A moment to congratulate my Connecticut Huskies

In 1990 I got the chicken pox in March. It was a GREAT illness, it really was. I didn't feel all that sick, wasn't coughing or sneezing or throwing up, I had my appetttite, and I couldn't go to school. It was like a free vacation for two weeks in exchange for a little iching. Heck, sign me up for that right now.
I stayed with my grandmother while I was sick and she was more than happy to have her only grandson stay with her, even if he was covered with about 3,000 little red pimples at the time. It was great: home-cooked meals, staying up late with no consequences, and on television there was college basketball.
I was 9 at the time and had never really watched college ball before. As a youngster my sport was baseball. The Yankees were the universe in my life, with Don Mattingly serving as the supreme ruler. By that tender age I was already a devoted pinstriper, watching games on a regular basis even though the Bronx wasn't exactly a bastion of good play in those days.
But 1989-90 was a different year in Connecticut. I had heard about this team from the University of Connecticut that had done some really cool things. They were from my home state and they were going to this big tourney, one that everyone seemed to be talking about. So, for two weeks, I sat on the couch in grandmother's den and watched every single college basketball game that was on television. And Uconn started to win.
In case you don't remember, Uconn that year played one of the most memorable tournament games ever against Clemson in the Sweet 16. In a game Uconn had led almost all the way, Clemson, taking advantage of some Husky miscues and bad shots, had battled all the way back to take the lead. With one second left Scott Burrell stood at the other end of the court with the ball in his hand, ran the sidelines to avoid the defender, and flicked a long, touchdown pass down the court to Uconn point guard Tate George.
George caught the ball in the corner, pivoted quickly and put up a 16-footer that touched nothing but net. The buzzer sounded. The game was over and Uconn celebrated their improbable victory.
From that point forward I was hooked. The madness of the tourney, and excitement of the moment, and the understanding that this was a team representing more than just a college but an entire state sucked me in. From that point forward, I was a Uconn fan the same way I was a Yankee fan.
I ended up attending the school when I got out of high school and was there in 1999 when the men's program won their first championship. Being on that campus when Uconn beat Duke in yet another memorable game was the best experience of my life. It was an explosion of pure joy; a whole student body taking part in a celebration joined by an entire state longing for something their own.
Last night, at around 6:30 p.m., Uconn beat the Missouri Tigers to punch their ticket to their third Final Four. I watched with a group of my friends who I have known since college. We reacted to every play, yelled at the refs, and probably made fools of ourselves in public, but that's what sports are all about; passion. In the end, Uconn was victorious, and for a brief moment, despite having graduated nearly 10 years ago, we all had the chance to feel like we were back in college.
Sometimes it is easy to forget that these are simply kids playing a mans game. At 18-years old they are thrust into the spotlight, saddled with the weight of an entire student body's hopes - and many times the hope of thousands of alumni and millions in a state - strapped to their back and they are asked to come through in clutch moments as if they had been there before. Go to any college game and you'll hear the same kind of crticism directed at these young men as you would at any NBA player, and sometimes the slanders are even more outrageous.
That is what is so satisfying about this current victory for this Uconn team. Since the mid-1990s the Huskies have been one of the best programs in the country, bar none. They have won Big East Tournament titles and two NCAA championships. They have played in some of the best games of the last 15 years and the fans, such as myself, have gotten a bit spoiled.
In 2006, only two years after Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor led the Huskies to championship #2, the Huskies seemed poised to bring home another title. They had the best team in the country, led by the sturdy point guard Marcus Williams and the ultra-talented sophomore Rudy Gay. But that team, filled with future NBA players, seemed more concerned with their future careers than winning a team trophy. When the ultimate cinderella team in George Mason wandered in to play the number one team in the Elite Eight that year, it seemed only fitting that they dethrone the preoccupied group.
