Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
In his newsletter today (subscribe here), Joe Sheehan writes: Sports, and especially the best sport there is, should be a meritocracy. When you buy a ticket to see a ballgame, you should expect to get the highest level of play that the teams can give you. Sometimes that means the 2001 Mariners, and sometimes that means the September 2012 Red Sox, but there should never be any question that the guys on the field are the best that were available to those teams on that day. Giving away roster spots and at-bats in the interest of ginning up goodwill is an affront to the men who, even as I write this, are in a weight room or a batting cage or an agent’s office, doing anything they can to earn that which, sometime tonight, is being gifted. It’s not right. Baseball shouldn’t be a sideshow, despite the best efforts of the game’s administration to make it one.
... By the way, only in America: Vegas has posted odds on Greenberg’s result. From Bovada.lv:
Strikeout, 7/5
Groundout, 11/4
Air out, 7/2
Single, 4/1
Walk/HBP, 5/1
Double/triple, 10/1
Home run, 50/1
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In his newsletter today (subscribe here), Joe Sheehan writes: Sports, and especially the best sport there is, should be a meritocracy. When you buy a ticket to see a ballgame, you should expect to get the highest level of play that the teams can give you. Sometimes that means the 2001 Mariners, and sometimes that means the September 2012 Red Sox, but there should never be any question that the guys on the field are the best that were available to those teams on that day. Giving away roster spots and at-bats in the interest of ginning up goodwill is an affront to the men who, even as I write this, are in a weight room or a batting cage or an agent’s office, doing anything they can to earn that which, sometime tonight, is being gifted. It’s not right. Baseball shouldn’t be a sideshow, despite the best efforts of the game’s administration to make it one.
... By the way, only in America: Vegas has posted odds on Greenberg’s result. From Bovada.lv:
Strikeout, 7/5
Groundout, 11/4
Air out, 7/2
Single, 4/1
Walk/HBP, 5/1
Double/triple, 10/1
Home run, 50/1
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1. PreservedFish Posted: October 02, 2012 at 09:43 PM (#4251815)I think this Greenberg thing was very silly, but honestly, do you think that the Marlins were all pissed about this? I really doubt it. The fans certainly enjoyed it.
Whatever. Please do not turn baseball into a version of "Make A Wish".
he's always been a B actor
Yes, I agree that baseball is a meritocracy, but sometimes, every once in awhile, we can drop all of the seriousness and remember that it's for fun, too.
Especially in a game that had no impact on the pennant races whatsoever.
Sarah Crilly, a 20-year-old soccer player for Stirling University and Hamilton Ladies club, was invited by the Scottish National women's team to practice against them because the national team had suffered a string of injuries, and didn't have enough players for a full practice. As a thank you, the club gave Sarah tickets for their game the next day against Norway. So she got her friends together, and went to watch the game as a spectator. During pre-match warmups, a Scotland player got hurt. In the first half, another player got hurt, and Scotland was running out of players. The national team administrator saw Sarah in the concessions stand line at half-time waiting for a cup of tea, recognised her, and asked her if she'd brought her boots with her. She said no, but the administrator took her to the locker room, found her a uniform (way too big for her), and a pair of boots two sizes too big, which they alleviated by giving her three pairs of socks. They then stuck her on the bench for the second half. And two more Scottish players got hurt, and they had to put her in. This is the national team we're talking about, not some park league game. With five minutes left, Norway is leading 2-1...and Sarah scores the tying goal in what ends up as a 2-2 draw. So she goes to a national team game as a spectator, gets recruited at half-time, gets in the game, and scores!
I'm sort of sympathetic to the Greenberg story, but a lot of the fuss about this is, "Oh the poor guy played in one game and didn't even get an official at-bat," as if the difference between PA and AB is something monumental.
Greenberg got into a game. He got hit, and that may have ruined his career, but unfortunately things like that happen in sports. But he still got into a game and would have "retired" with a 1.000 OBP. It's not like his appearance didn't "count." He's in the box score and the record books and Baseball-Reference.com. Lots of minor league players never get to wear a major league uniform, or get to hear their named called at a major league stadium.
Greenberg's story was unlucky, but hardly tragic. I don't see how he feels any better now, except that more people know his story and believe that he might have been a good major leaguer. This certainly shouldn't give him any "closure" though.
