Kevin Brown, the announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, is returning to the booth after being suspended for more than a week over some comments on air about the difficulty the Orioles have had playing Tampa Bay in the last few years. In reading the notes he was given, was he telling a story that some did not want out there? Many other announcers supported him for being able to say what he thought about the team’s record and argued that he should not have been suspended for telling the truth. Was he simply doing his job as a journalist? Were the Orioles using him as a scapegoat?
Mike Lorenzen, recently traded from Detroit to Philadelphia, pitched a no-hitter after eight innings with over 100 pitches in his debut home game, and his manager allowed him to finish out the ninth to clinch the win. Would Dave Roberts have allowed him to pitch that long in a game if he played for the Dodgers? When a pitcher is having that much success, does it make sense to have a set-up pitcher and closer in there as well? Should it be up to the pitcher, not the manager, to decide whether or not he can finish the game if a milestone achievement is at stake?
Many of the rules of baseball have changed under Rob Manfred. Has the game improved or been altered beyond recognition with the introduction of the pitch clock, the new base size, and defensive shift limits? Since there are no longer just four divisions, are the divisions broken down into the proper numbers for the postseason now that the seven playoff games have become six?
Could the Pac-12 have been saved if the deal with DirecTV had gone through? Did past commissioners drop the ball by having the Pac-12 Network running by itself on regular cable, thus hindering the opportunity to make the money necessary to keep the conference financially viable? Would the support of such a large media organization as DirecTV have kept the tradition-packed Pacific conference from imploding, spurring headliners UCLA and USC to move to the Big 10?
Email Fred, Art, and Andy with questions and comments at sportsfred@aol.com
