In 1986, John Felske was about to begin his second year as manager of the Phillies when team broadcaster, the late Richie Ashburn, interviewed him on Opening Day.
Ashburn asked if Felske planned to manage differently that upcoming season.
As a matter of fact, yes, Felske resolutely answered. He said he was going to be more aggressive with the umpires, show his players they have his full support.
Ashburn paused to reflect on Felske’s answer, then said, “Well, then, Skip, who are you going to assign to manage after you’re thrown out?”
Foresight is similar to kryptonite in that both are rare and can be very disarming.
In the cases of sports’ increasing “instant” replay rule applications, foresight arrives too late. Most replay-rule additions and adjustments reflect an original absence of practical foresight, thus replay rules are continuously made up or made over as merrily we roll along.
And, of course, all in the quixotic quest ���to get it right.”
Now MLB, which again claims to be eager to speed the pace of games, has added second-base “neighborhood plays” and rolling blocks, a la Chase Utley’s on Ruben Tejada in last season’s Mets-Dodgers playoffs, as those that can be subjected to adjudication and change via “instant” replay.
Of course, because all replay rules are designed to “get it right,” it sounds good. But this addition is no better than passing the buck from the field umps to auxiliary umps in a command center.
Replay reviews of such plays and ensuing calls and non-calls only produce a second but decisive — not conclusive — opinion on what was — and always will be — “a judgment call.” “Getting it right” becomes another lateraled matter of opinion.
And you know what they say about the relationship of opinions to rear ends: Everyone’s got one.
And, as MLB endeavors to speed up play, the manager whose team is the loser in a never-instant replay review decision will have to enact his requisite argument with the on-field umps to express his opinion about the second opinion, even if that manager supported the first opinion given by on-field umps.
“Depends on how you look at it” is not “getting it right.”
One wonders if the reviewers in MLB’s command center all agree with the final determination or whether they reach a consensus.
Guessing — estimating based on nothing more judicious than “perhaps” — where players might have wound up or the ball might have wound up is not getting it right.
And while waiting to see if the game-ending run, say, following a wild throw by the shortstop or second baseman who tried to avoid the slide of the runner — or any of dozens of other happenstances — will stand or be called back as a matter of nothing stronger than a second opinion, well, we can console ourselves in the knowledge that whatever the call — right, wrong or too-close-to-tell — they got it right. Perhaps. Maybe. Depends on how you look at it.
Pizza twins shoutout could not be stopped
Can’t write “Richie Ashburn” without recounting that caper he and late partner Harry Kalas pulled during a Phillies home game.
Around the sixth or seventh inning, Kalas and Ashburn would order — on air — a couple of pies for themselves and the crew from nearby Celebre’s Pizza. An inning later, the pizzas would arrive.
But the Phillies eventually told them to cut it out because they had signed a pizza chain as a sponsor. Darn!
But Kalas and Ashburn also called out birthday greetings to listeners. So one night, late in a game and hungry, Kalas said, “And happy birthday to the Celebre Twins, Plain and Pepperoni.”
Mike “Let’s Be Honest” Francesa’s megalomania again prevented good, informative radio from being heard and an important local sports consumer issue from being discussed.
Monday, with the Yankees vs. StubHub controversy in full flame, Francesa pretended he knew all about it when he clearly knew nothing about it. Thus, he not only again disallowed callers with genuine knowledge of a significant issue from being heard, he rudely cut them off, dismissing them as know-nothings.
Of course, he sided with the Yankees — front-row big shots gotta stick together — in a controversy he knew zero about.
But why, if it doesn’t touch him, should he care about fans’ ticket-costs issues?
Naturally, having blessed the Yankees as completely in the right, the next day the Yankees re-opened negotiations with StubHub — a clear sign they knew they had done their fans wrong.
Francesa did similar a few weeks back with the DraftKings and FanDuel debate.
He obviously knew none of the particulars but faked expertise on the matter, thus again rudely short-circuiting callers who might know what they were talking about, callers who could provide him and listeners some enlightenment and good radio.
But he would have none of that! House rules: No one shall be smarter than Mike Francesa!
Unsung NBC hero dies at 87
One of NBC’s great in-house characters from long ago, Jim O’Gorman, died last week at 87.
O’Gorman, loosely employed as a traveling stage manager, also was known as both a soothsayer and soother of frayed nerves.
Curt Gowdy, while calling all the big events for NBC during the 1960s and ’70s, would anger at all the network promos he was forced to read. “What about the game?” he would holler, flinging the deck of promo index cards out the press box window. Nooo!!!
But O’Gorman always carried a second set of cards.
Interesting, how the Yankees’ ironclad ticket policies change season to season, sometimes month to month. Just like Cablevision. Meanwhile, when will teams realize that the only folks who can get away with abusing their steady customers are drug dealers?
The U.S. men’s National Soccer Team has been issued black jerseys by Nike. The United States Soccer Federation could insist the U.S. team wear red, white and blue, but Nike has it by the wallet.
Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler, the fine young man videotaped signaling for his girlfriend and the mother of his child to have a fistfight — they complied — is a college man, University of Florida. Go Gators!
Most annoying show on TV? NBC’s “Biggest Loser.” Every time I’m watching a game in the other room and I hear that beep, beep, beep as competitors weigh in, I rush to the kitchen, thinking the freezer was left open.
Eighteen years in the bigs, and Bartolo Colon still needs an interpreter? He apparently has no trouble ordering off menus printed in English.