Francona Deserved Better

 

Terry Francona's dismissal was disgraceful.

At first The Boston Red Sox collapse was funny. It was one big joke that made me guffaw until I spilled my beer on the floor at Brothers, a bar in Columbus, Ohio. It was a dream come true for a Yankees fan. I got to watch the Sox get killed on TV and watch them suffer. It was like watching the pre-2004 Sox all over again.

After today’s revelation by the Boston Globe I’m not only completely over the Sox collapse, I’m disgusted by it.

After reading details entailed by the Boston Globe report on Terry Francona and the Sox September woes I feel bad for Francona and feel even more hatred towards the Sox as to how they handled the situation as it unfolded.

The Globe stated that Francona’s failing marriage and use of pain killer pills were the main factors in the demise of the Sox. Francona’s marriage to his wife of 30 years Jacque was deteriorating and it forced him to live in an apartment for the remainder of the season. To some in the organization that distraction affected the team play and maybe Francona’s decision making.

Also in the article sources said hat starters John Lackey, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett would drink beer, eat fried chicken and play video games on their off days while the team was collapsing around them. Also Jason Varitek, David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis had bailed on their leadership duties and seemed disinterested in the games.

Um… Yikes.

Beckett and Lester's actions cost Francona his job.

First of all I don’t think the Globe nor the Sox should bring Francona’s personal life into play here. What happens in that man’s home should stay there. There is a time and place for personal and business matters and in an article in the Globe is not the place for them.

To say that his marital life issues were a distraction is total BS. If they were such an issue then why were the Sox the best team in baseball from May until August? Apparently he seemed to be doing a pretty darn good job managing the team then while his marriage was crumbling.

It’s a poor excuse to use on the guy the won you 2 world titles when you hadn’t won one in the previous 86 years. I understand that collapses like these need a scapegoat but there’s a difference between professionalism and tastelessness and believe me the Red Sox and the Globe toed that line here.

Speaking of tastelessness…

If you were fighting for your playoff lives, trying to win a spot to play in the World Series and your team is falling apart around you would you be eating take out and playing video games in your own clubhouse? I don’t care how much you got tired of hearing Tito’s voice or if you lost respect for him as a manager, you’re a major league ball player. You are paid ex amount of dollars to perform and should be accountable for your action. I you have an injury, aren’t pitching well or want to help your teammates then go throw some balls around, help Kevin Weilan with his control or do some stretches. I would’ve been beyond irate if I found my players doing that while my team is fighting for their lives.

(especially Lackey. You’ve been terrible since you signed your deal and instead of wanting to get better you loof around? I would’ve shanked him the quickness.)

With that said, Francona should’ve taken more initiative and gotten control of his clubhouse. He should’ve talked to his guys and laid down the law… and he should’ve had help.

Youkilis, Varitek and Ortiz especially should have said something to their teammates about professionalism since they are captains. This whole thing shows how little respect the Sox had for Francona and why they really collapsed. I’m especially disappointed in Ortiz. I mean Francona stuck with him when he couldn’t hit anything. He kept in the lineup last year when all of his power numbers were down and showed loyalty to him and this is the thanks that he gets? If Ortiz wanted a new deal from me I would tell him to kick rocks and take Lackey, Lester and Beckett with him.

Good luck finding another guy to do this for you Boston.

Boston writer Gordon Edes said that Francona should’ve known better, in my opinion Francona deserved better. He did what no other manager in the previous 86 years did in Boston, he won titles. He took a questionable group of guys, dealt with horrible deals given to J.D. Drew, Carl Crawford, Lackey, Beckett and Dice-K and he still won 600 Games, 2 divisional titles and made the Red Sox a bigger draw than the Yankees on the road and this is how he goes out.

He goes out not just with the biggest collapse in the history of the league under his belt, but with his baggage aired out for all to see, an unloyal clubhouse that left him hung out to dry and no respect for his accomplishments.

When the Yankees bagged Joe Torre I thought it was classless to offer such a crappy extension, turns out we look like Mother Teresa compared to the Sox.

Now that we know the full details behind the Meltdown In Beantown I feel bad for Francona. He deserved more backing from the team that he led to heights they hadn’t seen in ages, he deserved more respect from players that he stuck with and ha faith in and deserved a better exit from a city that he embraced and gave a winner.

In the end Terry Francona deserved better that this Boston screw party. It gives me more reason to hate them going into next year.

Carl Crawford’s Make Or Break Weekend

Hey Carl... It's time to wake up.

