Posted by Chad Finn, Globe Staff February 26, 2009

"You Can't See the WIZARD... Now Go Away!"

We don’t change the station, and so the station sees no need to change. Ratings are huge, possibly even as huge as the station claims. Its primary demographic has tremendous appeal to advertisers. And New England’s fanatical dedication to the professional sports teams that the station’s hosts bloviate about in four-hour blocks is seemingly endless.

And so there you have it: WEEI. Your sports-radio leader. A perfect storm of arrogance.

What’s that adage about pompous silver-spooners? He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple? That fits certain WEEI hosts as comfortably as a Bloomin’ Onion–stained Tommy Bahama shirt. They think the station’s success somehow reflects on them, that we tune in for their shrill banter, contrived characters, and prefabricated opinions. We don’t — never have, never will. We listen because we love sports, our beloved teams are enjoying a remarkable run of success, and WEEI happens to have both access and broadcast rights. Most of all, we listen because there is no other decent local alternative with a signal stronger than that of a ham radio.

Now, I’m not suggesting all WEEI programming beats your eardrums into submission. Dale and Holley are engaging in the midday, and Mut and Bradford make those weekend chores pass quicker. But it is telling that the two smartest sports radio shows in the city in recent years — Michael Felger’s drive-time program on ESPN 890 and the Ryen Russillo/Jon Anik/Anthony Pepe crew on WWZN 1510 — were broadcast elsewhere on the dial. If only either had owned a signal that didn’t turn into a French-language station a mile from the Zakim Bridge, they might have gained the appropriate audience.

So to feed our unquenchable sports jones, we have no choice but to suffer the WEEI banshees. But that doesn’t stop us from longing for something better, something not only entertaining but intelligent, passionate, and insightful.

We’re not here today for the purpose of holding a sports radio fantasy draft, but for a moment consider the station you could build — and the one ESPN Boston should have built — with roster depth that included the best of the Globe and ESPN, underrated talents such as Russillo and Mike Giardi, as well as the requisite WEEI refugees. (Remember Steve DeOssie after he skipped over to 1510? Thoughtful and articulate. On WEEI? An overgrown Scut Farkas.)

Maybe I’m naïve. Maybe the average Boston sports fan is less sophisticated than I want to believe. But I’m convinced that provided with an equal signal, some savvy program director could build what WEEI claims to be: the premier sports radio station in the country. And just in case such a benefactor happens to have read this far, at no charge we offer you a thinking fan’s guide to the real dos and don’ts of sports radio in Boston.

Have a well-considered opinion and the knowledge to defend it in an entertaining manner: No, passing yourself off as some sort of insider because of an association with the Celtics two decades ago does not count, particularly when there is mounting suspicion that you haven’t watched more than a handful of out-of-market NBA games since the days of short shorts and sky hooks. In a related note: Yelling the loudest doesn’t make you right. Didn’t your mom ever teach you that?

After you’ve beaten a story to death, please resist the temptation to beat on the corpse daily for another several weeks: Wait, wait, wait … you’re telling me Manny Ramirez quit on the Red Sox? And they traded him? When did this happen? How come you never mentioned this, Mikey? HOW COME YOU NEVER MENTIONED THIS??!!

No more celebrity callers …: Call it the Glenn Ordway Corollary: The more obnoxious the caller, the more airtime he gets. It’s a cornerstone of the lucrative business of pandering to the lowest common denominator. But I can’t be the only one who lunges for the scan button as soon as “Angry Bill” and his miserable brethren begin spewing their first word of venom.

… or sycophantic co-hosts: Ah, another Ordway self-preservation tactic. Surround yourself with a couple of knowledgeable co-hosts, then fill out the rest of the cast with talking-head lightweights and cronies who will argue with you only to the point where you say zip it, refuse to point out your factual missteps, and, for the sake of a paycheck, willingly play clichéd characters appropriate for a failed soap-opera actor. That way, you’re irreplaceable, since there’s no obvious successor to the throne. Brilliant! Also: Unlistenable!

