Bambino's Curse

Self-Perception vs. Reality

Another post in the ongoing series of baseball as reflection of my own life, or why I'd be a lousy major league ballplayer.

It's easy from the vantage point of a fan to look at ballplayers, their actions, their words, their personalities, and to draw quick conclusions, cast aspersions, make blanket statements . . .

However, if we took the time to reflect on our own lives, and from that extrapolate how we might be perceived and how we might act if we were suddenly cast into the role of major league ballplayer, maybe we'd see things differently?

Here's an example from my own life that gets at what I'm talking about.

At my job, we are in our review cycle, and yesterday I got the results from my 360 review in which I rate myself in a series of job related questions ranging from technical skill to more subjective categories like teamwork and leadership and the like; additionally, I'm rated by my immediate supervisor and a collection of my coworker peers.

The results were somewhat unsettling. While my technical skills were top of the scale, in other, more subjective areas, where I had rated myself highly, the other reviewers were not so generous. But you know what? It really wasn't a surprise to me, as my work ethos is nearly always one of "I'm here to do a job" and not to succumb to what I like to think of as the more touchy-feely aspects of work.

Does that sound familiar?

Over the past couple of days the media, fans, and even teammates have been discussing the merits of Manny Ramirez, a player who puts up impressive numbers, i.e., does his job, but who is perceived by others as lacking in many areas. He doesn't talk much to the media. He doesn't like to sign autographs. He's distant with his teammates.

The same is often said of Pedro. And in earlier days it was said of Clemens and Wade Boggs. ("Boggs wins the batting title but he only hits for himself, for his own average and never for the team.")

So if I were a major league ballplayer, according to my recent job performance review, I'd clearly be in the camp of those guys who put up great numbers year in and year out, but who don't do so well at those aspects of the job outside of the actual on the field performance.

And, like those guys, I don't really see myself changing. The way I work is part of my personality.

I like to think I'm as accomplished at the technical, fundamental skills in my job because I focus on it 100%.

I find no enjoyment, no creativty, no epiphany in these more nefarious categories in which my "total" performance is based.

What really amazes me, though, is how well the ballplayers handle this same situation but maginified by 10k.

Manny keeps hitting home runs regardless of what folks are saying about him. Boggs did the same. Not to mention Ted Williams. And that's just a part of the Boston club who falls into this same category.

I'm not sure I'm as tough as that. Which is why I'm in the job I'm in, and those guys are in the jobs they're in.

But I do take comfort in the fact that I see similarities between my own personality and that of these ballplayers.

There is always something to learn from baseball. And, yes, I still look at ballplayers as idols, as heroes, and I imagine I always will.

Nixon Wants No Mannygate

Trot Nixon never lived in the White House, but he's playing the role of Commander and Chief of Red Sox Nation:

''You want to know why the Yankees win so many championships? I'll tell you why. Everybody shows up ready to play baseball ... They don't come strolling in, pimping around and doing this and doing that. Bernie Williams showed up. Derek Jeter made $20 million. He shows up ... [Ramirez] had enough time in the offseason. He should be here. The last thing he needs to do is come in here with any type of grudge ... It shows these younger kids that it's OK once you start making money, you can come in whatever time you want'' (Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe).

Note to self: Act more like Trot Nixon in my own daily life.

On the other hand, I've got to admit I get a kick out these Mannyisms:

The Indians reportedly were so puzzled by Ramirez that they tested him for attention-deficit disorder. But when a columnist for the Miami Herald asked if the Indians tested him, Ramirez was quoted as saying, ''If they did, I don't remember it'' (Hohler, The Boston Globe).

Note to self part 2: Don't take life too seriously.

@Bat Update

If you remember my rant from last week, I was pissed that The Boston Globe's @Bat Insider subscription service had decided to forgo the option to have text only versions of the newsletters, etc.

Well the people have spoken.

We were having some technical problems with the @bat Insider form working properly but these problems have been resolved. There is even the added option of receiving the text version of @bat Insider because our users requested this option (from an e-mail from bgep_sales@boston.com).

It looks like I wasn't the only one who wrote in my voice my displeasure with the lack of a text-only option.

Now this is more like it

Personally, I get a bit nervous when things are going smoothly, as I keep waiting for the event that'll toss it all asunder. This is true in my own life and especially true regarding the Red Sox.

Remember how badly last Spring Training went? And then the Red Sox came out of it playing excellent baseball.

So now we have a real Red Sox Spring Training, as Manny Ramirez didn't workout with the rest of the team yesterday.

