Indians) gets some looks here as well, but it seemed that Moose was always pitching after a loss this season and the Yankees did so very little to help him out while he did it (3.6 runs/ game support).
The Money Award: This award goes to the pitcher who performs like each start happens on payday. Cliff Lee (Indians) was money almost everytime he took the mound. In fact, he has, right now, the highest winning percentage of any pitcher to reach 20 wins in a season ever. This guy was like cash in hand each time his spot in the rotation came along.
The Cardiac Award: This is awarded to the most effective pitcher who wins ugly. These are the guys who need a little pressure to get their motor going. They get the W's but they cause the collective fan base to see a cardiac care specialist after every appearance. Special mention goes to, A.J. Burnett (Toronto Blue Jays) and Troy Percival (Tampa Bay Rays) for their efforts to raise the heartrates of their respective fans. The award has to go to Dice "K" Matsuzaka (Boston Red Sox) for providing much needed medical awareness to so many Beantowners this year.
The Atlas Award: This award goes to the pitcher who shoulders the load without much need for assistance. Gotta go with Roy Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays) on this one. As Austin Powers might say "Who closes their own games now days, really?".
The Doorman Award: This is the guy standing behind the velvet ropes with a line of people waiting to get in. He checks his list and if you ain't on it, you ain't dancin'. Who stopped the inherited runners from coming in this year? The entire Tampa Bay Rays Bullpen. Balfour, Howell, and Wheeler were stout at the rubber when coming into a game with men on base. In fact, they had half as many games with double digit scoring on them than the next team on the list. Great turnaround for this team and this group.
The Closer Award: This is awarded to the guy who can pull down the curtain on a game without breaking a sweat. Now most of the time you can give this one to the guy with the most saves and forget about it. This year it isn't like that. Rodriguez (LA Angels) has 53 saves and without a doubt leads the ML in this catagory, but his stats suggest that he might not be as dominant as some of the other top closers this year. Papelbon (Boston Red Sox) has shown incredible control late this year and deserves mention for his ability to throw strikes and get outs. As does Jenks (Chicago White Sox) and Soria (KC Royals) for their efforts at opposite ends of the division this year. Rivera (New York Yankees) has shown his stuff as usual although he struggled with some blown saves early in the season. The guy has to be Joe Nathan (Minnesota Twins). Great numbers and some key DP's in tough situations this year. Seven inning or game ending DP's and the best ERA among closers this season. Though a case can be made for all those mentioned here.
The "Not This Guy" Award: This award is given to the starter batters hated facing the most this year. Cliff Lee (Indians) again gets credit for sawing off lumber and making them look stupid at the plate all season, but Duchscherer (Oakland Athletics) had 'em comin' out of their shoes all year long. I don't think I saw a pretty at bat against him all season. Cliff Floyd said after a game he started in Oakland this year, "I never felt silly up there like I felt silly today.".
Well that concludes my personal award ceremony with a month left to go. Tell me what you think as I didn't get to watch nearly all the games from everyone I know I missed someone despite my MLB satelite package.
We haven't finished with a very interesting 2008 yet and here I am going on the mat to discuss the AL East and 2009. Well it bears some discussion now as we are seeing some of the potential clashes next year happening on the stage this year. I have long believed that the AL East provides the most entertaining baseball, both during the Roid era and now outside of it, fortunately there are now five teams approaching baseball from five different angles and becoming competitive first with each other, and second with all the other teams in both leagues.
Look at the records against the other divisions. If it were not for the Indians and the Angels there would not even be a point for discussion. From the top we have the Rays who have figured out how to win with defense and fearless pitching. Pitching made fearless by the defense. You see how that works. Throw strikes and the defense will convert three out of four balls put into play into outs. Makes you wonder why more teams don't approach the game in that way. The answer is... it isn't sexy enough to put butts in the bleachers... not that the Trop has bleachers outside of the third level beach area. Still that approach produces victories.
The Bosox train has still got alot of steam without Manny in town. The pitching might not be there every night now but the bats are winning more games for the Sox than before. Age is starting to catch them but they have a deep well in their system to draw from and they adapt to the upcoming player's particular strength to keep a winner on the field. Amazing that the Boston area would have such a Zen team to route for in that respect, but stranger things have happened before.
The Yankees are going through some pains, on the field and off of it. Cashman wants to cultivate a more substantial homegrown atmosphere while the fans demand instant satisfaction. 2009 will see a return to the big FA contract and new blood to replace the failing stars who lack the heart to compete in baseball's best division. Simply put, we will see more of the same from the Yankees.
