IS BALTIMORE OUT OF BASEBALL? MINNESOTA RESIDENT MEL ANTONEN GOT TO BE 1 of BALTIMORE's 2 AL MVP VOTERS.

MEL ANTONEN RESIDES IN MINNESOTA, AND HAS FOR MANY YEARS. WHEN INTERVIEWED ON XM, IT'S "FROM HIS HOME IN MINNESOTA." ON SEPT. 20, 2006 IN ONE OF HIS CHATS BEFORE MVP VOTES WERE DUE (in another venue) HE THOUGHT MORNEAU SHOULD BE #1 FOR MVP.

• SO WHY THE CHARADE OF SUSPENSE ABOUT WHO'D ULTIMATELY WIN? MORNEAU IS CANADIAN, SO BOTH TORONTO VOTERS HAD HIM #1.
• MATT HURST WOULD NEVER PUT EITHER DEREK JETER OR MARIANO RIVERA #1, NOR WOULD LARRY STONE, NOR THE INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITY FROM CHICAGO, NOR A FEW OTHERS. THE FIX WAS IN LONG AGO BY WHOMEVER PUT THE JURY TOGETHER. THE FAULT LIES WITH THOSE IN AUTHORITY ABOVE THE VOTERS.

OUT OF ALL THE GAMES THE YANKEES PLAYED AGAINST BALTIMORE, AND THIS YEAR AGAINST THE NATIONALS AS WELL, BUD SELIG, ESPN, JACK O'CONNELL, ETC. HATE THE YANKEES SO MUCH THEY APPOINTED A LONGTIME MINNESOTA RESIDENT, NOT COVERING EITHER THE ORIOLES OR OTHER TEAMS IN THE AL EAST.

• A COMPLETELY PREDICTABLE VOTE AGAINST THE YANKEES IS WHAT THE FIX WAS. THE 2ND BALTIMORE AL MVP VOTE WENT TO MEL ANTONEN FROM MINNESOTA, NOT TO A BEAT WRITER. BEFORE THE VOTE, HE MADE HIS CHOICE OF MORNEAU CLEAR. BUT, AS DEMONSTRATED IN HIS XM INTERVIEW ON AUGUST 29, 2006, HE'S A CARBON COPY OF OTHER MINNESOTA VOTERS REFUSING TO PRAISE THE BEST PLAYER ON THE YANKEES SIMPLY BECAUSE THE TEAM "IS TOO WELL STOCKED."
• ANTONEN IS AN INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITY BECAUSE HE DID NOT VOTE FOR JETER--TYLER KEPNER QUOTES HIM FOR INTERNATIONAL RELEASE IN THE NY TIMES ON 11/22:
• "“It wasn'’t so much about numbers," said Mel Antonen of USA Today, who voted for Morneau. "It was about all the things Morneau did as far as contributing to a winning team. The correlation between his taking off and the Twins'’ starting to win was too much to ignore."”

THIS ISN'T A DEBATE, IT'S NOT DISCUSSION, INTRIGUE, ETC. MANY OTHERS AVOID OR SOFT-PEDAL THIS ISSUE. WHY? MANY ARE LOOKING FOR MONEY MAKING OPPORTUNITIES IN SPORTS WRITING OR WORKING FOR A TEAM AND DON'T WANT TO 'ROCK THE BOAT.'

• INTERVIEWED VIA PHONE "FROM HIS HOME IN MINNESOTA" ON XM ON 8/29, HE SHOWS HIS BIAS AND PREJUDICE IN FULL VIEW, BUT NO ONE IN AUTHORITY DID ANYTHING TO STOP HIM FROM BBWAA VOTING. HE USES EXACTLY THE SAME BIAS THAT THE REST OF MINNEAPOLIS VOTERS USE--CAN'T VOTE FOR JETER OR MARIANO BECAUSE THE REST OF THE TEAM IS TOO GOOD: (From this blog on 8/29/06:)

Mel stepped in it today on Charley Steiner's show saying:

• "John Smoltz told me that 1 inning pitched in October is like 2 innings pitched in the regular season."

Charley agrees, & being the only 1 on the station who'd bring up the obvious, he does. Charley says:

• "That brings up again the remarkable performances of Mariano Rivera."

Antonen is horror struck and tries to change the subject:

• "Well, the Yankees have depth." AFTER HE SETS UP HIS OWN POINT WHICH IS COMMON SENSE ANYWAY, ABOUT SMOLTZ' REFERENCE TO PITCHING IN THE POST SEASON, HE DUMPS ON MARIANO.
• Charley has started to catch on that every "writer" will dump on Mo, so he clarifies,
• "But I mean you mentioned the post season pitching and that's what Rivera has done so much of."

Now, Antonen is desperate, so he throws out some lies:

• "Well, Torre never uses him more than 60 or 70 innings so he's always well-rested. He's good and everything, but the Yankees have a lot of back-up for him. He IS RESTED." Emphasis his, with anger as well. And you think there's no bias? MEL, MARIANO LEADS THE MAJORS WITH 69.0 IP BY LATE INNING RELIEVERS. THE ONE WHO SHOULD GET A REST IS YOU.
• Charley changes the subject. (Charley admits he avoids controversy). Why do you allow people like this to keep their jobs? Antonen has just said THE OPPOSITE of the truth. If anything, as anyone WHO'S NOT TOTALLY OBSESSED WITH THE YANKEES AND THEREFORE DETERMINED TO LIE ABOUT MARIANO knows, Rivera has typically been OVERUSED.
• 2006 to date, with 69.0 IP, Rivera leads both leagues for late inning relievers (Mel, did you see Farnsworth the other day? Really great back-up).
• 2005 regular season, Rivera had 78.1 IP.
• 2004 regular season, 78.2 IP, 12.2 IP post season=91.1 IP total.
• 2003 regular season, 70.2 IP.
• 2002 -injured part of the year--only pitched 46.0 reg.--SEE 2001
• 2001 96.2 IP, 80.2 regular season, 16.0 post season
• 2000 regular season 75.2, post season 15.2= 91.1 IP
• total
• 1999 regular season 69.0, post season 12.1= 81.1 total

RESTED, MEL? This is how he rested in bringing his team from behind to win the pennant in 2005--YOUR UNPROFESSIONAL BIAS IGNORES:

• In September 2005 HE SAVED OR WON 6 1-RUN GAMES IN A 2-WEEK SPAN IN A BRUTAL PENNANT RACE.
• HE PITCHED 3 DAYS IN A ROW TWICE IN THIS 2 WEEK PERIOD, 6 OUT OF 8 DAYS, FORCED IN DESPERATE SITUATIONS TO MAKE UP FOR BLOWN LEADS BY THE OFFENSE OR BAD RELIEF IN THE BULLPEN.

LOOK IT UP, MEL, PRINT A FRONT PAGE APOLOGY AND RETRACTION. THE REASON YOU STILL HAVE A JOB AT ALL IS THAT BASEBALL FANS ARE TOO LAZY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT YOU. P.S. Enjoy your hallowed Baseball Writers awards voting--if it's not cancelled due to lack of ethics of people like you. posted by susan mullen at 8/29/2006 02:27:00 PM

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