NEW YORK, NY – There’s mucho going on in MLB, particularly with the local teams, the Mets and Yankees, clinging to playoff hopes and races they are astoundingly still in. But they ain’t the only thing stories that caught this pundit’s eye and this piece will touch upon what’s headlined: Chris Long on Kaepernick, Terry Collins Maligned, Gary Sanchez Clean?
Before his team and Head Coach, Bill Belichick were once again proving that they were collectively the best in the NFL – perhaps in its history – by beating the Houston Texans with a 17th string QB, Howie Long’s son, Chris Long, the New England Patriots Defensive End, addressed the Colin Kaepernick situation.
“I play in a league that’s 70 percent black, and my peers, guys I come to work with, guys I respect who are very socially aware and are intellectual guys, if they identify something that they think is worth putting their reputations on the line, creating controversy, I’m going to listen to those guys.
“And I respect the anthem. I would never kneel for it. We all come from different walks of life and think differently about the anthem and the flag and what that means. But I think you can respect and find a lot of truth in what these guys are talking about, and not kneel. Those aren’t mutually exclusive ideas.
“Listen, it’s been complicated. It’s brought out a lot of what we as fans and players think about the anthem; a lot of strong feelings on both sides. But I think we can all agree we love our vets. We love the vast majority of officers of law enforcement. But they are human beings too, and there are isolated incidents that need to be better, and I think all guys are saying is, ‘Listen, most people might be great cops, great people that protect our communities, but when there are injustices, let’s find justice for those situations.”
“I respect my peers. I respect Colin. Colin has really put his reputation on the line. He’s taken a beating. He’s also had support. I don’t think he did it for publicity.”
All of the above makes sense. There’s more but the above pretty much nails it. Kudos, Chris.
Meanwhile, back in baseball action…
Terry Collins is a lousy manager under pressure. Nice man and great at handling crap that his GM hands him during the regular season. But astoundingly bad under pressure. And the expanded rosters for the September call-ups are just added pins for this shaky-handed hemophiliac to handle. In fact, he’s making these last games unbearable to watch as a tortured Mets fan… He yanked Colon too early on Wednesday night, inexcusably pulled Addison Reed for somebody named Smoker and then asked Famila to get a 5-out save. Sounds familiar to Familia, fans and the rest of us with eyes and functioning minds. He did the exact same things versus the Royals in the World Series. And his mismanagement during last night’s debacle was the stuff of Matt Williams. Yet… they won. Swallowing vomit.
As Ike Davis and Josh Satin, who played in Coney Island for Team Israel last night, would say, “Oy vey Terry. You’re a schmuck.”
Finally, because of The Dark Cloud of PEDs, we have to wonder what Gary Sanchez is doing. Hopefully, he’s just a freak of nature like Madison Bumgarner but these comparisons to Pujols and crazy production have to have some heads nodding knowingly. The eyes of this writer are glued to this kid… and any backne that might pop up. And can we get a measurement on his head and shoe size for each of the last 3 years? Just askin’…
That’s it. Please comment below and come back tomorrow for the legend that is West Coast Craig, … who has a pennant race and NFL football in Los Angles for the first time since Pat Haden and Steve Garvey were partying with Bonnie Franklin (yeah, Bonnie Franklin). And please follow us on Twitter – & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
