John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Thinking out loud…while wondering whatever happened to Daniel Bard…
- Has Rubby DeLaRosa shown the Red Sox he has the ability to be a front line, major league starter? He’s got some good stuff, no doubt. And we saw it this week, albeit against the Minnesota Twins, in a seven-inning, one-hit performance. The big key for DeLaRosa will be how he re-adjusts after the rest of the American League adjusts to him. He needs to trust his fastball a bit more, perhaps…which has topped at 100 mph. That’ll set up his (favorite) changeup quite nicely…
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- When Brock Holt first came into our consciousness, after starting with the Pirates and then moving to the Sox with Joel Hanrahan for Ivan De Jesus, Mark Melancon, Stolmy Pimentel and Jerry Sands...did you think HE would be the impact player in the group?
- Tweet of the Week I – from @GlobeBobRyan: “People leaving game. Should be barred from Fenway forever. Past their bedtime?” Ryan, who retired from fulltime work at the Boston Globe partially because he didn’t want to keep up with social media trends, issued his tweet as the Sox and Twins were entering an extra-inning scoreless tie last Wednesday afternoon. Those fans? They missed David Ortiz and Mike Napoli go back-to-back with solo HR’s in the 10th to come from behind and win, 2-1. Is that punishment enough?
- In the “no matter how bad you’ve got it, someone else has it worse” department…Boston managed five runs in 28 innings against Minnesota pitching this past week…while the Twins managed just two runs during that same span…
- Grady who? What started out as the story of the spring sure ended with a whimper, didn’t it? Holt’s emergence further limiting Sizemore’s opportunities did as much as anything to earn him his release. That, and his hovering-around-200 batting average…
- David Ortiz gets away with a lot around here, because of the goodwill he has earned with his performance. But his railing against official scorers at Fenway Park this week because they’re “always horrible” is just ridiculous. I get he’s frustrated over his slump – any big league hitter would be. But to blame an official scorer for not giving him a hit – when it’s up to the scorer to do his job and award a hit or an error based on his best UNBIASED judgment – is petty and selfish. Do you know what scorers make per game? I know one of the Fenway Park scorers who has actually written books about baseball – he does his job professionally and with pride – and it’s not a lot. What does Ortiz make per game? ‘Nuff said. Zip it, Papi…
- I must say, watching the San Antonio Spurs dismantle the Miami Heat in five games was a textbook lesson in passing the basketball. For anyone who thinks the game has progressed to the point where pure athleticism has taken over, you’re not quite right. Sharing the ball, penetrating the defense, kicking out, setting screens and knocking down open jump shots…the Spurs just old-schooled the Heat right back into mediocrity and irrelevancy…
- Ok, maybe not mediocrity just yet…but it will certainly be an interesting off-season on South Beach. LeBron James could opt out of his contract…so could Chris Bosh. Does Miami re-load or re-build? And how many other NBA Eastern Conference teams now realize the door to relevancy might be cracked open just a bit wider?
- Five titles in 15 years for the Spurs…all of them coming well past my tenure with the team as a broadcaster. Figures. As I departed South Texas for New England in 1988, the Admiral – David Robinson – was just deciding he wanted to play in San Antonio, rather than hold out to try a bigger market. Smart choice…he won two rings. Tim Duncan, who could have been a PC Friar and instead went to Wake Forest, has five…
- And the Spurs could make it six someday soon, if Kawhi Leonard continues his upward trend in developing his game. The Bill Russell-MVP was very impressive throughout the series, and at just 22 years old, seems to be the perfect complement for aging stars Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. San Antonio picked Duncan to team with, and then eventually replace, Robinson. The Spurs will build around Leonard…and an Emerson College grad helped start that process in Sam Presti, who is now the GM in Oklahoma City…
- How significant was San Antonio’s win internationally? Important enough in Ginobili’s home country of Argentina, that he got to share the front page of the Buenos Aires news with futbol star Lionel Messi…after Argentina won it’s opening World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina…
- This might qualify as blasphemy around these parts…but Starbucks is offering a free online education to its workers, even if they don’t stay on with the company. That’s an extraordinary gesture in this day and age, and for any employee who works at least 20 hours per week…that will grind a lot of beans in the future. Even if it means they leave Starbucks to go onto bigger (and perhaps better) opportunities. And this just in...Starbucks has announced they're raising coffee prices. Coincidence?
