Give Houk a Chance

The following opinions on timely sports subjects are purely my own, and do not reflect the editorial position of The Harvard Crimson:

Ralph Houk:

Haywood Sullivan made a good choice. This man will be a good manager in Boston, and precisely for the reasons he has been knocked. You hear a good deal of talk these days about how a manager has to be a hard-assed growler to win. I don't believe it.

Sure, Houk is a player's man--he won't blast them in print or lead by fear or threats--but there's nothing wrong with that. When he retired from baseball, Al Kaline commented that Houk was the best manager he ever played under. And, Yaz said it at the press conference: nobody, not stars or scrubs, ever knocks Houk as a man or a manager.

Players can perform under somebody they like--Danny Murtaugh, Bill Virdon, and Gil Hodges are good examples. Maybe Zimmer was too friendly with the boys, but Houk has done it for years and he's had success. Anyway, as Sullivan says, he may not be the right man, but "you'll never know until you try."

Fred Lynn:

I suppose we should all slow down. Once again, I defer to Sullivan--if the man says he's negotiating, you have to believe him. A whole crowd of people out there is saying Lynn shouldn't be traded, but that if he has to go, let's get rid of him now. Sorry, but baseball doesn't work that way, especially these days when contractual obligations hold up so many trades.

If the Dodgers won't give the Red Sox what Sullivan feels Lynn is worth, perhaps the deal should be made elsewhere. The names have been tossed around like so many beanbags, and who knows what combination of Howe, Lopes, Hatcher, Law, Baker, Cey, Power, Beckwith and Stewart is packaged for consideration right now? Clearly, the Boston management is thinking clearly. They want to get something for Lynn, Fisk and Burleson if they can't sign them. The winter has just begun, and there is really no reason to rush--it only seems so because so many of us are anxious to see what form this personnel reorganization will take.

The New Orleans Saints:

Wait a minute, wasn't this team talking Super Bowl this summer? As an outside observer, one has to look at the history of this team and question somebody's competence. The only sure bet is that the fault doesn't lie with Archie Manning. You have to feel for the guy--in the decade or so since he left Ole Miss he hasn't played on a winning team (hello, Bob Lanier?). Time is running out for Manning, who in another ten years will be the greatest unremembered quarterback in NFL history. This team should not be this bad.

Sports Huddle:

Too many of you newcomers to Boston sports scene have, I fear, never listened to this informative, entertaining talk show broadcast every Sunday night over WHDH. Aptly flanked by Mark Witkin and Jim McCarthy, Eddie Andelman, truly the oracle of the New England sports scene, dispenses wit and wisdom by the barrelful. The best of the many sports talk shows in the area, its only rival nationally is Pete Franklin's nightly diatribe over WWWE, Cleveland.

The last time I checked up on Pete, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien had just barred him from conversing with all Cavalier employees. Stepien resorted to such measures after Franklin ridiculed the new team fight song, comparing it to a beer-hall polka. After the edict, Franklin took time off from his regular "Pigskin Pete" feature to call Stepien a "pathological liar" and threaten court action. And you're still listening to Clif and Claf.