Sports and Ethics on Vacation

Sports and Ethics has been posting from Spain. Will miss the rest of the World Series and the next couple of weeks of the NFL.

Just saw sports here in Barcelona. Biggest coverage was on the South Africa Springboks who recently won the World Rugby Cup. Actually, I like rugby … a lot more than soccer.

It’s Just 2-0 (?)

I can’t say it with quite as much conviction as when it was 1-0. At least the margin of defeat was 11 runs less. I’m still rooting for a 7-game series.

It’s Just 1-0

The Colorado Rockies were completely dominated by the Boston Red Sox who put on a record-breaking display in a 13-1 route in game 1 of the World Series at Fenway Park. The Sox handled the Rocks like they were Little Leaguers, but an hour after the game is over, it’s no worse than a 1-run loss for the Rockies. It’s just a 1-game-to-none margin no matter what the score was. Maybe the Red Sox have used up all their hitting in the first game, they might be thinking, hoping.

Who knows? What we do know is that this was just one game and Boston will need to beat Colorado three more times before they can be crowned. And it’s not exactly like the Rockies have never had to overcome a seemingly insurmountable difficulty before.

So play the games. Hopefully seven of them. Fans love seven-game series.

No matter what happens, it has been an incredible postseason, one that has been good for the fans, and good for baseball.

Johnson and Johnson: Can’t We Just Get Along?

Keyshawn and Chad, can’t you guys just get along? For crying out loud, you’re cousins already! All in all, I think this abrasive interview by a suddenly-proper-and-pompous Meshawn J. was handled pretty well by Ocho Cinco. I’m not a fan of his shenanigans, but he seems to be doing the right thing during the Bengals’ current slide, and his cousin looked to all the world like someone who was inept at broadcasting and interviewing and was just looking to stir something up.

Hypocrisy comes to mind as well.

Give the nod to Chad on this one.

What’s Wrong With Baseball #7: The Concept of the Closer

Is the guy who pitches an inning or less at the end of a game really more deserving of a save than the guy that comes in with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and nobody out, and retires the side, then pitches two more scoreless innings? Of course not, but that’s what our closer save system does. The closer is just the finisher; he is not necessarily the saver. Saves should go to the reliever who did the most to save the game, not the guy who happened to get the last out just because he’s the last pitcher in the game.

The term closer is overrated and save statistics as figured now are basically irrelevant.

What’s Wrong With Baseball #8: Cheating

Cheating would come in at No. 1 if I were currently doing a series on What’s Wrong With Football. And there would be something about Belichick and video tape. But baseball is far from being above the cheating fray. And it never has been. While Bill Belichick has taken cheating to a whole new level of sophistication, similar things have been done in baseball for a long time, though not quite in such a refined manner (e.g., binoculars in the scoreboard stealing signs).

The cheating that stands out right now … I mean right now … is steroids, and related substances. I really hope there is a way Paul Byrd can be found innocent. (See “Byrd Revelation Casts Pall Over Indians-Red Sox Game 7.”) Barry Bonds is still on the hook, though nothing has yet been proven. Then we have Giambi.

Perhaps the most disappointing is Mark McGwire, who has disappeared since his sworn testimony evaporated.

Let’s be honest about cheating. It has been part of the national pastime in more ways than can be enumerated from memory.

There was the out-in-the-open dirty play … Ty Cobb sliding into the bag with his spikes high.

Gamblers fixed games … whatever one believes about the Black Sox … perhaps the worst form of cheating.

There was one that was so universally used that they had to create a rule to prevent it … the spitter. Gaylord Perry, where are you now? We even hear about little edges that Hall-of-Fame greats like Whitey Ford used to get … digging a wedding ring into a ball, for example.

My goal is not to list all the types of cheating in baseball. You can stretch the whole ethics issue here. How about a catcher framing a pitch to try to fool the umpire? I remember once playing first base in a pick-up game. One of our infielders tossed me a ground ball, which arrived at about the same time as the runner, but clearly beat him. I had to come into the line to get the wide throw and the runner slammed into me. I went sprawling, tearing a brand-new pair of pants (in the days before rips became desirable).

The runner jumped off the ground. “He didn’t touch the bag,” he yelled repeatedly. Everyone considered him out. I was the only one who knew he was right. But I was ticked about the pants. I didn’t say I did touch the bag, but I didn’t say I didn’t either. So he was out. That was unethical … and now it’s finally off my chest.

My point is … even little forms of cheating, like trying to get an edge with the umps, are cheating.

