Psychodrama at 2 key points in Red Sox ALCS win over Cleveland

In Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS, season on the line, were 2 mental moves by an Indians coach or manager (Skinner, Wedge) that turned the tide. This NY Times article reminds:

• "After Joel Skinner, the Indians’ third-base coach, stopped Kenny Lofton at third when it seemed that he could have scored the tying run in the seventh, the game, the series and a season changed. The Indians were out of the inning on the next pitch,..."

and

• "The Indians scored once in the fourth to chisel Boston’s lead to 3-1 and had a promising start to the fifth as Lofton hit a ball off the Green Monster in left. But Ramírez fielded the ball barehanded and flipped a one-bounce throw to second to nab Lofton.
• Or did he?

Television replays indicated that Lofton, who dived headfirst,

• reached second with his left hand before Pedroia tagged him.

• Lofton argued briefly, but

• Wedge did not leave the dugout.

• The loss of a potential double would haunt the Indians in the fifth."....

From NY Times article by Jack Curry, "Red Sox' Comeback Lands Them in World Series," 10/22/07

• Actual reason I noted this article: The NY Times is a business partner of the Red Sox along with George Mitchell and other parties. Today the Times wondered how Cablevision's ownership of Newsday might affect the latter's reporting if at all. Richard Sandomir wrote:

"When the sale was announced, she (Newsday sports columnist Johnette Howard) said, “I asked if we have to drop a line into stories that says, ‘The Knicks, who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday.’ ”....

• "The newspaper (The Times)...notes that The New York Times Company owns 17 percent of New England Sports Ventures, the parent company of the Boston Red Sox." From NY Times column by Richard Sandomir, "Dolan's Conflict of Coverage," 5/14/08

• (There was no mention of NY Times' ownership of the Red Sox in Jack Curry's article referenced above. (10/22/07))

Mr. Sandomir today says the paper "notes" the connection with the Red Sox (which under other circumstances would be defined as a conflict-sm), but I didn't see it in Curry's NY Times article on 10/22/07. Further,

• I read most of their Mitchell Report stories and don't recall a disclaimer in each that they were business partners with Mitchell. If there was a mention, it was infrequent or inconspicuous. Their reporting in that series was heavily slanted and could have used a disclaimer, and I made several posts on the subject at the time.

Everyone has a bias, even if they profess not to. It's up to consumers to determine the truth in what remains a free country (for the moment). Partial, missing or incomplete information isn't a minor issue when you're talking about peoples' lives and livelihoods. Where is an item placed? If it's at the top of the story, many will notice it. If not mentioned til way down the page, many won't. (As Cary Grant told Rosalind Russell in "His Gal Friday," the re-make of "The Front Page," meaning it's been true since at least 1930).

• In general, I think Richard Sandomir performs a valuable service and I look forward to his articles. (sm)

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