Witness
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 29, 2009 
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I saw something tonight I could not believe: An arena full of people cheered Carl Pavano. Well, that and LeBron James carrying an entire city on his back. That was pretty cool, too.
NBA games are a little overwhelming. Fire shoots from the scoreboard, there are approximately 1,278 people on the court during timeouts and a team named the Cavaliers had a guy in a dog suit as its mascot. The Quicken Loans Arena makes Yankee Stadium seem like a library.
Cleveland beat Orlando to stay alive in the Eastern finals as LeBron had 37 points, 14 boards and 11 assists. King James either scored or assisted on 29 of the 34 points Cleveland scored in the fourth quarter. By the end of the game, they ran the same isolation play over and over again and he abused poor Mickael Pietrus.
LeBron is even more impressive in person than he is on television. He’s so big and quick that he overwhelms any defender you try on him. Orlando stubbornly refused to double him for some reason. The fourth quarter was one of the greatest athletic feats you could hope to see.
I caught the game with Mark Feinsand of the The Daily News. We had great seats but not as great as the Yankees who were in the house.
Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera were in the first row behind the Cleveland bench. CC Sabathia had a big crew behind the Orlando bench including Joba Chamberlain, Brett Gardner and Brian Bruney.
The scoreboard showed all the athletes in the stands including CC (some boos), Brady Quinn (cheers), Kerry Wood (sort-of cheers), A-Rod (loud boos) and Pavano (cheers, amazingly enough). Ben Roethlisberger was there as well. He got booed the most.
Game 6 will be in Orlando on Saturday. If the Cavs win, they’ll be back home on Monday night. Think anybody would go see Yanks-Indians across the street?
‘We are all Witnesses’ is a brilliant marketing line…but deserving for Lebron, he’s just an amazing player, too bad he has no help on that team….I need to catch one of his games in person next season
Because of the Cavs win, my best friend who has season tickets to the Cavs, Browns and Indians will be staying at home to watch the Cavaliers game.
SOOO that means that me and a few friends are road trippin’ to Cleveland to watch CC take on Fausto Saturday Night!
We are going to be literally right behind home plate. I cannot f’n wait!
Look for me behind the plate!
Peter,
I know I shouldn’t post this non-related reply, here,but I wonder you thought on the following audio:
http://sports.espn.go.com/stat.....id=4213308
Dr C
Will you have your stethoscope so we recognize you?
I can’t wait until LeBron is a Knick in 2010.
great stuff as usual pete.
I might hold up a sign that says:
Shout out to LOHUD!
“I can’t wait until LeBron is a Knick in 2010.”
Did you see the game last night ? why would he leave his hometown, the guy is King of Cleveland, Nike is making that the place to be, the big draw. You’ll be lucky to see him leave.
Did Angel Berroa get a senior discount on his tickets?
I heard Pavano tripped over a hot dog wrapper and fell on his previously injured buttox. He’s listed as day to day.
I am going to assume that Pavano was not sitting courtside. It is too dangerous to have him near the players on the court and a ball bigger then a baseball. If anything touches him he would be out for the season. Indians games must be sponsored by bubble wrap.
Did they put mo up?
“Did Angel Berroa get a senior discount on his tickets?
I heard Pavano tripped over a hot dog wrapper and fell on his previously injured buttox. He’s listed as day to day.”
Wow two bombs in a row.
better luck next time…
King Kobe > LeBron
agreed jdupes
Cox, the jokes may be bombs but not much different than some of Pete’s attempts at humor.
I could have also written about how A-Rod wouldn’t have gone to the game if he wasn’t guaranteed a better seat than Jeter.
it makes sense now listening to the audio about wang.
wang was told by the yankees not to do any leg or foot conditioning & cashman admitted that that was a mistake.
wang & his agent are not happy.
wang according to cashman is in the pen until girardi want’s to make a change.
this explains a lot.
wang basically did not strengthen his lower body or at the very minimum his injured foot throughout spring training.
no wonder why he got off to a bad start.
he recently started strengthening his lower body & is pitching better.
“Cox, the jokes may be bombs but not much different than some of Pete’s attempts at humor.”
