On this day in baseball history in 1957, Giants president Horace Stoneham violated baseball's protocol for announcements about teams relocating to new cities by failing to wait until after the World Series. Stoneham cited declining attendance to the press as to why the Giants were headed to San Francisco to play their home games for the following season. The team's board of directors approved the move by the vote of 8-1 with M. Donald Grant casting the lone dissenting vote. Grant would later go on to become the chairman of the expansion Mets.
Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…
- Melky Cabrera's suspension ensures that the beleaguered outfielder won't see the field again until the playoffs, but that doesn't mean he can't win the NL batting title, writes Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com. Doyel suggests MLB commissioner Bud Selig should intervene and prevent Cabrera from receiving the award if he finishes the season with the highest batting average in the league. Andrew McCutchen currently leads the NL with a .356 average entering Sunday's action as compared to Cabrera's .346 mark with 43 games to go.
- The Mets may have a trade partner for Johan Santana this offseason if the left-hander can regain the strong form he's occasionally displayed this season, opines Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Martino looks at the Dodgers as a possible fit for the former two-time Cy Young winner given their newly-minted deep wallets. With Santana guaranteed over $25MM next season, the Mets may elect to keep their struggling ace rather than pay $20MM to watch him pitch for another team.
- Bobby Valentine never had a chance as the manager of the Red Sox given the state of the franchise from top to bottom, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. When Boston brought Valentine aboard to replace Terry Francona this offseason, it was getting a brilliant baseball mind who could identify talent at an expert level but was prone to a soap opera from time to time. As Heyman puts it, the Red Sox never should have hired Valentine if they were just going to cut his vocal chords mere months later in the wake of the Kevin Youkilis incident.
The Red Sox biggest problem is Larry Lucchino — end of story.
should have got Johan in 2008 -__- for what the mets gave up
Melky will finish 1 at-bat shy of qualifying.
They will simply add an 0 for 1, so he could still win it. Hopefully McCutchen keeps playing to this level.
Don’t they just add an extra 0-1 plate appearance?
I don’t understand. How can they just add a PA to make him qualify? Can someone explain this please?
Rule says basically this: If there is a player whose batting average is higher than the league leader but he does not have enough plate appearances (502) to qualify, and said player would still have the highest batting average should he take a hypothetical 0-for-however many plate appearances short of 502 he is, then he shall be deemed the league batting average leader.
Good explanation and it makes absolutely perfect sense to do so.
Dude just asked a simple question, way to go giving him negative votes instead of answering like a couple of others have done… You’d think it’d be easier to scroll to next subject than to anonymously troll the current one.
I just love how some outsider know it alls always blame Lucchino, or the sports front page only readers.. it’s priceless..
Bobby v was the exact, perfect type.. Yes.. he should have been able to hire his own coaching staff.. Yes, Cherrington made mistakes..
The biggest is leftover from Francona and his babified ways of treating players and until **someone* comes in and busts each and everyone of pedroia, beckett and hammers them all PUBLICLY down a few notches? the problems will never go away.
i think Valentine realized that very early and picked on Youk 1st as Youk was one of those issues, maybe a minor one and on his way out anyway, so he decided to pick on him 1st in the hope Beckett and pedey (others also) would get and take the message to heart, but Cherrington messed it all up.
That is my take on it at least.. I called (wanted) the Valentine hire long before anything, paper, blah, blah was mentioning his name, simply because he is the hardest manager out there and what they needed.. They dump him? Heaven help ’em.. They either have to get rid of a lot of people, or bring in another Francona clone baby sitter.
You seem to forget it was partly Francona’s way of treating players that helped the Sox claim 2 World Series titles.
My take: Francona was a player’s manager, he brought in a loose style that worked for almost 8 seasons. The problem is a loose style gets scrutinized by a media market as intense as Boston and in the end it can only last for a set amount of time. Replacing him with Valentine was done for 3 major reasons 1) He’s a guy who suppose to take command. 2) He’s supposed to have a big mouth in order to distract the media. 3) The other options were less than stellar. However his ultimate failure is being the brash character, he’s become a caricature who insults his own players. In other words the Sox replaced Francona with a personality that is polar opposite.
