SportsTalkRadio Stupidity
This may be a frequent topic moving forward, as there’s no dearth of material to wow and amaze from the world of SportsTalkRadio… that little corner of the world where intelligence and common sense sometimes take a considerable beating. To wit:
“I’ve taken a reality check, and these guys [the Red Sox] are done.”
“I don’t think Theo should trade any prospects at this trading deadline. He should keep them and look to the future. I don’t care about this year.”
These two nuggets were offered as the Sox stood seven games *ahead* in the divisional standings. Seriously. A team with a 7-game lead after the ASB is “done” and has (alleged) fans that “don’t care about this year”. Just amazing.
I get the whole “New England fatalism” thing, but it’s so ridiculous sometimes that it’s actually beyond laughable. These are actual adults, not appearing to be under the influence of mind-altering substances as their speech is cogent and coherent (even if their logic isn’t). I’d be laughing if it weren’t so darn pathetic.
For the record, I am not “worried”, “concerned”, “troubled”, or the least bit unnerved when the Red Sox enjoy a freakin’ 7-game lead. I don’t care if they lost four games off that lead in the past week… they’re *still* seven freakin’ games up!
I’m also not the least bit surprised that the Yankees have narrowed the gap (such as it was). That team is far too talented to be 14 games behind Boston at any point in the season. Of course they’re going to make a run or two to get closer… you’d have to be a moron to think otherwise.
Is it possible that the Yankees could catch the Sox? Sure it’s possible, anything’s possible - see 2004 ALCS. Is it gonna happen? I don’t see it, unless… unless the Sox get bit by the injury bug to the degree the Yankees did earlier this year and the Sox themselves did in 2006. Ortiz is a moron for diving headfirst at any time, and last night reminded us why… combined with his knee issues, if he’s out/ineffective for an extended period of time, that’s an obvious problem. If Schilling cannot come back and be effective some time in August, that’s a concern. If one or more additional Sox go down for extended periods of time, that would be a concern.
But failing that, which we have little control over, the Sox have a pretty good team as well - and contrary to popular belief, they have not overachieved to get to the point they’re currently at (8 games ahead at this writing). That’s the exciting part for me, as a Sox fan. If anything, I submit they haven’t performed to their potential as an overall team yet.
In conclusion, if the Yankees get the deficit to four games - essentially the length of one series - then I will start to take notice. If the Yankees are able to tie the Sox atop the division, then I will start to worry.
Until then, spare me the self-pitying soliloquies of stupity… please.
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Suggesting no trades seems like an above-average contribution from the garden-variety listener. It’s certainly better than the staple suggestion that the local team should batch all of its marginal/used-up/overpriced players to trade for one or two all-stars (i.e. “I think Theo should trade Wily Mo Pena, Doug Mirabelli, and Mike Timlin for Albert Pujols.”)
July 23rd, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Wow. Some of the fans up there in NE are, umm, interesting. To say the least.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Let me be clear, I agree with the approach of “no trades” at the deadline in some cases - last year being a prime example. Despite the contributions of Abreu-Lidle to the Yankees playoff run, I did not (and still do not) think the Sox should’ve given up prospects to get that deal done… given the givens at the time (most notably that Trot Nixon wasn’t hurt until a day *after* the deadline - and the deal to the Yankees - had passed).
This year, I don’t want the Sox to trade the farm for Dye or Texiera or whoever. I do happen to think that they need a better fourth OF than Wily Mo (or Hinske). I happen to think that Wily Mo could still very easily develop into a solid ML OF for the next ten years, if he’s (finally) given the opportunity to play every day so he can learn to hit a major league breaking ball (among other things) - cuz the guy does have some skills (beginning with considerable strength, mercy when he does hit it… he usually smokes it). For a playoff run, though, I’d prefer the Sox had a veteran bat who could more easily adapt to the part-time role, and who ideally offers better defense and more speed than Wily Mo (or Hinske).
I hear Bobby Kielty may be claimed off waivers… that’s fine - but I’m not sure he’s *that* much of an upgrade. I saw Eric Wilbur on Boston.com suggest Eric Byrnes of Arizona, who would be a perfect choice in my mind… except for the fact that the D-backs are in a playoff race of their own, so I don’t think they’re looking to dump Byrnes (unfortunately). I’ve seen Randy Winn and Dave Roberts (in a return trip) mentioned, they’d be good additions.
But back to the point - the caller’s logic was that the he “didn’t care about this year” so the Sox should do *nothing*… this in a year where they have a comfortable divisional lead, and seem to have most of the parts necessary for a meaningful playoff run.
I don’t want them to make a panic move nor do I want them to make a move for the sake of making a move - and indeed if no viable trade is available, then the “do nothing” option is fine. But (a) they should certainly look to do *something* (albeit minor - 4th OF, or perhaps some veteran bullpen help, if somehow had cheap), and (b) we should most definitely care about this year when a WS is entirely possible, which is not necessarily the case *every* year (even for the Yankees).