THIS and that to chew on over lunch: The buck at St. Louis
has to stop with LeeIf you're Father Mario Pariante, president of St. Louis School, what do you do?
On one hand, you have a football coach and staff who have given the school national recognition with their play on the field. Head coach Cal Lee has done wonders in that area.
Lee also has no doubt affected the lives of many young men in a positive way. He obviously has earned and commands the respect of his players and coaching staff.
On the other hand, you have a football coach, staff and parents who obviously let a postgame celebration in Las Vegas get entirely out of hand, criminal even.
The buck has to stop somewhere.
Some folks are saying it's the kids' fault. It is.
Some folks are saying it's the parents' fault. It is.
Some folks are saying it's the coaches' fault. It is.
Ultimately, it is Lee's fault.
He's the one who took his team to Vegas and failed to police the matter properly. He's the one who turned his back, if only for a couple hours, to hit The Strip.
He's the one who should have made sure that something like this could not happen under any circumstance. And he didn't.
Pariante's investigation into the matter will end soon. Don't be surprised if dozens of players are suspended from the team, as they should be.
The larger question is this: Should the person in charge, Cal Lee, be allowed to coach the team the rest of the season?
Holy cow!
Isn't it just like the Cubs to make the baseball playoffs the year Harry Caray dies?
Actually, it's not all that surprising. The Tribune Co. has put together a fine management team, starting with president Andy MacPhail, who built two World Series champions as general manager of the Minnesota Twins.
In fact, MacPhail even has two key pieces of those teams in place with the Cubs. Top starter Kevin Tapani was a young star on the 1991 Twins pitching staff and third baseman Gary Gaetti was a major force on the Twins team that won it all in '87. Gaetti was the most valuable player of the American League Championship Series that year.
You gotta hand it to MacPhail. He has taken a club that for years was synonymous with losing and turned it into a winner.
Now, whether the Cubbies can handle the Braves is another matter. It's certainly not inconceivable that Atlanta could choke this series, though. That team has found more ways to lose big when the money's on the line than any other team this decade.
The other series in the National League sure started on a great note. Kevin Brown's performance yesterday was one for the ages. That it came against the man considered the most dominating pitcher in the game, Randy Johnson, shows you just what kind of moxie Brown has.
The Padres struggled in the latter part of the season, but they have the everyday players and the pitching to win it all.
Pitching coach Dave Stewart deserves a front-office spot somewhere in the big leagues. He's done wonders.
In the American League, I almost hate to say this, but the Yankees are going to walk through. Their lineup, top to bottom, is the best in the major leagues in years.
It is amazing to me how manager Joe Torre has taken so many marvelously talented players and gotten them to work together so well.
And you can't help but love pitcher David Wells.
Baseball has had a nice rejuvenation. It always was the greatest game of all. People have been reminded of that this summer.
As for the World Series: How about the Yankees and the Padres?
The old and the new come together. And the Yankees win.
