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Open — and shut
- Shahar Peer won here second round match against Pauline Parmentier of France, 6-2, 6-3. She and her doubles partner, Monica Niculescu or Roumania, beat Michaella Krajicek (NED) and Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN), 7-6, 6-4.
- Scott Lipsky and his doubles partner, Toss Hutchins (GBR) lost to Lukasz Kubot (POL) and Oliver Marach, 7-6, 6-3.
- Jonathan Erlich and Jordan Kerr (AUS) beat fellow Israeli Andy Ram and Julina Knowle (AUT), 7-4, 6-7, 7-6.
- Dudi Sela beat Xavier Malisse (BEL) 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Interesting. It seems that once a player loses his or her singles match, he or she is removed from the player bios on the U.S. Open website. It’s as if they never existed! Spooky.
Required reading: Matzoh Balls and Baseballs
Conversations with 17 Former Jewish Major League Baseball players, by Dave Cohen. Havenhurst Books, 2010.
Hot on the heels, but apparently unconnected with the new documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, we have this new oral history collection conducted by Cohen, described on the publisher’s website as “the familiar radio voice of Georgia State University for the last 27 seasons, covering Panther baseball and basketball on Atlanta radio.”
Seventeen former major leaguers who participated in the project include a few of the more recognizable names such as Al Rosen, Ron Blomberg, Steve Stone, Ken Holtzman, Mike Epstein, Norm Sherry and Elliott Maddox, players who spent several years in the Majors. But there are also several players who had then proverbial “cup of coffee,” enjoying but a brief moment in the big league sunshine, and it’s nice to see them represented here by Larry Yellen, Jim Gaudet, Don Taussig, and Morris Savransky.
Cohen guides them through the standard stuff about the highlights of their careers, but what is of more interest to its target audience is, of course, the Jewish stuff, whether religious or cultural in nature. There are anecdotes of anti-Semitism and amazement on the parts of the athletes, especially those from larger cities, who spent (some uncomfortable) time in the minors in the deep south, witnessing Jim Crow discrimination.
When speaking about their Jewish upbringing or how they felt about being part of a small cadre of major leaguers, several of the younger players reveal that they simply didn’t think about it that often; yiddishkeit was simply not a part of their lives. Nor did they recognize their “importance” on the cultural landscape. As we get further away from the era when many Jews were either immigrants or first generation American, clinging to the ways of the Old Country, I suppose it’s not surprising, with increased assimilation, that this is the prevailing attitude. Perhaps that attitude will be shared by younger readers, who might not see that have a minyan of Jewish players is that big a deal. But for older guys like me (and those even older), it is something in which to take pride, and kudos to Cohen for bringing these stories to print.
Kosher pigskin
A few items as we get set to begin the new NFL season. (See I could have used “kick off,” but I didn’t. I showed restraint.)
- Seems that Sage Rosenfels has fallen to third on the Minnesota Vikings’ depth chart, behind Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson (but ahead of Joe Webb). Rosenfels completed one of four passes for 10 yards in the Vikings’ 31-24 exhibition win over Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos last night.
- The rosters haven’t been finalized yet, but here’s a list of Jewish players in additional Rosenfels on the current rosters: David Binn and Antonio Garay, SD Chargers; Kyle Kosier and Igor Olshansky, Dallas Cowboys; Aaron Podlesh, Jacksonville Jaguars; Geoff Schwartz, Carolina Panthers; and…
- I wonder if the NFL calls itself “The Show,” like the Majors does in baseball. It would seem silly, since there’s no minor leaguers from which the players can advance. Anyway, welcome to the NFL, Taylor Mays, who begins his career for the San Francisco 49ers. Mays, a 22-year-old defensive back out of USC, is the son of Stafford Mays, who played seven NFL seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings in the 1980s. In his USC bio, Taylor talked about his bar mitzva: “I don’t think at the time I really understood what it meant. Now, looking back on it, I feel like I have come a long way in regards to maturity and becoming an adult. I think it helped me do that.”
- Marc Tracy discussed who’s a Jew and who’s not among NFL owners in a recent Tablet article.
Like I was saying: Nyger Morgan
Since Tony Kornheiser discussed it on Pardon the Interruption yesterday, it becomes a “Jewish” sports topic and eligible for further discussion here.
Yesterday I mentioned the brawl during the Wednesday Marlins-Nationals game in which Morgan charged the mound after the pitcher threw behind him (this after he’d been hit by a pitch earlier in the game). I was gratified by the supportive response my comments received on various outlets.