In order to qualify for airtime, a co-host has to be able to put two consecutive syllables together without his tongue tripping over his mustache: Don’t worry, big guy. You’re halfway there.

Hosts are not permitted eight-part questions so long and windy that they require a syllabus and stretch from one commercial break to the next: That means you, Dennis … Denito … Dentillo …

Talk politics or the news story of the day when the moment calls for it: Credit where credit is due: WEEI was riveting radio in the days after September 11. The tone was sincere, heartfelt, and human. Since then, however, the tone regarding politics and world matters has become so extreme that certain hosts make Dick Cheney look like a beatnik. Worse is the increasingly snide disregard for those with different circumstances, views, and — the case certainly can be made — pigment. It’s one thing to be provocative, but too often that crosses the line to irresponsibility. Sure, a certain element is enthralled — hillbillies and cavemen, mostly. Others are simply waiting for the inevitable repulsive comment that leads to your downfall.

Enough with the drop-ins from comedians who’d bomb at the Ha-Ha House of Whiskey and Waffles: And if some clown named Shecky does find his way into the studio — either as a guest or as your nighttime host — have some dignity and refrain from hee-hawing and chortling and racing to laugh loudest as if he’s the reincarnation of George Carlin. He’s not. He’s a D-lister with a captive audience, and his best jokes wouldn’t make the cut for the Whiner Line. Which, by the way, is the best thing you have going. We might note the material comes not from you, but from the listeners. We’re going to assume you miss the irony of that.

“You Can’t See the Wizard… Now Go Away”

OT columnist Chad Finn is a sports reporter for Boston.com and can be reached at finn@globe.com

Cleveland Indians trade Victor Martinez, infuriating fans

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Victor Martinez

Well, based on their spitting comments on sports radio, in chat rooms and on blogs, in reaction to stories almost as quickly as news is posted, their patience is just about threadbare.

“I’m done. . . . I’m through. . . . No more. . . . Won’t spend another dime. . . . Tired of second-rate, cheap owners.”

Fans old enough to remember Cleveland baseball from the ’60s through the ’80s shudder at the thought of a rollback.

“I really wish for the days when we were hot prospects and tickets were hard to find and the Jake was the place to be,” one fan wailed online. “Now we’re left with bobbleheads and racing condiments.”

“I am seriously debating,” wrote another, “whether I should teach my newborn son to be an Indians fan or whether I should pick another team for him.”

First, Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and now Victor. By now, you would think Cleveland sports fans would know the drill.

Last season, right around this time, Cy Young winner CC Sabathia was going, going, gone.

And before him, so many names of Cleveland sports heroes packed up and moved on, sometimes by choice, sometimes not: Bartolo Colon, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Rocky Colavito, Ron Harper, Paul Warfield, Bernie Kosar, the whole football team.

Heck, LeBron James is still here, and the Cleveland Fan is already an insomniac over that one.

How fleeting.

Wasn’t it just two years ago that Cleveland was juggling three winners, rolling from one season to the next in unprecedented glee? LeBron and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. The Browns, a wind-blown loss from the playoffs in Cincinnati. The Indians, two games up with two aces in the hole and one win from the World Series.

All were just new chapters in the dog-eared book of Cleveland sports woe – so much of it self-inflicted.

This latest whack was no surprise, but white flags don’t fly well here.

Martinez sat in front of his locker, fighting back tears, hugging his son, Victor Jr. Earlier, the boy had asked his dad, “Are we still an Indian?”

Well, Cleveland. Are we?

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

blubinger@plaind.com, 216-999-5531

©2009 Plain Dealer © 2009 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.

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Victor Martinez Trade Smart For Both Teams

After dealing Cliff Lee, it was clear that the Cleveland Indians were going to shop Victor Martinez. The Indians heard offers from many teams but ultimately found their buyer in the Boston Red Sox, acquiring reliever Justin Masterson and pitching prospects Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price in exchange for the switch-hitting slugger.

