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Monday, July 02, 2007

IBA: Del Grande: Mea culpa for damage done to A’s

Well…the days of Violent Psychosis playing at the Catheter Del Grande were over anyway.

It was not my intention to label Beane, the A’s general manager, a racist. I deeply regret failing to make the intended point of the column and thus leading readers to draw that conclusion.

My column last week serves as yet another example of how one careless thought can cause harm to many good people.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve criticized one of Beane’s moves, but it’s the first time he’s personally informed me of his displeasure. He’s certainly been fair in allowing me to scrutinize (some would say micromanage) a very successful organization over the years.

In fairness, I should have been the one who reached out to Beane — not vice versa — before the Bradley column was printed. No doubt it would have opened my eyes to an inexcusable error I was about to make.

Repoz Posted: July 02, 2007 at 12:13 PM | 38 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. Guy LeDouche Posted: July 02, 2007 at 12:52 PM (#2426248)

Sheesh,

This is like when Kramer didn't think communism was a big deal. Where's he been hiding all these years?

2. Charles S., consistent since he changed his mind Posted: July 02, 2007 at 12:56 PM (#2426254)

Maybe I'm missing something, but an apology would seem more sincere if you actually gave your own name in the column. "Some guy named Dave apologizes to Beane," doesn't really carry much weight. Then he completes the irony at the end of the article by saying "E-mail your observations (with full name and hometown) to dave@angnewspapers.com."

3. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: July 02, 2007 at 12:59 PM (#2426258)

At least he apologized.

4. Padgett Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:13 PM (#2426276)

It was not my intention to label Beane, the A's general manager, a racist. I deeply regret failing to make the intended point of the column and thus leading readers to draw that conclusion.

There was really only one fair reading of Del Grande's column -- that he was accusing Beane of making a racially-motivated roster decision. To now claim that this was unintended shows Del Grande to be either lying or stupid. And what could have possibly been the "intended point" of the piece?

5. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:17 PM (#2426281)

I guess he may be drawing a distinction between making a racially-motivated decision and being a racist. I personally don't think that's much of a distinction. In any case he apologized, possibly to save his job. There...now I'm speculating on a person's motives without evidence.

6. Guapo Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:21 PM (#2426284)

I wonder how readers could possibly have drawn that conclusion from this:

Let me get this straight: The A’s basically cut a supremely talented black outfielder because they have a dime-a-dozen white guy who complains less about being a backup. Somewhere, Torii Hunter is saying: I told you so.

What in the world was Billy Beane thinking?

...The agonizingly inconsistent Bradley has the potential to be a difference-maker when he’s hot. Name me one of the Oakland white guys about whom you could say that.

It’s no coincidence the A’s scuffled big-time in New York over the weekend against three pitchers not named Pedro. “Gloveless” Jack Cust was pressed into duty in right field, and “Once A Month” Marco Scutaro twice was called upon to pinch hit.

This wasn’t even a financial decision. This was a matter of Bradley being ... well, black.

7. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:31 PM (#2426291)

He forgot the include the first sentence - "After consulting with the paper's lawyers, I have come to the conclusion that..."

8. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:37 PM (#2426300)

For the last spots: Brandon Webb and Roy Halladay.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that they're both white, Dave.

9. JPWF13

Posted: July 02, 2007 at 01:57 PM (#2426321)

...The agonizingly inconsistent Bradley has the potential to be a difference-maker when he’s hot. Name me one of the Oakland white guys about whom you could say that.

It’s no coincidence the A’s scuffled big-time in New York over the weekend against three pitchers not named Pedro. “Gloveless” Jack Cust

I don't klnow, seems to me that an awful lot of players can be "difference makers" when hot, for instance the gloveless wonder has hit .354/.422/.646 the last 28 days...

10. Rich Posted: July 02, 2007 at 02:40 PM (#2426338)

The apology is laudable, but it does seem that too many people are all too primed to label people as being racist on insufficient facts.

11. 6 - 4 - 3 Posted: July 02, 2007 at 03:01 PM (#2426350)

What an @ssclown.

EDIT: I'd actually have more respect for him if he stood behind what he originally wrote, wrong as it may be. But no one is buying "I didn't mean to say Beane was a racist." Complete and total @ssclown.

12. Charlie O Posted: July 02, 2007 at 03:10 PM (#2426355)

#2: His name and a photo are shown in the print version of the Oakland Tribune. I don't know why they aren't shown here but this isn't the writer's fault.

13. bookbook Posted: July 02, 2007 at 03:20 PM (#2426358)

The author screwed up. He apologized for screwing up. I believe that he honestly didn't realize he was labeling Beane a racist, though he certainly should have.

