Don’t Judge Stevie Johnson’s Touchdown Dance
Stevie Johnson‘s touchdown celebration was in poor taste. But so what? Most player celebrations are in poor taste.
After scoring a touchdown against the Jets yesterday Johnson celebrated by mimicking Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the thigh and mocking Santonio Holmes‘ Jet celebration (he crashed his Jet). I’ve never been a fan of touchdown dances but these are things that if someone on our team had done them we’d have a good laugh about. But when it’s against our team we take exception.
No, I don’t take exception to Johnson’s celebration. Given the current standards for celebration it fits right in. What I take exception to is the current standard.
When I was a kid in little league my coaches always taught me sportsmanship. When something good happens for you and your team it’s okay to be happy about it but it’s not okay to flaunt it in the oppositions faces. The same lessons were echoed to me several years later when playing basketball on a local team and later still when I played intramural hockey in high school and college.
I remember one year when my hockey team won a semifinal game in double overtime. It was the highlight of my hockey ‘career’. In almost 2 complete periods of overtime hockey I stopped more shots (I was the goalie) than I had during all of regulation. When my teammate scored the game winning goal of course I jumped and shouted in celebration. But did I do a silly dance in front of the oppositions bench? Of course not. (And it’s not just because I was about to collapse from exhaustion.) I actually shook hands with every player of that team and congratulated them on a well player game.
The saying of ‘hate the game, not the player’ (or is that playa) must be applied to the Johnson celebration yesterday. Was it out of line? Sure. Bad taste? Definitely. But it’s just a symptom of the poor sportsmanship that is emblematic of professional sports today.
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On Bobby V. and the Red Sox
So it appears that Bobby Valentine is the front runner for the Boston Red Sox managerial job. Good for him and for them. I wish them all the best.
Though I don’t mean the above facetiously (I’ve been known to have a dark sense of humor sometimes but I’m not mean) I’ll be happy to see Bobby V. wearing someone else’s uniform if for no other reason than it will finally end the idea of him reprising the role of Mets manager (at least for a while).
I appreciate what Valentine has meant to the Mets organization and fans. His contributions as a coach on Davey Johnson’s coaching staff in the early/mid 1980s helped make those teams among the best of their time and certainly the best in Mets history. And managing the Mets to their last Word Series appearance cements his place in Mets lore.
But that ship has sailed. I have no interest in having a Mets version of Billy Martin. As sentimental and nostalgic as I am this is one piece of the past that is best left there.
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Backman To Manage Bisons
In what could be a set up for the future the Mets have named Wally Backman as manager of AAA Buffalo. Many people scoffed at the fact that Backman wasn’t named to Terry Collins’ staff on the major league level last month but being at AAA is probably good for his chances at a major league managerial position.
In his capacity at AAA Backman will be looked at as an heir apparent to the major league job but his continued managing could also make him more attractive to other teams who may have been scared off by his being fired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004. For those who don’t remember, Backman was fired just 4 days after being named the DBacks manager after the New York Times reported in the article announcing his hiring in Arizona that Backman had a criminal record and financial trouble. (How this information didn’t come out during the hiring process is anybody’s guess but that’s a different discussion.)
Backman has bounced around the minors ever since the Arizona episode finally finding a home in the Mets organization he played for. He’s worked his way up the ranks to now become manager of their AAA affiliate just as his friend and former manager Davey Johnson did. Whether he ends up replacing Collins after Collins’ contract runs out or not remains to be seen. But being a manager at some level will allow him to prove himself in that capacity for all major league teams to see.
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Outfield Dimensions Are Not The Problem
Metsblog posted a story this morning about alleged internal discussion within the Mets organization regarding changing the color of the outfield wall at CitiField to the same blue color that the outfield wall at Shea Stadium had. Though I’d like to see this as well as some adjustment of the outfield dimensions (though not as severe a change as many other fans may want to see) I think the Mets have bigger things to focus on.
I don’t think the Mets are not winning because of the colors or the dimensions. They’re not winning because they don’t have the right team to play in their home field. If you have a park that is hard to hit home runs in you go out and get a team that plays small ball well. Build on the model of the Cardinals of the early to mid 1980s.