The official story is that he had to take an insurance related physical. Kerrigan says it's not an issue, and points out that "[t]he man is in perfect compliance with the Basic Agreement," referring to the clause that states players are not required to report before Feb. 26th.

Personally, I don't think it's too big of deal, but Gordon Edes contends that the effect of Manny's no show, innocent or intentional, on Kerrigan's future is enormous:

. . . this was a team bent on self-destruction last year, and when the team's most prolific slugger isn't on the same page with everyone else trying to prove that this year will be different, red flags go up. And fair or not, the skeptics look at Ramirez's action as a referendum on Kerrigan's authority, and the conclusion they leap to is this: Kerrigan is no Belichick (Edes, The Boston Globe).

I won't pretend to know what Manny Ramirez was thinking or not thinking. In my gut, though, I don't trust Kerrigan as manager. I got a sour feeling with the way he dealt with the Jimy firing. And deserved or not, he has to take the fall for the way things collapsed in September.

Maybe Manny knows something we don't. Maybe he can't stand Kerrigan and wants to help the new owners make an early decision to oust Kerrigan from the job?

In any event, all Ramirez needs to do is hit a couple of monster home runs and all is forgiven. Kerrigan will be under scrutiny for every second of his time in the job regardless of what happens on the field.

Welcome to Red Sox Spring Training. Now we wait and watch . . .

Pedro recants

Remember Pedro's taunt about wanting" to drill the Bambino in the ass?"

Well, the ace has clarified that statement a bit:

``I like the Babe,'' he said. ``I just don't like curses. The Babe was a good man. It's the curse that I want to drill in the ass'' (Horrigan, The Boston Herald).

I'm all for it. And Pedro brings up a good point about Ruth. While history suggests that the Babe was far from perfect, he never had anything bad to say about the Red Sox or the city of Boston. Indeed, he continued to live in Sudbury for years after being sold to New York. And it's this lack of animosity from the Bambino that blows the biggest hole in the whole notion of the Curse. Which is why I've never thought of the Curse as being the direct result of the Babe himself, but rather a curse issued by the gods of baseball, if you will, a hex on the team for what Frazee did. And not just with Ruth but with all the other Red Sox stars Frazee sold off to the Yankees, not to mention using Fenway Park as collateral on a loan from New York.

It's that whole lack of respect thing that always pisses the gods off in Greek mythology or pissed off the vengeful Yahweh in the Old Testament. The Red Sox were the chosen ones until Frazee screwed it all up. The Curse is vindication of that.

Simmons' Writes of Spring

The always humorous Bill Simmons is at it again, this time poking fun at "how the Boston newspapers regurgitated the same stories every spring training."

As usual, he's spot on. This one was my favorite of the bunch:

THE DEPARTED, BITTER STAR (Everett)
The Boston Globe always eats this one up: About two weeks into spring training, they'll send a backup beat writer to interview that season's former BoSox star who moved on during the winter; not only does that player express a digusting [sic] level of happiness with his new team, but he doesn't mind taking a series of veiled potshots at his old team. Maybe my favorite spring training angle, especially during the Duquette Era, which featured so many petty comments and veiled potshots that the entire experience should have been narrated by Joan and Melissa Rivers (Simmons, ESPN/Page2).

On the other hand, how can a newspaper avoid this sort of repetition over the years? And as a former student of literature, I learned fairly quickly that there are only a few basic story lines and/or themes the world over that are told and retold. The art is in how the writer weaves the story.

And satire, what Simmons is doing, is every bit as predictable. It's human nature. It's fun.

I've got to admit I'm wondering, as I go into the second season of writing here at Bambino's Curse, how long before I start to repeat myself? Perhaps I've already started.

ProJo got no mojo

I try to avoid name calling and finger pointing on these pages as best I can, but I just can't take it anymore. I've got to say it: The Providence-Journal website has got to be the least usable, slowest loading, most prone to crashing, newspaper website on the entire web.

And then there are the awful, hideous pop-under ads they use.

To have such a bad site is really unfortunate because The Providence Journal has some excellent reporting and their Red Sox fan message boards are frequented by some of the best and brightest from Red Sox fandom.

But it's just too frustrating to try to get anywhere on that site. The ends don't justify the means. Maybe it's easier for PC users? I dunno. But I'm taking ProJo out of my list of daily visits.

Camp Buff

As already reported, Garces came into camp looking fit and trim. Pedro definitely looks bulked up. Nomar in his own words in ''a lot bigger, stronger, and leaner" than last year. And the last pitcher to report to camp, Ugueth Urbina, "showed up in great shape."

