[Patrick_S]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Perry

However, I don't really understand why Morgan would have a problem with Sandberg. Sandberg was never the type to toot his own horn, so any comparisons between the two came from the media.

There is no logic when it comes to ego.

Joe was a great player but as a person he is a tool.

[Mike Frezon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Graham

The real losers of the game, in my humble and biased opinion, were the Yankee fans who loudly and obnoxiously booed every Red Sox player, especially Papelbon whose remarks about wanting to close were taken totally out of context. (Wouldn't every closing pitcher want to close the All-Star Game?) The chants of "A**hole" and "over-rated" while he was on the mound pitching for the home team were totally classless. (I loved the way the announcers tried to say that the crowd was chanting "Mariano" instead of "a**hole".) This didn't happen to Yankee players when the All Star Game was played in Fenway in 1999.

Bob: Well said. I agree with every point made...especially the part about the way the Sox fans approached Yankee players in '99.

A little spirited fun is one thing. The rivalry is, after all, the rivalry. The prolonged booing of the Sox players (especially Papelbon) was bush league.

JD Drew was surprised at the cheers he received after his two-run homer to tie the game! He said they didn't last long, though.

As a side note, I laughed at Papelbon's comment about riding in the pre-game parade through NYC. He said he thought he should be riding in the popemobile!

[Bob Graham]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott_J

How did Francona respect the fans by making those moves? Mariano and A-Rod have better numbers this season this Papelbon and Manny, respectively. He played it that way because he felt it gave him the best chance to win. Plain and simple.

I'll give you Rivera, but Tito's real gift to the Yankee fans was batting Jeter (Season BA 283) second over Pedroia (318) and Youk (314). Both of their batting averages were higher than A-Rod's (313). That still shows respect for the Yankees, a respect that the Yankee fans did not return in kind.

[Walter C]

Why not? The Yankee fans earlier this season, booed the sun.

[Mike Frezon]

In a post game interview which took place just moments ago, Alex Rodriguez was asked by Yes broadcaster Kimberly Jones if he was surprised that a double he hit during the game was not a home run. A-Rod admitted that yes, he thought it would go out. He added that that's about the eighth time this season he's surprised himself that same way and that he will really have to start running...it's getting kind of embarrassing. Those are his words.

Wow.

These guys (and Manny Ramirez is at the top of my list) have got to get a clue. It's like some kind of societal shift within the baseball world. Managers have got to grow some balls and tell their superstars (even if its in the context of a team meeting!) that they've got to run when they hit the ball.

Even Coco Crisp dogged it out of the batter's box after a short pop-up to second base the other night (with a runner on first). The second baseman intentionally let it drop, flipped to the shortstop (covering second) and very nearly completed a double play by throwing out Crisp at first. He just beat it out after he turned on the speed when he saw the play develop in front of him.

It's just not that difficult to run hard after you hit the ball. Force the other guy to make the play. You might just be surprised. And, it's the right thing to do. Freakin' prima-donnas.

Rant off.

[EricW]

Quote:

These guys (and Manny Ramirez is at the top of my list) have got to get a clue.

after that whole incident between Ramirez and the 70 year old travelling secretary, he was apparently fined 6 figures. this happened during the red sox/yankees series a couple weeks back. there was an at-bat in one of the games where Ramirez went up against Mariano Rivera. Rivera threw like 4 or 5 pitches and Ramirez didn't swing at any and got called out on strikes. Rumor is Manny did it on purpose because of the fine...

[Mike Frezon]

He actually struck out on three Rivera pitches...all called strikes. His teammates don't think he "threw" that particular at bat. I've seen him do that (take three strikes) before... I dunno. It was an especially ugly at-bat. He was pinch-hitting with two outs in a clutch situation late in a close game. Seeing Manny not take the bat off his shoulders was kind of hard to take.

Re: the fine and the incident with the traveling secretary...word has gotten out he was fined five figures...likely around $15,000. I have no problem with the team handling this internally. There is no way they could have done anything else but handle it very seriously.

He seems to have become a lightning rod this season in relation to odd behavior.

[Eric Peterson]

Quote:

These guys (and Manny Ramirez is at the top of my list) have got to get a clue. It's like some kind of societal shift within the baseball world. Managers have got to grow some balls and tell their superstars (even if its in the context of a team meeting!) that they've got to run when they hit the ball.