RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Run Silent, Run Deep

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Run Silent, Run Deep: The idea for this blog was for it to be a fun discourse about weekly happenings in sports. I have kept it non-political as much as possibl...

Run Silent, Run Deep

The idea for this blog was for it to be a fun discourse about weekly happenings in sports. I have kept it non-political as much as possible, given that overview.

This week I could have written about Lucas Giolito’s no hitter, the Yankees slide into a 7 game tailspin or at least 20 other little stories. Except that it would not be appropriate in light of the context of what transpired this week.

I had written a draft of a lengthy personal view of what has happened. It was direct and it was emotional. 

Reflecting on my readership, to publish that draft would be unfair to those friends I cherish. The feelings one has on the subject run deep in many instances. I have seen this on TV, in print and on Facebook. 

So I have decided to wait for the games to resume in earnest and report on what I want to and what you, my loyal readership, has come to expect. This is a sports blog and I don’t want to blur the lines between politics and sports, emotion and partisanship. I leave that for others to do.

See you next week.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Medical Update

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Medical Update: This is becoming sickening. Seemingly all I read or hear about relating to sports is something to do with the medical profession. It seems...

Medical Update

This is becoming sickening. Seemingly all I read or hear about relating to sports is something to do with the medical profession. It seems like an epidemic within a pandemic.

At least 10 New York Yankees  have been placed on the 10 day IL. Most notably, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton reside there along with D.J. Le Mahieu. The frequency of players finding the IL is such that I didn’t even know that backup catcher Kyle Higashioka is on it with a right oblique strain. Which explains why journeyman Eric Kratz has been relieving starting catcher Gary Sanchez for the past week. 

If that isn’t enough, reliever Zach Britton went on the IL on Thursday. And starting pitcher James Paxton (left elbow strain) and Gleyber Torres (hamstring) are likely candidates to join those injured teammates. 

The starting lineup is a patchwork of second tier players, with the exception of Aaron Hicks, Sanchez, Luke Voit and Gio Urshela. Voit is the hottest bat in the American League right now, tied with Mike Trout for the most home runs in the league with 10. Urshela the steady fielding third baseman, kept on hitting and with some pop in his bat. 

Contrast that with the anemic performances by Sanchez, Hicks, Torres thus far, along with Brett Gardner, mired in a 3 for 30 slump, giving him a batting average of .164. Plus, outside of Garret Cole and Jordan Montgomery in the rotation, the pitching has been atrocious, including the vaunted bullpen. The performances of Britton and Paxton may have explanations. Masahiro Tanaka may not have fully recovered from the line drive Stanton hit off of his head. But the lousy pitching from prized receiver Adam Ottavino is inexplicable. 

No wonder the Yankees were swept by the Rays at home this week. Without the full team and Tampa Bay relatively young and healthy, it was a mismatch. Which is why the Rays are atop of the AL East and the Yankees appear shell-shocked. 

The battle for New York was to begin on Friday night. Except that COVID-19 suddenly appeared with the Mets while they were in Miami, when one player and one staff member tested positive. Once more the Yankees have to wait on a team infected with the coronavirus to see when they next play. It certainly is not this weekend, as “out of an abundance of caution” the Mets and Yankees won’t be playing at Citi Field. 

Meanwhile, each Yankee on the IL gets another day more to get healthy, but this will lead to more 7 inning doubleheaders, which the Yankees do not excel in. Such is the nature of the Yankees 2020 season.

The Mets aren’t the only team to fall ill this week. While the St. Louis Cardinals and Marlins are back to health, the Cincinnati Reds had positive tests and their series was postponed. So, by my count, the Mets, Reds, Cardinals, Marlins and Phillies all had positive tests. Teams affected were throughout the AL East, NL East, NL Central and AL Central. And we haven’t reached the halfway point in the season, plus hurricane season is going to be thriving this year, creating plenty more scheduling woes for the second half of the season. 

One additional COVID 19 sorry in baseball. Pittsburgh Pirates President Travis Williams tested positive for the coronavirus. The Pirates abysmal season got even worse. Hopefully he will recover swiftly and without any persistent after effects. The same cannot be said about the team.