- ESPN’s NFL Professor, John Clayton, had some fantastic insight into late-Steelers’ coach Chuck Noll and his career following his passing late last week, and how history could certainly have been changed in New England had former owner Billy Sullivan hired Noll – and not Clive Rush, a NY Jets assistant – to be head coach in 1969. Yes, apparently it’s true. Rush resigned halfway through the 1970 season with a 5-16 record, and Noll won four Super Bowls. Whoa…
- Did anyone else notice the announcement that HBO would be featuring the Atlanta Falcons on the Hard Knocks series this summer? Before you dismiss the training camp series as boring, or the Falcons as a “who cares” team…consider that ex-Patriots Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta General Manager and former NE Director of College Scouting) and Scott Pioli (Falcons’ assistant GM, former VP of Player Personnel) could offer some insight as to how things are run in New England. Might be as close as the Patriots ever get to being HBO camera-fodder…
- Mini-camp this week for the Patriots provided a few sneak-peeks into “what could be,” but otherwise it was BAU (Business As Usual) for your heroes. Rookie QB Jimmy Garoppolo showed early he has tremendous quickness with his release and the ability to throw a nice deep ball…but also showed later that when the pocket collapses around him (and these were non-contact drills) he’s got some work to do with his accuracy. Defensively, Tommy Kelly and Vince Wilfork took part in light 11-on-11 drills, which was a bit surprising considering their rehab status. Perhaps they’re moving in the right direction on the injury front…
- Kenbrell Thompkins made several great grabs during Wednesday’s session…a couple of them over new CB Brandon Browner. That’ll be a battle to watch when training camp opens at the end of July, as Thompkins tries to solidify a spot in the receiving corp. Edelman, Amendola, LaFell, Dobson, Slater…and two more? Thompkins should be in the mix with Jeremy Gallon and Josh Boyce…
- Ifs and buts…it was encouraging to see Wilfork and Kelly out on the field, together. It was encouraging to see Rob Gronkowski running and cutting without any hesitation toward his once-injured knee. Same with rookie 1st rounder Dominique Easley. Cool to see new LB James Anderson fitting in nicely on the defense next to Jerod Mayo. Even cooler to see Browner mixing it up with the receivers as passes were tossed his way. Injuries always happen, of course. But this Patriots team, as it currently exists, seems to have great potential on both sides of the ball. I know, I know…it’s only mini-camp…
- Six weeks until the start of Training Camp? Whatever will we do with ourselves? Obsess about it, of course. Stupid is as stupid does…
- What might have been…there have been a few stories emanating from West Virginia lately…and now, Louisville has added its confirmation…WVU athletic director Oliver Luck let it slip out a week ago the “old” Big East almost merged with the Big 12 to form a super-conference back in 2011. You may have even heard these rumors, as I had, at the time. When Pittsburgh and Syracuse jumped to the ACC, and Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech were rumored to be headed west to the Pac-12, the remaining Big 12 schools were left all alone, without a home. Luck, with support from Louisville AD Tom Jurich, apparently got the ball rolling on a potential merger for the Big East with Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Iowa State. UCF would have been invited as an eastern member, forming an East/West “Big East” alliance in football that would have stood up for the hoop conference as well. Luck says the basketball schools (including Providence) supported the merger, because of the addition of Kansas, primarily…
- Of course, when Texas, OU, OSU and Tech stayed put, it set the wheels in motion for WVU to depart the Big East and join the revamped Big 12, which staved off its demise by also adding TCU after Texas A&M and Missouri left for the SEC. And Louisville now is less than two weeks away from joining the ACC, with Syracuse and Pitt…
- The “U,” as in the University of Miami, is recruiting a 9-year old girl for their women’s basketball program. Should we laugh, cry or watch her mix tape?
