I have two sisters, Irene and Sandra, a.k.a. Sandie, which is close enough to Sandy to give you the idea of what it was like growing up with two future hurricanes.
They really weren’t bad and, in retrospect, I think they probably treated their little brother well. And they have provided me (actually, it was our parents’ doing) with this unique position of having two consecutive hurricanes to strike the northeast named for close relatives.
My wife and I were fortunate to avoid Hurricane Irene 14 months ago; we were out of the country. Seeing that we didn’t miss Hurricane Sandy, I hope my sister Irene isn’t offended.
Living in Northern New Jersey, we missed the devastation that Sandy created farther south. We somehow didn’t even have much rain. What we had was ferocious wind and large trees toppling throughout the area, up the street, down the street, one tree landing on the roof of our neighbor behind us.
We lost power for four days, living without light and heat, not to mention computer, which is why I was forced to miss a column last week. Fortunately, the hurricane held off until the World Series was completed.
Based on the television ratings, this World Series was not watched by too many people besides me. I can understand that. The Series lasted only four games, and the first three offered nothing dramatic.
The result was a cumulative 7.6 rating for Fox and 12.7 million viewers, both all-time lows for the World Series. If you’re looking for a clue to explain that record low, know that the previous low was 8.4, registered twice, most recently in 2010, a Series that also involved the San Francisco Giants.
They might have won two of the last three World Series, but they have not attracted baseball fans and they wreaked havoc on the television ratings, which have registered single-digit ratings only three times, including the Giants’ two triumphs.
Maybe it’s time for Commissioner Bud Selig to take drastic action to improve World Series ratings. What could he do? I have an idea. He could link the outcome of the World Series to homefield advantage for the following season’s All-Star game. That would surely get fans watching again.
Baseball, meanwhile, averted a potential disaster. Had the New York Yankees been the American League pennant winner and performed better than Detroit, the World Series could have run smack into Sandy. Who knows what the outcome of that matchup would have been?
We know the outcome of the Yankees’ encounter with another Sandy. That was a fellow named Koufax, and he blew through the Yankees in Games 1 and 4 of the 1963 World Series, permitting three runs in two complete games in leading the Dodgers to a four-game sweep in one of the greatest post-season pitching performances.
Some other Sandy’s played in the majors, though not many and none as great as Koufax, among them: Alomar Sr., Alomar Jr., Amoros, Valdespino, Vance, Rosario, Martinez, Ullrich, Burk, Griffin.
Not overlooking the front office, we have Sandy Alderson, general manager of the New York Mets, and Sandy Johnson, who was vice president of scouting for the Mets under Alderson’s predecessor, Omar Minaya.
My sister Sandie, apparently not wanting to be linked to a hurricane, tried to convince me that this Sandy was male. However, I quickly disabused her of that notion.
Searching Google, I found that hurricanes are not given names. Tropical storms are, and if they become hurricanes they retain their names. On the list of tropical storm names for 2012, Sandy comes between Rafael and Tony. She’s female, all right.
ADD “INGRATE” TO VALENTINE RESUME
Bobby Valentine is gone but not forgotten. How could anyone possibly forget Valentine? His outrageous comments make him unforgettable.
Most recently, not long after he lost what should be his last major league managing job, Valentine disparaged David Ortiz, the most popular member of the Boston Red Sox. Valentine’s remark that Ortiz quit on the team in the last six weeks of the season was a perfect bookend to the way he began the season – by disparaging Kevin Youkilis, one of the fans’ favorite players.
In a television interview, Valentine referred to the blockbuster trade the Red Sox made with the Dodgers Aug. 25, sending Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and the injured Carl Crawford to Los Angeles.
Then the deposed manager said of Ortiz, “He realized that this trade meant that we’re not going to run this race and we’re not even going to finish the race properly and he decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there.”
Valentine’s comment prompted this e-mail from a Brooklyn reader:
“After I read what the ex-Red Sox manager had said about the Boston DH, I thought I recalled an article about their relationship back during the season. I was right….What an ingrate. At this point I do not think the fellow will ever get a job in baseball again unless it is to sweep out the locker room.”
The reader referred to an article he read in August about Ortiz and Valentine
“I think Bobby’s doing great, man,” Ortiz told reporters. “He had to deal with so many things through the season, a lot of guys’ injuries. I guarantee if we don’t have that many guys go onto the d.l. this year, history would be different this year, and all the talks and negativity that have come out against him, I don’t think it would be there.”
Ortiz absolved Valentine of blame because he was managing an injury-riddled team. “I don’t think people should be looking at it like it’s his fault we struggled the way we have this year,” he added.
But there was Valentine two months later speaking ill of the man who defended him. After suffering a strained Achilles July 16, Ortiz played only one game the rest of the season, the day before the trade.
After the season, Valentine added insult to injury, too busy talking to remember something nice someone said about him, though such comments are so rare he should remember them.
NOTHING FREE FOR DODGERS BUT PLENTY THERE
Which of these free-agent outfielders will the Los Angeles Dodgers sign: Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn? Will they also sign Zack Greinke? What about Rafael Soriano?
Those players seem to be the most attractive players on the market this free-agent season, and being the most attractive usually means the most expensive. The Dodgers seem to be prepared to spend a lot of money because, under the new ownership, they have it or soon will have it.
Talk in baseball circles is the Dodgers could sign a television deal with Fox for between $3 billion and $4 billion. Yes, that’s a B.
“Comcast has the Lakers,” a baseball executive said, referring to the N.B.A.’s Los Angeles franchise, “and Fox can’t lose the Dodgers.”
Whether the new owners of the Dodgers are prepared to spend with or without Fox money, they signaled their willingness to spend and their determination to win when they committed $263 million in salaries in their trade last August for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.
With those parameters, the Dodgers could easily sign Greinke, the best starting pitcher available, and Hamilton or Upton, the best hitters available. For good measure, throw in Soriano, who filled in nicely as the Yankees’ closer for Mariano Rivera.
Signing three players – a hitter and two pitchers – would be reminiscent of the Yankees’ signing of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett in a two-week period in December 2008 for a total of $423.5 million.
The Dodgers will not be shy about spending to upgrade the team that next season will want to dislodge the San Francisco Giants as National League West champions, not to mention winners of the World Series two of the last three years.
Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president, and general manager Ned Colletti have made it clear that they are prepared to spend for the right players, and those free agents seem to fit the description.
Demonstrating a widespread intention to build a championship, the Dodgers have bulked up their front office, hiring Gerry Hunsicker away from Tampa Bay and Bob Engle away from Seattle. Hunsicker was named senior adviser for baseball operations and Engle vice president of international scouting.
“Our new ownership’s directive is to strengthen the Dodgers’ scouting, both domestically and internationally,” Colletti said in a statement accompanying Engle’s hiring. “Developing future players through heightened scouting is paramount to the long-term success of the Dodgers’ organization.”
POST-SEASON PAYROLL WRAP-UP
In the end, payroll mattered.
When the post-season began, five of the 10 teams had payrolls among the bottom 16, five among the top nine. In the National League playoffs, the team with the higher payroll won each of the four matchups. In the American League, the higher-spending team won two and the lower-spending team won two.
One of those lower-spending teams, the No. 5 Tigers, ousted the No. 1 Yankees and went to the World Series, where they played and lost to the No. 6 Giants. However, only $1.95 million separated the payrolls of the teams, according to payrolls computed by the commissioner’s office based on Aug. 31 rosters and disabled list.