Joe's Excellent Spring Training Adventure

FORT MYERS, Fla. "What do you call 25 guys sitting at home watching the World Series?" yells a fan.

I think for a moment and respond, "The Yankees?" while cracking a smile.

The Red Sox complex in Ft. Myers, FL was crowded last Tuesday. Over 3,000 fans came to see the full squad report for the first time as World Champions. I met fans from New England, of course, but also fans from as far away as Argentina who came to see the 2005 Boston Red Sox. Practices were delayed until 1 PM as the players were scheduled for physical exams in the morning.

To get to the spring training complex where the Red Sox will work out through early March, I had to travel to City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers where I could park and purchase a one dollar wrist band to ride the 15-minute bus to the training complex. The wait for the bus was about an hour long.

After I arrived at the complex, a Red Sox representative tolds me the rules. As I walked in, I could see five fields. The main field is where all the players are seen stretching and running. Then, the players break into six groups. One group goes to a batting cage. On the right, a white fence surrounds the media and player entrances. I immediately saw Peter Gammons and he was signing a few autographs. I went over to him and had him sign a YankeesSuck.com bumper sticker.

"I know they won't want to hear this Peter, but who do ya like this year for the AL East?" called one fan.

I shot a glance at the man...He was in full Yankee garb. "I see the Yankees taking the division, but that really doesn't mean anything, the last three World Series champions have been the Wild Card. So I'm sure these fans don't mind hearing that," said Gammons.

"Ahh, that's true," said the much-out-of-place Yankee fan. That shut him up for a while.

"Who's your undah-the-radah pick?" asked another fan with a telltale Northern accent.

Gammons responded, "I like the Minnesota Twins, I like their pitching staff and if the Twins had Mauer last year, the Yankees would have been swept in three straight."

Gammons walked off and the players, done stretching, began to spread out to their stations. Wells, Schilling, Arroyo, Wakefield and other sprinted down to the field closest to me. Schilling began to warm up with Wells. Right then, I saw Wade Miller, the newly-acquired starting pitcher from the Astros, walk into the clubhouse. A quick day for him, as he never came back out. A few minutes later, Matt Clement, the free agent from the Chicago Cubs walked into the clubhouse as well.

I stayed my ground at the white gate and watched players take some batting practice in the cages. John Henry made an appearance in a cowboy hat and khakis. Henry was in a happy mood. No kidding, who wouldn't be happy after owning a team that just came off winning the World Series. He signed a few autographs and promised to come back later, which he did, several times.

As players come in and out during the three-hour open practice, fans called out to the famous players: Schilling, Ramirez, Ortiz, Damon, Bellhorn and Millar. I had no big interest in those players. I wanted to talk to the prospect, Hanley Ramirez, who signed autographs for fans who had no clue who he was. I called out "HANLEY!" which got him over to the fans but he never signed for yours truly.

I called out for Kevin Youkilis, another one of our farm players, whom only a few fans knew. "YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK," I called. He waved and kept running to the next station. I watched as Edgar Renteria went into the clubhouse as well. Another lesser-known farm player, Adam Hyzdu walked by. "Adam!" I called, "Hyzdu!" I called again. He turned, waved and kept running.

I spotted Theo Epstein talking to some of the media. "THEO!" I call as he finished. He comes over to sign. Theo Epstein had a professional attitude, he answered questions of the fans but with a business-like tone. I handed him the YankeesSuck.com bumper sticker to sign. He took a look at it and said, "I can't sign this." He turned it over and without even trying signed the back. "Theo, I have a few shirts for some of the players, could you hand a couple of them out them for me?" I asked. "No, I'm not allowed to, but feel free to hand them out to them if you see them," he responded.

David Ortiz was done with his workout, so he came walking by, saw the fans and finished his water. He threw the bottle to the ground as a fan tried to grab it. He signed for dozens of fans. In total, it took him about forty minutes.

Next Jason Varitek arrived, "Captain!," one fan called. He signed for a while and he got to me. I hand him a ball and he signed. "Varitek, I have a shirt for you from the web site I write for. Would you like it?"

