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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
From Fenway fantasy to Jagsonville reality
Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette provides weekly content for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Friday July 11.
You'd think I'd be able to take a two-day vacation to Fenway Park in Boston with my son for his 16th birthday without the Jaguars dominating the "breaking news" bulletins before boarding the plane on my return flight.
I know the team is disappointed on how season-ticket sales are going, but having a first-round draft pick arrested for cocaine possession, plus a newspaper report about a new owner possibly buying the team and moving it to Los Angeles, isn't exactly a way to get customers to rush to the ticket window.
Nothing the Jaguars can do now about receiver Matt Jones' stupidity other than cut their losses and move on. If they don't release him before training camp, it's simply going to create a distraction that the team doesn't need when they're in position to seriously challenge the Indianapolis Colts for AFC South supremacy.
As for the Philadelphia Daily News report that New Jersey billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos is negotiating with Weaver to purchase the team, we only have Weaver's denials against the newspaper's view that they stand by their story. My take is Weaver will sell this team sometime in the next 3-6 years and try to make sure the next owner keeps the team in Jacksonville, but he can make no guarantee with 100 percent certainty that it will happen.
When I returned to Jacksonville Thursday afternoon, which was supposed to be a vacation day, the feel-good experience of taking my son to see his beloved Red Sox (I grew up a New York Yankees fan) had to be temporarily put aside to focus on writing about the Jaguar developments.
It's two weeks before training camp. Couldn't we have at least gotten a break from Jaguar talk until it becomes almost 24/7 teal-and-black discussion? Guess not.
Anyway, be sure to check out my Sunday column in the Times-Union about the father-son memory of going to Fenway Park together for the first time. If you like home runs and Neil Diamond, it'll be right in your wheelhouse.
You'd think I'd be able to take a two-day vacation to Fenway Park in Boston with my son for his 16th birthday without the Jaguars dominating the "breaking news" bulletins before boarding the plane on my return flight.
I know the team is disappointed on how season-ticket sales are going, but having a first-round draft pick arrested for cocaine possession, plus a newspaper report about a new owner possibly buying the team and moving it to Los Angeles, isn't exactly a way to get customers to rush to the ticket window.
Nothing the Jaguars can do now about receiver Matt Jones' stupidity other than cut their losses and move on. If they don't release him before training camp, it's simply going to create a distraction that the team doesn't need when they're in position to seriously challenge the Indianapolis Colts for AFC South supremacy.
As for the Philadelphia Daily News report that New Jersey billionaire C. Dean Metropoulos is negotiating with Weaver to purchase the team, we only have Weaver's denials against the newspaper's view that they stand by their story. My take is Weaver will sell this team sometime in the next 3-6 years and try to make sure the next owner keeps the team in Jacksonville, but he can make no guarantee with 100 percent certainty that it will happen.
When I returned to Jacksonville Thursday afternoon, which was supposed to be a vacation day, the feel-good experience of taking my son to see his beloved Red Sox (I grew up a New York Yankees fan) had to be temporarily put aside to focus on writing about the Jaguar developments.
It's two weeks before training camp. Couldn't we have at least gotten a break from Jaguar talk until it becomes almost 24/7 teal-and-black discussion? Guess not.
Anyway, be sure to check out my Sunday column in the Times-Union about the father-son memory of going to Fenway Park together for the first time. If you like home runs and Neil Diamond, it'll be right in your wheelhouse.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
An empty feeling at Coke Zero 400
Florida Times-Union sports columnnist Gene Frenette provides weekly content for jacksonville.com This is his entry from Saturday July 5 at the Coke Zero 400.
From the tower press box at Daytona International Speedway, you can get a bird's-eye view of how the sagging economy is impacting NASCAR.
At the start of Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, the back-stretch grandstand that holds approximately 60,000 people is easily two-thirds to three-quarters empty. And there's significant stretches of green grass on the infield which, under normal circumstances, would be filled with motor homes.
The main grandstand with a maximum capacity of around 100,000 looks pretty full, but the significant dropoff in turnout was pretty much expected from pre-race estimates that were privately offered by NASCAR officials.
NASCAR fans are among the most loyal in all of sports. But when the economic climate is as bleak as it is now, it proves that an organization as solvent as NASCAR cannot escape the effects of people's pocketbooks not being as flush as usual.
From the tower press box at Daytona International Speedway, you can get a bird's-eye view of how the sagging economy is impacting NASCAR.