This is one of the reasons I think Tek should take the helm. He knows the players but also was known for his ability to take command.
“This is one of the reasons I think Tek should take the helm.”
Then it will be even more buddy, buddy system in place.. Wrong way to run a team, or a business.
Valentine got chopped at the knees by Cherrington right away and THAT was what emboldened the players, not ownership. Should he have gotten public support from both for that? Certainly, he was trying to fix a long standing problem.
Putting in Francona, part deux isn’t gonna fix anything
If the opposite of Francona doesn’t work, and “Francona part deux” won’t work — what would?
“Francona part deux” was a person with close ties to the core issues, as in Varitek and *most* of Francona’s past coaches. I myself do not have the opinion that John Farrell is a lackey by any means, as he has upper management experience. He was in charge of player development for Cleveland for 5 seasons, giving him experience on the field and at the top and players/pitchers both respect him.
The rest of Francona’s lot? no chance. good coaches? Yes, even could hang onto maybe Magadan if/when Farrell could come to Boston, as he has done a decent job, but forget the rest.
Problem is Farrell is under contract with Toronto next year as most people know.
It is my reasoning for hanging onto Valentine through next year and sending a message over the winter by moving some of the core issue people down the road. Beckett being one. Of course they will have to pay his entire salary, not a good thing, or take on someone just as rotten in exchange. I would think Beckett could make a comeback next year also, he is bound to with his on/off season, but if they are not going to bring in a hard liner to manage this team and THEN back him up to fix the core attitude problems? The issues are going to happen over and over until the same people are moved and I gotta’ admit i like Pedey as a player as much as anyone does and don’t want him moved when a slap on the wrist by management can probably fix it, with Cherrington and Henry not supporting him afterwards.
Who other than Valentine if toronto won’t release John Farrell from his contract? i got ideas for hard liners who have the guts for it, but probably won’t fit for various issues:
Trader Jack mckeon: getting way too old. 2 years ago when took over the Fish for Loria it was only to finish the season, but if they could get him with the understanding it was only 1 year until Farrell was free…
Bob Geren: Nobody gives him any grief, but then he doesn’t communicate very well either that some newer players seem to like (IE: cuddle)
Larry Bowa: man.. I’d love to see Larry bowa in boston.. He’d punch Shaugnessy out the 1st time he asked him a dolt like question..
Bowa also is a hardliner from the old school.
The Red Sox biggest problem is Ben Cherington…..the real end of the story
What exactly did Cherington do to warrant being the biggest problem?
Sign Melancon? Sign Ross? I mean he did not sign Crawford, Lackey, Beckett, etc and he isn’t responsible for the injuries that they have endured. He’s perhaps the last person that should catch blame. I’m positive that the Bobby V hiring, which I think is way too soon to call an obvious mistake, was done at the edging of the ownership probably more than the GM.
1. Destroyed Bards confidence
2. Traded lowrie for nothing. Yes lowrie is injured but they got a reliever for him. I see lowrie as a future all-star
3. Reddick for Bailey. EVERYBODY knows Bailey is a walking injury
4. Scutaro for nothing
5. Youk for nothing
6. Drafted and overpaid for a SS who is not good
Cherington’s 1st major decision was to hire a manager. He proposed to hire Dale Sveum, totally lacking in managerial inexperience, former player, drafted right out of high school, to be his field general. Considering the circumstances under which Ben was promoted, it was a totally inappropriate choice, except of course, from Ben’s POV, as Sveum would have been his “Yes” man in the dugout.
Ben was over ruled by John Henry and Larry Lucchino, and “they” hired Valentine. Ben didn’t agree because Bobby was and is smarter than Ben, has vastly more management and field generalship experience than Ben, and is a much better evaluator of talent that should be on the roster. I am convinced that once Valentine was hired John Henry and Lucchino decided to step back into the shadows to create room f ro their new GM and manager to work things out. Needless to say, it didn’t, through no fault of Bobby Valentine’s. Cherington has tried to undercut Bobby at every turn since the season began. He turned the season into a needless power struggle for control over team operations… IMHO, therefore, he lacks the maturity and the intellectual capacity to perform in the all-important post he occupies. He has to go.