Welcome in the current batch of Huskies. Jeff Adrien and Craig Austrie were freshmen on that disappointing 06 squad, and AJ Price, the most ballyhooed member of the recruting class, was forced from the team after suffering an anyuerism that nearly cost him his life. The next year, talented guard/wing players Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson joined the squad, along with a 7'3" center from Tanzina, Hasheem Thabeet.
It was, it's safe to say, a very a-typical Uconn year.
Instead of waiting to see what bracket would be their domain in the tournament, the Huskies that year waited to see if the NIT would be asking them to attend. They didn't. For the first time under Jim Calhoun the Huskies weren't going to post-season play.
The next year yielded better results with a share of the Big East regular season, but a crushing defeat at the hands of West Virginia in the Big East Tournament and the team's first opening-round lose to San Diego, after Price went down with a torn ACL, and the questions about this team's mental toughness and overall ability began to be raised.
Was this the worst recruiting class in the history of Uconn under Jim Calhoun? What had the legendary coach seen in some of these players? Was Calhoun and his coaching staff slipping?
At the end of last season it appeared that the problems for this recruiting class were too numerous to fix. Players like Robinson and Dyson seemed incapable to tapping into their natural abilities, not showing the type of progress other Husky stars had made in the past, and Thabeet seemed poised to simply be a big man in the middle with little basketball skill other than to present an imposing body and some shot blocking ability.
This recruiting class had never won a post-season game. It had gone up against the better teams in the Big East conference and always fallen short. It appeared to be a team that relied on simple athletic ability and no basketball IQ. They had defensive lapses, turned the ball over with far too much regularity, and couldn't hit a jump shot if they were left open 10 feet in front of the basket.
For the first time, people began to question whether Uconn had peaked as a program and were on a downward slide, potentially slinking back into the pack, no longer able to hang with the top programs in the country.
That's why going to the Final Four this year is so special.
This group has been through a lot, from scandals to injuries to having to deal with the extreme pressures that come from playing at Uconn. Through it all, Jim Calhoun stated that he "believed" in this group of players and, for much of the last four years it would be safe to say that he was really the only one.
But now, this group of what looked to be underachievers have cemented themselves as one of the great Uconn classes of all time. AJ Price has gone from an injury prone, scandal-tainted marginal player to one of the top performers in the country and a sure-fire bet to be one of the top point guards chosen in the NBA draft. Hasheem Thabeet is perhaps the most menacing force in college basketball today, and his athleticism and footwork, all of which has come in the last year, has made him a Naismith Player of the Year candidate. And Stanley Robinson, whose ability and focus was questioned as recently as late February, has become as consistent and special a player as the Huskies have, all but replacing Dyson and giving the team a spark they were needing.
Maturity comes in time for everyone. Some of us achieve a level of maturity early on while others struggle through their 20s and 30s. But there is no formula and no guarantee that someone will struggle through and achieve despite all negativity. This group could have easily continued to be a disappointment, falling to a less talented team once things got dicey. Instead, they stepped up, wiped away all of the criticisms and slanders thrown at them, to put themselves in a position to win their sport's ultimate prize. When no one believed in them, including the school and fanbase they represent, they believed in each other, and that belief, that faith has finally paid off.
We could talk about the controversy surrounding the program, but that would simply take away from this accomplishment acheived by students. They are simple young men, none of whom are guaranteed anything in basketball other than another weekend of games to play, who performed under pressure the way all of us, no matter our age, would hope to as well.
Congrats to the Uconn Huskies, the team I have loved and followed for years. You earned every accolade and every victory. And you proved once again that faith is almost always rewarded, especially when it appears there is no reason for such faith.
Good luck in Detroit and know that this fan will be watching and believeing. It would be a sin at this point not to.