"No thanks," Varitek replied. I feel slightly offended but I shrug it off as Ortiz made his way to me. I reach out my hand with my ball and he took it and signed it.

"Ortiz! I have a shirt for you!" I threw the shirt to him. He searched around for it, and takes out a sharpie to sign it. "NO!" I call, "It's for you."

He unfolded it and saw the "1918" reversed. Confused, he looked at me with a blank stare and went "Ugh."

"Turn it around!" I called. He saw "2004!" in big blue letters and called out, "Thank you." I said, "No, thank you." He put the shirt over his shoulder, signed the last few autographs and walks into the clubhouse.

"That's it for today people," shouted one attendant, "Time for you to leave."

I walked out as Francona talked on his cellphone. I got in line for the bus ride home as Manny Ramirez, in a Tom Brady jersey, walked out to sign. The line went crazy, fans crowded over to the fence, blocking everyone. I figured I had no chance, and made my way around. I got on the bus as kids tell each other that they got Ramirez' autograph. I felt slightly jealous, but there was nothing I could have done. I was satisfied with the four autographs I got.

I wish I could have stayed for a couple more days, but it was just about impossible to go back. I arrived on Monday. Tuesday was my day to spend at the complex. Wednesday, I spent time with family near Fort Myers and Thursday morning, I was up before the crack of dawn to catch my early flight.

The bus arrived at City of Palms Park and I stare at the banners. "Fort Myers, Winter Home of the 2004 World Series Champions." I hope that the Boston Red Sox have as much success this year as they did last, and hope that those damn Yankees don't return to their October magic.

I can't seem to forget how good it feels for the Red Sox to be World Series Champions.

Evil eBid

It must have been a traumatic memory for Harvard alum Kerry Konrad, a lifelong Yankee fan attending college deep within enemy territory. In an attempt at revenge, Konrad has now secured himself a spot in the "Evil Empire's Hall of Fame." You see, Konrad's $2,325 bid won an eBay auction giving him one-day naming rights to the arena-formerly-known-as FleetCenter. His choice for the new name: "The Derek Jeter Center."

Fleet Bank no longer exists and Bank of America, who bought Fleet, declined the naming rights to the arena, so Delaware North Cos., the company that owns the arena, has put daily naming rights to the arena on eBay and is donating the profits for charity.

Arena spokesman Jim Delaney said he cautioned Konrad that he didn't think they could approve that name. Sure enough, it struck out with FleetCenter President & CEO Richard Krezwick. Sports Illustrated reports that Krezwick joked "All names have to be rated 'G'. We determined that Derek Jeter Center is an obscene and vulgar use of the English language in Boston."

But a Boston fan — and classy friend of Konrad's chipped in enough to bring the bid up to a symbolic $8600. Now the center will be called "the Jimmy Fund Center" and that venerable charity will receive the funds.
Click here to read the Sports Illustrated story.

Role Reversal

Red Sox Nation is waiting with great anticipation for a certain ring ceremony to take place on April 11 at Fenway Park. On that day, the World Champion Boston Red Sox open their home schedule against their hated rival, the New York Yankees.

Baseball tradition usually dictates that the World Series winner raise the championship banner and receive their World Series rings at the first home game. But a report published in the Boston Herald last Thursday has suggested that maybe the Red Sox would consider moving the ring ceremony off of the home opener so as not to rub it in the Yankees faces.

According to The Herald article, Sox management is "expected to meet at some point in the near future to discuss other options. They include a presentation ceremony at Fenway on an off day, a ceremony away from Fenway, and a ceremony prior to a non-Yankees game at Fenway. The first two scenarios would accommodate an extended event and could allow the team to turn the event into a fundraiser for the Red Sox Foundation."

Now I am all about good sportsmanship and raising funds for a worthy cause, but it seems to me that the only reason this subject is even being brought up is because the opponent is the Yankees. In my view, if this were any other team, this article probably would have never have been written and the ceremony would be a foregone conclusion.

