Murray Chass, Bitter Dude

[metirish]

Joe Posnanski on Twitter

When I think N.Y. based blogger Murray Chass has hit rock bottom, he manages to sink lower. Sad. He was once a fine reporter.



Offending article I guess

http://www.murraychass.com/?p=3118

Chass quotes people with " no direct knowledge of the situation " a few times.

[metirish]

Read this stunning article from Chass on SABR. Chass has found a book that backs up his years of thinking that SABR is utter bollox.

http://www.murraychass.com/?p=3106

[Guest Number 6]

Can think of a bunch of words for Chass, but the two that most sum him up are "willful" and "ignorance." At this point he's a clown, more amusing than anything.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's sad rather than amusing to me. To think a talented guy is going to die that bitter and that disgraced.

One blog, by Rob Neyer, criticizes the book based not on the book itself but on a news release about the book. When Neyer was at ESPN.com, he seemed to be building a respectable reputation, but he has moved to a new Web site, SBNation.com, and I guess that site�s standards are lower than ESPN�s because I doubt that his blog on the news release would have been posted on the ESPN Web site.

You used to write for The New York Fucking Times and now you write for www.murraychass.com, Snarky McSnotnose.

[Guest Edgy DC]

One blog, by Rob Neyer, criticizes the book based not on the book itself but on a news release about the book.

To any fair reading, it's clear that Neyer wrote about the press release based on the press release, and stayed away from drawing broad conclusions until he actually reads the book.

[Frayed Knot]

Chass: "Moneyball teams didn�t consider defense a priority".

Umm, yes they do bitter boy. In fact there's an entire chapter on making Scott Hattieberg into a legit fielding 1Bman ("a pickin' machine") because they know his bat isn't going to come close to replacing the offense generated by the departing Giambi so they hope to make up the difference in runs saved. Or you might also have caught the section where Beane and his cohorts calculated how to replace the defense they stood to lose when the [then] good glove of Johnny Damon was leaving town.

You see Murray, instead of simply spouting empty platitudes like "defense wins championships" or "his glove saves a hundred runs a year" with nothing to back it up, the 'Moneyball crowd likes to consider how much to value defense when constructing a roster. That's not the same as ignoring it.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

The key issue with defense is that statistical inferences are less reliable (for some positions more than others). But you're right, it says nothing about marginalizing the the value of defense.

[Frayed Knot]

I suspect that Murray, like other 'Moneyball' critics (hi Joe Morgan), didn't read the book and is instead arguing against what he thinks the book says.

[Guest Number 6]

Edgy DC wrote: It's sad rather than amusing to me. To think a talented guy is going to die that bitter and that disgraced.

Finding him amusing is more my coping mechanism for dealing with someone infuriating that I have no hope of engaging with on a rational basis. Same way I deal with Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, or my mother-in-law.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

like other 'Moneyball' critics (hi Joe Morgan),

"Well, if you think about it, no book has ever hit a home run. These things just don't happen".

Jon Miller: "No, they certainly don't"

"Can you imagine if a book could hit a home run?"

"Now that would be something......."

"The Hall of Fame would be ........like a library!"

"Because it will be filled with BOOKS!!!"

"Heh-heh. I suppose you could hollow-out all the pages and fill them with cork...."

[metirish]

See, this is why Joe will be missed somewhat on SNB......that kind of insight you just don't get anywhere.

[metirish]

Joe Posnanski writes a blog entry in response to the Chass blog about Musial.

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/03/men-of-honor.html

[ashie62]

Murray Chass=Dick Young.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm more of the mindset that I think something is neurologically wrong with the guy. At least, I'm getting there.

[metirish]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm more of the mindset that I think something is neurologically wrong with the guy. At least, I'm getting there.

I don't doubt that at all, I've read over those articles again and there is so much wrong with them that if he had an editor they wouldn't see the light of day.

Thing is I can remember liking some of his stuff at the Times.

[MFS62]

IMO, Murray Chass is bitter they way Dan Daniel was bitter. After many years covering the Yankees for the New York Times, he became to reporter who covered the Mets. His columns, which also appeared in The Sporting News, were full of Yankee news (e.g. - "they wanted Jim Hickman for their minor league system"). Each week, there were no pictures of Mets players in TSN, only the same head shot of George Weiss.
I wrote a hand-written note to J.G. Taylor Spink, editor/owner of TSN, pointing this out, and asking for some real news about the team we would be watching, not the one the reporter was used to covering.

I guess enough people complained (or Spink actually read what Daniel was writing). After 13 weeks, and a personal reply from Spink, Daniel was no longer the Mets writer for TSN.

Unfortunately, this is Chass' own blog. There is no higher authority to whom we can complain.
Damn you new technology!

Later

[Ceetar]

MFS62 wrote: Unfortunately, this is Chass' own blog. There is no higher authority to whom we can complain. Damn you new technology! Later

Sure there is. murraychass.com does not come to my doorstep, is not in my office lunch room. I can't buy it at the newsstand. it's not on my television schedule, and it's not in my email box.

Sure, you can't silence him. You can't silence the racist drunk on the bus that tells you the Mets are Los Mets and Beltran is scum.

Doesn't mean you have to listen to him though.

[ashie62]

Is it possible that Murray Chass is just some horribly miserable cranky old dude?

[MFS62]

Ashie62 wrote: Is it possible that Murray Chass is just some horribly miserable cranky old dude?

Well its possible.
I'm a horribly miserable cranky old dude.
But Chass writes some crap that even I wouldn't say.

Later

[ashie62]

MFS62 wrote: Ashie62 wrote: Is it possible that Murray Chass is just some horribly miserable cranky old dude? Well its possible. I'm a horribly miserable cranky old dude. But Chass writes some crap that even I wouldn't say. Later

If someone writes material for a Newspaper or for TV and goes "over the line" we often see them get fired or punished.

Are there any repercussions for online blogs that cross the line?? Other than not reading it..

[Benjamin Grimm]

You can get fired or suspended from your daytime job, as we've seen with some school teachers recently.

[ashie62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: You can get fired or suspended from your daytime job, as we've seen with some school teachers recently.

True..didn't think of that.

In Chass' case that would be Social Security and Medicare.