A possible $85 million steal..........and some thoughts on March Madness

Ask someone to list the New York Yankee off season acquisitions and they will do it in this order - CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett. Perhaps, depending on who you talk to, Sabathia and Teixeira will switch places in the lineup, but AJ is always, always taking the bronze.
Why?
The simpilest explanation is that most Yankee fans and media personalities just don't have a lot of faith in Burnett and his five year, $85 million contract. His history of injury, his inability to string two strong seasons together, and his penchant to disappear in seasons that aren't walk years have made AJ a big question mark in most people's minds.
By the way, I happen to agree. Burnett, of the big three, is the least sure thing. Sabathia is a horse and while he has pitched essentially four seasons in his last two years, racking up over 500 total innings, he has shown no signs of slowing or breaking down. Some guys just have a rubber arm, go ask David Wells, who could probably pitch 6 strong innings right now if he had to. Teixeira is 28, has never been injured, and seems to have many of his best years ahead of him. Barring strange, unforseen injuries, it would appear you could pencil those guys in for games and innings played through the course of their contract.
Burnett is a different story.
The big right hander has never pitched back to back 200 inning seasons, been placed on the DL many times over his 10 years career, and is 31 years old. When the Bombers inked him to a five year deal, a lot of people viewed it as a mini-Carl Pavano mistake. In fact, Burnett is close friends with the Raja of Rehab himself. Not a feather in his cap.
But have you watched Burnett at all this spring? He's looked amazing. Already, in the middle of March, the man is throwing his fastball in the mid-90's and breaking off devastating curves. He looks to be in mid-season form and, according to him, he isn't even exerting himself at this point.
Now, I know spring doesn't matter, and if we aren't going to push the panic button because Sabathia has gotten shelled this March, we shouldn't start polishing the Cy Young for Burnett either. Hitters are behind, most games don't feature the team's everyday lineup, and a 96 mph fastball probably looks like a 206 mph pitch right about now.
But this isn't some kid just making a first impression. Everyone knows how good Burnett is. His talent is unquestioned. One of the reasons why the Yankees decided to invest soooo much money in the right hander is because last year, each time he took the ball against the Bombers, it was a win. He was dominant. He was devastating. And he was just as good against the Yankees arch rivals, the Red Sox.
Burnett swears he "figured it out" last season with the help of Roy Halladay. Instead of trying to throw the ball through a brick wall every single outing, he learned to spot his pitches and take something off when need be to keep his arm healthy. That's why he was able to pitch 211 innings and feel no side effects whatsoever for the first time in his career, he insists.
That might be wishful thinking. By the middle of this season he might be right back on the shelf with some sort of arm issue.
But let's assume or a moment that he did figure something out last year. If that's the case, and this guy can give the Yankees over 200 innings, he is going to be one of the best pitchers in the game. He will be steal for the money. Yes, an $85 million steal.
Now, for March Madness predictions:
*I think Pittsburgh has an easy route to the Final Four. Yes, they have Duke, Villanova, Gonzaga, and Florida State, but those teams just don't match up physically with them. Perhaps a team like Duke can pull DeJuan Blair away from the basket and make him cover outside, perimeter players, thereby negating his physical superiority. But, in truth, none of those teams will be able to defend and rebound with Pitt. And teams that played somewhat small in the Big East were eaten up by Pitt. Notre Dame, a poor man's version of the Blue Devils, couldn't put up a fight against the Panthers. If they play their game, I think they walk through the East bracket.
*Louisville is the number 1 overall seed, and they deserve it. True, they got lucky not having to play Uconn and Pitt twice during the season or once during the BE Tourney. But they still navigated through the conference and won both the regular season and tournament titles. But look at their Midwest bracket. I mean, talk about a nice little slap in the face, huh? Michigan State as the #2 seed, Kansas as a #3 seed, and Wake Forrest as a #4 seed. Look at that. MSU was a possible #1 seed, as was Kansas until getting knocked out of their conference tourney by Baylor last week. Wake Forrest spent a few days as the #1 team in the country and, even though they haven't played well lately, they are as talented as anyone.
I think this is a special year for the Big East, so I will choose to believe in the Cardinals to make it to Detroit, but the road is gonna be very, very hard.
*How much did Syracuse's remarkable run the BE Tourney take out of them? That, to me, is the most interesting question in the South bracket. If they have some juice left, I think they beat Oklahoma and move on to face UNC in the elite 8. If they are outta gas, they could be a second round casualty.
I don't know what to think of Oklahoma or Blake Griffin. Great players can carry teams to wins on their own, and when you have a team that is already pretty good, that can be a recipe for tremendous success. Personally, I am going to go with Griffin and his star power. I look for a Carmelo Anthony-esque trip to the big game, with a cage match of historic proportions against UNC in the elite 8.
*To me, the question in the West is whether Uconn plays consistent basketball. They won't need to against Chatanooga and perhaps not even against Texas A&M or BYU in the second round, but Washington and/or Purdue, or even Miss. State are talented teams that could pose problems.
But I think this will be a Uconn, Memphis matchup in the elite 8, and if Uconn is playing well by that point I think they have too many answers for Memphis. I know everyone talks about how special Memphis' defense can be, but it won't be any better than Pitt and Uconn was able to put itself in a position to beat Pitt both times they played. Memphis is not as good as the Panthers and don't have the offensive answers that Pitt now does. It would/will be a low scoring game, but I think Uconn will join Pitt and Louisville as three BE teams in the Final Four ala 1985.