I felt that the Indians should have gotten a bit more for Lee, given his team-friendly option for 2010; the Philadelphia Phillies did not have to part ways with one of their top three prospects, Dominic Brown, Kyle Drabek or Michael Taylor. After essentially waving the white towel for ’10 by dealing the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, though, they pretty much had to cash in Martinez for prospects as well. All considered, I like the return here for him, and, while it may take a while to bear fruit, the efforts of the front office should set the franchise up for success in the next decade. Indeed, the team has turned Rafael Betancourt, Mark DeRosa, Ben Francisco, Ryan Garko, Lee and Martinez into 11 cheap, young players, some of whom have the potential to be outstanding major leaguers. When looking at through this lens, I do not mind the return for Lee as much, either, as they still received a solid package of four prospects and added depth. All 11 players will not work out, of course. It is a pure numbers game, though, and many of them will, so the approach is commendable.

Mark Shapiro and his staff were seeking pitchers (indeed, only two of the 11 pieces are position players) who have upside. Shapiro was simply not interested in limited ceiling, major-league ready talent–the old Dave Littlefield approach–and the franchise should be better off for it.

In this particular instance, Cleveland added one major league ready arm and two quality prospects.

Hagadone, a 23-year-old lefty, underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2008 and is slowly working his arm back into shape. Before sustaining the injury, though, he had perhaps the most electric stuff in the Boston farm system.

Here is a brief blurb from his scouting report on SoxProspects.com:

Big lefty whose fastball sits around 92-94 mph and tops out at 98 mph with very good life. Aggressive, throws strikes and gets ahead in the count. Also mixes in a biting 82-83 mph plus slider, and an improving 80-81 mph changeup.

After being held back in extended spring training, Hagadone was assigned to Greenville in the South Atlantic Leauge in June. While he was pitching against younger competition and the sample size is small, he flashed glimpses of his once-explosive stuff there. In 25.2 innings for the Drive, he posted a 2.52 ERA, 2.80 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) and rates of 11.52 K/9 and 5.04 BB/9. He has had some early command issues, but that really is not surprising at all since he is still only a little over a year removed from surgery.

Although Hagadone was a closer in college, he will be given every opportunity to remain a starter. If that does not work out, though, he could end as an high-impact relief ace long term, as his upper-90s velocity would play up in that role. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound southpaw comes with risk because of the injury, of course, but he has tremendous upside. Indeed, had he not gotten hurt and instead put together a strong ’08 campaign, he might have been untouchable. The injury certainly changes a lot, but his kind of velocity cannot be taught; my cousin, his former teammate on the Drive, raved about his stuff. Regardless of whether or not he ends up as a reliever or starter long term, he could play an instrumental role in the Indians’ future success.

Price saw his draft status rise following a breakout junior season at Rice University. After making only 16 appearances out of the Owls’ bullpen combined as a freshman and sophomore, he struck out 54 against 27 walks in his final 48.1 collegiate innings. The Red Sox then selected him with their second pick in the first round (behind Casey Kelly, the two-way star from Sarasota High School), rewarding him with an $849,000 signing bonus. After agreeing to terms, he was assigned to the New York Penn League and logged 40.0 innings at Lowell. He was impressive in his pro debut, producing rates of 9.68 K/9, 2.25 BB/9 and 0.45 HR/9 and a 3.83 ERA and 2.80 FIP.

Boston sent him to Greenville out of the gate this spring but he was not there for long. He posted a 2.45 ERA, 2.86 FIP and rates of 8.18 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 in 44.0 innings pitched with the Drive, forcing the organization to promote him.

On the surface, it would seem that the jump to the Florida State League has been a rude awakening for Price. He is, after all, only 1-6 with a 6.54 ERA in 52.1 innings pitched over 11 starts. He has pitched much better than those numbers suggest, though, maintaining excellent rates of 9.80 K/9, 3.27 BB/9 and 0.69 HR/9. While the walks are a bit high and he is facing more advanced hitters, though, he has been extremely unlucky on balls hit into play. Indeed, his .390 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) will certainly come way down.

