So I was listening to Sid Hartman this morning....obviously the main topic of discussion was A-Rod's stereoid use. One caller made an interesting point that what really made people feel deceived wasn't so much the stereoids as the lying. Yes, Alex Rodriguez took stereoids...he also did so at a time when it wasn't illegal. If he had been honest in the first place, the outcry probably would not be as intense as it is. Not to say that taking stereoids is ever the right thing to do...just that I think at this point people are more upset about players they admire being deceptive and dishonest.
Also, one very angry Twins fan called in to say how the fans are "frustrated" because the team won't shell out big bucks to hire a guy who can hit home runs.
Really? We are?
I was actually feeling somewhat relieved and reassured that Smith hadn't gotten rid of some of our best young guys for an old guy who may or may not be in good physical condition and who may or may not hit home runs when he comes up to the plate (because look how well that worked out with Rondell White). The caller's argument was "Why can't we pay some money for Joe Crede. When we need it, we can just pull him in and have him hit a home run." Ah, if only it were that simple.
I know we were only one game from the post-season this year, and while that is frustrating, I have difficulty blaming our hitting staff. Remember all those times this summer when we couldn't hold our lead? Yeah. That happened a LOT. Not enough run support happened two years ago...last summer seemed to me like the summer of the failing bullpen. Granted this happened partly due to a young pitching staff that couldn't always stay on the mound very long into the game and the bullpen was getting used a lot, but given that, maybe what we need is one more strong arm in the bullpen rather than Joe Crede. And the Twins have never been a home-run-hitting team. We've always been more of a small-ball team. While home runs are nice, they aren't everything.
And A-Rod is totally a vampire.
In a related point, if everyone's upset about the lying and steroid use, do we really want to hire a guy who can "hit a home run whenever we need one"? A guy who does that seems a little sketchy. Do we really want the steroids, lying and feeling of betrayal in exchange for Joe Crede's 18 home runs?
ReplyDeleteValid! Leave it to you to tie it all together with a nice ribbon of logic. That's why you are the English teacher and not me :)
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