- With the Brown Bears’ basketball schedule released for next season, it was curious to note they will be the only one of the four Rhode Island Division I teams to play the other three DI schools next year. PC will play Brown and URI, but not Bryant. URI will face PC and Brown, but not Bryant. Bryant gets Brown…and no one else. Did Tim O’Shea forget to shower…or is his program (and the level of respect) growing up? Just sayin’…
- The NBA Draft is Thursday, and PC’s Bryce Cotton has his chance to “shock the world.” While many around here know better, Cotton has worked out for most of the NBA teams prior to June 26th’s two-round event, and he has apparently surprised several with his shooting and overall athletic ability. That doesn’t mean he’ll be drafted, as it’s all about fitting in with team need. USA Today recently rated Cotton 14th out of the Top 20 point guards available. Late in the second round, with Paddy Mills looking at free agency, there could be worse places to land than San Antonio…with two selections at #58 and #60…
- Does Providence qualify as a “hockey town?” The P-Bruins performance in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs notwithstanding (losing in the conference semis to St. John’s) along with the Boston Bruins’ relative early exit, Providence was among the highest-rated TV markets for the deciding 5th game of the NHL Stanley Cup finals between Los Angeles and New York. LA was 1st, NY 2nd, Boston was tied for 4th with Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Providence tied for 7th with Chicago in most viewers…
- Are Bruins’ fans really that upset over GM Peter Chiarelli saying see-ya to Shawn Thornton? I get it…he’s the guy you’d hate on another team, but love when he’s on your side. He defended his teammates, played through the bumps, was a leader on the ice and off of it in the community. But the hockey truth is, he’s a 36-year-old 4th line (barely) enforcer on a team that needs to shuffle things up a bit…especially on that 4th line next season. Pro sports are all about what you’ve done lately, not what you’ve done in the past. It was a good seven-year run, Thorty…
- Condolences to the family and friends of ESPNDallas.com writer Richard Durrett, who died suddenly this week at just 38 years of age. Durrett’s beat was the Texas Rangers, and he also had hosted a radio show on Dallas’ ESPN affiliate. We had the opportunity to meet this past winter during a symposium on sports journalism held on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, TX…where we got the chance to exchange views on the current state of the industry with colleagues and students. I was taken by his seemingly endless supply of energy and enthusiasm for sports reporting. Richard leaves behind a wife, two kids and another on the way…
- Durrett wrote this piece on fathers and sons after Rangers’ fan Shannon Stone fell to his death three years ago while trying to grab a foul ball for his own son. Puts things in perspective…
- It’s probably time to give Yankee pitcher Masahiro Tanaka his due, even though the Sox fan in me is reluctant to do so. Tanaka leads the major leagues in wins (11) and the AL in ERA (1.99), and also has five double-digit strikeout games. Cy Young candidate? MVP candidate? Rookie of the Year candidate? Yes to all three, at this point…
- I’ve never heard of a baseball game postponed due to “bear.” But it happened in an American Legion game in Alaska recently. Wonder what that line score looked like the next day – PPD (bear wouldn’t go away)?
- Double your fun…it was a Happy Fathers’ Day for not one, but two Dads, apparently, at San Francisco’s AT&T Park last weekend. A foul ball catch with kid-in-hand on Saturday was topped by a one-handed snag of a Troy Tulowitzki home run ball. Not sure whether to applaud here, or call child protective services…
- Tony Gwynn’s passing this week, at 54, was sobering. 20 years in a San Diego Padre uniform, lifetime .338 hitter, 15x all-star, 8 batting titles. Only 434 strikeouts in 9288 career at-bats. Gold Glove winner. Hall of Fame, 2007. Coached at his alma mater, San Diego State. Cancer victim, long-time tobacco user. The stuff doesn’t need to be banned in baseball – simply make players, young and old, read his obituary…
- Two great factoids seen and heard about Gwynn this week – 1) Nolan Ryan struck out Gwynn nine times in his career, and no other pitcher struck him out more than six times; 2) Ted Williams gets to talk hitting with someone again…
- Did you also know (or remember) that Gwynn was a pretty good point guard at San Diego State as well? He was a two-time all-WAC selection, and averaged 8.2 assists per game during the 1979-80 season, which is still a school record…
- Nolan Ryan threw what, seven ho-hitters? How about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully – who has CALLED 19 no-hitters, including Clayton Kershaw’s this week? That’s seven percent of all no-hitters in major league history and a record that belongs up there with some of the other “unbreakable” marks, like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak…
- Not for nuthin’…but the last time a team had TWO no-hitters in the same season, like the Dodgers have had this year (remember Josh Beckett’s)? 1972, and it was the Chicago Cubs, of all teams. The last time the Dodgers accomplished the feat? When they were in Brooklyn, in 1956…
- Just another reason why the World Cup, whether you like it or not, is a BIG story on our planet – electricity was rationed in Ghana so everyone who wanted to could watch the match with the USA last Monday. Because of a water-shortage, there have also been low levels of power, so Ghana purchased 50 megawatts from neighbor Ivory Coast…in the hope no one would be left in the dark…
- The Ghananians (if that’s what they’re called) almost turned the lights out on the USA’s hopes for advancing from the so-called “Group of Death” when Andre Ayew scored in the 82nd minute to tie the score at 1-1. With Portugal’s mess at the hands of Germany, the time is definitely at hand for the US to make its move on the national stage…and a German-American sub named John Brooks gave his side the chance to do that with his header into the net just four minutes later. Sweet revenge for the USA, knocked out by Ghana in both of their previous Cup appearances in 2010 and 2006…
