Summer of ‘49 - By David Halberstam

This book chronicles the exciting 1949 baseball season. It focuses

on the two great teams of that year, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. It follows a now common outline of being more than just a play-by-play. It gives in-depth accounts of the people involved in the story, making it as much a series of related biographies as a rehashing of a season.

As a journalist, more than a “writer”, Halberstam’s books tend to simply lay out a series of facts. They tend to lack a cohesive story. The information is wonderful, gathered from research as well as first had interviews. It simply lacked the flow to get me involved in the season. I could be reading a pile of newspaper clippings to get the same information. The story left its goal at times as well. It felt as if the same book would be written about the 1948 and 1950 seasons with just a couple of the day-to-day happenings altered. The biographies and stories about players past deeds would still apply. It’s almost like the author had this lifetime of research and information, but was searching for a common thread to tie it all together. I didn’t find myself vested at all in the story…especially when the Sox lost.

I’d rate this as 2 bases.

Lingering Thoughts

I’ve already mentioned Steve Kettmann’s wonderful book One Day at Fenway. It’s an in-depth account of a Red Sox Yankee game. Specifically, it’s the game that Manny missed with a sore throat, or something along those lines, but was spotted afterwards in a hotel bar with Luis Sojo. (At the time, the fact that Manny lived in the hotel, and the bar was the only place to get a bite to eat was left out of the stories. But, that’s not what this is about.) There’s a portion of the book that is worth revisiting these days. Hopefully Mr Kettmann won’t mind if I set the scene. It is talking about the bottom of the eighth inning of this game. Yankees had pulled ahead 8-4 in the top of the eighth. With one man out, and the bases loaded Todd Walker was the pinch hitter representing the tying run. Joe Torre had just made a pitching change to bring in lefty Gabe White, with Rivera ready in the pen. Got it? This is what Torre’s thinking as he gets back to the dugout:

“…Torre was feeling uneasy. He was not going to look over at the Red Sox dugout. That was just not something he would do, as much as he might have wanted to. Ever since Kirk Gibson limped up to home plate in the 1988 World Series, nobody could ever convince Torre that someone was unavailable in a game. You never knew. He sat there expecting any minute to hear one of his players tell him, “Manny [Ramirez] is coming out to hit.”

Jason Bay is a fine hitter. He’s better than fine. He’s a great young hitter. He’s probably a great person. I bet he treats animals and the elderly very well. Mike Lowell is a great run producer. There’s not a key spot that I would mind having him up in. But, look at that reaction. That’s not hoping that Manny was unavailable. That’s not preferring that Manny wouldn’t hit. He wouldn’t even look in the dugout! There’s only one word for it. Fear. Joe Torre feared Manny Ramirez. He had his all-world closer ready to come it, but it didn’t matter. Manny was said to be unavailable for the game, but it didn’t matter. You can talk about clubhouse chemistry, and statistics all you want. When it is all said and done, the former manager of the New York Yankees feared Manny Ramirez. That’s something that you can’t say about Mike Lowell, or Jason Bay, or any other member of the Red Sox. How much is fear worth?

As I mentioned, the Oakland A’s provided the perfect chance for the trade to look good. The Red Sox swept the overmatched A’s. Jason Bay had a fantastic series. He was all over the place, scoring runs and playing defense. Early indications are that he’ll be a wonderful player for the Sox the next couple years. I heard reports that the team just looked happier. I think that winning will make a team look happier. I think the Sox looked pretty happy sweeping Seattle, even with Manny in the clubhouse. I don’t think the Sox looked very happy losing to Kansas City, even with Jason Bay in the clubhouse.

At the end of the season, baseball isn’t a Disney movie. The happiest team doesn’t win. The best team does.

Random thought…can anyone say that Julio Lugo is overpaid if the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie twins got $14 million just to take pictures of them? If you take baseball salaries in context with other entertainers, they don’t look so bad. At least Lugo has to do more than smile pretty.

Trade Theo!

The trading deadline is a fun time of year for baseball fans. If your team is in the playoff hunt, this is when they can fill the holes they have and become a World Series contender. If your team is not in the playoff hunt, it’s a time to stock up on the future so you’re even better next year. This year, several of the elite teams in the AL had obvious holes to fill going into deadline day. For example:

LA needed some power in their line-up. They have the league’s best record, great starting pitching and a fantastic bullpen. But, they needed some pop in the order to cement their place as the class of the league. So, they traded for Mark Teixeira. Bingo. Hole filled and the Angels got better.

The Yankees had some holes. They needed a lefty reliever. They needed an outfielder to account for some injuries. Same thing with a catcher. So, they grabbed Marte, Nady, and Rodriguez. Bingo. Holes filled and the Yankees got better.

