Bobby Valentine Attacks the Yankees - The Spin Starts Here

Article first published as Bobby Valentine Attacks the Yankees - The Spin Starts Here on Blogcritics.

Whether you like Bobby Valentine, new skipper of the Boston Red Sox, or not, you have to admit he knows how to stir the pot and cause a commotion. Bobby V (as he is affectionately known here in New York) is a master provocateur, a spin artist of the highest caliber. Bill O'Reilly's famous catch phrase is "The spin stops here." Bobby's might as well be "The spin starts here." Believe it or not, he would not have it any other way.

It has been ten years since Bobby has managed a Major League Baseball team. In that time he has not climbed a mountain in Tibet and become enlightened; no, Bobby hasn't changed one bit. He started talking to the press and you know there is always a game plan. There was some negative press going on about the Red Sox: beer was being banned in the clubhouse, Jason Varitek was retiring, the team blew it last year, etc. What better way for Bobby to spin things his way than to attack the New York Yankees? You can either get agitated about it or sit back and admire how crafty Bobby V can be.

Today Bobby Valentine is splashed across the headlines in the New York papers. Yankees fans are outraged that he spoke about the sacred cow Derek Jeter, and the less than sacred cow A-Rod. Jeter lied about a play being practiced by the Yankees a decade ago; who can even remember what happened last season? Varitek beat A-Rod up; I am not even sure about when or where this happened. For Bobby V the devil is not just in the details - it is the light of his life to get people agitated about them.

As a Mets fan I still like Bobby Valentine. I admire how he managed my team, how he stood up for New York after 9/11, and the way he pushed his team to be the best team it could be (even when that was difficult to say the least). All the other stuff with Bobby V is the package deal: getting thrown out of the game and sitting with a disguise in the clubhouse, for example. Saying things that he knew were going to get people angry or talking. That's Bobby and there's no changing him.

The problem is that Yankees fans now want to break down Bobby's comments and defend their guys. They want to prove that Jeter did practice that play, that A-Rod didn't get beaten up, and on and on. The problem is that is exactly what someone like Bobby wants. You argue about what he says, you get into a debate, you rage against him and the Red Sox, and he thinks he is winning. You know what, since the focus is off his team and on these silly comments, he has succeeded exactly as planned.

So take it from a Mets fan who knows Bobby V's act - the devil is in the details. Yankees fans (and anyone else for that matter) should not get sucked in by what he says. They shouldn't get angry and bothered and want blood, because in that way Bobby thinks he is winning, and maybe he is because it is his fault the spin gets started but it's everyone else's for letting it spin out of control.

One thing is for certain, the baseball season will be a lot more entertaining with Bobby V back in the picture. Welcome back, Bobby Valentine!

Photo Credit - AP

All-Star Home Run Derby More Fun Than The Game

Article first published as All-Star Home Run Derby More Fun Than The Game on Blogcritics.

I've been thinking this every year for a number of years now: the All-Star Home Run Derby held the night before the All-Star Game is actually more fun — and probably more meaningful — than the game itself. That might not sit too well with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who wanted to make this game matter so much that he decreed that the winning side could host the World Series, but the truth is the truth.

Last night's home run hitters came in all shapes and sizes, from a svelte Matt Kemp of the L.A. Dodgers to a Babe Ruthian Prince Fielder (the son of slugger Cecil Fielder), but it was Robinson Cano of the Yankees who managed to come out on top. This was a feel good moment as his father Jose (a former major league player with the Houston Astros) served as pitcher. The crowd enjoyed it, seemed genuinely enthusiastic, and the other players on the sidelines offered support for the sluggers in the contest.

All of this going on at Chase Field in Arizona seemed like so much fun, the Christmas Eve being almost better than Christmas Day kind of thing. The truth is that today's All-Star Game will be a letdown. It always is, and all of Selig's horses and all of his men can't put back together a game that has lost its significance — even when King Bud has tried to enhance that by making the game "count" in deciding home field advantage in the World Series.

I guess I will be like you and watch some of the All-Star Game tonight, but I probably won't get beyond the third inning. I never do. It is too long, and being a NY Mets fan, I'll tune in just to see Carlos Beltran in the starting lineup; otherwise, I will be waiting to change the channel and watch Curb Your Enthusiasm, which I will have no trouble doing after watching the tepid baseball game previously.

Let's face it. Many stars don't even want to go to the game even when they are voted in. Derek Jeter — Mr. 3000 — is blowing it off, and a number of others are too. Why? Because they know that the game doesn't matter anymore. King Bud, are you listening?

Photo Credit: AP

Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer: Time Is Not On Their Side

Article first published as Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Roger Federer: Time Is Not On Their Side on Blogcritics.