He's probably on super double probation at the Oakland Tribune, and he should be.

But, hey, writers do make mistakes without being bad people. I believe he's sorry, and that he deserves the chance to avoid screwing up again. (Psst: Hey Tribune, do you really not do any rudimentary editing/oversight on the blogs that go out under your banner? You aren't blameless here.)

14. PepTech Posted: July 02, 2007 at 03:51 PM (#2426379)

Bookbook:

It's "double secret probation". Don't make us tell you again.

15. JMM Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:09 PM (#2426390)

There was really only one fair reading of Del Grande's column -- that he was accusing Beane of making a racially-motivated roster decision. To now claim that this was unintended shows Del Grande to be either lying or stupid.

He's stupid. Could be lying too, but definitely stupid.

16. JJ1986 Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:10 PM (#2426391)

This guy is upset that a real baseball game delayed his finding out who's going to play in the All-Star game. That's far more offensive than what he wrote about Beane.

17. icebaseball16 Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:17 PM (#2426396)

I wonder if the guy ever thought the reason Beane and the A's dropped Bradley cause he is never, really never healthy.

18. Guy LeDouche Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:23 PM (#2426401)

"Not that TBS pitched a perfect game Sunday. For the first time in baseball history, the announcement of the All-Star teams was delayed by rain. Did we really have to watch an extra 90 minutes of a battle between two also-ran teams before finding out who's coming to San Francisco?"

There are so many things wrong with this statement. Is this guy even a baseball fan? Or just a whiner?

19. AROM Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:25 PM (#2426404)

(Psst: Hey Tribune, do you really not do any rudimentary editing/oversight on the blogs that go out under your banner? You aren't blameless here.

That's not how blogs work. If he had to pass this throw an editor, it would be a column, not a blog. I imagine any oversight would be to tell him what he did was unacceptable and to clean it up (too late to take it back, you can try but somebody out there has already archived it) or to take away his rights to blog on their site.

20. JMM Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:31 PM (#2426408)

I wonder if the guy ever thought the reason Beane and the A's dropped Bradley cause he is never, really never healthy.

It was the reason they were going to reduce his playing time which is what led to his blow up which led to his being DFAd.

If he had to pass this throw an editor, it would be a column, not a blog.

It was/is a column, not a blog. It was on page 2 of the sports sections of the various ANG newspapers last Monday morning. Del Grande works for them as a columnist/fantasy sports expert.

21. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:52 PM (#2426420)

-If there ever were a time to make a case that all selections be made by the fans, this is the year. Aaron Rowand and Freddy Sanchez? Are you kidding me, Tony La Russa? Give me Ryan Howard and Eric Byrnes.

Aaron Rowand has been great this year. He not only deserves to be on the NL all-star team, he deserves to be starting (along with Eric Byrnes and Barry Bonds). The NL fans made a brutal mistake in electing Ken Griffey to start. He doesn't deserve to be on the team, at all. There are 16 NL outfielders who are clearly better than Junior, this year.

Del Grande's right on Freddy Sanchez. Ian Snell deserves to be the Pirate's rep, while Renteria should have had Sanchez's place. Dan Uggla should have had Orlando Hudson's spot, with Brandon Webb and Eric Byrnes going for the D-backs.

The NL will lose yet again.

22. CFBF Hates Hyphens Posted: July 02, 2007 at 04:57 PM (#2426421)

"Not that TBS pitched a perfect game Sunday. For the first time in baseball history, the announcement of the All-Star teams was delayed by rain. Did we really have to watch an extra 90 minutes of a battle between two also-ran teams before finding out who's coming to San Francisco?"

Huh. And I was going to complain in the Lounge that Chip Caray was so damn apologetic about the whole thing. Why is TBS apologizing for the fact that the baseball game it's telecasting is, you know, still going on?

23. Charlie O Posted: July 02, 2007 at 05:03 PM (#2426426)

It should be noted that Dave Del Grande often writes outlandish things just to stir the pot. A few examples: The Royals will win the AL Central this year, The Raiders should hire Rick Barry as their head coach (just before Art Shell was hired), Armando Benitez should represent the Giants in the All-Star game (2006)...

24. AROM Posted: July 02, 2007 at 05:11 PM (#2426436)

There are 16 NL outfielders who are clearly better than Junior, this year.

Its not that clear. Less than 1% of fans know anything about advanced defensive metrics. He's healthy, hitting .292 with 22 bombs, and has 10 career gold gloves.

25. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 02, 2007 at 05:19 PM (#2426441)

It's not that clear.

I stand corrected. It's that clear to me.

