Just The Tip - 8-23-10

Back by popular demand, or at the very least necessity, is another edition of Just The Tip, the experimental blog where we’ll try just about anything, just to see how it feels.

Of course the two most interesting sports stories of the week have been covered to death by every media outlet and two-bit blogger all around the web, but it goes without saying that something needs to be said about the inevitable return of Brett Favre to Minnesota and the indictment of Roger Clemens on perjury charges. But in the true spirit of Just The Tip, we’ll keep it short and sweet, so that’s why I’m going to let movie quotes handle it for me.

On Favre’s Return:

On Clemens’s indictment and subsequent continued denial:

“I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation.”

-         Fox Mulder, The X-Files

Alright, now that we’ve got the given out of the way and dealt with the uncomfortable part, let’s move on.

-         The Red Sox and their fans are finally succumbing to the collapse of Theo Epstein’s “Bridge”. The team fought valiantly to stay in the race this season, but after having lost Dustin Pedroia (twice), Jacoby Ellsbury (thrice), Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett, Victor Martinez, Clay Bucholtz, Jed Lowrie, Hideki Okajima, and various other moving parts to the disabled list throughout the season, Boston finds itself 5.5 games out of a playoff spot with just over a month left to play on the season. It certainly doesn’t help that they are chasing the two teams in their own division that have the two best records in baseball, but still, it stings to know the season is just about over in New England.

-         Can someone please update me how it is that Ben Roethlisberger is practicing with the Steelers and appearing in pre-season games, despite being suspended for at minimum the first four games on the 2010 season? I may be wrong but it seems to me that neither Michael Vick or Pac-Man Jones were afforded such a luxury? This may be the largest double-standard since men were allowed to stand up to relieve themselves while women were forced to straddle the porcelain god. Last time I checked, a suspension entailed sitting out from any activity related the game you play. Enough said.

-         Has someone checked the water coolers in the Orioles dugout lately? Prior to hiring Buck Showalter as manager, the Orioles were sitting at 31-76 on the season. However, after the hiring of Showalter, the Birds are 13-4. This is a team that hasn’t changed any personnel, aside from releasing Garrett Atkins, and has been guided by not one but two different managers prior to bringing Buck aboard. Maybe Peter Angelos should have made a move earlier, but it is doubtful that their position would have improved much given the division they play in. Still, at least fans can remove the paper bags right?

-         The United States Basketball team is again struggling in international competition, having barely survived in two warm-up matches against Lithuania and now Spain. Maybe it has to do with the players that populate team, who are not the same as the ones that lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the Olympic Games, or maybe it is actually the beginning of a bigger picture. In a game dominated by the United States in the past, the international competition showed in 2008 and again in this year’s games that they are closing the gap. American players may still be able to outjump anyone on the floor, but what really lands home is just home much more fundamentally sound the European teams are. American players spend so much time skipping college and learning to play on the playground than they do learning the fundamentals of the game, and that’s why they struggle to maintain their superiority.

Originally published on YouGabSports.com!

Just The Tip - Ozzie's Foot In Mouth Disease

I love this image for some reason, because this innocent little strumpet has no idea what she gets to collect as soon as she passes go. And let's be honest, we all used to think we were bending over and taking it when you landed on Park Place. Talk about an eye opener. I wonder if you have to roll a pair to get out of that jail?

Anyway, I was thinking about discussing the trade deadline moves and such, but I I also wanted to make sure that you guys didn't fall asleep on Monday morning, so I'll spare you from that lecture...for now.

Still, on the tip of my tongue is something that has been eating at me a bit since I read about it, although it seemed to roll off of the tip of his tongue pretty easily. Needless to say, I'm referring to Ozzie Guillen, who made a comment this week about how much easier the Asian players have it in Major League Baseball than the Latin players.

It seems that Mr. Mouth of the Southside thought it was prudent to poke the embers of racial bias for no reason whatsoever other than to get the camera pointing at him again. Ozzie referred to the ability of Asian players to come to the United States and get assisted by the team with interpreters and personal masseuses while Latin ballplayers are left to wallow in the minor leagues, scraping by on their own accord and meager salaries. Apparently this was all based on the fact that his son's minor league team acquired a Korean ballplayer who came packaged with an interpreter, while his boy is saddled with the need to interpret for the Spanish speaking players on the team.

Well Mr. Guillen, you have a certain point in regards to equality, but you miss a few key points to the argument.

Firstly, most Asian players who have made their ways West are coming over as established professional players, who despite their inexperience at the Major League level, still possess some level of negotiation skills. On the flip side, most Latin players sign their contracts at extremely young ages, prior to having possessed any level of professional experience, and often have had their contract negotiated for them by a liason in their country who has swindled them out of the majority of their deal.

Secondly, Asian players make up the smallest percentage of foreign players in the Major Leagues and its subordinate minor league systems. They tend to have few teammates that can assist them in acclimating to our societies and therefore require at least someone that can help them to at least understand what Joe Coach is saying to him. Meanwhile,Latin ballplayers make up the largest growing population on Major League Baseball, let alone the United States. That said, it is more that easy to see why teams won't invest in translators for them when they generally already on the team or coaching staff.

So come over here for a second and sit down Ozzie, I have a piece of information that I'd like to pass along to you and your fellow crybabies; "No one in this country gets a free ride or a silver spoon."

Let's face facts, if you are lucky enough to have landed a job where you get to play a game for a living, your life isn't hard. Sure, there is a lot of work involved in keeping your position and earning promotions, but I have news for you, that's why they call it a job and that's why you're paid to do it. If for some reason it is too much work for your son to be a comrade to his teammates from another country and help them to acclimate, then just have him hand them the yellow pages and help them find someone else to teach them the language so that they don't require his services any more. Or at the very least, let him file a grievance with the union

Do you want to impress me Ozzie? Sit down and realize that your team is in first place and that they don't necessarily need you to shine the spotlight on yourself. Let their performance do the talking for you. You're the manager, not the face of the franchise. Your job is to put the line-up card together and flash signs, so if you don't want to speak more than one language to your players, then there is only one thing left for you to do:

Shut up!

Originally Published At YouGabSports.com