At the start of Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, the back-stretch grandstand that holds approximately 60,000 people is easily two-thirds to three-quarters empty. And there's significant stretches of green grass on the infield which, under normal circumstances, would be filled with motor homes.
The main grandstand with a maximum capacity of around 100,000 looks pretty full, but the significant dropoff in turnout was pretty much expected from pre-race estimates that were privately offered by NASCAR officials.
NASCAR fans are among the most loyal in all of sports. But when the economic climate is as bleak as it is now, it proves that an organization as solvent as NASCAR cannot escape the effects of people's pocketbooks not being as flush as usual.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Jacksonville really is Major League
Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette provides weekly content for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Thursday June 26.
Jacksonville's reputation as a football town is currently undergoing a makeover. That's because the city is fast becoming just as much a pipeline for Major League Baseball as it is an NFL factory.
With the recent promotions of third baseman Brian Buscher, a Parker High graduate, to the Minnesota Twins and former Wolfson High pitcher Eric Hurley to the Texas Rangers, there are now an all-time record eight players who played high school ball in the Jacksonville area up in the big leagues, though Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ryan Freel (Englewood) is still on the disabled list. Last season, there were nine players from the Jacksonville area on a regular-season NFL roster.
Making this infusion of local baseball talent to the major leagues even more impressive is that many of the players are having a significant impact on their teams. They're not just taking up space on the bench.
Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones of The Bolles School is leading the National League in hitting at .394, along with 16 home runs and 46 RBI. Though he's nursing a quadriceps injury, Jones, who may return for Friday night's game at Toronto, is the leading vote-getter to be the NL's starting third baseman in the July 15 All-Star game.
Howie Kendrick, a West Nassau High product and starting second baseman for the first-place Los Angeles Angels, is hitting a respectable .318 with 15 RBI after missing six weeks this season with a hamstring injury. Busher, who was recalled by the Twins from Triple-A Rochester two weeks ago, has been on a hitting tear. He raised his average to .375 after hitting a ninth-inning home run Tuesday night off all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres.
Two former Bishop Kenny High stars, Jonathan Papelbon and Darren O'Day, are getting it done out of the bullpen. Papelbon, one of the game's elite closers, is 3-2 with a 2.08 earned run average and 23 saves for the Boston Red Sox. O'Day, a situational reliever for the Angels, is 0-1 with a 4.07 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City on June 9.
Hurley has started three games for the Rangers, going 0-1 with two no decisions and a 4.24 ERA. He has nine strikeouts and five walks in 17 innings.
The only local player struggling right now is Philadelphia Philies starter Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51 ERA), an Englewood product. Myers has allowed a major-league high 23 home runs in 16 starts.
Besides Jacksonville's eight big-leaguers, there's some promising prospects in the minor leagues that could be called up by September, maybe sooner. Hurley's teammate at Wolfson, Billy Butler, was up with the Kansas City Royals as their designated hitter before being optioned to Triple-A Omaha a few weeks ago. He's hitting .337 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI in 26 games, so he could be recalled any time.
Mat Gamel, a third baseman for the Double-A Huntsville Stars, has been a nightmare for Southern League pitchers with a leading .373 batting average and 67 RBI, and is second only to teammate Matt LaPorta in home runs with 15. Gamel was selected Thursday to the U.S. team for the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium on July 13. One of the top prospects for the Milwaukee Brewers, he could also be playing in the Olympics in Beijing in August.
Two other players in Double-A, former Englewood third baseman Dan Murphy with Binghamton in the Eastern League, and second baseman Corey Wimberly (Ribault) with Tulsa in the Texas League, are also having solid seasons that could warrant future big-league promotions.
Jacksonville will likely always have more passion for football. But when it comes to producing talent that can make it on the biggest stage, baseball is right up there.
Jacksonville's reputation as a football town is currently undergoing a makeover. That's because the city is fast becoming just as much a pipeline for Major League Baseball as it is an NFL factory.
With the recent promotions of third baseman Brian Buscher, a Parker High graduate, to the Minnesota Twins and former Wolfson High pitcher Eric Hurley to the Texas Rangers, there are now an all-time record eight players who played high school ball in the Jacksonville area up in the big leagues, though Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ryan Freel (Englewood) is still on the disabled list. Last season, there were nine players from the Jacksonville area on a regular-season NFL roster.
Making this infusion of local baseball talent to the major leagues even more impressive is that many of the players are having a significant impact on their teams. They're not just taking up space on the bench.
Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones of The Bolles School is leading the National League in hitting at .394, along with 16 home runs and 46 RBI. Though he's nursing a quadriceps injury, Jones, who may return for Friday night's game at Toronto, is the leading vote-getter to be the NL's starting third baseman in the July 15 All-Star game.
