Quite frankly, Steven A. Smith displays all that is wrong with ESPN

"It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that’s exactly what was happening. Once we saw that, we weren’t afraid to get rid of him. It’s like cancer. That’s what he was. Cancer. He had to go. It sucked, but that was the only scenario that was going to work." -Jonathan Papelbon

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon recently caused a stir when he said this in an interview for Esquire Magazine. The article is worth reading beyond the small part about Manny. It gives a good look into the mind and lifestyle of one of the games premier closers (in my mind, easily the second best behind the great Mariano). What hasn't been been reported is that when Papelbon was speaking about Manny, he got so upset and riled up that he began slamming his fist on his kitchen table while making these comments. Also noteworthy in the interview is Papelbon's theory on the importance of post-season performance, "nobody cares who was great during the regular season. Nobody remembers a loser," as well as his goal to be greater than the Yankees' closer, whom he has a photo of in his game room. Read the article for yourself.
What has perturbed me about this Esquire interview is the coverage it has received in the media, specifically by ESPN. Being the sports gossip network that it is, ESPN naturally jumped all over the opportunity to use someone else' reporting to market a 'feud' between superstars and thus get people to watch Sportscenter. Of course this should come as no surprise.
What really made me cringe was when I watched Steven "Screamin" A. Smith comment on the article. ESPN always takes the side of the superstar. They don't want to report on superstar athletes, they want to be friends with them. If you paid attention to the coverage of the A-Rod steroid scandal, it was clear that Sports Illustrated was anti-A-Rod while ESPN was overwhelmingly in his favor. Here, Steven. A. takes sides with Manny. He calls Papelbon a "punk" for calling him out now after Manny has left the team. "In that locker room, I don't recall anybody stepping to Manny face-to-face," he says. In this video, we learn from Steven A. that...
A) He is basing this statement on absolutely nothing. He does not claim to have any sources. He even says moments earlier that he has no idea what happened in the clubhouse. So unless he actually spent the entire season in the Red Sox locker room and knows that no one stepped up to Manny "face-to-face," or unless he has a source (if he heard it from Manny, trust me he'd tell us), how in hell would he know this? Oh wait, that's right, he doesn't. He has absolutely no way of knowing this. He is talking out of his ass.
B) He did not read the article. If Steven. A. read the article he would know that Papelbon also said, "even a guy like me, just heading into my fourth year in the big leagues — if David Ortiz gets a little, you know — I’ll tell him what’s up! I’m not afraid to do that. I’m not afraid to put him in his place, because I think everybody needs that. And if somebody does it to me, I understand that. I most certainly understand that. Varitek tells me all the time, 'Just shut up. Do what you’re supposed to do.'"
Now let's just say that Papelbon never did confront Manny while he was with the team. Does that even matter? He is simply speaking what he feels. It is not like Manny simply left for another team, he was voted out of Boston by his teammates (either 24-1 or unanimously, depending on which report you go by). It's not like he was saying anything that isn't already known. So I say this to Steven A. Smith and the rest of the Entertainment and Sports Network, just shut up and do what you're supposed to do. Analyze games and report on real sports stories, not gossip.

World Baseball Classic or Sham?

Believe it or not there are places in the world right now that are riveted by the WBC. Last year's championship between Japan and Cuba was as big in those respected nations as a Red Sox vs. Yankees playoff series is in Boston and New York. The players on those teams care just as much as well.
However this kind of competition isn't without problems. How can it be taken seriously when pitchers are held to pitch counts and many of the best players aren't partaking. Certainly team USA would be better with Roy Halladay, Jonathan Papelbon, Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, and C.C. Sabbathia on the pitching staff. Venezuela would be a far better team with Johan Santana and Carlos Zambrano as well. And imagine the already potent Dominican Republic lineup if it added Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols?
These roster issues come from both the players themselves not caring (see Manny), and concern on part of the Major League teams (see Pujols). Most the players, especially non-USA players, will say that they take great pride in representing their country. Jose Reyes recently told WFAN's Mike Francesa (who says the WBC is not real competition) that to him the WBC is the same as playing in October. It's hard to believe that this is really the case, that MLB players with eight-digit salaries really take this March tournament in which they participate for free that seriously.
Whether or not the players care for the WBC, GMs and Managers certainly disdain it. Managers role their eyes when talking about the lack of time they get to spend with their entire team during spring training. This could be especially detrimental to developing pitcher-catcher relations or infield chemistry. Upper management cringes at the thought of a high priced player getting hurt, which in short is why Pujols isn't taking part. Venezuela manager Luis Sojo complained that he was given specific guidelines on how to use Felix Hernandez, which is why he had to throw him in relief against the pathetic Italian team because it was his day to pitch instead of using him in a 15-6 loss to USA.
On his blog, Curt Schilling trashed the WBC, "Without a season of conditioning you are tasked with ‘ramping it up’ at a time when slow methodical preparation is the norm," he said.
The bottom line is that the WBC is really an exhibition. The Major League pitchers are not at the top of their game and its hard to really take a game with a pitch count limit as seriously as Major League competition. However it is more fun to watch than spring training and for that I am a fan of it. Clearly for teams made up of non-Major League talent it means a lot more than for teams like the Dominican Republic and the USA. It offers a chance for unknown foreign talent to strut what they have. Before the fervor caused by the secret bidding for the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka a couple years ago, he came out as an international figure in leading Japan to its WBC title. This year look for Japan's 22-year-old ace Yu Darvish to cause a stir. Tickets are on sale for the final in L.A. on March 23 and I'd bet the house that Japan will be there. Prices start at $55. There is no way I'd throw down the cash to be there, but I'll certainly watch it on T.V.