Event: The sinking of the Titanic
Date: April 1912
Description: Most deadly nautical disaster in modern human history.
Commemorated Centennial by: Re-release of James Cameron’s epic, Oscar award winning 1997 film, “Titanic” in 3D; Multiple avenues of recognition throughout the country and via social media.
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| Sank April 15, 1912 2 |
Event: The opening of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox
Date: April 1912
Description: Opening of, what today is, the oldest actively used sports venue in North America
Commemorated Centennial by: Ceremony at Fenway this afternoon; weekend series played against the Red Sox’s long time, historic arch rival, the New York Yankees. In addition, Red Sox, a franchise that has been plagued by epic collapses, is engaging in what could be the biggest early season disaster in franchise history.
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| Opened April 20, 1912 1 |
IT’S JUST A GAME, BUT
Let me open by saying that in no way am I comparing the somber nature of the Titanic sinking, a tragic and unnecessary disaster in which over 1,500 people died a horrible, painful death, to the comic-tragic quagmire that is becoming the 2012 Boston Red Sox’s season. However, time heals many wounds.
The last known survivor of the disaster, Millvina Dean, died three years ago. Many of the survivors’ children and some of their grandchildren have passed on. Nobody can claim first hand experience of the disaster and I doubt there are many, if any, people living who were directly impacted. The Titanic is truly “history” in every definition of the term. I think it is fair game for scaled comparisons to current, albeit less serious, events.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
The 2012 Boston Red Sox and the R.M.S. Titanic disaster in 1912 have more things in common than a centennial commemoration within a week of each other. The Titanic was an epic disaster with a spectacular collapse. The Red Sox 2012 season is shaping into an epic, disastrous collapse. Both failures were preventable and unnecessary. Both failures included a myriad of poor decisions. Had any one of those decisions been made differently, the undesirable final outcome could have been mitigated or avoided altogether.
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| Sports often imitate life. 3 |
Titanic Disaster
Decision: The ship was equipped with a limited number of life boats which, at full capacity, could only hold half of the capacity of the Titanic.
Reason for the decision: The deck would look too cluttered, detracting from the luxury and aesthetics of the ship.
Benefit of the decision: Passengers, especially those who held more expensive tickets, would have more room to walk and a better view from the deck.
Negative consequences of the decision: An actual emergency requiring complete evacuation of the ship occurred. The lack of sufficient lifeboats contributed significantly to the ensuing 1,500 deaths.
Red Sox Season
Decision: The team is equipped with a limited number of younger and/or newer players. Many of the players are veterans. Roughly half of the everyday starters and starting pitchers were on the 2007 World Series championship team. The vast majority of the remaining 2007 World Series champions were on the 2004 World Series championship team.
Reason for the decision: They won two World Series in the 2000s for a reason. The remaining members of those teams are very good players. The fans love them.
Benefit of the decision: The Red Sox have a very strong and deep core, relative to other teams, of veteran personnel. They have a shared vision, shared experience, and a shared purpose.
Negative consequences of the decision: Unfortunately, one of the people from the 2004 and 2007 championship teams, former manager Terry Francona, was fired after last year’s September meltdown. Sticking with the nautical theme, the ship hired a new skipper. However, the crew spent much of their careers following the orders of the former captain. Tito’s way became their way and old habits among baseball veterans die very hard.
Titanic Disaster
Decision: Captain E.J. Smith, a longtime seaman, had extensive experience sailing the North Atlantic. In spite of having multiple ice warnings in his hand, he continued sailing at full speed, assuming that the crew would be able to spot any icebergs in time to steer around them. He incorrectly assumed that the calm seas contributed to high visibility. Instead, the opposite happened, with the clam, unbeknownst to or not acted upon by Smith, being an indicator of risky, icy conditions.
Reason for the decision: Smith and the management of the White Star Line wanted to garner attention for the speed of the ship and hoped to arrive in New York earlier than scheduled.
Benefit of the decision: More speed
Negative consequences of the decision: The iceberg that the Titanic would collide with was not spotted quickly enough. The ship could not steer around the iceberg. The ship sank. Over 1,500 people died.