The Blue Jays are really close to something special. They have the best pitching in baseball hands down. They do it with a mediocre defense and that is where they are so damned close. Good bats in the lineup make them just dangerous enough now to compete in every other division but they get schooled in their own by the top three at home and on the road. 2009 will see a more solid defense to back the excellent pitching. Who knows where they will be next year.
The O's are feeling quite good they have hung tight all this year. So many prognosticators wrote them off early this year only to see them hanging around .500 all season. Sure most of their bats will ne gone next year as the core to their offense is becoming FA eligible and expendable all at the same time. While 2009 might not be the year for the O's, they will be better again and the next year some of that stockpiled youth might pay off.
Surely this opens the discussion about the best division with some pretty sure bets and some pretty hollow viewpoint yet to come from the rest of the fan base, but you don't have to look hard to see the statistical advantage the AL East has over the rest of baseball. The point is that the best in the AL East are going to get better and those beneath them now are going to compete. Isn't that what it is all about?
I was recently wondering why my contractors keep telling me about problems that the other contractors have caused them when I question their use of time, materials and manpower. I was amazed at some of the excuses I heard. Most of them centered around the shortcomings of everyone else instead of upon the obvious, "Why can't I do my job?".
It was then that I realized that I hear this type of thing all the time when I talk to people about sports. The Painters can't do their job because the drywallers used a spackle that left too much moisture in the walls for their usual paint to adhere to properly. That sounds an awfull lot like "The GM that preceded me made some picks in the draft that are going to handcuff this organization for years to come." The Basement contrator left his foundation off a 1/2" over the span of 20'. I can't frame on that kind of shoddy workmanship. You should have gone with my guy." Sounds like a manager making excuses after his best pitcher gets hurt and he is looking for a replacement at the deadline. Instead he gets Pudge Rodriguez.
The point I am trying to make here is that excuses are a wonderful thing for those who don't like accountability, but for the rest of us they are irritating and bore the #### out of us when you are trying to get a straight answer. All the excuses in the world are not going to change the fact that I am going to have the sheathing insulation turned to face the correct way by the contractor who installed it whether he thinks the framers should have used #6 common nails or galvanized. The job gets done or you get fired. Accountability at its best.
Take the present dilemna facing Joe Torre in LA. Manny comes over from Boston where apparently none of the southies notice that Manny hasn't been close to a pair of scissors since he joined the team, and makes excuses as to why he has yet to cut his hair to a managable length as it is noted in the Dodgers rule book. Now does Joe take action by benching or fining Manny until he complies with the standards or do we start the Manny being Manny train all over again. The fans might even side with Manny in LA. It has been that long since they have seen a legitimate power threat in the lineup almost anything might be excusable.
For the flip side of that. Joe Madden benches one the better players in his line up this weekend for a game and a half after he lacks hustle beating out a double play ball. Joe demanded accountability from his player and it would seem that if Upton wants to play he is going to have to put his feet down the line like each play means something. Imagine if you will Sorriano on the Rays bench after his skip, toss and jog for a wall####ing single. Sweet Lou is supposed to be the tough guy but he seems very soft with his dealings in this matter.
Let's go back to Manny being held accountable for nothing in Boston and the team blames him for their lack of desire this year. Look at your management. You have enabled "Manny the Brat" to play the game for so long that he has become more blight than bat. Bye bye Manny. Who is going to be our next Nomar/ Mo/ Lynn/ Tiant. All guys who were enabled throughout their careers until they became too much for the "team" to handle.
Is this the only sport that has it's share of enablers? Hell no. Remember the years that Philly had their hockey team held hostage by their star player. The same player whose family ultimately called the shots for him so in essence they were making management decisions for the Flyers for how many years? The knicks are still reeling about turning their franchise over to a man who twice knocked them out of the playoffs while he was a player and effectively has done the same for many more years as their GM/ Head Coach/ Office "hands on" Manager.
Look at what happens when you hold people accountable and hold those organizations accountable as well on the same level. You get the Twins. They have a payroll and competition commitment that supercedes all egos. You get the Jaguars. Team on the field that plays above and beyond the capability of it's owner who seems to be little better than a local hood who lucked into the big time. You get the Cowboys. Yes the Cowboys. Never down for long because of a commitment to providing the best coaches available, the best players available and wrap the whole thing in a very fun and attractive city known for it's good times and protective treatment of it's celebrities. Unless of course you are dating Jessica Simpson.