I prefer to wear my rose colored glasses, even at night.....

All is not lost. A-Rod, our conquering hero, will not need to spend the majority of the season rehabbing at some undisclosed location. Instead, he will opt to have arthroscopic surgery on the torn labrum in his hip, a less invasive surgery than the one he will eventually need to repair the bone itself. Thusly, the New York Yankees' slugging third baseman should be back in a little over a month.

Forget the visions of Scott Rolen and his enormous weight of a contract being handed to the Yankees by the Blue Jays, or some swap of young pitching to the Colorado Rockies for Garret Atkins. The Yankees will now either decide to hand their 3B job to Cody Ransom for a month or go get themselves a much less expensive, short-term option. Does anyone know the number for the Wendy's Mark Grudzielanek is currently working at off hand?

Look, we can debate A-Rod and his penchant for creating serious problems both on and off the field for a long, long, long time, but only the most blind A-Rod hater would discount his importance to the lineup. When he is playing at his best, he is the most talented player in baseball, bar none. Even when he isn't at his best, he is still a force few teams possess in their everyday lineup, so losing him for a week, a month, or two months is a blow.

But I really don't think the Yankees are in as deep a pool of water as a lot of others seem. Maybe that's because I am an optomist at heart, or maybe it is because today it is 60 degrees outside and, for the first time since September of last year, I had the inkling to throw the ball around, I just believe the New York Yankees can survive and even thrive without The Rod himself.

Why?

You don't have to score as much if you pitch.

The last I checked the Yankees had spent A LOT, and I mean A LOT or money on pitching this year and, for the first time in years come in with a rotation that promises to be a major plus rather than a huge question mark. CC Sabathia takes his considerable girth to the mound as the Bombers unmistable ace, providing as stable a top of the rotation presence to the Yanks as they have had in the last two decades. Plus, he is a lefty and barring some freak injury - the guy has been a horse his entire career - he should be poised to give the Yanks some of the best seasons of his career.

AJ Burnett has to prove that he can stay healthy but, when on, he perhaps has the best pure stuff of the rotation. He is the epitome of the power pitcher and he does something the Yankees have come to value more and more the last few years - he misses bats.

Chien Mien Wang is coming off a foot injury but he has proven himself to be one of the most consistent starters in the majors over the last four years. He won 38 games in two years - 19 games in a row in 06 and 07 - and was well on his way to another high win total last year before hurting his foot. The additions of Sabathia and Burnett should help Wang more than anyone as he can slide into a #3 role in the rotation and provide a wonderful contrast to the hard throwing Sabathia and Burnett.

Andy Pettitte provide veteran leadership and promises to have a better year than last if he can stay healthy, and Joba Chamberlain, who will slide in as the Yankee fifth starter, has the potential to be as dominant as either Burnett or Sabathia in the long run.

One through five, it is the most impressive rotation in baseball and the depth is there with young arms like Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, and even Ian Kennedy waiting to help if and when needed.

