Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Republicans having to root for Donald Trump must be like Chicago Bears fans having to root for Jay Cutler... Kudos to Bob Cousy and Holy Cross... So is that DirecTV commercial implying that Lionel Ritchie and Peyton Manning are gay lovers? Why else would Ritchie be in Mannings' home first thing in the morning with Peyton's wife nowhere to be found... And yet Johnny Pesky is not in the Hall of Fame... Suzy Kolber's Mancave would be a good name for a fantasy football team... The truth is the truth...  When Scott Boras is trying to sign a new client - how long do you think it takes him to casually mention that he got JD Drew $94 million in career earnings?... Debunking the Aquatic Ape Theory... July was National Beer Month and August was National Anal Sex Month (seriously). They should combine those two and make September National Regrets Month... Interesting - why Obama won't pardon Snowden...

Johnny Pesky

There isn't a true Red Sox fan out there who wasn't saddened by the passing of Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky. Peter Gammons does a great job explaining why Pesky was so special.

One story I haven't seen told in any of the testimonials since his passing is how Pesky almost quit on the Red Sox in 2003.

It's well known that in 1997 Red Sox GM Dan Duquette told Pesky he was no longer welcome on the Red Sox bench. This was done at the request of clueless manager Jimy Williams. This indignity lingers in the minds of Boston sports fans just one step below Rick Pitino stripping Red Auerbach of his ceremonial title of President of the Celtics. Pesky was able to out-wait Williams and the new John Henry led ownership restored Pesky to his rightful place at Fenway Park and at spring training. Pesky even outlasted Duquette who was fired by John Henry et al. The balance of where Johnny Pesky belonged in the Red Sox world was restored.

Then came the horrible year of 2003 which is recalled by by most Red Sox fans of first Pedro being left in an inning too long by Grady Little and then Aaron Bleeping Boone hitting a season ending HR off Tim Wakefield. But 2003 was also the year Johnny Pesky almost quit the Red Sox.

First came the ruling from Major League Baseball and Bud Selig that Pesky would no longer be allowed on the bench during games. Then the Red Sox traded his favorite player - Shea Hillenbrand. Pesky was so upset by the trade that he wanted to quit on the Red Sox but Hillenbrand talked him out of it.

The fact that Pesky will be eulogized by Selig - the guy who kicked him off the Red Sox bench while the guy who kept him from quitting the team he loved will be mostly forgotten just doesn't seem right to me.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Awesome video of a shark attacking a marlin - of course the nutty guy taking the video in the water with the shark is Australian

Ian Browne's excellent tribute to Johnny Pesky. There will never be another like him.

Oral sex cures morning sickness. Damn - where was this study when my wife was pregnant?

Spiderman just turned 50.

Awesome video of dolphins. The coolest dolphin video ever!

The fantastic Bob Ryan - basketball encyclopedia.

Johnny Pesky

It is right and fitting that the Red Sox will retire Johnny Pesky's #6 on Friday. Pesky turns 89 on Saturday and has spent the better part of his life as a member of the Red Sox organization. For almost every year since 1942 Pesky has been associated with the Red Sox in one form or another.

Retiring Pesky's number required "bending" the rules the Red Sox had established that stated a player's number can only be retired if the player spent 10 years with the Red Sox, was a Hall of Fame player and also retired with the Red Sox. Technically Johnny Pesky did not meet a single one of the conditions (he last played with the Washington Senators) but the Red Sox owners wisely viewed the rules more as just guidelines.

That leaves open the question of other players such as:

Jim Rice - he will have his number 14 retired. The Red Sox are waiting to see if he gets voted into the Hall of Fame this year. If he does not - then the Red Sox will "bend" the rules once again. Rice still works for the Red Sox as a studio analyst.

Roger Clemens - nope - not gonna happen. Clemens is tied for all-time wins for the Red Sox but his number 21 won't be retired. It's not just the steroids business either. Clemens left the Red Sox with bad blood and many Red Sox fans have no love for him. Heck he's tied with Cy Young for wins and do you see Young being recognized by the Red Sox?

Wade Boggs - nope - not gonna happen. Boggs can get misty about his days with the Yankees or Devil Rays but there's a reason you never see him around Fenway Park (unless he's selling hair plugs).

Dwight Evans - many stat heads will argue that Evans was every bit the player Jim Rice was and if you include defense then I won't argue the point. However, there's a reason contemporaries voted Jim Rice in the top 5 in MVP voting 6 times and Evans just twice. Evans left the Red Sox with bad blood and look no further to the fact that the Red Sox gave 24 to among others Kevin Mitchell as evidence that they had no plans to retire 24. That could have changed if Manny Ramirez stayed with Boston but now you'll see someone else wearing 24 shortly.

Tony Conigliaro - some oldtimers will argue for the retirement of number 25 but you don't retire numbers for "could have beens". Gord Kluzak could have been one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history but knee injuries caused him to retire early. You don't see the Bruins retiring his number. There have been 12 players to wear 25 since Tony C - the most current being Mike Lowell.

This is Complete BS

This note was in the latest notes column at the Red Sox MLB.com site:

League decision: The Red Sox received a letter from Major League Baseball saying that Johnny Pesky will no longer be allowed in the dugout during games. MLB is enforcing a rule stating that only the manager and six coaches can be in the dugout during a game.

Pesky, who will turn 88 in September, is in his 55th season with the Red Sox. He's allowed to don a uniform and enter the dugout and clubhouse before games, as well as walking on the field. Once the game starts, he'll have to vacate the dugout.

"I think he's [Pesky] upset," said Francona, who was the one who informed Pesky of the league's ruling. "I think he had hurt feelings."

This is complete BS. Baseball is supposed to be known for celebrating its history. Well Johnny Pesky is baseball history as far as I'm concerned and I know that I also speak for many Red Sox fans as well. The guy is 88-years old. He's not giving the Red Sox a competitive advantage. Even the Yankees would say that they have no problem with Pesky being in the Red Sox dugout.

This is pure BS.

Just like when the Baseball Hall of Fame missed its chance to properly honor Buck O'Neil for being a great ambassador for the game while O'Neil was still alive - MLB seems intent on stiffing Johnny Pesky. You can be sure that if something happened to Johnny (God forbid) - that Selig and the rest of the MLB lackeys would be the first carpetbaggers in town to proclaim how great Pesky was for baseball in Boston.

If MLB sticks to this decision - then I hope that the Red Sox front office finds some other suitable way to keep Pesky involved. This decision is crap. And it is beyond petty.