Don’t be shocked by the Houston Astros suddenly starting to win. That is not surprising, given the talent they have. However, Houston has 11 players on the IL, starting with star pitcher Justin Verlander, and most recently, AL MVP runner-up Alex Bregman. Yordan Alvarez, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, is now out for the season as he faces knee surgery. I don’t see them winning the crown, as Tampa, the Yankees, Minnesota and Oakland are far deeper and better than Houston, Nonetheless, if they suddenly get healthy, the Astros are still enough of a force to be reckoned with. 

Some other noteworthy items from baseball this week. Led by the emerging star Fernando Tatis, Jr. the suddenly relevant San Diego Padres slugged four grand slams in four consecutive games, setting a new MLB record. Tatis earned the ire of the Texas Rangers when he connected on a 3-0 count for a grand slam with the Padres already up by 7 runs late in the game. Breaking the unwritten rule is a no-no, so the Rangers pitcher threw behind the body of the next Padres hitter, slugger Manny Machado. 

Good for Tatis and for the beautiful slide he executed to avoid a tag at third base, too. This kid is exciting and the Padres are going to be a legitimate threat for the NL crown in years to come, if not already.

The San Francisco Giants do not like Mike Trout. For whatever reasons one Giants pitcher, Shawn Anderson, who is known to be wild, is throwing up and in at the Angels star, with three of the pitches near Trout’s head. Angels manager Joe Maddon has expressed his opinion on this matter. Giants manager Gab Kapler, who has played for Maddon, only remarked that Anderson was “jittery.” Note to Kapler: Get him out of there if Anderson cannot pitch to Trout. For all of thisTrout two pitches later barely missed a homer and settled for a triple. Perhaps the earful Maddon gave the umpires might be heard by Anderson?

College football was jolted this week with the revelation that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had to close down because of COVID, sending students home for remote learning. The head of the school had said if there was no teaching on campus, there would be no football. Let’s see whether that holds true.

Notre Dame was stunned by a rash of COVID cases. Football practice actually was cancelled for two days. That NEVER happens at Notre Dame. Unwilling to give in to the virus, Notre Dame is treating the COVID scare as a minor inconvenience, temporary in nature. No football is anathema to what Notre Dame is about, no matter how good its academic rank is. Notwithstanding that 5 players tested positive and 6 more are in quarantine. 

Guess what? Parties on and near campus happened, with few availing themselves of masks. The headline in an article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education said “Chapel Hill and Notre Dame Are Just the Beginning.” 

Sadly, this is what the experts all along have been predicting and the naysayers and doubters are still clinging to their beliefs. I heard one slightly intoxicated youth at Notre Dame say that “..this is all a hoax.” 

This is where the administrators need to earn their money. Take a stand. Protect the kids who obviously need to be protected. Sure, there is going to be a harsh monetary cost to this, not soon to be replenished. But  lives lost to COVID can never be replaced. 

The stupidity of the NCAA to permit college football teams to practice if their season has been shut down is astounding.  Coaches worried about the players not learning the plays and being rusty when and if spring football comes about isn’t the right thing to do. They didn’t allow the spring sports teams to continue to practice when their seasons were cut short. 

Of course, the difference is the money involved and what power football wields because of it. This is a pandemic which is growing again before flu season is upon us. Can’t somebody think rationally for a change and unify the schpbpls in their efforts to combat this deadly virus? Wait—it is in the hands of each state to make that call. Fat chance there could ever be unanimity.

In NFL news, there are players who are against first year Giants head coach Joe Judge’s tactics of making his players run punishment laps after mental miscues and for having hard tackling drills. To those who criticize the Giants head man about his tactics, I say leave it be. This Giants team was in disarray when he first started on the job. Judge needs to communicate in no uncertain terms what he expects, and if the highly-compensated Giants’ players don’t like it, I am certain that Judge would agree that they can seek employment elsewhere. I don’t know if this high school/college way of doing things will work or there will be a revolt; the proof will be in the record the Giants accrue in 2020. 

Throughout this training camp period, teams are losing what seems to be a myriad of players to injury early on. My theory is that the different kinds of training the MLB and NFL players are substituting has not been enough for the demands of their sport. Compare that with the lack of serious injuries in the NBA and NHL, where there were bubbles and longer training  before the season, and maybe I am right. 

