Washington Post Nats Writer Hates Baseball

[bmfc1]

This was interesting--[u:15aoh24i]The Washington Post[/u:15aoh24i]'s Nationals reports admits to hating sports:

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/people/capitalcomment/11866.html

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/03/an_apology.html#comments

I know that a job's a job and we want to make money, but he's writing about baseball and covering a major league team. I'm sure that it can be a grind but he's watching games for pay--we do that for free. If he doesn't like the game then [u:15aoh24i]The Post[/u:15aoh24i] is at fault for giving him this assignment. If a writer hated rock music, should they review rock concerts? If he just wants to be a writer, then do something else. The comments in after his "apology" are mostly supportive.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Eh, so a 26-year-old has no perspective, nothing new.

I'm more disturbed by the idea that guys get plum writing jobs by happening to have roomed with "rising stars."

[G-Fafif]

I find the explanation after the fact far more annoying than his "confession" that he doesn't like what he's covering.

]I didn't want to be portrayed, though, as some central casting sportswriter: the sort who always dreamed of athletic glory, lacked the skills, and chose the next best thing. That's not me. I wanted the make the point that I have other interests, many more.

Oh, bully for you. self-styled Renaissance Man.

[metirish]

I hate when they "apologize" , and his read like he was having a good laugh. If nothing else he has assured himself of getting his Nats coverage plenty of publicity. Maybe he can write about the food at the park if writing about food is his thing.

[Theoldmole]

If this guy thinks "He�s very Will Ferrell-ish in his humor" is getting inside a character, he's not going to be a good writer on food or anything else.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?

[metirish]

="metsguyinmichigan":1cddko2p]How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?[/quote:1cddko2p] Harlan was working for the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, last year when Eli Saslow phoned to say that the Post�s baseball beat had come open. Saslow, a rising star at the paper, was Harlan�s roommate and best friend at Syracuse. �Eli facilitated the sell,� Harlan says. The first comment below the article calls it a " prime example of the Syracuse mafia"......

Fman99 Mar 24 2009 09:24 AM

I got douche chills reading that article. This guy can go screw.

TheOldMole Mar 24 2009 09:58 AM

Reading it again, he's stupider, and I'm angrier. When was the last time a beat writer for a daily newspaper gave nitty gritty play by play. Has this guy ever read a sports page?

TheOldMole Mar 24 2009 10:50 AM

And...so much for "baseball been berry berry good to Chico."

G-Fafif Mar 24 2009 10:57 AM

Should he walk away from this assignment, consider him Chico, walker[/url:51n9j4wv].

bmfc1 Mar 24 2009 11:00 AM

The thing that gets me is that he's 26 so he's not an old and jaded reporter who has "seen it all." He hasn't seen anything! He just wanted the job, and who could blame him, but he shouldn't have been given the job. I know someone that knows him and says he's a good guy but he should be reassigned.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 24 2009 11:02 AM

I write about food. I propose me and Chico Harlan switch jobs.

G-Fafif Mar 24 2009 11:15 AM

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":30nnpnmp]I write about food. I propose me and Chico Harlan switch jobs.[/quote:30nnpnmp] "Food is for losers," said new food reporter Chico Harlan. "I'm embarrassed I even have to eat it. I can't wait to stop. It is a means to sustenance, and I just as soon not sustain my existence on this plane any longer." Harlan added he exists mostly on a higher plane in which the ingestion of food is a completely superfluous activity. Ironically, before this story went to press, Harlan was eaten alive by cannibals. TheOldMole Mar 24 2009 11:44 AM Had to blog about this.[/url:3974xxx9] metsguyinmichigan Mar 24 2009 11:49 AM ="TheOldMole":2ab2loh9]Had to blog about this.[/url:2ab2loh9][/quote:2ab2loh9] Nice job taking him apart. Jason Giambi's apology was better! G-Fafif Mar 24 2009 11:51 AM Outstanding piece and perspective, Mole. If I were Chico Wanker's editor, I'd release him. At 26, that may be the bracing professional slap this little bastard needs. He can go somewhere where they don't care who his SU roommate was. Never mind the obnoxious quotes, the bad-for-business de facto spitting on your readers and the insincere apology. You have a problem with your job, you don't go to the outside world and announce it. You bring it up internally. In his case, you go to your editor and say, "Any way I can get off this beat? I think I might be better suited for something other than the Nationals." It's not an unreasonable request. bmfc1 Mar 24 2009 12:00 PM Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]bigshot. The [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:18 PM For the time being. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 24 2009 12:33 PM Nicely, nicely, Mr. Mole. ="metsguyinmichigan":1kcywfpg]How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?[/quote:1kcywfpg] ="bmfc1":1kcywfpg]Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]bigshot. The [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.[/quote:1kcywfpg] I think the two issues aren't entirely unrelated-- the fact that a young, relatively unheralded guy with some talent is assigned to a beat job he doesn't love is largely due to the fact that he's not an older guy with greater, and more specialized-- and more costly-- talent. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:57 PM I think it's a buyer's market for talent right now. How many New York sportswriters were laid off this year? themetfairy Mar 24 2009 01:28 PM Well stated Mole!

[Fman99]

I got douche chills reading that article. This guy can go screw.

[Theoldmole]

Reading it again, he's stupider, and I'm angrier. When was the last time a beat writer for a daily newspaper gave nitty gritty play by play. Has this guy ever read a sports page?

[Theoldmole]

And...so much for "baseball been berry berry good to Chico."

[G-Fafif]

Should he walk away from this assignment, consider him Chico, walker[/url:51n9j4wv].

[bmfc1]

The thing that gets me is that he's 26 so he's not an old and jaded reporter who has "seen it all." He hasn't seen anything! He just wanted the job, and who could blame him, but he shouldn't have been given the job. I know someone that knows him and says he's a good guy but he should be reassigned.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I write about food. I propose me and Chico Harlan switch jobs.

