The Human Factor

It’s hard to believe sometimes but athletes are actually human beings.

Even the very best professionals.

The 2024 World Series, won by the LA Dodgers in five games was, for all intents and purposes decided in the fifth inning after the Yankees, trailing 3 game to 1, had taken a 5-0 lead in an effort to stay alive and force a 6th game.

Gerrit Cole, the Yankees best pitcher working with a big lead faced Tommy Edman who hit a routine drive to center, but Aaron Judge, one of the best players in the game, dropped the routine liner for an error. Judge had played close to 2000 innings in center in the regular season and post season and never committed an error. Until now.

Shortly after, there was a throwing error by the Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe trying to get a force at third base with runners at first and second.

Cole then settled down and struck out Gavin Lux and the Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and was one out from getting out of big trouble.

He induced Mookie Betts to hit a slow grounder to first base.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo couldn’t make the putout himself to end the inning, but shockingly Cole failed to cover first to get a throw from Rizzo.

The very first thing pitchers do on the first day of spring training is work on covering first on a similar play. It’s practiced over and over and it becomes a routine play for pitchers on that kind of situation.

But Cole was late covering and the Dodgers proceeded to tie the game 5-all on 2-run single followed by a 2-run double.

The damage was done, and the Dodgers ultimately prevailed 7-6 to capture the World Series.

Mistakes you’d never expect from the likes of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole.

On a Sunday NFL game, the Chicago Bears took a 15-12 lead over the Washington Commanders with 25 seconds remaining in the game.

After the kickoff return there were only 19 seconds left.

Following an incomplete pass and two completions, the Commanders were down to their last desperation play. Six seconds to go on the Washington 48.

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, lost his concentration and composure by taunting the Washington crowd already celebrating the come-from-behind victory.

But rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels hurled a Hail Mary throw which not quite reached the goal-line. Stevenson tipped the ball into the end zone where Noah Brown caught the ball for the game-winning score.

It was one of the most dramatic finishes I’ve seen in awhile, and why you can’t pinpoint the winning throw solely on Stevenson, his foolhardy actions certainly contributed to the Bears’ loss.

 

It once again, like the Yankees melt-down in the World Series, that you can never be sure how athletes, even the best of them, will handle every situation.

Errors are a part of life. We all make them. So do those who you think never could or never would.

At the halfway point of the NFL season, some things that have surprised me, others have not.

How critical  is it for a team to have a franchise quarterback?

It means everything.

The aforementioned Jayden Daniels has turned the Washington Commanders into a solid contender in his rookie season.

It reminds me of what C.J. Stroud did for the Houston Texans last year and what the former Ohio State QB is doing for the first-place Texans this season.

Interesting that neither one of the two were the first players picked in the draft.

Quarterbacks Bryce Young and Caleb Williams were the first chosen in each draft by the Panthers and the Bears.

Young had been benched but is back leading Carolina.

Williams started off well but has struggled lately.

No surprise there as rookies usually don’t have immediate impact when they start their careers, but Stroud and Daniels have so far proven you can indeed turn a franchise around quickly.

Maybe those two will come down to earth soon, but somehow they’ve defied that logic. I’ve been surprised by both.

How much are statistics really worth?  Not much when it comes to football.

Check out the game’s best, Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs. Heading into this week’s Monday Night Football clash with the Bucs, Mahomes had numbers that would resemble a mediocre, ordinary quarterback.

Mahomes had thrown for only 8 touchdowns and had 9 interceptions.

But Kansas City was 7-0. I am not surprised.

The name of the game is winning. Stats are meaningful, but only if you win the game. Mahomes does what he needs to get the “W”. The rest is irrelevant.

I am not surprised that the Dallas Cowboys continue to ride the treadmill of a team that so much is expected and anticipated and yet they fail to deliver.

Tough to be a Cowboy fan.

I know they haven’t had the services of the versatile Christian McCaffrey but I thought the 49ers would be more of a force by now.

Remember, it’s still ridiculously early, and the best come through in the latter stages of every season.

The Lions don’t surprise me. I think Dan Campbell has his team primed to play every week. The way they’ve continued to impress despite losing their best pass rusher Aiden Hutchinson is a tribute to Campbell who has his team to this point avoiding significant letdowns.  He’s my mid-year Coach of the Year.

 

Election Day is history.

I don’t know about you, but I am delighted about one thing in particular.

The millions of texts and emails I received to contribute to a candidate running for office forever drove me crazy.

It didn’t matter if I reported them as junk or merely erased them, they kept coming. Like a leaky faucet it just didn’t stop.

One would inform me I was the key to victory for a candidate, that I was going to make all the difference between winning and losing.

Another would accuse me of not caring, and allowing a candidate to lose.

If they lost I was to blame.

How could I live with myself?

So you’ll understand why, on this specific subject, I am so glad Election Day has come and gone.

At least until the next one.