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Random Notes - June 15, 2003 
Sammy Sosa has been a favorite of mine ever since he first donned the Cubs uniform back in 1992.
I have always admired Sammy's unique talent, hard work and infectious enthusiasm for the game.
Unlike most major league ballplayers, Sosa realizes how lucky he is to be playing sports for a
living and getting paid millions to do it. I was thrilled beyond words when the Red Sox
and Sosa agreed to a free-agent contract after the 1994 season. For a brief period after the
1994 Player's Strike, the minimum service time to be eligible for free agency was reduced to four years, thus enabling
Sosa, Kevin Appier and John Wetteland to agree to contacts with the Sox.
Unfortunately for Boston, the Strike settlement returned the minimum for free agency to six years of
service time. Sosa returned to the Cubs, Wetteland ended up helping the Yankees win the 1996 Series
and the rest, as they say, is history. In 1998, Sosa and Mark McGwire caused baseball fans set aside
their post-Strike bitterness and follow the duo's chase for Roger Maris' homerun record. Sammy had one of the
greatest seasons any player has ever had, but was overshadowed - both literally and figuratively - by
McGwire. Still, Sosa never displayed the slightest bit of jealousy and took every opportunity to
credit McGwire for his feats.Sammy Sosa embodied everything that is good about baseball. That is why the bat-corking incident is so disheartening. Sosa claims it was an accident, but that is truly hard to believe. A baseball player's bat is almost like an extra limb so it seems unimaginable that Sosa would not realize that he was holding a significantly lighter piece of lumber. Then it again, it is even more unthinkable that Sosa would risk his great reputation in such a foolish way. The fact that none of the rest of Sosa's 76 bats were corked provides at least some assurance that Sosa has not cheated in the past, but one still has to wonder. Intentional or not, Sosa has forever tarnished a remarkable career and that is a terrible shame.
Roger Clemens has now won his 300th game and eclipsed 4,000 career strikeouts. Like him or not, you
can only marvel at his accomplishments. However, I may have to jump off the top of the Green Monster
if I hear one more ill-informed announcer or sportswriter criticize the Red Sox for not re-signing
Clemens after the 1996 season. In his last four years in Boston, Clemens compiled a 40-32 record
(an average of ten wins per year). Twice in that four year span, his ERA rose above 4.00. The work
ethic that Roger is so famous for was not evident during his final seasons in Boston. Toronto's contract
offer was,
at the time, well above market value for a 34-year-old pitcher coming off four mediocre seasons.
With free agency pending, Clemens pitched well at the end of 1996 (and added a second 20 strikeout
game) but there was no reason to believe that he would ever win 20 games or come close to a Cy Young
performance again. My criticism of Dan Duquette is not that he allowed Roger to walk, but that he didn't
trade him a year earlier and get something in return. This was a mistake that he repeated with Mo Vaughn
two years later. If anything, Clemens should thank Duquette for providing the motivation that Roger
used to revive his career in Toronto.
Had it been me, I would not have pulled the trigger on the Shea Hillenbrand-Byun Hyun Kim trade. I feel
that Hillenbrand has a greater upside than Kim and, if the Sox were intent on trading him, could have
been dealt later for an even better player. I also fear that Kim will faint at the sight of pinstripes
(Kim surrendered 9th inning home runs on back to back nights at Yankee Stadium in the 2001 World Series).
On the other hand, Kim is only 24 years old and does have the
potential to be an excellent, durable pitcher down the road. With the Sox pitching staff in shambles,
this is a move that I can live with. Sox GM's of the past would have dealt a player like Hillenbrand
for a 38-year-old pitcher with about 15 starts left in his arm. The fact that Theo Epstein managed to
get a good young arm in return is definitely progress. Plus, with Bill Mueller in the short run and
Freddy Sanchez in the long run, the Sox should be in decent shape at third base.
