Vick, Donaghy Reflect Dark NFL, NBA Truths

Michael Vick and Tim Donaghy underscore negative fan perceptions of their respective leagues. Yet somehow Barry Bonds ends up making baseball fans feel better about their sport, even if the majority of fans choose to hate him openly.

Dogfighting is a startling analogy for the NFL itself. The vicious hits and spiteful taunting that have become commonplace create an environment where cruelty at times seems celebrated. Players flaunt a lack of concern for their peers’ safety (or even dignity, in the case of some taunting) in a way that feels mercenary and “dog eat dog”. Vick seems to have taken the delight in cruelty to a new level. That he would use his wealth and celebrity to create a veil of secrecy under which dogfights could take place really is a scary and powerful answer to the average fan’s question of what lies in the soul of an NFL player.

New NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can attempt to institute a culture shift and distance the league from Vick. David Stern is not so lucky with the Tim Donaghy nightmare, as referee control of games and excessive fouls are already the biggest problems with the NBA, even without gambling and fixing in the mix.

The NBA has constant whistle interruptions, the last minutes of games are sliced into infinite fractions of time, with commercials in between. The overblown arguments and clashes of wills between referees and players plays out like a pro wrestling match. A referee already has too much control over the game and it seems like he can easily change momentum for one team or another based on his mood if he, say, had some indigestion or had just gotten in a fight with his wife, or of course if he owed some money to the mob. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. As the league became a highlight reel, windmill dunk, sneaker commercial of a pro wrestling league with a ball, it also became whistle-heavy and scripted, and, it seems, totally corrupt.

Meanwhile, with Barry Bonds a homer away from Hank Aaron, MLB has had ages to get its story straight. The Bonds/steroids/record saga, for any young child watching baseball, is a massive passion play about how cheaters don’t win, and how crime does not pay. It’s still a significant number being crossed out of the record book, but Barry has been stripped of his fanfare and denied his celebration. He’s not exactly sitting on the beach sipping champagne having gotten away with the crime of the century.

Whereas the hate of racism stained Aaron’s chase, Barry’s pursuit has lost even more to hate. But it’s a reversal of the situation the heroic Aaron had to face. The anger against Barry is a righteous indignation, a diatribe against cheaters. It’s a dose of “justice of the people” meted out one booing fan, one clever sign, one perfectly timed media allegation at a time.

So while the NBA and NFL are totally caught with their pants down, MLB has become a forum through which good values and ideals ultimately get expressed and have a voice. The cycles and traditions of baseball have always been ingrained in American culture and always have been a mirror of the times, whether in the Black Sox Era, Jackie Robinson's first game, Aaron’s chase, and now Barry’s march, in what's already being called a Steroid "Era". Baseball will go on, Barry, ultimately will not really win, and people feel good about that.

Lastings by a Nail

The Mets 3-2 nail-biter was won by a fingernail. The fortunately unbitten fingernail on the outstretched finger of Lastings Milledge, who needed every millimeter of his digits as he glided just wide of the glove of Reds catcher David Ross, and scraped the corner of home plate for the Mets winning run. Milledge’s feet seemed to stutter-step as he left first early on the two out Ruben Gotay single, so the sneaky slide just barely made up enough for the time he lost before his speed kicked in.

Milledge was recalled from AAA New Orleans today, and represents some hustle and zip in the lineup, as the Mets waive goodbye to 57 year old Julio Franco, who is going straight into the Senior PGA. Also making the most of his opportunity was Gotay, playing second for the injured Jose Valentin, whose finger was bandaged up after breaking up a fight in Puerto Rico during the All Star break. The solid .342-hitting Gotay made team history homering back to back with Jose Reyes to start the game, which, oddly never happened since they started this crazy Mets journey back in 1962.

Its vexing that the veteran Valentin would get injured during what one assumes was a liquor- soaked late night situation during his shore leave from the Mets ship. Mets fans hope that looking back, Jose would rather the two combatants have bashed each other senseless while he lounged at home drinking mango juice and reading the Ted Williams book about hitting. While Gotay seems ready to be leaned on increasingly, its Milledge who will be quickly exposed if he fails. With the curse of injury to anyone who plays leftfield striking Moises Alou, Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez, fate turns the lasting glow of its spotlight to Lastings Milledge.

Billy Wagner meanwhile, managed to bounce back from the two run homer he allowed to the Indians’ Victor Martinez in the All Star Game with the save. There is a mental disconnect when you throw closers into the dreaded “non-save situation” during the Midsummer Classic, so it was reassuring to see Wagner return to his dominant form when back in his ninth inning role, with all the “save situation” theme music and ceremony he seems to require.

Mets' Maine Man

John Maine began his outing tonight in most auspicious fashion, becoming the first player in major league history to strike out four batters in an inning. Astros leadoff hitter Craig Biggio waved at a subterranean strike three slider, as did #2 hitter Hunter Pence. When #3 hitter Lance Berkman lost his bat in a flailing strike three attempt, it went flying into the on-deck circle, striking #4 hitter Carlos Lee and knocking him flat. Four batters felled in one swoop of a first inning.

Maine went on to fan a career high nine batters in the much needed, tide-turning 6-2 victory in Houston, coming after a late night escape flight that capped a brutal sweep by Colorado.

In the sixth, with runners on first and second and none out, Maine whistled a flame-trailing 94-mph offering high and tight past a lunging Berkman. Capitalizing on the big whiff, he crossed up Lee, who was way out ahead of a vicious and tantalizing slider for strike one. He later went back to the inside heat for a swinging strike three to Lee, and then got Loretta to pop up harmlessly, stepping right out of trouble with a calmness and even emotion you don’t usually see in second year players.

For seven solid innings the Astros offense was pushed down and prevented from breathing by the stifling Maine, until he ran out of gas in the eighth, 119 pitches deep. Lee, got his revenge with a run scoring double and scored himself on a Loretta single. With the score 5-2, the Mets were able to tiptoe out of further damage thanks to Pedro Feliciano, who struck out an angrily looking Morgan Ensberg, silenced the Astro rally and “set up” the closer Billy Wagner for a nice n easy ninth.

Maine’s rousing effort stopped some pretty serious Mets bleeding. After the Mets experienced a Rocky Mountain reduction of their psyche at the hands of Colorado – 47 Coors-aided hits and 34 runs allowed in 3 increasingly demoralizing losses - they were grateful for the poise of Maine and his instant heat out of the gate to set a different tone. Mets play-by-play guy Gary Cohen was inspired enough to anoint Maine as the Mets new “stopper”, and instantly the SNY cameras find the browbeaten visage of Tom Glavine in the dugout, who seemed to somehow sense that his inconsistent performance had just gotten him demoted out of that role.