Every year, I look forward to July, not for fireworks, but for the ESPY awards. The Golden Globes of sports recaps the year with drama, comedy, shock and inspiration. It reminds us why we love sports in the first place. It makes us appreciate what a team has accomplished, not only for themselves, not only for their owners, not only for their city, but for an entire world.
The three moments that stood out to me tonight dealt with the unfortunate circumstance between former Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga and umpire Jim Joyce, the Thomas family forgiving the Becker family, and of course the Jimmy V award.
For those of you who don't know, Armando Galarraga was throwing a perfect game with only one batter left. He forced a groundball and covered the bag just like a pitcher is supposed to. It was a close call, but when you saw it live, you knew he was safe. Instant replay confirmed the 27th out. However, Jim Joyce called it like he saw, just how he always has; safe.
Everyone, including Joyce, after he watched a replay, knew he was out. Later on, before leaving the ballpark, Joyce went up to Galarraga to personally apologize. Galarraga, who would have gone down in the record books, humbly accepted the apology.
Joyce later said I took a perfect game away form that kid and there is nothing I can do.
The next day, Joyce was at homeplate where he accepted the lineup cards from each team. I bet you would never guess who would bring out the card for the Tigers. Armando Galarraga came out of the dugout and the first thing he did was pat Joyce on the back. They then had a hearty handshake, the kind of shake that men have.
These are the kinds of heroes that youngsters should look up. Not because of their talents or fame, but for their character, sportsmanship and respect they showed for one another. Imagine doing something in your profession that only a couple dozen people have done, ever. Imagine having that feeling of greatness and accomplishment tingle throughout your body and all of a sudden; gone. That's what went through the mind of Galarraga. Yet, he was able to put all that aside, the fame, the history, the glory, and forgive the man that took it all away. That is the hero we should all look up to.
What about Joyce? To be able to live up to your mistake and announce it before the entire nation, takes a lot of guts. How many of you out there have ever made a mistake at work? I am willing to bet 99.9 percent of you say you have. When umpires make mistakes, they get yelled at by thousands of screaming fans. But that wasn't enough for Joyce. He was criticized and put in the spotlight for the weeks to come in newspapers across the country. We are all human. But the people who live up their mistakes, realize what they have done and accept the outcome are the truest humans of them all. Joyce, just like Galarraga, is the kind of hero we should look up to.
Later on, I will write about my other two moments from tonight.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
The streak continue
Hello loyal readers,
Long time no talk. At the request of another die hard Sox fan, JA, I stopped writing for a little due to their recent hot streak. Well, the consecutive win streak ended, at a game I was at the by the way. However, like any good team, when one streaks ends, another begins.
The Sox in the last month have been displaying traits I haven't seen since 2005.
No. 1 - Hustle and Defense.
This team wants to win. On a any groundball, base hit, line drive or pop out, these team hustles. Many players in this league, hello All-Star Hanley Ramirez, do not run out groundballs or go all out for pop outs in foul territory. The Sox are not these kind of team. Next time you watch a game, watch how hard Alexei Ramirez runs out a routine out. The bullet tries to be out every single ball. When he is robbed of a call, he lets the umpire know it. You know what? That is the passion that drives a successful team. How about defense? Midway through last season, numerous critics said Ramirez could not make it as a major league shortstop. People said he lacked focus. Look at him now. He is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the AL. Ramirez is arguably the Sox MVP for the first half of the season.
No. 2 - Starting Pitching
Anyone who saw the '05 Sox can not tell me this last month doesn't remind you of that rotation. Even with Peavy out for the season, which I called by the way when he went a complete game in Washington three weeks ago, these starters can pitch. The man leading the way is the supposed No. 5 starter Freddy Garcia. I heard an interesting comment on the 670 The Score today. A team's 5th starter is supposed to eat up as many innings as possible. They are not to be judged by their record. When it comes to the south side, every pitcher is judged by their record or ERA. Garcia has the third best ERA among Sox starters and has almost equaled the total innings of Floyd and Peavy, who have both pitched in one more game than Garcia. This rotation is finally starting to show what we all hoped for last winter.