Kerrigan said. ``It's a good sign that all of these people have come into camp in great shape because it shows they're serious about winning'' (Horrigan, The Boston Herald).

So far, it's all good.

El Tiante

This is the kind of news that makes me think Kerrigan is all right and that things are different and better this year:

. . . Joe Kerrigan announced that Tiant, who was hired to coach pitchers at Single A Lowell and who had been slated to report soon to the minor league training camp, will remain indefinitely with the major league team in spring training. What's more, Kerrigan did not rule out the possibility that Tiant could break camp with the big league club.

''I think it will be a tremendous asset not just for our Latin pitchers but for all our pitchers,'' Kerrigan said of retaining Tiant in spring training. ''There's a comfort level they feel around him, not just because he was a great pitcher. He has a great demeanor. He has the ability to charm you, but also to make players listen to him when he has something to say. Their ears perk up'' (Hohler, The Boston Globe).

It's about time. Evidently, Tiant has always wanted to get back with the Red Sox as a coach and he waited 19 years for it.

Louis Tiant is inseparable from a major chunk of my childhood. How many times as kids when we were pitching in a pickup game, or even in Little League practice if the coach wasn't looking, would we do the classic Tiant pitching motions? It was inevitable.

Six Krispy Kremes a day?!

The Red Sox coaches told pitcher Casey Fosum was told he needed to add some weight in the off season. And he tried.

. . . I was going to Krispy Kreme doughnuts every other night and getting a dozen and eating about six a day. I was stuffing myself, but it's just hard for me to gain weight'' (Hohler, The Boston Globe).

Must be very hard as reports indicate he didn't gain the weight the Sox say he needs in order to be a starter that can make it deep into the game.

I don't know how one can eat 6 Krispy Kremes a day and not gain weight. The KKs are so heavy they make a Dunkin' Donut seem like a rice cake by comparison.

I eat probably 2 Krispy Kremes a year and afterwards I can feel it for days. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a food intake freak, not one of those carb-avoiding, calorie counting no fun food Nazis. No, it's just my decadence goes in a direction opposite of sweet, like toward peanuts, where I can sit and chow down a couple pounds of roasted in-the-shell peanuts during a ball game.

And then there is pizza, food of the gods, which I can most assuredly (because I've done it) eat 3 meals a day, every day and not tire of it. Which reminds me that those of you living in the Boston area are blessed with 2 sanctified spots. Fenway and the original Regina's Pizza in the North End. Ohmigod I love everything about the original one. Can't tell you how many innings I've taken in sitting at their little bar watching the TV in the corner and eating slice after slice.

The last time we were in Boston my wife pleaded, "Can we please do something besides eat pizza and go to a baseball game? Aren't there other things to do in Boston?"

"Yeah," I said, "Sure. I'll take you to the Old North Church. You know, 'One if by land, two if by sea' and afterwards there is this cozy little pizza joint just around the corner ..."

Heh heh heh.

Good news overload

Wow. After going through the off season having to work it just to come up with something to post here each day, I'm now completely caught off guard for what it's like when things get rolling. I've got information overload!

We've got Garces showing up at camp looking svelte after loosing 35 lbs."

When asked if he'd seen ``El Guapo'' yet, first baseman Brian Daubach quipped: ``Yeah, what's left of him'' (Horrigan, The Boston Herald).

We've got former Sox greats Luis Tiant (!), Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans coaching under Kerrigan"

''These guys were great caretakers of the Boston Red Sox and we want to pass that tradition on to our players,'' [Kerrigan] said. ''I think it's important they realize that these guys paid the price for them'' (Hohler, The Boston Globe).

We've got Trot Nixon being Trot Nixon, i.e., a burgeoning team leader:

``We were the complete opposite of the Pats (last season),'' Nixon said. ``They worked together for one goal and it was great to see. I hope a lot of guys saw that and realize that you don't always have to go out and have these outstanding individual numbers. Just play the game smart and work towards one common goal'' (Horrigan, The Boston Herald).

Not a bad Sunday, eh?

And I've decided to break down and set up a wireless AirPort network for my Macs at home. How does this relate to the Red Sox? Ah, now I'll be able to take laptop with me anywhere in the house (or out!) to listen to the MLB broadcast of the games without having 100 ft. of ethernet cable trailing behind me.

It's pretty humorous to think of all the technology I need to employ just to recreate that which the transistor radio has been doing for generations. But when you're out of the Boston area, you gotta do what you gotta do.