Murray Chass, Bitter Dude

[Guest Edgy DC]

�CLOSED FOR BUSINESS�WILL REOPEN APRIL 2012? That is the sign I see posted outside the main entrance to Citi Field, home of the Mets in the borough of Queens in the city of New York. It�s not really there, but in the interest of full disclosure and truth in advertising, it should be. From everything the Mets have said and not done the past two months, they do not appear to be ready to conduct their baseball business next season. They are selling season tickets, but they probably haven�t notified prospective buyers about caveat emptor. That�s Latin for �we don�t plan to be very good and you buy tickets at your own risk.� Murray Chass

What the hell?

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Edgy DC wrote: �CLOSED FOR BUSINESS�WILL REOPEN APRIL 2012? That is the sign I see posted outside the main entrance to Citi Field, home of the Mets in the borough of Queens in the city of New York. It�s not really there, but in the interest of full disclosure and truth in advertising, it should be. From everything the Mets have said and not done the past two months, they do not appear to be ready to conduct their baseball business next season. They are selling season tickets, but they probably haven�t notified prospective buyers about caveat emptor. That�s Latin for �we don�t plan to be very good and you buy tickets at your own risk.� Murray Chass What the hell?

The Herald de Paris?

[ashie62]

He must be snowed in and grumpy, or tanked.

[Ceetar]

Ashie62 wrote: He must be snowed in and grumpy, or tanked.

He's always at least two out of three.

I'm surprised he didn't manage to fit an accusation about steroids in there.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's what makes the weak apology/excuse to Verducci so vexing. He (like Andy Pettitte) only sinned the exact number of times he got caught; and he coudn't confirm what he was told with other sources because he was on vacation without access to contacts.

Whoop-de-doo. It's good that during this recession that folks can still head off to places beyond the reaches of devices that go beep-beep-beep. But it's the electronic age, if you're connected enough to file a story, you're connected enough to confirm it.

[Guest Edgy DC]

He posted the full thingie at his site: http://www.murraychass.com/?p=2738

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy DC wrote: He posted the full thingie at his site

Isn't that what got Brett Farve into all that hot water?

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

"Fred Wilpon has never liked spending the kind of money he has had to spend to compete with the Yankees in New York. When Nelson Doubleday was Wilpon�s partner in the Mets� ownership, it was Doubleday who wanted to spend money on good players (see Mike Piazza)."

Unless you count Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez........

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, but he didn't like doing it. Doubleday reveled in it. He was crazy about it --- writing checks left and right with a big goofy grin on his face. God, those were the days.

[smg58]

Oh well, the next time Chass says something I agree with will be the first.

The Mets have had either the second highest payroll in the league, or something close to it, for a while. They maxed out their budget last year. I can accept that. The problem was not any sort of reluctance to spend money, but that the money did not produce a contender. And they're not freeing up anywhere near enough money this year to simply buy their way back into contention. A real Mets fan can accept that, and still cheer for the team that's on the field, hope some young guys surprise us, or hope that the team provides us with a few great memorable moments, whether any come in October or not. If that's so hard for you to handle, there's a team across the Triboro that caters to people with a greater sense of entitlement than loyalty. Go bother them.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't want to suggest that Murray Chass hasn't produced anything of value. His story a few years ago about Jewish and non-beilieving umpires' experiences when confronted with locker-room chapel services was a real service to baseball and the persons involved. It's just that his retirement in the face of new movements in baseball reporting that intimidate him has led him into a bitter corner that appears to have seriously weakened his perspective. And that's unfortunate for him, any readers he might have left, and clearly his subjects.

[MFS62]

Speaking of spending money:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AvOy8QbwpZ1I5zaTBfS8voURvLYF?slug=ap-steinbrenner-fbifile
I wonder if Chass will write about that.

Later

[G-Fafif]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't want to suggest that Murray Chass hasn't produced anything of value.

As you intimate, there's generally a helping of good and bad in everybody's portfolio, something that's rarely appreciated in these "pick a side" days. Chass was the first baseball writer to tackle the business side of the game, for example. He had his tics and quirks along the way (like his cheap shot hatred of Bobby Valentine), but he used to bring (and is still capable of bringing) intriguing perspectives to the table. But of late, he really bites it.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

G-Fafif wrote: But of late, he really bites it.

And "of late" is over a decade long at this point.

