Baseball Heroes: Of Fathers & Sons

Associated Press writer Mike Fitzpatrick wrote what is probably the off-the-field baseball story of the summer. It's a about a rookie outfielder for the Florida Marlins who is playing in a MLB game in front of his father for the first time. Unfortunately, the father has inoperable lung cancer.

The emotion of the story between the player, Logan Morrison, and his father, Tom, is what makes this a special read. It reminds us how inconsequential and important sports can be at the same time. It reminds us who the real sports heroes are for many of us -- our fathers.

According to a Google search, the Associated Press story was picked up by over 150 news outlet. Stories like this will never lead SportsCenter, but are just as important to follow as Brett Favre's yearly retirement saga.

If reading a short synopsis of this story doesn't reach on an emotional level, the quotes from Morrison's surely will.

"Anytime he's in the stands I kick it up a little bit. He's the reason I'm here. And with him being sick, there might not be too many more opportunities where he can see me play."

It's stories like this that make us remember why sports really matter. Not the big money contracts or glorified stats, but the emotional connections it allows us to make with those who are closest to us.

Here's to a miracle for Tom Morrison and his family.

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Re: Revis, NY Jets and Holdouts

Hours after Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw Tweeted the New York Jets and holdout All-Pro CB Darrelle Revis will announce the two sides have come to a contract agreement this week (of course not confirmed by the team, Revis’ camp or the Jets beat writers), news leaked out from multiple sources that the team is close to signing another young All-Pro to a contract extension: center Nick Mangold.

Despite playing on different sides of the ball, Revis and Mangold are very similar. Both first round draft picks by the Jets. Both are unhappy with their current contracts that they are currently signed to. Both are All-Pro’s and pretty damn good at their positions. Both talked about holding out of training camp if a new deal was not signed.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Mangold honored the contract he signed and reported to camp on time. Revis, who previously held out for the contract he is currently signed to, which also has three more seasons left on the term, has held out.

Now it seems like Mangold is being rewarded for reporting to camp by receiving the contract extension that he deserves. The contract is rumored to make him the highest paid center in the NFL.

Are the Jets sending a message to Revis and his agents? Are they saying, “Look at Nick Mangold: he’s a team player and we rewarded him as such”?

The only leverage Revis has is that he was the best player for the NFL’s best defense in 2009. That’s pretty good ground to stand on. But last year the Jets’ defense only had one legit cornerback: Revis. In the off-season, they traded for another All-Pro cornerback in Antonio Cromartie and used their first round pick on Kyle Wilson.

2010 of Cromartie + Wilson > 2009 of Revis and the leftovers.

The Jets trumped Revis’ leverage. Of course the Jets would be a whole lot better with Revis, but as is right now their 2010 cornerbacks are more balanced then the 2009 version.

So here we are the beginning again. Will Revis holdout for the entire season? And what about the potential work stoppage in 2011 players face when the League’s Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. With so much about the 2011 NFL season unknown, is Revis willing to risk sitting out two full seasons?

Revis wants to be paid as the highest earning cornerback in the NFL. Fair enough and deservingly so. The Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha currently holds the honor Revis is seeking at a whopping $16 million per year on a short-term deal. Revis wants that kind of money over a long term, but he should settle for having the largest total compensation for a cornerback under contract.

The Jets aren’t going where Revis wants. They didn’t in the offseason. They haven’t this summer or in training camp. I doubt they will go there if Cowlishaw is wrong and the holdout continues into the season.

And here’s another thing to remember: No one wins during holdouts. The fans don’t because their team isn’t as good without the player. Same goes for the team, who also runs the risk of looking cheap (although I don’t think the Jets do in this case). The player might win in terms of money, but fans will never look at him the same way. For the player, even a small mistake on the playing field gets blown-up ten fold because in the fans’ view post-holdout the player’s performance has to be perfect. All the time. Anything less is unacceptable.

Luckily for Revis, he’s reputation is still repairable if he signs soon. If Cowlishaw is correct and Revis and the Jets come to terms this week, everything will be OK in Jetsland.

If not, Revis is in for a tougher time then the Jets.

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Mets Need to Send a Message

In the aftermath of the Francisco Rodriguez domestic violence incident at Citi Field on Wednesday night, the New York Mets suspended their closer for two games, which docks him $125,683 of his $11.5 million 2010 salary. More seriously, K-Rod was charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment for beating up his “wife’s” father, the grandfather of his two children.

