Will A.J. Pierzynski's signing destroy the Red Sox team chemistry?

     There is no disputing the fact that the Boston Red Sox were low in most experts' opinions to win their division let alone the World Series. Team chemistry seems to have played a big role. But now what will happen to that chemistry?

     The Boston Red Sox today signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one year contract. He will replace the departing free agent Jarrod Saltalamacchia. (he with the longest name in baseball history). The question of economics is understandably a significant reason in the signing. Salty is 28 and is looking for a long term contract. Brian McCann nabbed 85 million in his Yankee signing. Although Salty may not put up McCann's power numbers, Saltalamacchia posted a .338 OBP, good for sixth among starting catchers. He also hit 54 of the 70 extra base hits for the Red Sox in 2013.
     Clearly the 8.5 million spent for A.J. will be peanuts compared to what Salty gets. The point is Boston has two prospects that may be major league ready in 2015 so management wanted to find a spot for one of them so A.J. is a short term fix. Or is it? His former manager of the 2006 Chicago White Sox  Ozzie Guillen said, "If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a bit less." He has been dubbed " The Captain of Chaos" by former teammate Paul Konerko. The big platinum haired blonde, former quasi pro wrestler wanna be, is widely regarded as baseball's bad guy. In June 2012 he was voted baseball's # 1 most hated player in the game by Men's Journal.
      He has been accused of being "mean" to guys on his own pitching staff and treating players with less than 5 years of experience as peasants. In 2006 he had a famous collision and fight with then Cubs catcher Michael Barrett in which A.J. was deemed the aggressor. On May 28, 2007, in a game versus the Minnesota Twins, Pierzynski twice ran down the first base line with his feet on the inside of the base, likely making contact with Twins first baseman Justin Morneau's foot with his spikes. The Twins were outraged but A.J. was not ejected.
     All of this begs the question whether this volatile personality will ruin the chemistry on the Sox team. In my humble opinion, the answer is a resounding no. Has he matured? I don't know but his appearances as a baseball analyst seemed to have curtailed some of his bravado. More importantly, it must be emphasized that A.J. played an enormous role in his White Sox winning the 2006 World Series. He was an All-Star catcher that season. Players don't have to love one another to win. Just ask the Oakland A's of the early 70's or the Yankees of the late 70's. Chemistry often comes from winning or trying to out do the guys on the team that you don't like.
     A.J. at 36 is not the same man as he was in 2006 or even 2012 when he won the Silver Slugger award. Last year he had his lowest OPB at .297 largely because of his paltry walk percentage. But the man is durable, a leader, and a guy who loves to win.
     So my answer is no to the question I posed. He is not the reason the Sox will not repeat. The loss of Napoli, Drew, and Ellsbury will be the primary reasons. Sure there is great promise in Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, and maybe even Furcal will sign, but the losses are too great. And the competition is better in Texas and maybe even Detroit. If the Sox don't win it again, it won't be because they lost their chemistry. It's because they are now a team in transition and a bit old in the tooth.

Colorado Aurora movie theater case is postponed

  James Holmes, on trial for the murder of twelve and the wounding of several dozens of people in Aurora California, had his trial delayed indefinitely today. The defense will not dispute that Holmes did the acts. Rather, the defense  maintains that Holmes did not have the mental capacity to have understood that what he was doing was wrong. Or, that he could not appreciate the fact that he was killing people.
   State prosecutors are seeking a new psychiatric examination of Holmes. Apparently, an expert that the state chose to examine Holmes provided an opinion that Holmes was insane at the time he is alleged to have committed the killings. In such a situation, the prosecution is under a legal obligation to share those results and reports with the defense. That fact will of course badly hurt the state's case because they can't call that expert, but the defense likely will. Moreover, they will bring out during testimony that the state sought that expert's opinion.
   The state will now seek another expert who will examine Holmes and provide another opinion. If that goes badly for the state, it could be a fatal blow to the case.
    While an alleged mass murderer certainly, in my opinion, qualifies for the death penalty, the state may regret the offer of the defense to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. If the plea had been given by a competent Holmes, he likely would have lived the remainder of his life in jail and no appeals would likely ever change it.