Right on. I can dig it.
This city cheers Pavano? They’ll get what they deserve. No title this year, one more year of The King, and all the Pavano they want. It all works out in the end…
“This city cheers Pavano?”
Why is it such a surprise? He hasnt pulled the same crap he pulled here…yet.
He’s doing ok, trying to rejuvenate his career, and establish himself within a new fanbase.
As much as I hate the guy, I dont fault him or the city or embracing each other.
Magic will end it in Orlando in game 6, no doubt about it.
lebron is just mind boggling good, he won that game by himself……hope the cavs make it to the finals, a lakers – cavs finals would be a good occasional sports break from the yanks every night.
Wang doesn’t get his rotation spot handed back to him even if the Yankees screwed up his rehab. He still has to deliver on the field. But I don’t know what this tough talk from Cashman is about (if the quote is accurate).
Anyone looking at this objectively can see that it’s in the team’s best interests for Wang to be a starter as soon as it’s feasible.
I liked the fact that Cashman talked tough until I heard that he took responsibility for not having Wang rehab his lower body. Whose advice was that and I hope they don’t have a job anymore. Let’s see, don’t condition the joint you previously injured and haven’t as much as borne weight on….simply retarded.
That move alone cost the Yankees games which equates to alot of revenue lost. Someone’s head should roll.
Anyone who is a true baseball fan should hate/boo Pavano for making a complete mockery of the game. I guess Cleveland fans aren’t that bright.
Dr. Cox May 29th, 2009 at 2:08 am
As much as I hate the guy…
—-
Why do you hate him? That’s a strong word and requires some emotional effort beyond being a baseball fan, no?
I hope that by now Cashman has communicated the obvious to Wang: that their goal is for him to be a starter, that his progress will be the greatest determinant to the timing of that move, and that Girardi’s job is figure out how to further the process along and make all the pieces fit.
Don’t screw this up even more, Mr. Cashman.
The Joker May 29th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Anyone who is a true baseball fan should hate/boo Pavano for making a complete mockery of the game. I guess Cleveland fans aren’t that bright.
—-
Again. Why the hate? And “a complete mockery of the game”? Get real. Your anger should be directed at a system that rewards free agents for past performance and does not hold them accountable for forward results, aside from fan and media scorn. And remember the Yanks won a bidding war against Boston to sign Pavano. The Yanks signed him for better or worse, and we got the worse. Mockery? Hardly.
My reference to a Cleveland crowd cheering for Pavano is appropo. It will end badly for them. Same as it ever was.
Pepitone’s Hairdryer I think you are getting a little carried away and if you can’t recognize the disdain that Yankees fans have for Pavano…. well then…. figure it out!
“we are all witnesses?”
Well its a good thing I don’t watch him
(Go Magic)
They didn’t recognize Joba without him waving his hand in front of his face.
If you think NBA games are loud then swing by a Scranton Yankees game some time
“The good thing about Joe is that he is consistent. He expects a lot out of us but you look at him and you can’t tell if we won or lost,” Teixeira said. “Your leader needs to show confidence. The manager can’t be upset after every loss. He can’t be angry all the time.”
Then Teixeira paid Girardi the supreme compliment.
“Out of all the managers I have had, he is the best I have had by far,” Teixeira said.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....171561.htm
How dare they boooo my boy Arod ! ..
They booed Big Ben and CC?! CC got traded away from Cleveland! Big Ben was drafted for Pittsburgh. What were they supposed to do?!
And indoor playoff basketball game vs. regular season April and May games in Yankee Stadium.
Hmm, I wonder which one of these would louder…
“Big Ben was drafted for Pittsburgh. What were they supposed to do?!”
That is their DIVISIONAL RIVAL.
If Brady or Romo were introduced at a Knicks or Nets game they would 100% get booed as well.
“Out of all the managers I have had, he is the best I have had by far,” Teixeira said.”
Tex must suffer from short term memory loss. He’s played for two superior managers in the past 10 months. Joe G may get there one day, but as of now he’s not in the neighborhood of Scoscia (sp?) or Cox.
as long as girardi lets him hit 3rd every day, joe will be tex’s favorite!