The Red Sox are reeling, The Rays are in striking distance, Daniel Bard is struggling, the rotation is fading, Adrian Gonzalez is injured, so is Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz says it’s time to panic, Theo Epstein is saying get it done…

And this is all before I talk about how bad Carl Crawford has been.

To say that Crawford has had a down year is an understatement. In a hitter’s park in a hitter’s division Crawford is batting near .250 with only 11 home runs. He’s having his worst statistical year as a professional and this is with Youk, Gonzo, Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia having fantastic seasons hitting in front him.

Maybe it’s the pressure of playing in front of a packed house every night that’s getting to him. Maybe it’s the fact that every game since April has been important. Maybe he’s not fitting in because he’s not the right fit. Whatever it is, Crawford looks nothing like a guy that the Red Sox paid $142 million to get from Tampa Bay (granted they inflated that number to prevent the Yankees from getting him but still, with that huge of a deal you have to perform).

Starting tonight the Red Sox have a do or die series with the Rays at Fenway Park that will determine what happens the rest of the way in the AL Wildcard race. They currently sit 4 games up after leading the race by as much as 7.5 at the end of August. The Rays pitching is beyond lights out and they shut down Boston’s big bats last weekend in Tampa.

Desmond Jennings, Tampa’s Crawford replacement, has all but made the Rays faithful forget about Crawford as he has been lighting it up since a mid-summer call up. The Rays have all of the juice going into this matchup despite losing 2 of 3 in Baltimore and send the kitchen sink at the Sox this week including Jeremy Hellickson and David Price.

This would be a good time for Crawford to step up. Josh Beckett comes back from a foot injury but the most important Red Sox player this weekend is Crawford.

He won’t get to .300 this year but that doesn’t matter, he needs to produce runs, get on base, show some power or something to give the Sox a boost.

In order for them to win games the rest of the way Boston will need to outscore everyone. We know the top of the order will come up big but they need more from the bottom of the order and it starts and ends with Crawford.

He has been a huge bust in his first year in Boston but he has two more weeks to show that he is worth his huge deal.

If he produces and Boston prevails this weekend and into the playoffs then all will be well in the nation.

However, if Tampa takes three of four, the Sox fall out of the playoff race and Crawford continues to struggle on the way out, it will be a long winter in Boston for all parties.

Carl Crawford is entering the biggest weekend of his career. Will he finally show that he belongs in Boston and help lift them into October or will he continue to flop under the harsh spotlight of Fenway Park and watch as the Sox continue to flounder?

To say that the nation is on pins and needles to find out is an understatement.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s Legacy In Sports

Biggie Smalls was iller than you could've imagined.

If I wasn’t in the rap game

I’d probably have a key knee deep in the crack game

Because the streets is a short stop

Either you’re slingin crack rock or you got a wicked jumpshot

The Notorious B.I.G. died 14 years ago in a haze of bullets in downtown Los Angeles at the height of the media created East/ West coast hip-hop beef between himself and Tupac Shakur.

Before his death Biggie Smalls (one alias of his) left a legacy that still looms large in two fields of entertainment today, music and sports.

There’s long been the assertion that most rappers want to be athletes and vice versa. The link between rap and sports is connected by the fact that both genres share similarities in the fact that A, most of the well-known and popular rappers and athletes are African-American and B, that they shared similar upbringings before hitting the big time.

Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, Young Jeezy, Method Man, Baron Davis, Game, Nelly, Larry Hughes… the list goes on and on. Before all of these men started gaining million dollar income from albums and the field of play their families struggled in low income housing areas that were more havens for heathens the pop culture figures.

Michael Vick is one of the many popular athletes that have many similarities to Biggie and other rappers upbringings.

They all dreamed about getting out and making it big, you know “Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke, man I couldn’t picture this 50 inch screen, money green leather sofa Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur.” Along the way to those successes they suffered the same type of ills and problems, lack of family structure (no father), living in the slums, feeling like they would never get out, then when they finally did no one understood them and always categorized them.

In a sense rappers and athletes are like kindred spirits. They’re the only ones that truly get each other. Its become a rarity these to not see a rapper shout out an athlete in song or the two aligning themselves to form some sort of bond whether its strictly business or an actual alliance amongst friends.

Think back to video footage of Edgerrin James and Trick Daddy hanging together in Miami on MTV, or the Jay-Z and LeBron James friendship or even Biggie himself with Shaquille O’Neal. The two genres of individuals have a level of comfort in one another that media, business moguls or other outsiders will never have.

Biggie more than any rapper brought this relationship to life. His lyrics personified each level of life that young black men from the ghetto were living in whether poor or when they got rich.