Uh, may have ruined his career? He had terrible post-concussion symptoms after. It ruined his career. Anyway, career minor leaguers get called up all the time in September as a thanks for surviving the bus rides so those guys can cry me a river.
Sheehan's alright but man is he a whiny baby and man is he a narcissist. His MVP rant was pretty much all about how he, St. Joe Sheehan, is a better analyst than everybody else and sportswriters are trying to screw him over by picking Miguel Cabrera. When Joe Sheehan rants it can be accurately summed up as me me me me me why don't people just accept that I'M RIGHT me me me me me.
What I mean is, there's no guarantee he would have had a (major-league) career without the beaning. He wasn't exactly a can't-miss prospect. In 2005, at age 24, he hit .269/.386/.407 in AA. His season high in HR was 6, his season high in SB was 26 (74% success rate). His upside was probably 4th outfielder. That's a better fate than what he ended up with, but in a world where he got his "official" AB instead of a concussion, he still could have easily been sent down to the minors a few days later and never made it back.
And I agree with you about Sheehan. I used to enjoy his writing and his assertive stances. Then I realized he was wrong just as often as everyone else but kept acting like he wasn't.
Re: Greenberg - I'm happy for him but at the same time there are an awful lot of guys at AAA who deserve a similar shot and I don't want to see this become a regular, last day of the season thing. "This year's perseverance player is brought to you by Depends, for when you've held on as long as you can."
It's not that Greenberg wasn't deserving, it's just that there are lots and lots of guys deserving.
To me, the dreams would be:
1. Be on a major-league roster, wearing a uniform, at a non-exhibition game.
2. Playing in a major-league game. (Could be pinch running or a defensive replacement -- you're in the books forever.)
3. Get a turn at bat in a major-league game.
Everything beyond that (first hit, first run, first home run, first game-winning hit) just seems like icing on the cake.
I mostly agree, but it's not like Greenberg drew a walk or even dropped a sacrifice bunt in his only PA. Getting hit in the head completely took the at bat out of his hands.
If Greenberg got to choose the charity to which his salary was donated, I suppose it would be hard to turn down, but I think I'd almost rather keep my unique accomplishment than do this stunt. (Although perhaps he also overrated his own abilities and expectations for the at-bat, maybe trying to get back into pro ball?)
So much cynicism here. Sheesh. He never had the chance to swing in his first appearance. He got it last night. It harmed no one. It was a cool moment. Greenberg seems to have greatly appreciated it.
It's a nice moment and I can't believe anyone's upset by it.
I think it depends on whose perspective you are taking. I think it's clear that for Greenberg getting another shot is a hell of a lot more interesting. By the same token from my perspective the idea of a player who gets hit with the only pitch he sees is a lot more interesting.
I seem to remember Villanova basketball was once struck with either suspensions and/or the flu, got the team manager into live game action.
This. Baseball is entertainment, not some sort of life-or-death morality play.
Dear God, I'm glad I didn't have to announce that game. You know what would've happened...
In support of his position, it's stereotypically the old-schoolers who extol the value of defense and baserunning, whereas here they're seemingly doing the opposite. And we have seen them stick to that principle in MVP voting, e.g. Ichiro beating Giambi.
On the other hand, the writers often haven't put their small-ball money where their mouth is when it comes to the MVP. e.g. George Bell over Trammell and Dawson over Ozzie/Raines, and that's just in one season. (Or Morneau over Jeter in '06... it happens a lot.) It also seems like it's not solely an old guard thing... Olney and Morosi, these guys aren't "old" and they're very pro-Cabrera, if I'm not mistaken? (Although maybe we shouldn't even count Morosi since he's a Detroit guy.)
I do think that the writers honestly do believe that the Triple Crown is perhaps baseball's ultimate achievement, and that Cabrera has been a tremendous hitter for many years who is "due" for an award, and that RBI are awesome, and that playoff position is more important than team wins, and so forth... things that, even though they are bad reasons, are at least baseball reasons. On the other hand, it seems silly to deny that the dynamic that Sheehan is talking about, is something that is going on.
I really don't know where to come down. I suppose maybe it doesn't matter, since even if Joe is right that the "old guard"'s true motivation is not their stated motivation, it's not like you can ever argue that point to someone and expect them to agree with you.
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