WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Bull Allen. July 9, 2007: The New York press corps buried the Yankees at the end of last week with one sportswriter even writing mathematically the Yankees have no chance to reach the postseason. Meanwhile the Mets are struggling in the harsh summer heat, but still clinging to first place in the National League East – but getting little credit for it – due to the daily drama and hand-wringing unfolding in The Bronx where incredibly 50,000 a game come out to watch the daily drama of the Yankees .500 season. (Where’s Ron Blomberg and Celerino Sanchez, Elliot Maddox, Roy White, Graig Nettles, and Dick Tidrow when you need them?)
Yankee Stadium, 2003 Promised Land
The Yankees Have the Red Sox Right Where they Want Them. All The Bombers have to do is go 50-27 the rest of the way and the Red Sox play .500 ball and we win by 1 game.
The Mets are still holding their heads above the Braves, except for an occasional failure to run out a grounder. But, there is trouble in Metsville…over in Flushing. We’ll have a more in-depth report on the Metropolitans from Mr. Met later.
Meanwhile, as this reporter wrote May 6, when the Yankees pushed the panic button and brought in Roger Clemens, he has not made a difference. He has pitched better the last three starts out, but he cannot field the ball for the Yanks on the right side of the diamond, and he cannot hit for them – the Yankees’ biggest needs.
However, the Yankees are only 10 games out. This is not an insurmountable deficit. On the other hand to bite into that lead the Bombers have to be capable of ripping off 20 of their next 30 games. Can they do that? I do not see how they can with their inconsistency at the plate and poor defensive play. The New York sportswriters, panicking at the thought of not getting to go to the postseason buffets this season, are grasping at straws by pointing to the Yankees soft schedule. But the Yankees have trouble against all teams this year.
The Bombers have 77 games to play. The Red Sox have 76 games to play. If the Red Sox play .500 ball, going 38-38, the Yankees must win 50 of 77 (50-27) to win the AL East by 1 game. 50-27 is not inconceivable. So with their next 28 games against below .500 clubs, they can pick up 25 wins right there if they work, but then have to beat good clubs 3 out of 4 the rest of the way.
I see nothing to be positive about right now in The Bronx. Not the way Torre is handling the pitching. Not the way they are fielding. Robbie Cano has fallen victim to the sophomore jinx. They have Melky Cabrera learning center field and Bobby Abreu still in right. When the pitching is there the hitting is not. When the pitching isn’t there, sometimes the hitting bails them out, but most of the time it does not. But, there is no defense for the runs the Yankee porous right side of the field lets in. They have one good fielder on the infield and that’s The Jet. And, if Posada goes down, forget about it.
So over in Flushing, Willie Randolph benches Jose Reyes for not running out a grounder. Come on Willie, he’s your best player. He made a mental mistake. The people to fine are the guys who are letting the balls drop because of lack of hustle. But I love the way sportswriters hop on this as evidence of how to manage. All managers love to do this. A guy does not run one out. Boom! On the bench with him. You have to hustle. The Mets are hurting because Beltran, Delgado and Wright are not hitting like they did last year, but the Metropolitans are still a solid ball club who should finish first. Atlanta and Philadelphia do not have the pitching to overtake them.
However the guys that don’t hit the dirt for balls, dive and work to improve themselves in the outfield infield where the extra effort can make a difference in a ball game – well they never get benched. Only time that happened was when Gil Hodges walked out to remove Cleon Jones from leftfield when he did not go hard for a ball in a hideous Houston sweep of the Mets in 1969. That takeout started the Mets drive towards the 1969 World Series.
Insidiously, sportswriters, already perhaps missing those playoff junkets, are pointing out with glee that the Bombers are only 8-1/2 behind the Cleveland Indians for the American League Wild Card.
What a thing to hope for! Again the insidious existence of the Wild Card as goal in major league baseball.
I hate the Wild Card. Here in midseason teams are chasing the wild card and not the leaders of the divisions. It's the hockey, pro football, pro basketball mentality.
The Bonds Thing.
As we hit the All-Star Break, and I note the state of baseball, I have to mention the prospect of Barry Bonds about to break Henry Aaron’s home run record. In my opinion, when Mr. Bonds came under suspicion of steroid use, as did Mr. Sosa and Mr. McGwire, their home run records should have been removed from the record book. But that was not going to happen. At the very least they deserve an asterisk to this effect,
* Achieved under suspicion of performance-enhancing drugs
If it is ever definitely proved the three took sterioids, take out the word suspicion.
Should Bud Selig attend when Bonds breaks the record? Yes, otherwise Selig is admitting one more rap that I hung on him years ago – and that is tolerance of steroid abuse in baseball. By attending, Selig can go on with the fantasy fans are buying that there was no steroid use that produced the homer barrages of the 90s and early 21st century.
What are the other sins that Selig has committed to destroy the American Game as we once knew it?
1. He invented the Wild Card.
2. He invented interleague play without purpose.
3. He did not address drugs in baseball.
4. He allowed the Montreal Expos to Move to Washington.
5. He allowed the Florida Marlins to break up their series champions.
6. He allows the World Series to continue to be played at night in frigid weather.
7. He does not have Major League Baseball support women’s professional softball.
8. He created the shrunken strike zone that kills pitchers.
9. He allowed the tightly wound baseball into the game (as demonstrated by Tom Seaver on television).
10. He has presided over creation of bandbox ballparks that are all the same except for flip-flopping the bleacher layout.
11. He has presided over the pitch count era (though this is not his fault) that has stunted pitcher development.
He has made a lot of money for baseball owners though. He is to baseball what development crazy leaders are to cities. He is excellent for owners, promoters, unions, developers, and players, but not too good for the ticket buyers who pay incredible prices for a lot of mediocre ballgames, and a playoff system that rewards mediocrity.