Howie Kendrick, a West Nassau High product and starting second baseman for the first-place Los Angeles Angels, is hitting a respectable .318 with 15 RBI after missing six weeks this season with a hamstring injury. Busher, who was recalled by the Twins from Triple-A Rochester two weeks ago, has been on a hitting tear. He raised his average to .375 after hitting a ninth-inning home run Tuesday night off all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres.
Two former Bishop Kenny High stars, Jonathan Papelbon and Darren O'Day, are getting it done out of the bullpen. Papelbon, one of the game's elite closers, is 3-2 with a 2.08 earned run average and 23 saves for the Boston Red Sox. O'Day, a situational reliever for the Angels, is 0-1 with a 4.07 ERA since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City on June 9.
Hurley has started three games for the Rangers, going 0-1 with two no decisions and a 4.24 ERA. He has nine strikeouts and five walks in 17 innings.
The only local player struggling right now is Philadelphia Philies starter Brett Myers (3-9, 5.51 ERA), an Englewood product. Myers has allowed a major-league high 23 home runs in 16 starts.
Besides Jacksonville's eight big-leaguers, there's some promising prospects in the minor leagues that could be called up by September, maybe sooner. Hurley's teammate at Wolfson, Billy Butler, was up with the Kansas City Royals as their designated hitter before being optioned to Triple-A Omaha a few weeks ago. He's hitting .337 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI in 26 games, so he could be recalled any time.
Mat Gamel, a third baseman for the Double-A Huntsville Stars, has been a nightmare for Southern League pitchers with a leading .373 batting average and 67 RBI, and is second only to teammate Matt LaPorta in home runs with 15. Gamel was selected Thursday to the U.S. team for the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium on July 13. One of the top prospects for the Milwaukee Brewers, he could also be playing in the Olympics in Beijing in August.
Two other players in Double-A, former Englewood third baseman Dan Murphy with Binghamton in the Eastern League, and second baseman Corey Wimberly (Ribault) with Tulsa in the Texas League, are also having solid seasons that could warrant future big-league promotions.
Jacksonville will likely always have more passion for football. But when it comes to producing talent that can make it on the biggest stage, baseball is right up there.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
A Giant contract number for Posey?
Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette offers weekly commentary for jacksonville. com This is his entry for Thursday June 5.
With Florida State superstar Buster Posey being selected fifth by the San Francisco Giants in Thursday's Major League Baseball free agent draft, the hard part now will be coming to contract terms with the Seminoles' All-American catcher.
SIgning bonuses have been a tricky negotiation for clubs and agents over the past decade. With ESPN reporting that Posey wants as much as $12 million, speculation will escalate that it could be a long, drawn-out process before Posey begins his professional baseball career.
Posey, who leads all of college baseball in batting average (.468), slugging percentage (.897) and on-base percentage (.572), was the MVP of last weekend's Tallahassee NCAA regional and is a finaist for the Golden Spikes award, symbolic of the nation's top collegiate player. The question becomes how much is signing the consensus top defensive catcher and one of the best power hitters around worth to the Giants, who are weak at the position in their farm system.
Major League Baseball has had a "slotting" system in place since 2000 as a way of helping its teams sign the top drafted players without paying runaway prices for their services. However, the richer teams like the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox have been known to pay well above the slotting price to obtain the services of players they covet.
Posey, considered to be ready for the big leagues within two years, will likely want far above the approximate $3 million slotting price for someone in the No. 5 spot.
Last year, Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters was taken with the fifth pick and was given a signing bonus of $6 million by the Baltimore Orioles, more than double the $2.475 million bonus handed to Clemson pitcher Daniel Moskos, who was picked at No. 4 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wieters is a client of agent Scott Boras, who has a reputation of demanding well above market value for his draft picks.
Posey will be represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which has recently ventured into the sports field after being the exclusive domain for actors, directors and music artists for decades.
Posey, who still has one year of eligibility left at FSU, has until the start of fall classes to sign a contract with the Giants. He could elect to return for his senior year, but it's doubtful his value will be any higher than it is at the moment.
In 1997, Boras client and FSU outfielder J.D. Drew was the No. 2 pick by the Philadelphia Phillies, but turned down a $3 million signing bonus and went back into the following draft in 1998. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and received an $8 million signing bonus.
