IN PRAISE OF MIKE TOMLIN

I think I have my NFL equivalent of Terry Francona - a favorite manager/head coach who I just can't root against, because I think they go about things the right way - and it again comes from an unlikely source.

I can't root for the Steelers - they give the Jets fits, knocked them out of the playoffs in 2004 - but I also can't root against them. I really like Mike Tomlin, and when I compile my list of NFL "Players I Like" (which I'm working on), he's the head coach.

First of all, I caught an episode of "Wired Up" on the NFL Network (I think that's what the show was called), and he was mini-featured. Nothing really personal or earth-shattering, just some sound of how he interacts with players. He seems real. Down-to-earth. Makes players want to go out and win for him. And most of all he seems genuine.

I've been bitten by that 'genuine' thing before - I thought Herman Edwards was genuine before he turned into a lying back-stabber. But this seems different.

He has an energy - he's young, and can closely relate to his players. So all that makes him someone you want your players playing for - because they want to play for him. But the reason I like him goes beyond that.

You watch any NFL game on any given week, and you see coaches who are constantly scowling and complaining. It doesn't look like anyone is having any fun.

Mike Tomlin seems different. He's not out there having a grand old time, but he also doesn't look like he's having the worst time of his life, like the other guys.

There's no constant complaining to the refs. There's a face, maybe, and he punches the air - kind of like I think I would do. But then it's back to business. He jumps around and looks excited when good things happen.

And most of all - he smiles a lot. Not just at the end of the game when the win is in hand. During the game. That's a big thing to me.

It's not like I see Mike Tomlin every week, so maybe my observations are way off base. And it just so happens that the day this is posted, the Steelers are playing the Patriots. That's not why I'm writing this - in fact, I think it's again better for the Jets if the Patriots win this week.

Mike Tomlin just seems like a good guy who is easy to root for. Even if he's hard to root for.

PLAYERS I LIKE

I was inspired to come up with this team by Dave in Brighton, who hasn't checked his fantasy team in so long that he may not remember this, but he built it this year around players he liked. I thought about the players I liked, and if I could make a team out of those players. I can. Some of this is dated, though, because I jotted it down so long ago (for example, before Mike Piazza was officially retired). I figured today was a good day for one last fluff piece before the nitty-gritty of September hit.

Terry Francona, Manager: I've written before about how much I like Terry Francona. I think he's done a great job, facing his fair share of adversity and maintaining a high level of success. He can manage my team any day. I share the concern of many who follow the Red Sox, though, for his overall health. Hopefully he's at least kicked the chewing tobacco.

Mike Piazza, Catcher: I don't know who I'd pick if I had to go for a player who isn't retired - perhaps Matt Wieters, this Orioles prospect who's supposed to be great. But I pick Piazza because he's a class act, and played the game hard. Clean? I'm not sure - I find it suspicious that he couldn't find a place to play this year...but I certainly hope so. I wouldn't pick him if I didn't believe it in my heart.

Sean Casey, 1st Baseman: This team isn't all about talent. Sure, Casey's a good hitter, but by all accounts, he's one of the nicest people in sports. That means he can play for me.

Chase Utley, 2nd Baseman: Yes, he plays for the Phillies, but he's one of the fantasy league all-stars I have on my team. Actually, not all of them are all-stars, as you will see.

Bobby Crosby, Shortstop: I bought into the hype when he first came up and was supposed to be the next Miguel Tejada for the A's. I still check out how he did in the box score.

David Wright, 3rd Baseman: Need I say more?

Ryan Braun, Left Field: A fun young player to watch.

Johnny Damon, Center Field: When countless Red Sox players snubbed me on the field when I was working for a local TV station, he spoke to me. It went like this - he comes out of the dugout, I asked him for a word. "I have to take a couple of swings, then I'll be right back." He walked over to the cage, signed some autographs for fans in the stands, took his cuts, then came straight back to me. "You wanted to talk, right?" I'll never forget how he helped me. I'll also never forget how Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon were among those who wouldn't even look at me.

Vladimir Guerrero, Right Field: I guess time heals all wounds. When he was with the Expos, I despised him. Now, he's one of the players I most enjoy watching.

Roy Halladay, SP: He's awesome now, but I owned him back when he had to be sent back down to Single-A for some seasoning. I feel like a proud papa seeing him have this success.

Erik Bedard, SP: I feel bad for him for the whole Seattle thing. It just never seemed like a good fit to me. I wish he was back in Baltimore.

Mike Maroth, SP: He will always have a special place in my heart - we suffered through his 21-loss season together.

Boof Bonser, SP: Just because.

Troy Percival, CP: I almost didn't go with a closer - there aren't many I like - but I've always liked rooting for the Angels, and Percival reminds me of them. Plus, it's been nice to see his resurgence with Tampa this year.

BENCH - Freddy Sanchez (I was there the night he had an insane game for the Red Sox against Houston, which must have been the reason Pittsburgh traded for him), Grady Sizemore (maybe just because of his birthday - 8/2/82), Jason Bay (so excited to see his Red Sox debut), and Ken Griffey, Jr. (a schoolyard favorite growing up).

ALMOST AS PERVASIVE AS STEROIDS

Not too long ago, had you asked me what cribbage was, I would have responded, "That's bed time at the 'House Sponsored by DirecTV'":

Wow. I can't believe how clean that room looks in that picture (from before The Baby was born). It's a disaster right now. Nevertheless, turns out there's a different kind of cribbage, and it's sweeping the Major League Nation. It looks like this:
It also involves cards, and at this point, that's all I know about the game of cribbage. But I'm going to learn more, because I think it's becoming cool.

