essays & ephemera

The Red Stripes?

via www.ussoccerplayers.com

I really like this new look for Team USA. I'm sure it will cost an arm & a leg, and horizontal stripes make me look completely weird... but, I may just go in for this jersey. My birthday's coming up (*cough cough*).

With these jerseys, maybe we can get the team sponsored by Red Stripe beer? Wonder if Jamaica would be ok with that.

Raise a glass to jingoism! USA! USA!

And that's probably the last time you'll see a soccer-related post here. Carry on.

The Magic Dodgers

You’d have to look long and hard to find a more interesting, intriguing, compelling (I’m not even sure what the right word would be) sports figure of last half century or so than Magic Johnson.

Agree?

via thestar.blogs.com

I grew up watching this man battle Larry and the Celtics. I cursed him and his Baby Skyhook. I watched him humanize the fight against HIV and change the way we think about the disease. And it's amazing to watch what he continues to achieve. Be that as it may... Beat LA!

Lou Gorman has died

 Lou Gorman, the man who put the 1986 Red Sox World Series team together, has died after a year-long illness.  He was 82.

via www.tedsarmy.com

RIP, Lou.

I hope the team pays tribute to Lou, who was an important figure in the Red Sox organization for many years.

Go Petey! (Go Phillies!) #yankeessuck

Jacoby Ellsbury: Entrepreneur

Last Sunday Jacoby Ellsbury, the young centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox, took a long lead off of third base against Yankee's veteran Andy Pettite and made a mad dash for home (minute 1:06, streaking blur from the left).  And he pulled it off.  It was a bold move, almost ludicrously bold, given that the bases were loaded and sometimes-spectacular-always-effortless JD Drew was at bat.  It was bold.  It was risky.  But it wasn't stupid (even if he had been caught).  It was a calculated risk given the context, taken by a talented and prepared individual with the support of his organization.  In short, Jacboy acted like an entrepreneur.  He read the market, took a big risk, stumbled along the way, but slid in for the run.

1. The Sox scouting report calls out the fact that Pettite often pitches from the wind-up with men on base.  And Jacoby was looking for it.  The Sox also give Jacoby the permanent green light.  They trust him to make the right decision.
2. Since Pettite was indeed pitching from the wind-up it meant his delivery would be a few fractions of a second slower than if he were pitching from the stretch.
3. The Yankees were playing Drew to pull the ball.  Instead of minding Ellsbury and the hot corner, thirdbaseman Berroa was yards away, giving the basestealer precious room to roam.
4. Oh.  And Jacoby is fast.  Damn fast.  Fast enough to turn preparation into success.  Fast enough to run through a stumble.  Fast enough to execute given the context and his preparation.

I'm not one of those people that equates baseball to life and vice versa (though I am guilty of tearing up when Billy Chapel gets his perfecto), but still I think there are commercial and life lessons to be learned from Ellsbury's theft.  If you're prepared and talented you can minimize what seems like overwhelming risk.  If your team trusts you, you can do amazing things.  Sam Allis has a great piece in today's Globe about how Ellsbury 90 foot jaunt reminds us that risk taking is critical in life, even in scary times.  Allis also notes that,

...Ellsbury is a rarity among base runners, whom we learn are a conservative lot. Most are like the rest of us, "risk averse" or "loss averse," depending on your preference. In 2007, a man named Ross Roley published a paper called "Runners' Reluctance." What he found was a deep commitment among runners to play it safe.

Who among us will not be 'like the rest of us' this year and more like young, entrepreneurial Jacoby?  Who will read their situation correctly and sprint for home?  I, for one, am going to try and think more like a basestealer this week.