26. Mike Emeigh

Posted: July 02, 2007 at 05:20 PM (#2426443)

Ian Snell deserves to be the Pirate's rep, while Renteria should have had Sanchez's place.

They're close, but Gorzelanny has pitched better than Snell on a game-to-game basis, IMO.

-- MWE

27. kthejoker Posted: July 02, 2007 at 06:19 PM (#2426487)

C'mon people. A journalist ADMITTING he was an uninformed doofus and you guys are still all over him? He needs his hand shaken badly to encourage this among some of his colleagues.

28. scareduck Posted: July 02, 2007 at 06:34 PM (#2426498)

He needs his hand shaken badly to encourage this among some of his colleagues.

I'm sure Beane would be willing to shake it to the point it tears off.

29. akrasian Posted: July 02, 2007 at 07:54 PM (#2426539)

The NL fans made a brutal mistake in electing Ken Griffey to start. He doesn't deserve to be on the team, at all. There are 16 NL outfielders who are clearly better than Junior, this year.

But why should the ASG just be the "All First Half" team?

Griffey is a star - the sort of player that people will still be talking about 30 years from now. And he's having a good season - at least with the bat. Why is it a travesty to elect a charismatic player who's had a great career AND is having a good season this year?

30. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 02, 2007 at 11:21 PM (#2426827)

Why is it a travesty to elect a charismatic player who's had a great career AND is having a good season this year?

I know this is subjective, but Griffey is charismatic? Why?

31. xbhaskarx Posted: July 02, 2007 at 11:39 PM (#2426900)

forget charismatic, future (deserving) hall of famer.

32. strong silence Posted: July 02, 2007 at 11:43 PM (#2426918)

a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.

Depends on how you define quality and influence. He gets lots of people to buy tickets and watch him play so it appears that he is charismatic.

33. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 03, 2007 at 04:52 PM (#2427751)

Strong, if that's charisma, then Bonds is the most charismatic player in baseball today -- possibly ever.

I admire Ken Griffey the ballplayer. He's a huge talent and he's clearly an HOFer. But for injuries, he may have been in the argument about being the greatest player of all time. However, I've heard him interviewed, and he has no personality at all. He's not a thinker and he's not clever. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, but there's no there, there. He strikes me as the kind of guy who, but for his great athletic abilities, would have just been an ordinary person who nobody paid any attention to. That is not a knock; it's just normal. But to say he has 'spiritual power' or 'an influential personality' is off base.

34. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: July 03, 2007 at 04:59 PM (#2427758)

I admire Ken Griffey the ballplayer. He's a huge talent and he's clearly an HOFer. But for injuries, he may have been in the argument about being the greatest player of all time. However, I've heard him interviewed, and he has no personality at all. He's not a thinker and he's not clever. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, but there's no there, there. He strikes me as the kind of guy who, but for his great athletic abilities, would have just been an ordinary person who nobody paid any attention to. That is not a knock; it's just normal. But to say he has 'spiritual power' or 'an influential personality' is off base.

Are we talking about the same Ken Griffey jr.? In the 1990's Griffey was widely considered one of the most charismatic players in the game because of his smile, his playfulness, his enthusiasm, etc.

35. McLovin Posted: July 03, 2007 at 05:09 PM (#2427761)

AND DON'T FORGET THAT NEAT WAY HE WORE HIS HAT BACKWARDS!!!! *sigh*

36. strummer Posted: July 03, 2007 at 05:44 PM (#2427788)

a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.

Yes, but is he our savior?

37. Eraser-X is emphatically dominating teh site!!! Posted: July 03, 2007 at 06:06 PM (#2427806)

Holy crap, someone made a half-assed apology about some racial slight. Believe me, when it comes to these, this is about 10 times stronger than the average Rosie/Jay Leno non-apology. And then there's most people who just say, "I'm sorry you're too stupid to find my bad asian drivers joke funny!".

38. Rich Rifkin I Posted: July 03, 2007 at 11:24 PM (#2428128)

Are we talking about the same Ken Griffey jr.? In the 1990's Griffey was widely considered one of the most charismatic players in the game because of his smile, his playfulness, his enthusiasm, etc.

Yeaarrgghhhh, I think you are confusing the Ken Griffey image -- as was portrayed in those endless Ken Griffey for President commercials that ran on ESPN and on network TV, which MLB produced -- with the actual person. I grant you that he did have a positive image when he was in Seattle. He was not a bad guy and he did smile, even if he never had anything to say. I just assumed that if someone is "charismatic," he had to have an actual personality.

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IBA: Del Grande: Mea culpa for damage done to A’s

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