And thanks to the ten nitwits below I now have enough for a brand new Idiot List ... The BostonSportsHub.com Idiot List - 6/15/200310Major League Baseball Schedule-Maker How in the world can the baseball schedule pair the American League East and the National League Central without including a series between the Cubs and Red Sox? Granted, the Red Sox will face Chicago's North-siders in interleague play eventually, but why not get that series started this year? I've said it before and I'll say it again, whoever is in charge of Major League Baseball's marketing strategy should have been fired a long time ago. 9 Jason Kidd I could put Kidd on the list at any point for his annoying-beyond-belief kiss before each free throw. But this month he earns the 9 spot on the list for his unguarded three-point shot as time expired in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Celtics. Boston decided not to foul New Jersey in the final 20 seconds, thus allowing the Nets to dribble out the clock (and the series). With everyone standing around, Kidd fired up a three-pointer at the buzzer and drained the shot. Kidd may not appreciate Bob Ryan and some of the Boston fans, but disrespecting the Celtic players was a classless act. 8 The Minnesota Vikings For the second year in a row, the Vikings were forced to pass on an early first round draft pick because they were not ready to pick. These guys have months to prepare and then 15 minutes to make their draft selection once their turn arrives yet they still managed to let the clock run out FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. The good news for viewers was that the teams that picked just after Minnesota raced up to the podium to get their picks in before Minnesota could get their cluttered house in order. This reduced the painfully long first round by a good 30 minutes or more. 7 Dusty Baker Defending Sammy Sosa for the bat-corking incident is one thing, but playing the race card is nothing short of insane. It's hard to imagine how Dusty could even begin to think that the criticism Sammy received from the media had anything to do with his race. Then again, it is unimaginable that a father could let his three-year-old child run around on a major league baseball field during a game. 6 Rick Carlyle The Pistons fired Rick Carlyle after back-to-back 50 win seasons and a Coach of the Year Award and replaced him with a man that he had just outcoached and beat in the Playoffs. Now, despite his great success, no one seems overly eager to hire Carlyle for any of the head coaching openings in the NBA. It leads me to believe that Rick Carlyle must be one of the most despicable people on earth to be so unwanted following such great success with a marginally talented team. 5 Sammy Sosa Sorry, Sammy, but one way or another you have earned a spot on this month's Idiot List. If what Sosa says is true and he mistakenly brought the corked lumber to the plate during the game, then he is an idiot for putting himself in a position to tarnish his great career. If Sosa corked on purpose then he is far worse than an idiot. It is beyond shameful if Sosa intentionally cheated. Whatever the case, this incident marks one of the greatest disappointments in my life as a baseball fan - and that says a lot coming from a Red Sox fan. 4 Vijay Singh I guess Wade Boggs and Colonel Sanders are no longer the only famous chicken men. Vijay Singh's whining about Annika Sorenstam's participation in the Colonial Golf Tournament by itself would not have landed the golfer on this version of the Idiot List. His gutlessness in pulling out of the Colonial Tournament did. Football players break bones and return to the field in the same game. Golfers duck out of tournaments because they are afraid to lose to women. George Carlin could have a field day with this. 3 Phillies Pitcher Carlos Silva In case you missed it, Phils pitcher Carlos Silva started a bench-clearing brawl between the Reds and Phillies last Friday after throwing not once, but twice at Reds outfielder Adam Dunn. Earlier in the game, Dunn had bowled over Mike catcher Mike Lieberthal on a play at home plate (which is part of the game the last time I checked). Following Silva's second attempt to hit Dunn with a pitch, the Reds slugger headed for the mound only to be tackled by Lieberthal. While Dunn was lying on the ground in the grasp of Lieberthal, Silva sucker-punched him on the side of the head. Silva's cheap shot was easily one of the most cowardly acts I have ever seen on a baseball diamond. We can only hope that Silva is forced to bat against the Reds at some point. 2 Mike Tranghese Mike Tranghese's complete incompetence may spell the end for the Big East as an NCAA power conference in both football and basketball. Tranghese has allowed the ACC to move to the brink of stealing three of the Big East's top six football programs, including the crown jewel, Miami. The future of several Big East schools, including Boston College and Syracuse, could be damaged forever. Tranghese's only accomplishment during his tenure as Big East Commisioner has been to revitalize Notre Dame's basketball programs and help the Irish steal bowl bids from deserving Big East football programs. 1 George Steinbrenner There is no question who tops this month's BostonSportsHub.com Idiot List -- George Steinbrenner is the runaway winner, even with Vijay Singh and Mike Tranghese in the mix. Steinbrenner's latest act of foolishness came last week when he criticized Major League Baseball for forcing the Yankees to play the Reds and Cubs in interleague play, while the Red Sox battled the weaker Pirates and Brewers. The Yankees player payroll is roughly $60 million more than Boston, yet Big George feels the need to complain about inequity. Is this guy for real? Steinbrenner has been getting more and more like his Seinfeld character every year. |
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