Washington Head Coach Ron Rivera has squamous cell cancer. He intends to take no time off while fighting the spread of the cancer. I liked him with the Chicago Bears; he was taught and gritty. I am rooting for him to win this fight. 

The Lakers and Bucks lost the openers of their playoff series to eight seeds Portland and Orlando. In the second games, the top seeded teams prevailed. Damien Lillard, who nearly single-handed carried the Blazers into the playoffs, suffered a dislocated finger. Portland’s hopes were faint enough. If Lillard isn’t playing in the stratosphere and is limited by his injury, Portland stands no chance to advance. 

Brooklyn is clearly no match for the defending champion Toronto Raptors, even without Kawhai Leonard. Leonard’s team, the Los Angeles Clippers, has a battle on its hands with the Dallas mavericks. It might have been 2-0 Dallas but for a piece of horrible officiating tossing Krisaps Porzingis in Game 2 for coming to the defense of teammate Luka Donic. Use your heads, zebras!! 

The injury bug is alive in the Mavis-Clips series. Patrick Beverley is day-to-day for LA, while Porzingis and Trey Burke are listed day-to-day and shooting guard Seth Curry is out with an undisclosed leg injury.

Boston has thus far handled the Sixers, who are clearly showing the loss of Ben Simmons to his injury. Miami seems to have Indiana’s number, with Jimmy Butler leading the way for the Heat, aided by the 24 point performance of Duncan Robinson, out of Michigan and Williams College. James Harden’s 34.3 ppg average is the difference between Houston and OKC;  Fear the Beard. 

The best matchup is between Utah and Denver. Two evenly matched teams. The series could make the maximum seven games to decide who moves on to the next round.

Contrary to anyone’s belief, I do not sit home and watch the wall-to-wall coverage of the opening rounds of both the NBA Playoffs and the Road to the Stanley Cup. I may be a sprits junkie, but that is way too much, especially when factoring in the MLB games to watch starting with the Yankees’ telecasts. 

I did watch the Islanders eliminate #3 seed Washington and Alex Ovechkin in five games. New York played a complete game, dominating the center ice play and thwarting the Capitals again and again. 

The Vegas Golden Knights took out the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. Switching goalies in the beginning of the series was risky, but it worked out fine for Vegas. 

St. Louis and Vancouver are mired in a tough series, and those kids in Montreal are giving the Philadelphia Flyers all they can handle. Boston Colorado, Tampa Bay and Dallas advanced relatively unscathed. Colorado looks exceptionally impressive; I wonder if the talent in the Western Conference may be a tad below that of all of the teams in the Eastern Conference?

What is also apparent is that the designated home team does not have a clear cut advantage in the playoffs. Wearing the home colors makes one the home team, and the use of different locker rooms, benches, along with the sounds of virtual fans cheering is done to enhance the atmosphere as best as possible. In the end, these are neutral site games, and the teams which perform the best inside of the bubble and have made the greatest adjustments, are the ones which will win. Announcers in the Islanders-Capitals gems noted how much fun and well-adjusted the Idles were in Toronto.

One other NBA note. Mark Jackson on ESPN on Thursday night went off on the amount of defensive effort coming from Carmelo Anthony as a rejuvenated member of the Portland Trail Blazers. This apparently was a shot at former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who, as much as he recognized the athleticism and scoring ability of ‘Melo, couldn’t get him to play D. 

Karl responded with a fact-laden shredding of Jackson, complete with how many times Karl has coached a team to the NBA Finals, Coach of the Year awards, and saving it for last , a shot at Jackson leading the Warriors to a 51 season before his replacement, Steve Kerr won over 60 games with the same crew and won an NBA title. Maybe Jackson’s mind needs a stint on the IL…

In more announcer news, Reds TV announcer Thom Brennaman was pulled form the air abruptly after offering a hot mike homophobic slur between innings of a doubleheader, FOX also pulled him from his gig for NFL football.  Plus NBC analyst Mike Milbury, a Colgate man, offered insensitive comments about women on Thursday night. Brennaman has been suspended. Milbury should suffer a harsh fate too. Mouthpieces who can’t keep their mouths shut.

