Man-Ram goes West

Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers via Pittsburgh. Initial thougths --

(1) If I have this right -- the Red Sox gave up the best hitter in baseball and two promising minor leaguers and received one player in return. Not the way I would have drawn it up, so hopefully they were able to get the Dodgers to eat Manny's remaining salary.

(2) Like Nomar in 2004, this was a trade that had to be made. An underperforming superstar feigning injury and missing critical games in a tight division race -- and making numerous derogatory comments about the team's ownership with for no apparent reason -- can't be considered an asset in any clubhouse. He would have been gone at the end of the season anyway, and the way the Sox have played since the All-Star Break, this clearly was a team that needed to be shaken up.

(3) The question now remains if the Red Sox can make the playoffs and advance with Jason Bay in LF. He's 7 years younger and can't help but be an improvement defensively while being less of a distraction, but he's nowhere near the hitter Manny was.

Be that as it may, Manny's Red Sox made the playoffs four times during his seven (full) yeas in Boston, not to mention two rings. All good things must come to an end; will there be more good times in the future?

Yet Another All-Star Fiasco

Following this year's 15-inning MLB All-Star game (which, most people realize, should have ended in 11 innings if the secondbase umpire had actually been watching the game), there's the usual calls for expanded rosters, taxi squads, and other modifications so that the teams don't run out of pitchers as they did in 2002.

The solution -- at least a partial solution -- is rather simple: If you're physically, mentally or emotionally unable to play YOU DON'T GET TO BE ON THE ROSTER.

I mean, really -- all this nonsense about "so-and-so isn't available because he just pitched on Sunday" or "so-and-so is nursing a ruptured toenail so he'd prefer not to play" or "my brother-in-law's best friend went to elementary school with Clint Hurdle's agent's cousin's sister, so I'll just park my pathetic carcass on the bench and pop sunflower seeds for four hours."

It's so logical that Bud Selig and his minions will never figure it out (unless they're reading this, and we already know the answer to that). If you're not prepared to play in the game, then you get to stay home and someone else can take your place. Sorry -- if you want to be called an "all-star," it means you have to sacrifice a 3-day vacation and actually exert some effort.

So the Tampa Bay Devil Rays or whatever they're called this year don't want Scott Kazmir to pitch (if I heard that once, I heard it 50,000 times during the broadcast). Fine. Scott, you get to stay home and enjoy a 3-day vacation. I'm sure we can find somebody around here somewhere who actually wants to play in the game.

At least, it's a good starting point. Bud, are you listening? Never mind...

Nomo Nomo

Hideo Nomo has announced his retirement, some 5-6 years too late. Nonetheless, he was an important part of Red Sox history, throwing the franchise's first no-hitter since 1965 when he silenced the Orioles in his Sox debut in 2001, providing the sole highlight from an otherwise completely dreadful and forgettable season (hard to believe, but that team almost made the playoffs). More importantly, he was the first Japanese pitcher of the modern media era and led the way for the likes of Ichiro, Dice-K and "Shemp" Matsui, to name a few. Thanks for the memories.

At least...

The Red Sox will finish the first half of the season in first place...

Tony Snow (1955-2008)

Unlike Tim Russert, with whom he went head-to-head on Sunday mornings for 7 years, Tony Snow migrated from journalism back to politics, doubtlessly taking a substantial cut in pay.

The final chapter on the second Bush administration has yet to be written, and it will be years if not decades before an unbiased evaluation can be articulated, but when that happens it is hoped by this reporter that Tony Snow will emerge as one of the stand-up guys from a difficult period. His honesty, optimism, and humor will be greatly missed, both at the White House podium and on channel 72 (or wherever you find Fox News).

Enough is Enough

All right, Brett Favre, you asked for it. You're a nice guy and a reasonably decent football player, but would you please . . . just . . . go . . . away.

During last season's NFL playoffs, I was yearning for the Packers to lose just because I was so sick and tired of the Favre love-fest that had long since reached and surpassed the boundaries of gastrointestinal endurance. A nice story. A decent comeback. A solid playoff run in what appeared to be his final season. But, really, now. I was glad to see the Giants knock them off in the NFC championship -- not as you might suppose, because I assumed at the time that the Giants would be an easier Super Bowl target for the Patriots, but because I knew I couldn't take another two weeks of Favre-mania without moving to Zimbabwe.

