The Power Of Q....

This blog is brought to you by the letter "Q" (not pictured).

It's a rating used to determine the favorability of an athlete, celebrity, or politician.

This week, we learned that LeBron James' so-called "Q" rating had him as the 6th least popular athlete in America.

I will attempt break down what that means to LeBron by looking at a few other events in the news and how "Q" colors perception.
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Today, Udonis Haslem was cleared of a pot charge.

He was pulled over, there was weed in the car, U-D said it wasn't his.

The state attorney agreed.

Throughout his legal process, however, people weren't THAT mad at him.

On one level, it was weed.

While illegal, having a little green in your possession doesn't exactly incite the moral police.

Secondly, Udonis had just lost his mother and I think people felt badly for him.

But most of all, I just think Udonis is beloved in South Florida.

He's a team captain and Mr. 305.

He's been the heart and soul of the Heat franchise for a while, and people simply liked him.

Imagine if Michael Beasley had been pulled over for the same violation?

The power of Q.
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Let's stay with the Gators getting arrested theme.

This week, Urban Meyer had his... what is it... 30th player arrested.

Chris Rainey allegedly sent a text that read "Time To Die" to an ex-girlfriend and has been charged with stalking.

Urban Meyer has two national titles.

So while the thought is naughty-naughty, no actions are being taken.

He wins, therefore he has Q.

If Randy Shannon had 2 players arrested, there would be calls for his firing IMMEDIATELY.

Thug U would be back, and Randy would be unemployed.

Different standard because of Q (just to clarify, Gators fans like Meyer the coach, not the person. By all accounts he's a surly dude).
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Derek Jeter did something shady the other day.

He was up against the Rays in a critical game.

A ball clearly hit his bat.

He acted like it hit his wrist, the Umps awarded him first base.

To me, it was sad because he's so bad these days, that's his only way to get on.

While there have been a few columns calling him "Jeter Cheater"... the outrage has been tempered by his likability.

He has enough stored up Q that while people roll their eyes, they don't REALLY care.

Substitute in Jeter for AROD?

Woody Paige's head would explode right on the "Around The Horn" set.
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I think you get the point I'm making.

While it's fine and even fun to be the bad guy sometimes, it puts you in a dangerous position.

LeBron James' margin for error in the public sphere is nonexistent.

The stakes are higher than he's ever had to deal with.

The sad part about reputations are they take a LONG time to make, and just seconds to lose.

Worst Contract Year Ever...

Trust me, it pains me to say this.

I wish I (not pictured) could pretend it wasn't happening.

I have enjoyed every single game I've watched him play since he came up to the bigs.

But Derek Jeter has been awful this year.
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Obviously, with DJ it isn't a matter of effort.

One of the traits I love most about Jeter is that he goes 100% at all times.

You never see him not hustling.

That said, the results have been atrocious this year.

I can't tell you how many times I've been driving in my car, and listened to John Stirling try to apologize away another double-play hit into by 'el capitain.'
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Let's look at his numbers.

Right now, we're in September, so this is an honest sample size.

He's hitting .266.

That's pathetic.

He's over .300 as a lifetime hitter, has over 2,500 career hits.

On-base percentage: .322.

That's TERRIBLE for a lead-off guy.
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Leads me to 2 questions: 1. What Happened? 2. What do the Yankees do about him in the future?

The answer to number 1 could be, he got old.

He's 36.

Watch him run to first.

He's clearly lost a step.

That's natural.

But you can still be successful in baseball a step slower.

I'm hopeful that he's just having a bad year.

It happens, even to the best.
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The next question is about Derek's future.

His contract runs out at the end of the year.

Could the Yankees possibly ever let him go?

I highly doubt it.

Tell me an athlete who has engendered more goodwill in a town than Jeter in NY?

Doesn't exist.

But, as a Yankees fan you have to wonder, how long should that contract be?