Red Sox Season
Decision: Bobby Valentine, a longtime manager, has extensive experience managing in the major leagues. In spite of having multiple incidents of flamboyance and managerial eccentricity in his past, the Red Sox continued with the process of hiring him to replace Tito Francona, who was very popular among his players. The Red Sox incorrectly assumed that Valentine’s lengthy resume and record of past success would translate into credibility with the current cast of players and fans.
Reason for the decision: Management thought that Tito could not remain at the helm after the nine game lead in the Wild Card race was lost in the final month of the 2011 season. The Red Sox wanted a strong, experienced manager.
Benefit of the decision: The Red Sox had a former pennant winning manager with a reputation for having a very high baseball IQ. Valentine’s experience made his hiring credible.
Negative consequences of the decision: Bobby Valentine went “Bobby Valentine”. He made public comments questioning the commitment of third baseman Kevin Youkilis. The team appeared to take umbrage with Valentine, as indicated by the public responses Youkilis and former MVP second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who suggested (in so many words) Valentine take his dog-and-pony show back to Japan, where Valentine managed for several years.
Titanic Disaster
Decision: The ship was marketed as “unsinkable”. It was designed to be unsinkable. Management was convinced it was unsinkable. The crew, apparently, bought into some of the notion that the ship was unsinkable.
Reason for the decision: The White Star Line attempted engineering innovation, to set themselves ahead of their competitors.
Benefit of the decision: Positive publicity, interest in the vessel and, ultimately, higher demand for tickets resulting in higher ticket prices. “Unsinkable” sounds like a great label. “Unsinkable” is a noble engineering goal for which the White Star Line tried to reach. “Unsinkable”, however, ignores the fact that the ship was made of iron. The ubiquitous “unsinkable” label appeared to permeate the thought process of those in charge. Apparently, they thought the ship really could not sink.
Negative consequences of the decision: It sank.
Red Sox Season
Decision: The Red Sox made no major acquisitions in free agency in 2012, though they lost longtime All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon to free agency. In 2011, with the acquisitions of stars Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, adding to an already talented team, many billed the Red Sox as the front runner in the American League. Many in the media wrote and spoke with an undertone suggesting that the Red Sox winning of the American League pennant was inevitable. When the Red Sox fell to pieces and missed the playoffs last year, the prevailing thought was that the problem must be with management; no team with the Red Sox personnel could possibly be deficient in player talent.
Reason for the decision: Free agents are expensive. The Red Sox already spent a king’s ransom in free agency when they acquired Crawford and Gonzalez. The Red Sox felt good with the people they had in place, the “real” best team in the American League in 2011.
Negative consequences of the decision: Doing the same thing the same way under the same conditions and expecting a different result is the essence of insanity. The Red Sox, with very similar personnel in 2011, started 0-6 and missed the playoffs. With the same players, but a veteran-combustible manager in Valentine, the Sox are 4-8, in the toilet of the American League East Division, and have the worst pitching in Major League Baseball. Before Valentine opened his trap and threw Youkilis under the bus, the Red Sox were riding a three game winning streak, on the verge of a four game sweep of the division rival Tampa Bay Rays. The BoSox have not won since, dropping the final game of the Rays series and being swept by the Texas Rangers (including an 18-3 blasting at the hands of the defending American League champions on Tuesday).
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| If I didn't tell you that this photo was from the last day of the 2011 regular season, could I have fooled you into thinking this picture was shot this year? The mood is similar in Beantown. 5 |
LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
The 100th anniversary of the Red Sox’s stadium and the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking could be a coincidence. The parallels between the Red Sox disaster and the Titanic disaster are not perfect. However, both catastrophes offered multiple warning signs and the fallouts of each could have been mitigated or avoided.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, the season and the people on the team are still alive. There are 150 games remaining in the season. The Sox have a number of issues to address and the players must come together with the manager if there is any hope of Boston reaching the postseason. The Red Sox must benefit from history or they’ll be second guessing themselves in hindsight.
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| Speaking of coincidences, is it a coincidence that Fenway Park opened on 4/20? 5 |
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1) Image from http://boston.redsox.mlb.com
2) Image from www.ibiblio.org
3) Image from http://articles.nydailynews.com
4) Image from http://radioboston.wbur.com
5) Image from www.fark.com
