DOUBLE TALK

## FIRST EXAMPLE
Buster Olney has brought up the issue of CC Sabathia's work load as being the cause of his poor start this year. According to Buster, CC has averaged over 250 innings a year since 2007. Gee, maybe we should ask CC. Buster did, and CC waved him off saying that he just didn't have the 'command' that he would like. Wouldn't that be a result of fatigue?

We never seem to get straight answers to questions in baseball, whether you're talking to players, managers, umpires, front office personnel and MLB executives. It's always the same: blah, blah, blah, and you walk away thinking, "What'd he say?" They respond with cliches or drag the topic away from the point, or they use my favorite dodge: "Um, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment at this time." At least they learned one thing from Watergate - how to respond without answering.

## SECOND EXAMPLE
Apparently, Bobby Valentine missed some of the non-response classes. After criticizing Kevin Youkilis, Valentine tried to explain his comments at a press conference. It was a complete failure, and I mean, complete.
"When I said he wasn't committed, I meant his swing was...He wasn't...um...That's all. He knows I'm behind him, I wasn't criticizing his...I was just...ah...I meant that he...I would never..."
He couldn't even think of a decent lie. Later, he explained that Youkilis' lack of mental commitment by saying that"...he wasn't breaking as many helmets as he did last year." THAT'S how you tell if your players are trying? By counting broken helmets? It wasn't a good lie, but at least he tried.

## THIRD EXAMPLE
The Oakland A's want to move out of their football stadium and into a new park in San Jose. The San Francisco Giants say that's part of their fan base and refuse the A's permission to move. The A's wants MLB to get involved and make a decision. Here's the problem: If Baseball says the A's can move to San Jose, the Giants will take them to court and so will the city of Oakland, which claims the A's have a signed commitment to stay there for several more years. If Baseball says the A's can't move, the city of San Jose and the A's will take them to court. What a dilemma. What is MLB's response? It's this: [---------------------------]. That's right, nothing. It's the ultimate double talk. Saying nothing by saying nothing. You can't be criticized for a bad decision if you don't make one. See children, that's why they're in charge.

## FOURTH EXAMPLE
I wrote about the Dodgers umpire-assisted triple play against the Padres yesterday. Today, MLB released a statement saying the Padres were "partially correct." Which means, of course, they were 'partially incorrect.' It's hard to be wrong when you argue both sides of the question.
MLB's explanation was that umpire Dale Scott "...exhibited an incorrect mechanic." Excuse me? Doesn't that mean he made a mistake? "No," they said. " He raised his arms to get out of the catchers way and then inadvertently raised them higher with his palms up." That's baseball's sign for time out, foul ball or simply, no play. And now, it seems that it also means, 'incorrect mechanic.' I hope that explains it to everyone. If not, see Bobby Valentine's comments earlier.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Spurs lost to the Jazz after sitting out three of their biggest stars. Not to be outdone, the Bobcats lost to the Wizards after playing all of theirs." RJ Currie
"North Korea's ballyhooed long-range rocket launch turned out to be a lot of hype that backfired before it got very far. In other words, the aeronautical equivalent of a Rex Ryan Super Bowl guarantee." -- Dwight Perry
"Larry Bird, to CBS's David Letterman, on the trademark smile of longtime NBA rival Magic Johnson: "My goal was to take three of them teeth home with me."
"New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said this weekend that he didn’t think Boston fan favorite Kevin Youkilis was “as physically or emotionally into the game.” What’s next? Valentine saying he loves and respects the Yankees?" -- Janice Hough
"Tiger has lost his mind," said CBS commentator Nick Faldo after Woods took himself out of the running at the Masters Tournament at Augusta National by angrily kicking his nine iron and carding a dismal 75. Seems like the only one who can handle a nine iron in the Woods family anymore is his ex, Elin Nordegren." -- Bob Mills

CP-