The People's Voice

Although we received a mountain of feedback concerning the controversial ending to Game 2 of the ALCS, we are going to only briefly discuss that at the end because it seems like old news at this point. We will, however, talk USA Basketball and the Astros avoiding collapse.

Thanks, as always, for all of the feedback. It is humbling when it comes in like this. My responses are in italics, and please, remember to include your name and town, and always try to have a point.

Now on to the People's Voice ...

COACH K ("Coach A-OK," October 19, 2005)

I hate to be one to just heap on praise, but your dissection and analysis of Team USA's shortcomings in Athens and the potential Coach K brings to the team really hit home. Thanks for showing how hard America's team played despite how they were portrayed in the media, and thanks for giving college and pro basketball fans alike hope for the Games in Beijing.

Will Fanguy
Murfreesboro, Tenn.

I cannot believe you are going to throw race out as a reason for why people are starting to dislike professional basketball. You're an intelligent man, and I must say I am very disappointed.

Everyone, including basketball players, needs to man up and realize that such an ugly period of time in this country might not be over but it's not even close to what it once was, so stop blaming everything on race. Players are disliked because regular Joe makes $20,000 to $50,000 and players complain about having to make a $5 million to $10 million.

People in America would rather be known as people with respect and dignity than winners. That's why we want the college kids, because at the end of the day not only will they do well but they will do it like men, not grown-up children like the NBA players have become.

Jason Moseley
Hooksett, N.H.

Maybe race has nothing to do with it for you. But it is naive to think it doesn't matter to some people.

You may well be correct in your fawning response at the prospect of Coach Krzyzewski being named to lead the men's basketball team in the next Olympics.

I'm sure you remember that he was head coach of the 1990 World Championships team that came home with only a bronze medal. His team's performance was another in a series of international play debacles that led directly to the Dream Team.

Coach K had all the attributes and many of the honors you reiterated in your commentary. But they didn't ensure that he'd bring home the gold then, and I, for one, am not sold on the certainty of him doing so now.

Wylie Rollins
Fredericksburg, Va.

He had college players then competing against grown professionals. Wasn't a fair fight. Coach K will have to do his best work ever to win gold. He will have to do things differently than he has in the past. I never said it would be easy.

I completely agree with you about the 2004 Olympic team. I think that most people would have a different view of that team if we could watch them play. I thought Larry Brown was being stupid about benching Amare Stoudemire in the Olympics, and by December I was positive that he was wrong about it. I also believe that Coach K will be able to fashion a good team because most players will want to play for him. Keep up the good work.

Rick Peters
Reno, Nev.

The negativity Brown cast on that team was incredible. Laying all the blame on the players – and getting away with it – was a masterful spin job.

I have two major concerns about the Olympics and USA basketball.

1) A consistently repeated statement from European and American coaches seems to be about the lack of basic fundamentals among American players. It's why the same players who repeatedly were called for traveling during the Olympics to the point where they were almost totally ineffective came back to have breakout seasons as stars in the NBA.

Until Americans demand better skills and quit seeing athleticism as all that's necessary, our teams will continue to struggle in international competition.

2) How much impact will Coach K have on the selection of players? Had Larry Brown had Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Jason Kidd and some of the other NBA players who didn't play, would the "team" concept have worked better, would the talent level have been better, and the skills more competitive?

If Coach K is given inferior talent and no time to mold a team, his success won't be any better than anyone else. USA Basketball needs to have a team with a pool of players who commit to extended years of play as a part of the team.

Mike Leas
Hays, Kan.

I agree with you that Larry Brown is a self-promoting jerk, that there were some misperceptions of the U.S. team, and that race did play a role. I have a lot of white family and friends whose remarks in front of the television were tinged with a bit of racial animosity.

However, it will be impossible for these misconceptions to be cleared up if we don't openly and honestly admit that the attitudes and lifestyles of many of the NBA's young millionaire black males turn a lot of people off. If whites were allowed to be open and honest about race in public and in the media, their criticisms would be more thoughtful and less knee-jerk than under the current environment where the legitimate grievances become more emotional because they're not allowed to be openly expressed.

I loath the smug racism of some whites who paint all of the young black males in the NBA with too broad a brush. But I am equally sickened by the F-the-man, hip-hop, bling-bling crap that these young black males are bringing to the NBA. I'm simply not going to watch a sport that showcases the worst that black America has to offer.

Patrick O'Conner
Pyongtek, Korea

The article on Coach K and USA Basketball was very well-written and provided an oft-missed perspective on the state of our country's team. The statement about Lamar Odom's rep and first impression on people was right on, as controversy seems to rule when it comes down to judgment.

Jeff Matsumoto
Woodland Hills, Calif.

I debated a similar topic last year during the NBA Finals. People who say they hate the NBA claim they hate it because the players are selfish, there is no defense and the teams don't play together. OK, fine. But then why not like the Pistons-Spurs series, where those teams are anything but those things? If you watched the playoffs you saw great team play, defense and togetherness. But the perception still lingered. Sometimes the NBA can't win for losing.

