1. If you do not read my friend Ken Davidoffâs work in Newsday, you really should. He splendidly combines excellent reporting instincts and deep thought on subjects. In his column today, he talks about how Joba Chamberlain has formed bonds with many young stars around the game, including Bostonâs Clay Buchholz. Ken reports in the column that Chamberlain wished Buchholz good luck in a text message before a start last September, and then Buchholz went out and pitched a no-hitter. Now call me old-fashioned, but I hate that stuff. I know these are new times, where so many players move around to different teams or share agents or have common interests that bond them beyond the game. But this is Yankees-Red Sox. I donât think Yankee players should be wishing good luck to the Red Sox.
I will share a story that details this more clearly my thoughts. This occurred last year at Fenway Park. I noticed that several Yankees had met up with David Ortiz behind the batting cage during batting practice, and they were hugging and joking. This was a quite common occurrence. One you could see if not every day, then nearly every Yankee-Red Sox series. So I asked a group of Yankee players (who will go nameless here) this: âLet me ask you a question, what the (bleep) does that guy have to do to your team to get someone here to stand up and tell those who would joke around with him, âhey that guy has caused this organization more anguish and robbed more glory and money from us than maybe any player in history. So why donât you stop (bleeping) around with him?ââ
The players in the group, while acknowledging that the fraternization had gone a little too far, said that in this era you canât tell teammates that or you will cause more problems than you think you may be solving.
I have a word for that thinking: PATHETIC.
2. It does not surprise me that C.C. Sabathia (0-2, 11.57 ERA) is struggling. It is not because of looming free agency. It is because between his Cy Young regular season in 2007 and the playoffs he taxed his arm in such a greater way than ever before. It does not surprise me that Dontrelle Willis (7.20 ERA and now on the DL) is struggling. He had trouble in an NLâs pitcherâs park in Florida, his control had become poor and his ability to cope with righty hitters atrocious. But you know what does surprise me: Livan Hernandez at 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA for Minnesota. I know it is an incredibly small sample size. But I never even saw Hernandez having success on a small scale, flipping from the NL to the AL as a flyball pitcher with a fastball that often hovers around 85 mph. If Hernandez can win with his stuff in the AL, then there is hope for Mike Mussina.
3. OK, I get it. Met fans are angry. You donât like a lot of recent history, notably how last season ended in such historic misery. But come on, booing Johan Santana in the home opener because he gave up a few homers. I mean this was not Tom Glavine lasting one out on the final day of the season and crushing your spirit. It is mid-April. Look, if Santana turns out to be a mistake, it is not like you are going to miss your chance to take out your self-loathing on him. He is signed here for six years, after all.