"THE METS AND THE BOBBY VALENTINE STORY - OR WHY ARE THE INMATES IN CHARGE OF THE ASYLUM?"

Hi Friends!

It has been a rough couple of days for me. This past weekend my brother Peter - who lives in DC - went to visit our Dad, who is incarcerated - oops I mean "living" - in a nursing home down in Boynton Beach, Florida. It was the first visit to see Dad since our Mom passed away in February. Naturally Peter found numerous problems that neither of us had been notified about; particularly disturbing was the fact that the part-time aides that we pay for - to give Dad some individual attention for a few hours each day - had ignored their responsibility to keep their boss informed of the problems (who would have notified me). Without going into the specific issues...well, it's very disturbing. I am a sensitive person and the fact that my father is suffering hits me very hard....

Well, there's only one thing to do now...talk about sports! Opium for the masses?...fine with me!  I am still that ten-year-old boy when I root for my Mets, my life is ahead of me - and I can handle almost anything that comes my way. And the Mets - win or lose - are always going to be my team. By-the way, they continue to do very well, another well-played victory last evening, a struggling Ike Davis with a game-deciding home run, and both a terrific run-saving catch AND a home run from Jason Bay. (From all reports Jason Bay is old-school: works hard, plays the game even harder, the most supportive of teammates. Yeah, OK - so he makes more money in a year than I will make in a lifetime. So what? An old-school ballplayer.  No one should be booing Jason Bay.  No way.

That brings me to the latest adventures of Bobby Valentine, currently the new Red Sox manager, the Mets manager once-upon-a-time. I always felt that Valentine, despite somewhat of an abrasive personality, was one hell of a manager - the best Met manager this side of the late Gil (1969 "impossible Dream") Hodges. In late 1996 Valentine took over a Mets team that had been miserably under-achieving for a number of years despite the investment by the owners in quite a few high-priced free agents (Wilpon-knockers please note) and immediately transformed the team into a contender. Capable of playing in September games that mattered. Valentine's Mets even gave the legendary 1990s Atlanta Braves a run for their money in the 1999 playoffs. And won 94 games and made it into the 2000 World Series (to be soundly defeated by the powerful Yankeees). Did I  mention the fact that Valentine accomplished this feat with an outfield consisting of Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Derek Bell. Who?

The 2012 Red Sox evidently have some issues. The team is off to a poor start. And so Valentine publicly criticized one of his best players, Kevin Youkillis, questioning Mr. Youkillis' commitment to the game. WHAT? A manager criticizing one his players for not working hard enough? Oh my God!!! Burn Bobby burn! Coming down on a player - and in public yet!

Bobby Valentine is an intelligent person who evidently decided to take this motivational approach. Whether his assessment of Youkillis is correct may be open to discussion. But if the manager feels he cannot get through to his team using other methods - well, more power to him. According to USA today, Kevin Youlillis makes $12, 250,000. Let him take some heat.

What disturbs me is that some people question Valentine's right to criticize a player - as opposed to the veracity of the comments - or even the fact that it was made publicly. He's not supposed to make such a judgement upon Mr. Youkillis' level of motivation.?  It will hurt the player's feelings? What kind of nonsense is that? Tough. Bobby Valentine is the manager. He's the boss. He can make these judgements. In fact, he's paid to make them. And take players to task if he feels it is necessary. Note that another Red Sox player (Dustin Pedrosia) was upset with Valentine's comments, stating "that's not the way we [i.e. the Sox] go about our stuff around here." Yeah. Right. Isn't this the same team who got their two-time World Series winning manager - Terry Francona - fired for losing control of the clubhouse?

Just once I would like someone to be a mensch and say to their boss, "Thank you for bringing the problem to my attention. I will try to do better." I won't hold my breath. Not in America 2012. No one owns up to their mistakes, accepts responsibility. Bring an issue to the attention of the medical practitioner, the restaurant server, the guy manning the Verizon help-desk, the public servant, the gas station attendant - the PC technical support person  - it doesn't matter. Why are you critiquing them? More importantly - how dare you? "How can you treat/abuse me this way? You damn SOB!!" I ran an office once upon a time. No matter how kindly I brought a problem to a subordinates' attention, I got back the usual response: how could I be so mean, cruel, or insensitive? "Why - Mr. Beck - you're so mean you make mean bosses seem nice!" You're harassing me....


I like Terry Collins, the current Mets manager. Also an old-school guy. But I have missed Bobby Valentine. More power to him. Hey- if Mr. Youkillis annoys you, sit him down - don't play him. (Well that won't happen - but one can dream, can't one?)

Sports. The Mets. Bobby Valentine. I was feeling better. Then Dad's facility finally called back to discuss some of the ongoing issues. Ms. Jones...I could hear it in her voice. How dare I bring these problems to her attention? She's doing the best she can! Why - I was being unreasonable! Actually  - gasp!  communicating!   Advocating for my Dad - and expecting her to address my concerns and come up with appropriate solutions...these issues...no, no! - they weren't her fault...how dare I? How could I possibly be so...mean?

That's all for now.  Until then,
Stevenn