Finally, what else is new. I had CT scan today for a lower back issue. My appointment with Dr. Martin O’Malley in Manhattan for my ankle had to be rescheduled due to an emergency surgery. I wonder which pro athlete needed some help…

So that’s it, sports fans. My medical update. Stay safe. Be well. Stay off of the IL.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Stuck In The Middle With You

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: Stuck In The Middle With You: So there is a true disagreement among the Power 5 conferences about the need to play football this Fall. I used the word “need” for a reas...

Stuck In The Middle With You

So there is a true disagreement among the Power 5 conferences about the need to play football this Fall. I used the word “need” for a reason. It’s all abut the money, as I have repeatedly said before. 

The Big Ten and Pac-12 wisely opted not to play this fall. The Mountain West Conference not a Power 5 member, also chose to put football on hold for now. Not so with the SEC and the more defiant ACC and Big 12 Conference. 

These schools are not joining their compatriots simply to extend traditional rivalries. Heck, West Virginia hasn’t established a real rivalry with anybody in the Big 12 due to their newness in the group. 

Nope, their bloated athletic budgets demand that there has to be some kind of cash inflow to offset what have been projected to be staggering losses. Unlike the other Power 5 conferences who prioritize player safety and over costs with an array of tests daily and weekly, the three conferences who forge ahead do it for the bucks. 

Look at the marriage between Notre Dame and the ACC for this season—the Irish “agreed” to play an all-ACC schedule with one independent game. This serves both Notre Dame and the ACC well and will give them amplyeTV coverage.

The ACC relied on a doctor at Duke, Dr. Cameron Wolfe who felt it would be okay for football players to play if you can “sufficiently mitigate” the risk of the virus, which led to a  decision which could further imperil their future through contracting COVID-19. The SEC believes that there is no consensus among doctors, and they stand to lose a ton of money with no season. Plus those two conferences are located primarily in the South, where politics about the pandemic differs greatly from the North.

Michigan’s President is an honored immunologist and he was at the forefront of the Big Ten Presidents who voted to shut football down for now. They were more in line with the assessment of Dr. Anthony Fauci, our most recognizable authority on COVID-19. They understood the dangers of myocarditis, a tragic result of the virus and they did not ignore the Facebook story of an Indiana freshman football player who is still suffering major after effects from his bout with COVID-19. Pac-12 and its Presidents heeded the strong advice of their medical experts in making the call. 

The Big 12, under enormous pressure from the SEC and ACC to have 60% of the Power 5 remain intact, consulted Dr. Michael Ackerman at the Mayo Clinic who indicated that part of the protocol must include necessary heart screenings. This decision was not shared by Dr. Jonathan Kim, a sports cardiologist at Emory University and the team cardiologist for Georgia Tech as well as a member the ACC Sports/Exercise Council. Big 12 Commissioner Brian Bowlsby said this: “There’s a lot of runway between now and that first kickoff…if something comes where we change our mind—that all of a sudden we don’t feel it’s safe—we’re not going to hesitate say so and stop.” 

Oregon State President F. King Alexander, who held the same position at SEC member LSU, was asked what the Pac-12 sees differently from the SEC, and said this: “i think, probably, reality.” Therein lies the difference.

So many explanations have been offered as to why it is more prudent to keep the kids on campus for their own safety. Exhibit A in opposition to that nonsense is Rutgers and the epidemic of positive tests after an on campus party. Do these schools really think that after the games the players won’t be searching out the best place to hang out and let off some steam after a big win or a loss?

There is no bubble like the NHL and NBA. It simply cannot happen. This is not like the NFL where there is a protocol for the players at all times, beginning with heading to the faculty and a questionnaire they must answer as the first step. The path that the three conferences are taking is fraught with danger. Especially with the dire warnings from the CDC that, in combination with the flu season, there is the potential for this Fall to be very deadly.

Which brings us back to money. The SEC coaches must wear masks. Not the players. Who is making the money here—the Nick Sabans and Dabo Sweeneys of the coaching ranks. 

Certainly not the players. And I am willing to bet that friendly state legislatures will absolve state universities of liability should there be a COVID-19-related death or illness.