Hey, when the Yankees won their championships they did it on the shoulders of great pitching and incredible clutch hitting. They didn't have an A-Rod on their team at that time but they knew how to win. A paycheck never won a game in any sport at any time.

If the Bombers stop the other team from scoring on a more consistent basis, which they should if the starters perform up to expectations, the loss of A-Rod should not be devastating.

There are still a few hitters on the team.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Yankees will still field a lineup even without A-Rod, and a few of the guys will even have a chance to get a few hits.

Take A-Rod out of this lineup. That means you would almost automatically move Teixeira down to the four hole and plug someone else into the three hole. To me, Matsui makes the most sense. Yes, he's coming off of surgery, but let's assume he isn't done completely as a ball player. When Godzilla has been healthy for the Yanks he has been good for 20+ homers, 100+ RBI, an average close to .300 and an OBP of .370 or better. If you assume that he won't produce at his highest levels, you should still be expecting a .280 average, 20 homers, 100 RBI, and a good OBP, right? Is that outlandish to assume? He'll have good top of the lineup guys getting on base in front of him, and even if he doesn't hit for 20+ homer power anymore he should be able to drive in 100 runs just by making contact a lot of the time.

If Matsui stays healthy and you put a lineup out there for one month of Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Mark Teixeira as your top four, that's still pretty darn good, isn't it? Then, add in the fact that the Yankees expect a much bigger year out of Robinson Cano, who could slide into the five hole for the Bombers, and you are suddenly putting out a lineup that has professional hitters at virtually every turn. Damon, Jeter, Teixeira, and Cano all have the capabilty of providing top quality offense at their positions, while Matsui, Posada, and Xavier Nady should be more than competent provided they all stay healthy. Yes, third base and even center could be big offensive holes, but with improved pitching and a few clutch hits from the big bats in the lineup, shouldn't the Yanks be able to compensate for two spots in the lineup?

Now, because A-Rod is electing to have the less invasive procedure, this isn't as great a concern, but even if he were to miss more time the Yanks should be able to score enough runs to get by.

There is a reason for a $200 million payroll. If it isn't to shield the franchise against one injury devastating the team, than what is it for?

Maybe we need a little break.

This is a little less concrete, but I just have this feeling that a month or even two away from the walking scandal that is A-Rod would do the team well. On the one hand, his injury seems to put in jeopardy the fast start this team so desperately needs. They have hamstrung themselves over the last several years with terrible starts and have had to extend a tremendous amount of energy climbing their homemade mountain. After missing the playoffs last year for the first time since 1994, and considering they are about to open a $1.2 billion stadium this year, they are looking for a return to prominence. Plus, several future hang in the balance, from players such as Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, who are on the last year of their contract, to second year manager Joe Girardi, who probably wouldn't survive another baseball-less October. Getting behind two of the best teams in baseball, the Red Sox and Rays, right at the beginning of the season would seem suicidal.

But I would contend that having the circus du-A-Rod put on hold for a while might give the team enough emotional freedom to establish some kind of chemistry. Look, we know what a train wreck this guy can be. Most of it is his doing, some of it is just the nature of the beast created around him. But there's no question it is a distraction. At least, if he sits out the next month or so the team will be able to concentrate on baseball and will be free of answering Page 6 questions all the time. Maybe they get on a roll, start to play solid baseball, and will be able to tolerate the disruption when he finally does come back. The questions will still be there, the distractions will be there, but the team might be comfortable with one another at that point.

Plus, it is really the best possible timing. If the Yanks had let this linger and then, at the end of April or beginning of May decided to go ahead with surgery it would have thrown the early part of the season into disarray. Now, the team knows they have to compensate without A-Rod and can prepare mentally and also make the necessary adjustments on the roster. It won't throw anything too far out of whack.

Also, the length of time is now not so extreme that it forces the Yankees to either make a dumb move for a lesser player or have him come back in the middle of the season and potentially screw up any karma they might have going.

If you take out off days and vacations, it's really only like three days.