Around the time that Favre announced Retirement I, Bob Ryan penned a column that articulated my feelings far better than I could. Ryan focusses on the folly of the consecutive games streak as well as the excessive number of interceptions. Those points are well taken. My main objection to the sainthood of Brett is a little simpler -- he only won one SuperBowl, and the other one in which he appeared he folded like a cheap suit against the Denver Broncos. I further maintain that he would not have even won Super Bowl XXXI if (a) Desmond Howard hadn't returned two kickoffs for two touchdowns (the margin of victory), and (b) Bill Parcells hadn't been taking calls from the New York Jets before, during, and after the game.

The in- and out-of-retirement scenario might remind some of Michael Jordan. This is unfair to Michael Jordan. Jordan was perhaps the best player in his sport of all time, certainly the best of his era. Brett Favre was neither. A competitive, durable, and statistically proficient player who played for a team with a national following. Maybe in the top 20 of his position after 1970. The same number of rings as Kurt Warner, Jim McMahon and that guy who played for the Ravens. I've seen enough.

Hail to the King

Zev Chafets of the NYT Magazine has an excellent (albeit lengthy) piece on the King of Radio.

HH Collection

Given the somewhat miserable and unpredictable weather over the Independence Day weekend, I spent most of my time scanning the photographs from my Hogan's Heroes collection. There were 208 in all. A few favorites appear herewith; more will inevitably follow...

2003?

For whatever reason, I recently watched game 5 of the 2003 AL Playoff series between the Sox and Oakland A's. The Sox won the game, 4-3, as Derek Lowe struck out the last two batters he faced (the final one with the bases loaded) to complete Boston's comeback from an 0-2 deficit, repeating their feat of 4 years earlier against Cleveland.

An interesting game to watch, particularly to be reminded of the many players who have moved on. Todd Walker? Damian Jackson? Others, of course, were cornerstones of the 2004 team -- Manny, Mueller, Millar, Varitek, Nixon and David Ortiz. (An interesting episode occurs during the broadcast when Fox analyst Steve Lyons suggests -- with a straight face -- that the A's should walk Manny to get to Ortiz).

Naturally, I knew who won the game and (pretty much) recalled how it had ended, but over five years most of the details had escaped me. I had forgotten completely about the Damon - Jackson collision in center field, for example. Most ironic, however, was the decision of He Who Must Not Be Named to leave Pedro Martinez in the game to start the eighth inning with a 4-2 lead. Two batters later, it was 4-3, and the Sox turned to Alan Embree and then Mike Timlin to finish out the inning with no further damage. Ironic (and all the more confounding) in terms of what would happen about ten days later. I may never forgive Grady Little...

The Original Uncle Jesse (1921-2008)

Jesse Helms, who represented North Carolina in the US Senate for 30 years, died on July 4th. Much has (and will) be written about him. For me, the timing is somewhat ironic --

You may have recently read about the rescue of FARC hostages by the Columbian Army, a group of 15 that included 3 Americans. Some of you may recall the New Tribes Missionaries who were kidnapped in 1993 by the FARC and, after more than eight painful years of waiting by their wives and families, were determined in 2001 to have been martyred in the late 1990's (more details here).

Not knowing this at the time, of course, their story was of some interest to me on a variety of levels, and as I developed my first website circa 1997 (no links exist -- thankfully), I added a page with information and links on this story, encouraging visitors first of all to pray, and also to contact government and media officials.

The likelihood of their safe release seemed remote, but I was more discouraged by the lack of attention the story was receiving (part of this, I later learned, was due to the wishes of the families themselves; it wasn't until later in the decade that they became more proactive, including an appearance by all three wives on Larry King Live).

In any case, I sent e-mails to various parties, including leaders of the House and Senate, the US State Department, and media organizations. I received exactly one reply -- from Jesse Helms, then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The letter -- which I probably have around here somewhere -- didn't say much, and, in truth, Helms couldn't really do much. But the fact is that he took the time to write, or have one of his staffers, write a reply to a person who wasn't even a constituent who had contacted him about a relatively obscure issue.