There are other francises like this. The Spurs. The Red Wings, The Angels, The Braves. The Yankees. The Lakers. All of these teams have something in common. Accountability in the ownership, management, or the coaching on the field. It is amazing when you have just one of these qualities exsistant how often the other phases of the team come around to the developement of a culture. A winning culture. In NASCAR you have three dominant teams that so adhere to their cultures of winning that when they move a new team into place they actually find it as important training them in the culture of their team as they do in giving them their own spot in the garage.
So you are of course always building a team. You provide them with a place to play and the financial means to provide for their families in the process. The check and the sideline are great, but when do most teams talk to them about how to win. Most teams place the pressure on the individual with a weighty paycheck and the warning that the local media will place you on a cross if you are perceived a failure. See Vinnie Castillo and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. How important is it to make the individual a winner when he or she comes into the organization? I am of a mind that it should be of the utmost importance. That concept of providing the player with a place to win, not only play, is starting to grow in all sports.
Who do we see teaching a winning culture right now from the ground up? The Rays? Maybe, too soon to tell but they look like a good bet. The NY Giants? A better bet as they release problem player after problem player and only seem to get stronger as a team each time. The Hornets? Another too soon to tell team but I could see them in the top five for years to come with their present approach. How about USF football? Definite contender for those who follow them. They are employing a system and a technique for always fielding a competitive team. There is however the plan to succeed and the developement of a winning culture going on in all of those places.
Too many times I look into the eyes of my contractor while he is explaining something to me that he thinks I know nothing about, and he looks away failing to meet my stare as he tries to sell me a lame excuse for not doing his job. That technique lacks respect and trust. I can only figure I have to watch him more closely after each time we speak. He has not tried to develope a culture of trust or accomplishment since I wrote the first check. I think back to how I selected him for the job. I was told by someone I respected he was the right guy for the job. I now respect that person less as well. Most of all I am rethinking my approach ultimately putting the responsibility on myself for making the decisions that put me where I am today. Next time I will do things differently.
I would like to leave this life accountable for all things in my life.
...the past remains a great indicator for what might come to pass. The past can give warning and even bring hope for we have the past to show us what has been and what remains possible.
That said it is a joyous thing to put aside your past when that past has been a blemish on an entire community. The past I speak of is the first eight years of the Devil Ray's franchise under Vince Namoli. 70 games won. That was the watermark for a decade. Just 70 wins. The 2008 Rays, another indication of putting the past behind, have matched that total with a month and a half left to play. Applause should be resounding for that feat alone. We should rejoice in what the Rays, and their new management, has been able to accomplish so far this season. It does, however, also make one wonder what the hell was wrong with the past regime that makes this one seem so successful.
From the start Vince just didn't get it. He brought in the money and shamed them into giving him control instead of a proven commodity. He delivered rarely on his aspirations and remains a figure of stern contradiction to most common baseball wisdom. From the "Hit Show" to the reaction when the local media's critique hit too close to home. (Referring to him pulling every St. Petersburg Times paper from the Trop when he was cast as a failure in an article by a well respected journalist and newspaper, despite the fact that they were a major advertiser within the Trop at the time) Namoli showed an indignant lack of class and external perception at most times during his dark reign over this team. Most of all, he never stood up to that pompous #### who resides still across the Tampa Bay and who has remained the Rays biggest detractor despite their most recent success.
When Big George stepped up and called the Yankees Tampa's team in billboard form on the interstate, all Vince did was shrink from sight and allowed the horse flesh peddler to make a mockery of his own hometown's local team. When George called the Devil Rays an embarrassment and referred to them leeching off of his team's success in regards to his stance on revenue sharing. Vince allowed him another free shot at the community's team. When Big George had a fan removed from a Lightning/ Devils playoff game in Tampa for heckling the mighty goalie Broduer, not one of the local owners put their neck out to call George exactly what he is. A NYC wannabe who refuses to pull up roots here to live his dream in the Big Apple.
I would like to hear from George after this season is done for his Yankees. I would love to hear the same antagonistic behavior we expect from this utter lack of class, when the team and Community, he so often maligns puts his Yankees out of the playoffs. We won't hear from him this year, because I think the new management would stand up to him and call him what he is. Just a bunch of hot air and bluster.
The Rays have done alot this year and have made strides toward excorsizing the ghost of Namoli past on the field. I am hoping the Tampa Bay area gets to redeem itself off the field in the light of the constant detractors to the community come to land their critique into a much more defensive and hostile field of play.
Sleep well knowing your ghosts are almost gone Tampa/ St. Pete./ Clearwater/ Sarasota.
