David...I am not saying that Buddy Berenson was a breeze to
play for. I saw players who were on the 1968-69 roster that literally
played ONE game a night and that would be Mon-Thurs. They sat
on Fri-Sat nights. There were nights when I played only 2 games.
My first 3-4 seasons I rarely played past the early games but
once a week or so Pedro Mir would schedule me into the 8th or
11th game. Playing at Miami Jai-Alai back in those years was all
about entertainment, marketing and revenue...so I can look back,
see the big picture and understand why they did things the way
they did. And I don't know who had the bigger input on player's
roles...Buddy Berenson or Pedro Mir.
When you and I played together in Tampa, you related to me the
story about Berenson practically shutting you out from playing
in Hartford and your disdain for him not giving you a chance.
I told you then that although I felt you had the ability and deserved
a chance...there was most likely a lot of political bs going on
that had nothing to do with you personally...you just so happened
to be caught in the middle...at the wrong time. Admittedly I played
Hartford before Berenson, so I don't know what changes he went
through and what influenced him to institute a different outlook
in management...from your perspective.
But I will disagree with you on one topic. I played with James,
Daniel and Marshall extensively. With all due respect, James played
great and with a lot of confidence...much like your own style
and flair...but Daniel and Marshall were better with natural ability,
confidence and most important...consistency.
