Thanks, Mr. Kent, for saying what needed to be said.

Thats a pretty good interview. Simers' asinine sass rears its ugly head here and there, but on the whole, a good read. Some more interesting excerpts

"I learned from veterans when I played. But last year I might offer a one-line comment at the batting cage about hitting the curveball, and I'd get scoffed at, and a 'What the hell do you know?' in return."

and this one

I'd like to see every player take a blood test and have the samples frozen," Kent says, then waiting for the day when there's a foolproof HGH test to identify the cheaters.

"Not everyone in the game is using HGH, but I would bet it still is being abused," he says. "Why not have blood tests? If ultimately you want a clean game, then it needs to happen.

"They ought to be testing for drugs in the playoffs too. They never do that.

edit - wrong thread

“I hope people don’t think these are the only players doing steroids in the game,” Kent says. “These players were only the ones Mitchell had good evidence against.

Good evidence?

"We've plenty of hearsay and conjecture. Those are kinds of evidence."
- Troy McClure

You know what Jeff Kent needs? His own blog, that's what he needs.

His line about being scoffed at reminds me of Johnny Roseboro's complaint about Tommy Davis that Bill james quotes in the Abstract. Some things never change...

somehow, Jeff Kent doesn't seem the type to admiringly accept one sentence comments from vets about things from vets back when he was a rookie. I could be wrong, but he has never come across that way.

I'd love to read an interview with a vet who was there when Kent was first coming up.

Good reference, #4, but that was actually Lionel Hutz.

Good reference, #4, but that was actually Lionel Hutz.

Well heck, and I should know better.

Well, RIP Mr. Hartman, regardless.

Good reference, #4, but that was actually Lionel Hutz.

Yes, but Hutz and McClure sound suspiciously alike...

I enjoy piling on Kent as much as the next guy, but if really did try to give advice to someone in an even arguably sincere way and was met with "what do you know," he has a legitimate gripe. Whether he did it himself as a young man or not, and whether his advice today is baloney or not, the proper way for any young person to act in such a situation is to either nod politley or say thanks or whatever, even if they plan on ignoring the advice completely.

the proper way for any young person

Wouldn't that be the proper way for ANY person, young or not?

I enjoy piling on Kent as much as the next guy, but if really did try to give advice to someone in an even arguably sincere way and was met with "what do you know," he has a legitimate gripe.

Perhaps. OTOH, that is only one side of the story -- and may not include the part in which we learn that in the weeks and months leading up to Kent's offering some well-intended advice in the batting cage, he acted like a complete turd to the young players in the clubhouse, at the hotel, on the field, and pretty much everywhere the team interacts. If that is the "rest of the story,</i> then it's kind of hard to blame the young guy(s) who told Kent where to stick his tips on how to hit the curve for their reaction.

The reality is probably somewhere in between, as with most things. There were times the young players probably acted like jerks, and there were times the Gonzo's and the Kents probably treated the Kemps and the Loneys like crap. I'll bet it was a great place to work all around. Nice going, Grady.

Good points regarding the steroids to a degree by Kent.....aside from the fact that I have yet to see any 'good evidence' in the mitchell report.

“I’m here to give the fan who is paying $50 a ticket a Dodgers win. Do you think those people who were paying $50 a ticket the last two weeks of the season came to watch us lose? I have no problem with our young players; I have a problem with losing.”

This isn't true, though it's true most of the time. If it were true, Joe Torre wouldn't rest his regulars in "house money" games.

Kent is paid to provide entertainment to the Dodger fans, both at the site and who watch on television. Most of the time, a Dodger win will do that. But not always.

I can never tell if Simers actually enjoys talking to Kent or if he just knows a good thing when he's got it. I guess that's part of the schtick.

Chances on Kent breaking 20 homers next year? It sure seemed like he wasn't seeing pitches like he used to. But I've said this before about him... You can critisize the man on his limitations, but he's always come to the ball park prepared. I suppose that's all you can ask of an entertainer. It's funny how similar he and Bonds are, just taken by themselves. Kent's 'only' a midrange Hall of Famer but to have two such personalities of such importance to the game in the same club house at the same time... Musn't happen very often.

Similar scenarios in the game's history? Tinker and Evers (not nearly so good players)? Reggie and Munson? Different kind of jerks, but that's the best I can come up with.

Funny, when Kent was coming up with the Mets, he was at the forefront of similar clubhouse problems, one in which his biggest gripe is that the vets were too dismissive of the younger players. Good player, but one who is always going to have a gripe, regardless.

I highly doubt Kent was being literal with the claim that the the kids gave him a "What the hell do you know." More likely that that is how he interpreted it when they didn't get on their knees and kiss his feet. It would either take previous very bad acts by Kent or for the young guys on that team to be some of the biggest dickheads in the world for them to have really said that.

Maybe the rookie said it, because he had seen the way Kent had been swinging a curve balls lately.

And just because Kent is getting on his high horse now about steroids, doesn't mean he never took any.

alex -- er, babe ruth and lou gehrig? they got along great for a long time until the babe said something about lou's mom. then they barely spoke for years but i think they made it up towards the end of gehrig's playing days, when ruth was out of baseball.

I have always enjoyed reading Simers. I rarely walk away without a chuckle.
Just don't take him too seriously, and you will enjoy his ramblings more. It works for me.

He is always good for a laugh or three.

so when I call one of Jeff Kent's motorcycle stores in Texas on Tuesday and the lady asks who is calling, I tell her, "Jamie McCourt."

What did you expect me to say? Matt Kemp?

Kent is still in a pretty good mood, and I know this because he hasn't hung up, so it isn't the time to bring up Barry Bonds.