We would all love it if we could free the game of the big cheats and forms of cheating. But how about we just expect adults who play baseball to be honest. Now, wouldn’t that be refreshing?

I Missed This About Brady and Belichick

In yesterday’s post “Brady’s Six TD Passes: Are You Kidding Me?” I finished with, “It seems like I should say something about Bill Belichick, cheating and video tape here, but … forget it. They just plain dominated.”

Now I learn I was too kind. I did not see the game and wrote the post as a tip of the hat to a team I have been down on since Videogate. I didn’t have the whole story. Here’s a quote from an AP story:

“Tom Brady was flawless at the start and off the bench, too. With his team winning easily, Brady came out of the game early in the fourth quarter Sunday, then re-entered to throw a team-record sixth touchdown pass, capping unbeaten New England’s 49-28 rout of the winless Miami Dolphins.”

He actually played into the fourth quarter before coming out, and when the scrubs couldn’t dominate, Belichick actually put Brady back in to run up the score. I hear he was less than pleased by questions about running up the score. This is something Bill Walsh would never have done with his dominant Niner teams. But then Belichick bears no resemblance to Walsh … at least when it comes to ethics.

Teams of Destiny to Square Off in Series

11-2, 30-5, 3-0. The numbers that brought the Red Sox back from the brink of defeat … again … and put them back in the World Series. Game seven win: 11-2. Total score against Indians, last three games: 30-5. Games won after Cleveland led 3-1: 3-0.

The Red Sox are a team of destiny.

And now they play the Rockies, a team whose entire payroll is about what Boston paid for Dice-K. With the Red Sox on a roll and Colorado on an extended hiatus, the Rockies have their work cut out for them.

But both teams are teams of destiny, with remarkable comeback stories. The Series awaits.

Brady’s Six TD Passes: Are You Kidding Me?

Last week he had a personal best with five TD passes. Today he did it again … in the first half! He added a sixth before coming out of the game. Are You Kidding Me?

It was 42-7 over the Dolphins at the half. With second-line players in later in the second half, the Pats finished with a 49-28 win. Give Brady another shot of Mountain Dew.

It seems like I should say something about Bill Belichick, cheating and video tape here, but … forget it. They just plain dominated.

[For an update on this story, see here.]

Byrd Revelation Casts Pall Over Indians-Red Sox Game 7

I have said that game sevens are heaven—seventh heaven if you will—for baseball fans. It is unfortunate when anything takes away from those magical games. But a blog called Sports and Ethics can’t ignore the current revelation about Cleveland starter Paul Byrd.

“Byrd, whose win in Game 4 of the ALCS moved the Indians within one victory of the World Series, bought nearly $25,000 worth of human growth hormone and syringes from 2002 to 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday.” (Read the full report here.)

Baseball doesn’t need this. One normally associates steroids with power hitters, like the accusations against Barry Bonds. But a non-superstar-type player seems to have the most to gain from such use. Byrd has denied the accusations in the past. The timing of this revelation seems political, like something that would happen near election time. Game 7 is the closest to election time in baseball there is. It is a shame to see this now. It is even a worse shame if it is true.

No matter what happens, we will be hearing a lot more on this. If the Indians pull one out tonight, it will become front and center until the end of the World Series.

Rockies Are Still Waiting; Red Sox Win Big

The Colorado Rockies knew they had a long wait before their next game after sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. But as of tonight, they also have the maximum wait to discover whom they will play in the Fall Classic.

Shortest possible series in the NLCS, longest in the ALCS. The Boston Red Sox, at home in the friendly confines of Fenway Park, had no difficulty in evening their series with the Cleveland Indians and sending the series to the most exciting of all baseball playoff scenarios … a seventh game, where one is done and the other triumphs.

Behind seven strong innings from the Mr. October of pitchers, Curt Schilling, and an early grand slam by J.D. Drew, the Red Sox coasted to a 12-2 victory. Schilling has already added to his legend; now, will the Sox do it as well by polishing off the Tribe in game seven?

No one knows. That’s why game sevens are heaven for fans. And still, the Rockies wait.

Missouri Dominates; Cal Disappoints; Florida Stops Kentucky

In games just finished, the #16 Missouri Tigers dominated #24 Texas Tech, 41-10, racking up more than 200 yards on the ground.

