A Lesson on Heroes

In the summer of 1986 I had just finished the 8th grade and although I liked to play baseball I didn't have much interest in following the Major Leagues. With the nearest professional team being a 14 hour drive to LA, I didn't have the benefit of going to games as a kid to spark a baseball obsession. My parents had just gotten cable and it was only then that I could see a game beyond the occasional Saturday Vin Scully broadcast. Now I could see Cubs and Braves games thanks to WTBS and WGN. For some reason that year I began collecting baseball cards. One of my first packs I ever bought had Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden in it. I knew almost nothing about them. But I began following them and the Mets in the newspaper. Wouldn't you know it, this was going to be the Mets' year. Strawberry in particular held a special fascination for me. His long looping and graceful swing produced some of the most picturesque home runs I had ever seen. Gooden's curveball and fastball were awesome.

I was hooked.

I followed the Mets faithfully that year and had posters of Gooden and Strawberry up on my wall. I annoyed the hell out of my dad that October as I hooted and jumped up and down during the World Series 6th game comeback. He was rooting for the Red Sox.

Awkward.

Anyway I stuck with the Mets for a few more years until most of the guys that I rooted for were gone. The year Howard Johnson and Kevin McReynolds were the main attractions I bolted for the Braves who were commanding much of my viewing time on tv. (It helped they were always on with their cable channel. Ted Turner was an evil genius) Although it seems I was just turning to another successful team when the Mets started losing, I actually started following and rooting for Atlanta the year before they came out of the basement. They still had Dale Murphy and he was something of a legend in Utah.

Anyway, Strawberry and Gooden went on to self destruction as is well known. Strawberry in particular was a good lesson for me as I was just reaching adulthood when he began his "I'm a screw-up, no wait I think I've changed, no really I'm totally messed up" cycle. Gooden was always a little more shy than Darryl so his screwups didn't quite make the headlines that Strawberry did, but his pattern has been very similar.

Dwight's 1985 stats were so good (24-4, 268 Strikeouts, 1.53 ERA) so early that it probably was impossible to live up to the hype he had created. Still, we'll always wonder how good he and Strawberry could have been without the booze, drugs, and partying. Seeing them both stand in prison garb has never made me angry, just sad. These were my first baseball heroes. The only orange I ever wanted to see them suited up in was found on the uniform of the New York Mets.

**SI Covers found on SI.com

---So yeah I guess there was a National Championship game last night. I checked in once in the first half. Looked boring. Checked back with a couple minutes to go in the game and the blowout confirmed my earlier assessment. Gator fans are deservedly ecstatic and could care less what the game looked like. For those of us just hoping for an exciting Final Four weekend/Monday there is always next year. And really what do we have to whine about? Most of the tournament was pretty fun to watch this year.


--While I'm not an advocate of fans throwing things on the field at baseball games I did get a strange moment of satisfaction as I watched Bonds pick up the needle-less syringe thrown his way. This was in San Diego for hell's sake. He's in for a long year with that kind of stuff. Sadly, for this sorry excuse of a human being it will just confirm in his mind how much more of a victim he really is. You know, the only real victim is Bond's pillow, which has to put up with that huge melon every night.

This isn't NFL related but I have to mention that with my mid-major leanings I of course loved the George Mason upset. I'll say it again because it just feels so good. Screw you Billy Packer.

Anyway, back to NFL offseason happenings:

---How about that Aaron Brooks signing huh? The Raiders replaced one inconsistent-I want to throw up-after watching that pass- QB with a slightly more maddening, inconsistent-I want to crap my pants after watching that pass- QB. This is thrilling for Raider fans I'm sure. The Hater Nation does a good job of explaining the salivating excitement out there among the silver and black concerning this move.(& March 27th post)


Anyway, some are saying that this is a band-aid that will hold while they draft a QB and groom him. Maybe Young or Cutler if they are still available. Then again, who the hell knows with the Raiders. I know it's Al Davis but they can't be serious about Brooks as their future can they?


----I think Dante "I don't do lap dances, just dice" Culpepper is definitely an upgrade for the Dolphins. I know Brees was their first choice (for the right price) but Culpepper has got to inspire more confidence than what has been passing for QB play in Miami the last couple of years.



---Terrell Owens to Dallas. This is superb. I was getting lukewarm on my anti-Cowboy stance the past few years. Besides disliking Parcells (but really, who doesn't?) and being turned off by the obnoxious Jerry Jones, I haven't been able to entirely shake some of my gradeschool days affection when I worshipped Tony Dorsett. The past few years I have rooted for them to lose, but outright hatred was reserved for the Patriots. Aside from Jerry Jones' creepifying and possibly illegal move toward looking like my grandmother, I was finding it hard to direct a significant amount of negative karma their way. Problem solved. Now I've just got to locate my T.O. voodoo doll for a uniform change.


---In other prima-donna news, Keyshawn Johnson is a Panther now. Not a bad move but I think they are paying too much for him. But if Johnson is serious about fitting in, it might pay off.


---I also like Cleveland's signing of ex-Pat linebacker Willie McGinest. Nice addition to their defense.


---Speaking of ex-Patriots......just a great move by New England to let Adam Vinatieri go. Kudos. He has caused me and numerous others much grief over the past few years. Maybe he can help Manning understand that "clutch" doesn't mean that thingy next to the gas pedal. Then again maybe the Pats know know something we don't, as ESPN's Bill Simmons seems to think. Could it be that this dog has had his day? I mean he did blow a kick in the playoffs against the Broncos so apparently he misses occasionally in big games. Still I can't help myself, I'm giddy. Brady can still get them into field goal range like nobody else, but unless the next guy can kick in 4 feet of snow then I will rest easier. Somehow I don't think that will be the case for Pats fans. Mike D over at SportsBlah.com (Wed Mar 22nd) has a good post on a Patriot fan's dilemma of keeping faith in Belichick versus the unease at losing someone who has meant so much to New England.



-Also some say Edgerrin James will do fine in Arizona, while others think the O-line there will mean his stats will diminish dramatically. I think it will be somewhere in the middle. How's that for waffling? I think he will have about 1100 yards but his yard per carry average will be in the 3.8-4.1 range. He better get used to quicker snap counts as well. Warner is not quite the Ritalin candidate that Payton is.


---Ahhhhhh. The smell of NFL Europe League is in the air. Intoxicating isn't it? I was watching Dallas backup QB Drew Henson direct the offense for the Rhein Fire the other day, and I got to wondering what happens if he ultimately flames out of the NFL? My take is that at least he'll be rich and he can claim he fleeced both the Yankees and the Cowboys. That's a legacy I could live with.