Again, A-Rod's decision changes the entire scenario here. It's only one month. You can make up for anyone as long as it is only a month. Cody Ransom, for 20+ games could catch lightening in a bottle. Someone like Robinson Cano or Xavier Nady could play out of their minds for one month. The Yankee pitching could throw shut out after shut out for one month. Again, anything can happen.

A few thoughts on the first couple of days of the spring

Ah, spring training. Is there a prettier sight in all the world? As we here in the Northeast brace for yet another major storm, there is nothing better than palm trees and 85-degree weather. As we speak, I am about to watch the NY Mets in a spring game. Not because I want to, mind you, but because I feel I need to. How long that lasts, I can't say, but right now I am actually enjoying watching those goofy Metropolitans run around the bases.
The Yankees started their long, long, long spring of games this past week and YES was kind enough to show a few. Here are a couple of quick thoughts as the spring officially kicks off:
*It is amazing to me that no one has talked about the reaction A-Rod has and will receive from Yankee fans this season. That's the real story. Yes, he is gonna take flack when he goes to Fenway or to the new Citi Field. He always does. But what about at Yankee Stadium, his home ballpark? If he gets off to a slow start, all bets are off. Even in Tampa, when he was first announced the other day, you could hear a smattering of boos. Then, after hitting into a double play ball, the boos seemed to get louder. This is in SPRING TRAINING AT HOME!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine the reaction come time for real baseball?
The A-Rod/Yankee fan relationship has been, shall we say, strained. If he gets off slow, there won't be many cheers for him in the Bronx. Memo to A-Rod: Get off to a very, very, very fast start.
(One other note on A-Rod before hopefully ignoring him and it for the rest of March. I would like to take this moment to address one Mike Lupica. Mike, we all know you're a weasel scumbag with an inflated opinion of yourself and your importance. But you need to let this A-Rod thing go. We know you hate him and the Yankees. You've sacrificed your own credibility long ago to make that abundantly clear. But, after seeing that you dedicated ANOTHER Sunday column to A-Rod, I feel an intervention is necessary. I know you WANT people to care about this as much as you do, so they will continue to read, but we just don't. A-Rod has never been a fan favorite and while his revelation was somewhat surprising, we have all moved on. He used steroids. We got it. Sorry if other parts of our life take precedent over knowing where he got the roids, when, from who, and whether he really thought they worked or not. Those questions aren't keeping me up at night, the way they seem to be doing to you. If you no longer can stomach watching baseball because of A-Rod's admission and the Yankees payroll, I am sure you would be extremely happy writing about hockey for the next few months. I heard Bobby Crosby had a really nice goal the other night, maybe you could opine about that. But PLEASE, let the A-Rod thing go. This isn't about us, it's about you. Dealing with a debilitating Napoleon complex must be hard enough. Throwing in some sort of jilted lover hatrd for a player who would barely recognize you in a lineup borders on unhealthy.)
*There is a lot of spring to go but, just from what I have seen, it appears that Brett Gardner is on the fast track to win that center field job. Melky has, so far, looked a lot like the Melky from last year. That's not a good thing for him.
Forget about Gardner's leadoff homer the other day. That isn't what the Yankees expect. He isn't hitting dingers. The more important indicator came in the second game for the Yankees when Gardner worked the count, slapped a single to the left side, stole second, and then scored on a single. That's what speed can do. That's what Gardner can do that Melky can't. If the Melkman can't hit BIG, he has little chance of emerging victorious in this position battle simple because a tie would automatically go to Gardner because of his ability to change a game with his speed. If, by the end of March, Melky is batting .380 and Gardner .230, well then Melky would be the choice, but if the two were essentially equal, then Cabrera might as well book his ticket back to Scranton.
Right now, it isn't a tie. Gardner, in a very small sampling, looks like the better player in every facet. There is a tremendous amount of spring to be played, but already I think the Melkman has an uphill battle to climb.
