Gossage blows it--lets slip pitchers have it tougher today...

• Gossage thinks pitchers today have it much tougher than he did. From AP:

"Gossage's strong opinions have not been limited to his own career. He thinks there ought to be some method of denoting in baseball's history books that

• offense increased in the 1990s and 2000s, partly due to smaller ballparks, tightly wrapped baseballs and a shrinking strike zone."

From AP story on SignOnSanDiego.com, 1/4/08, "Goose Gossage Hopes Hall of Fame Vote Provides Relief."

• Gossage slipped when he said this. He's been given millions of dollars worth of media time and space over the years and in recent weeks to do 1 thing in particular: to say he had it tougher than today's pitchers, especially Mariano Rivera whom he characterizes as nothing compared to him.

As if Rivera never came in with men on base in a tie game or with a 1-run lead.

• Or got 2 saves in 1 day 5 times.

• And has better ERA, WHIP, K/BB, and HR stats.

• It doesn't count that Mo pitched 3 days a row in a World Series,

• pitched 6 out of 8 days in a pennant race in Sept. 2005, saving or winning most of what were 1 run games. Or the

• regular and post season elimination games Mo 's pitched.**************

• Gossage gave up 2 homeruns in one of his post season games, eliminating himself and his team. Strangely, that item is minimized or just chuckled about.

• GOSSAGE HAS FALLEN INTO A TRAP USED BY ANOTHER LATE INNING RELIEVER NOT NAMED MARIANO RIVERA.
• HE'S SELLING HIMSELF AS A COMPILER, A TOTAL SAVE STAT MANIPULATOR.
• ESPN & BBWAA TYPES SAY THEY 'HATE' THE STAT (see anguished emails between Sean McAdam and Phil Rogers recently, ESPN.com)--UNLESS THEY HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO HYPE ABOUT THEIR GUY--
• THEN THEY BLANKET THE AIRWAVES WITH CHERRY PICKED VARIATIONS OF IT. Plenty on record of all this--complain to ESPN and BBWAA.

Unlike Gossage, Rivera's done his magic in post season and all star. Under the brightest and harshest lights. Also, Rivera is still an active player--his stats can't be compared with someone whose career is over (Gossage). Hall of Fame includes a player's entire career--not just his own favorite stats. Sorry, Gossage. I've posted some of the distortions that have been accepted as fact in the past few weeks, all fail to use his post season or all star stats and rely on--of all things--manipulations of the "total save stat" to make him sound better.

• ESPN's Warner Wolf's report on the Imus show about Gossage was a short phone interview as follows: Wolf: Goose, what do you think of Mariano Rivera?

• (Gossage gives his usual answer with helpful lead-in by Wolf).

• Which brings me to the NY Daily News today praising Gossage for being in effect a great quote machine, and wishing a flotilla of Yankee executives had shown up at his HOF press conference. Many newspaper sports reporters prefer controversy and sensationalism. They feel it's their due, their entitlement. Their fame and income are at stake.

Nevertheless, words mean things, they last forever and have consequences-just as actions do. I have no idea who showed up from the Yankees (maybe they thought he was going in as a Padre) or didn't or why. Probably had nothing to do with Gossage's constant multi-million dollar low-class attacks against a current Yankee who for 13 consecutive years has accomplished things Gossage tried to do and failed. At some point words have consequences.

• If the NY Daily News columnist gets his wish--that Gossage talks about steroids during his Cooperstown ceremony--he'll be stuck saying today's pitchers have it harder than he did. Which isn't what he wants to say.

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