Someone point Rob Manfred in the direction of a calendar.
The Grading the Week staff thinks he might not be aware what month this is. Why? Well….
MLB/Manfred — F
Just about any adult American who didn’t fail high school civics knows there’s a pretty big event that happens on the first Tuesday of November every leap year.
Apparently, Major League Baseball’s commissioner isn’t one of those people.
Because on Tuesday night, as nearly everyone in the country was awaiting the results of one of the most highly anticipated presidential elections in modern U.S. history, baseball decided to hand out its Gold Glove Awards.
Yes, that’s right. You might not have heard about it amid the insanity that has been this past week, but Nolan Arenado was awarded his eighth consecutive Gold Glove on Tuesday.
In doing so, Arenado tied Scott Rolen for the third most Gold Gloves won by a third baseman in MLB history, and also stretched out his record for most consecutive Gold Gloves to begin an infielder’s career. Those are incredible achievements for the Rockies superstar — ones certainly worth celebrating with a wide audience. But Arenado was denied that because the people running baseball don’t care enough to properly promote the game.
That, dear readers, is how a sport finds itself with declining interest and a dearth of easily identifiable stars.
Pac-12 — C
One week into the Pac-12 regular season, and we’ve already seen two games canceled due to the coronavirus.
That’s a .667 average for those not counting at home — which will get you into the Hall of Fame in baseball, but is less than ideal if that’s the percentage of scheduled games you’re successfully playing.
One game (Cal-Washington) was lost to strict COVID regulations in the Bay Area, while the other (Utah-Arizona) was scrapped following a Utah team outbreak (in a state that is currently redder than its jerseys on the New York Times’ COVID map).
Wasn’t the entire point of the daily rapid antigen testing the Pac-12 procured to avoid situations like this?
As we are constantly reminded, it’s the coronavirus that’s in control.
Steve Addazio — A-
Oh, how quickly things have changed for Colorado State’s new head football coach.
In his first game leading the Rams, Addazio picked the wrong starting quarterback and saw his defense get shredded by Fresno State in a 38-17 loss on the road. In his second game, he put Patrick O’Brien behind center, let the defense loose and pulled off something his predecessor, Mike Bobo, did only once in five years: beat Wyoming.
What’s more impressive: Daz’s Dudes did it on defense, creating a pair of early turnovers that either directly or indirectly led to touchdowns and a 14-0 first-quarter advantage, then held on late with a clutch drive from O’Brien and company.
That’s not something we’ve seen a whole bunch out of FoCo the past couple of seasons.