Since then, Major League Baseball has tried to keep signing bonuses from getting out of hand, but the final price tag is at the discretion of the individual club. The San Francisco Giants don't have a reputation as a high-paying club when it comes to signing bonuses, but that could change with Posey.
With the aging Bengie Molina's contract expiring after the 2009 season, the Giants have no big-time catching prospects, though 21-year-old Pablo Sandoval got off to a hot start at Class A San Jose this season.
San Francisco desperately needs Posey, but it looks it's going to take a record signing bonus for them to get FSU's standout player in a Giant uniform.
With Florida State superstar Buster Posey being selected fifth by the San Francisco Giants in Thursday's Major League Baseball free agent draft, the hard part now will be coming to contract terms with the Seminoles' All-American catcher.
SIgning bonuses have been a tricky negotiation for clubs and agents over the past decade. With ESPN reporting that Posey wants as much as $12 million, speculation will escalate that it could be a long, drawn-out process before Posey begins his professional baseball career.
Posey, who leads all of college baseball in batting average (.468), slugging percentage (.897) and on-base percentage (.572), was the MVP of last weekend's Tallahassee NCAA regional and is a finaist for the Golden Spikes award, symbolic of the nation's top collegiate player. The question becomes how much is signing the consensus top defensive catcher and one of the best power hitters around worth to the Giants, who are weak at the position in their farm system.
Major League Baseball has had a "slotting" system in place since 2000 as a way of helping its teams sign the top drafted players without paying runaway prices for their services. However, the richer teams like the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox have been known to pay well above the slotting price to obtain the services of players they covet.
Posey, considered to be ready for the big leagues within two years, will likely want far above the approximate $3 million slotting price for someone in the No. 5 spot.
Last year, Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters was taken with the fifth pick and was given a signing bonus of $6 million by the Baltimore Orioles, more than double the $2.475 million bonus handed to Clemson pitcher Daniel Moskos, who was picked at No. 4 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wieters is a client of agent Scott Boras, who has a reputation of demanding well above market value for his draft picks.
Posey will be represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which has recently ventured into the sports field after being the exclusive domain for actors, directors and music artists for decades.
Posey, who still has one year of eligibility left at FSU, has until the start of fall classes to sign a contract with the Giants. He could elect to return for his senior year, but it's doubtful his value will be any higher than it is at the moment.
In 1997, Boras client and FSU outfielder J.D. Drew was the No. 2 pick by the Philadelphia Phillies, but turned down a $3 million signing bonus and went back into the following draft in 1998. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals and received an $8 million signing bonus.
Since then, Major League Baseball has tried to keep signing bonuses from getting out of hand, but the final price tag is at the discretion of the individual club. The San Francisco Giants don't have a reputation as a high-paying club when it comes to signing bonuses, but that could change with Posey.
With the aging Bengie Molina's contract expiring after the 2009 season, the Giants have no big-time catching prospects, though 21-year-old Pablo Sandoval got off to a hot start at Class A San Jose this season.
San Francisco desperately needs Posey, but it looks it's going to take a record signing bonus for them to get FSU's standout player in a Giant uniform.
Posey drafted No. 5 by Giants
Florida State All-American catcher Buster Posey, bypassed as the No. 1 pick Thursday in the Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, was taken fifth by the San Francisco Giants.
After the Rays took Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham with the top selection, Posey slid down to the No. 5 spot and will begin the process of negotiating a contract with the Giants after FSU finishes its 2008 season. The Seminoles will host Wichita State in the NCAA Super regional starting Friday and would advance to next week's College World Series in Omaha if they win the best-of-three regional.
ESPN reported after Posey was selected that he may be seeking as much as a $12 million signing bonus, an extraodinarily high number for the No. 5 pick because last year's top three picks only commanded around $6-9 million.
Posey, who leads the country in batting average (.468), slugging percentage (.897) and on-base percentage (.572), is also a finalist for the Golden Spikes award, symbolic of the nation's top collegiate player. If Posey elects not to sign with the Giants, he still has one year of eligibility left at FSU.
Posey, a native of Leesburg, Ga., has until the start of FSU's fall classes to sign with the Giants. If he signs a contract, he could be sent to the Giants' rookie-league team in Arizona or possibly one of their Class-A teams in Augusta, Ga.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Spurs prove they're not championship whiners
Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette provides weekly commentary for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Wednesday May 28.
The best part about Tuesday night's dramatic 93-91 victory by the Los Angeles Lakers over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Western Conference finals was how quickly the defending champion Spurs threw water on the postseason's biggest controversy.