But because it's the Yankees, people seem to feel they should be given the proper "respect." My response to that is "are you kidding me?"

The idea of this ceremony being rescheduled is just absurd if the real reason behind it is that Sox management doesn't want to "offend" the Yankees.

Does anyone honestly think that if the roles were reversed (as they were for 86 years) that the Yankees would have any problem unveiling their 27th ring in front of the Sox at the Yankees' home opener on April 3rd?

I can almost guarantee they'd have no problem rubbing it in the Sox faces. See, as much as Yankee fans want the rest of us to believe in the myth of how classy their team is, last year's Yankee loss has made us all a lot wiser to the disapperance of their "mystique and aura." When they lost their mystique, their image as the personification of class went out the window with it.

This is a franchise that had no problem rolling out Bucky Dent to throw out the first pitch of last year's deciding ALCS Game 7. As if a home run hit 26 years ago was going to affect these present day Sox. Yeah, real classy. Not to mention their wonderful fans who always made it a point to remind Red Sox fans everywhere the last time Boston won a championship before 2004. Again, real classy. Now they expect the baseball universe to be kind to them?

All of a sudden now the Yankees are the poor stepchild and we should feel bad for them? I'm not buying it for one minute. And the fact that Red Sox management is even entertaining the idea of not "embarrassing" the Yankees is ludicrous. More than anyone, Sox President Larry Lucchino should know that Steinbrenner would do anything to torture the Sox. Now that he has a chance to return the favor, Lucchino and his partners may take the high road? It's an idea that's great in theory but very disappointing in practice if it turns out to be true. Payback is not an easy thing and the Yankees should have to experience the other side of the coin in this rivalry. After all, Red Sox fans had to put up with all the "1918" and "Curse" garbage for so long that they deserve to extract their pound of flesh now that things are reversed. This isn't about sportsmanship on the field. It's about gamesmanship off the field and evening things out a little bit.

The bottom line is the Yankees and their fans have to take their medicine and deal with the Red Sox victory. Just like Red Sox Nation had to swallow 86 consecutive years of bitter medicine during Yankee wins.

As a Red Sox fan, I know I speak for many in the Nation when I say raising that banner and unveiling those rings in front of the Yankees at Fenway will be the final piece to make the World Series victory and its aftermath one of the sweetest moments in the history of sports. Please, Red Sox management, don't deprive Red Sox Nation this one last chance to laugh at the Evil Empire.

Making News

The New York Times published an article today that took a deeper look into the perception that seemingly all Red Sox players are bashing A-Rod. Times reporter Murray Chass wrote not only the quotes by Red Sox players, but the questions they were responding to. While the quotes are accurate, the way they were used had the effect of throwing gas on the fire — a fire that bored sports writers in February were all too eager to see burn.

Chass writes: "David Wells, for example, was portrayed as one of the players who said he didn't like Rodriguez. But let's see what he really said.

From those remarks, Wells became someone who didn't like Rodriguez."

Well, I guess we missed all of the body-slamming, gloves-off brawling of the hockey season to release our cabin fever this year, so we're looking for a good fight. But to our sports journalist friends, please tell us the story of what's happening at spring training - don't make it.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Yankee Ambassador

I was never a Bernie Williams fan. I am now. I guess over the years the pinstripes distracted me from seeing the man. But Thursday night, I was lucky enough to have a couple of tickets to the Red Sox vs. Yankees. Not a baseball game, but a forum on the famous rivalry hosted in the grand Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT as part of "The Connecticut Forum" series. During the discussion, panelist Carlton Fisk mentioned how he once looked at a younger Bernie Williams and thought that he needed to toughen up if he was ever going to make it in the big leagues. Apparently Bernie was being bullied by a couple of the Yankee players at the time and none other than Don Mattingly stepped in to protect the young soon-to-be superstar. Bucky Dent filled the story out a bit and mentioned that Williams would rather play his guitar than get into it with the obnoxious players. Mike Francesa and Bob Ryan all said nice things about Williams so I figure whenever the Red Sox and Yankees agree on something, it's got to be true.

