What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
Major League Baseball is set to announce this season’s all-stars, and we are hoping Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers is on the list.
If he is not an all-star, we hope MLB retroactively takes away Jonathan Papelbon’s all-star appearance from 2006.
You might have heard that Papelbon, now with the Phillies, said Puig should not be an all-star because he has only been in the bigs for about a month and that if he is selected, it would be a slap in the face to a veteran.
Hmmm, that’s interesting. When Papelbon was a rookie, with the Red Sox, he made the All-Star Game. Some 10 days before the game — about the time when all-stars are announced — Papelbon had played in 36 games and thrown 40 innings.
Puig has played in 29 games, playing every inning in 26 of the games, and he has been awesome.
Papelbon made the all-star team because he was awesome that year in his limited appearances in a speciality position.
Papelbon did not mind getting the nod when he was a rookie with limited experience. What’s his problem with Yasiel Puig?
2
We pick on A-Rod a lot because, well, he’s A-Rod. He deserves it.
But today, let’s praise Alex Rodriguez a bit.
While with a Class A team as he tries to get back into major-league shape, A-Rod bought the meals for all of his teammates and also gave them advice on how to prepare to play every day.
Pretty cool thing to do for a bunch of youngsters hoping one day to get to The Show.
A-Rod also was a good sport. A-Rod struck out against Mauricio Cabrera. One of the pitches was clocked at 101 miles per hour.
“The good news for me is I didn’t hit 101 before hip surgery,” A-Rod said. “That kid was throwing some gas.”
If only A-Rod had been this nice to teammates, fans, media over the past five or six years …
3
We understand the stroke to the ego when the pros come calling.
But why does any successful college coach take over a pro team that clearly wants to “rebuild” or, dare we say, “tank a season” for the possibility of a high draft pick? That’s what Brad Stevens has got himself into with the Celtics.
Boston might be good again in a few years, but will Stevens survive that long?