Clearly, there was enough contact by the Lakers' Derek Fisher on San Antonio sharpshooter Brent Barry, who was 26 feet away from the basket with time running out, to warrant a foul call. Barry pump-faked, got Fisher up in the air and he landed akwardly on Barry's shoulder, which would have meant a two-shot foul because Barry didn't commit to a shot attempt.
Instead, official Joey Crawford let the play continue, which ended up with Barry's off-balance attempt clanging off the backboard. The way Barry initially threw up his arms in frustration while looking at Crawford, the feeling was the Spurs would soon be filling the airwaves with charges of "We wuz robbed."
But in the aftermath, with the Spurs now facing a 3-1 deficit, a beautiful thing happened. Spurs coach Greg Popovich did his part to defuse any controversy by saying he wouldn't have called a foul in that situation. Even Barry acknowledged afterwards that the game wasn't lost on a non-call, but on what transpired in the 48 minutes before it.
Isn't that what championship teams do? They hold themselves accountable. They don't take a game-ending moment, rip the official for a non-call, and blame someone else for why they're on the brink of elimination.
What made Popovich and Barry's post-game stance so admirable is the situation could have justified a foul being called because it was more than incidental contact. Fisher hit Barry fairly hard, but the Spurs understood that unless you're a superstar like Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan, you're probably not going to get the whistle in a critical, game-deciding moment like that.
The truth is, San Antonio didn't lose Game 4 because of what an official failed to do, but what the Spurs consistently failed to do: hit big shots. Every time the Spurs had a chance to take a lead, they couldn't hit the field goal that could have given the crowd at the AT&T Center a reason to provide the home team with a huge emotional lift.
Barry kept the Spurs in the game with a 23-point night, but Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen kept missing important shots that might have allowed San Antonio to seize control of the game instead of relying on a last-second whistle to rescue them.
The San Antonio Spurs' season is practically over because they must now win two games in Los Angeles to return to the NBA Finals. They had a chance to pull out a game they had no business winning, but they looked like a champion afterwards when the media gave them every opportunity to complain about a no-call.
Thankfully, the Spurs showed some class and sportsmanship by not whining. Sometimes, even after a crippling defeat, you can still come away looking like a champion.
The best part about Tuesday night's dramatic 93-91 victory by the Los Angeles Lakers over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Western Conference finals was how quickly the defending champion Spurs threw water on the postseason's biggest controversy.
Clearly, there was enough contact by the Lakers' Derek Fisher on San Antonio sharpshooter Brent Barry, who was 26 feet away from the basket with time running out, to warrant a foul call. Barry pump-faked, got Fisher up in the air and he landed akwardly on Barry's shoulder, which would have meant a two-shot foul because Barry didn't commit to a shot attempt.
Instead, official Joey Crawford let the play continue, which ended up with Barry's off-balance attempt clanging off the backboard. The way Barry initially threw up his arms in frustration while looking at Crawford, the feeling was the Spurs would soon be filling the airwaves with charges of "We wuz robbed."
But in the aftermath, with the Spurs now facing a 3-1 deficit, a beautiful thing happened. Spurs coach Greg Popovich did his part to defuse any controversy by saying he wouldn't have called a foul in that situation. Even Barry acknowledged afterwards that the game wasn't lost on a non-call, but on what transpired in the 48 minutes before it.
Isn't that what championship teams do? They hold themselves accountable. They don't take a game-ending moment, rip the official for a non-call, and blame someone else for why they're on the brink of elimination.
What made Popovich and Barry's post-game stance so admirable is the situation could have justified a foul being called because it was more than incidental contact. Fisher hit Barry fairly hard, but the Spurs understood that unless you're a superstar like Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan, you're probably not going to get the whistle in a critical, game-deciding moment like that.
The truth is, San Antonio didn't lose Game 4 because of what an official failed to do, but what the Spurs consistently failed to do: hit big shots. Every time the Spurs had a chance to take a lead, they couldn't hit the field goal that could have given the crowd at the AT&T Center a reason to provide the home team with a huge emotional lift.
Barry kept the Spurs in the game with a 23-point night, but Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen kept missing important shots that might have allowed San Antonio to seize control of the game instead of relying on a last-second whistle to rescue them.
The San Antonio Spurs' season is practically over because they must now win two games in Los Angeles to return to the NBA Finals. They had a chance to pull out a game they had no business winning, but they looked like a champion afterwards when the media gave them every opportunity to complain about a no-call.
Thankfully, the Spurs showed some class and sportsmanship by not whining. Sometimes, even after a crippling defeat, you can still come away looking like a champion.
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