The lyric from the beginning of the article is from the first song off of his classic debut album Ready To Die and the song is titled “Things Done Changed.” It is a two bar description of what has become the do or die options of young black men from the ghettos of America in the last three decades, either ball on the court or stand on the block.

Ask Santonio Holmes who admitted to doing just that before he starred as a receiver at Ohio State University. Ask rapper Game born Jayceon Taylor) who said his life became consumed by drug dealing after a basketball scholarship to Washington State fell through (though Wazzu denies that claim.). For most people staring out of there project windows this was how we saw life fame on TV or in the crack game.

He also expressed the aggravation that we have felt as kids left without fathers (“Pop Duke left Mom Duke, The f***** took the back way.”). Athletes from James, Shaq, Prince Fielder and others didn’t have their biological father in their lives growing up to watch them become the athletes they are.

And of course “Mo Money, Mo Problems” has been the anthem for the last generation of young black men who discover success after a lifetime of hardship. Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Marshall and others have had run-ins with the law and have been under constant scrutiny due to their status of being young, rich black men in a professional market.

Think Carmelo doesnt know about Mo' Money Mo' Problems? Think again.

Biggie, as well as most rappers, resonates with athletes because he went through the same troubles as they have both in the slums and on top. He knew about life in the projects then going to the penthouse and all of the consequences that came with each move he made.

One of Biggie’s good friends was Shaquille O’Neal who grew up without his biological father in Newark, New Jersey and who was able to escape his environment to a better life of riches and fame in the NBA. Their bond came about thanks to a line on “Machine Gun Funk” off of Ready to Die. “I’m slammin’ niggas like Shaquille, s*** is real,” we’re Biggie’s words as he played himself and a criminal associate planning a caper.

That line started a relationship with Shaq that including a collaboration on Shaq’s third rap album Can’t Stop The Reign.

Shaq was like many athletes in the 90’s who tried to expand their name from the field to the microphone and be like their lyrical heroes and weave similar tales of their lifestyles. Cedric Ceballos, Deion Sanders, Chris Webber, Kobe Bryant and Iverson have all blessed the microphone in an effort to obtain a platinum plaque while emulating their favorite MC’s. While the results were mixed (mostly bad. That goes for you Roy Jones Jr. and Ron Artest.) the point was that due to their similar backgrounds athletes felt the need to pick up a microphone and show their skills, or lack of.

The same can be said for rappers trying to go pro. Master P gave it a go with tryout for the Raptors and Hornets and his son tried to ball on USC’s basketball team a few years ago.

Lets be thankful Allen Iverson's basketball career was longer than his rap career.

But more than anything the best way for both sides to come together is through the mutual respect of rappers shouting out their favorite ballers on record or the building of a relationship out of the studio and off of the field.

It’s always cool seeing Young Jeezy bring out LeBron at a concert or seeing David Ortiz snapping a flick with Dr. Dre because it’s out of respect for one another’s craft. Much like Biggie and Shaq, these friendship show the union of black men in similar scenarios coming together to show love and respect for one another. It’s an occurrence that is rarely seen in the actual environments where we once lived and serves as a teaching tool for kids in similar situations.

Beyond the relationship of athlete/rapper, Biggie showed all sides how to really live it up. Biggie’s visual displays of the spoils of his labor are what drove David Stern to adapt new rules as to how players dress when entering the NBA work environment.

When Biggie started rocking the Jesus piece, everyone followed. You still see the piece on the necks of James, Darnell Dockett and other athletes today. The Jesus piece is to black youth as the pinky ring was to the mob (though we still had to get a pinky ring thank you Henry Hill and Nicky Santoro.). When Biggie started sippin Cristal champagne, we all had to have it.

Biggie showed us the spoils of being young, black and famous. He pretty much bankrolled the designer Coogi and made Versace silk button ups a steady fashion accessory in hip-hop culture. Look at old photos of Jonathan Bender or JaMarcus Russell in one of those cable knitted multi-colored sweaters or think of the countless athletes in those free flowing shirts with some Versace glasses to match. How many dudes had to get something that resembled a Rolex after Big had one? I can’t afford one but I always have to have a nice looking watch on my arm

He was a trendsetter. Hell, his trends have lasted almost 20 years since he first jumped on the scene and are still seen in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

That’s why he lives on long past his death 14 years ago and through two or three different generations.

These two understand each other better than any of us ever will.

This morning on Twitter I saw Michael J. Smith, Chad Ochocinco, Jemele Hill and a bunch of my buddies in college posting random Biggie quotes from all of his songs. That’s a range of people from ages 20-40. When Biggie dies some of them were 6, I wasn’t in high school yet, others were starting their professional careers, yet we all know his lyrics word for word.