I got the first hint of cribbage in relation to baseball when I heard that my favorite manager, Terry Francona (2 days in a row!), plays it before almost every game. I think it was a habit/superstition thing where Francona played Dustin Pedroia in cribbage before every game last season.

Then, it was reported that the game has made its way into the Mets clubhouse.

Before I get into that, a word on John Maine. It was also reported that last week was the first time John Maine had ever used the internet. He didn't even know what it was used for until last week. I like Maine, and I think I'm liking it even more that he's kind of an aloof space case. (And the good kind of aloof space case - the one whose actions don't affect the rest of the team.) He spends his days (when he's not throwing, which is four out of five days, for the most part) doing crossword puzzles and throwing around big vocabulary words. He also proclaims himself the best chess player in the clubhouse now that Paul Lo Duca, Shawn Green, and Mike DiFelice are gone. Although Aaron Heilman insists he's a challenge.

Which brings us back to cribbage. Heilman says he'll beat Maine at his game (chess) this year. But apparently, Heilman's game is cribbage. So speculation out of spring training is that Heilman will gladly take on all comers in cribbage....but I don't think everyone knows the game yet.

Well, I think that's about to change. I suspect, once this becomes more and more common knowledge, cribbage is going to take off like Texas Hold 'Em a few years back. And I'm getting in on the ground floor. And I know exactly who I can learn the game with and practice against - Dave in Brighton. He excels at stationary sports. I wouldn't even be surprised if Dave in Brighton already owns a cribbage board (or whatever it's called).

IN PRAISE OF TERRY FRANCONA

If I could choose a team of only players I liked (and inspired by Dave in Brighton's fantasy baseball team, I'm working on one), the manager would be Terry Francona. In spite of myself, he has become my favorite manager in the game.

When it comes to managing Major League Baseball teams, one of the most difficult jobs is manager of the Boston Red Sox. All Francona has done in his 4 years with the team is win, and make the job look easy.

He started behind the eight ball in my eyes. I did not like the fact that Grady Little took the fall for the 2003 ALCS loss by the Red Sox. But then the Red Sox introduced Terry Francona, and he said all of the right things. He didn't let the Boston media run away with stories. When he'd lose his temper with the media he sounded like a dad who was disappointed in his kid.

Francona doesn't lose his temper much. You see it every so often - and that's how you know an umpire has made a bad call. That's when you see Francona come out to argue. He handles the players and their eccentricities (read: Manny Ramirez) in a classy way. It always plays out behind closed doors. He'll never air dirty laundry, and even when a player starts a potentially controversial situation (like Curt Schilling or CoCo Crisp this spring), you get the idea he took these guys aside and told them things will work out - but to keep everything in-house.

Francona is just flat-out likeable. You want him to kick the chewing tobacco habit (he lost a bet to one of the Red Sox owners last year because he couldn't quit during the season...not for lack of effort - but even finding out about that through the media was like pulling teeth - he doesn't talk about himself). You want him to quit so that it doesn't negatively impact his health.

He also said all the right things when it came time to extend his contract, which should have happened immediately after his second world championship in four years, upon the completion of his eighth straight World Series win (against 0 losses). He didn't want it to be a distraction as the Sox began spring training.

On Sunday, February 24th, the Red Sox gave Francona a three-year contract extension. If I were them, that would have happened a lot sooner, and for a lot longer than three years. But they made the right decision, and they'll be a team to worry about for as long as Francona is at the helm.

SPRING TRAINING ON SNY: I lucked out today and was able to catch most of the Mets-Braves spring training game on SNY. A few observations:

1) Mike Pelfrey has looked great this spring, and he looked great today. Part of me keeps reminding the other part of me that it's still spring training, and we're still at a point where the pitchers are ahead of the hitters. Also, I needed to remind myself that he did the same thing to these Braves last September, so maybe Pelfrey just has the Braves' number. But the other part of me was very excited - Pelfrey threw strikes, he got groundouts, and he broke a lot of bats during his three scoreless innings. It was very encouraging - and part of the talk was about how Orlando Hernandez's situation isn't improving (he has various ailments), so it could be realistic that Pelfrey breaks camp with the team. (One caveat - the Mets won't need a fifth starter until mid-to-late April, so maybe Hernandez isn't behind schedule...and he'll be ready when the Mets need him.) Nevertheless, I would be confident in Mike Pelfrey if he is the Mets' fifth starter this year. More than confident, based on what I saw today.

2) One area where I won't be confident is first base. Carlos Delgado has had a recurrence of the hip injury that kept him out most of last September. So he's not playing right now, but the Mets aren't making a big deal out of it. The problem is, they're thin at first base. And on Monday afternoon, Michel Abreu started at first. He's not good. Abreu has been in the Mets' system for a few years - I always saw his name and thought it was Michael. But it's Michel. Pronounced like "Michelle". But he dropped a pickoff throw from Pelfrey, and he looks like he's working too hard to catch throws from the infield on routine grounders. Not a good sign for a first baseman. Hopefully Delgado's not too hurt, but if he is, the Mets need first base help.

3) Spring training games must be frustrating for broadcasters. This game featured Kevin Burkhart and Keith Hernandez (no Gary Cohen, in other words), and it's spring training, so there's a lot of feature-y stuff to talk about. Not to mention Burkhart's primary role is the sideline reporter, so he's got plenty of stuff to talk about during a slow spring training game. But the players keep swinging at the first pitch. Almost to a tee. Maybe the game slows down when there's all bench players/youngsters trying to prove themselves in the game late, but I didn't stick around to find out. Anyway, Burkhart and Hernandez kept starting stories, and they kept having to go to commercial in the middle of them. Frustrating, I would imagine.