*Haven't seen much of Nick Swisher but with his eye and his power I hope he really does get some good at bats. I am glad the Cashman and the brain trust didn't decide to jettison him this offseason and I hope they stand pat with that decision. I mean, it really doesn't make any sense to get rid of him, does it? You aren't guaranteed that Xavier Nady is going to be a .300, 30, 100 guy, are you? What if he slumps badly? Or how about Hideki Matsui? Godzilla hasn't been able to stay healthy now for a long time. Is he going to make it through an entire season? How about Johnny Damon? The same applies to him. There is no guarantee that he will last 162.
The fact is that Swisher makes sense short term and long term. Let's assume that Nady plays well and hits for average and power, becoming a really nice corner outfielder for the team. Well, Swisher is still there to provide both Damon and Matsui a day off here and there. He can also play center in a crunch, or play left allowing the Yankees to move Damon to center if Gardner or Cabrera can't hack it. If Teixeira goes on the DL for any length of time, or just needs a day off, Swisher can step in and provide good defense and solid offense. And, next year, if Swisher proves capable, the Yankees would have options for the outfield come the offseason. If Xavier Nady and Scott Boras were asking for too much, they could say goodbye and go with Swisher. If the Yanks decided to bring back Nady but not Johnny Damon, Swisher could easily move into the left field spot. What about Matsui? His contract is up after this year. If he doesn't produce at a high level, or prove that he can stay healthy, the Yanks could essentially move Damon and Swisher back and forth between the outfield and DH to keep both fresh and involvd in the field.
I was a fan of the Swisher deal from the very beginning, but seeing him a couple of times already makes me even more sure that he was the right acquisition at the right time.
*Chris "Mad Dog" Russo had an interesting stat the other day. The ballparks for the spring
games are not being filled so far. Now, to a certain extent, I take the stats with a grain of salt. It is the end of February, the whole month of March lay ahead, and people might not turn out for games until later on in the spring. But, the economy HAS to be on everyone's mind and you have to wonder if one of the casualties will be attendance.
The NBA this week announced that they needed more than $100 in loans to help struggling franchises. Could MLB feel that same kinda pinch? Are people going to spend their money baseball games when they can't afford to pay the gas bill or they are worried about their job being terminated in the next few months?
Just watching this Mets game today, there seem to be A LOT of empty seats. The place certainly isn't filled. Is that simply the result of an early spring training starting time or an ominous sign of things to come? I guess we will see.
*I don't have a major problem with anything YES does in terms of baseball coverage. No, I am not a Michael Kay fan, and their Web site needs to ditch Peter Goldman and hire, well, me as a columnist. But their coverage is usually pretty darn good.
However, the spring coverage kinda sucks, doesn't it?
First, none of us need REAL coverage of a spring game. Yesterday Joba Chamberlain gave up two runs in one inning of work and Ken Singleton broke down why Joba was getting "smacked" around. "He needs to get his fastball down in order to be effective," insisted Ken. Ummm, it's spring training folks. Joba was throwing 88 MPH. He was basically soft tosing. He didn't care if he gave up 2 or 10 runs, he was there to get some work in. Let's not make nothing into something simply because the cameras are turned on. Spring is not the time for indepth analysis on a pitch by pitch basis. It is a time to preview the season, tell some stories, and have some fun.
And that leads me into my real problem with the YES spring coverage. Folks, this isn't for real. I'm not tuning tuning in for a win or a loss. Why are they covering the game like it is mid-season? Tune in to NESN sometime. I hate everything that has to do with Red Sox Nation, I do. But they know what they're doing with their broadcast. They have beat writers on pre-game to talk about the team and the season. Then, during the game, they have interviews with the starters who have either been pulled from the game or weren't playing that day. And the analysts treat the games with a little more humor than normal because, well, they don't count.
Why can't YES slap a headphone on Jeter or Tex or CC or Posada during the game and talk to them for a while? Why can't they have a pre-game with a roundtable of some beat writers to talk about the season? In other words, why not make the telecast interesting?
The last thing I need is to hear Michael Kay and Ken Singleton breaking down Joba's delivery. It doesn't make for interesting television.