A story from Sports Illustrated earlier this month deals with an issue that seems to come and go a lot in Major League Baseball: Should Pete Rose be reinstated and made eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Here's the backstory in case you need it. Rose played for the Reds, Phillies, and Expos over a 24-year career and no one played harder. When he retired as a player in 1986, he was (and still is) the all-time leader in games, at-bats, and hits.
Rose managed the Reds until 1989 when then-commissioner Bart Giamatti banned him from Major League Baseball for life for gambling.
Over the past 25 years, Rose has been on a crusade to be reinstated, thus making him eligible for the Hall of Fame (he would have been eligible in 1992 had he not been banned).
The Rose Saga surfaces from time to time and seems to disappear with as much fanfare as a Florida Marlins game. The latest discussion has all the elements of supporters' favorite arguments: Players from the steroid era are eligible for the Hall so why not give Pete a fair shot? If Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens can be eligible for the Hall of Fame, why not Pete Rose?
Because Pete Rose agreed to the ban. He submitted himself to the authority of the Commissioner's Office which handed down the punishment rather than fight the allegations and the penalty.
There are players who are suspected of using steroids but never tested positive. This allows for plausible deniability on the part of those under the steroid cloud. Bonds and Clemens both received less than 36% of the vote in the last ballot. Despite the backlash from the Baseball Writers Association of America, they made it on to the ballot. That's one step closer than Rose.
Throngs of baseball fans are looking at the Juice Ball Era as a double standard. If players could cheat with performance-enhancing drugs why shouldn't Pete Rose be forgiven for his baseball sins?
It's the classic Hall of Fame argument: If you let this guy in how different is this guy. What about this guy. Why are we drawing the line with this guy?
Pete Rose agreed to the ban rather than fight to clear his name. If he applies for reinstatement, which he has the right to do, he will have to answer the same questions people have had for 25 years. I wonder if he is ready to answer those questions now.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
Belichick's Ire Misplaced
The New England Patriots' season came to an end Sunday with a 26-16 loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. Head Coach Bill Belichick addressed the media Monday Morning and made a point to mention former-Patriot-now-Denver Bronco Wes Welker. Welker hit New England cornerback Aqib Talib in the second quarter. Talib left the game with an injured his knee on the play and left the game. Belichick called it, "one of the worst plays I've seen."
Belichick refused to comment on any possible repercussions from the play, saying he would defer to the League when it came to discipline on the matter.
Personally, I did not see anything out of the ordinary when I saw the play as it was happening. I just thought Talib was injured. It happens in football and I didn't think anything about a penalty or any other punishment for Welker.
I think there is something deeper when it comes to Belichick and his comments on the former Patriot. Welker left the Patriots as a free agent and the head coach feels slighted by that.
You don't leave the Patriots. The Patriots tell you when they are ready for you to leave. If you leave before the team says so, it is a slight (Eric Mangini).
Welker signed with the Broncos before the 2013 season after six seasons with the Patriots. If there was a season New England could have used the services of the former Texas Tech Red Raider, it was 2013 when the receiving corps was hit with everything from injuries to incarceration.
Belichick did an admirable job of keeping the team together throughout the season, taking the team all the way to the conference championship game. Welker was familiar with the Patriots system and game plan and his presence was certainly missed by a team decimated by unfortunate events as the year went on. Anyone who saw the receivers and quarterback Tom Brady go through the growing pains and miscommunications at the start of the season would be surprised to learn that same team would get to within one game of the Super Bowl.
Instead of holding his head high and talking about the positives that occurred during the season, Belichick became overwhelmed with the taste of sour grapes in his mouth and decided to call out a former player. Belichick could have walked up to his former player and said, "Hey, good game out there. Give 'em hell in two weeks, okay Buddy?" but he didn't. He vented his frustrations before the media; Something very un-Belichickian. I believe if the Patriots had won Sunday's game, this incident would never have been mentioned.
Belichick refused to comment on any possible repercussions from the play, saying he would defer to the League when it came to discipline on the matter.
Personally, I did not see anything out of the ordinary when I saw the play as it was happening. I just thought Talib was injured. It happens in football and I didn't think anything about a penalty or any other punishment for Welker.
I think there is something deeper when it comes to Belichick and his comments on the former Patriot. Welker left the Patriots as a free agent and the head coach feels slighted by that.
You don't leave the Patriots. The Patriots tell you when they are ready for you to leave. If you leave before the team says so, it is a slight (Eric Mangini).
