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CALLING SIGNALS |
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Fresh cheers and jeers,
ala The Buckster
of TheColumnists.com
Yea: The Mets! Are
they amazin’ or what? Nine straight victories into the All-Star
break. Record-breaking pitching, for which New York fans can
thank new mound coach Dan Warthen’s strong-arm tactics.
And suddenly life from the Carlos couple, Beltran and Delgado,
who no doubt woke up when Jerry Manuel usurped comatose Willie
Randolph as skipper.
Boo: My season-opening
slap at the Mets. Said they would go nowhere. Where they’re
going now is the playoffs.
Yea: Gary Carter.
The man who made sure the Mets caught the 1986 world title had
a ball at the recent All-Star pre-game show. There he was yukking
it up with fellow Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. Good for Carter.
He was one of the jolliest crunch-time players New York ever
saw. Now he’s sharing that attitude with the minor league
Orange County Flyers, whom he just managed to a playoff spot.
I caught up with him a few weeks ago at their stadium in Fullerton,
Calif., and he gladly gave me a signed baseball.
Boo: Francisco
Rodriguez. K-Rod has turned into K-Drag. Yes, the Angels’
closer is an elite pitcher. Exciting. Wracks up the saves. Has
L.A. running away in the American League West. Yet the other
day he pulled a Benedict Arnold, ready to turn traitor on the
Angel red, white and blue. Said he’ll test free agency after
the last out of 2008. Question for his agent: Couldn’t he
wait to announce that after the season?
Yea: Tennis. Is
it ever back. Praise be to that Rafa Nadal-Roger Federer final
at the All-England Club. Greatest match in the sport? How about
No. 1 event in sports? Think of the magnitude: the Spaniard trying
for the first French-Wimbledon sweep since Bjorn Borg; the Swiss
shooting for a sixth straight London trophy to pass Borg; every
shot crucial down to that 9-7 Nadal triumph in the fifth set.
If not the top showdown in history, then definitely as riveting
as, well, Eli Manning’s drive in the Super Bowl.
Boo: The idea that
Andre Agassi stood over Pete Sampras. Now I’m an Andre fan,
but my response was WHAAAT? Some radio guy had the gall to lift
that trial balloon, and I’m here to shoot it down with (1)
Sampras had 14 Grand Slams, Agassi eight; (2) Sampras swatted
Agassi in Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals; (3) Sampras was king
of clay when it counted most, in the 1995 Davis Cup final in
Moscow, where he led America to victory; and (4) Sampras simply
was better, from serve to forehand.
Yea: The W on the
Washington Nationals’ cap. The coolest logo in sports. Recalls
the old wearers of that letter--the Senators--especially Ted
Williams when he took over as manager in 1969.
Boo: The Blue Jay
on Toronto’s cap. Who designed it? The adult learning center?
Yea: Tim McCarver.
Why so many tune him out I’ll never know. When he’s
doing color, I turn it up. Especially during the recent All-Star
Game. As usual, he made a point I’d never heard. Namely
that catchers usually don’t hit well because of the pounding
their glove hand takes on every pitch. He was explaining why
Joe Mauer’s 2006 batting title with the Twins was a first
for an American League catcher. McCarver should know. He was
a champion catcher with the Cardinals.
Boo: Golf. It’s
the arrogance. Try to find out the spot of the recent U.S. Open,
and golf people tell you Torrey Pines. The British Open? At Royal
Birkdale. No city. Just a golf club. Imagine asking a football
fan where the 2009 Super Bowl will kick off and hearing Raymond
James. Wouldn’t happen. NFL backers would say Tampa without
pretense. As for those golf courses, one’s north of San
Diego, the other in northwest England.
Yea: My Dodger
and Yankee pennant picks as baseball swung open in April. As
shaky as that prediction seems, with the Cubs and Red Sox looking
stout, look for a Bums-Bombers World Series, replaying the rivalry
that ran from the 1940s through the ‘80s.
Boo: Alex Rodriguez.
Did you catch A-Rod’s act in the All-Star Game? Twice up,
twice down. Zero when the stage is big. Which is why he’s
Mr. April alongside two other pinstripers who stood out at Yankee
Stadium that night, Mr. October (Reggie Jackson) and Mr. November
(Derek Jeter). With A-Rod, the Yanks will reach the World Series,
but won’t win it--even with Madonna in the front row.
©2008 by Bucky Fox. The photo of Francisco Rodriguez is
courtesy of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia. This column first
posted July 21, 2008.
TO ACCESS BUCKY FOX'S ARCHIVE OF COLUMNS ON THIS SITE, CLICK HERE: FOX ARCHIVE.
You can visit Bucky Fox's
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