The Red Sox had some holes. They needed bullpen help. They could use a shortstop to cover for an injury (and lousiness). They had one too many centerfielders. So, they….um…traded away their best hitter? Well at least the guy they got back is…um…worse than the guy they traded away? At least they got some bullpen help in the…um…they actually traded away one of their bullpen arms? Well, the other guy they got is a nice prosp…um…they didn’t get anybody else? They actually gave up another young outfielder as well? At least they got some cash in the deal so they could…um…they actually gave 7 million dollars away in the deal? To the Dodgers? What the heck is going on here? Holes got bigger and the Red Sox got worse.

So, the bullpen still stinks. And now, the line-up takes a hit so it’s harder to make up for a lousy bullpen? Was Theo at a Pearl Jam concert yesterday, or being the GM of the Boston Red Sox? From here on in, we get to watch Ortiz get intentionally walked 500 times, and the run production go down the tubes. Yippie. Was the bottom of the order not enough of a drag on scoring?

I think it’d be easier to swallow if the Yankee fans would stop e-mailing and calling to say how happy they are and thanking me for handing them the division on a big silver platter.

I will give Theo a little credit. If you look at the schedules, he at least picked a good time to make a boneheaded trade. In August, the Sox will play Oakland, KC, Chicago, and Texas instead of Tampa, LA, Minnesota, and Seattle. So, for a while, the much easier schedule will make the deal look slightly better than it is. But, things will drop back in September.

I’d say it was the worst trade Theo’s ever made. But, there have been so many stinkers, it’d be hard to say with any certainty which was the worst.

Nobody’s Perfect

Nobody can be everything to everyone. Albert Einstein wasn’t a great husband. Michael Jordan wouldn’t get involved politically. Manny Ramirez doesn’t play hard. It’s just the way it is. So, when I need someone to do something for me, I have to decide if the qualities they do have are the ones I need for the task I need done. If I need a scientist, I’d probably prefer his home life wasn’t great. That gives him more time to work on my research. If I need a basketball player, I want him practicing, not making speeches. And, if I need a clean-up hitter, I need home runs and RBI. I could care less if he runs hard to first on a ground out.

What exactly is the fascination with hustle anyway? Why is effort rewarded so much more than results? If a guy produces, do I really care how he does it? Do I really want my star player risking injury or wearing himself out just to hustle? Wasn’t that the big question with Kevin Garnett? People questioned whether he was wearing himself out by playing 82 super intense regular season games. He was spent by the time playoffs came along. Manny always seems to have plenty in the tank come the postseason. Maybe that’s why he has more playoff home runs than anybody else?

Does Manny fall into the same category as the Ortiz shift? People don’t want Papi changing his swing to go the other way against the shift because that’s not what he’s paid for. Nobody wants him to rack up singles. But, wouldn’t slapping the ball the other way be putting the most effort into getting on base? I submit that Manny isn’t paid to hustle. He’s paid to hit 300 and drive in 100 guys. As long as he does that, he’s fulfilled his obligation. Just like Ortiz does his job if he hits 35 homeruns no matter how many infield singles he doesn’t get.

One thing I think Manny does that hurts his image is make quick assumptions about the amount of effort required. I’ve seen him hustle. I’ve seen him motor around third, or beat out a double play. When he thinks it can help, he’ll turn on the jets with the best of them. It’s the other times he decides not to bother. Say Manny hits a ground ball to the second baseman. Somebody like Jacoby Ellsbury better bust it out of the box and run his butt off to first. A step here or there, or a slight bobble, and Jacoby could beat it out. Manny on the other hand sees the ground ball and knows that no matter how hard he runs, unless the fielder drops it, boots it, and throws wide to the first baseman, Manny’s going to be out. And, no matter how slow Manny loafs it, he’s still going to be out. So, loafing saves wear and tear. Can you imagine if Manny ripped a hamstring busting it trying in vain to beat out a grounder to second? So, he saves himself. Same thing in the field. Manny sees a flyball and decides if he can make a play. He may instantly decide it’s over his head off the wall. He knows that no matter how hard he runs after it, it’s a double. And, no matter how slow he runs, the guy can’t get all the way to third. So, he takes it easy. Now, every once in a while the fielder does drop it, boot it, and throw it wide. And, every once in a while the guy gets a double he shouldn’t have. In those cases, Manny looks bad and everyone gets on his case about a lack of hustle. But, really, how often does this happen? Does it really happen enough to hurt the Sox? Does it hurt them enough to discount Manny’s production late in the season? Absolutely not. Run the numbers sometime. Say Manny gets caught not hustling to first once a week. Obviously, it doesn’t happen nearly that much. But, just for a number… that gives us about 30 times a season Manny should be on first, but isn’t. Now, last season Manny had 143 hits, walked 71 times, and scored 84 runs. So, roughly, he was on base 214 times, and scored 84 times or about 40%. If you take out the home runs from each side, Manny was driven in by another teammate about 33% of the time he was on base. So, those 30 times Manny didn’t hustle would cost him 30 times on base, which would cost the Red Sox 10 runs. So, in this ridiculously exaggerated example, Manny’s lack of effort would cost the Red Sox ten runs over a season. What’s that, about .08 runs for every game Manny played last year? I’d bet Manny produces at least that much. It’s an easy trade to make.