Now Mr. Tony agrees with me, too:
Thank you, Mr. Tony.
JML update: Games of Sept. 2
Will we still like Ike next season? Gregory Smith/AP
Sparse doings last night. The Mets finally won one against the Braves, 4-2, to salvage the finale of their four-game series. Ike Davis belted his 26th double to go along with a couple of walks.
On the way to work this morning, the car radio was still tuned into WFAN from the game last night. The drive-time show was discussing who should stay and who should go for next season. Davis was a source of relatively lengthy debate. While he started out hot, he hit a serious snag over the last six weeks or, especially in the power department. And since first base is basically a power position, one of the two broadcasters — I don’t listen often enough to know who is who — said the Mets should let him go, perhaps in a trade for Prince Fielder of the Brewers. The other fella said Fielder, who is soon to be a free agent, is asking for way too much money, while the Mets “own” Davis for the next five years before he can go the FA route.
Does anyone remember Mo Vaughn? That was disaster. For those who don’t Vaughn was a very large first baseman (like Fielder) who averaged more than 35 home runs and 111 RBIs over eight seasons for the Red Sox and Angels, winning the AL MVP award in 1995. Unfortunately, he came to the Mets in 2002, signing a contract that paid him about $35 million for what amounted to 158 games over two seasons.
Forget Vaughn. What about Jason Bay? Another Red Sox alumnus to whom the Mets paid big bucks for, as of now, very little return.
Anyway, I (and I’m sure a lot of Mets fans, both Jewish and goyish) are hoping the Mets will keep their wallet in their pants this time and keep Davis around for at least another year.
So, back to bid’ness…
The Twins moved Danny Valencia up to sixth in the batting order and he responded by going 3-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. Unfortunately The Tigers took the game, 10-9 in extra innings. The baseball Daily Digest site wonders if Valencia could be a candidate for Rookie of the Year? (Thanks, Ari.)
Craig Breslow did not appear in the Yankees’ 5-0 shutout over the A’s. Everyone else either had no game or is on the DL, so we’ll dispense with the usual listing.
Davis vs. Valencia: Pick ‘em
The DandyKoufax blog posted this item comparing the two rookie JMLs. Seems they come out just about even. Davis hits for more power (even though he’s been faltering for more than a month), Valencia for average.
As for me:
Watch the Salita-Gonzalez fight
The Jewish Channel will present last night’s fight between Dmitriy Salita and Franklin Gonzalez tomorrow night, although I respectfully question the hyperbolic use of the word “historic.” What, exactly, is historic about it? They don’t say and I’m not that educated a fight fan to know without researching it, which I ain’t gonna do.
The piece above also links to this New York Magazine item about Salita and Yuri Foreman (even if it does mistakenly credit the piece to The New York Times.
JML update: Games of Sept. 1
Danny Valencia (Twins) drove in the winning run in the 10th as Minnesota edged the Tigers, 2-1. Valencia, third from left in the photo, had singled earlier in the game and is batting .332 since his call-up on June 3.
Ike Davis (Mets) was 0-2 with a walk as Braves swept NY, 4-1.
Craig Breslow pitched 1.1 scoreless innings as Oakland lost to the Yankees, 4-3.
Ryan Braun was 0-4 with a strike out as Milwaukee fell to the red hot Reds, 6-1.
Brad Ausmus (Dodgers) did not play the LA’s 5-1 loss to the Phillies.
Ian Kinsler (Rangers) was activated from the DL but did not appear in the 4-3 win over the Royals.
Jason Marquis did not appear in Washington’s loss against the Marlins, but it was such a bizarre contest I thought I’d mention it. After the Nats score one run in the top of the first, the Marlins answered with five. Washington scored twice in the second, the Marlins answered with five, then added four in the third for the 14-3 lead. The Nats acted liked gnats as they chipped away, but the “fish” had bitten too much. Final score, 16-10. Plus the fight:
Sorry for the poor quality, but the spoilsports at MLB and ESPN won’t allow direct embedding.
One of the announcers complains that Nyjer Morgan shouldn’t have been stealing bases with his team down by 11 after three innings? “Tired form,” he calls it. Maybe he shouldn’t be involved in discussing COMPETITIVE sports. What, the Nationals should have just given up? Maybe MLB should institute a mercy rule? Or is it something more insidious?
Out of action: Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox), John Grabow (Cubs), Gabe Kapler (Rays), Scott Feldman (Rangers)
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