Pavano has actually pitched rather well for the Tribe. He’s probably been their 2nd best pitcher behind Lee. From what I’ve seen of him, he’s still going to get lit up by the good offenses, but he’s going to be able to hang in the AL Central so long as the yeast infection doesn’t flare up.
Here’s a pic of AJ’s expression when Cash went out to the mound – priceless. I’m not even sure this is his best expression either….I caught him on a replay of that “incident” with more of a sneer/smile….
http://users.erols.com/kcoblen.....action.jpg
Steve B, if Tex thinks that Joe is the best he’s played for, then that’s his opinion. I’m sure he’s taking other things besides record and on the field skill into account, but even if he isn’t…..it’s how he feels and it doesn’t matter about Soscia or Cox.
Arod was at the game with Mo?? I thought he had no friends….lol
The Tex quote about Joe being the best manager he ever head is interesting to me. While polished and professional, he has more A-Rod in him than Jeter when it comes to giving interviews and PR in general. He plays to the moment. Jeter would never corner himself into saying that one manager was ‘the best.’ His managers are different. Torre is like a second father to him. Girardi is doing an outstanding job. There is something disingenuous about calling someone the best when you’ve had some darn good ones. But man, he’s got a great glove.
How is it disingenuous? Just because fans think one thing doesn’t mean Tex can’t feel another…….He obviously loves the way Joe runs the team and perhaps he has an outstanding relationship with him.
If he feels Joe is the best manager he’s ever played for, that’s the way he feels.
“The Quicken Loans Arena makes Yankee Stadium seem like a library.”
I humbly submit that an elimination semi-final playoff game will be louder than game 36 Yankees vs Twins at the stadium in May. Just sayin’.
“Arod was at the game with Mo?? I thought he had no friends….lol”
Mo was doing his Christian duty
They cheered Carl Pavano. Just wait till he goes on the dl with a hang nail and is done for the season.
And some boos for CC. There shouldn’t have been any!! He played for them for 8 years and he was TRADED!!! Morons.
“Mo was doing his Christian duty”
In the great Yankee land tradition of overanalyzing I take that to mean all the other Yankees are bad Christians…or possibly atheists.
If Girardi remains with the team when Jeter, Posada , Mo and Pettite have moved on you will really see what he is made of.
Its tough to manage a team that you played with let alone went through a dynasty with. You will always be talking about the good ol’ days and comparing this team to those.
And you simply cannot do that. Especially with those dynasty teams.
“n the great Yankee land tradition of overanalyzing I take that to mean all the other Yankees are bad Christians…or possibly atheists.”
Religion has no place in baseball.
“While polished and professional, he has more A-Rod in him than Jeter when it comes to giving interviews and PR in general. He plays to the moment”
He does. He’s big on saying what he thinks people want to hear. Doesn’t seem disingenuous in doing it though, which is not a bad quality to have. In all fairness, he can’t say Mike Scoscia is the best manager I’ve ever had while playing for Girardi and the Yankees.
“The good thing about Joe is that he is consistent. He expects a lot out of us but you look at him and you can’t tell if we won or lost,” Teixeira said. “Your leader needs to show confidence. The manager can’t be upset after every loss. He can’t be angry all the time.”
*******************
This quote is most telling about how much Joe has changed since last year. Last year his face turned to stone when they lost. He definitely has loosened up quite a bit.
Brandon.. CashMoney: “his contract says baseball player, not starter”
Did you see the game last night ? why would he leave his hometown, the guy is King of Cleveland, Nike is making that the place to be, the big draw. You’ll be lucky to see him leave.
__
I think you made the case for why he will come to NY better than I did.
Doc, a lot of things have no place but find themselves there nonetheless. LOL
Of course they booed big ben. The Steelers are HATED in Cleveland, just slightly less than Art Model.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/spor.....ofane.html\
Why is this even a story. The same would happen at Yankee Stadium. And why is a grown ‘woman’ wearing a shirt like that. I would never wear a soxs suck shirt. Grow up.