Which brings us to the latest distractions. Last week, Manny asked out of a couple games due to a sore knee. Now, I’ve said before I don’t question the degree of a player’s injuries. I don’t know their pain threshold. But, let’s pretend he wasn’t really all that hurt. Would he be the first player to ask out of a game against Felix Hernandez or Joba Chamberlain? Wasn’t it the running joke that injuries used to pop up on the other team all the time when Pedro was scheduled to pitch? The Pedro Flu I think I saw it referred to. The Red Sox won the game against King Felix. So, hard to say that Manny hurt the team there. Against Joba, the Sox lost 1-0. So, maybe Manny could have helped. But, how much really? Was he going to hit three home runs? Was anyone going to drive him in if he got three singles? What did the Sox get, 2 hits? I bet Manny would have been stranded anyway. So, skipping a couple games really didn’t affect the Sox. How about a clubhouse distraction? Well, the Sox sit 1 game out of first after missing Ortiz for a month or so. I’d say the team looks pretty undistracted to me. So Manny said that if the Sox made a trade that helped him and helped the team, he’d approve it. Big deal. I’d like to think anyone would approve a trade if it helped both him and the team. Didn’t Schilling approve a trade that helped him and the D-Backs a few years ago?

It’s such a non-issue, I can’t believe it’s such an issue.

Happy Birthday Pedro

...according to Total Baseball anyway. (And, I didn't know what else to write.)

I remember the first time I heard that the Sox were getting Pedro Martinez. My dad told me that he heard that the Sox had traded for a pitcher…Martinez. When I asked which one, he wasn’t sure. He thought maybe a “Pedro”. I knew that couldn’t be true. My Sox did not trade for Cy Young award winners in their prime. The Sox I knew traded for washed up players who used to be good. If the Red Sox acquired a Martinez, clearly it was Ramon. He used to be good, but was battling injuries and hadn’t been effective in years. That’s the kind of player the Sox traded for. The radio report must have just mentioned that he was Pedro’s brother. That’s obviously where Pedro fit in. But, after confirming the details of the trade, it was true. The Sox had just acquired the best pitcher in the NL. That was amazing. Then, they went ahead and signed him long-term. The Pedro Martinez Era had begun. Nobody could have guessed what a ride it would be.

Pedro delivered right out of the gate with a fantastic 1998 season. He was in the Cy Young hunt all season, and could easily have won the award. His best Sox season was the next one. In 1999 Pedro had what is probably the best season any pitcher on any team has ever had. A couple of my favorite memories of that year:

The 1999 All-Star Game. Pedro came out and showed exactly how great he was. Sure, it’s an exhibition. But, even in an exhibition, I bet the NL wanted to at least put the ball in play a couple times. Pedro struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced and made all five of them look silly. He had all his pitches dancing, and it was a joy to work. Being in the park to witness that might be the baseball highlight of my life.

The Yankee Game. Pitchers rack up strikeouts in games sometimes. Pedro once struck out 17 Devil Rays. Roger Clemens struck out 20 Mariners and Tigers. Kerry Wood struck out 20 Astros once. Pitchers throw no-hitters and one-hitters. Derek Lowe no-hit the Devil Rays, Clay Buchholz no-hit the Orioles. This was different though. Pedro Martinez struck out 17 batters in a one-hit effort against the New York Yankees. In the Bronx. This wasn’t a cellar dweller with a nothing line-up. This was the defending World Series Champs. This was the team that would win the 1999 World Series. This was the utmost sports dynasty of the decade, and Pedro made them look absolutely foolish. Made them look foolish wearing their pinstriped pajamas. Incredible.

The Player’s Choice. At the end of the 1999 season, they had the Player’s Choice Awards. These were awards, voted on by the players themselves. It’s like many award shows, with nominees leading to the eventual winner. In the category for “Best AL pitcher” the nominees were Pedro Martinez and….that’s it. Just Pedro. He was so clearly the best, they didn’t even bother with the exercise. It wasn’t even worth having someone else in the conversation for the benefit of the show. It was Pedro, and there was everyone else. Unbelievable.

And, we all know what happened from there. Pedro won a couple Cy Young awards with the Sox, and should have won a third. His last start for Boston was a convincing victory in Game 3 of the 2004 World Series as he finally brought a title to Boston. He’s currently finishing out his hall-of-Fame career in NY. (The good NY) In his wake, he changed the way I look at Red Sox pitchers. Schilling…Beckett…Dice-K…they’ll never measure up. I’ll never fully appreciate their accomplishments in my mind because, well, they’re not Pedro.

Anyone else have a favorite Pedro story to share?