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Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Deadspin: Even Joe Posnanski Gets Yelled At

In coincidental timing with David Weathers’ storming at the media, Poz takes his turn in the “Dark Side Of The Locker Room” section by recounting a (kind of) dark encounter with Jeff Montgomery, the face of the 90s Royals.

Now, I’m not going to tell you I’m the bravest guy around, because I’m not. I’m a bald, chubby-to-fat sportswriter. At first, I had that, “Damn, I’m going to have a fight with Jeff Montgomery and he’s going to pound on me like Sonny pounded Carlo,” feeling in my stomach. But after a couple of minutes, I realize he really isn’t going to hit me, there isn’t going to be a one-sided fight, and then it’s like I have one of those out of body experiences. Suddenly it’s like I’m looking down on the scene, and I’m thinking, “WOW, this guy is mad. Look at him. He’s really, really mad. He’s like crazy mad. Look at this guy, pacing around, stomping around, that towel wrapped around his hand, he’s really mad. I mean, this guy is mad.”

And then, it becomes sort of a mini-struggle not to laugh. Well, I don’t know that I was every close to laughing, but he WAS mad.

My favorite part was when the thing ended, and Jeff says, “Do we understand each other?” and he stomps off. The PR guy turned to me and in a shaken voice whispers: “I just want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of that.”

Joe is vague on the dates of his inflammatory columns, but the Internet isn’t.

Please keep comments, pitches down
JOE POSNANSKI The Kansas City Star
Published on 1999-06-04, Page D1, The Kansas City Star

KC’s all-time save leader earned his the hard way
JOE POSNANSKI The Kansas City Star
Published on 1999-09-24, Page D1, The Kansas City Star

Greg Franklin Posted: May 06, 2008 at 05:08 PM | 8 comment(s)
  Related News: GeneralHistoryKansas CityMedia

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   1. B. Selig Posted: May 06, 2008 at 07:43 PM (#2771164)
I read the article on Lexis. I've seen worse.
   2. Bruce Markusen Posted: May 06, 2008 at 09:25 PM (#2771424)
Just about any writer or reporter who ventures into a clubhouse or locker room will hear it at some point from an angry athlete or coach. Years ago, I was one of the reporters on the receiving end of a tantrum from Herb Brooks, who ended up taking a slam at my tape recorder. He wasn't mad at me, specifically, but didn't want his tirade to be taped for posterity. That was a difficult season covering Herb.

Back in the 1980s, two of my radio station colleagues heard it from Tony Taylor, the former big league second baseman who was managing the Utica Blue Sox of the NY-Penn League. He was upset about some second-guessing of his strategy they had delivered during a game broadcast. How did Taylor find out about the criticism? He and the players were listening to the play-by-play during the game in the dugout. It struck me as slightly ridiculous that a manager would be so sensitive to what was being said about him that he would actually allow the live broadcast to be played in the dugout.

Then there was the time that I tried to interview Paul Sorrento in the dugout at Doubleday Field. He didn't get mad, he just ignored me--and then ignored me some more. After trying to get him to acknowledge me for about 30 seconds, I just gave up and walked away!
   3. CFiJ Posted: May 06, 2008 at 11:28 PM (#2771646)
I don't think JoePo quite understood what he was supposed to do here. He was supposed to write about a nasty encounter with an ####### athlete, and then rip said athlete for being an ####### years after the fact, not write a good-natured, even-handed account of a conflict with a player, wherein everyone saves face.

Posnanski is fair, a good writer, does decent analysis, and has an earnest love for the game. He's a terrible sportswriter.
   4. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: May 07, 2008 at 09:36 AM (#2771949)
He's a terrible sportswriter.

I also can't see how his blog will survive given his brand of fair-mindedness. Just ask Buzz and Bob, blogs are for the rabble.
   5. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: May 07, 2008 at 09:49 AM (#2771960)
I also can't see how his blog will survive given his brand of fair-mindedness.

plus, his mother's going to throw him out of her basement pretty soon
   6. John Peterson Posted: May 07, 2008 at 03:15 PM (#2772423)
I don't get it. Montgomery just stomped around? What was the point?
   7. Cowboy Popup Posted: May 07, 2008 at 03:30 PM (#2772448)
On top of the fun read, the not related to the story at all punchline at the end is pretty funny.
   8. Toolsy McClutch Posted: May 07, 2008 at 04:07 PM (#2772530)
I think the Sonny analogy is a poor one, Carlo was a tough guy who worked out quite extensively. And he had a bravado about him. He did basically go coma-like when alpha dog Sonny came to deliver his message in person though, and I could see JoPo doing that.
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