What would a good blog be without two contributers? Not only will you get to hear from myself, B-Smith, but you can expect to hear great things from Mr. Klose. Here’s his first blog. (all of his later posts will be without my preview)
Through the first two weeks of Major League Baseball’s newborn season, a few stars have spoken loudly with their play while certain managers have babbled inherently, suffering the consequences of their words. Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton have put aside offseason distractions to propel their teams to the top of baseball’s standings. After the preposterous amount paid by Magic Johnson and Co. for the Dodgers, the snub of last year’s NL MVP has led a 10-3 start. Batting .447 with 7 home runs through the first 13 games has given franchise, whose future seemed as bright as SMU’s after the death penalty, a reason to not hate life.
Meanwhile, one PR disaster later, Josh Hamilton has overcome the controversial alcohol relapse that had every writer ready to trash his recently improved image. Batting .440 with 5 home runs through 12 games, Hamilton has anchored a relentless offense that gave Boston a shellacking Tuesday night. To prove Hamilton’s worth, Texas went 18-23 in 2011 without him in the lineup; scoring 1.6 less runs a game and struggling to hit extra base hits. Atop the AL West standings at 10-2, it’s safe to say that Texas is glad they stood by their superstar.
No MLB discussion goes without mentioning the Yanks or Sox, so here it goes. Although it isn’t really news, Bobby V doesn’t know when to respond to reporters like Tebow would: never really answering a question, but nevertheless making them think you did. This story is exactly what I expected after the offseason hire, and has led to the clubhouse having little respect for their new boss. I already had little respect for the man when he freely spoke his mind on Baseball Tonight, which is why I’m already sick of this story. If you actually care, go here: http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7818312/boston-red-sox-kevin-youkilis-surprised-bobby-valentine-criticism-commitment-game
Little Havana, where the minority is the majority, has been in an uproar after Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen claimed his love for Fidel Castro. The Cuban community has lashed back at Guillen and the Marlins, leading to a PR disaster that will haunt them for years to come. Miami’s organization was naïve in thinking something like this wouldn’t happen after hiring Guillen (same goes for Boston). Guillen tried explaining, “What I was trying to say is that a person who has been in power for so long and has hurt so many people can still be in power,” But you didn’t Ozzie, you said you loved him. Regardless of what you meant, the quote will never cease to haunt your career as a manager, and continually trying to regain the respect of the Hispanic community will be an ongoing process that may never reward you, but that’s the price you pay when words are said without the thought of consequence. Professional teams have PR managers for a reason, although it seems the message isn’t clearly understood by a pair of abnormal characters.
The rest of the MLB season is surely guaranteed to have great baseball, triumphant stories, and the continuing saga of off the wall managers. Even so, baseball is back; sabermetricians and average fans alike….rejoice. Follow me on twitter (@Closer_than_You ) for up-to-date sports analysis, follow our blog, and spread the word.