It’s funny that this year Biggie’s death anniversary fell on Ash Wednesday for me. It’s the beginning of Lent where we sacrifice something we love for a greater good and we mourn and repent for our sins. I mourned Biggie by listening to his entire catalog while fasting and posting a bunch of my favorite lyrics along the way. People would dispute that Biggie was nothing like Jesus and might’ve been a bigger heathen than most fallen martyr’s in entertainment.

But I’m from Brooklyn, New York. I knew of what Biggie spoke of. I knew people like Arizona Ron, Dark Skinned Jermaine and Sing from the 15^th floor. I know about the dangers of life in those areas and what happens when you’re black and stumble upon some success in the real world. Everything with Biggie resonates with me from waking up “f***** up, pockets broke as hell,” to “talk s*** and get you neck slit quick,” to wanting a garage like cee-lo “4’s, 5’s and 6’s.”

Biggie was the good and bad in all of us where we are from. He was a great talent in a bad neighborhood with big aspirations and not enough people to understand. Like myself, Allen Iverson, Dez Bryant and others he didn’t care. His goal was make it, be great, look good and have fun doing it.

We all followed Biggie’s lead even to this day. We’ve forged similar relationship like he had with Shaq and that respect is still there.

I wish Big was here to see his influence, to see how many rappers follow his rhyme style, to see how many ballers follow his dress code and ways to live it up and to see how many people still spit his lyrics.

Biggie was influential in Hip-Hop’s uprising as well as the urban black athlete from his inception to way past his death. He made athletes aware of their surroundings and how similar they were in our upbringing. As we mourn/celebrate his legacy today I know that there other ways to make it out of the ghetto other than shooting hoops or selling crack. However, for the case of our generation, and for young black athletes, he let us know it was there and that not many of us were different from each other in who we were.

People like Iverson, Shaq, Randy Moss and others now knew someone understood them and that they could confide in people who had the same aspirations and goals as them. We should be thankful of Biggie for that. At least I am.

Baseball Season Officially Begins

The Yankees, behind C.C. Sabathia, are still the team to beat.

Now the real baseball season begins.

We’ve gotten rid of the fast starts, cool downs by over-hyped players, and now here is the real deal.

The contenders have shown who they are in baseball’s closest season in decades. There is not one division leader up by more than four and a half games, which means every race could come down to September and this trade deadline coming up could be the most important in years.

While everyone is making a case that the Yankees are the team to beat, I beg to differ. The Yankees of all teams have the weakest bullpen that Joe Girardi still hasn’t figured out yet. Joba Chamberlain has been miserable as the 8^th inning man while David Robertson, Damaso Marte and company have struggled just as much. As great as the starting pitching has been for the Yankees it can’t be the only pitching that they have.

You can make a case for the Padres, Braves, Twins and Reds (yes the Cincinnati Reds are in first place) as much as the Yankees to win the World Series come October. The last 70 plus games of the season are going to be an absolute riot if you ask me. There are no clear cut favorites for any award or division title. In the year of the pitcher (or return of the pitcher) offense has been at a premium as ERA’s have dwindled to fifteen year lows. With that said, bats are going to be a hot commodity in this upcoming deadline. Prince Fielder’s name is swinging like a carrot in front of teams as are players like Jose Guillen, Luke Scott and Adam Dunn. Fielder is the most peculiar name because you can get an all-star power hitting first baseman but also a huge head case. His bat would go over great in New York with the Mets or in San Francisco with the Giants but is he worth the trouble?

Who knows. The second half sure will be interesting to watch play out but let’s recap the first half while we look forward:

NL MVP- Joey Votto (Who Will win MVP? – Ryan Howard)

Votto's been the man so far for the upstart Reds.

Did anyone have a better first half than Votto? He led all MLB first basemen in average, slugging, homers, RBI and OPS. Yet had to be voted in to all-star game as the last man in. He has led the surprising Reds to the top of the Central with a few key series left against the second place Cardinals. If the Reds can keep it up then Votto should be a shoe-in for the MVP.

