-While we're on the subject of the New York Yankees, some people are complaining about how they played against the Rays, specifically how they used the bullpen. Personally, I don't care how they handled their team during that game against the Rays - the Red Sox have no one to blame but themselves for sitting at home today. That being said, I do take issue with one thing: Yankee fans have gone on the offensive by saying that they played the scrubs because the team simply had to see who they could trust going into the postseason. Please. Lying is so beneath you. Just admit that the Yankees tried for a couple of innings and then stopped caring. If they Rays came back, so what. Trying to defend a position that is indefensible while also being unnecessary somehow makes it even more insulting.
-Now, you may remember a couple weeks back when I told you about Major League Baseball physically taking FDNY and NYPD hats away from the Mets before they took the field on 9/11, demanding they instead wear special 9/11 hats that the league was selling and that Bud Selig was reportedly furious with the Mets for the story being leaked. Apparently, not understanding when you are the asshole in a situation runs rampant through baseball. Early this week (which, given all the Sox drama of the past few days, feels like ages ago now), Sox pitcher John Lackey received a text message before his start, asking him about reports he was filing for divorce from his wife who is currently undergoing treatments for breast cancer. Allegedly the text came from gossip site TMZ, but that didn't stop Lackey from going off on the reporters in the locker room, all of whom had no idea what he was talking about. I know baseball players are extreme creatures of habit and Lackey is used to privacy before a start (which leads me to wonder why his phone was even on), but Lackey doesn't seem to get that he's the jerk in this situation. If anything he's gonna need media members on his side going forward. Yelling at them for something they didn't do is probably not the best way to start that process.
-One last baseball note: after a few successful (but drama-filled) years in Chicago, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen asked to be let out of the last year of his contract. Guillen was not unemployed long, as he was hired to be the new manager of the (newly-renamed) Miami Marlins within a day. Because of the quick turnaround the Sox were entitled to compensation from the Marlins, who traded a couple of mid-level prospects to Chicago. First off, I don't know why the Marlins were in a such a hurry, as Ozzie has been skating on thin ice with the White Sox for the last couple of years. Had they waited a couple weeks he may have been fired anyway. But, beyond that, I'm curious as to how the teams decided on fair value when trading a manager. Arguably a good manager is worth quite a few wins a year - easily more than a couple of guys who aren't going to be in the majors for a couple of years. Something tells me the White Sox were just happy to get anything in return, indicating the Marlins overplayed their hand. Then again, I would expect nothing less from that franchise.
-Speaking of teams that were recently re-branded, when the New Jersey Nets were officially purchased by their Russian billionaire owner, he filed paperwork with the NBA which would allow him to rename the team at some point in the future. The Nets are moving from Jersey to Brooklyn and everyone assumed that when that move happened they would want a new name to go with their new location and leave all their (mostly-bad) Nets karma behind. Well, after months of speculations and guesses as to which way this eccentric billionaire could go in naming his franchise, the name change was revealed this week: The Brooklyn Nets. Wow, was that disappointing. Way to spend zero time and effort. So much for creating a buzz and trying to steal some fans away from the Knicks.
-Late in the week the LPGA announced that it was going to accept 16 year-old Lexi Thompson as a full-time member. There had been some controversy surrounding this issue because the LPGA has a clause that states you must be 18 to be full-time on Tour. Personally, I have no issue with age restrictions for pro sports. (I think the NBA would be wise to require two years of college, not just one.) My reasoning is that high schoolers can't really prove they belong in a pro league just by scoring 50 points against a kid who is only playing because he is the coach's son and four other guys who are more worried about who to ask to prom than the game they are playing. Go to college and show you can run with superior competition. But the reason I'm fine with Lexi being allowed in at 16 is that first she went out and won the first stage of qualifying school (considered by some to be the toughest golf tournament in the world) by 10 strokes. Then, playing on a sponsors exemption, she won a regular-season event against a full LPGA Tour field. Basically, she has proved she belong. So, as long as she doesn't expect special treatment and she and her family can handle all the off-the-course stuff themselves, then I've got no issue with her. Frankly, the LPGA could use a bright, young America star who can actually win.
-Last Sunday, as the FedEx Cup was being decided in a sudden-death playoff worth $11.4 million, Tiger Woods announced that he would be hiring Joe LaCava as his new caddy. Now, I'm not going to get into the irony of Woods hiring away a guy who was currently working for another golfer without so much as a phone call. Instead, what I take exception to is the timing. There was no need to announce this on Sunday. I know it had been reported by a couple of sources, but he didn't have to confirm reports at that time. Honestly, golf was having a good day: the Solheim Cup had a dramatic finish early that afternoon and now the season-long FedEx Cup was down to two guys who were in sudden-death. Instead, the focus immediately shifted to Tiger because, as has been said many time, Tiger Woods doesn't move golf's ratings needle, he is golf's ratings needle. Anything Tiger says immediately becomes the biggest news in golf and he knows it. It was as if he felt the spotlight had been off him for too long and he just couldn't take it any longer. You know, I root for Tiger Woods the golfer, but with stunts like this I'm repeatedly reminded that Tiger Woods the person is probably an asshole.
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