River Avenue Blues

River Ave. Blues » NYC Sports Media » Page 8

Keeping Joba in perspective

by 30 Comments

There is absolutely no way to excuse what Joba Chamberlain did over the weekend. Driving with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit isn’t something one can chalk up to youth. No one should drive drunk at 23, and no one should drive drunk at 53. But that doesn’t mean Anthony Rieber should go around penning columns like this one in which he asserts that Joba’s DUI could portend problems for his move into the rotation. I can’t even do this piece justice, but I can wonder: Is it really that hard to have a real baseball discourse in the pages of the New York City papers?

Update by Joe: In case you need to live vicariously through Joba, you can check out the details of his night out. Yippee. All this coverage of this incident really makes me want to just get back to talking baseball. We’ll go for that this afternoon.

Why George didn’t make the Yankees

by 24 Comments

And why Hank and Hal won’t either

It’s always entertaining when New York Magazine, the tabloid of the city’s vibrant magazine world, pushes itself into the sports scene. Their pieces are so full of broad generalizations, sweeping proclamations and incorrect facts as to obscure any larger point the magazine might be trying to make.

This week, with the Yanks’ season nearing an end and the team sitting uncomfortably in fourth place, Chris Smith examines the current state of Yankee ownership and wonders if the Yankees are fading without George Steinbrenner around to right the ship. “As the tyrant fades away and his team fades with him,” the magazine’s headline writers say, “it has now become all too apparent that the Boss was really the straw that stirred the drink.”

The only problem with this argument is that it’s just not true, and we’re once again stuck with a tired media trope that, if repeated often enough, becomes accepted fact.

[Read more…]

Robinson Cano on errors, contracts, and the media

by 32 Comments

The heat was on Robinson Cano Saturday, when he left the clubhouse early after the Yanks 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays. He had committed an error, which allowed Toronto to get back in it. So, of course, the beat writers wanted to have a few words with him. They were none too happy to find that he wasn’t around for comment. Our buddy Mark Feinsand caught up with Cano, though, who later explained his actions.

(Yes, I’m breaking the tabloid ban. I like Feinsand, and he’s got some good quotes in here.)

According to Cano, he used the media’s obsession with Alex Rodriguez as his out. Having seen reporters assembled around No. 13’s locker, Cano took the opportunity to sneak out undetected. That sly fox. Only he claims that’s not the case.

“People think I just left because I didn’t want to talk to the media; that wasn’t it at all,” Cano said, clearly bothered by the situation. “I would rather talk to (reporters) when I make an error than when I’m swinging good. Why wouldn’t I want to talk to (the media)? I’m there every day.”

Honestly, I don’t think he should have to talk to the media in any event. It’s just my personal bias, I suppose. I’m not in favor of mandatory media appearances for players. All we get are sugar-coated platitudes. When was the last time you heard Derek Jeter say something meaningful? If fans want quotes from players, well, dig through the archives. Whatever Jeter and Co. are saying has been said thousands of times before.

If you don’t believe me, check out Cano’s next quote:

“I don’t want to make errors; I want to be perfect. But things happen in the game,” Cano said. “People say that I’m not focused, but this stuff happens in games. I’m not going to be the first guy or last guy it happens to.”

I don’t want to make errors, but they happen. That’s the kind of insight I look for every morning in my newspaper.

Finally, Cano offers up thoughts on his play in relation to the contract he signed this past winter.

“People say (the bad year) is because I got my contract, but I made the same kinds of mistakes in my first few years,” Cano said. “Sometimes, I forget I even have the contract. I still see myself as a young guy, as a rookie. I don’t see myself on the level of guys like Jeter, Giambi or A-Rod. I’m the guy that has to keep fighting, to get better every day.”

You have to like the last sentence, though actions certainly speak louder than words. If he truly is working to get better every day, well, then he should have a monster 2009. Also, given what we perceive about Robbie — that is, his carefree (or careless) play — doesn’t the line about forgetting his contract make you chuckle?

Most importantly, it’s time he stops thinking of himself like a rookie. Until he starts seeing himself like Jeter, Giambi, or A-Rod, he’s going to be prone to the same old mistakes. Thankfully, he’s at an age where he’s supposed to be growing up. I’m just six months older than Robbie, and I’ve started to see plenty of positive changes in my attitude over the past year, year and a half. Let’s hope Robbie’s just slightly behind.

