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Remember when Allen Craig was caught stealing with Albert Pujols at the plate in the sixth inning of Game 5 of the recently concluded World Series?

Remember when Allen Craig was caught stealing with Albert Pujols at the plate in the ninth inning of the same game?

Those plays generated some controversy, but Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa defended the plays.

That wasn’t the case following a game that the Cardinals  won at home on May 23, 2010 against the Los Angeles Angels

The Cards were leading 9-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Albert Pujols was batting with Ryan Ludwick on first and two outs.

Inexplicably, Ludwick  took off for second.  Mike Napoli threw him out, just as he would do to Craig in the 2011 World Series.

Albert Pujols was beyond livid. He would not bat again unless the Angels scored four runs in the ninth inning.

Even if Ludwick, who had been caught stealing three times and had not yet stolen successfully during the young season, had reached second base, Pujols would bat with first base open. 

Yes, there was a runner in scoring position. How many of us think that perhaps Mike Scioscia would have walked Pujols intentionally?

Pujols flipped his bat and helmet on his return to the dugout. Then he smacked two trays of gum from the bench against the dugout wall.

Tony La Russa told Pujols:  “That’s enough.”

The disagreement became more intense, with La Russa telling Pujols: “I (expletive) know how to manage.”

The next day, the Cardinals were trailing the Angels 10-4 in going to the top of the ninth inning. La Russa replaced Pujols.

All managers try to rest their top player in games that appear to be lost, but in baseball, as in life, one never knows.

The Cardinals rallied and, thanks to a pair of Angels errors, cut the deficit to three runs with two on and two outs. Jon Jay, batting in Pujols’ spot, stuck out to end the game.

Pujols was not happy, but La Russa’s move was not unusual.

Baseball’s best player and, until he retired, baseball’s best manager, got along during Pujols’ 11 seasons. Flare-ups and disagreements are inevitable when two greats are doing everything in their power to win.

Pujols knows the game as well as any player in the game. La Russa, with the possible exception of Jim Leyland, knows the game better than any manager in the game.

Don’t be a conspirator. La Russa didn’t retire so that Albert would remain a St. Louis Cardinal.

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Joe Torre  has the reputation of being an individual who favors diplomacy over force. He is concerned about how he treats adversaries and how they react to him.

In the spring of 1995, Torre hired Bob Gibson as the St. Louis Cardinals‘ bullpen coach.

Torre and Gibson had been teammates with the Cardinals. When Torre managed the New York Mets, Gibson was his pitching coach. When Torre managed the Atlanta Braves, Gibson was his pitching coach.

Gibson had really been an “attitude” coach with the Mets and Braves. He certainly had what some referred to as an attitude.

Bob Gibson was the meanest, toughest and most fearsome pitcher of his era.

Torre loves to describe his friend. “Just say he’s proud, he’s opinionated, sometimes he doesn’t have a lot of tact. But above all, Bob Gibson loves baseball.”

Rick Mahler, the Cardinals’ minor-league pitching coordinator, had been a pitcher with the Atlanta Braves when Gibson was their pitching coach. Mahler hit the nail on the head, not only about Gibson but about most of today’s players.

“He had this attitude that I’m sure carried over from the 60s and 70s,” Mahler says. “Players back then played for a pure love of the game not that guys don’t today, but there’s so much money these days. Everyone respected Bob for his attitude.”

Then Mahler made the point that separates modern players from Gibson, Tom Seaver, Pete Rose, Mickey Mantle and others of their ilk.

“You know how some guys are, they go 4 for 4 in a game they lose, they’re still a little upbeat. But whenever they’d walk by Bob Gibson, they’d wipe that smile right off their face. You just didn’t want to make him mad.”

At the age of 58, Gibson seemed to have mellowed. He still hated to lose, but he could tolerate human failing more than in the past.

Speaking to the media after he was hired as the Cards’ bullpen coach, Gibson removed any doubt about what his attitude would be if he played in 1995.

“Look, if I was a ballplayer, I’d probably still be a (jerk), but on the whole, I’d have to say that I’ve mellowed. Age will do that to you,” he says.

