Back to the Future

Good news everyone! Back To The Future is going to be re-released in theaters for its 25th anniversary. Only not in America. Whaaa? Yup, the American classic will only be seen over seas. Good job Hollywood. But movies are not what this blog is about. It's about baseball, and when I use Back to the Future as a title, it's because there are some stories in baseball about people and organizations taking lessons from the past in order to prosper in the future. I know this is not a literal interpretation of what happened in the movie, but allow me some creative freedom.

Who are these people and organizations, one might ask. Another one, me, might answer for instance with Buck Showalter. Buck is turning back the clock in Baltimore for his latest managerial role. Now that Buck is steering the Orioles' ship, he's been able to make a few course corrections. Since taking over as manager, the O's are 19-13. While this really has no bearing on the 2010 season, as it is already lost at sea, it gives the players, front-office and fan-base reason to hope. And Orioles fans are in need of some hope. The team hasn't had a winning season since 1997 and Buck is the 7th man to manage the team in the last 13 years. What the front-office believes Buck Showalter can bring is a sense of stability, preparation and mentoring that has been missing throughout the years. And perhaps most importantly of all, Showalter does not tolerate drama. He famously feuded with Alex Rodriguez in 2003 while he was the manager of Texas, which just happens to be the same year A-Rod admitted he took steroids. So Buck hopes to learn from his past managerial experience with the N.Y. Yankees, the Arizona D-Backs and the Texas Rangers to improve the Baltimore Orioles club. They have plenty of talent, but can he mold them into a winning team? They are in a tough division to attempt it, but hard-nosed coaches often lead hard-nosed teams into unexpected places. The future is starting to look a little brighter in Baltimore.

One specific player that might have to go back, in order to move forward is Nyger Morgan of the Washington Nationals. This is a young man who needs to go back to the minors, learn how the game is played the right way, grow up, and then come back to the MLB. Bad attitudes come and go in all sports and sometimes they stick around. Unfortunately it seems like every player in the NFL has a bad attitude these days, but I'm sure the drugs they pump into the players have something to do with that. But baseball has always been a little more tame. The game was considered a little more high-brow during its inception, and even today it's considered a more cerebral game than football, hockey or basketball. But from time to time, morons like Nyger Morgan go out and let every emotion they have shine through and bring it onto the field. Now I love when players have passion. But there is a huge difference between passion for the game, and emotional outbursts. For instance, if you have to railroad a catcher blocking the plate, so be it. It's part of the game. But Nyger Morgan blantantly ran into Bryan Anderson during a game with the Cardinals a couple weeks ago, which could have sparked a brawl, had cooler heads not prevailed. And this play actually resulted in Morgan being called out instead of scoring a run, because he never touched home-plate before another Nat player touched him, therefore interference was called. Manager Jim Riggleman then took Morgan out of the next game because he knew that the Cardinals were going to throw at him. Are you kidding me? He's not a child. If he screws with an opposing team, they can screw with him back. You can't hide him away from taking responsibility for what he did. That just encourages him to do whatever he wants and get away with it. You're an idiot Jim Riggleman.

Then while playing in Philadelphia recently, Morgan threw a ball at a fan with what many people think was an intent to hit the person, only to hit someone else instead. Now I'm the first person to admit that some Philly fans are pretty obnoxious, but you don't intentionally try and hurt somebody by throwing a ball at them, especially a fan. He was suspended for seven games after that event, but is appealing it. So if those two events weren't enough to show that Master Morgan needed a time-out in the corner, he decides to run into another catcher, this time Brett Hayes of the Florida Marlins. While this play was a little cleaner, Hayes had the ball and was blocking the plate, it was clear that Morgan had more intention to hurt Hayes then to knock the ball away and score. Hayes was hurt in the process and is now having shoulder issues. Marlins' pitcher Chris Volstad naturally responded the next day by throwing at Morgan to let him know he shouldn't mess with the Marlins. Morgan, again having a head full of steam, charged the mound after a second attempt to hit him missed. After 1B Gaby Sanchez close-lined Morgan, and a bench-clearing brawl ensued. Nyger wasn't done making a fool out of himself, though. He taunted the crowd while he was escorted off the field.

