Tuesday was a big, big day for the New York Mets and the guy this site is named after. The New York Mets are the red-headed stepchild of Beav’s World. Literally and figuratively. Jay Flannelly loves Baseball and the Mets but the Mets drive him INSANE when they don’t play well—or smart. So, in 2017-18 he swore and yelled a lot from April to August and in his words, “found other things to do.” Well, Beav’s beloved team hired an agent to run the Mets. That is correct. A guy with no front office experience but with lots of baseball knowledge and contacts. He also represents several Mets stars led by Jacob de Grom, Noah Syndergaard, and Todd Frazier. Brodie Van Wagenen. His task? Turn around The Mets—a.k.a. the New York Mets—and restore Beav’s happiness. In other words, Put a Man on the Moon. I would like to point out that we did put a man on the Moon almost 50 years ago. I say this because the Mets are not the mess many in the media make them out to be. They do have obvious holes—catcher, bullpen, and another everyday outfielder. They have very good pitching, four exciting every day players, and veterans who missed time. Mickey Callaway got thru his first year as a manager and showed good improvement. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo and young infielders Ahmed Rosario and Jeff McNeil really took off in the second half of the season. The team got next to nothing out of Yoenis Cespedes and veterans OF Jay Bruce and 3B Frazier had injured depleted down seasons. If the Mets get two of these three turned around, Brodie gets real smart. I like what I see so far. The weirdness of this hire is what it is. But the Mets are the little sister—they are the Clippers, White Sox, and Jets. They cannot operate or think like the Lakers, Cubs and Giants. Outside-the-box thinking and a strong development system are big parts of competing. Think Billy Beane but with more money. Brodie will have a good front office and a fresh analytic approach combining with his own ideas. The key is getting better- short and long term. I am excited about the 2019 Mets and our new GM. Now get to work Brodie. And please, please don’t sign Manny Machado!!!!
Personal disclaimer here. I like D.J. Durkin. I got to know him in his season at Michigan (2015) and from everything I saw during his time here, he is a good man and coach. D.J. Durkin is a small part of the problem with the University of Maryland Football program. His issue and the death of a Terps player as well as this entire scandal can be summarized in one word: LEADERSHIP. A lack of it has landed Maryland in Beav’s Penalty Box. These are the facts. A player from the University died from a May workout and Maryland took full responsibility and blame. The training staff (hired by school) and strength and conditioning (hired by Durkin) coach were fired. Maryland investigated and wanted to retain Durkin. They announced this Tuesday after almost a two-month investigation. After outrage by alumni, students, much of the media, and some Terps players, the school president did an about-fire and canned D.J. Wednesday. What changed? Not the facts. The “leaders” of Maryland clearly cannot read tea leaves or make tough choices. Right or wrong, D.J. Durkin will always be linked to this death. His career is dead. He will never again be able to coach college, professional, high school, or even Pop Warner teams. Death is hard to come back from. Ask Boom Boom Mancini. How can he recruit a kid? Sit with parents and say I will take care of your son? HE CAN’T. And the people at Maryland knew that. Tuesday. And Wednesday. What they didn’t know was the outrage retaining damaged goods can do to the whole operation. Life is not fair. Football coaches must be tough, or they will not last. They must push kids because late in the fourth quarter when you’re beat up and tired, Mom and Dad cannot help. D.J. Durkin did not kill this poor kid. But the program he oversees did. And the University of Maryland was too stupid to figure this out. Leaders make tough decisions and because the Maryland administration tried an easy route, they now did more damage to an already awful situation. They can ponder that as they sit in Beav’s Penalty Box. He wanted to kick and two Division One programs would not let him start. Today Ryan Tice (Saline, MI HS) is a finalist for the Lou Groza Kicking award.and a big favorite in Beav's World. #LetsGo
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September 2019
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