King of the Impossible

Tom Gordon decided to vent about his time in NY yesterday. He complained that the NY media was too harsh and that he had to put up with some disparaging comments from fans in front of his kids. Tom Gordon was the set up man for Mo Rivera for the past two years and was probably the best set up man that Mo has ever had (forgive me Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson). He did face some scrutiny in the press, probably most visibly for his supposed throwing up incident and subsequent failure in the '04 Red Sox series. However, for the most part, he was treated well, because he performed well and did not make waves in the clubhouse. During this off season he accepted a job as the closer of the Philadelphia Phillies. Going from set up man to closer will focus a lot more attention and pressure on him than he ever had in New York. Now if Tom didn't like the way he was treated here as a set up man, I certainly hope he's ready for the treatment he's going to get in Philadelphia as the closer, where he replaces the very popular and proficient Billy Wagner. It's the only town where the fans hate their own players more than the opposing team. The press is relentless and he and his family are going to be subject to more abuse than he could ever imagine.

That is, of course, unless he never blows a save. Good luck, Flash. We'll miss you. I just hope you don't end up missing the quiet days and nights in the Bronx.