The Jolly Old St. Papi had this to say after his mammoth home run and comeback win in Baltimore last night, from Peter Abraham at The Boston Globe:
"I'm the kind of [expletive] who worries about winning games," Ortiz said.
"I'm a winner. I hate losing. But what I do, I don't do for everybody to
know. I do it for us to get better and the trash talking out there to stop." -snip-
"Somebody wrote, 'Why didn't he do it earlier?' Earlier? When am I going
to do it, in spring training," Ortiz asked. "What did I do wrong? Seriously, what
did I do wrong? … You hit 54 home runs, then hit 35, it's not good enough.
How many people hit 35? Never good enough, bro. That's why I don't care."
Ortiz, making $14.5 million this season, also took exception with the media and
his own front office. "I don't get no respect," Ortiz said. "Not from the media.
Not from the front office. What I do is never the right thing. It's always hiding,
for somebody to find out."
This was in light of the news of Papi's players' only meeting after the Josh Beckett less than 3 inning stinker following Golf Gate fiasco earlier this month came out. Instead of basking in being a big part of a team that has surged since that meeting, or basking in being cheered for the loudest of anyone while coming to bat at Fenway (this Blog is lucky enough to attend many Fenway games and sees this several times each contest), he chooses to focus on the negative. He is universally hailed as the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history on a consistent basis, he's the only player left in the league who is deemed good enough to be earning huge money to DH, and last but not least he has skated by scott free on the revelation that he in fact failed the drug test that began it all and lead to one of the toughest illicit drug testing systems in professional sports, according to uncle Bud anyway. This guy is one of the best and blindly respected players in all of MLB. He's also one of the players who sailed that sinking ship the S.S. 2011 Red Sox down a river of destruction. You are called 'Professional' for a reason Papi, most of the time it's all about results, you've managed to transcend even that, but these comments show you still don't get it when it comes right down to it. You are a DH, you were in the clubhouse plenty while Chicken and Beer was in full effect. If you really are the kind of [expletive] who only worries about winning games where were you last year? Kicking back a cold one with the good old boys is one distinct possibility. This is thinner skinned than John Scott was before the essence of his mind fully expired on Fringe.
In full contrast was the unbridled passion and likability of the Celtics' Kevin Garnett. These are the things Kevin Garnett cares about: He hummed Superman's theme for The Truth in the 08 playoffs, he bangs his head and acts like an idiot, he parrots his coach's entreaties to his troops in the huddle. These things when taken out of context can appear to be the act of a moron, but when you listen and watch Garnett in the intimate moments between teammates and coach they bring you back. Back to the camaraderie of that time between when you were just learning a game and when you have all the distractions and responsibilities that come with growing up. When all that mattered was the game, your teammates, that heady place where you pulled together and won a game based on trust and belief and working on your craft. Old days diatribe alert. Not sure if times like this can ever happen again with smart phones, the world at one's fingertips, but it was like this for any of us born in the 70s or before. This is what Garnett had to say following last night's playoff win, when asked about a bad call no less, from Chris Forsberg at ESPN's Boston site:
“This goddamned crowd here sparks you,” said Garnett (20 points, 8-of-17 FG).
“It doesn’t take much here, man. … When speaking about this crowd, man, it’s
like plugging in. They’re enthused from 48 minutes on, from the tip on, so I can’t
see the difference between minute from minute. I feel like every minute I look up,
I see my family, I see people yelling, I see the drunk, fat guy. I can decipher one
from the other. This crowd is ridiculous, man. I love it.” -snip- “It’s like taking a cold
shower, stepping into a freezer that’s below 60,” added Garnett of the Boston crowd.
“I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you want the feeling, try it out, come back and
let me know.”
This Blog hasn't felt a chill like that since being in the bleachers for one of Pedro Martinez vintage 17 strikeout but loosing 1-0 games (thanks again LP Bill Bertera). Kevin Garnett gets it. He's gotten it ever since he's gotten here. And coming from a Mike Felger chronic from his 890 AM days, Garnett is as likable as any one of the Bruins, so, to quote Sean Thornton, "Suck it Felger".
Until next time,
The SAHD
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