“There are things from my past that used to anger me so much I couldn’t even talk about it. Now I can. I remember the days that I was forced to drink from a different water fountain (than white people).

“There was a time I wouldn’t have been allowed on Treasure Island (a wealthy neighborhood in St. Petersburg). Now I own a condo there. These are things you never forget. They’re with you forever, but age softens you.”

When he was on the mound, merely facing a hitter who had a successful at-bat against him would upset Gibson. He would be the same today, despite his 76 years.

When the new Cardinals management took over, general manager Walt Jocketty told Torre that he had free reign with respect to his choice of bullpen coach. Gibson, who had been out of baseball, understood the politics of the business world.

“I did learn that once a player retires, he has to learn how to lie, to play little social games in this world. Sometimes, that’s not easy for an athlete who was used to getting by on his own ability.”

The Cardinals were looking for a legend to help their image after finishing a dismal fourth in the newly-created Central Division.

Few could rival Gibson as a legend.

Source Citation

Klapisch, Bob. “Firing again.” The Sporting News 27 Feb. 1995: 23. General OneFile. Web. 19 Nov. 2011.

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The St. Louis Cardinals are going for their 11th World Series championship, which would strengthen their hold as the team second only to the New York Yankees with respect to titles.

The Cardinals and Yankees have met five times in the World Series. The Cardinals won in 1926, 1942 and the last time the teams met in 1964. The Yankees beat St. Louis in 1928 and 1943.

There is no question the Cardinals are one of baseball’s iconic franchises. To play in St. Louis means playing under great scrutiny and even, at times, greater pressure.

The Cardinals have had some great first basemen. Stan Musial, Jim Bottomley, Orlando Cepeda and Johnny Mize are all in the Hall of Fame. Keith Hernandez might have been the second greatest defensive first baseman in the annals of baseball history next to Hal Chase.

Musial was the National League MVP three times and Cepeda won it once and Hernandez won it once.

The current Cardinals’ first baseman, Albert Pujols, has surpassed them all, with the possible exception of Musial. He has already won three MVP awards.

In the second game of the 2011 World Series, Cardinals’ center fielder John Jay made a weak throw home in the ninth inning. Pujols lunged for the ball but failed to cut it off, allowing the Texas Rangers‘ Elvis Andrus take second base on his single.

No error was charged until the game had been over for quite a while.

Pujols didn’t speak to the media after the game for which those in the media excoriated him—not just the actions, but the man.

Joel Sherman, who is employed by the bastion of fair reporting, the New York Post, concluded that Pujols was an extremely fortunate individual.

Sherman pointed out that Pujols should be grateful that Mark Teixeira was a New York Yankee, that Adrian Gonzalez was a Boston Red Sox, that Ryan Howard was with the Philadelphia Phillies and that the New York Mets were a financially challenged team.

Why did the perceptive Mr. Sherman think that the above were fortuitous circumstances for Pujols? 

Because none of the the big northeast markets would be in the bidding for his services when he becomes a free agent.

It is a blessing, according to Sherman, because Pujols couldn’t handle playing in any of those cities. The primary reason is that Pujols couldn’t take the booing.

That says it all about Mr. Sherman.

He doesn’t realize that Pujols wouldn’t have to take the booing because he would bask in the cheering. He denigrates the greatest player in the game who has done fairly well in some cities where the fans know how to boo.

He has batted .331/.436/.589 with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs in the postseason, including batting .333 in the 2004 World Series against the Boston Red Sox and their friendly fans.

Sherman ranks among the most upset by the fact that Pujols refused to speak to the media after the tough loss.

“He should figure out how to stay in St. Louis, where he forever will have a city that loves him and an organization that will cover for him, and where his small-time behavior and big biceps are an acceptable combination.

“New York, Boston and Philadelphia would not kowtow to this behavioral model.”

Mr. Sherman seems bothered that the “big market” teams were all “upset” before they could get to the World Series. He is at a loss to explain to explain why Pujols, Lance Berkman and Yadier Molina weren’t available to express their remorse after a really tough loss.

Well, Mr. Sherman, perhaps you might have read that after the seventh game of the 1960 World Series, reporters found Mickey Mantle sitting at his locker. His head was in his hands and he was crying. The reporters walked away.