No. 12 Cal, bitten by turnovers for the second straight week, was upset by UCLA at the Rose Bowl, 30-21, to pretty much remove them from returning there for the Rose Bowl in January. It may be a home game for UCLA as they are first in the conference at 4-0 with Arizona State. The Bruins have two non-conference losses to none for the undefeated Sun Devils. Cal is toast and a Bruin-Sun Devil match-up later should decide the Rose Bowl.

No. 14 Florida handled #8 Kentucky, 45-37, behind star quarterback Tim Tebow, a dominant force. A week after knocking off then-#1 LSU in triple overtime, Kentucky couldn’t end their 20-game losing streak to the Gators, the defending national champions. It now stands at 21. The Wildcats will drop from the top 10.

Lots of changes coming to the rankings.

What’s Wrong With Baseball #9: The Designated Hitter

The designated hitter. Bob Costas: “Baseball is simply a better game without the DH.”

This will definitely not resonate with younger readers, who have never known an American League that played with real baseball rules, but it can if they will think hard about the differences in the National League and American League games. Joe Torre is getting a lot of sympathy for being offered a contract Steinbrenner knew he would turn down. A great manager gets the short end of the stick, right?

Not entirely. While I do think Torre is an excellent manager, should he choose to continue managing and end up in the National League, he would have to do a lot more managing, thinking, strategizing. The strategies surrounding a pitcher who hits, having to consider removing him when the need to pinch hit arises, double switches, etc., means NL managers simply think a lot more. Few of them nod off in the dugout.

And the game is better. There is no guarantee Torre could still think like a National Leaguer (he did spend his career there). Of course, he has had to do that in the World Series he has managed in, so he should be able to do it.

So the main reason the DH is bad for baseball is Bob Costas’ “Baseball is simply a better game without the DH. “

There’s a second reason. Stats, though thrown together as major league stats, just don’t mean the same thing in the two leagues, especially for pitchers, who obviously, since they never get to pitch to pitchers, have higher ERAs in the AL. It’s mixing apples and oranges. Players’ career stats can’t really be compared. It’s even more of a mess since the introduction of inter-league play, which is clearly good for baseball.

The advantages of pitching to pitchers in the NL is somewhat offset by the fact that good pitchers get to pitch longer in the AL because they don’t get lifted as quickly. But fewer young pitchers get to develop this way. And this means that hitters have a disadvantage in the AL because they are facing good pitchers longer. The only hitters to gain an advantage in the AL are the aging guys who hang on for a few extra years because they don’t need to go into the field. (So where is Barry Bonds going to go?)

But it’s too late to rectify it on the stats end. And it’s too ingrained in the AL psyche to ever change. So I offer the #9 thing that’s wrong with baseball simply as food for thought. It’s never going to change, so we’ll live with it. And I’ll keep enjoying National League games more than American League games.

What’s Wrong With Baseball #10: Wimpy Pitchers

With a night off from playoff frenzy, in the midst of a postseason that gives hope to the little guy, I offer the beginning of a series on What’s Wrong With Baseball, from authorities greater than myself. Offering one at a time, in no particular order, we begin with number 10. Agree, disagree or offer your own selections.

#10. “Too many pitchers” pitching too few innings.

Cy Young said, many years ago: “Too many pitchers, that’s all, there are just too many pitchers. Ten or twelve on a team. Don’t see how any of them get enough work. Four starting pitchers and one relief man ought to be enough. Pitch ‘em every three days and you’d find they’d get control and good, strong arms.”

This from the man for whom the top pitching award in each league is named. He ought to know. When Cy Young said this, there were pitchers routinely twirling on two days’ rest. Many years after this, guys like Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn were pitching 16-inning complete games. But, alas, they needed three days’ rest. How many young fans have heard the Braves’ success slogan of old?: “Spahn and Sain and two days of rain.”

Even this is soft by the standard of The Standard (Young). What would he think today? Relievers limited to one inning, starters to 100 pitches, and getting 4 to 5 days of rest.

Cy Young played for the Red Sox. He would have scorned Terry Francona’s decision to rest Beckett the extra day, thus limiting the use of his ace to two games in a seven-game series. … Robbing the Sox and the fans of their best shot. (Young played for two Cleveland teams as well … and a second Boston club.) To Young, pitching made you stronger. Throw more, not less.

From Cy Young, our number 10 thing that is wrong with baseball: “Too many pitchers” pitching too few innings.

Red Sox Will Get the Love; Head Back to Fenway

Beckett dominates again.

Boston knocked out C.C. Sabathia and, behind Josh Beckett’s predictably amazing stuff (at least after the first inning), got ready to head back to the friendly confines of Fenway Park after defeating the Cleveland Indians, 7-1.

