Though he’s preaching to the choir in this instance, the New York Sun’s Tim Marchman delivers some soothing words Friday morning, describing Endy Chavez’ rip job on Scott Rolen as “perhaps the greatest defensive play I have ever seen, and if in the end it didn’t matter, it was no less brilliant for that.”
It was a no-doubt shot, a searing line drive toward the left field fence, the dead part of the Shea outfield; no cheap home runs are hit there. Rolen, with screws in his damaged shoulder and days removed from a cortisone shot, should not even have been able to reach the pitch, but he did, and it was no less likely than what Chavez did, turning and breaking like a wideout clearing the secondary, hurling himself back with his whole forearm braced over the wall, snaring the ball, hauling it back in, and heaving it back toward first base, off which Edmonds was caught. By the time the out was made at first he had just rounded back past second and what would have been, with Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan’s mastery of a cold Mets lineup, a nearly insurmountable 3“1 lead remained a 1-1 tie.
If Derek Jeter’s Flip against the Athletics years ago was a 10, this was a 12.
Of all people, Perez and Chavez were the last two who were supposed to have saved the Mets’ season, which they almost did. Perez, owner of a 3“13 record this year, came to the Mets in July as part of a minor trade, not only two seasons removed from a campaign in which he’d established himself as one of the game’s most brilliant young pitchers, but so far removed from the pitcher he’d once been that his continued viability as a major leaguer was in question. From mechanics and conditioning to desire and health, nothing about him wasn’t doubted.And Chavez, on his fourth stint with the Mets, was signed as a 25th man ” a brilliant defender whose inability to hit much better than Rey Ordonez made him little more than a luxury. Willie Randolph put faith in them, though, and didn’t expose them, and they turned into assets. Down the stretch Perez showed every sign that he could with time become the dominant starter he had once promised to be. Playing every outfield spot and left alone near the bottom of a powerful lineup, Chavez was one of the very best reserve outfielders in the major leagues, working his way on, stealing bases, and playing wonderfully in the field. Still ” this?
As a complete aside, if you’re the sports editor of one of New York’s 3 other dailies (4 if you include Newsday), at what point do you completely cede traffic/cachet/cred to the Sun due to Marchman’s solid work, and when do you take decisive action (like, y’know, either hiring him away or having him killed)?
If I remember correctly, there was a long stretch when Marchman’s sports section was the only reason to pick up the Village Voice.
That Jeter play against Oakland isn’t as great as people make it out to be because Jeremy Giambi was safe on the play. McCarver and all the rest of the drooling Jeter lovers always leave that small tidbit out when they refer to that play.
But, but if Marchman gets pinched by the Daily News…Madlipgel won’t let him come on Primer and yak!
GC: One thing you may not get, as a non-fulltime NYCer, is just how powerfully irrelevant the New York Sun is on the New York newspaper scene.
Conceived by dark Canadian media lord Conrad Black as a neoconservative broadsheet that would challenge the non-tabloid supremacy of the New York Times, the paper as a whole has proceeded to basically fall down the stairs for the last two years. Marchman is really great, and probably the most sincere voice and most talented writer among NYC sports journalists, but no one reads his paper (even now that they’ve knocked the price down to $.25 and frequently give it away outside major subway stops), and those who do are treated to what’s basically Fox News-style slanted news reporting, but written with a gratingly superior tone I can only describe as “Dartmouth-sounding.” I don’t know how much longer the paper will last — it’s down to like 14 pages a day, I think — but I hope the New York Times gets him if/when he becomes a free agent. The Sports of the Times guys are the equivalent of the 2003 Mets: big names with some All-Star games in their past, but all struggling to hit .240 and doing so grumpily.
Charles,
with all due respect to T.M, I think this guy was the reason to continue picking up the Voice.
Rog,
I’ve seen the Gatorade ad — indeed, Giambi was SAFE. Marchman loses points for accuracy!
David,
thanks, even as a part time NY’er, I’m up on the weirdness that is stacks of the NY Sun sitting around in hotel lobbies. Still, I’m grateful that Marchman’s stuff is accessable on the web — as recently as last year, it was subscription only.
I have nothing nice to say about the paper beyond their sports section. And while that deparment has had many highlights of late, there’s still some rough patches. Paul Gardener’s recent screed on why the MLS needs the washed-up, multi-dimensional David Beckham made little sense.
Repoz,
Is that why Lupica has to post under the tag “killmenow”?
Seems like Marchman is too much of a *voice* to get a shot at one of the major dogs’ houses. He is terrific though, even when he’s wrong.
God, I’m talking about the Sun… They also have, at times, a very good arts section–maybe not music, but movies & books. I think their idea is, let’s get the kids into our highbrow conservatism by classing up our sports and arts. And Let’s Go Israel!