Winners need time to accept the fact that their team lost. Some, like Mantle in this instance, never can accept that reality.

Contrary to the propaganda of the media and Bud Selig, Pujols’ role is not to help MLB and Fox Sports to make money. They are quite good at that task.

Pujols makes money for them by being Albert Pujols. He makes money for them by hitting home runs or by not hitting home runs when he is beaten by a pitcher. His job, and his only job, is to play baseball. It is not to give interviews on demand.

Albert Pujols, unlike Joel Sherman and most others in the media, is a winner.

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Albert Pujols did not make an error on center fielder John Jay’s throw toward home plate in Game 2 of the 2011 World Series. Tim McCarver made an error because he doesn’t know the meaning of Rule 10.12(a)(8).

“The official scorer shall charge an error against any fielder.. whose failure to stop, or try to stop, an accurately thrown ball permits a runner to advance.”

Here is a link to a video of the play.

John Jay’s throw home was weak. Jay got his hand on the side of the ball, as the throw had some curve action to Pujols’ glove side, ducking down and away and ultimately under Pujols’ glove.

Pujols was coming over from first base to be the cutoff man. He lined up at a slight angle to home plate, took a step and then a second.

Pujols then lunged in an attempt to get the slightly errant throw that wound up to the third base side of home plate, at least 15 feet off the mark.

Since it was not an accurate throw, under Rule 10.12(a)(8), Pujols did not make an error.

If Jay had made an accurate throw, Pujols would have cut it off easily. A fielder doesn’t have to lunge for an accurate throw.

Tim McCarver spoke. Who has the temerity to challenge the words of Tim McCarver? Certainly not Jack Buck’s son and certainly not official scorers Jeff Durbin, Ken Davidoff and Joe Ostermeier.

According to McCarver, it was simple. Some things are difficult, such as predicting where the batter will hit the ball, but this was easy.

Albert Pujols had to be charged with an error because, according to McCarver, Pujols actually touched the errant throw. That prevented catcher Yadier Molina to throw out Elvis Andrus at second base.

The key is that the official scorers did not charge Pujols with an error, McCarver continued to whine, apparently to no avail, but the mainstream media allows the public to know only what they want the public to know.

Well after the game had ended, the official scorers decided that McCarver was right. After all, he is a former player. He is an expert analyst. He is Tim McCarver.

Pujols was charged with an error. So much for integrity.

That bastion of fair, unbiased reporting, the New York Post, reported that the official scorers changed their collective minds after numerous reviews. Other media outlets’ “experts” agreed with McCarver’s snap judgment which, based on the rule and replays, was dead wrong.

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The New York Yankees, whose management is synonymous with arrogance, made a terrible error when they signed Alex Rodriguez to a contract that ends in 2017. The mistake was not signing A-Rod. It was giving him such a lengthy deal.

While the Yankees and their fans will never forget the cost of the contract, it is possible to evaluate how Rodriguez has performed since he was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Ariason on Feb. 16, 2004.

Since joining the Yankees, and taking into account only his tenure with New York, Alex Rodriguez ranks as the greatest third baseman in Yankees’ history.

From 2005-11, Rodriguez has batted .295/.391/.550, averaging 41 home runs and 131 RBI over a 162-game season. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) over a 162-game season is 6.3.

Clete Boyer was the greatest defensive third baseman in Yankees’ history. Yes, Boyer was better defensively than even Graig Nettles, but Boyer was offensively challenged.

Frank “Home Run” Baker (1916-22), Jumpin’ Joe Dugan (1922-28), Red Rolfe (1934-42), Graig Nettles (1973-83), Wade Boggs (1993-97) and Scott Brosius (1998-2001) are the top Yankees’ third basemen.

Rolfe and Nettles are clearly the two best with respect to their Yankee careers.

Rolfe played for the Yankees for 10 seasons. He hit .289 with a .360 on-base average and a .413 slugging percentage. He helped the Yankees win World Championships from 1936-39 and in 1941. Until Nettles came along, Rolfe was generally considered the Yankees’ top third baseman.