Here is a scouting report on Price courtesy of SoxProspects.com:

Smooth 3/4 delivery, but a lot of seemingly unnecessary movement and long arm action. Not a lot of deception. His fastball sits between 92-95 mph with a nice tail running in on righties. If used in relief, Price’s fastball can reach the high 90s for an inning burst. Two-seamer sits around 89-92 mph, also has nice inward movement against right handed batters. Also mixes in a plus 83-87 mph slider, which he relies on as his out pitch. Changeup has fluctuated from 79 to 85 mph, as it’s still a work in progress – he shows it a bit too much. However, it does have nice separation from his fastball. His command can be erratic at times when he gets rattled, but for the most part Price has great command and control.

Like Hagadone, there is no telling whether Price can remain a starter long term. He is pretty far away from the majors as well. Cleveland gets a pretty good prospect, though, and he will contribute someday at the highest level, either as a back-end starter or bullpen piece.

Most casual baseball fans are familiar with Masteron, who was a key member of the Red Sox’ bullpen down the stretch in ’08. He was indeed impressive as a rookie, posting a 3.16 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched. While he benefited from an unsustainable .214 BABIP and 83.3 strand rate while actually pitching to the tune of a 4.69 FIP, he made quite an impression in the postseason.

Masterson no longer has the sexy ERA now that the BABIP and strand rate have regressed. He has actually made improvements and has been more effective in 2009, though. His strikeout rate has jumped from 6.93 to 8.52, his walk rate has fallen from 4.08 to 3.12 and his 3.66 FIP is much better than his 4.32 ERA. As well, he has amassed 1.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) already, which is impressive for a reliever.

Stuff wise, Masteron has continued to primarily rely on his low-90s, worm-burning sinker, producing a 52.2% ground ball rate. He also mixes in a low-80s slider (he has gone to the pitch 25.6 percent of time) and occasionally a change-up. He has the stamina to make a spot start here or there, but his stuff plays better in a relief role. While relievers have limited value, he is a good one who is still cheap and young. For what it is worth, he is also one of the nicest kids around and a great teammate who is willing to help his club out in any way.

It was without question a nice haul for the Indians, who had no reason to keep Martinez after parting ways with Lee. The Red Sox still have tremendous depth, however, and the price was worth it for the slugging catcher/first baseman who gives them tremendous versatility.

I wrote about Martinez’s fast start earlier this spring:

Martinez, 30, is currently hitting .385/.458/.631 with a 179 OPS+. He also already surpassed his ’08 home run total, bashing six bombs in his first 122 plate appearances. Headed into Sunday, he ranks third in the junior circuit in batting average and on-base percentage, fourth in OPS (1.089), sixth in slugging percentage and ninth in walks (18). He is tied for sixth in the majors in wOBA (.464) as well.

Since then, Martinez has come back down considerably. Indeed, his OPS has fallen in every month:

April: 1.082 OPS

May: 881 OPS

June: 802 OPS

July: 530 OPS

August: 400 OPS

Overall, Martinez is hitting .284/.368/.464 with 15 home runs, 67 RBIs and a 115 OPS+. Clearly, his early success is keeping that line afloat, but he is still an elite offensive performer, especially for a catcher, and should pick it up from here on out.

Martinez can catch, though his defense there is below average, and play first base, giving Terry Francona flexibility for his C/1B/3B/DH mix and providing depth to the Red Sox overall. Should Mike Lowell go down again, Francona can shift Kevin Youkilis to third base and insert the new acquisition in at first base. His bat needs to be in the lineup–he is a considerable offensive upgrade over Jason Varitek, who is the better defender–at all times, and, while that may be a challenge, he equips his manager with a bunch of options and another valuable offensive weapon.