‘Mike and the Mad Dog’ now just Mike

by 35 Comments

For a few months, we had been hearing the rumors of an imminent sports radio divorce. On Thursday, the break-up finally materialized as Chris Russo — Mad Dog to most — announced his departure from the inexplicably popular WFAN radio show. Mike Francesa will stay on as the afternoon host and, presumably, the YES Network will simulcast “Francesa on the FAN” in place of Mike and the Mad Dog. Newsday’s Neil Best has a lot more on this hot story, and we can take solace in the fact that sports radio in New York just got slightly more tolerable.

Mike & the Mad Dog may be on the outs

by 51 Comments

Newsday’s Neil Best had something of a shocker over the weekend: It’s looking very likely that Mike & the Mad Dog will go off the air in September. Apparently, Chris Russo and Mike Francesca, who hardly every do the show together anymore, don’t like each other much. As the Big Lead asks, is anyone surprised that two morons on the radio can’t get along? Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wonder what the YES Network and RAB regular Jamal will do with their afternoons once September rolls around.

Marchman talks Yanks, baseball with Maury Brown

by 7 Comments

Maury Brown, the man behind the excellent Biz of Baseball site, sat down with Tim Marchman for a Q-and-A on New York sports. Marchman is, in my opinion, one of the more under-appreciated columnists in New York, mostly because he writes for The Sun, a paper that doesn’t get the same level of attention as the other New York dailies.

Marchman, who’s just a few years older than the three of us, talks about his journey to the sports pages of The Sun from Allegheny College and, of course, the state of New York baseball this season.

Read on for some of Marchman’s analysis on the Yankees’ 2008 campaign, the new stadium and more.

Here We Go Again: the Joba fist pump edition

by 60 Comments

“If he wants to yell and scream after a strikeout, I guess that’s what gets him going. It’s May baseball. The home run was in a much bigger situation. I didn’t dance and scream. If a hitter did something like that, it would be bush. It’s kind of interesting how a pitcher gets away with it.”

That’s what Dave Dellucci whined about said to the media yesterday afternoon after the Indians lost to the Yankees. The “he” Dellucci is referring to is, of course, Joba Chamberlain. Once again, the media — and opposing players — are making mountains out of mole hills.

In the 8th inning yesterday, Joba came in with something to prove. You could see it on his face and in his body language. He was throwing the ball to get people outs, and that’s what he did. When Dave Dellucci came out with two outs in the inning, everyone just knew that Joba would try to strike him out, and strike him out he did. In Joba’s way, he got excited. He yelled; he pumped his first; and then he calmly walked back to the Yankee dugout.

Dellucci didn’t like Joba’s antics, and neither did Mike and the Mad Dog. But Joba defenders are spot on. Joe Girardi nailed the rebuttal in one regard. “That’s who he is, and he’s not showing anyone up,” the Yanks’ skipper said. “He’s not looking at Dellucci, he’s looking in our dugout. He’s going to show some emotion. There’s a lot of pitchers, when they get an out, they give a fist pump. To me, the important thing is … you’re not showing someone up, and he’s looking at our dugout.”

Peter Abraham took that defense even farther and railed into Mike and the Mad Dog. Joba’s a young and exciting player. He wears his emotion on his sleeve, and that’s a-ok. Mike and the Mad Dog — and Dave Dellucci — are promoting some ridiculous ideal. Players can be excited when they succeed if, yes, it’s only May and even if, yes, Dellucci’s home run had a bigger impact on the game (which is an obnoxious comment to make in its own right). And if anyone doesn’t think emotion comes into play, just ask Richie Sexson.

It’s clear where this is going. Every time Joba does the fist pump, he’ll be criticized, and when he gives up a lead and is visibly agitated, he’ll get criticized. He had it coming, Chris Russo and Mike Francesca will say in a never-ending quest for attention — and ratings. That’s just ridiculous, and the bluster over the first pump should — but won’t — end now.

Joba pumping his first comes to us courtesy of Yahoo! Sports and Getty Images.