If he looks a step slow now, what's he going to look like in five years?
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Ah, but there's hope.

That's because it's only early September.

The Yankees are 2.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place.

They will be playing in the Playoffs.

A good post-season, and Jeter can wash away the memories of this dreadful season.

Jeter just needs to remind everyone that he's greatest when the stakes are highest.

I just hope he still has it.

For the first time in his career, I'm not so sure.

Four-Fingered Salute...

It was an emotional weekend for Joe Torre (not pictured) and for Yankees fans.

The Yankees returned to LA to take on the Dodgers.

Most importantly, it was the first time that Joe Torre and Don Mattingly ever OPPOSED the Yankees.

It was strange as a fan.

It was surreal.

And more importantly, as a 3-game series, it was ****ing awesome!
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There are really two stories that were at work.

There was the baseball story.

This was a potential World Series preview. This is a rivalry that goes back to Jackie Robinson sliding under Yogi Berra in the World Series. This is the two biggest media markets, two of the biggest payrolls.

All of that.

And, more compelling in my view, there was the human story.
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I read Joe Torre's book "The Yankee Years" and I watched him build an empire in New York.

The day he was signed the New York papers ran a headline "Clueless Joe." He went from that, to four world championships.

Along the way, Torre always demonstrated class, dignity, and a quality that made people hate the Yankees less.

That's hard to do.

Even Yankee haters respect Jeter, Rivera, and Posada (Pettitte would be on this list but he cheated).

Torre was also on that list.
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That said, to write a tell-all book about your players, WHILE YOU ARE STILL MANAGING, is pretty bush league.

Seriously.

I read the book with great interest.

But did he really need to rip AROD like that?

For a guy who excudes class, I thought it was a cheap money-grab.

But more importantly, I thought it reflected how truly HURT he was by the end of his Yankee years.

Not only did Torre not go out on his own terms, but he was essentially made to grovel for his job.

In the book, he stooped to management's level.
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Which brings me back to this weekend.

Yes, there were emotional reunions.

Jeter hugged Torre.

Mariano hugged Torre.

Billy Crystal showed up wearing a Switzerland Hat (he's a Yankees fan but close friends with Torre).

Jack wore a Yankees hat (is there a bigger front-runner on planet earth--- really? Yankees and Lakers? Does he go to Vegas to cheer on the dealers?)

And the games were great.

Friday night, 2-1 win for New York. CC Sabathia and Mariano combined to shut down the Dodgers. AROD hit a beautiful F-U home run.

Saturday, the Dodgers strike back. They trounce the Yankees as Reggie Jackson and Tommy Lasorda shoot the stuff in the Fox broadcast booth (note to Tim McCarver: less is more, it's not about you when two legends are riffing).

Sunday: The Yankees trail 6-2 in the 9th. They had a 9th inning rally off Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton and eventually won in the 10th on a 2-run homer by Robinson Cano (who is baseball's MVP so far--- go look at his stats--- SICK).
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During that rally, Torre had to look over wistfully and think, DAMN!

The difference in this game is simple.

I rolled out Broxton in the 9th, Joe Girardi rolled out Rivera.

With Mo, I'm a genius 4-time champ.

With Broxton, I'm Philly's bitch in the Playoffs.

Is Torre a better or worse manager in LA than he was in NY?

Nope, he just had better players in NY.
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I say all of that to get to my favorite moment, and it involves my favorite athlete.

The Yankees had rallied to tie the game at 6-6.

There was a runner on 2nd and two outs.

Torre had looked cool, calm, and collected as his team was falling apart.

That was until Derek Jeter walked towards the plate.

ESPN cut to a panicked Torre throwing up 4 fingers.

I said to my girlfriend (who has quickly learned that Yankees game are a central part of my existance): He's walking Jeter.

He's scared.

Joe Torre has dealt with a lot in baseball and in life.

He was fired prematurely (and reacted badly only after the fact).

He was a rock while his brother battled cancer.