“He does. He’s big on saying what he thinks people want to hear. Doesn’t seem disingenuous in doing it though, which is not a bad quality to have. In all fairness, he can’t say Mike Scoscia is the best manager I’ve ever had while playing for Girardi and the Yankees.”
Its all in perception, how much you like someone and how much stuff like that matters to people.
“There shouldn’t have been any!! He played for them for 8 years and he was TRADED!!!”
In fairness to the Cleveland faithful, he was only traded after turning down an $18M per year contract. Now $18M was below his projected market value, but in an economically depressed town like Cleveland, I think booing is an understandable reponse to “$18M isn’t enough”. Can’t blame CC for going the route he did, but you can’t really blame the fans either.
Tons of random thoughts…
Lebron is amazing, I’m jealous of Pete and everyone else that got to see him live last night. I agree with Brandon that he might stay in Cleveland. If they win a championship this year or next why would he leave? The money won’t be an issue, Cleveland will pay him the max.
Nick, I doubt Cashman has said anything to Wang but I sure hope Girardi has explained things to him. It’s the manager’s job to tell a player what they expect from him.
Of course Teixeira said Girardi is his best manager ever, he has to live with him for the next 8 years. I don’t know what he’s talking about re: Girardi after a loss. Joe G usually looks pretty pissed after every loss, he takes it pretty hard according to Pete. Maybe he’s learned to let the losses roll of his back more?
The look Burnett gave Cash was priceless. A true “what the hell?” moment.
I can’t get over how good Lebron is, I hope Cleveland wins it all this year. I never thought I’d say this but could he be as good as MJ? Michael won championships but he had Scottie Pippen. If Lebron wins this year it will be the best single effort by one player ever.
James is an unreal basketball player.
The dude is 6-8, 250 and can deek a player out of his shoes. He’s part Magic, part Jordan. And he’s only 24.
How many rings does Lebron have? I forgot.
Pete – I loved how you moved all the way to the back of the arena to get that full view shot of the Cleveland crowd for us.
The things you do for this blog.
How long did it take to get from your seat to the those high rafters?
“If Lebron wins this year it will be the best single effort by one player ever.”
Don’t know if anyone can top Moses Malone carrying a group of true stiffs to the Finals in 1981, but this might be close. One thing that helped last night was he finally got some real contibution from the other guys. Williams had his best game by far. They got a little bench contribution from Gibson. Z and West finally showed up a little. HAve to give it to the Magic. Would have been easy to mail it in a say “we’ll get ‘em in Game 6 at home”, but they made the Cavs earn it instead.
Surprisingly interesting:
” SOME other Joe had the Yankees half a game out of first despite all their injuries and everything else going on around this team, he’d be nominated for sainthood.
Because it’s Joe Girardi and not Joe Torre managing to get the job done, no one is really willing to give that extra credit.”
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....171562.htm
MJ was a singular talent that set himself apart from every colleague on the floor, as did Gretzky and the Babe. There are no comparisons to him. When Lebron has a career that could even hold a candle to MJ, maybe you have a point.
The man retired from basketball and took up another sport because he was bored of dominating…who does that?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05.....171562.htm
Nice article on Joe.
Pete,
Who cares…..what know springsteen news? Nobody cares about your life or what you think of lebron james
Oh Deangelo – go away.
And that is a lovely article on Joe. He’s easy to root for.
Rishi
AH you beat me to it!! He is a 100% right. Joe T would be nominated for Sainthood.
I hope LeBron comes to NY he is awesome and someone I can root for.
Don’t think you can say he’s better than Kobe yet but I can’t root for Kobe.
As for CC getting boo’d, the only reason for that is that he is a Yankee now. If CC was still in Mil he would not get boo’d.
carl May 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
How many rings does Lebron have? I forgot.
The rings comment is ridiculous. How many rings does Kobe have without Shaq? How many rings does Jordan have without Pippen? The greats need help, Lebron has none.
Lebron actually is about 270 by most accounts. He’s a tight-end. He’s a tight-end with point guard quickness and the basketball version of Wayne Gretzky’s ice vision. It’s absolutely absurd. We have never seen anything like this before. He has to win championships before we compare hiim to Bird-Magic-Jordan in terms of “greatness.” But in terms of “talent”, we have never seen anything like his combination of skill, athleticism, and ferocity in any sport (American sport at least). He’s 24. 2-4. He has another eight years of peak athletic performance. What will he be doing at 28 (barring some unforeseen setback)?