In sports, the emphasis is always on youth. Great players are shooting stars  across the sky of their respective sports. Alas, like those shooting stars their path is all too brief, and then they flame out and disappear from view.

Today Roger Federer won the first two sets at Wimbledon in London in the quarterfinals. Anytime he has done this before in his career - 178 times to be exact - Federer has won the match. Today was a different story.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came back and won the next three sets. There is no question that the Federer of the past  is no longer out there on the court. Tsonga (26) simply overcame Federer (29) with power and resilience and broke his serves the way it would not have happened a few years ago. Federer has to face the facts about his game, just as all the tennis greats like Boris Becker, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras have had to do.

Last week Tiger Woods (35) announced that he would not compete in the AT&T National. In golf older men have had much success, but one has to remain healthy and in shape. There is no question that Woods has always been into training, but his body is not "healthy" enough to compete. Again, as with Federer, reality rears its ugly head. Tiger is feeling all too human these days, and even with that sex scandal behind him and a lucrative endorsement for a Japanese company announced, Woods is realizing he is only human.

And then there is Derek Jeter, the perennial All Star shortstop for the New York Yankees. Jeter (37) has struggled this season (as he did last year), and now he is on the disabled list. The Yankee captain has been a great player for many years, but his body is starting to send signals to him that he may not want to receive. His hitting and fielding have been substantially compromised by the calendar, and whether or not the fans want to accept it, Jeter has to know that he better not turn around, because Father Time is gaining on him.

These three great sports figures have given fans many years of excellence, but the truth is that no one can expect to see their stars play forever. In each of these cases, we must appreciate their contributions to their respective sports but also know that attrition hits everyone. Even Jeter's teammate, the great closer Mariano Rivera, will someday see his powers diminish. It is just a fact of life.

The question one can ask is when do these guys throw in the proverbial towel? How long do they continue to push themselves to perform? While we expect that they must obviously see that their production is diminishing, perhaps they overestimate their contribution to the game. Whatever the case, don't expect any of these gentlemen to retire any time soon.

Maybe they should leave when they can still make that decision, or perhaps there will come a time when each one of these guys will face the inevitable after failing. Today Roger Federer had to see the truth in what Tsonga did to him. We television viewers certainly saw it and everyone in that stadium did too. Tiger has put himself on the shelf, and Jeter is on the disabled list. It's obvious that time is not on their side; in fact, it's not on anyone's side whether he or she is a player or a fan in the stands. Perhaps that's the toughest truth of all.

photo credit- BBC sports

It's Over: The Fat Lady Sings for the Yankees in Texas

Article first published as It's Over: The Fat Lady Sings for the Yankees in Texas on Blogcritics.

Okay, I'm not going to lie about it. I took a little pleasure in turning on the TV the other night and seeing that the New York Yankees were down 5-1 to the Texas Rangers in the sixth game of the American League Championship Series. Oh, come on, you could say, you're a New Yorker and you want those Texas boys beating your Yankees? Hey, they aren't "my" Yankees and never will be. When Texas beat them, why wouldn't I be happy about it?

When manager Joe Girardi sent Mariano Rivera out to pitch the bottom of the eighth, you knew he knew it was over. This doesn't mean that the Fat Lady is singing just about this championship series, but the whole Yankee era of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, and the ghosts of Paul O'Neill and Bernie Williams and all those other Yankees who played for Joe Torre along with them. After this year and this loss, things will never be the same.

After the game Girardi said something about it not being easy to see the other team celebrating after a loss in a postseason series. Well, it only reminds me of Jeter and company celebrating at Shea back in 2000 when they beat my Mets. We Met fans all had to suffer through seeing that one, on our sacred ground no less, where Seaver, Agee, Jones, McGraw and all the rest played and won two World Series titles in 1969 and 1986. It was hard to see the Yankees whooping it up back then, so it felt great to see Jeter staring out at the field in something like disbelief. Keep looking Derek, because you're 36 and probably might never see another World Series ring.

One thing this series taught me is that all the king's money and all the king's men couldn't put the Yankees back together again. The highest paid team in baseball couldn't hit Texas pitching. Beside Robinson Cano (who had four homers in this series against the Rangers), the Yankees looked like guys I see up at the park hitting those softballs into the dirt. A-Rod hit a buck ninety and had no dingers. Swisher did a lot of swishing (struck out seven times), and the pitchers might as well have been soft tossing those big softballs the way Texas was whacking the ball (the Yankees staff ended with a 6.58 ERA in the six games).

I'm sorry to have to say it, but the Yankees actually got lucky in this series. They almost got swept. If they hadn't come back and won that first game, it would have been a clean sweep. Yankee announcer - and bloviator par excellence - Michael Kay pronounced the series "over" after the Yankees came back and won the first game. Can you believe that guy? Hey, Michael, what do you have to say about that now? And how about the most annoying announcer in baseball, the Yankees' John Sterling? Could he maybe do a prolonged "The...Yankees...lose; The...Yankees...lose" just to make every Mets fan's day?