Motions in the Aurora Theater mass shooting case are decided

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An historical fiction legal novel worthy of reading

  I just finished a novel called Tobacco Sticks by Wm. Hazelgrove which I feel is worthy of recognition. One reviewer called it a rip off of To Kill A Mockingbird. If that's the worst you can say about a book, I'll take that comparison any day.

  This is the story of a family in post World War 11 as told by the narrator a 12 year old boy. The setting is Richmond Virginia which is still mired in the racial and class segregation of the Old South. Yet times they are a changing. The unions are starting to get a foothold and even "uppity Negras" are beginning to have a say in the political order which has been dominated by the old boy network.

   That political machine is so powerful that they will use  any means even illegalities to maintain the status quo. The narrator Lee Hartwell witnesses the change that will touch his entire family and his friends as well. His father Burke (comparable to the Atticus Finch lawyer in Mockingbird) has been part of the political machine and becomes the campaign manager for the power boss state senator who is up for re-election.  Burke must straddle carefully between his own moral instincts and those of  steel  mill magnate Buddy Hillman who is the financial broker for the senator. The latter will devote whatever efforts are necessary to beat the union/black supporters of the challenger.

    Lee's life is upended as his father breaks with the machine over a criminal charge lodged against Fanny a black household servant of Hillman which causes Lee and his father to be ostracized by the city.

Lee's friends and even the girl of his dreams Careen Hillman break with the Hartwell family.

    Burke's courage is tested to its limits( I won't say why) as he defends Fanny. The last third of the book will have you in angst as the trial rushes to conclusion. The author, although not a lawyer, does create a vivid atmosphere throughout the book and especially during the trial where secrets and motives are revealed. Allow me one personal criticism by pointing out a legal error. He has the lawyers objecting to leading questions on cross examination. ( leading the witness on cross is of course permitted and common). There are also hearsay problems, but these technical glitches do nothing to spoil a story that captured a slice of history for me. I recommend this legal and social novel to everyone. Happy reading.

    If you like legal drama novels, please check out my book at:

http://www.amazon.com/Pitch-Justice-Harold-Kasselman-ebook/dp/B007AIQO0A/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383679328&sr=1-1&keywords=kasselman

 

When can chemistry turn a loser into a winner?

Who woulda thunk it?
     The Boston Red Sox went from 93 losses in 2012 to winning their third World Series in this century. Who in their wildest imagination could have foreseen it? At spring training virtually all of the experts and bets were on Toronto. What caused such a dramatic turnabout?

    Boston was a 30-1 underdog to win the World Series last winter but joined the 1991 Minnesota Twins as the only teams to win titles one season after finishing in last place.

    The Red Sox signed 7 free agents for only about 100 million. Would this list strike fear into you if you were an opposing GM?

    Victorino, Napoli, Gomes, Drew, Uehara, Ryan Dempster and Ross.

    
    Victorino was coming off his worst season and people scoffed at his three year 39 million contract. Napoli's degenerative hip was so huge an issue that he could only get a one year contract for 5 million. Johnny Gomes played in just a combined 142 games in 2011 and 2012.

     Stephen Drew played in only 158 games in the 2011 and 2012 season with less than impressive stats. Uehara was a good signing but he would be 38 during the season and no one could predict the impact he would have. Ryan Depster had a 5.09 ERA in 2012 and a WHIP of 1.435 in 2012. David Ross was 35 coming into the season with a lifetime BA of .216 and an OBP of .298.

That begs the question. How did this team win 97 regular season games let alone the World Series?  Victorino and Ellsbury had years worthy of Comeback Player of the Year Awards, and Mike Napoli had a much better than expected 2013. Yet something tells me that cleaning out some of the selfish- and undisciplined players from the 2012 roster did as much or more towards winning the title. Much of the credit must go to Manager John Farrell and GM Ben Cherington. They looked at the character of the players they wanted to re-make the team. Those players fed off of one another. Their bearded bond gave them the same can't lose attitude that "the idiots" had in 2004. In short they had team chemistry.     What came first, the chemistry or the Boston Marathon tragedy? I sense that the chemistry fostered by a born leader like David Ortiz and the tragedy sparked a chemical reaction that carried the team for almost an entire season toward a triumphant reward for the City of Boston and their loveable Red Sox team.      I'm very happy for them all. Enjoy your victory! Chemistry more often that sabermetrics matters.