2004_01_01_archive

Steaming into Norwich

Great Take Dept: If you are a Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun fan, on your

next spring or summer visit, be sure to check out the nearby Eastern

League Norwich Navigators (AA, SF Giants). The Navigators play in a

really great park (Dodd Stadium) with great views, food (try the

sausage sandwich!), friendly staff, and pretty good promotions for a

AA franchise - especially the fireworks. And, unlike New Britain or

Portland, parking is free. Now that Norwich is no longer a Yankee

affiliate, RSN citizens ought to feel more comfortable there.

And go for another really important reason: Steaming into Norwich as

the pitching coach is Bob "The Steamer" Stanley - a coach in the

Giants' organization last season with the Single-A Hagerstown Suns of

the South Atlantic League. Stanley replaces Ross Grimsley on the

'Gators staff. (Grimsley has been promoted as the pitching coach with

Triple-A Fresno.)

[Brother Tim...........Amen! If I never hear about the A-Rod deal

again, I'll be a happy man.]

posted by total @ 1/02/2004 10:45:00 PM

Whew!

This is one fan who will be very happy not to hear any more about Alex

Rodriguez, et al.

Yes, baseball is a business, but it is not like any other business, in

that the employees are more important than the owners or even the

managers because they produce a very public product that engages the

public like nothing else the public "buys" -- including their hearts

and souls, if not their wallets per se. It is also subject to emotion

like no other product (except perhaps a motorcycle, but that's

personal and another story.)

The emotional roller coaster Boston Red Sox (and Texas Rangers) fans

were on for what seemed like much longer than a month did more than

upset stomachs and jangle nerves -- it also exposed the desperation

many, many Sox fans feel about not owning a world championship for

more than eight decades. The fans -- and the Red Sox owners, it seems

-- want to do anything they can to win the series right now, next

year, no more waiting, and they were sure that Rodriguez was the last

piece of the puzzle and that it was okay to throw away the Nomar and

Manny pieces and that someone would simply materialize to play (and

hit) better at second than Todd Walker and play and hit pretty well

(no one coming here for shorter money was going to outhit Manny) and

play better in left (Manny's fielding percentage for the year, in

Fenway and away, was .982, with four errors in 222 chances, 11

assists, and 1 double play).

Let's assume that all was true. No team is more than one injury to one

key player away from coming in second or worse. Let's assume the Red

Sox with Alex had no major injuries. Is that really going to be

enough, or is there something else needed -- like managers and coaches

who can lead the team AND make correct game situation decisions most

of the time and never make a fatal one in a critical situation.

All I'm saying is that there are no givens in baseball or any other

sport. Some can't-miss paper teams have sucked in the past and other

also-ran paper teams have far exceeded expectations. Cliche it is, but

that is why they play the games. Whatever team takes the field next

year for the Red Sox, let's hope it plays the game well; championships

come on the field, not in December. Frankly, I am more interested in

and concerned about Terry Francona, and will be looking into what