- Another local tie to the USA World Cup team – outside of former URI Ram Geoff Cameron – is forward Clint Dempsey, who scored the opening goal less than a minute after the kickoff against Ghana…the 5th fastest goal scored in World Cup history, the fastest ever scored by an American in the tournament, and the 3rd straight World Cup tournament in which he has scored. Dempsey played for the New England Revolution from 2004-06, and after playing for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League, he’s been back in MLS with Seattle…
- The Revs are comin’…to Providence. The New England Revolution will be playing in a US Open Cup game against the Rochester Rhinos under the lights at Brown’s Stevenson Field next Wednesday, June 25th at 7:30 pm…
- As we’ve opined here and undoubtedly as you’ve read or heard about elsewhere, should FIFA actually do the right thing and strip Qatar of the 2022 World Cup…you can expect the US to be asked to stage the replacement games. You’ll recall, perhaps, that old Foxboro Stadium hosted early games in 1994 when the Cup last played in America…and you can expect Gillette Stadium to be up there as a potential venue if asked. Especially since there’s a track record for hosting international matches at the stadium…and because they have plenty of experience putting real grass on top of the fake stuff they have now…
- It gets said every year, and yet…it never gets tiresome. The Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford began in 1962, and through the years it never loses its luster as one of the premier amateur events in the country. The NE Am is considered a “major” in the amateur golf world, and the tournament boasts of being ranked 4th (by the R&A World Amateur Ranking List) among more than 700 US Amateur golf events played. Ben Crenshaw, Scott Hoch, John Cook, Hal Sutton, David Duval and more recently Luke Donald, Dustin Johnson and Anthony Kim have won at Wannamoisett…and have gone on to achieve relative fame (if not fortune) on the PGA Tour…
- My family had the absolute pleasure of hosting one of the young golfers in 2007, and first-hand we learned of the dedication required to play at this level. It was golf, golf and more golf throughout the week…which was fun for us, but business for our boarder – Kevin Chappell. It was quite the week for Kevin at the time, as he was tied for the lead entering the final round and played in Saturday’s final group (he finished 11th after shooting a 77, tied with Rickie Fowler and the tournament was won by Dustin Johnson)…all while knowing that his golf coach at UCLA had resigned. Kevin ultimately decided to turn pro, soon after playing in Rumford…
- Rhode Island’s own Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade give the region another taste of the big-time with the CVS-Caremark Charity Classic Monday and Tuesday at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington. The really cool part? The 20 pros from the PGA and LPGA tours will again team up to continue driving millions of dollars to local charities. Defending champs Bo Van Pelt and Steve Stricker return; an all-LPGA team of Juli Inkster and Morgan Pressel will compete against the guys, and PGA tour favorites Jason Dufner and former Masters’ champ Zach Johnson will also be there. Great way to start the summer...
- My buddy Statbeast sez he and his family are enjoying the summer, and he and Mrs. Statbeast have the perfect relationship. How do they do it? “We take time to go to a restaurant at least twice a week for a little dinner, dancing maybe, romance definitely. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays…”
- Remember the days of playing whiffle ball in your backyard? They don’t have to be memories…the 11th annual Whiffle Ball Tournament to benefit the Arthritis Foundation takes place August 10th at Pawtucket’s Slater Park. You can register online at wiffleman.com…And if you’d like info on leagues and how to get started, reader John has a website he’d like to share – Wiffleball Rankings. Here’s what I want to know…is it W-I-F-F-L-E or is it W-H-I-F-F-L-E?
- Tweet of the Week II – from Darin White, PhD (@Sports_Biz_Prof): “Number of fantasy sports participants in US & Canada has risen 13% in last year to more than 41 million…” Minus me. Wish I had the time, but real life keeps getting in the way…
- Time to try something else…did anyone else notice the news emanating from Hickory, NC (hometown of former Friar coach Rick Barnes) last week, that former Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard allowed 13 runs without giving up a hit? At the Single A level? Once thought to be the heir-apparent to the closers’ role in Boston, his ERA is now a robust 175.50. The Texas Rangers thought he could be “salvaged,” up until his release from the organization Thursday. Bard retired just two of 18 batters he faced, walking seven and hitting seven more. He simply never recovered from his tryout as a starter from the bullpen two years ago – a move that Bobby Valentine was against, by the way. Or so he said…
- From the mailbag this week – Dean from Rumford, RI via Facebook, on the early plaudits thrown to Patriots’ rookie QB Jimmy Garoppolo: “All that is great but he needs to make the right decisions, execute them quickly and accurately and under pressure. Those qualities are comparatively rare no matter how good his tool set is. I'm hopeful though.” Dean: Observers at mini-camp this week watched his quick trigger, his good footwork, and his tight spiral early and often. They also saw him struggle by forcing some balls in where they shouldn’t be thrown, overthrows and an inability to make a correct read when the pocket collapsed. All in good time. It’s easy to see what the coaches saw in him when they drafted him. Now comes the hard part, and there should be plenty of time (and effort) put into his potential…
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