Welker signed with the Broncos before the 2013 season after six seasons with the Patriots. If there was a season New England could have used the services of the former Texas Tech Red Raider, it was 2013 when the receiving corps was hit with everything from injuries to incarceration.
Belichick did an admirable job of keeping the team together throughout the season, taking the team all the way to the conference championship game. Welker was familiar with the Patriots system and game plan and his presence was certainly missed by a team decimated by unfortunate events as the year went on. Anyone who saw the receivers and quarterback Tom Brady go through the growing pains and miscommunications at the start of the season would be surprised to learn that same team would get to within one game of the Super Bowl.
Instead of holding his head high and talking about the positives that occurred during the season, Belichick became overwhelmed with the taste of sour grapes in his mouth and decided to call out a former player. Belichick could have walked up to his former player and said, "Hey, good game out there. Give 'em hell in two weeks, okay Buddy?" but he didn't. He vented his frustrations before the media; Something very un-Belichickian. I believe if the Patriots had won Sunday's game, this incident would never have been mentioned.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Chris Christie
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had been looked at as the odds-on-favorite for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 until news surfaced earlier this week the closing of access lanes from Fort Lee, NJ to the George Washington Bridge. The closings appear to be political retribution toward Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. Sokilich, a Democrat, refused to endorse the incumbent Governor during Christie's re-election bid last year.
As a result of Sokolich's non-support, members of Christie's staff decided to make an example of Fort Lee and it's chief executive. Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Anne Kelly sent a message reading, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official at the time. Wildstein responded with, "Got it."
The result was a traffic nightmare for the residents of Fort Lee that lasted four days, including the first day of school. Reports tell of a woman who died in an ambulance stuck in the traffic.
Christie has appeared to be contrite regarding the matter. Yesterday he faced questions about the closing and the aftermath and didn't back down from any of them. People are starting to wonder if this scandal will derail the Governor's chances for the White House in 2016. Liberal reaction to the mess has ranged from thinking the Governor knew to, "If [he] didn't know what his subordinates were doing, it reflected poorly on him."
Other Liberals are having a field day with this. Steve Benen of MSNBC called former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani's defense of Christie "nonsense" and referred to Media Matters' blogger Matt Gertz' response as "Ridiculous".
I believe it's very possible that Christie had no idea of this. How could anyone be aware of everything that is going on. Governor Christie is charged with running the State of New Jersey. Do you think he is able to keep his finger on everything his staff does? I don't. I believe staffers thought they were doing their boss a favor. They are in high places and are able to wield influence. Along with that comes a feeling of invincibility and pomposity. Kelly thought she could get Sokilich to change his mind one way or the other. He didn't and the idea backfired: Kelly has been fired. Wildstein resigned last month.
Christie has a chance to show what type of leader he is. He can fill these personnel gaps with honest people who will work for the state instead of their self-interests and political maneuvers. This will bolster his remarks that he didn't know anything about the bridge's closing. If he did know about this, we will hear of another person leaving the New Jersey statehouse in disgrace.
As a result of Sokolich's non-support, members of Christie's staff decided to make an example of Fort Lee and it's chief executive. Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Anne Kelly sent a message reading, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official at the time. Wildstein responded with, "Got it."
The result was a traffic nightmare for the residents of Fort Lee that lasted four days, including the first day of school. Reports tell of a woman who died in an ambulance stuck in the traffic.
Christie has appeared to be contrite regarding the matter. Yesterday he faced questions about the closing and the aftermath and didn't back down from any of them. People are starting to wonder if this scandal will derail the Governor's chances for the White House in 2016. Liberal reaction to the mess has ranged from thinking the Governor knew to, "If [he] didn't know what his subordinates were doing, it reflected poorly on him."
Other Liberals are having a field day with this. Steve Benen of MSNBC called former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani's defense of Christie "nonsense" and referred to Media Matters' blogger Matt Gertz' response as "Ridiculous".
I believe it's very possible that Christie had no idea of this. How could anyone be aware of everything that is going on. Governor Christie is charged with running the State of New Jersey. Do you think he is able to keep his finger on everything his staff does? I don't. I believe staffers thought they were doing their boss a favor. They are in high places and are able to wield influence. Along with that comes a feeling of invincibility and pomposity. Kelly thought she could get Sokilich to change his mind one way or the other. He didn't and the idea backfired: Kelly has been fired. Wildstein resigned last month.
Christie has a chance to show what type of leader he is. He can fill these personnel gaps with honest people who will work for the state instead of their self-interests and political maneuvers. This will bolster his remarks that he didn't know anything about the bridge's closing. If he did know about this, we will hear of another person leaving the New Jersey statehouse in disgrace.
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