Today's Max Kellerman show (Brian Kenny is still on vacation until July 9) was an unabashed homage to everything Yankee, although in my opinion things were taken a little bit to the extreme.
The show started with discussion as to why Robinson Cano is better than Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler (although both have batting averages more than sixty points higher and OPS' of two to three hundred points higher than Cano). Max then attempted to modify his statement by saying that Cano's All Star years were better than the years that Pedroia and Kinsler are putting up, but that also lacked objectivity as Kinsler is only five HRs shy of Cano's career season high and has more SBs this season then Cano has for his career.
The discussion then continued as to why Jason Varitek is undeserving of an all star appearance (true) and is "terrible in all facets of the game" and is the "worst catcher in the AL" (exaggerations) . While Varitek is having a poor year, he is tied for third in HRs and has a .300 OBP. Would I rank him as above average, definitely not. Would he be picked last out of all AL catchers? Only if the others who were picking hated the Red Sox.
Things started to get out of hand when Max got defensive about the Yankee farm system. When a discussion arose about what the Yankee farm system (vs other teams) has developed lately, he started to run off names of players that the Yankees have developed as a proof that they are "the best" at producing home grown talent. As part of the discussion, Max rattled off: Jeter, Cabrera, Cano, Posada, Brett Gardner (position players); Wang, Pettite, Rivera, Jose Veras, Edward Ramirez and David Robinson (pitchers).
The problem was that while some of the players are stars, others may turn out to be flashes in the pan, while some are not even original Yankees. Yes, Jeter and Posada are stars and Cano and Cabrera have to this point been above average players. But Brett Gardner? Who knows if he will be another Kevin Maas. To borrow a line from the Tuna, let's not put him in Cooperstown just yet (especially since he's hitting .143 with the Yankees and has never hit above .300 in any minor league season).
The discussion about pitching was also less than objective. While Wang, Rivera and Pettite have had distinguished careers, who is to say that any current young Yankee pitcher will even be in the majors in two years. And while he rattled off Edward Ramirez and Jose Veras as examples of Yankee farm developed talent, both of them came out of other organizations (Veras with TB and Texas, Ramirez with the Angels).
An interesting point made by Max was that when critiqued, players respond with cliche after cliche and "no one ever responds honestly in sports." In this regard, Max was right on the money, both in sports and in life. Rarely do we hear a manager say that his team is free falling without a prayer of stopping a collapse, even though everyone in the country knows it to be true. Similarly, players will try to hold on and never hang up their spikes (Brett Favre anyone?) even when it is clear that it is time to move on.
In this regard Max Kellerman's point is firmly grounded in Torah thought. The Torah teaches the mitzva of tochacha - of rebuking others when the situation demands it. We also see the value of receiving tochacha. From a logical standpoint, tochacha (when given honestly) can cause the recipient to improve his deeds and outlook. A person will attempt to justify his actions and will fail to view things objectively because he is too close to the situation. However, if he were to step back and view the situation from the objective standpoint of another, he might have different views. In this capacity, the Torah explains that one who accepts tochacha will be blessed as it seen from Medrash Rabba on Devarim 1:9, that Hashem said to Moshe, "Since the Jewish people accepted the tochacha, you must bless them. Immediately Moshe Rabbeinu blessed them. All who accept tochacha merit blessings."
The show started with discussion as to why Robinson Cano is better than Dustin Pedroia and Ian Kinsler (although both have batting averages more than sixty points higher and OPS' of two to three hundred points higher than Cano). Max then attempted to modify his statement by saying that Cano's All Star years were better than the years that Pedroia and Kinsler are putting up, but that also lacked objectivity as Kinsler is only five HRs shy of Cano's career season high and has more SBs this season then Cano has for his career.
The discussion then continued as to why Jason Varitek is undeserving of an all star appearance (true) and is "terrible in all facets of the game" and is the "worst catcher in the AL" (exaggerations) . While Varitek is having a poor year, he is tied for third in HRs and has a .300 OBP. Would I rank him as above average, definitely not. Would he be picked last out of all AL catchers? Only if the others who were picking hated the Red Sox.
Things started to get out of hand when Max got defensive about the Yankee farm system. When a discussion arose about what the Yankee farm system (vs other teams) has developed lately, he started to run off names of players that the Yankees have developed as a proof that they are "the best" at producing home grown talent. As part of the discussion, Max rattled off: Jeter, Cabrera, Cano, Posada, Brett Gardner (position players); Wang, Pettite, Rivera, Jose Veras, Edward Ramirez and David Robinson (pitchers).
The problem was that while some of the players are stars, others may turn out to be flashes in the pan, while some are not even original Yankees. Yes, Jeter and Posada are stars and Cano and Cabrera have to this point been above average players. But Brett Gardner? Who knows if he will be another Kevin Maas. To borrow a line from the Tuna, let's not put him in Cooperstown just yet (especially since he's hitting .143 with the Yankees and has never hit above .300 in any minor league season).
The discussion about pitching was also less than objective. While Wang, Rivera and Pettite have had distinguished careers, who is to say that any current young Yankee pitcher will even be in the majors in two years. And while he rattled off Edward Ramirez and Jose Veras as examples of Yankee farm developed talent, both of them came out of other organizations (Veras with TB and Texas, Ramirez with the Angels).
An interesting point made by Max was that when critiqued, players respond with cliche after cliche and "no one ever responds honestly in sports." In this regard, Max was right on the money, both in sports and in life. Rarely do we hear a manager say that his team is free falling without a prayer of stopping a collapse, even though everyone in the country knows it to be true. Similarly, players will try to hold on and never hang up their spikes (Brett Favre anyone?) even when it is clear that it is time to move on.
In this regard Max Kellerman's point is firmly grounded in Torah thought. The Torah teaches the mitzva of tochacha - of rebuking others when the situation demands it. We also see the value of receiving tochacha. From a logical standpoint, tochacha (when given honestly) can cause the recipient to improve his deeds and outlook. A person will attempt to justify his actions and will fail to view things objectively because he is too close to the situation. However, if he were to step back and view the situation from the objective standpoint of another, he might have different views. In this capacity, the Torah explains that one who accepts tochacha will be blessed as it seen from Medrash Rabba on Devarim 1:9, that Hashem said to Moshe, "Since the Jewish people accepted the tochacha, you must bless them. Immediately Moshe Rabbeinu blessed them. All who accept tochacha merit blessings."
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