Daily Archives: June 24, 2003

HAPPY BOITDAY

Marlon Anderson just hit a grand slam off of Al Reyes to give the D-Rays an 8-6 lead over the Yanks in the bottom of the seventh inninng. Good grief. This is the icing on the gravy of an absolutely putrid effort by the Yanks. Oh dip, Robin Ventura just made an error and now the Rays lead 9-6. The Yanks had a 4-1 lead, and a 6-2 lead. Giambi had to leave the game early but they haven’t said why yet. All I know is that I’m starting to get sick every time I see Todd Zeile out there, which is a shame because he’s always seemed like a good enough guy.

Jeff Weaver was not terrific, neither was Chris Hammond and the Yanks are getting thoroughly humiliated tonight. This is one of those games where I feel so disgusted with the team that I’m rooting against them.

The Yankees had plenty of chances to blow the game open early, but they squandered several chances (12 men left on base thus far) and have set up for another lecture from their manager. George is not going to like this at all, and it is highly likely that he’ll erupt on a backpage near you with the quickness.

LEONARD KOPPETT DEAD

The legendary baseball writer, Leonard Koppett died of a heart attack in San Francisco on Sunday. He was 79. Koppett’s book, “The Thinking Fan’s Guide to Baseball,” is on the short list of indespensable baseball reference books. If you don’t own it, do yourself a favor and track it down when you have a chance. Gary Huckaby of Baseball Prospectus had a brief appreciation of Koppett yesterday, and I will be on the look out for more tributes in the next couple of days.

I’m in the midst of doing research for the “Curt Flood” biography I’m writing for Young Adults, and Koppett, who covered Flood’s suit against MLB for both The New York Times and The Sporting News was one of the handful of journalists who were even-handed towards Flood’s case. He was from the old-“Elements of Style”-school, and his writing was clear, succinct, and clean.

He will be missed.

DOBY MOURNED

There was a memorial service for Larry Doby yesterday in Monclair, New Jersey. Yogi Berra, Bill White, and Joe Morgan all showed up. Harvey Aaraton , of the Times was there too:

“Tell me, tell me,” the young son bearing his father’s famous name used to say. “I want to know about when you played.”

Larry Doby Sr. would not give in to the wishes of his star-struck child. It was not his way. “I do not live in the past,” he would tell Larry Doby Jr. “I live for tomorrow.”

…In the age of intrusiveness, Doby was never much interested in baring his soul up close and personal, not even at home, for family archives.

“I wanted him to sit down in front of the camera, him and my mother,” Doby Jr., 45, said. “They didn’t want to do that. My father would say, ‘It’s in the history books.’ ”

…”He would say things like, ‘Early Wynn, I knew if he was pitching I was O.K. because if they knocked me down, then two of their guys were going down,’ ” Doby Jr. said. “I believe that he and Jackie Robinson – to us it was always Mr. Robinson – would talk about the good guys and the bad guys, but to everyone else, it was only about the good guys.”

I’ve been critical of the lack of interest in Doby’s legacy by scholars and the baseball community in general, but perhaps it all started with the man himself. It seems as if Doby wasn’t interested in promoting or rehashing his playing career.

Fay Vincent had a column about Doby on Sunday, and mentioned that Doby was a man who didn’t harbor any bitterness. I don’t buy it. Sure, he probably mellowed over the years, but I just think he chose to keep his feelings to himself. Remember the quotation I found from Sports Illustrated circa 1968:

“You know those junkyards along the highways in Jersey? Well they have scrap heaps just like that for athletes—most of them black. Black athletes are cattle. They’re raised, fed, sold and killed…Baseball moved me toward the front of the bus, and it let me ride there as long as I could run. And then it told me to get off at the back door.”

RAYS ROLLS OVER YANKS

In a rematch of their classic pitching duel last week, Roger Clemens and Victor Zambrano weren’t exactly great last night, but they weren’t awful either. Clemens pitched seven innings and was effective. If it wasn’t for a scrub named Damian Rolls, Rocket would have been okay. But Rolls had the game of this life, hitting his first two homers of the year—as well as a double—off Rocket. It was enough to beat the Yanks, 4-2 .

Lil’ Soriano golfed the first pitch of the game a long way for another lead off homer. Sori has his flashy home run follow through down pat by now. Move over Manny, Sori’s got plenty of mustard on his hot dog. A little too much mustard for my liking—especially when the ball doesn’t sail out of the park for a home run. This kid could have ten triples per season if he busted his fat ass out of the box like Jeter does.

The Yankees are trying to keep the talented Soriano focused:

Torre and Soriano have been having frequent talks on a variety of topics, such as undisciplined at-bats, lack of concentration in the field and admiring fly balls he hits to see whether they are headed over the fence. These have been issues for Soriano for three years, and even as he has become one of the most dynamic players in baseball they remain issues.

…Reggie Jackson has been brought in to counsel Soriano about patience at the plate and, sources say, to deliver some subtle messages about lifestyle. There is concern that Soriano is partying too much.

“He takes criticism very well,” Torre said. “He understands where it’s coming from. We’re looking out for what’s best for him. We want him to make sure he is the kind of player he has the chance to be. … He needs to get the most out of [his ability].”

Speaking of mustard, how about Reggie is teaching Soriano patience at the plate? [Insert punchline here.]

Meanwhile, Bernie Williams joined the team for stretching yesterday. It sure was good to see him. According to the Times:

“Whenever I’m ready, I’ll know,” said Williams, who has been working out in Tampa, Fla. “The knee’s going to tell me, but I’m not going to push it.”

The Blue Jays stomped on the O’s, and Carlos Delgado had four RBI, giving him 80 for the season?!?!? Oh yeah, Vernon Wells now has 72 RBI himself. Tim Wakefield and the Sox beat the Tigers, and now the Yanks lead Toronto by one and the Sox by two.