The players have become more vocal in asserting their rights. Not surprisingly, they want to play. However, they are young, and like too many young people, the true dangers of the virus are pushed aside and the pleas to use restraint dismissed. 

It must be the money, because Scott Frost, the head coach at Nebraska, was ready to play a schedule outside of the Big Ten. His superiors at the school supported him. Until the Big Ten intervened and said not a chance. The next day Nebraska reaffirmed its membership in the Big Ten, said it was disappointed in the decision, and will honor the ruling.

Maybe this will all work out okay for the three conferences. Perhaps the Big Ten and Pac-12 erred. But if they did, the duo erred on the side of abundant  caution and in the best interests of their players’ lives, notwithstanding the financial losses they are sure to suffer (but which they hope to make up with spring football, if that can even happen).

For the Yankees, they have managed to compile a 12-6 record with 30% of their schedule completed. Which includes the annual injury to slugger Giancarlo Stanton and the unavailability of closer Aroldis Chapman as he readies to return from his COVID-19 battle. It was unsettling to hear that Aaron Judge went out of Tuesday’s game against Atlanta with lower body soreness from playing so much on the artificial turf in Tampa over the weekend. This was after Judge smashed another home run, as he looked like the 50 homer guy who burst onto the baseball scene with a bang…until he went on the 10 day IL with a mild calf strain. (Memo to manager Aaron Boone: what was wrong with you down there in Florida? First you lost a game by leaving starter James Paxton in too long, especially considering how Paxton had struck out 11 Rays in 6 innings, only to tire and yield 3 runs to tie the game in the 7th inning. And playing Judge in all of the games on the unforgiving turf, leading to a mild setback? Get it together, Boonie!! This is a team that could win it all and you don’t want to muck it up…)

A couple of Yankees require special recognition. On the good side, there is D.J. Le Mahieu. He always is. “Le Machine.” Batting over .400. Unperturbed at bat. He sets the table for the sluggers who follow him—especially Judge and Stanton when they are healthy. Gerrit Cole is as advertised. He is 4-0 and would have gone 5-0 had he lasted 5 innings against the Rays. He truly is an ace. Honorable mention goes to Paxton for his 6 innings of superb work versus Tampa Bay.

On the negative side, there is Gary Sanchez. I don’t care that he hit a home run against the Braves. He looks horrible and cannot hit a curve ball and is late on fastballs, probably with a barely detectable hitch in his swing. To have an average hovering around .100 having played 30% of this shortened season does not leave him much time to get untracked and add to the offense. Gleyber Torres is nearly in such a horrific slump, but his production is way down from what is expected from a rising star. Nine hits, 1 HR and 3 RBI producing a .161 average isn’t cutting it. Did they start to break out on Friday night in the 10-3 pasting of Boston? 

Clint Frazier was recalled to fill Stanton’s spot. He promptly struck for 3 hits including a home run in his first at bat this season. Frazier is an amazing hitter and an average outfielder. It is high time that he gets a real chance to show his talent and that Yankees favorite Brett Gardner, he of the .171 average with 16 strike outs in 46 at bats, plays more sporadically. I like an outfield of Frazier in left, Aaron Hicks in center and a healthy Judge patrolling right field. When Aaron Boone wants to rest Hicks or Judge, he can place Frazier in right for Judge, keep him in left, sub in Mike Tauchman or Gardner in center and lastly, let Frazier DH occasionally. 

Before play began on Friday, the Yankees record of 12-6 is a very nice start. The Rays are keeping pace with the Bombers at 12-8. Minnesota and Oakland are formidable in leading their divisions. Surprises in the American League are the Orioles at 10-7 (what a team they would be if they didn’t have to keep on losing to the Yankees!), suddenly resurgent Detroit and the Indians and White Sox help make the AL Central the most competitive division thus far, with Kansas City only at 8-11.

Who would have expected the Red Sox to be this bad? Mookie Betts’ 3 homer night on Thursday for the Dodgers is a not too subtle reminder of the Bosox’s fall. And of course everyone outside of the Houston area is rooting for the Astros to remain below .500 and not make the playoffs.     