So, yes I know we Mets fans have to wait until next year. I know we didn't even make the playoffs and lost 83 games. I know, I know, I know, but guess what? Yankees fans have to wait until next year too, and some of the Yankees players will have to wait forever.

This winter Andy Pettite is probably going to talk about retirement as many times as Brett Favre, and Jeter needs a new contract. A-Rod is starting to act his age without the joy juice flowing through his veins, and Mariano Rivera, now 40 years old, just might be feeling the years as well. Posado will be seeing a lot more DH next year or perhaps not catch at all, and the team has to be thinking free agent outfielder sooner or later. Swisher better take a good look around while cleaning out his locker; the trade winds are in the air.

Will the Yankees make a run for Cliff Lee? Uh, I can hear the Steinbrenner brothers unlocking the family safe as I type this thing. The Yankees need pitching, they need hitting, and they need something that my guys across the river have in abundance: humility; but waiting for the Yankees to lose that inherent arrogance is like waiting for a train in the New York City subway system. You hope it is coming but you have no idea when it will get there or if it will even stop when it does.

I'm betting on Texas over the Giants in six games. Cliff Lee, best pitcher in the universe, will lead the way. Will he be in pinstripes next year? Yankees players and fans will be wondering that as they watch the Series on TV. Keep dreaming, Yankees fans. The Mets fans and players will be watching too, and maybe the Wilpons will finally open their own safe, drag out some of that cash that Bernie Madoff didn't swipe, and give the Yankees a run for their money for Lee.

The way things are it will be a long and cold winter for Mets and Yankees fans, and by Christmas the thought off Cliff Lee in either uniform might be better than sugar plums dancing in their heads, but don't bet on Lee having to get himself a MetroCard. If he goes on to win the whole enchilada with Texas, the Rangers' owner Nolan Ryan could find the money and incentives to keep Lee in the Lone Star State for a long time, and that just might make Texas the new sheriff in the American League. Yippee ki-yay, Yankee fans.

Rafael Nadal: A Great Tennis Player and a Very Good Sport

Article first published as Rafael Nadal: A Great Tennis Player and a Very Good Sport on Blogcritics.

I don't know about you, but I am sick of poor sportsmanship. I am really tired of all the players in different sports who don't adhere to the motto, "It's not if you win or lose but how you play the game." Sadly, in today's climate of sports becoming more and more like a business instead of it being purely a well-played game, the unsportsman-like conduct of players is overlooked in favor of the big bucks they generate.

When I look at sports players today, I see some good guys like Derek Jeter and David Wright, but then we get a story like the one about how some of the NY Jets players harassed a female reporter, and it seems like the good guys are an exception to the rule. There are more guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Plaxico Burress in the news than not. How sad for sports and all the kids who are watching.

That is why the story of Rafael Nadal is such a great one. While there are already people talking about him being the greatest player of all time, or being the biggest money-making brand in sports, the thing about Nadal is that he is the ultimate good sportsman. He is a genuinely nice fellow, just 24 years old, but he has a wisdom way beyond his years. He also carries himself like a gentleman, and that is a thing sorely lacking in sports for the most part.

Make no mistake, on the court he is a cunning and powerful opponent. No matter how much he likes Roger Federer, he knows how to take him apart and win a match. Nadal takes no prisoners, and that is as commendable as is his off the court behavior. Still, when the playing part is done, Nadal talks the talk of a good sport.

After winning the U.S. Open, Nadal was asked if he was now the greatest player in the game. It was one of those qualifying moments, those eerie silent seconds when the water dripping in the bathroom sounds like a geyser, but Nadal was ready with the perfect answer. He said that he had a long way to go for that, a long way to be as good as Roger Federer. There was applause, and his friend Federer smiled graciously on the sidelines. It was an ultimate sports moment handled with aplomb by Nadal. This is indeed what good sportsmanship is all about.

Long ago I had a baseball coach who said, "It easy to be a good sport, a good loser; the hardest thing to be is a good winner." Although I have forgotten that coach's name I have never forgotten those words. Never.

It is a shame that tennis is not a more kid-friendly sport. I wish more kids watched it because they would see in Rafael Nadal someone who is a good role model. He is a really great player, perhaps the greatest ever in his sport, but what makes him stand out is his ability to be a good winner.

These days to be gracious and humble in defeat is always a good thing, but to be so in victory elevates one to a higher level, a nobility that is truly fitting in the concept of good sportsmanship. After the U.S. Open Rafael Nadal proved that, even though he is the King of Tennis, he has the common touch. It would be a good idea for people involved in all other sports to take a page from his book.