Confidence

I always wonder why some people don't consider certain wins to be more important than others. I was having a conversation with a buddy of mine who said "a win is a win and a loss is a loss". His point was that at the end of the season, it is the number of games won as compared to the number of games lost that determine whether a team advances to the post season. No one will likely remember in October, an outfield catch in April that allowed a team to win a game against an seemingly insignificant opponent. Ultimately, this may be true except for the overwhelming effect of confidence.

Most will agree that a victory over an arch rival or a win that breaks a runaway losing streak can boost a team's confidence. And so much of sports (and life, for that matter) is about confidence. Those who have it will always have an edge over those who do not. Yesterday afternoon's 6-to-3 Yankee win against Cleveland may make only a small difference in September but, for at least some Yankees, it may help to turn things around.

The players who really performed yesterday were the very players that needed to perform. Giambi and Cano especially but it was nice to see something from Betemit too. Sometimes a home run or a key hit is all that is needed to bring a player around. I heard a statistic during the broadcast yesterday indicating that only one other Yankee in the last 80 years had performed as poorly at the plate as Cano and Giambi have at this point in the season. That one other player, whose name I can't remember (I wonder why?), played in the '60s.

My point is this... Cano is not a .172 hitter and Giambi can do better than .163. In the same way that a team's average in September has a way of "correcting" itself, so does a player's batting average. If you believe this, and there is no reason why someone shouldn't, then there are some Yankee hitters that are going to have to make a turn around real soon. And this will happen... it is inevitable. All that is necessary is a turning point. Hopefully yesterday's game was just that. Confidence. It is a powerful thing.

Now, on the same topic, I wanted to address the Joba fist pump that seems to be resurfacing to the headlines. Nothing more than confidence. For the very best players, a sport can be such an emotional thing. The pressures, the anxiety, the unpredictability. One pitch can mean a win or a loss... it is as simple as that. Greg Cohen did an great job in his blog yesterday analyzing the incident. I agree completely with his post, so I won't bother re-hashing it but you can find it here. While you are at it, check out another take on the issue here.

So the Yankees face Detroit tonight to see if they can give some payback for last week's licking that they took when they faced the Tiger's in the Bronx. Wouldn't it be nice to build a little more confidence?

Are bloggers really losers?

There has been a little battle going on between some sports bloggers and Michael Kay, host of The Michael Kay Show on ESPN radio and also the play-by-play Yankee announcer for the YES network. Let me start by saying that I have always been a fan of Michael Kay. I value his opinion on most things and respect his views on some other things I might not agree with. The comments he made on his talk show yesterday afternoon however really rubbed me the wrong way.

It all started a few days ago when Michael Kay criticized Joe Torre for making phone calls to Yankee players, namely Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. Kay's feeling was that Torre was crossing a fine line by having private conversations with players on another team. Regardless of the relationship that Torre might have had with these players for the last 10 years, it is still "improper".

Also on this broadcast, Kay referred to Torre as "St. Joe", indicating that he is virtually untouchable in baseball. "He’s earned that aura from all his years," Kay said. "He can do no wrong. I don’t think he’s doing anything in his mind that’s wrong. But he shouldn’t be calling players from other teams in my opinion."

I suppose my feelings are mixed on this issue but I can certainly see the point that Kay was making.

Ok, fine. But then Neil Best from Newsday does a write up of Kay's comments in his Watchdog blog. People begin to read the Newsday blog and, as what happens on most blogs except for mine, readers post their comments. Kay, who apparently says that he doesn't normally read blogs did read the Watchdog blog because he knew that Neil was writing about him. He also read the comments posted by the blog readers and didn't like what he saw. One in particular, written by Rich, stood out for him:

Besides being a sub-par play by play announcer he's been a hypocrite for years. Why didn't he say things like this during his Yes broadcasts over the years but had no problem saying things like it on his radio show? It's fine if he wants to say it on both platforms but to be quiet on his "paying gig" shows a lack of class. Not exactly the type of person you can trust.

So, yesterday afternoon, at the top of the four o-clock hour, Kay responds to Rich's comments on the air. He defends his reputation and clarifies that ESPN, in addition to YES, pays him very well for his radio talk show and also distinguishes between the fact that ESPN is indeed a talk show that thrives on commentary whereas the YES gig is merely a play-by-play job and it would be out of place for him to elaborate on his personal opinions while performing his job there.

That is where it should of ended (maybe even before then). But instead, Kay goes on further and starts to attack bloggers in general. No different than a racist who generalizes about a group of the population, Kay proclaimed his hatred for the blogging population. "I can almost see what they look like", Kay said referring to bloggers like Rich, "I bet there is a pocket protector involved". He went on to infer that if he ever met some of the guys who wrote blog comments he would surely not be up against a tough guy in a leather jacket but rather a wimp who hides behind a computer screen, afraid to share their views in public.

Shame on you Michael. There are personal opinions and there are private opinions. I agree that your personal opinions about the Yankees can (and should) be voiced on your talk show, in fact, that is why people listen to you. But critizing someone like you did yesterday for merely expressing their personal opinion (as harsh as it might have been for you), well, that is more "improper" than Torre calling his former players. You didn't just attack "Rich", you attacked me as well. You made a blanket statement that would lead people to believe that all bloggers are losers. I may not have many readers and I certainly don't have your medium, but I stand by everything I say, would say it in public, and no, I do not own a pocket protector.

P.S. The Yankees lost to the Clevland Indians last night by a score of 3-to-0.