Sorry, folks. A little late on the up-take this week due to a horrific travel schedule, but also spent a while trying to find a good topic for this post. Unfortunately, there’s not much to be said today unless we use the old-fashioned Bits model. Here we go:
Bit #1 – Best story of the year?
Over the summer, many in the sports world erupted in sympathy, self-righteousness, and anxiety when hearing that Josh Hamilton, the Rangers outfielder with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, visited a bar to drink after losing the World Series. Several witnesses saw him there and before too long Hamilton gave a press conference expressing regret at falling off the wagon. Baseball pundits worried about his frame of mind coming into this season…all to no avail.
Hamilton not only surprised many, but overwhelmed them with his first month or so of 2012, capping off his comeback from a potentially embarrassing situation to smash four home runs last night in Baltimore, only the 16th player ever to do so. Hamilton now leads the majors in home runs, RBI, and batting average. One of the best aspects about Hamilton’s success continues to be his appreciation for just how far he’s come, and what he did to be here now. After being selected first overall by the Rays in the late 90s, Hamilton did not play from 2004 to 2006, coming back all the way through the minor league system to the big leagues. For many who despise/love Tim Tebow for his faith, Josh Hamilton ascribed much of his rise to Christianity. Regardless, he worked incredibly hard to get here and last night showed how special he can be for the sport.
Bit #2 – Some unspoken code
In baseball, you intentionally hit a batter to stand up for a teammate who was hit previously. Happens at least 15 times a season, with 2-3 of those times ending in the giant shoving pits baseball fans label “fights.” I have no problem with sticking up for your teammate in any sense, as team sports require that kind of camaraderie and sacrifice for the sake of the team.
All that said, this “code” doesn’t mean a pitcher can intentionally throw at a batter just to “welcome him” to the big leagues. Cole Hamels of the Phillies plunked Nationals phenom Bryce Harper a few days ago and admitted afterwards the bean ball was intentional. Maybe I’m biased, but if you want to greet a player as hyped as Harper, why not try to strike him out. You know…show him what big league pitching looks like from a former Cy Young winner right? Also, it’s not as if Harper played his first game against the Phillies. He’s been playing for a few weeks now, so Hamels is a little late on his warm embrace, and deserved some punishment for throwing intentionally at another player.
Whether he deserved to lose a start or not remains debatable. A hefty fine would have worked as well, but let’s be real: if baseball, through a fine, told mega-millionaires that they would only lose some cash (of which they have lots) rather than starts, that’s a rough precedent to set. Either way, MLB chastised Hamels in such a way to eradicate some outdated code he fell back on which doesn’t seem to really exist. You want to tell a kid he’s not as good as everyone says? Strike him out.
Bit #3 – Caps must remain resilient
I mentioned in a Bit a long time ago that this year might not be the year for the Capitals, that fate had aligned itself against the boys in red. To their credit, the Caps by now are farther than any of us diehards expected even three weeks ago. A gritty win over Boston in 7 games and followed up with tough OT losses against the Rangers should prove to everyone that this team can win games the hard way, a characteristic previous Capitals never shared.
For Game 6 tonight, the Caps need to remain resilient and take a page out of the Rangers’ book: shoot the puck at the net. Create rebounds as much as possible. Because Henrik Lundquist stays in his net, he gives up very few rebounds, but the Caps fell far behind in shots during Game 5. The tying goal by Richards with six seconds left happened because the Rangers continued to throw the puck at the net, finally jamming one home after an extremely ill-advised penalty by Joel Ward. That kind of momentum will be tough to slow, but the Caps have the style of play right now to make it happen.
A positive thought in all this: imagine if Holtby comes back next year and the team plays the same style through the regular season? Might be a good sign for DC.
Bit #4 – You have to win Game 1
The Memphis Grizzlies were such a trendy pick…people flocked to their cause as the fourth seed in the West. Up twenty-seven points in Game 1, the Grizzlies looked assured of a 1-0 series lead. An hour later, FedEx Arena remained stunned at the Grizzlies collapse, losing the driver’s seat in the series for good. If they had been able to hold on, the series would look radically different now. Up 3-1, the Clippers look close to the second round. Amazingly, while the “what-if” game rarely designates winners, if Memphis were able to win Game 1, statistically their chances of winning the series grow much higher. In the NBA, about 75% of all Game 1 winners end up prevailing in the series. It also helps if you score in the fourth quarter. The aggregate score so far in this series is Grizzlies 289, Clippers 284. But the fourth-quarter scoring, on the other hand, is Clippers 87, Grizzlies 58. Got to do better than that.
Bit #5 – Minnesota Legislature baffles for the last decade
Why is it so difficult to keep Minnesota franchises in Minnesota? In 2002, the Twins had a deal with the state legislature for a new stadium, only to have the deal fall through, damning the Twins to five more years in an indoor rental car garage. This week, the Minnesota legislature approved a deal for a new stadium to house the Vikings. Late-night negotiations, passed amendments, overturned amendments, and finally an agreement on a new stadium to replace the Metrodome with taxpayer subsidies characterized the full debate, but it’s all ridiculous posturing. The idea that the Minnesota Vikings, a proud franchise of four Super Bowls, would leave their longtime home for fairer pastures should strike you as ridiculous. Even more absurd is the idea that the legislature would not eventually help the Vikings, as many Minneapolis residents do not want to see another Los Angeles move from Lake Superior a la the Minnesota Lakers. Those would have been fun state elections. Even if the Vikes don’t play well right now, people love their football in Minnesota. Thankfully, the legislature did the right thing.
Bit #6 – Michael Wilbon…ignorant?
I never thought I’d write, say, or even think that question above. Michael Wilbon has reached a pinnacle in sports journalism, a man of inspirational writing and television ability who values his Chicago roots. He’s witnessed many Chicago sports moments, enough to make a judgment about the city’s litany of sports. But, his piece claiming a curse on the city of Chicago strikes me as homerism, nothing more.
I know, the Cubs haven’t won in a lifetime. We get that, but just because the biggest sports curse resides in your city does not make the city cursed. He talks a lot about the injuries to Derrick Rose and Jay Cutler as evidence of a supernatural curse on the city. And yet, two seasons ago the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. In 2005, the Chicago White Sox won the World Series. The Bulls won six times in the 1990s. And, to top it all off, the Chicago Fire won it all in 2009 for MLS. The Bears haven’t won since 1985 despite being close multiple times. I will grant that, but has Mr. Wilbon ever traveled to Cleveland or Cincinnati? Both cities have longer droughts than Chicago in sports championships. Even Washington has a longer drought.
If he wants to be a homer, I’ll let him. But the city has plenty of sports pedigree. Injuries happen to every team, but 3 of the 4 major sports won championships in Chicago during the last 7 years. It’s as if Bill Simmons were to claim a Boston curse right now. If ESPN will ask Wilbon to write a story, have him write about the injuries plaguing one team, not an entire city when that city can boast plenty of championships.
Bit #7 – May 6, 1988, Doughtnutgate
Looks like a strange German word for some kind of disease, but in 1988 “Doughnutgate” was a real incident. After a playoff game, New Jersey Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld decided the referee Dan Koharski doomed his team to defeat. As recompense, Coach thought it would be justifiable to make a kind comment about Koharski’s weight and eating habits to his face. What followed resulted in a weird strike by the refs for the next game, while the world wondered how many doughnuts a fat pig can eat. Years after, this remains one of the funniest moments of coach-referee interactions and deserves to be memorialized, even if it’s only the blog of a 22-year old.
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