But it is the second half of the year which means Ryan Howard is about to load up Philly onto his back and carry them through the next two months. Howard’s power number numbers are down but so are his strikeouts. Howard is becoming more disciplined at the plate and has seen an increase in average and OBP because of it. The Phils need him more than ever to carry them to the playoffs and knowing Howard he’ll gladly accept the Challenge

Contenders: David Wright, Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols

AL MVP- Josh Hamilton (eventual winner?)- Miguel Cabrera)

Two men who have fought demons to become big names in the game. Hamilton through drugs, Cabrera through alcohol. Both are having stellar years. Why is Hamilton the first half MVP? A 29 game hit streak and a monster June helped catapult the Rangers into first place and have made them the team to beat out west. Hamilton has come back from last year in a big way by leading the majors in batting average, and among the leaders in homers and RBI. With help from a resurgent Vlad Guerrero the Rangers have the most formidable 3-4 punch in the game.

So why will Miguel Cabrera win the MVP? One, he could win the triple crown, two he is tearing the cover off of everything he sees. Three his focus is finally clear after two down years in Detroit after a ballyhooed trade from Miami. Cabrera has finally settled into the position has face of the franchise and is carrying himself in the way the Tigers imagined.

Contenders: Robinson Cano, Justin Morneau and Adrian Beltre

NL CY YOUNG- Ubaldo Jimenez (Winner- Jimenez)

With all due respect to Josh Johnson and his paper thin 1.70 ERA, this is Ubaldo’s trophy to lose. 15-1 2.20 ERA on the wild card leaders out west? Come on. Jimenez could very well win 25 games this year which has been done since the 80’s. Jimenez has breezed through the competition with ease though his ERA has risen by half a run in the last month. However, every fifth day there is no more automatic starter in the game than him

Contenders- Johnson, Adam Wainwright, and Mat Latos

AL CY YOUNG- David Price (Winner- CC Sabathia)

David Price is now the man in Tampa. He’s the ace, no question about it. the superstar that he was supposed to be coming out of Vanderbilt is finally coming to fruition with a 12-4 record and a 2.42 ERA that has kept Tampa within striking distance of the Yankees…

Yet the reason why the Yankees are in first place in the first place is; a. starting pitching and b. CC Sabathia’s ridiculous last 45 days on the mound. He hasn’t lost since May 23^rd and has watched his ERA dip to 3.09. plus with his reputation as being a workhorse in the second half it looks like CC is in the driver’s seat for CY Young number two.

Players that need to step it up:

Mark Teixeira

He’s a slow starter—this is ridiculous. Nine days ago he was batting .232 now he’s finally up to the .250’s. he ought to buy Robbie Cano a Rolex for bailing him out this far. The power numbers are there, but for the Yankees to go far into October, Teixeira needs to get going.

Carlos Pena

If its not a home run then its been a strikeout for Carlos Pena.

.203 batting average? I don’t care if you are a slugger at least get into the 230’s man. Evan Longoria would love a disciplined bat next to him right now.

Anybody on the Phillies not named Ryan Howard or Roy Halladay

Raul Ibanez has lost his stroke, Shane Victorino can’t hit anything and Cole Hamels apparently hasn’t gotten over last year’s brain malfunction. With Chase Utley out until August the Phillies need their bats and arms to wake up quick or the Braves and Mets will be sailing into October leaving them in the dust.

Todd Helton

Career lows in all offensive categories means that Helton’s career is almost finished. Unless he finds that stroke quickly the Rockies should consider making a deal for Prince Fielder.

Gavin Floyd

With Jake Peavy down for the year, Floyd has to find the form that made him so special last year. he has recovered from a 2-7 start with three straight wins and will have to continue to stay hot to support Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle.

Most important Players:

David Ortiz

Ortiz claims that he’s back to form, but the real test comes now. If he can continue with his steady production then the Sox will be in it until the end. However, if Ortiz can’t maintain his current pace then the Sox can kiss October bye-bye

Jose Reyes

If he’s healthy the Mets can win the east. If he’s not then they won’t. That’s about as simple as it gets people. As he goes they go.

Jonny Cueto

He has to take this rotation by the horns right now. The Reds haven’t been this close to the playoffs in years and they need Cueto to grow into the ace that he was destined to be when they signed him.

Vladimir Guerrero

The first half comes as a surprise to those that wrote him off. Now in these next two months, Vlad will have to keep it going in order to keep the Rangers ahead of Anaheim.

Adrian Gonzalez

Last year he was sure as gone from San Diego. This year the Padres wouldn’t give the world for him. with the Padres facing Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw, Jimenez and a bevy of west coast hurlers Gonzalez has to continue what he’s done all year for the Padres in order to make the playoffs. Set the tone, drive in runs and lead them to victory.

There is so much more to cover and talk about, but there’s two and a half months left in the season to get to it. for now enjoy it. the best baseball of the summer is about to get underway later today, and from the looks of things it’s going to be one hell of a fun second half.