I am not Pythagoras. I’m more like Moronicus. In math, whenever I have to wear that one, I get in trouble. But if I were to spin a wheel containing 30 numbers and all of them were, say, the number 12, I would conclude that there is a good chance the wheel would stop on a 12.
So speculation began about who will replace Yankees manager Aaron Boone next season, when and if the team will humanely release him from his and his fans’ misery.
And that’s where the wheel stops on a 12.
Who, in 2023, manages baseball teams better or worse? Who defies the absurd code of modern analytics and pregame scripting to play winning baseball, here and now, based on what’s happening rather than the robotics of a perfect world and spreadsheets?
Already, the name of Craig Counsell has come back to the forefront. Brewers-led teams have had a lot of success, as they have qualified for the playoffs four times in the last eight seasons. And his contract is about to expire.
And someone has to gain more than they lose in battles to find illogical ways to lose.
But is Counsell fundamentally different from Boone or, for that matter, any other current MLB manager?
Boone and Counsell have a lot in common. Both initially made their living in MLB by playing hard, advancing runners, and taking advantage of their opportunities and the circumstances of the game. But neither of them manages their teams that way.
In fact, over the past nine seasons, the Brewers, with Counsell at the wheel, have only pitched a total of five complete games.
Counsell was a teammate of starting pitchers such as Livan Hernandez, Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and others who routinely threw complete game stacks per season.
Counsell, much like Boone, removes effective relievers after they go 1-2-3 in favor of the next scripted pitcher.
Last week at Yankee Stadium, the Brewers, in the 10th inning, had runners on first and second with no outs. There’s no better time to calm down runners. Instead, Andruw Monasterio threw away the entire at-bat and ground into a double play. The Brewers lost in 13.
While such a “strategy” is no longer surprising, the difference between Counsell the player and Counsell the manager is impossible to miss or ignore.
But we’re going around in circles, where the wheel stops, well, we kind of already know that.
Sean McDonough is one of my favorite players. His frankness – his inability to ignore the visibly ugly things that broadcasters routinely and intentionally ignore – has made him a valuable companion for viewers who prefer the truth.
Which is why, on ABC and ESPN’s college football broadcasts this season, his willingness to play the “grad transfer” game has been disappointing.
In which graduate program, master’s or doctorate, is the graduate “student-athlete” enrolled? Or is this just another NCAA eligibility scam?
If a school refuses to reveal the player’s degree, simply point it out: “A university spokesperson would not say.” » Let’s let the schools act like they’re hiding something, not the broadcasters.
If the player is looking for or even appears to be looking for a legitimate graduate degree, report it.
But why would McDonough, or anyone else on these shows, choose to participate in what appears to be a nauseating rift obscured by lofty academic baloney?
Gary Danielson, once CBS’ lead college football analyst, has now sacrificed basic, immediately understandable football language in favor of hip, but stupid and confusing expressions.
Exactly what Danielson means when he says a team’s offense “wants to stay ahead of the chains.” If you “stay behind the chains” you lose ground, right? If you gain 6 yards on the first down, you are In the chains.
And unless you score a TD, you can’t “stay ahead of the chains” because the chains move to score a first down.
But it’s one of the latest buzzwords in spoken AI, a mindless substitute for sensory silence and “let TV be TV” silence.
The compromises sane people must make to remain sports fans are more akin to capitulations.
Last Sunday on CBS, Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s over-the-top outburst was heard by thousands of customers, and Ian Eagle and Charles Davis must have felt like he was another Deshaun Watson – certainly not the one who settled with 23 women who sued him for sexual harassment and sexual assault.
In what other company could someone survive even such a settlement and keep their job? Watson signed a $230 million contract to be employed by an NFL team.
And throughout that Bengals-Browns telecast, the end zone and helmets bearing messages of social virtue were in full view, as if we were watching at home, and not the NFL, had a serious problem.
SEC Network play-by-play man Pete Sousa came under fire last week for blatant insensitivity when he said of a Kentucky RB:
“Nine months ago, when he walked through the gate, everyone wanted him. Eleven years ago, when he was a foster child, no one really wanted him. And now here it is. He found love, football and had an incredible journey.
In a world gone mad, this is considered insensitive.
Adam “Pacman” Jones was arrested again last week. Some may remember an exclusive and flattering interview that CBS gave him many years ago. Jones and CBS said he was “a changed man.” He was, he got worse.
They don’t do double swipes like they used to. The Yankees won two in Boston on Tuesday, 3-2, then 4-1 – a two-admission day-night number. The Yankees totaled 14 hits and 29 strikeouts.
NYU now includes sports betting courses as part of its entertainment, media and technology curriculum. Here’s hoping his professor, Stephen Master – who said he received support from FanDuel (you didn’t say that?) – points out that sports betting is a business entirely dependent on investors losing their investments.
In another artificial must-win playoff qualifying game this past Sunday, how did the Marlins manage to beat the Phillies, 5-4, despite having 14 strikeouts? Well, for starters, the Phils have played 13 times.
Designated Hitter of the Week goes to former Met and current Diamondback Tommy Pham. In four at-bats against the Cubs in a “must-win,” he struck out four.
ESPN’s unfiltered Jets fan Mike Greenberg was dramatically inconsolable on air Tuesday in response to Aaron Rodgers’ injury the night before. Greenberg became the first sports commentator to sit Shiva live on air. At 56, maybe it’s time for him to grow up.
Tahesha Way, New Jersey’s newly appointed lieutenant governor, is the wife of former Giants RB Charles Way.
Special thanks to the 49ers, who took out the Steelers early last Sunday, freeing us from having to endure Daryl “Moose” Johnston choking out another game on Fox.
New York Post
