TSN managers of the year

Notorious in elections, Florida is grade-A when it comes to baseball managers. The Sporting News leaves no hanging chads in selection Joe Maddon (Rays) and Fredi Gonzalez (Marlins) as MLB skippers of the year.

I like the Maddon selection, but Lou Piniella, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa are more deserving than Gonzalez in the National League. I like Fredi, and I think he did a great job with Florida this year, but consider what these other three managers accomplished:

Piniella: best record in the N.L., back-to-back N.L. Central division titles
Torre: first place in N.L. West, lifting the Dodgers over Arizona late in the year
La Russa: With a decimated pitching staff, kept Cardinals in race until September

Maddon out of context

One more note out of the Chicago Tribune today. Phil Rogers scolds Rays manager Joe Maddon for this comment:

"Of course, if we had won it, we'd be in the World Series by now," Maddon said. "We'll just have to wait one more day, hopefully, to get that done."

He meant one more game, as Friday was a travel day. And he did add an important qualifier with the word "hopefully." But still …

When your team gets as close to the World Series as the Rays were—seven outs away, seven-run lead—and then unravels, the task ahead is about a lot more than waiting "one more day."

The Red Sox had to wait 18 years to get it right after that grounder went between Bill Buckner's legs in Game 6 at Shea Stadium. The Cleveland Indians are at 11 years and counting since Jose Mesa couldn't hold a lead over Florida in Game 7 of the World Series.

Then there are the Cubs. They are at 79 years and counting since failing to protect an eight-run lead in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series —the last time anyone lost a bigger lead than the 7-0 margin Maddon's Rays held in the seventh inning.

They are at 24 years and counting since the grounder went through Leon Durham's legs in San Diego. They are at five years and counting since Florida's eight-run eighth inning in 2003.

OK, I get it. There have been precipitous falls after meltdowns like the Rays had in game five. Maddon, however, was merely stating that his team is in good position to clinch in the next game. What do you want him to say? The sky is falling? I think this is a non-issue, and the article is better left unwritten.