“How many rings does Lebron have? I forgot.”
Same number as Jordan had thru his 1st 6 seasons. James’ career has a long way to go, but his path is similar to Jordan’s early career. Some playoff teams early on, but no titles til his 7th year. Let’s see where it goes with LeBron.
1. I agree, LeBron in person is incredible. I saw him at a Nets/Cavs game a few years ago and was converted to a believer (I still don’t really care about the NBA, but whatever)
2. I shouldn’t be worried, but Pavano’s start against the Yankees has me concerned. His ERA is over 5 but his FIP is only 3.77 and his K/BB ratio is absolutely great. His ERA correction could be coming soon…hopefully it doesn’t happen against the Yankees.
Observer283, when it comes to talent, I’m not sure there will ever be another Jordan.
What the….Did that article actually advocate Joba to stay a starter? What’s the Post coming too? and Joe Girardi as a good manager? I’m flabergasted.
Also, if Lebron wants to come to NY, more power to him. But I think in a way, it would be kind of sad. Cleveland is an absolutely star-crossed sports city. They haven’t won a championship in anything since the Browns won an NFL championship before the NFL and AFL merged. It’s an industrial city that was hit hard by factory closings in the 70′s and 80′s and is now being hit even harder by the current recession. Lebron is a hometown hero. People in Ohio have been following him since he was 14. He gets drafted by the Cavs and quickly turns into the most “can’t miss a second of his performances” athlete of our time. Plus, he makes Cleveland a winner again and will almost certainly win a championship there if he stays long enough. Cleveland needs Lebron. NEEDS.
Again, its his right to play where he wants and it is our right as fans to want the best player in the world to play for our team. But if he leaves Cleveland to come to a city that already has Wright, Beltran, Reyes, Jeter, Rodriguez, Sabbathia, Manning, Sanchez, and championships out the Yin-Yang; it’ll be kind of sad.
Good point Coach.
James plays a team sport. Sure it’s easy to say “well [enter all-time great player here] won titles, so talk to me when James does.”
What was Jordan doing in the NBA when he was 24? How did Gretzky fair once he left the Oilers?
Heck, even Michael Phelps wouldn’t have won all those golds if it wasn’t for an unreal swim by Jason Lezak.
Of course Tex is praising Girardi. He is playing for him. I’m a Red Sox fan but I think Scoscia is one of the best managers out there. I like the way he handles himself. Girardi looks like a hothead.
Yeah all those WS championships he has brought to his team. Great manager. He forgets how to manage against the soxs. Great manager.
Sean, I grew up as a huge Jordan fan. i scoffed at all the next Jordan pretenders. Lebron cannot yet touch Jordan’s career. He’s no where close yet in terms of accomplishments. But in terms of talent, its Lebron easy. Lebron is bigger, quicker, has better court vision, and is about 25 times stronger. This by no means means he will be better. Jordan accomplished too much for me to assert that.
But Lebron’s combination of skills is something we have just never seen before, even from Jordan.
Sounds like a lot of people have amnesia or were too young to see Jordan play. Buy yourself the Bulls championship years box set. Pippen was Pippen because of Jordan. Please, for the sake of sounding lile a bunch of 20 somethings…just stop.
PR 101 dictates that you do not elevate one at the expense of another – it’s just silly. Having said that, it’s not a big deal, just something that I find cringe-worthy. I’m a Tex fan overall – who wouldn’t be?
Month is Arod’s closest friend on th team
DB,
I watched all 6 of Jordans championships. He is the greatest ever to play. Pippen was indeed an all star, much because of the doubles Michael saw. However, no one on the Cavs is an all star, despite the doubles, triples, and zones Lebron sees.
Bizarro NY Post today.
When Pavano pitches next at Yankee Stadium, they should play the song from the Steve Miller Band “go on take the money and run” in the background as he warms up.