The Mets also released a token one-sentence quote from COO Jeff Wilpon, that as a former sports PR executive I would be embarrassed to have as the only statement from upper-management.

So with that said, in my opinion it’s time for the Mets to step-up because it seems like the team suffers one embarrassment after another. On the field or off it, the Mets can’t seem to get out of the way of humiliating situations (see: K-Rod, Oliver Perez, et al…).

The Mets need to make a statement with K-Rod: The embarrassment stops now.

The Mets need to release the former All-Star and World Series winning closer.

They need to get ride of him even with the Mets bullpen currently being a complete disaster and with K-Rod pitching his best as a member of the Mets. Even though it would be throwing in the towel on the 2010 season. It’s the right and only move the Mets have – that is if they care how their team is perceived by their fans and the rest of the baseball world.

If K-Rod was in management or a salesperson with the Mets and he was charged with an assault crime, he most likely would be fired. And if it happened in the Mets offices, there’s no doubt he would be filing for unemployment insurance by now.

Just because he’s a multi-million dollar athlete shouldn’t create a double standard. The Mets have to fire K-Rod for cause. Surely there’s a clause in his contract that he violated when he committed a violent crime. Although with the Mets, we can't be sure of that.

By releasing K-Rod the Mets would be sending a message to everyone that they want to field a respectable team both on and off the baseball diamond. The move would say the team will not tolerate being embarrassed.

And why stop there? They should wave goodbye to Ollie Perez while they are at it. If he’s not willing to take a demotion to the minor leagues to work on becoming an actual pitcher and not the homerun tossing thrower that he is, then he doesn’t deserve to wear a Mets uniform.

But in order for someone to be deserving of wearing a Mets uniform, the team has to rid themselves of the players who are not. It starts with releasing K-Rod.

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Retracting K-Rod

Of course K-Rod had to get into a physical altercation with “family members” right as he turned his season and Mets career around. And of course, this all had to happen 24 hours after I predicted the Mets closer would hit the 40-save plateau this season.

But unless the Mets try release K-Rod without paying him the balance of his contract (not that there have been any reports of that happening), I still think he’ll still rack up a bunch of saves by seasons end.

New estimate: 37

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Now This is Baseball…

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/photos?
gameId=300810117&photoId=772052

Despite what the announcers from FS Ohio said during the highlights, the bench-clearing brawl between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals is exactly what baseball needs.

[Click here for the video]

Well maybe not the man-hugs that 75% of the players involved gave each other, but rather the heated divisional rivalry between the two teams.

It started on Monday night when Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said he “hate[s] the Cardinals” and that they are “little bitches, all of ‘em”.

It escaladed when Phillips entered the batter’s box to lead off the bottom of the first inning and he and Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina began to argue. Then the rivalry between the two teams, which to that point had already been simmering, really started to boil.

So why is this Midwest rivalry a good thing? Because baseball has recently been missing a good ‘ole fashion rivalry where two teams really have a hatred for each other. The New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox really had something going in the early-to-mid 2000s, but for the last few seasons their games have been nothing but long, drawn out baseball. (Cue: Joe West)

We’ll have to wait to see whether or not this rivalry will get major national attention outside of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. The Reds and Cardinals will probably have to meet in the National League Championship Series to really take it to the next level.

But from a fan who really doesn’t have too much interest for baseball outside of the AL and NL East, well, NL Central… You’ve got my attention.

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K-Rod the (Dominate?) Closer

New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez got his 25th save of the 2010 season tonight versus the Colorado Rockies. In contrast, his five blown saves this season has led to much angst among Mets fans this year, with some wanting the team to do whatever it takes to unload him and his big contract.

But in his last 9.2 innings pitches (since his blowup in San Fransisco), K-Rod has actually been the dominate closer the Mets and their fans thought they were getting. Over this span, he has yielded only one hit with no runs and 11 strikeouts. His 25 saves this season place him tied for 11th in the Majors.

So with 50 games left in the Mets regular season, it is very possible for K-Rod to hit the 40-save plateau. In 2009, 40 saves would been good for fifth in the MLB. Last year, K-Rod finished with 35 saves and tied for 13th in the Majors.

So Mets fans, how would you feel about that...

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