The Boston roster really does not have a lot of holes, nor did it before the trade even though the offense has scuffled in July. Martinez, a consistent 4.0-WAR player this decade, makes it even better. Plus, he brings with him a team-friendly $8.5-M option for ’10, which he will easily be worth and then some. Thus, he is not a rental and has tremendous value next year, when the status of aging sluggers Lowell and David Ortiz is uncertain.

The price was steep, but you have to give value to get value. Plus, Boston has built a player development machine over the years, affording them the organizational depth to pull the trigger. Factoring in the extra season of Martinez, it was logical for them to make the move. The Indians also receive great value, and Shapiro deserves a lot of credit for turning his movable pieces into 11 young players.

The thought processes were sound on both sides.

By CHARLES McGRATH  - Article Courtesy of:  New York Times

SUCH is the gloomy, guilt-ridden New England conscience that within hours after a report that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz had tested positive for steroid use in 2003, Red Sox fans were already feeling miserable again.

By 6 on Friday morning, the lines at the sports radio station WEEI, Boston’s equivalent of New York’s WFAN, were jammed with breast-beating callers, phoning in to say that the Sox World Series victories in 2004 and 2007 were tainted — too good to be true, and now a source of shame. We should have known: you can’t shake off the Curse in a mere 86 years.

Left, John Bazemore/Associated Press; right, Brian Snyder, via Reuters

SAY IT AIN’T SO Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz have both been linked to steroids.

Related New York Times Articles:

Reflections of a Yankee Fan (August 2, 2009)

News Analysis: If Every Team Was Doping, Why Use Asterisks? (July 31, 2009)

Ramirez and Ortiz Tune Out Allegations (August 1, 2009)

A lot of fans appeared to feel personally betrayed by Ortiz, or Big Papi, as he is known to Red Sox Nation — an immensely personable and popular figure, not to mention the greatest clutch hitter in the team’s history, who had steadfastly denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Almost no mention was made of the flaky and mercurial Ramirez, traded to the Dodgers last season and now just back with them after a 50-game suspension for recently taking a fertility drug banned by baseball. Manny who?

But if the Red Sox record is tainted, it’s no more tainted than that of any other team. In this respect, at least, it’s clear that the field was level. Not every player used steroids, but enough did, it appears, that no clubhouse was remotely a drug-free zone. Not to shift the blame, but the list of Yankees who have either admitted to or are accused of doping includes Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Gary Sheffield, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Giambi, Jason Grimsley and Roger Clemens. And if they did, the juice doesn’t seem to have done much good in the years in question. We played better.

If you’re an ungenerous Red Sox fan, what you’re really hoping right now is that Derek Jeter will get fingered. He’s the Big Papi of the Yankees, the soul of the team, and if he were to get caught using, it would finally end all the sanctimony and the pretense that the problem was confined to a few bad apples. Alas, that’s unlikely to happen — Jeter really does seem to be a straight-shooter — but who can say for sure? No one seems completely above suspicion anymore.

Meanwhile, some of the finger-wagging should surely be redirected at Major League Baseball itself, which, together with the players union, for a long while chose to look the other way when the steroid question came up. The tests in 2003 were never intended to catch people, and the results were not supposed to be made public at all, let alone dribbled out in a way that seems designed to make headlines. Those early tests were an exercise in fact finding; the results shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

Nor should Congress get off the hook. The steroid hearings in Washington were exercises in moralizing and pontification that did little to shed light on the problem. For a start, we don’t know for certain how and whether steroids do much more than retard the effects of aging. And if that is the case, let’s ban them in the clubhouse but make them freely available to the middle-aged! Nor, despite all the horror stories, has it been scientifically proved how harmful steroids are — at least, the way baseball players use them. About all we know is that it’s just about impossible to design a foolproof test.

So what do we do? Hard to say, except that “cheating,” like it or not, has always been a part of baseball — before there were syringes there were amphetamines, or “greenies,” and bats that were corked — and that for the Boston faithful it makes little sense to dwell in the past or don sackcloth and pack up the World Series banners. We fans deserve them, even if the players don’t. And whom should we send them to, anyway? The Yankees? Don’t think so.