THE BLAME GAME

Switching gears. Back to baseball, where I have a problem with most of the reporting I see on the playoffs.

Why, when a team loses, do writers around here have to blame somebody? Sox lose, blame Eric Gagne. Sox lose again, blame Matsuzaka. Sox lose again, blame Tito Francona for not starting Beckett.

Why can't some of these guys tip their hat to a great Cleveland team with lots of great players. I'm tipping mine to Grady Sizemore.

Grady played right here in New Britain for the Akron Aeros a few years ago. He played in the 2003 EL All-Star Game hosted magnificently by Bill Dowling and Company and I had the chance to interview him. Boy, if I were starting a team right now, I'd like to have Sizemore on the squad. He does it all and has a great attitude. How about some love for Grady?

Here's another pet peeve. It irks me when a casual fan says, "Can you believe A-Rod made an out with the bases loaded? He's making all that money." What the heck does one have to do with the other?

If a surgical patient paid a doctor five times his fee, should the doctor perform better on his surgery than on the poor guy's? Can you imagine if your car mechanic said, "Sorry, you only paid me $2,500 for that ring job. Your neighbor paid me $5K so I'm not going to fix yours as well as I'll fix his." It's preposterous. Paying somebody more money does not change human frailty. Remember, the difference between a pop-up and a monster shot is about a half-inch.