Nettles spent 11 seasons as the Yankees’ third baseman. He never hit for much of an average and his best on-base average was .343 in 1978. Nettles led the league in home runs with 32 in 1976 and despite being a power threat, especially in Yankee Stadium, his best slugging average was .496 in 1977.

A-Rod has led the league in home runs twice while a Yankee. In 2005, he hit 48 home runs with 130 RBI and was voted the American League MVP.

In 2007, Rodriguez hit 54 home runs, which matched Mickey Mantle’s 1961 total, batted in a Lou Gehrig-like 156 runs and won his second AL MVP as a Yankee.

Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle have won three MVP awards, as has A-Rod, but the latter won his first while toiling for the Texas Rangers as their shortstop. The only third baseman to win three MVP awards is Mike Schmidt.

The media and most fans considered A-Rod greedy when he demanded $30 million a season, but when one puts things into perspective, as New York Times writer Ken Belson pointed out, A-Rod merely wanted what society accepts as fair remuneration for entertainers and Wall St. exploiters.

In 2007, the top Wall St. trader made $1.5 billion. Number 100 on the list ripped off—whoops—earned $50 million. The Wall Streeters cheered Rodriguez.

“Not only do I have no problem with it, I’m cheering him on,” said James L. Melcher of Balestra Capital, which is a hedge fund.

“Ballplayers work every day, they risk serious injury, and they travel all the time. Too many CEO’s get appointed because they were just there and then they stuff the board with their friends and their compensation goes up and up regardless of how they perform. That’s not the American way.”

Sorry, Mr. Melcher, for Wall Street that is the American way. The same is true for A-Rod, but that is not his fault. It is the Yankees’ fault.

References:

Kepner, T. (2007, Nov 20). Rodriguez is M.V.P.; rivera says he’ll re-sign. New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. D1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/848129748?accountid=46260

Belson, K. (2007, Oct 30). Greedy? not by wall st. standards. New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. B3. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/848107972?accountid=46260

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When the “experts” compared Mickey Mantle to Willie Mays, the first thing they mentioned was each player’s batting average. Then they compared the number of home runs each player hit and that was usually followed by comparing their slugging averages. Finally, RBI totals and runs scored were cited.

Mantle struck out much more than Mays, which was considered a tremendous negative. Mantle walked much more than Mays, but on base average didn’t become an official statistic until 1984.

After each had retired, Mays was generally considered the greater offensive player, although it was generally conceded that when he was healthy, as he was for most of 1956, Mantle more than held his own against Mays.

In 2011, a player’s offensive abilities are measured differently from the days of Mantle and Mays.

Many of the recently created modern statistics fail to account for many variables and some might even be based on faulty premises, but they have made Mantle into a better offensive player than Mays, so more power to them.

Batting average is much less important today than it was when Mantle and Mays were active.

Mantle finished at .298. Mays finished at .302.  However, American Leaguers batted .256 during Mantle’s career while National Leaguers hit .264 during Mays’ career. Mantle hit 42 points higher than the league average. Mays batted 38 points above the league average. Of course, during the 1950s, the National League had many more great black players than the American League. Statistics are great.

Mantle’s career on base average was .421 compared to Mays’ .384. Each had a .557 slugging average.

Mantle’s best single-season slugging averages were .705 in 1956, .687 in 1961 and .665 in 1957. Mays’ best were .667 in 1954, .659 in 1955 and .645 in 1965.

Do you think they were pretty good hitters?

The most home runs Mantle hit in a season was 54 in 1961. Mays’ single-season high was 52 in 1965.

Now let’s go to the new measurements.

WAR, or Wins Above Replacement, purports to determine the number of wins a player added to the team above what a replacement player would add. A WAR value greater than eight is considered MVP quality and a value greater than five is All-Star quality.

Mantle’s top WAR values are 12.9, 12.5 and 11.9. Mays’ best are 11.0, 10.6 and 10.4.

Mays played for 19 full seasons. In 1952 (army), 1972 and 1973, he was a part-time player. Mantle played 16 complete seasons. He missed much of 1963 when he broke his foot in a fence at Baltimore and played in only 96 games his rookie season.

