Fighting an Upside Battle

Here’s why I wouldn’t fire Willie Randolph yet: What’s the rush? This is baseball, not football or basketball. The manager does less in this sport than any other and is therefore less likely to alter the course of events in a game. The hardest thing the manager does is fill out his lineup card every day. There are intricacies, sure, but almost every manager deals with them in the most tried and true fashion. A different manager isn’t going to heal Pedro’s hamstring or Ryan Church’s concussion or Moises Alou’s entire body or Carlos Delgado’s overwhelming level of suck. The old “change for change sake” plan won’t really help. That being said, if the Mets are more than five games under .500 at the All-Star break, then Willie should be dropped faster than you can say “115 million dollar payroll.”

If the rumors about Doug Collins returning to the NBA as the Bulls’ new coach are true, then the following two things are also true:

• He will now bore his players with mindless drivel instead of unsuspecting TNT viewers.
• It won’t be long before he’s in tears after winning a meaningless January game against one of his former teams (i.e. the Pistons or Wizards).

I heard a conversation this week about a Rangers sports star and I was surprised that Mark Messier was still being mentioned on talk radio this long after his retirement. It turns out they were actually speaking of Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. Shows how little I pay attention to hockey or Texas baseball. This kid is allegedly the next Alex Rodriguez (you know, super talented, super arrogant and likely to get a super contract from the Rangers that will inflate player contracts for a decade before they ultimately trade him but still pay a large portion of his salary). Generally I don’t believe the hype on these guys, but if he wins the triple crown this year, I’d be impressed. Wouldn’t you? The guy’s a baseball player and he has the skill to win the three biggest horse races too? That’d be quite a feat.

Official French Open prediction: Roger Federer defeats Rafael Nadal in the finals to complete the coveted “Career Slam.” And then America yawns.

“Hey guys… first time, long time. Love the show. I was wondering what you think about packaging Giambi and Mussina together and sending them to the Diamondbacks for Brandon Webb and Conor Jackson. Thanks for taking my call… I’ll hang up and listen.”

On the topic of the Yankees’ pitching staff, let me just say that it’s very good. And by “very good,” I actually mean “terribly inconsistent.” But that sort of thing happens sometimes and there’s really no one to blame for it. Unless, of course, you have a blockbuster deal on the table to acquire the best pitcher in baseball for two unknown commodities and you pass it up. In that case, whoever passed on that deal is an idiot and completely to blame (Brian Cashman, I’m looking in your general direction here). When the Twins ask for Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy (not to be confused with my fiancée Kennedy) in exchange for Johan Santana, you have to make that trade. And even though Santana has underperformed thus far in Queens, a frontline, Cy Young Award-winning starter is always the more logical choice over two pitchers whose only credentials are “they have upside.” You know what upside is? It’s a fancy word meaning “he might be a good player one day.”

Lots of things have “upsides.” In baseball, there was the Mets’ “Generation K,” which consisted of Jason Isringhausen, Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson. Only one of them amounted to anything at all and that was being a mediocre closer on a different team. The NBA is littered with draft picks full of upside. You know what those picks turn into? The dreaded “Draft Busts” (Sam Bowie anyone?). Ryan Leaf had upside once and so did the prospect of marriage before I got engaged. How have those things worked out? Not so good. Maybe Joba Chamberlain’s upside is true upside (the kind that actually peaks at some point). If that’s the case, imagine a starting rotation with Santana, Wang, Pettitte, Chamberlain and Mussina. With those five, the Yankees would’ve been guaranteed at least three 15-win pitchers. And that, Dear Readers, would mean a lot more Yankee wins. Or, at least, a few more since their bullpen is atrocious… but that’s an issue for another day.