Dierker criticizes his team and talks candidly with the media, pissing off most of his veteran players. Art Howe comes out and says the Yankees will be lucky to stay with us, they don't really stand a chance. Confidence vs Criticism. Man, I wish we had Art Howe. DaDakota
Maybe so, but with all the talk about adding speed, playing small-ball, (I'm a big proponent of this strategy) etc, let's look at the results: Game #1: Braves scored 5 of 7 runs on Home Runs Game #2: Braves lost 5 baserunners playing "small ball" (3 on hit-and-run line-out double plays, 2 on hit-and-run caught-stealings) For the A's, Game #1: Scored at least 3 of 5 runs on Home Runs (didn't watch the whole thing) Game #2: Scored 1 of 2 runs on Home Runs St. Louis: Game #2: Scored 2 runs on HR's In all cases, the HR hits were all that was needed to win any of those games. A's went 0-19 with runners in scoring position in those two games. If their pitching isn't outstanding, their offense is being criticized for their complete inability to hit in pressure situations. The Astros have scored more runs than the Yankees (also 0-2), the Cardinals (1-1), and the D-Backs (1-1).
A lot of people are saying that Dierker's seizure has caused himself to transform from a happy-go-lucky type person to one who has become a jerk, short with the media and highly cynical and critical....There are those that said look: I've been around Dierk almost my whole life and the the Dierk you see making bonehead calls is not the same guy I knew 10 - 15 years ago, who was brimming so full of baseball knowledge, and positive, happy demeanor...I mean, remember this guy ate, drank, and slept Baseball practically all his life. If anyone should know the inner workings of the game it should be him (this was mainly off the sports radio show) and it can't help, but think that Larry has not been the same since the seizure and it may have adversely affected his baseball decision-making abilities. After that, Russ or Charlie said Look: In no way am I saying Larry is suffering through dementia, but my father is 80 years old in a retirement home and suffered a stroke during his near retirement years and the progression of change was evident...He became a father I knew as patient, kind, and loving to one who slowly but surely regressed to one short-tempered, short and easily confused. Now, personally many know what I'm talking about and I really am worried about Larry's health. I've seen the signs and I know I am not a doctor to diagnose the situation, I can't help but think the events at the Astrodome, which caused Larry to suffer the seizure may have caused long-term adversity regarding how he was and how he is now. Several people close to Larry are very concerned about his well-being, but it is hard to address the situation. Please note that most of these sentiments were derived from 610 yesterday afternoon, but I kinda agree. What do you think?