When you are principled, you are bound to be controversial, and Helms certainly was both. But, naive though it may be, I can't but help that Jesse Helms actually cared about his country and the people he represented both as a North Carolina senator and a national figure. Thanks, Jesse. Rest in peace.

Off the Wall

Here's a link to that bizarre play on 7/4/08 that left Kevin Youkilis' fly ball resting atop the outfield fence at Yankee Stadium.

Thirty Years Ago

Hard to believe it's been thirty years since the death of Bob Crane (nice plug, Brenda -- where'd you get that picture, anyway?)

A lot has been written, blogged and filmed about the way he lived his life and, of course, how he died. I prefer to remember him as the wise-cracking, unflappable and inventive leader of a talented band of POW's fighting their own battles of WWII behind enemy lines. This, as has been written, is his legacy.

During my convalescence I worked through a few seasons of Hogan's Heroes in my DVD collection. I've seen every episode countless times, but I never cease to be amazed at the degree of creativity and originality of the series and its individual episodes. A few production flaws creep in from time to time, but even a "low-grade" episode of HH is 100 times better than most of the garbage that's in prime time today. Oh, and remember when TV shows actually ran a full 25 minutes instead of 18?

Crane, as Col. Hogan, was the centerpiece of one of the most inspired casting calls in TV history. Now, of the original core group, only the Frenchman and the Englishman are left (see here), but their most notable and public achievement will run forever (or at least until DVD's become obsolete).

Bob Crane would be a few weeks shy of turning 80 if he were alive today. I think this afternoon I'll crack open another season in his honor...

Home of Champions

A photo of the famous T-shirt (referenced below) from 1986. I still miss that old Patriots logo...

I have no idea what happened to the handsome young gentleman who's wearing it; he hasn't been heard from in awhile.

For that matter, I couldn't tell you where the shirt is, either. Last seen it was adorning somebody's college dorm room:

Biking to Work

K-Lo at The Corner brought this to my attention. Reminds me of what I did myself for ten years, when I was young, energetic and had two functional legs...

Ah, memories...

George Carlin (1937-2008)

In 1985, on a flight from Dulles to O'Hare, I was tuning through the "pipe music" (when headsets were still free) when I first encountered the comedy of George Carlin. The material obviously had to be moderated due to open access, yet it was no less enjoyable. It is this earlier, PG-rated Carlin that I remembered most. Over the next few years, old friend JB fed me a steady diet of equally-moderated material, which I in turn passed on to long-suffering classmates and associates, to the point where I included a quote from Al Sleet (The Hippie-Dippie Weather Man) on my high school yearbook page, and even downright plagiarized some of his material in a newspaper mock-up for a tenth grade English project.

On the legendary trip to Botswana a short time later, Wethead had brought his boombox along and hooked up a microphone so he and the Hose could narrate and sing along as they felt inclined. At one point, Hose shoved the mic in my face and asked me announce what station we were listening to. Without missing a beat, I announced that "you're listening to W-I-N-O, the Big Sound in the Big City -- WONDERFUL WINO RADIO!"

Then, as a freshman in college, I was sitting in a Bioscience Lab one Tuesday evening when a classmate started talking about his experience in Catholic school vis-a-vis Carlin's reminisces in routines such as "I used to be Irish-Catholic." I think I can get along with this guy, I surmised. We would be in each other's weddings, and we are still friends today, twenty years later.

Ah, yes -- plenty of good stuff. Son of WINO -- Class Clown -- The 11 O'Clock News -- Baseball & Football -- The Hair Piece -- A Place for My Stuff! -- People I Can Do Without -- and more...

But it was around this time (mid- to late-1980's) that Carlin's comical cynicism evolved (or deteriorated) into unambiguous nihilism, the ultimate (and natural) outgrowth of his atheism.

And nihilism, once you get past the first uncomfortable guffaw, really isn't all that funny.

Perhaps this is evidence that comedy (like just about everything else) might cause a momentary pleasurable sensation, but when lacking any semblance of a moral foundation, it only leaves you empty and searching for meaning. This is how Carlin leaves us -- the laughter has stopped and as we catch our breath we look back only to see a desolate wasteland of nothingness. Though he would never admit it publicly, he was undoubtedly having the same vision as the curtains -- both literal and figurative -- fell.

