Thursday, November 17, 2011

On Vanden Bosch fine and Gibby as NL Manager of the Year

Of all the fines that have been levied against the Lions, the one assessed to Kyle Vanden Bosch is the most tolerable. He did hit a player when he was down. It was late. He used his helmet, but it didn't seem intentional as much as overly aggressive. I still don't see why that merits a fine - Vanden Bosch was flagged for it - but that is the way of the NFL this year.
But to me, the most disturbing hit in Chicago Sunday, the type the NFL is trying to take out of the game, came from Bears' safety Chris Conte on Lions' running back Maurice Morris. It was a classic helmet-to-helmet blow that is prototypical of the type that is proving to cause brain trauma for NFL players. It's unreal the NFL has turned a blind eye to that particular hit, yet fined Vanden Bosch.
We'll see if the league does fine Conte. There figure to be more fines to come from the Lions-Bears game, which was more than a little nasty.

- Kirk Gibson obviously did a great job as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. His National League Manager of the Year Award was well-deserved. His team was limited in regard to talent and he got the most out of it with an NL West title and a sound showing in a National League Division Series.
I have to admit, I didn't think Gibby would be that good of a manager. His stint as the Tigers bench coach under Alan Trammell was a a disaster. That was a rough clubhouse, and Gibby tried, but wasn't able to control it. He was mocked more than respected. His nickname was "One Swing" among some players because of his famous home run in the '88 World Series for the Dodgers. Now, that said more about the Tigers' clubhouse at that time than Gibby, who was a very solid player, outstanding in the clutch and hard-nosed. In Arizona, he put his foot down from Day 1 and his players responded. He is smart guy who evidently learned a lot from his time as a coach with the Tigers.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous ST said...

That comment about his time with the Tigers is telling. I’m surprised that Gibson didn’t bloody the noses of those mocking him. You are right, the clubhouse during that time was awful, absolutely zero professionalism.

3:35 PM 
Anonymous Nolan said...

I thought the worst hit of the Lions / Bears game was the clothesline tackle Peppers put on Calvin to cause the fumble. If Suh had done that he would have definitely got a flag.

9:41 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gibson needed to be humbled when he was with the Tigers. He was extremely arrogant before and during his time as Tigers bench manager. I vividly recall him on his radio show publicly lambasting Luis Pujols and saying that he was incompetent. Pujols got the job unexpectantly and wasn't prepared but Gibson showed no mercy or compassion for the man. Then Trammell and Gibson walked in like they were gods and their very presence would fix everything. Wrong. Gibson got humbled quick. It is good to see that he learned, adapted and has become a successful manager.

5:53 PM 

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