So the Red Sox are such an intimidating force, right now, that MLB has named a rule after Terry Francona and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America is referring to their new rule, beginning in 2013,that "any player who has a clause in his contract that contains financial incentives for postseason awards voted on by the BBWAA will be ineligible", as "The Schilling Rule". (Maybe the BBWAA isn’t calling it that officially, but their members are all using it in their stories.)
Nah, no bias against Boston in MLB. None at all.
Ironically, I actually agree with both ‘rules’. (Although I also think baseball managers wearing uniforms is ridiculous to begin with,but that’s an argument for another day.) What I don’t agree with is singling out someone in the name of enforcing the rule and making it so obvious that those people are the ONLY reason you’re doing so. Curt Schilling is far from the first player to have incentives in his contract that will gain him bonuses for getting an award (or, in his case, getting votes for an award). Yet the BBWAA waits all this time, until Curt gets a noteworthy clause in his contract, to deliver this "message"? It does nothing to improve my opinion of the majority of baseball writers out there. And it just reinforces the belief of many that a lot of writers are just wannabe players with axes to grind against the guys who could do what they can’t.
And the "Francona Rule"? Yankee Bob Watson made a fool of himself earlier this year when he had security go into the Sox dugout at Yankee Stadium to check and see if Tito was wearing a uniform jersey under his pullover. During a game, in the middle of an at-bat. He was crucified for it. So his response? Wait until the December meetings to announce there is a "Francona Rule", stating you can only wear your uniform top during a game. (In his announcement, Watson referred to the fleece that Francona wears as a "night shirt". Interesting, since it is an MLB-sanctioned "night shirt".
As anyone who watched American League baseball probably knows, Cleveland Indian’s manager Eric Wedge and Toronto’ Blue Jays’ manager John Gibbons are examples of two other managers who also wear pullovers instead of their uniform shirt. So why didn’t Watson refer to this as the "Wedge" rule or the "Gibbons" rule? And please don’t’ tell me it’s because Francona is more recognizable. I call bullshit. It’s because Yankee Bob has shown that he has a clear bias against Tito. Between this and the suspensions Tito has received, it’s absolutely clear how Watson feels about Francona, yet that asshole who runs the league allows it to go on.
When do people like the vice president of rules and on-field operations (Shit, is that really his title? No wonder he has a God complex!) get reprimanded for improper conduct? Answer is, they don’t. Watson’s pants are in a bunch because Tito has helped the Sox become the "IT" team in MLB – chipping away at the Yankee "mystique". He looks like a fool time after time and Selig just sits there, smiles, and let’s him have his way.
Ah well. For the second time in four season, the Red Sox get the last laugh. And that’s most important!
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