Hi, I'm Ken Davidoff. Welcome to my blog. I know, I'm a little late to this party, but I've always been tardy when it comes to technology and style. I purchased my first CD in 1998, and that was only for a friend's band. And I didn't get sideburns (okay, maybe it's closer to this) until 2003. So relatively speaking, for myself, I'm ahead of the pack.
As Newsday's national baseball writer, my job differs from those of our Mets and Yankees beat writers, David Lennon and Kat O'Brien. While I spend a good amount of my time with the Mets and Yankees, I also cover the industry as a whole. Last week, for instance, I attended Daisuke Matsuzaka's Fenway Park debut, and in the coming months, I'll be writing plenty about Barry Bonds.
So this blog will be a potpourri of baseball issues local and national. There'll be some opinions, some reporting, some personal memories of the game that will hopefully open your own memory banks. But really, I'll work off your feedback. This blog will be shaped by your likes and dislikes. And by the discussions and dialogues (let's keep it PG-13) that we can create.
My initial plan is to post Monday through Friday, having something up by 9:30 or so, and then adding items as the news and buzz warrant it. But again, this is very much a work in progress, so we'll see how it goes. For now, I encourage you to check in here each morning. I'm off to Philadelphia for the Mets' two-game visit to Citizens Bank Park, and we'll see if we can actually get a game in tonight.
Comments (7)
Nice spin Davidoff, but the fact remains that the Mets have always had a luke warm relationship with black and non-white players. I started following baseball when I was 8. I lived in Brooklyn near the site of the old Ebbets Field in Crown Heights on Bedford Ave. My first live baseball game game was a school trip to Shea stadium in 1963 for a game against the also exapnsion Astros. The appeal was that the #7 train left you right at the entrance (a remnant of the World's Fair) and seats were always available.
The Mets always seemed to have promotions to encourage support of the younger fans. Things like Banner day, and various give away days.
Then on TV you had Kiner's Korner where you got to know the players persoanlly. One of the first I remember seeing was 1B Ed Kranepool. You watched a championship team being built up to 1969. My dad and Brother were die hard Yankee fans and looked down at the Mets Until the Yanks were crap in the late 60's just as the Mets were rising. There were some in Brooklyn who never forgave the NL for deserting NY by letting the
Dodgers and Giants leave for the money to be made on the West Coast and refused to support the Mets. Some still haven't gotten over it. In the 60's and 70's there was an influx of black and latino players in the NL. All this time it was always strange that the Mets never had more than 1 or 2 (CF Agee, Lf Jones and 1B Clendenon in '69, Millan and 40 year old Willi Mays in 73, 1B Milner, Singleton and then Steve Henderson as part of the Seaver trade). I stopped following the Mets for awhile because they were bad and resentment of them trading Seaver to the Reds.
Milner later won with the Pirates and Singleton won with the Orioles.
It always seemed odd that the Mets couldn't sign more of the players that alweays seem to be stars for the Pirates and Cardinals thru the 70's and 80's. I guess the point is that the Mets talk a good game about diversity but their actions over time say a lot more about their philosophy.
Ken...welcome to "around the world in 80 blogs"...as you know I'm an old-time Brooklyn Dodger fan whose heart was broken when they moved...the Mets became my adopted team...looking forward to your indepth analysis of the 2007 baseball season.
i like your style and writing ken... referring specifically to the naming of "citifield" though.. has anyone made mention that citibank announced only 4 days ago that is laying off 15,000 workers? would paying $20 million a year to the mets have anything to do with that, or will that affect it at all?
I certainly think if i worked for citibank (thank god i don't) that i would be at least a little uncomfortable about their situation - combined with how well the naming of other stadiums has gone - everyone remember enron field? the texas rangers have gone back to their original name as well... and the SF giants stadium has changed names so many times i don't know what it is right now...
Mets Ballpark at Citifield would have been more appropriate, as would about $5 million a year and the people who are getting canned might agree...
Ray, those are fair points. I do think, however, that Citigroup has a longer history than did Enron or Ameriquest (Rangers), and is far less likely to be swallowed up in a merger than was Pac Bell or SBC (the previous two Giants names). I'm no economist, but I doubt that Citigroup's investment in the Mets had anything to do with the layoffs. $25 million is "ash tray money" for them, to steal a phrase from the NY Post's George King.
Ken, so glad to see you finally have a blog! Looking forward to your daily musings on the world of baseball.
I like the Blog so far, and as for technology, well, I didn't even know what a Debit Card was until last year. Glad to see you finally embracing the technology. Keep up the great writing!
Melky is ahead of where Bernie was at the same age. Upside is huge. He is going to be 23 next season. Many high Celing draftees in last year's and this year's draft are OLDER than him. Gordon, #1 prospect in Baseball, is older than him.
He is 5 years away from his prime. Hunter is a year or two away from being Johnny Damon-II.
You don't judge a young player on what he has performed so far (which is exceptional as it is), but what you expect to get out of him in near future.
Melky can only get better. He showed flashes of power and improved plate discipline. He outplayed Vernon Wells, Toronto's 100 million dollar man. If not for a slump at end of the season, where he ran out of gas, his numbers would be ridiculously good and he would be a HOT commodity in this year's trade talks.
Come to think of it, I am glad that late season slump happenned because it increases his probability to stay in Pinstripes.
Melky is going to be ALL-STAR in couple of years from now. Hope Mr. Davidoff can then laugh about this blog entry.