The biggest problem with the Red Sox is their collective sense of entitlement, that they should be allowed to do whatever they wish without regard for team rules and/or common sense. That and half of their offense has been injured.
Grant was a terrible owner for the Mets.
I’m a Yankee fan, so you can expect certain amount of bias. But I could never understand the amount of animosity directed at Theo and Tito, particularly the bad-mouthing of Francona. Two championships in four years after nearly a century should have earned them something. Fans forget just how difficult it is to stay at the top year in and year out. The front offices make mistakes, sometimes you just get unlucky, players get injured or just age and some of them get so full of themselves they don’t perform at their expected levels. I saw Bobby V with the Mets-and he was an annoying egoist, but everyone would have have acknowledged he was a very smart baseball man and I thought a good choice for the Red Sox. He probably needs another season, and maybe the Red Sox need a little pruning, but I still think the team has a lot of talent.
I can see Johan being of interest, especially if he can finish the season strong but the fact that he’s owed at least $30 mil next year (salary plus 2014 buyout) will deter teams from biting. I think the Mets would have to eat so much salary that unless they are getting useful prospects it might be smarter to just keep him at least until the 2013 trade deadline. I think they would have to eat $20 mil otherwise to move him.
Maybe easier time moving Santana and his 30m than Philly will/would Lee and his what/will equate to 3/88.5m after the 2016 buyout.
The NYM already probably are smart enough to know the market will be limited for Santana and judging from how things “looked” at least on the cover from what we read at the deadline.. Philly is under some kind of impression that Lee is worth some kind of decent return.
I think that Melky The Cheater Cabrera will never wear a Giants uniform again. I think that The Giants will get a top flight Free Agent to replace this ped boy. As for Bobby V. All I can say is that Boston Red Soxs have nothing for Bobby to work with. Kevin Youkalis is going to let go by The White Soxs after the season and Pitchers John Lackey and Josh Beckett will be traded elsewhere. You need to get a power hitter and re-sign Big Papi.
Bobby V will probably be a casualty because of this chaos and They name Catcher
Jason Varitek as Manager and they need to supply him with quality players, not refurished
goods.
All I can say is that Boston Red Soxs…The White Soxs…
Hey Cameron. I just thought I’d mention that it’s the Red Sox and White Sox – not “Soxs”.
Not trying to make you feel bad there so “don’t shoot!” 😉
Sitting 250 miles away from Boston, I don’t profess to know the answers,so I’ll just offer my opinion from what I’ve read after following this soap opera since last season. That, combined with $2.75 will get me on the Subway, so here goes.
The problem lies with both players and management. Lord knows this is an equal opportunity debacle, with both groups contributing continually. The players got the ball rolling with the collapse while giving off the impression that there was no urgency or need to worry as the spiral went downward. Then pointing fingers, placing blame and making excuses afterwards.
Then ownership, being shocked and dumbfound by the events,and not having answers either, did what clueless leaders often do when they have no answers. They lashed out at those that worked for them. Since it’s easier to get rid of the manager than the players, Francona was made to fall on his sword. But only after his reputation was sullied by some nasty lies. Followed by the pushing out of Epstein, leading to another soap opera.
Not satiisfied, ownership decided to punish the players as well, after playing musical chairs for weeks with the manager’s position they mislead the public.After starting with Hale, Lamont and Suvem, they pulled Bobby V out from behind the curtain as their man. All the while knowing that it was not a good fit, given the atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Valentine, doing what management wanted, decided to attack Youkilis, who represented the players and their lofty attitudes, which ignited the current war. For their part, the players haven’t used their brains to make mature adjustments or decisions.
Instead of keeping a low profile and their mouth’s shut, they went to ownership to complain about the manager, the owner’s guy! How can they really believe that the owners were going to fire Bobby V? Then everybody denies what the meeting was all about, stating that it was a discussion about the state of things and not about firing the manager.
Really, who do you believe?
I believe the inmates are running the asylum and the owners don’t know what to do about it.
Valentine a brilliant baseball mind? I’ve listened to him in the broadcast booth, and he sure hides his brilliance well. I recall that once Orel Hersheiser had to inform him of one of the rules of the game. About the only thing he’s been brilliant at in his career is deflecting responsiblity.