Scott Cordischi On Sports: Lackey To Miss 2012 Season, Gronkowski Makes Headlines
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Two teams, two press conferences, same message.
If you closed your eyes and just listened to new Cubs team president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington speak at their introductory press conferences, you would have sworn it was the same guy. Maybe it’s because Cherington has been Epstein’s underling for the past 10 years, but the two sound very much alike.
While most Red Sox fans wish Epstein well in Chicago, the concern here is whether Cherington can right the wrong that was an historic September collapse followed by a controversial start to the offseason. He did say that, “I don’t think anyone should be judged by one moment, one piece of behavior. They They should be judged on the body of work.” There’s the olive branch extended to Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Jon Lester. Fair enough.
The bet here is that Cherington will be just fine and probably run things in a very similar fashion to that of Epstein. However, he did acknowledge that Boston has to do a better job in free agency moving forward. “Not good enough,” he said when asked about the team’s performance in free agency in recent years. “It’s an area we need to get better at.”
Among some of the other key points Cherington touched on Tuesday was his desire to have a “strong voice” as manager of the club after this late season debacle. He also said of Jonathan Papelbon and David Ortiz that the Red Sox would “like to have them both back on the team.”
-On the same day that Cherington was introduced as the franchise’s 11th general manager, Boston celebrated the 25th anniversary of the ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs in game 6 of the 1986 World Series. If you are a Red Sox fan, it was one of those moments in your life where you will always remember where you were and what you were doing when that happened. For me, I was watching the game in my dorm at Syracuse University with both Red Sox and Mets fans. Needless to say, while Mets fans celebrated the moment, Red Sox fans like myself agonized over Buckner’s mishap. It’s a shame that it took two World Championships for Red Sox Nation to forgive the man. No one ever paid a stiffer price for one lousy error than Buckner did for his mistake in ’86.
-Maybe Cubs fans who read this will realize how foolish it is for them to vilify Steve Bartman who was a diehard fan just trying to catch a foul ball in game 6 of the 2003 NLCS.
-I can’t help that Larry Lucchino’s statement that Ben Cherington is, “the ultimate team player” was a dig at the man he did not see eye-to-eye with for many years – Theo Epstein.
-If you were worried about seeing John Lackey back on the mound next season for Boston, worry no longer. Lackey will have offseason Tommy John surgery on his right elbow forcing him to miss the entire 2012 season.
-Don’t worry though, Lackey should be able to lift his Popeye’s Fried Chicken and Bud Light with his left hand.
-It looks as if Missouri will be heading to the SEC and West Virginia to the Big 12. Can’t we just get all of the power conferences to decide which schools they want now and be done with this game of musical chairs once and for all?
-Along those lines, don’t be surprised if Notre Dame and UConn go to the ACC at some point in the near future.
-How can a team like the Cardinals have such a colossal failure in communication between the dugout and the bullpen as they did in game 5 of the World Series Monday night?
-And someone needs to tell St. Louis manager Tony La Russa to ixnay the Grecian Formula jet black dye-job to his head. The gray sideburns are kind of a dead giveaway that it’s not his natural color.
-Maybe the Miami Dolphins wanted to lose Sunday’s game to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos so they can stay in the mix for Stanford’s Andrew Luck.
-To all of those people who accused the Patriots of running up the score on opponents in 2007: did the Saints run up the score in Sunday night’s 62-7 thrashing of the Colts?
-Do you think that NBA commissioner David Stern is even remotely concerned about the fact that no one cares that his league isn’t playing games right now?
-If felt like I went back in time 20+ years Friday night when I attended Syracuse’s big upset of #15 West Virginia at the Carrier Dome.
-Local college football fans should make their way to Brown Stadium Saturday as the (5-1) Bears play host the two-time defending Ivy League Champion Penn Quakers.
-Bruins-Canadiens Thursday and Saturday night.
-Sunday’s loss to the Jets is another reason why Norv Turner shouldn’t be leading the San Diego Chargers.
-The pitiful performance of Indianapolis this season isn’t necessarily an indication of Peyton Manning being superior to Tom Brady but rather that the Colts are either poorly constructed or poorly coached unlike the Patriots.
-Does anyone know what the Patriots are waiting for to extend Wes Welker’s contract?
-We are all living vicariously through Patriots TE Rob Gronskowski.
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