FALL COLLAPSES ("Past Ball," October 18, 2005)

I understand the story involved between the Cardinals and the Astros and the similarity between this year and last year, but isn't anybody giving the Astros any credit? They are in the driver's seat against the best team in the regular season as a wild card. To me, that is the bigger story.

Yes, the Cards pulled off a dramatic win. Yes, the Cards did it last year. And yes, it could happen again. [Editor's note: This letter was written before the Astros' Game 6 win against the Cardinals.] But no one has given the Astros a shred of credit this postseason ... or maybe they have but that credit flew out the window with Albert Pujols' home run the other night. Funny how that happens.

Jeff Cooper
Westlake, Ohio

They are going to get it now because shrugging off Pujols' home run and walking into Busch and winning 5-1 in Game 6 was beyond impressive.

You forgot to mention that the Astros were two innings away from the big dance in 1980 when Philly rallied in both Game 4 and Game 5 to finish it.

Todd Migliore
Houston

Don't forget Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS when the Astros had a 3-0 lead going into the ninth inning against the Mets and blew it. That would have forced a Game 7 with the Astros having Mike Scott on the mound, who had allowed only one run in the two games he had already won that series. No way the Mets would have beaten him in Game 7.

Matt Maley
West Palm Beach, Fla.

Another NLCS collapse resulted in the Atlanta Braves' 1996 visit to World Series. The Cardinals had overzealously celebrated a Game 4 victory in St. Louis to go up three games to one. Atlanta won the next three games.

Paul Oliverio
Harrisonburg, Va.

And in Game 5, a potential home close-out game for St. Louis, the Braves won 14-0. I think that shell-shocked the Cardinals.

You can include the Giants blowing a 5-0 lead to Anaheim in Game 6 in 2002 with Spiezio's three-run homer. The Giants seemed defeated before Game 7 even started.

George Daniel
New York, N.Y.

For the millionth time, had Buckner made the play, the game was going to the 12th inning. The score was tied. It is amazing that Rich Gedman, the true goat of that inning, has escaped the wrath of Red Sox Nation all these years. But with writers like yourself feeding the myth, it is no wonder Gedman gets a free pass while poor Buckner has a lash on him that wont ever heal. Watch a replay of the inning – that passed ball was three inches from being a strike. Gedman blew it.

Robert Liebowitz
New York

Here is where I blew it. Because I didn't want that column to run on forever as I explained each nuance of each disastrous play of each doomed game, I went with the idea of referring to the blown games as the Bartman game, the Buckner game, the Dave Henderson game. I totally simplified it so casual fans might remember what happened in a general way. I didn't adequately explain when scores were tied and so on, and more intense fans called me on it.

So you are correct, as are the people who wrote in to point out Hendu's home run didn't win the game (his sacrifice fly two innings later did) and Bartman didn't technically interfere with anything, and so on.

My bad for going the CliffsNotes route.

QUESTIONABLE CALL ("Calling them out," October 12, 2005)

Finally someone who has the guts to at least insinuate that the umpires, shall we say, play loose with the truth. Somewhere along the line umpires have decided they are part of the show.

Their flamboyant out calls, delayed calls and their own strike zone – this has to stop. They are not what people pay to see; it is the ball players. Every umpire should use the same hand and voice signals. None of this "it's my style" stuff.

Bill Damron
Santa Rosa, Calif.

I don't see how anyone can claim that the ball was caught. While watching the game the other night I saw exactly what the umpires later claimed to see with their special "technology" in the truck – that the ball changed direction as it flew into Josh Paul's mitt. It was perfectly clear to me that the ball changed direction just before it landed in the pocket of the mitt. That, to me, at least implies that it hit the ground.

All the talk about the umpire making an out signal is just absurd. Since when can the catcher even see what signal the umpire is making? Paul was not confused by the signal that was made. He was confused by no verbal signal that it was indeed strike three. He should have known that anytime a third strike is anywhere close to the ground, he needs to check with umpire, tag the batter, throw to first or ALL of those things.

And how would it have looked if the opposite had happened? Wouldn't it be just as terrible if the umpire ruled the ball was caught and the game continued into extra innings? Better for him to err on the side of caution and make the catcher record the out. The bottom line is that it was a tough call and one that you can't really confirm even with replays. With that said, if Paul does his job, this is all a moot point.

Give the umps a break.

Mark Hayman
Santa Barbara, Calif.

When we make a mistake for a client, we make restitution, correcting our mistake, paying any penalties incurred, etc. I understand that baseball is not going to go back and start Game 2 in the 10th inning, but why can't they admit they made a mistake? It just frosts me to hear how the call was the perfect call. It cannot be a good call if it confused half the players, the opposing manager and millions of fans.

Steve Rosenberg
Sherman Oaks, Calif.

We can debate what we saw and didn't see forever and there is no question Paul should have just tagged A.J. Pierzynski out, but it is my sincere belief that Doug Eddings was in the process of calling Pierzynski out (and then did call him out) but was influenced by Pierzynski running to first base (a great play) and changed his mind after the fact. He then tried to claim his out call was a "not out call."

Then the other umps didn't confer and discuss the call. They never all huddled up like they do in football, where referee ego is much smaller and calling off a flag is common. That is a failure of baseball – where were the checks and balances?

That's how and why I think the umps blew it.