I’m not saying Lebron will not be considered the greatest basketball player ever in 25 years. I’m just saying that MJ IS considered the greatest basketball player ever at this point in time. To compare a kid to a legend is just a little premature. Hell, we all thought Mattingly was going to be inducted into the HOF as a shoe in. What happens if Lebron breaks his ankle or has femoral necrosis like Bo Jackson did? Then it was could of been, should have been instead of is or was.
DT -
Not only did he advocate Joba as a starter, but he gave a compelling reason for his not being a good choice for the bullpen currently – the fact that his fastball is not so fast at the start of a game. If he comes into a game for one inning only that FB has to be way up there to be lights out.
Christina25 -
Joe G has been called a hothead and GI Joe, but I haven’t seen much evidence of either. I think he’s still developing his managerial personality, but he seems pretty even-tempered to me on the whole. His stony-faced appearance in post-game interviews has relaxed quite a bit, in my opinion. It’s like he takes a deep breath before doing them.
Sciosia seems to be a great in-game manager, but because I don’t follow the Angels closely, it’d be really hard to say what he must be like. Same with Bobby Cox. But one thing’s for sure, their respective organizations love them, given Cox’s long tenure and Sciosia’s lengthy contract extension.
Over the years, Francona has shown himself to be a really good manager. I think much to the chagrin of many Yankees fans.
He gets a gold star just for having mostly successfully negotiated “Manny being Manny” over the years.
I hate basketball. But, I watch when LeBron’s playing. Don’t know that I can pay a higher compliment to an athlete.
new post
In Jordan’s 6th year, he singlehandedly brought the Bulls to the 7th game against the great Pistons team. And I do mean singlehandedly. That was the Scottie Pippen migraine series. Other assorted stiffs on that team included an old Bill Cartwright, Craig Hodges, and John Paxson. Horace Grant was the only other legit player on that team, and he was only OK because of the defensive attention that Jordan got. That was to me, the greatest individual effort I have seen. The championship teams had a few more legit players.
And, what was Jordan doing in the NBA at age 24? Averaging 37 points per game is all.
Doreen, now he just needs to convince the rest of the mainstream media that are too dumb to notice that about Joba. He has been training as a starter for the whole year, you can’t just throw him in the 8th inning and expect him to start throwing 98 mph.
LeBron, have you seen my three Championship Rings?
I seem to have misplaced my three Championship Rings!
BTW, the Cavs mascot is Moondog.
Isn’t it time to end the stupid Pavano jokes ? He’s 5 – 1 in May. He’s gone into Yankee Stadium, Fenway, and Detroit this year and pitched very well. Why wouldn’t the Cleveland fans cheer him ? If he was pitching that way for the yanks, Yankee fans would be cheering him as well. After all most Yankee fans are cheering AROD who is a steroids cheat as well as a liar. Pavano’s biggest problem throughout his career have been his injuries. It happens. Pavano also hates the New York sportswriters – see his quote about them in Torre’s book. Pretty funny. And lets face it, most sportwriters aren’t exactly objective journalists.
I hope that Hughes pitches a shutout and the Yankees beat Pavano and the Indians, but these repeated juvenile comments about Pavano have gotten old.
“An arena full of people cheered Carl Pavano.” Growin up in Northeaster Ohio, every season Cleveand sports fans believed in one savior or another who would carry the respective teams to glory – Brian Sipe,etc. would take the Browns or the Indians or the Cavs all the way. If they think Pavano is that guy, well, they are wrong again.
James, on the other hand, is the real thing, and if he stays in Cleveland, I would be very impressed. It must be great to be the hometown hero, but I’ll bet it would be hard to resist the temptation for megabucks in New York or LA.
go nuggets!
i dislike Lebron, Howard, and Kobe.
i like mello, k-mart, even billups.
I hope that Hughes pitches a shutout and the Yankees beat Pavano and the Indians, but these repeated juvenile comments about Pavano have gotten old.
*****************************************
Not as old as Angel Berroa.
See what I did there?
“. . . Pavano (cheers, amazingly enough). . .”
Cleveland is one friendly town full of very nice people. It’s just the way they are.