Trial and Error

That title is also the title of a movie they give away at Papa John's with the purchase of a large something-or-other. I'm sure you remember the film, a classic courtroom comedy featuring Jeff Daniels and Michael Richards. It's well worth the price of a pizza, to be sure. Of course, if that particular movie doesn't suit you, there are other stellar options: "Casper and Friends," one of the greatest works from the friendliest ghost of all, and "Weekend at Bernie's II," because the original wasn't good enough. Oh yeah, Johnny Depp's "Don Juan DeMarco" is also on the list. I know I've ranted about this "special offer" before, but I saw another ad for it this weekend, so the fire's been re-stoked. Apologies.
Now back to the original purpose of the title, at least the latter half (and the half to which the linked article refers): Bill Mueller, 3 errors in game two of the World Series, Mark Bellhorn 1. Manny Ramirez, 2 errors in game one, Kevin Millar 1, Bronson Arroyo 1.
That's eight errors in two games for the Boston Red Sox, facing what was the best lineup in baseball during the regular season and somehow, they lead the series, 2-0.
Sports have to change with time, and since athletes are bigger, stronger and faster, all of the major sports have changed, some for the better and some for the worse. Baseball has seen its hitters get huge and hit more home runs than ever before, but pitchers haven't been able to make the same improvements (is it any wonder that three of the four best pitchers in baseball this year were old dudes?--Unit, Schill and Clemens to go with Johan Santana) and fielding has evidently become an unnecessary part of the game as well. The Sox made deals at the deadline to get better defensively--Mientkiewicz and Cabrera came in to provide the help--but it doesn't spell Manny from playing left field (how bad was he in game one, wow) or Ortiz from playing first now that the series moves to St. Louis (I'm looking forward to his play in the field more than anything else about this series). Millar isn't much of an upgrade there, and obviously Mueller doesn't know what he's doing at third. Despite the awful defense, the Sox are indeed up 2-0, so who cares, right?
I would venture to say that football is the sport that has benefited most from the new generation of athlete, because we're able to see more good players and good teams (also thanks to free agency and the salary cap) than ever before. More skill players: Moss, T-O and Marvin Harrison are all among the greatest receivers ever to play the game, and Culpepper, McNabb, Favre, Manning and Brady give us numerous great quarterbacks as well. There are bigger, stronger receivers (and tight ends), bigger, stronger defenders (guys like Sean Taylor playing safety--he would have been a linebacker 15-20 years ago) and it's been great for fans. Better players means a better game--and they've adapted the rules (this year's adjustment to the chuck rule, for example) to compensate. It's easily the most popular sport in America right now and rightfully so.
Basketball and hockey, on the other hand, have become less attractive sports in the last ten or fifteen years because of the bigger, stronger players. Pat Riley's Knicks started the move toward big bruisers and ugly, defensive basketball, and many hockey teams have gone the same route, with all the clutching and grabbing, designed to slow down the game and limit the effectiveness of the game's skill players. It sucks. Gretzky used to score 180-200 points a season (six straight years over 180 points), and now the league leaders don't even break a hundred. Again, it sucks. Nobody cares that the NHL players are locked out because nobody cares to watch the ugly NHL games these days. The NBA is having trouble keeping their fan base because of the bad offense, terrible shooting, and slow-down games. Who enjoys watching the Spurs and Pistons play? The Lakers have been the only reason to watch the NBA for the last five or six years--basically since MJ really retired, Wizards years not included--and now that Shaq and Kobe have split, they'll each be the leader of a new boring team. It sucks.
So I guess I'm thankful that I get to go to work every Sunday and watch the most popular sport in America (on 14 different monitors), watching these amazing athletes do their thing--especially when it's LT and company rolling to victory number four. Now that McCardell's in the mix, we've got a go-to receiver--look out, AFC. I can't believe we've already won four games.
Slow day at work today, I'd better enjoy it while it lasts. Peace.