The Schill is Gone

If indeed this is the end for Curt Schilling, it marks the end of a colorful and eventful career that provided plenty of material for hometown (and national) journalists to cover. Boston scribes were delighted this past off-season when "The Big Lug" re-upped with the Sox for another season -- not (necessarily) because the Sox needed another starting pitcher, but because they knew they'd always have something to write about.

The question of Schill's HOF chances is something else altogether. Were the BBWAA to have a sudden jolt of sanity and allow me to vote on such matters, I honestly don't know how I'd decide. Sentiment aside, his statistics initially don't impress me. However, if you factor in his phenomenal postseason record and the fact that he compiled his records (apparently) free of any performance-enhancers and during an era during when hitters prospered, a fairly strong case can be made.

Speculation is all over the place. We'll just have to wait and see. And, of course, he could still come back next year...

Make my day...

Fellow members of the VRWC who are also interested in movies might want to check out Dirty Harry's Place.

Recent entries include the Top 5 Gene Hackman Films, exposing a cheap-shot in the new Pixar Release "Wall-e," and pieces on Brad Garrett and Ted Nugent.

Greatest of the Green

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe -- and author of several books on the Celtics -- has compiled a list of the 10 greatest Celtics teams.

I tend to agree with his ranking of the 1985-86 team as #1, followed by this year's champions. What's interesting, however, is that 3 of the 10 teams listed (including #3) did NOT win championships.

How it started...

One more thought before we close the book (for now) on 1986 --

The Sporting News described 1986 as the year "The Button was Stuck on Boston." Beginning with the Patriots' appearance in Super Bowl XX (against the 1985 Chicago Bears -- 'nuff said), continuing with the Celtics' championship in June, and concluding with the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series (and one of the greatest baseball Octobers ever). It was a great time to be a Boston-area sports fan, even at a distance. Somewhere I still have my "New England -- Home of Champions" T-shirt...

Anyway, with the Celtics having taken care of business (and the Lakers) this week, it is almost certain that this decade will be remembered in a similar fashion, but on a much greater scale -- six titles and counting, not to mention several additional championship-level appearances (ie Red Sox in 2003, Celtics in 2002), and a pretty good Boston College football team.

Just like 1986, however, the first decade of the 21st Century -- the decade that will be dominated by Boston-area sports -- it began with the team from Foxboro. Not having the tradition of the Celtics or the feverish, nation-wide, maniacal devotion of the Red Sox, it was the Patriots that kicked things off (so to speak) on February 3, 2002. And the decade's not over yet...

Back-to-Back to Glory

Around 20 years ago (probably 1987), old Salad friend JB mailed me a copy of a "Profile" he had prepared on himself for publication over an early version of the Internet that allowed him to communicate ("chat") with people on other college campuses. It included stuff like nicknames, interests, favorite foods, hobbies, musical tastes, etc. So, one day, having nothing better to do, I sat down at my word processor and pounded one out for myself.

Emulating as always the great JB, one of the topics was "Goal in Life." I answered something like my Goal in Life was to see the Red Sox win the World Series, the Patriots win the SuperBowl, and the Celtics win back-to-back NBA titles.

Bear in mind the following -- Larry Bird was still playing and the Celtics had captured a recent title in 1986, so the mere act of winning a single title wasn't much to get overly excited about. But winning Back-to-Back titles -- well, that hadn't happened since 1969, and as of 1987 only the Celtics and the Minneapolis Lakers had accomplished such a feat.

Also bear in mind that this was (slightly) before the Lakers (now LA), Pistons, Bulls, and even the Houston Rockets made winning back-to-back titles (even "Three-Peating") relatively routine (see the list of champions here).

Finally, bear in mind (please) that my Goal(s) in Life have evolved (hopefully, matured) in the past twenty years.

Still, it's interesting to reflect that the Celtics are now halfway towards achieving that last piece of the Goal that I held dearly as a teenager. Not too many people get this lucky. If they stay healthy, I'm not sure who can stop them next year. Then again, there could be a team out there somewhere that will make a similar series of off-season moves to come out of nowhere. Enjoy it while you can -- you never know when the next one is coming around...