Over the last few days we’ve had a string of bad sports news. The NHL canceled its season, Jose Canseco’s steroids accusations, and the verbal shots volleyed between some Red Sox and Yankee players have been grabbing all the headlines. However, the New York Times, published a story by Jack Curry Friday about the latest goodwill ambassador to Colombia. It is Bernie Williams. It’s a lengthy story and I highly recommend the read. It turns out that Williams, a week away from having to report to spring training, accepted an offer to take part in an international initiative to improve global cross-cultural understanding. Protected by the United States military, Williams entered the tumultuous country armed with baseball equipment, his guitar and his reputation. He ignored the dangers of guerrillas and drug lords to help bring a better understanding of US culture to the young Columbians.

His journey was about influencing people. “If anything,” he said, “he felt a 120-hour embrace.”

“I was looking beyond the political picture to the people," Williams said. "It's different parts of the world and different cultures, but, in some ways, we are all similar. It's people."

When Brian Sexton, the senior advisor and Special Coordinator for Culture of the United States State Department, contacted Williams about becoming an ambassador with CultureConnect, Williams was intrigued. It took about three years to coordinate the arrangements with the Yankees for Williams to become the country's 12th cultural ambassador, joining luminaries like Yo-Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis.

The program uses people in fields like music, art, literature and sports to enhance the understanding of America among young people in other counties. Williams agreed to a two-year commitment and is expected to make four trips during that period, all paid for by the United States. He and Sexton have discussed going to Japan and the Philippines after the coming season.

"It was," Sexton said, "Bernie's great adventure."

A-Rod A-Clown and A-Lone

The Anti-Alex Rodriguez fan club is growing fast. It's latest spokesman is Boston Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon. Nixon has called A-Rod "a clown" and said "…when people ask me about the Yankees, I tell them about (Derek) Jeter and Bernie Williams and (Jorge) Posada. I don't tell them about Rodriguez. ... He can't stand up to Jeter in my book or Bernie Williams or Posada."

Earlier in the off-season, Red Sox hurler Curt Schilling had called A-Rod’s infamous "slap play" a "bush-league" move.

The Anti-A-Rod club may include some Yankees as well. The New York Daily News ran this story on their site today in which they call A-Rod the "Lone ex-Ranger." He’s apparently not getting a lot of love from his Yankee teammates. This lack of support goes back to the Yankees collapse to the Red Sox in last year's ALCS. After that game, Derek Jeter made a remark that this Yankee team didn’t have the same type of players that the winning teams had in the late 1990’s. Most astute listeners thought this was a jab aimed at Rodriguez. Now, in response to Nixon's comments, Jeter said "I've been here my whole career, so the Yankees, you go out there and do things the right way. You take into consideration the team before you take into consideration yourself. We're all about winning." Jeter is known to call the team a "family" and has recently extended his best wishes to the embattled Jason Giambi — saying Giambi deserves the team's support for the very reason that "he's one of us." Yet Jeter does not offer the same defense to A-Rod. What he's NOT saying says a lot. It sounds like Jeter thinks A-Rod is a selfish, egotistical loser.

Nixon made his comments in response to an interview A-Rod gave in which he said he works out 6 hours a day in the off-season starting at 6:00 am while other players are sleeping and taking care of their kids. "He said he's doing all this while 600 players are still in their beds," Nixon said defending himself and other pro-ball fathers who don’t want to be deadbeat dads.

My question is this: Why is A-Rod so anxious to prove how hard and strenuous his workout routine is? Is he trying to cover something up in this age of Steroid fever? And, if he's NOT using steroids to bulk up, then why not come right out and say so very clearly? Look at A-Rod's numbers and his body shape and draw your own conclusions. Today's New York Times called Rodriguez a "star increasingly strapped with authenticity issues." Perhaps A-Rod will end up as yet another pretty-faced, Popeye-armed poster boy for Baseball's systemic "authenticity issues" of the last decade or so. Get your souvenirs now, kids - before we start referring to this phony as "A-Roid."

