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Jerry Rants and Raves about some of his favorite, and least favorite, subjects.

I suppose I could have just as easily entitled this piece, “The Return of the Hublet”, as I have a little bit to say about a variety of topics, and not that much to say about any one of them. I do, however, feel strongly enough of about several of them that I wanted to lay a “rant’ or “rave” upon them. The “whatever” designation is for those topics that are more observational in nature, and although I may have vague concerns about them, they are intended more as points for discussion.

Whatever: Too Much Little League?

Has the coverage of Little League gone too far? (ESPN.com)
Has the coverage of Little League gone too far? (ESPN.com)

Because I likely completely confused you with my definition of a “whatever”, I thought I would start with one. I am bothered by all the ESPN coverage of Little League Baseball, without actually knowing why. Maybe it’s because of all the discussion of late around the millions of dollars college athletes are generating for their programs and the NCAA, without being able to share in any of it. There is already controversy being generated by the TV coverage of high school football, and now we want to push that into the little leagues? Maybe I’m overreacting, but you know that when big dollars for TV rights start showing up, the problems and concerns that come with them will too. The competition to get your team national exposure is sure to lead to cheating either in fake birth certificates with the little leaguers and/or PEDs in the high school game. Time will tell….

Whatever 2: Gaining Ground:

The Rays haven't been gaining much ground lately. (Tampa Bay Times)
The Rays haven’t been gaining much ground lately. (Tampa Bay Times)

Could you imagine how far ahead the Red Sox could be right now if they had been playing well over the past few weeks. They’ve only gone 6-4 over their last ten gains, but have a 4 game lead over the slumping Rays, who have gone 2-8, with 6 straight losses. Fortunately, for the Sox, no one else in the East has done better than 5-5. It wasn’t that long ago when the AL East was considered by many to be the best division in baseball. I don’t hear anyone saying that anymore…

Rant: RGIII

Has RGIII gone too far with his playing demands? (Yahoo! Sports)
Has RGIII gone too far with his playing demands? (Yahoo! Sports)

I get that the young Mr. Griffin is an intelligent and gifted young man, but he may very well have cost his team a shot at a championship last season when he was on the field when he was clearly too hurt to be effective, and now he’s trying to circumvent his coach by going directly to the media to get playing time in the exhibition season. Seriously? You are 23 years old and have been a pro for one year. Don’t you think that Coach Shanahan has the best interest of the entire team in mind when he says he’s going to hold you out for the pre-season? Can’t someone stop him from giving press conference?

Rant: Redskins?

Isn't it about time Dan Synder woke up? (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Isn’t it about time Dan Synder woke up? (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Speaking of Washington; isn’t it about time that Commissioner Goodell and the rest of the owners, forced Washington owner Dan Snyder to change the nickname of the franchise? It is clearly is the right thing to do. If he can’t be convinced on moral grounds, maybe they could appeal to his business sense. Snyder seems like the type who would jump at the opportunity to change the team shirt in hope of increased profit from its sales. Besides, shouldn’t the team from our nation’s capital have red, white, and blue for their colors?

Rave: Zach Zudfeld

It's hard not to get excited about this guy. (Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)
It’s hard not to get excited about this guy. (Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)

The Boston media is having trouble containing itself when it comes to the 6’7″, 260 pound rookie tight end from Nevada. The long haired Zudfeld has had a strong camp, getting a great deal of work with the starting offense. He apparently has good speed as well as good hands, and could go a long way to helping the Patriots to replace Aaron Hernandez. Let’s just hope he can keep it up when the games actually count.

Rave: Shane Victorino:

Shane  Victorino
Victorino’s been a great addition to the Sox outfield. (Kevin Ma/Boston Herald)

Shane Victorino has been a nice addition to the Red Sox line up this year, as illustrated by his contributions to a recent extra innings victory in Toronto. He had a stolen base, he threw out Jose Reyes at the plate in the sixth inning for his 8th assist of the season and then drove in the winning runs in the 11th inning with a two out, two strike single. His strong throwing arm has actually got us old timers comparing him to Dwight Evans, who patrolled right field for the Sox from 1972 to 1990. Very high praise indeed.

About Jerry Ballgame

The personification of "old school", Jerry Ballgame was born in the shadow of Dr. Naismith's peach basket, and baptized in that "Dirty Water." Designated by his "Uncle" Ted, to keep an eye on things, he's here to tell everyone what his view is like from the Hub of the Universe.