And though the game is an elimination game for them, the series is now as close as a five-game series can be, with the visiting team (Cleveland) up 3-2 going into the sixth game. (A number of the players on the Tribe have made it clear they did not want to go back to Boston … and the celebration-ready fans at the Jake were devastated at the loss of the planned festivities.)

Super-closer Jonathan Papelbon was not needed tonight, but still relieved Beckett in the ninth, no doubt to get a bit of work to tune up for the weekend. Somehow it seemed justice for Kenny Lofton, who put on an unsportsmanlike display earlier in the game, to make the final out (he was still grousing about called strikes during this at bat) … but that didn’t happen as he walked on a 3-2 count before the final out.

The Red Sox will have the love and support of their home crowd for the remaining game(s). And Curt Schilling, a Boston folk hero, will carry their hopes to the mound on Saturday. He will have the opportunity to continue to build his legend … and the Boston mystique.

Perfect Season Is Over; USF Falls

The Bulls of the University of South Florida fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 30-27, at Rutgers. So this wacky NCAA season continues, with another highly ranked team falling to an unranked opponent. The number two team will fall in the rankings. Cinderella season is over.

Lofton, Grow Up

This is the playoffs. Don’t act like a little kid.

In the fifth inning, after Kenny Lofton dropped his bat on a 3-0 pitch that was called a strike (and was a strike), he popped up on the next pitch. Beckett yelled something at Lofton and Lofton barked all the way down the first base line, then crossed into the field toward Beckett before being separated from Beckett by umpires. The teams left the dugouts.

Come on, guys, this is the playoffs. Lofton should probably have been ejected but they don’t want to do that in a game of this magnitude. Both of you, play the game and put your insults in your pockets.

Lofton, especially … the old man of the series … should be above this kind of display. And he is more at fault than Beckett, who apparently just barked an impulsive shout. Lofton released a stream of invective and then moved menacingly toward the Red Sox ace. We don’t need to see this, from either man … definitely not from the most-seasoned veteran.

I like Kenny Lofton. He even played for my favorite team once. (Of course he’s played for just about everyone’s favorite team at least once.) But this is beneath him. It’s beneath any Major Leaguer. It’s beneath any adult.

So Kenny, grow up. You can start by apologizing to the fans.

Red Sox Need Some Love (1-1 after 1)

“When I’m in Boston, I always feel like I’m home. I almost cry, I feel so good.” Luis Tiant

The Red Sox need to get home to Boston, or they’ll be crying in Cleveland. Josh Beckett is their best chance for that to happen. Staked to a one-run lead on a Kevin Youkilis home run in the first with their Cy Young-candidate ace on the mound, the Sox felt their chances of getting back to Fenway were good. Then, they feel they can win two there.

But Beckett’s first inning did not look good. There was a parade of base runners and the lead has already been yielded going into the second.

Beckett still looks to beat Sabathia, but he didn’t start well. Before this one is over, Boston may be thinking, Luis Tiant, where are you when we need you?

Palmer, Go Ahead and Get Mad

Carson Palmer is apologizing for blowing up at receiver Chad Johnson … twice in two games.

You’re 1-4 and your primadonna receiver is getting you intercepted by running the wrong routes. Don’t apologize.

“I have lost my cool a couple of times,” Palmer said, “and I apologize for that. I’ll try to contain myself and be calm.”

The Bengals need some fire. And they need Chad Johnson to come under some fire. Twice in two games Johnson has had trouble running a route, once going the wrong way and once slowing down. Both times the Bengals and Palmer suffered for it. The Bengals lost and Palmer was saddled with two interceptions that shouldn’t be on his record.

Why are there no negative stats for receivers?

I remember a game that San Francisco and Chicago played to Sudden Death when Terrell Owens was a member of the Forty-Niners. A perfect pass clunked off T.O.’s hands and into the waiting hands of Mike Brown who returned it for a touchdown and a Bears victory.

That showed up as an interception for the QB but made no kind of dent in T.O.’s dossier.

So, don’t apologize, Palmer. Get ticked and stay ticked until you win, and until your high-paid receiver quits serving up interceptions that plunk down only on your record.

Joe: “No”

Joe Torre is no longer the manager of the New York Yankees. An aging George Steinbrenner offered him a pay cut I’m sure he expected him to reject. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year in 2007 and Steinbrenner wants a winner.

Joe should have said, “No.” Whoever succeeds him will get a lot of money and a few years off his life expectancy.