We’re going to begin with baseball today, since I really do not have anything good to say about football.
MLB announced the winners of the Rookie of the Year awards yesterday, and the awards both stay in the state of Florida. In the American League, outfielder Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays won over Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias. In the National League, the award went to our own Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, who easily beat Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. Fernandez went 12-6 this season with a 2.19 ERA that was second-best in the majors. The 21-year-old pitcher is also one of three finalists up for the Cy Young award, along with Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright.
Fernandez got to celebrate the award yesterday with his family after a reunion with his 78-year-old grandmother at Marlins Park on Sunday. From reports I read, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria played a part “behind the scenes” in getting Fernandez’ grandmother a five-year visit visa to leave Cuba and come to the United States. If this is so, kudos to the otherwise totally incompetent owner of the team. NOTE TO MR. LORIA: See what happens when you do good work very quietly and behind the scenes without an audience? Hopefully, you learn from this positive experience.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Jose Fernandez is the third Cuban-born player to win the Rookie of the Year award, and the fourth Marlin to take it home. Name the others. The answer comes later, alligator.
More awards this week in MLB. Today, the managers take center stage as the Manager of the Year awards are announced. Tomorrow, it will be the Cy Young award winners and on Thursday, the spotlight will shine on the MVP winners.
The GM/Owners meetings are going on in Orlando, as teams set themselves up for possible trades, etc. Good stuff going on. I heard last night that the Cardinals are very interested in Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki. Also hearing that the Tigers and free-agent closer Joe Nathan could be a match. Here are more rumors from the Hot Stove circuit:
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal looks at the rumors, starting with the NL West:
In other baseball news, a very classy move by the Red Sox after their World Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals:
Braves leaving Turner Field for the suburbs. I’ll bet you Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez is happy. He'll be able to avoid the horrendous downtown Atlanta traffic:
Now we must go to the gridiron, and the hapless Dolphins.
The Fins got behind the eight-ball early yesterday against the previously winless Bucs, 15-0. They were able to claw back and take a fourth quarter lead, 19-15, thanks to two TD passes from Ryan Tannehill to Rishard Matthews. However, all that effort went for naught, and they ended up falling to the Bucks, 22-19. The Dolphins were able to only rush for TWO YARDS in the game, in what was a totally embarrassing performance on both sides of the ball, and also on special teams.
More from Armando Salguero:
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to meet with Jonathan Martin tomorrow:
MY TAKE: This was a totally pathetic and unacceptable performance by the Dolphins yesterday against a previously winless Tampa Bay team. This team has problems that extend FAR BEYOND what we saw on the field yesterday. Team owner Stephen Ross has decisions to make, and it seems that the first one he will make is to get rid of GM Jeff Ireland. I think that whatever compromising photos Ireland had that allowed him to keep his job this long have been lost. He’s gone. I don’t really believe that anything will be gained or accomplished by firing Coach Joe Philbin at midseason. This does not work in football. What this team needs is a general manager and a head coach that are on the same page, something that this hierarchy has not shown. Gotta make a change that includes both the GM and the coach, or at least, bring in a GM that can be on the same page when it comes to personnel decisions as the head coach. You need to bring in a new GM immediately, and keep Philbin at least through the end of the season. This would give the new GM the remainder of the season to evaluate Philbin while still on the job and then make a determination on whether or not to keep him going forward.
The bottom line is that the GM in an organization like the Dolphins should be able to show leadership and command the respect it needs from the players and coaches. How much respect can any player have for a GM who asked a rookie in a pre-draft interview (Dez Bryant) if his mother was a prostitute?
I am going to go out on a limb once again and say that the right guy to lead this front office is Dan Marino. Before you ask the obvious question - “Why would he leave the cushy job at CBS?” - here’s my opinion: Marino is as competitive as anyone, and the fact that his close friend John Elway has been as successful as he has been in Denver with the Broncos, has lit a competitive flame under Marino. During his stint with CBS, he has been able to observe what goes on with other teams and other players in the league. This may be the right time for him, but only he knows for sure if he really wants to do this. I truly hope he does.
I’m really tired of the whole Martin/Incognito thing and this scandal is much deeper than just those two clowns. Why has the media taken to drinking the Kool-Aid that the Dolphins are serving, and why are they ignoring the other stuff that went on in the clubhouse?
The Fins’ next opportunity to right this wayward ship is Sunday, here at the Seven Names Stadium, at 4:05 pm, against the San Diego Chargers. Hopefully, they will do it with a new GM at the helm.
This was a God-awful week in my picks, as I fell below .500 for the first time in more than four years. Record so far this season is 32-34-4 against the spread, and 41-29 straight up.
Here is this week’s NFL schedule, along with the opening lines:
THURSDAY
Indianapolis @ Tennessee +3 8:30 pm NFL NETWORK
SUNDAY
Washington @ Philadelphia -4 1:00 pm FOX
Detroit @ Pittsburgh +1 1:00 PM FOX
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay +1 1:00 pm FOX
Arizona @ Jacksonville +7 1:00 pm FOX
NY Jets @ Buffalo -1 1:00 pm CBS
Oakland @ Houston -7 1:00 pm CBS
Baltimore @ Chicago -3 1:00 pm CBS
Cleveland @ Cincinnati -6 1:00 pm CBS
San Diego @ Miami -2 4:05 pm CBS
San Francisco @ New Orleans -3 4:25 pm FOX
Green Bay @ NY Giants -6 4:25 pm FOX
Minnesota @ Seattle -14 4:25 pm FOX
Kansas City @ Denver -8 8:30 pm NBC
MONDAY NIGHT
New England @ Carolina -3 8:30 pm ESPN
Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:
Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.
In college football, the University of Miami will try and recover from two straight blowout losses that have dropped them almost out of the top-25 rankings as they visit Duke this Saturday. Game time against the Blue Devils is 3:30 pm, and it will be televised by ESPN-U.
Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have more from Coral Gables:
The FIU Panthers will be on the road again, to take on the UTEP at 8:00 pm on Saturday. No TV or radio.
Here’s all the latest from FIU, courtesy of David J. Neal:
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and #2-ranked FSU:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
Here are the NCAA Football rankings for this week:
Here is the complete schedule in College Football for week 12, including TV listings:
Moving to the hardwood,
The Heat is hoping that a little bit of rest helps. After losing to the Celtics on Saturday on a last-second shot by Jeff Green, the Heat take on OJ Mayo and the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at the AAA. LeBron James has been struggling with lower back issues, and today’s game against the short-handed Bucks could be just what the doctor ordered.
Here is the Heat’s complete regular season schedule:
On the NHL ice, George Richards has all the latest on the Panthers:
The Herald’s Santos Perez’ weekly boxing column:
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I’m selling three lots totaling a little over five acres in the beautiful North Carolina mountains, overlooking the New River, a quick 35-minute drive from Boone and Blowing Rock. Click here to see some photos and feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Jose Fernandez is the third Cuban-born player to win the Rookie of the Year award, and the fourth Marlin to take it home. Name the others.
Fernandez is the third Cuban-born player to be selected Rookie of the Year. Jose Canseco got the award in 1986, and Tony Oliva won it in 1964. The three other Marlin players to win the award were Chris Coghlan (2009), Hanley Ramirez (2006), and Dontrelle Willis (2003).
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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