[G-Fafif]

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":30nnpnmp]I write about food. I propose me and Chico Harlan switch jobs.[/quote:30nnpnmp] "Food is for losers," said new food reporter Chico Harlan. "I'm embarrassed I even have to eat it. I can't wait to stop. It is a means to sustenance, and I just as soon not sustain my existence on this plane any longer." Harlan added he exists mostly on a higher plane in which the ingestion of food is a completely superfluous activity. Ironically, before this story went to press, Harlan was eaten alive by cannibals.

TheOldMole Mar 24 2009 11:44 AM

Had to blog about this.[/url:3974xxx9]

metsguyinmichigan Mar 24 2009 11:49 AM

="TheOldMole":2ab2loh9]Had to blog about this.[/url:2ab2loh9][/quote:2ab2loh9] Nice job taking him apart. Jason Giambi's apology was better! G-Fafif Mar 24 2009 11:51 AM Outstanding piece and perspective, Mole. If I were Chico Wanker's editor, I'd release him. At 26, that may be the bracing professional slap this little bastard needs. He can go somewhere where they don't care who his SU roommate was. Never mind the obnoxious quotes, the bad-for-business de facto spitting on your readers and the insincere apology. You have a problem with your job, you don't go to the outside world and announce it. You bring it up internally. In his case, you go to your editor and say, "Any way I can get off this beat? I think I might be better suited for something other than the Nationals." It's not an unreasonable request. bmfc1 Mar 24 2009 12:00 PM Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]bigshot. The [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:18 PM For the time being. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 24 2009 12:33 PM Nicely, nicely, Mr. Mole. ="metsguyinmichigan":1kcywfpg]How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?[/quote:1kcywfpg] ="bmfc1":1kcywfpg]Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]bigshot. The [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.[/quote:1kcywfpg] I think the two issues aren't entirely unrelated-- the fact that a young, relatively unheralded guy with some talent is assigned to a beat job he doesn't love is largely due to the fact that he's not an older guy with greater, and more specialized-- and more costly-- talent. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:57 PM I think it's a buyer's market for talent right now. How many New York sportswriters were laid off this year? themetfairy Mar 24 2009 01:28 PM Well stated Mole!

[Theoldmole]

Had to blog about this.[/url:3974xxx9]

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

="TheOldMole":2ab2loh9]Had to blog about this.[/url:2ab2loh9][/quote:2ab2loh9] Nice job taking him apart. Jason Giambi's apology was better!

G-Fafif Mar 24 2009 11:51 AM

Outstanding piece and perspective, Mole. If I were Chico Wanker's editor, I'd release him. At 26, that may be the bracing professional slap this little bastard needs. He can go somewhere where they don't care who his SU roommate was. Never mind the obnoxious quotes, the bad-for-business de facto spitting on your readers and the insincere apology. You have a problem with your job, you don't go to the outside world and announce it. You bring it up internally. In his case, you go to your editor and say, "Any way I can get off this beat? I think I might be better suited for something other than the Nationals." It's not an unreasonable request.

bmfc1 Mar 24 2009 12:00 PM

Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]bigshot. The [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.

Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:18 PM

For the time being.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Mar 24 2009 12:33 PM

Nicely, nicely, Mr. Mole. ="metsguyinmichigan":1kcywfpg]How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?[/quote:1kcywfpg] ="bmfc1":1kcywfpg]Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]bigshot. The [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.[/quote:1kcywfpg] I think the two issues aren't entirely unrelated-- the fact that a young, relatively unheralded guy with some talent is assigned to a beat job he doesn't love is largely due to the fact that he's not an older guy with greater, and more specialized-- and more costly-- talent. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:57 PM I think it's a buyer's market for talent right now. How many New York sportswriters were laid off this year? themetfairy Mar 24 2009 01:28 PM Well stated Mole!

[G-Fafif]

Outstanding piece and perspective, Mole.

If I were Chico Wanker's editor, I'd release him. At 26, that may be the bracing professional slap this little bastard needs. He can go somewhere where they don't care who his SU roommate was.

Never mind the obnoxious quotes, the bad-for-business de facto spitting on your readers and the insincere apology. You have a problem with your job, you don't go to the outside world and announce it. You bring it up internally. In his case, you go to your editor and say, "Any way I can get off this beat? I think I might be better suited for something other than the Nationals." It's not an unreasonable request.

[bmfc1]

Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]bigshot.

The [u:3ahobw1b]Post [/u:3ahobw1b]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.

[Guest Edgy DC]

For the time being.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Nicely, nicely, Mr. Mole.

="metsguyinmichigan":1kcywfpg]How does a 26-year-old get a job at the Washington Post, much less covering a dream beat at the Washington Post?[/quote:1kcywfpg] ="bmfc1":1kcywfpg]Nicely done, TheOldMole. I hope it gets the attention of a [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]bigshot. The [u:1kcywfpg]Post [/u:1kcywfpg]is making numerous cutbacks--including eliminating the Sunday Books section, dropping six comic strips, dropping a separate daily Business section--so this guy is lucky he's employed.[/quote:1kcywfpg] I think the two issues aren't entirely unrelated-- the fact that a young, relatively unheralded guy with some talent is assigned to a beat job he doesn't love is largely due to the fact that he's not an older guy with greater, and more specialized-- and more costly-- talent. Edgy DC Mar 24 2009 12:57 PM I think it's a buyer's market for talent right now. How many New York sportswriters were laid off this year? themetfairy Mar 24 2009 01:28 PM Well stated Mole!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think it's a buyer's market for talent right now. How many New York sportswriters were laid off this year?

[Guest themetfairy]

Well stated Mole!