[Guest Number 6]

smg58 wrote: The Mets have had either the second highest payroll in the league, or something close to it, for a while. They maxed out their budget last year. I can accept that. The problem was not any sort of reluctance to spend money, but that the money did not produce a contender. And they're not freeing up anywhere near enough money this year to simply buy their way back into contention. A real Mets fan can accept that, and still cheer for the team that's on the field, hope some young guys surprise us, or hope that the team provides us with a few great memorable moments, whether any come in October or not. If that's so hard for you to handle, there's a team across the Triboro that caters to people with a greater sense of entitlement than loyalty. Go bother them.

This is really well-said. Register and post it. Or use his new-fangly email: comments@murraychass.com

Not that he'll listen or understand, but good sense seems to really rile him up.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Oh, great-grandpa googly moogly:

Attention, Mike Piazza fans and other cynics: A report in The New York Times on Saturday about the Barry Bonds perjury case said that prosecutors said that Bonds� former girlfriend, Kimberly Bell, �would testify to seeing physical changes in Bonds that are indicative of steroid use, including acne on his back and shoulders�� If acne is good enough for Federal prosecutors, it�s good enough for me no matter how much Piazza and his supporters scream and whine at my mention of Piazza and the acne that covered his back until it miraculously disappeared when baseball began testing for steroids in 2003 and 2004. No one has accused Piazza of perjury, but he better be careful with what he says if he ever has to testify under oath.

HOLY SHIT, YOU BITCHY OLD MARY! You're calling the guy a steroid user because of the team for which he worked, and because he-- a guy who wears catchers' gear for three hours a night-- has back acne, and we're the cyni-- okay, I'm calm.

I wonder if he leans back, claps his hands, and barks, "HA!" when he finishes articlets like the above. I think he probably does.

[metirish]

Attention, Murray Chass and other assholes.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think poor Murray Chass has acne on his soul.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Flashback!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I think poor Murray Chass has acne on his soul.

I'm not sure if regular doses of dinosaur jesus would help alleviate the condition, but I'd still like to see 'em.

[Guest Edgy DC]

This dinosaur jesus?

dinosaur jesus wrote: I never saw the boils on Mickey Cochrane's butt cheeks, or the blackheads on Ernie Lombardi's nose. But I saw John Stearns go 3 for 3 and steal two bases with a zit on the inside of his thigh that would have crippled an ordinary man. I saw a whitehead on Jerry Grote's forehead that got so inflamed when he squeezed it, Tug McGraw asked him if he was a Hindu, and couldn't stop laughing even when Jerry punched him out. And I saw Ron Hodges catch a doubleheader with a case of shingles you could cover a house with. But these old eyes have never seen anything like the opposite field power and back acne that Mike Piazza brought to the table every night. The drugstore in Cooperstown had better stock up on Clearasil, because Mike is moving in to stay.

The only thing that could make that shot more impressive would be if he called it.

[metirish]

Today is a flashback treat.

[dinosaur jesus]

Don't even get me started on Mackey Sasser's erysipelas.

[G-Fafif]

Howard Megdal checks in with dermatologists regarding back acne, and their diagnosis is Murray Chass is an ass.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

G-Fafif wrote: Howard Megdal checks in with dermatologists regarding back acne, and their diagnosis is Murray Chass is an ass.

Hilarious.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's some good blog fighting.

[metirish]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Howard Megdal checks in with dermatologists regarding back acne, and their diagnosis is Murray Chass is an ass. Hilarious.

Good stuff.......kudos to Megdal.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

metirish wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Howard Megdal checks in with dermatologists regarding back acne, and their diagnosis is Murray Chass is an ass. Hilarious. Good stuff.......kudos to Megdal.

Very good stuff. In fact, it points out just how crappy sports writing has become. Chass tosses out stuff like that, and -- until now -- doesn't get challenged on it. Many sports writers sit back and pontificate without actually doing any legwork to investigate what they're saying. It's, at best, lazy. And at worst it is reckless. Before you injure someone's reputation -- and accusing a baseball player of using steroids is exactly that -- you need to have done your homework.

(Steps off soap box.)

[MFS62]

Its funny that nobody was writing about the steroids/ acne connection when it was tough NOT to notice that Paul O'Neill's entire body looked like a topographical map of a lunar landing site.

Later

[metirish]

Still bitter, this about Bobby V

http://www.murraychass.com/?p=3016