Mays’ career WAR is 154.7. Mantle’s is 120.2.

Offensive winning percentage purports to determine the percentage of games a team with nine of a specific player batting would win, assuming average pitching and defense. Mantle produced an .803 winning percentage compared to Mays’ .748.

Willie Mays was the most exciting player in the game when he wasn’t batting. Mantle was the most exciting batter since the days of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

On the bases and in the field, few could compare to the excitement Mays brought to the game, but when Mantle stepped into the batter’s box, the possibility of seeing a ball leave Yankee Stadium, the sound of the ball meeting the bat and the chance that Mantle would eschew going for the downs and try to start a rally by dragging a bunt are almost indescribable.

It is fascinating to compare how Mantle and Mays were evaluated when they played to how their careers are evaluated today.

Regardless of one’s preference, few players have been as great as Mantle or Mays.

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Mike Schmidt is the overwhelming choice as the greatest Philadelphia Phillies player of all time. Steve Carlton is considered the greatest Phillies’ pitcher ever.

In a recent poll by a national newspaper, the players selected as the greatest Phillies were Richie Asburn, Steve Carlton, Ed Delahanty, Robin Roberts and Mike Schmidt. It was no contest as Schmidt received 64 percent of the votes. Carlton finished second with 22 percent.

A player who might have been the greatest of all Phillies was not even listed.

In 1911, 24-year-old Grover Cleveland Alexander joined the Phillies. He set a rookie record that will never be broken when he won 28 games. Alexander pitched 367 innings, had a 2.57 ERA and a 133 ERA+.

Alexander pitched for the Phillies from 1911-17. During those eight seasons, he was 190-88 with a 2.12 ERA and a 143 ERA+. He averaged 27 wins a season.

In 1915, “Pete” won 31 games as the Phillies won the pennant. He followed that by winning 33 games in 1916 and 30 in 1917.

During the offseason,  Phillies’ owner William Baker sent Alexander to the Chicago Cubs. The excuse was that the Phillies thought that Alexander would be drafted to help the imperialistic goals of Great Britain and the United States, but Baker admitted that the deal was made because he needed the money.

Steve Carlton played for the Phillies from 1972-86. He was 241-161 with a 3.04 ERA and a 123 ERA+.

A strong case can be made that Alexander, despite pitching for the Phillies for only eight seasons compared to Carlton’s 15, was the greater Phillies’ pitcher.

Alexander topped Carlton with respect to ERA, ERA+, games won, innings pitched, and wins per season. Carlton led the league in strikeouts five times. So did Alexander, but Alexander did it in five of his eight Phillies’ seasons.

Mike Schmidt is another story. He was a great defensive third baseman who hit 548 home runs. Schmidt batted .267/.380/.527 over 18 seasons, 16 of which were full seasons.

It is impossible to credit any player with the victory when his team wins, even the pitcher.

When Mike Schmidt hit a “game-winning” home run, we tend to ignore the contributions his teammates made to put him in the position to hit the home run. When Carlton pitched one of his six one-hitters, he needed help from his teammates, without which he would have had no better than a tie game.

Whether Alexander was a greater Phillie than Schmidt is a matter of opinion.

Alexander averaged 40 starts a season, completing 31 of them. He pitched about 356 innings a season and was credited with an average of 27 wins.

Schmidt averaged about 134 games a season, with 30 home runs and 89 RBIs.

Schmidt’s Phillies played approximately 1,450 innings a season. Schmidt played approximately 1,200 of those innings.

Alexander’s Phillies played approximately 1,390 innings a season (154 game schedule). Alexander pitched 356 of those innings.

Now to use statistics to make a point. Remember, Mark Twain quoted Ben Disraeli when the latter pointed out there are “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Mike Schmidt played defense 1,200 innings a season, but he batted 678 times a season, which averages to four plate appearances a game. 

Taking 1980, which was Schmidt’s best season (48 home runs and 121 RBIs), he made 652 of the Phillies 6,265 plate appearances. That is 10.4 percent of his team’s plate appearances.

Taking 1915, which was Alexander’s best season, he pitched 376 and one-third innings. He faced 1,435 of the 5,478 batters the Phillies faced. That is 26.2 percent of the batters his team faced.

