The Human MLB Bobblehead

[Edgy MD]

New York Post writer Ebenezer Samuel takes aim at Derek Jeter, pulls trigger.

For two decades in pinstripes, Jeter wanted no part of authenticity. He made a career out of not speaking his mind, unless Gatorade or Rawlings or the Steiner Sports memorabilia machine were paying him to speak on their behalf. For 20 years, he stood in front of his locker and addressed the media and stood only for his right to stand for absolutely nothing.

[Centerfield]

Direct hit.

Nicely done Mr. Samuel.

[MFS62]

How well put.
Richard Neer (the only host on the station who will occasionally discuss controversial things like this) echoed those sentiments on WFAN yesterday morning.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

pfff. Neer is practically the most Jeteresque talker out there. Not to promote some bullshit facade, but because he's just not interesting in any way.

[Vic Sage]

booyah!

Ebenezer, i think the admins here should make you an honorary Forum member immediately!

All in favor say "aye"!

[Lefty Specialist]

Derek Jeter, the blank Yankee billboard who spent his career waiting to be bought

Yeeouch. Not that Derek cares anyway.

[Centerfield]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Derek Jeter, the blank Yankee billboard who spent his career waiting to be bought Yeeouch. Not that Derek cares anyway.

Oh, Derek cares. Not the part about waiting to be bought, but that someone noticed and criticized him. For all the crap about Jeter being holier than thou, the man has paper thin skin and bristles at any criticism.

Remember, the fallout between ARod and Jeter came not because ARod let his team down in any way, but because ARod had the nerve to say Jeter was not the centerpiece of the Yankee lineup, the way Arod was the focus of the Mariner lineup.

So criticize away Mr. Samuel. Call him out on the bullshit. It's about time.

[Centerfield]

Vic Sage wrote: booyah! Ebenezer, i think the admins here should make you an honorary Forum member immediately! All in favor say "aye"!

BIG PURPLE AYE![/bigpurple]

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I mean, I'm all with the sentiment.

But, like, jumping on him because he praised Ali for having the courage he didn't (saying as much in the statement)... come on, man.

[Guest cooby]

Well on the other hand, softspoken is not a bad thing

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

At the risk of defending Jeter - and goodness knows I never thought I'd be in that position -- Jeter was paid to play baseball, which he did. With all the range of a fire hydrant, but he played ball. What he thinks about issues of the day is irrelevant to me.

I like to think that we praise the athletes who remember they are role models and act accordingly. Curtis Granderson, I tip my cap to you.

And I like to think we praise athletes who use their high profiles to speak up about issues they care about. But the way things are these days, people get attacked for that. Today, when we hear something we don't like, we don't hear, "That's an interesting perspective. But I disagree with it." Instead, a person is attacked -- especially if that person is conservative. I bet a lot of players looked at Daniel Murphy's comments last year, or Torii Hunter's comments the year before, and the outrage that followed and think, "I don't want any part of that" and keep their mouths shut.

I also think there's a difference between boxing -- and individual sport -- and a team sport. A golfer or tennis player can say what they want and take the heat (or bask in the praise) and no one else is affected. In a team sport, it becomes a distraction that can have an impact on everyone on the team.

Just my two cents.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I think what irritated me wasn't that Jeter carefully cultivated a bullshit vanilla image -- I mean, I'm sure he and his advisors felt that was probably what worked best for him as in a matter of taste it sucks -- but that he got so much adulation for doing it that way.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, it's not like Wright is a rabble-rousing revolutionary.

But it's the whole idea that, when a guy under your flag doesn't represent your alleged virtues, then you re-write your idea of what constitutes virtues. That's maddening.

(You can see that nonsense every day among Trump supporters. Suddenly, supporters of the party of patriotic duty and family values are re-writing all that to incorporate a three-time draft-dodger, serial-philanderer wife rapist.)

[Frayed Knot]

The real problem here is that, in the over-saturation coverage surrounding Ali's death, it was inevitable that every famous or semi-famous person in America was destined to be asked their opinion of him, even those who were barely alive (or not even) when Ali actually had his career, or weren't yet even adults by the time -- close to two decades now -- he was virtually silenced and isolated from the public because of his condition.
Not that those minor inconveniences were going stop anyone from sticking a microphone in LeBron's face on the topic, but it's not like most interviewers stop to pre-consider whether the odds of the answer being interesting or enlightening before plunging ahead.