The Chicago Cubs have the top mark with a record of 13-3. Theo Epstein acquired the talent and David Ross is gelling with his old teammates in his first year as manager. In second place behind the Cubbies is 2-3 St.Louis. I think the Cubs will finish first in the NL Central.

Leading the NL East is Miami at 8-4. The Braves, who showed me nothing against the Yankees, are 11-9 and the Mets are flailing at 9-11. Defending Champ Washington is not the same team as last year and the 6-9 record is a mild surprise. Philadelphia at 5-9 is much more of a surprise, but they suffered because of the COVID-19 postponements. 

The NL West is the most competitive division in the “Senior Circuit.” Colorado is 12-6 and the Dodgers are 13-7. On their heels are the Padres with an 11-9 record. Even Arizona and the Giants are in striking distance. 

Let’s talk about those Cardinals. On Friday, 41 vehicles headed up I-55 to Chicago, conveying players and personnel for a weekend meeting with the White Sox. Friday’s contest was postponed. Starting Saturday, the Cardinals will play 55 games in 43 days to make up for the COVID-19 problem. Including 11 doubleheaders and this schedule does not take into account any rain outs.

Of over 12,000 tests of MLB personnel, there were 4 positives this week. All belonging to St. Louis—2 players and 2 others. 10 players of note are on the IL due to the virus. A bevy of new and untested players will replace those unavailable. 

Given all of this, two things come to mind. First, who is to say that this is the end of the coronavirus striking the Cardinals? And for the St. Louis faithful, forget about this year. It will go down as maybe the worst in franchise history unless there is a miracle. And if that is the case, save a place for Cardinals’ manager Mike Shildt in Cooperstown.

I like the idea that MLB is thinking about pods for the playoffs in areas that have multiple stadiums available. Too bad just one of the cities mentioned, Milwaukee has a dome; Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Francisco, San Diego, both New York stadiums and both Chicago stadiums are open air ballparks. 

The NBA actually had drama at the end. With the play-in format concerted for this year, four teams actually had shot for the 8-9 game(s). San Antonio; red hot Phoenix, who went 8-0; Portland behind Damien Lillard, who had consecutive games of 51 and 61 points earlier in the week after missing crucial free throws in loss and being taunted by Paul George and some other LA Clippers; and Ja Morant and his high-flying Memphis Grizzlies, who started impact Thursday in 8th place. 

San Antonio was the first to fall. By not making the playoffs, the Spurs ended a great run of 22 straight appearances in the post-season.

Phoenix took care of its end by defeating Dallas and Devin Booker and his teammates waited. Memphis took care of the Giannis-less Bucks (he head-butted an opponent and served a wine game suspension).

It was for Portland to determine its destiny in a game against Brooklyn. To interim coach Jacques Vaughn’s credit, he played his depleted squad’s best players and the outcome came down to a final miss by Caris LeVert on a game-tying three pointer to put the Trail Blazers into the playoffs and become the 8th seed for the moment. 

What has to happen to decide who faces the Lakers and Lebron in the first round of the playoffs? If Portland wins the first game, the series is over. If Memphis wins, then there is a second contest on Sunday. Good drama created by the NBA in its bubble with virtual fans and fake sound. Then the real playoffs commence on Monday, with four games each day for the first 8 days—a TV viewers bonanza. 

The NHL has started the Stanley Cup Playoffs with opening round matchups. Vegas has continued to be unbeaten since play began. Montreal, who lost head coach Claude Julien, who had a stent inserted in his heart, is going to be a tough challenge for Philadelphia. Vancouver startled St. Louis, the defending champs, in Game 1 of their series, just as the Islanders downed the flavored Capitals in their opener.

Which leads me to my second musical lyrics citation in two weeks, to try to put everything in perspective—sports and the world we live in-which isn’t easy. So I quote form the first stanza of the hit by Steelers Wheel:

Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,

I got the feeling something ain’t right, 

I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, 

And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs, 

Clowns to the left of them, 

Jokers to the right, here I am,

Stuck in the middle with you.

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: "Sounds of Silence"

RetiredLawyerSportsOp: "Sounds of Silence": “Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.” These are the opening words to the classic Simon & Garfunkel song...