Click here for the original Trot Nixon story.

Click here for a story on how the Yankees will let A-Rod respond to the Red Sox.

Yeah...That's the ticket

If Saturday Night Live wants to bring back their Tommy “The Liar” Flanagan character, they should drive to the Bronx and look in the Yankees front office for potential candidates.

Their top choice might be Yankees President Randy "The Liar" Levine. You see, USA Today reported that he released a statement that said that the Yankees removed the specific steroid language because they felt they were protected by the broader, less specific and more-difficult-to-prove language they settled on. Yeah..that's the ticket.

Or maybe they would like to interview Yankee GM Brian "The Liar" Cashman for the role. In an attempt to distance the Yankees from the knowledge that Giambi was using steroids, Brian Cashman said on ESPN radio that "common sense" should be used to assume the Yankees would not sign a player they suspected was using steroids. "Why would the Yankees put themselves in that position?" he wonders. Yeah..that's the ticket. After all, what benefit could a guy on steroids have to the Yankees? —Especially a guy who hits .340 and hits 40 hr's a year.

If the SNL producers aren't satisfied with the talent in the front office, maybe they should look to the field, where superstar Derek Jeter said today in this USA Today story, that although Giambi made mistakes, he is ready to welcome him back. All the players keep talking about the huge "mistake" Giambi made. However, I can’t help but think by the way they all couch their words that by "mistake" they are not referring to him using steroids, but admitting to it.

Where is the Roid Rage?

Jose Canseco nauseates me on so many levels. Jason Giambi has some serious issues with performance anxiety - or something. Sheffield, Bonds, McGwire — sure, the balls are flying high but the batters are juiced to their eyeballs. And Baseball's managers and coaches and front-office suits all do a pretty lame job of pretending they just don't know what's going on. It would be just so laughable — if it wasn't so outrageously offensive.

We're talking about 2 basic things here: 1. Cheating. 2. Lying.

For most of us, lying and cheating — and getting caught — would result in many an unpleasant situation, for example: expulsion from school, divorce, fired from your job, fined, jailed, publicly humiliated and shamed, not to be trusted ever again by decent folk. This is why we teach our precious little children NOT to cheat and lie.

If I had cheated on my SAT's, I don't think the college boards would have sent the transcript out with a little asterisk next to my score. If you lie on your taxes, a scary person from the IRS will show up with a calculator and take your house away. If you cheat on your spouse and try to cover it up with some wimpy excuses, get ready to pay — or maybe you'll come to a very messy end.

Society demands justice - in one way or another. So, I ask you fans, where is the outrage with all these lying, cheating, greedy baseball players? Where is the call for legal consequence?

There seems to be only mild curious interest in the Balco scandal. Canseco is cashing in by peddling the seedy imagery of his bathroom-stall shooting galleries. Barry Bonds is getting ready to break all kinds of hitting records this season. Giambi is just pathetically apologizing over and over — for what exactly? Well, he can't say the "S" word. Why are we still giving these guys a free ride? Why aren't we demanding that they be expelled from the game — disqualified — and kicked right out? Why aren't their teammates (assuming that there ARE still hard-training guys who don't incorporate a syringe into their workouts) screaming foul?

Does anyone think this is a big problem, this complete loss of credibility in America's game? If your little kid is a big Gary Sheffield fan, what will you tell him when the truth comes out that he was shooting something — something that is against the law to possess — into his muscles to make him a more powerful hitter. Do you use the word "cheater?" Or is he still a hero of the game — with a nice little * to let you know that he was really a lying, cheating fake?

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Sammy

It was 1998. Sammy and Mark. Mark and Sammy. It seemed like the whole country was watching. People who had sworn off baseball were being lured back in by this record chase. While Mark McGuire seem uncomfortable with the whole thing, Sammy Sosa was just eating it up. He made Mark McGuire a likeable guy to most of us. Sammy didn't praise himself. He praised Mark. He praised the fans. He praised the Cub fans.