I've taken the time to highlight all of these transgressions because it's just not enough to say he's a dirty player, or an idiot. The public and more importantly his own team needs to recognize that these plays are the sign of an immature player who can't think clearly enough to know how his actions will hurt the organization. And the Nationals have not responded well. Riggleman actually came out and defended Morgan for charging the mound. Jim Riggleman, you want someone like this on your team? The Nationals need to take a step back, and first realize what kind of organization they want to be before they can move forward. With Stephen Strasburg out for most or all of 2011, the Nationals are not going to be what they thought for next year, which means another season of putting pieces together. Will Morgan be one of those pieces? It's not for me to say, but I know one thing, players of Morgan's ilk need to go back and learn a few things about the game and life in general before they can succeed in the future. Maybe the Washington Nationals do too.

Another organization that needs to get a clue is the N.Y. Mets. I haven't written about my team in a while, so forgive me if I seem a little bias in my comments. This team needs an overhaul, and it looks like they just might get one. In recent days GM Omar Minaya has been making comments that he'd be happy scouting for the club, and that is his true passion and blah, blah, blah. What does this mean? It means that someone told him he will be demoted to scouting next year, or that he won't be the general manager anymore and he's trying to make it seem like it's his choice. This is the kind of childish behavior that the Mets need to part ways with. A professional sports franchise should be more honest. Omar hasn't been a good GM fit for the Mets. I'll admit he brought in some good talent, but in all consideration, the team got worse under Minaya's watch. The Mets ownership should therefore be up-front with the media and the fan-base. 'We aren't going to compete for a year or two. We need to rebuild. We are cleaning house.' But no, they will drag their feet, string the fans along, cut budget and delay the inevitable.

Meanwhile some rookies are showing promise. However, without the right coaching staff behind them, they might flounder, never reaching full potential. Ike Davis, for example, is an athletic first-baseman with a power bat. But unless he gets a good hitting coach, he might stumble in his early years. Years he can never get back. Is hitting coach Howard Johnson the right man to guide Davis? Well, considering that the Mets have the worst average in the game with runners in scoring position, I doubt it. How is this Johnson's fault? When one or two guys struggle, they might simply be in a slump. When the whole team struggles, there is something wrong with the preparation, or the instruction. As further proof, one can point to the fact that the Mets are ranked 24th in baseball in average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Meaning, the bats aren't getting it done, something any Mets fan can tell you by watching a game. Am I wrong since the Mets just put up 18 runs and 21 hits against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday? No, that was an anomaly. The facts are that since August 1st the Mets have scored 5 runs or less 25 out of 32 games. This is a sign that the hitting coach isn't doing his job.

While we are discussing coaches, blame can be laid out on Jerry Manuel as well. Granted, he doesn't put the team together in the way Minaya does, but he does have to coach whoever he gets. Manuel is a calm man, and he has lots of calm players around him. There isn't much passion on the Mets bench, especially with Jeff Francoeur out of the picture. So when things aren't going right, as they haven't been for several seasons now, a calm demeanor can be either incredibly beneficial, or extremely detrimental. In the case of the Mets, I think it's the latter. The passion to win and fight and succeed may reside in the players somewhere, but it's repressed. Getting close, but never reaching the intended goal as become such a norm in Queens that the players aren't responding. A new, passionate manager might be enough to stir things up for New York's other team.

But the roster needs to change too. Not every rookie that has played this year is doing well. Infielder Ruben Tejada just had a career day versus the Cubs, but he's still batting a pathetic .193. Carlos Beltran either came back from his surgery too early, or just might not have it anymore. Luis Castillo definitely doesn't have it anymore, at least not as an everyday player. And yet the Mets are stuck with these under-performing players in bad contracts. Pitcher Oliver Perez will make $12 million next year, and he has no role. He can't start. He's bad out of the bullpen. He can't be sent down to the minors, and he's almost untradeable. Francisco Rodriguez might serve time in jail for all we know, and his bad attitude has hurt the team in emotional and financial ways. Jose Reyes is a key player, but he's hurt often, and the Mets can't afford to invest in someone that can't play 140 games a year. These are all massive problems. In order to fix things, the Mets need to regroup, understand what kind of team they want to be, and move on from there. For instance, the team just built a beautiful new ballpark, perfect for triples and speedy players, but instead Minaya signed Jason Bay who can only hit 30+ homeruns in a band-box like Fenway. Please, I'm begging as a Mets fan, stop spending money on giant free-agent contracts, and find guys with average and speed. In probably the most obvious case in this blog, the Mets ownership needs to take a step back, in order to proceed to the future.