No. 3 - Bullpen
This bullpen is flat out the best in baseball. Let's start with my man, All-Star Matt Thornton. This guy dominates, and I mean dominates the AL with essentially one pitch. Guys go up there expecting and seeing a fastball, yet still miss it. Occasionally he will fool you with a curve or slider, but once you expect that, there is no way you are catching up the 98 MPH heat. How about offseason acquisition JJ Putz? He has been nothing short of spectacular. When Jenks came out, he and Thornton proved they could handle closer responsibilities. His ERA is 1.64. Yeah, that's pretty good. And how about converted infielder Sergio Santos? This guy just seems like a winner and has shown it on the mound. You can't tell me he wouldn't be an eighth inning guys on numerous teams in the MLB. Let's finish with our big closer Bobby Jenks. The season did not start off great. Later on, White Sox reliable beat writer Joe Cowley reported that Jenks was disappointed with how he was being treated by the fans. You know how to solve that Bobby? Go out and pitch. Don't quote me on this, but I think he has converted his last 20 save opportunities and has only blown ONE save. I will take that any day.
Overall, this is a team that can succeed. So go ahead Miguel Cabrera, try to catch up to a Matt Thornton fastball. Ron Gardenhire, try to out coach Ozzie and the best pitching coach in the league Don Cooper. The second half of baseball is going to start heating up, but I am confident our South Siders will be able to stay cool come October.
Long time no talk. At the request of another die hard Sox fan, JA, I stopped writing for a little due to their recent hot streak. Well, the consecutive win streak ended, at a game I was at the by the way. However, like any good team, when one streaks ends, another begins.
The Sox in the last month have been displaying traits I haven't seen since 2005.
No. 1 - Hustle and Defense.
This team wants to win. On a any groundball, base hit, line drive or pop out, these team hustles. Many players in this league, hello All-Star Hanley Ramirez, do not run out groundballs or go all out for pop outs in foul territory. The Sox are not these kind of team. Next time you watch a game, watch how hard Alexei Ramirez runs out a routine out. The bullet tries to be out every single ball. When he is robbed of a call, he lets the umpire know it. You know what? That is the passion that drives a successful team. How about defense? Midway through last season, numerous critics said Ramirez could not make it as a major league shortstop. People said he lacked focus. Look at him now. He is arguably the best defensive shortstop in the AL. Ramirez is arguably the Sox MVP for the first half of the season.
No. 2 - Starting Pitching
Anyone who saw the '05 Sox can not tell me this last month doesn't remind you of that rotation. Even with Peavy out for the season, which I called by the way when he went a complete game in Washington three weeks ago, these starters can pitch. The man leading the way is the supposed No. 5 starter Freddy Garcia. I heard an interesting comment on the 670 The Score today. A team's 5th starter is supposed to eat up as many innings as possible. They are not to be judged by their record. When it comes to the south side, every pitcher is judged by their record or ERA. Garcia has the third best ERA among Sox starters and has almost equaled the total innings of Floyd and Peavy, who have both pitched in one more game than Garcia. This rotation is finally starting to show what we all hoped for last winter.
No. 3 - Bullpen
This bullpen is flat out the best in baseball. Let's start with my man, All-Star Matt Thornton. This guy dominates, and I mean dominates the AL with essentially one pitch. Guys go up there expecting and seeing a fastball, yet still miss it. Occasionally he will fool you with a curve or slider, but once you expect that, there is no way you are catching up the 98 MPH heat. How about offseason acquisition JJ Putz? He has been nothing short of spectacular. When Jenks came out, he and Thornton proved they could handle closer responsibilities. His ERA is 1.64. Yeah, that's pretty good. And how about converted infielder Sergio Santos? This guy just seems like a winner and has shown it on the mound. You can't tell me he wouldn't be an eighth inning guys on numerous teams in the MLB. Let's finish with our big closer Bobby Jenks. The season did not start off great. Later on, White Sox reliable beat writer Joe Cowley reported that Jenks was disappointed with how he was being treated by the fans. You know how to solve that Bobby? Go out and pitch. Don't quote me on this, but I think he has converted his last 20 save opportunities and has only blown ONE save. I will take that any day.
Overall, this is a team that can succeed. So go ahead Miguel Cabrera, try to catch up to a Matt Thornton fastball. Ron Gardenhire, try to out coach Ozzie and the best pitching coach in the league Don Cooper. The second half of baseball is going to start heating up, but I am confident our South Siders will be able to stay cool come October.
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