The Cub fans, in turn, praised Sammy. When he would run out to his place in right field at Wrigley, the fans would bow in homage to him.

Now, it's 2005. During the Cubs Convention, they played a video commemorating the 2004 season. Each time Sammy appeared, the Cub fans...yes, those same Cub fans...booed. Less than a month later, Sammy was standing at a podium with a big smile on his face talking about how excited he was to be playing for the Baltimore Orioles.

This is one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He was to Chicago, as Jordan, Ditka, or Banks was to Chicago. When he retires, he will be one of the top five home run hitters of all time. He helped save the game of baseball.

Now, he is an Oriole.

He is not a Yankee. He is not a Red Sox. He is not a Met. He is not a Dodger. He is not a Ranger (Mr. Hicks and all his money.)

After it seemed like everything was going against the Orioles this winter, the Orioles fell into getting a player who hit more home runs than anyone else on their entire 2004 team. All it is costing the Orioles is about 7 million dollars...With the Cubs picking up a good chunk of Sammy's salary for 2005 and the Orioles saving money on trading Jerry Hairston.

He just fell into the Orioles lap, and the Orioles are lapping it up. Ticket sales are up. There is a buzz about the Orioles again. People are talking about the Birds.

Does this mean that the Orioles are going to win it all this year? Probably not, but it will make the Orioles exciting to watch. If Sammy has an average year, Tejada, Mora, Roberts have a similar year to last year, and Palmeiro and Gibbons return to form, we could have the Charm City Bombers in Baltimore this year.

As for Sammy, at the press conference where he was introduced as an Oriole, he was doing a lot of praising. He praised Tejada. He praised Mazilli. He praised Camden Yards.

Will the fans praise him back? Will they bow in homage to him? Keep an eye on right field.

Read more from Tim Watson on the Baltimore Fan blog "Flying Orioles" at http://orioles.mostvaluablenetwork.com/

Super Sunday "Safe at Home"

Yes - it's an oldie but a goodie...and especially appropriate today, Superbowl Sunday. Have fun being football fans, today - and go easy on the wings and seven-layer dip. Here - for your enjoyment - is an excerpt from the classic sports comedy routine by the great comedian, George Carlin:

"I enjoy comparing baseball and football:

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!"

Let's go, Willie

He is a native son from the streets of Brooklyn, former captain of the Yankees, an All-Star second baseman (multiple years), a wicked base thief, an apprentice to Joe Torre, a veteran of no less than 16 World Series teams, a well-liked and widely-respected man of The Game and a true-grit New Yorker. His bios often say he grew up a Mets fan, which is what the true-git New Yorkers do. Willie Randolph is all this, and now, he is in the hot seat. Omar Minaya and the Wilpons have given Randolph some good tools, among them a seasoned Martinez and a high-powered Beltran. They're going to expect him to build a winning machine.

In an article in the New York Times this week, Randolph was philosophical about the position he's in. He told writer Harvey Araton he didn't expect a grace period just because he's new to this job, "You think I'd feel good if we went out and were mediocre . . . I don't want a mulligan. I'm not saying to go out and start printing the playoff tickets, but ...when I hear people say 'Willie's got pressure on him to win,' that's great. I'm loving that, man. I think I paid my dues. I finally got a shot."

Even after all his success, and the championship ring he wears with his new blue and orange cap, Randolph's been hungry for that "shot." Reportedly, he had interviewed for some 14 manager jobs before Minaya finally hired him. So, he and the Mets have got something to prove. A short month from now, they'll play their first training game in Port St. Lucie, Florida and we'll start to get a sense of just how hungry this team is going to be.

Willie - we're going to love rooting for you, man (and by "we," I expect that includes quite a few Yankee fans, too. ) You're one of the good guys and a true pro in an oldtime baseball kind of way. Let's just hope that still means you can be a winner, too.

Sources: www.historicbaseball.com
The New York Times
Newsday 1992 file photo - Newsday.com