Moving the fences in makes it easier for your marquee stars such as David Wright and Jason Bay to hit home runs. But it will also make it easier for opposing players. If you have a unique park, as the Mets have, build the right team to play there. Get a bunch of singles and double hitters who hit for average and have speed. Get some ground ball pitchers capable of keeping the ball in the infield.
Sure it’s an old fashioned approach to the game. But when you build a throwback stadium you may need to build a throwback team to win there.
(The opening of this post is not a bash of Metsblog. It’s just a citation of the post that set off this thought.)
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Mets Shuffle Coaching Staff
The Mets announced coaching changes this afternoon. Ken Oberkfell (bench), Chip Hale (3B), Mookie Wilson (1B) and Jon Debus (bullpen) will not be back next year. Tim Teufel will coach third base in place of Hale, who has already signed as the Oakland A’s bench coach, and Ricky Bones will replace Debus. Dave Hudgens (hitting) and Dan Warthen (pitching) will return in their 2011 roles. Wilson and Debus will be offered other positions in the organization.
I’m a bit surprised by such a large coaching staff change considering how this year was a good step in the right direction (despite the won/lost record) away from the past and toward a more positive future. I’m a bit sentimental to see Mookie go again but am thankful he’ll likely remain in the organization. I don’t know how well Debus did his job but I’ll miss saying “help me, Debus” on every call to the bullpen.
It’s interesting that Oberkfell was not mentioned as one of the coaches the Mets will offer another job to since it was only a few years ago that he was considered a future manager. This can probably be chalked up to Oberkfell not being a Sandy Alderson guy. Not that he and Alderson didn’t get along (There’s no way I could know that) but perhaps their philosophies are different. Another possibility is that he has his eyes on managing but Terry Collins just signed a 3 year extension and posed a road block to that goal.
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Missing Playoffs Is Not A Big Deal In 2011
Every publication (print and electronic) that covers the Mets has a mention of the fact that the team was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yesterday. I’m trying to figure out why this is so noteworthy.
Coming into the season the goal of this year was to rebuild. Shed some big contracts, develop some younger talent and bring a new attitude to the team. Nobody was talking about playoffs. I’d say the goals have been accomplished.
With the pre-season cuts of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo the Mets were on their way to cutting payroll. The mid season trades of Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran kept them on that track.
The emergence of players like Justin Turner, Ruben Tejada and Lucas Duda as serviceable players (I know, not superstars by any means) puts them on track on the player development goal.
The attitude? Manager Terry Collins has brought some fire to the team. Through most of the season the team was playing above their level due to this intangible.
As a fan I start every season rooting for my team to win the world series. As a realist I know a bad team when I see one and set my sites on other accomplishments. As far as those accomplishments go I’d say the Mets have done a pretty good job in this development year. I’d say they’re still 2 years away from being a contender (2013 will be a good year if 2011 proves to be the stepping stone I think it will be) but they’ve made some strides and given the fans something to look forward to next year.
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Matt Holliday Undergoes Mothectomy
An odd thing happened in St. Louis last night. Matt Holliday was taken out of the game with 2 outs in the eight inning because a moth had flown into his ear and got lodged in. It was apparently trying to extricate itself from Holliday’s ear canal but couldn’t work itself free. After initially trying to lure the moth out of the ear with a bright light in a dark room, the Cardinals trainer ended up removing the still live moth with a pair of tweezers.
You can’t make this stuff up!
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Today’s Pitching Matchup (7/28/2011)
This afternoons’s pitching matchup between Chris Capuano and Homer Bailey:
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Tonight’s Pitching Matchup (7/27/2011)
Tonight’s pitching matchup between Mike Pelfrey and Bronson Arroyo:
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Notes From Last Night’s Game (7/26/2011)
- The Mets scored six runs off of Reds starter Johnny Cueto who had a 1.98 ERA going into the game. Cueto came out of the game with a 1.88 ERA. All the Mets runs were unearned thanks to 3 errors by the usually sure handed Reds.
- Jonathon Niese pitched 4 innings of 1 run ball before falling apart in the fifth when he allowed 4 runs. Manny Acosta replaces Niese in the 6th inning.
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