John Harper thinks Mets are a "train wreck"

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

http://thesweatpantsreport.com/2015/04/27/is-the-new-york-daily-news-serious-with-calling-the-mets-a-train-wreck/


One bad game makes the team the best record in baseball -- and one fresh off an 11-game winning streak -- a "train wreck?" Did the 8-2 Harvey game make the Yankees a train wreck?

Harper needs to be reminded that the Yanks' most-expensive pitcher still has many years on his deal and served up batting practice for much of the night, if not the season.
The team's expensive, newly imported pitcher missed half of last season and is a probably headed to Club Tommy John with the next bend of the elbow.
The team is intentionally overlooking its longest serving player as he approaches sacred home run milestones and still owes him $25 mill a year for more years -- and threatens to not pay him money the team agreed to pay him for reaching such milestones.
The team has a guy named "Chasen," which sounds like it comes from a preppy villain in a Revenge of the Nerds sequel.
The manager looks like he is about to explode at any given moment.

That's a train wreck.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Guest

[Edgy MD]

That post inexplicably throws Daniel Murphy under the train. What's that about?

Everybody needs their whipping boy.

[Lefty Specialist]

If the Mets are a train wreck, then sign me up for continued derailments.

[Edgy MD]

Harper's no dummy. He knows that a common troll, given a high profile platform like the News, will get more page hits than Ernie Pyle or (insert journalist legend here) on his best day. Trolling gets page hits. And page hits keep the lights on. And so trolling is his game.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

It's been his game for nigh on two decades, hasn't it?

Move along.

[Guest d'Kong76]

He's drowned a lot of worms with that pole of his.

[metirish]

May I suggest that the Daily News is a train wreck?

[Ceetar]

metirish wrote: May I suggest that the Daily News is a train wreck?

Yes, but please don't provide any more evidence.

Where did our good sportswriting/blogging thread go?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Article, please? Or link? I can't find this "train wreck" piece.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

You can read the article as scanned if you click + enlarge it. I think it may have been a bulldog kinda piece because the harper column online from the same date is about arod.

I'm the last guy to defend Harper who's a lazy hack, but MGiM knows the columnists don't write the headlines and though the headline is overdramatic it is a NY tabloid sports page and it could be interpreted to refer mainly to the "subway" theme they always use when these teams meet. Finally the team WAS a trainwreck, if what you're writing about is the the way it played Sunday as Harper appears to.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The thing that bugs me about Harper is how much he equivocates.


The Mets made a bad trade when they got Smith, because his best days are behind him.

However, it's possible that Smith will rebound and be very productive.

But Smith hasn't hit a home run in 45 games. They should consider releasing him.

On the other hand, if Smith goes on a hot streak, he can become a valuable trade chip.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You can read the article as scanned if you click + enlarge it. I think it may have been a bulldog kinda piece because the harper column online from the same date is about arod. I'm the last guy to defend Harper who's a lazy hack, but MGiM knows the columnists don't write the headlines and though the headline is overdramatic it is a NY tabloid sports page and it could be interpreted to refer mainly to the "subway" theme they always use when these teams meet. Finally the team WAS a trainwreck, if what you're writing about is the the way it played Sunday as Harper appears to.

It's gotten to the point that if headlines proclaim absolutes or other clickbait gimmicks I just don't click on them. If your headline matches the theme of the post like "Mets sloppy play is a problem" that's better. The first infers what I'm going to get is a sportsradioesque rant.

[G-Fafif]

Harper gives hacks a bad name. Madden should be furious.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: You can read the article as scanned if you click + enlarge it. I think it may have been a bulldog kinda piece because the harper column online from the same date is about arod. I'm the last guy to defend Harper who's a lazy hack, but MGiM knows the columnists don't write the headlines and though the headline is overdramatic it is a NY tabloid sports page and it could be interpreted to refer mainly to the "subway" theme they always use when these teams meet. Finally the team WAS a trainwreck, if what you're writing about is the the way it played Sunday as Harper appears to.

I wasn't able to read the article -- just saw the scan in the photo. We used to write the headlines for the online stories. So likely some of the papers in the same chain follow the same guidelines.

I didn't get the Subway Series reference -- it's more clever than I first thought.

[ashie62]

Edgy MD wrote: Harper's no dummy. He knows that a common troll, given a high profile platform like the News, will get more page hits than Ernie Pyle or (insert journalist legend here) on his best day. Trolling gets page hits. And page hits keep the lights on. And so trolling is his game.

Sad but true. Fuck Harper.

[MFS62]

Couldn't read the fine print. Did he mention Bernie Madoff?
Or is Megdal still ahead in the race to have us rip his BBWAA card from his cold dead fingers?

Later