He was abused as a child (and has done amazing work to prevent that since).

He's a former league MVP and 4-time WS champion as a manager.

But that guy wanted NO PART of Derek Jeter in the 9th.

Too many times he'd seen DJ get the needed base hit to settle games.

When Jeter was coming up, I could already visualize the base hit to right, the run scoring and Jeter giving his little fist pump.

So could Torre.

He had seen this movie before.

30 Years from now when someone starts talking trash about Jeter, and telling me how overrated he is, and how he's not truly a Yankees legend... I'll know.

The man who was afraid of nothing, FEARED Jeter in the 9th.

That four-fingered salute and look of panick tells me more than Elias Sports Bureau's stats ever will.

Dissed By The President...

This is a blog about AROD (not pictured).

The New York Yankees went to the White House on Monday. It's an honor reserved for champions. And frankly, I think one of the coolest perks of the job for the commander-in-chief.

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As every President does, Barack Obama gave a nice 8 minute or so speech congratulating the champs on their accomplishments.

It was your stock speech, which, if you weren't a Yankee fan would bore you to tears (even if you were, perhaps you'd be bored).
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Allow me to preface this by saying, none of this is substantiated. This is merely *MY* interpretation of the events I witnessed.

The President singled out several Yankees for their achievements on and off the field. He praised Mariano Rivera for his great cut-fastball. He talked about Mark Teixeira donating money for a scholarship. Mr. Obama talked about meeting Jorge Posada at a charity event and the work Posada has done for children.

And then things got really interesting.
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The President asked 'where's Jeter?' He turned around and found Derek Jeter, Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year." Obama praised DJ for the way he carries himself, for being a consummate professional.

But my favorite part was seeing Alex Rodriguez standing right next to Jeter.

I'm sorry. I know the topic is played out and all. It doesn't impact wins and losses (as is evidenced by the championship they were celebrating).

But AROD had a TOUGH job masking his contempt for the fact that *HE* was not being recognized.

Let's be honest.

AROD had more to do with the Yankees winning their 27th championship than ANYONE. For the first time in his career, he was the BEST player in the world at the most meaningful time. He did a LOT to repair his image as a choke.


But, if you're the President, can you really single someone out who has admitted to using steroids?

You don't want to touch that controversy.

So you pick the safe choices.

But that leaves Alex there to stand with an uncomfortable grin.

No one ever said he wasn't pety.
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That's an anomaly of being a sports fan.

You can like a guy, without actually liking a guy.

I think Alex can be vein, silly, small, phony, and self-serving.

But I don't care.

Our relationship isn't structured that way.

He hits home runs for the Yankees, and I smile.

He's useful to me so long as he's driving in runs.

When he's not, all the other elements of his personality which I see (be they real or imagined) become much bigger.

When he's hot at the plate, I praise the ballplayer.

When he struggles, I take shots at the human being.

It's not fair.

But then again he makes 25 million dollars a year and I have to fill out a timesheet every two weeks.
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Now, I'll admit it's much more satisfying when the athlete or movie star or writer or rock star, is a good person.

When you can admire someone for WHO they are in addition to WHAT they do, it's an added bonus.

But at least for me, I usually don't care.

I tend to be results oriented.

Obviously it's great to form attachments to athletes, like the one I feel towards Dwyane Wade, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I think Woody Allen is truly a genius. As an artist, he's a hero of mine. As a human being, to put it kindly, he's a little shady.

My grandfather (who incidentally hated Woody Allen) once told me, the closer you get to someone, the more you learn their flaws.

That's why with hero-worship, it's best not to cloud our judgements with pesky things such as facts.
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My only concern watching AROD try to mask his hang-dog look as 'others not named Alex' were recognized, was, how will it impact him on the field?

He can be fragile.

Any perceived slight can send AROD into a tail-spin.

Maybe the President dissed AROD on purpose.

He is a known White Sox fan.