The above points out that pitchers such as Alexander, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Mordecai Brown, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson are involved as much as regular star players over the course of  season.

It is a baseball axiom that great pitchers stop great hitters more often than great hitters succeed against great pitchers. Or not.

Maybe Grover Cleveland Alexander really was the greatest Phillies’ player of all time. Maybe not.

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It’s so difficult for New York Yankees fans to realize that the Steinbrenners’ team lost to the Detroit Tigers because the Tigers outplayed them.

Fans, egged on by the media, blame Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher and C.C. Sabathia for the end of the Yankees’ season. Almost no one not in Detroit has given the Tigers the credit they deserve.

The Tigers, a gritty, gutsy team, split the first two games at the Yankees ball park. The fact that the first game was suspended by rain changed the series.

Baseball’s best pitcher, Justin Verlander, and the Yankees’ best pitcher, Sabathia, were forced out of the game. Instead of facing each other in the first and fifth games, they started against each other only in Game 3.

The second game, as is often the case in a best-of-five, was the key. The Tigers got to Freddy Garcia for two runs in the first and for two more in the sixth when they knocked him out of the game.

Max Scherzer held the Yankees scoreless through six innings. A shaky Joaquin Benoit and an even shakier Jose Valverde made the ninth inning Detroit run produced by Brandon Inge and Don Kelly stand up when the Yankees scored twice in the ninth.

Despite the poor weather conditions, Valverde retired Robinson Cano to end the game. It wasn’t Cano’s fault that he didn’t win the game; Valverde won the battle—he deserves the credit.

Brandon Inge, Don Kelly, Billy Martin, Mark Lemke and Billy Hatcher (I am not differentiating playoffs and World Series performances) can’t compare to Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Gil Hodges or Jose Canseco with respect to talent, but some major leaguers rise to the occasion.

The Yankees won the fourth game by a big score. They won many games by blowouts during the season, which inflated their statistics.

In a deciding Game 5, journeyman Don Kelly and Delmon Young each hit solo home runs in the first inning to put the Yankees into a hole from which they never escaped. Kelly took advantage of the ball park.

Were those home runs A-Rod’s fault? Were either Teixeira or Swisher to blame?

Sabathia gave up the run that won the ALDS for the Tigers. It was his first relief appearance after 421 starts. When Casey Stengel explained his success to “his writers,” he emphasized that he wouldn’t ask a player to do what he couldn’t do.

Max Scherzer was fantastic. Doug Fister, probably the acquisition that made the Tigers a genuine pennant threat, did well. Benoit and Valverde were excellent.

Verlander didn’t dominate the way he was supposed to, but the Tigers had enough to win. That’s all it takes.

In 2011, it is popular to blame high-priced players, especially Yankees, for their teams’ failures when they have a bad series. That has some validity, but baseball is a team game.

It is impossible to predict a five-game series. When the Yankees lose three out of five games during the season, it is quickly forgotten. When a star slumps, there is usually time for recovery.

That’s not true in the playoffs.

The Tigers were simply the better team. They won. The Yankees didn’t lose.

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It is always dangerous to assume, regardless of how safe it seems. Embarrassing a manager whose team must do what no baseball team has done before might prove even more embarrassing.

There was a pivotal moment in the media after the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, 19-8 to take a three games to none lead in the 2004 ALCS. Selena Roberts, the “journalist” who outed Alex Rodriguez’ steroid use, ridiculed Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

Roberts compared Francona to a Little Leaguer because he tilts his cap, noting that he rocks back and forth on the bench as if he is ready to burst into song, “…as if nervously whistling ‘the sun will come out tomorrow’ will make it so.”

Hey, maybe Francona was onto to something.

Roberts felt that Joe Torre emanated calm while Francona reflected desperation. Torre managed against his own record, his own greatness.

Francona, who was in his first season as Red Sox manager, managed against the ghost of Grady Little. Francona was insecure, paranoiac and had lost all sense of logic.

Imagine if Roberts really went after Francona.

In an effort to break the Yankees momentum in the third game, Francona used Tim Wakefield in relief, although he was scheduled to start the next game. Roberts questioned the move because she felt that Derek Lowe would not be mentally ready to pitch in the fourth game.

She then zapped Pedro Martinez, saying “…was Pedro Martinez going to be called upon to save the Red Sox from elimination?”

According to the perceptive Roberts, Francona indulged the players in camaraderie techniques that were dangerously close to making it appear that he had lost control.

Kevin Millar, who was a replacement player during the 1994-95 strike, and Manny Ramirez, who has been known to displease some individuals, had the temerity to criticize Francona.

Experienced fans and media-types know that when it comes to sports, anything can happen. From the 1914 Miracle Boston Braves to the 1951 New York Giants to the 1969 New York Mets to the 1978 New York Yankees, the unexpected has occurred.

No one gave the Braves a chance against Connie Mack’s powerful Philadelphia A’s and a Baltimore Orioles World Championship was almost a forgone conclusion in 1969.

Selena Roberts ignored the fact that because something hasn’t occurred doesn’t mean that it can’t occur. 

“If the Red Sox fight their way back against the Yankees …Francona could go from being a pushover for his rebellious team of latent teenagers to a man who understood the value of a carefree clubhouse for a franchise miserable since 1918. He could, but he won’t.”

Another excellent example that when one assumes, one makes as “ass” of “u” and” me.”

Way to go, Selena.

Reference:

If torre is buddha, francona is a mess. by Selena Roberts (2004, Oct 17). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. SP1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/92798252?accountid=46260

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Corey Hart doubled with one out in the eighth inning of a 1-1 game. Nyjer Morgan walked, bringing up the Hebrew Hammer, Ryan Braun.

After fouling off Clay Hensley’s first pitch, Braun took three-consecutive pitches out of the strike zone. The Marlins Hensley had to come in with a strike. Braun hit a home run that clinched the Central Division title for the Milwaukee Brewers.

A light mist was falling over Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, helping to cause premature darkness and gloominess.

Hub Walker led off the Detroit Tigers half of the ninth inning with a pinch-hit single to center field. Skeeter Webb laid down a bunt toward first base. St. Louis Browns’ first baseman George McQuinn’s throw to second was ruled late, putting Tigers on first and second with no outs. The Browns protests were to no avail.

Eddie Mayo sacrificed the runners over, bringing up Roger Cramer. Browns’ manager Luke Sewell decided to intentionally walk Cramer to set up a potential inning ending double play.

Hank Greenberg rubbed his bat with a piece of bone to smooth it out. He stepped into the batter’s box, took a ball from Nels Potter and then hit the next pitch, a screwball from a right-handed pitcher, deep down the left field line. It was fair and the Tigers had a three-run lead.

Greenberg’s hit gave the Tigers the 1945 pennant.

Ryan Braun hit a historic home run that clinched the division, but its significance pales next to Greenberg’s.

The Brewers had a comfortable six game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals with six games left for each team.

The Tigers led the Washington Senators by one game, two in the lost column, entering the last day of the season. The Tigers were scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Browns. The Senators had completed their season the previous day.

Greenberg’s home run came in the first game of a doubleheader to win the pennant. The second game of the twin bill was rained out and never played.

Greenberg had joined the Tigers in July after missing almost four seasons.The home run was his 30th of the season.

After only 19 games in 1941, Greenberg was drafted into the Army Air Corps. He told a reporter for Life Magazine that he didn’t consider being drafted a sacrifice.

“I never asked for a deferment. I made up my mind to go when I was called. My country comes first.”

Three months later, Congress ruled that men over 28-year of age were exempt from military service. On Dec. 5, 1941, Greenberg, who was 30-years-old, was discharged.

On Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Greenberg enlisted.

Ryan Braun is a great player. He has almost unlimited potential and if he remains healthy, he is a certain Hall of Famer. He was the Rookie of the Year, has been an All-Star four times in five seasons, has three Silver Slugger Awards and already has 160 career home runs.

All Americans, not only those who are Jewish, can be proud of Ryan Braun and Hank Greenberg.

Reference:

Tigers annex flag on four-run homer. (1945, Oct 01). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 23. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/107100811?accountid=46260

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