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Shelley Duncan has a little fun...

Me_matheny_tiny by _pistol_ on

Not sure if this has been discussed, but I found it to be rather humorous.

Star-divide

story
 
The whining, sappy response from the boston paper makes it even more entertaining.  'Oh, the poor kid! scarred for life.'  welcome to the most unfriendly rivalry in sports, kid.

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discussion already in process
in the game thread.

like i said over there: if any adult abused my kid's feelings this way, said adult would have to explain himself to me. and i would be skeptical.

i think picking on 10-year-olds is cowardly.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:31 AM EDT   0 recs

your opinion carries
alot of weight with me, but that rivaly is so bitter. I've been to a yanks-sox game at fenway in '03.  After hearing the awful things yelled at the yanks by the sox fans (by adult and kids alike);  in the scope of things this little scenario seems like a very harmless prank.  I'll grant you, it could have been better served on an adult, who could take it more in stride. But believe me, this kid learned alot more about about (bad) manners from his fellow sox fans in the stands, than he did from Shelley Duncan.

by _pistol_ on Sep 17, 2007 11:47 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I agree
I know that when I was ten, I would've thought it was awesome that player actually cared about the rivalry so much.
On with the youth movement!

by aet15 on Sep 18, 2007 1:07 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Main thread
there is already a long and detailed discussion going on in the main, thread but it might be best to move it here anyway.

by StLHugo on Sep 17, 2007 11:32 AM EDT   0 recs

I think it`s funny
Man that is funny look at that poor kids face lol.
He`s not happy right now but later on down the road he`s gonna love having that autograph.
he`s gonna show it off to all his friend`s he`ll love having it.
I guarantee you if D-Lee signed Cards Suck to me  I would LOVE IT that would be so awesome.

by Calhoun on Sep 17, 2007 11:58 AM EDT   0 recs

exactly
and if the boy's mother had a sense of humor, instead of this woe-is-us response, maybe like this...  'Oh man Griffin, he got us good.  I can't wait to show this to your father.'  instead of going to the press and whining.  It's amazing how a mature response from an adult can evoke a mature response in a child.

by _pistol_ on Sep 17, 2007 12:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I also agree
I think that this can't be looked at too harshly, it's a rivalry full of history and I think that Shelley meant it all in good fun.  Nobody has a sense of humor anymore...

by SethWestern on Sep 17, 2007 12:20 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

what's funny about being mean to a kid?
a 10-year-old doesn't look at the world like an adult does. you can't expect him to have a sense of humor about this.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 1:05 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Like i said before
your baseball opinions are usually dead-on... but, how old are your kids?  My 12-yr old brother is entirely capable of understanding the prank.  I know it's anecdotal, but back in Oct '04, via fedex, he recieved a plastic cardinal fitted into homemade coffin - addressed to him from my uncle or one of the chicago cousins (cubs fans).  It didn't scar my brother (2 mos short of 10). In fact, he couldn't wait to show all the rest of the family.  He got a real kick out of it, because my parents laughed and laughed.  
My point is, if the kid's Mom had chuckled, remained upbeat and explained the joke to him - instead making a beeline for the pressbox - all would be well. Given and opportunity to react like an adult, a 10 will gladly do so.  Kids take their queues from those around them.

by _pistol_ on Sep 17, 2007 1:27 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

pulling a prank on a niece or nephew
is a far cry from pulling a prank on some kid you don't know. i horse around w/ my nieces and nephews too --- but i know them, and they know me. i know their parents, i know where those parents draw the line.

that doesn't make it ok for me to act like an ass with every kid i happen to meet.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 1:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i think our perception of the
events differ.  I didn't perceive Duncan's actions as mean-spirited at all -  he was trying to be funny, i think.
regardless, the mother's actions only enabled the child as a victim.  Perhap Duncan was being mean.  In that case, then shame on him. But the mother still should have taken the high road instead of going to the press and justifying the natural reaction to fell sorry for himself.

But I bet an ebay auction and a couple thousand dollars will make this a positive experience for the lad.

by _pistol_ on Sep 17, 2007 1:58 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Perceptions
I think what is missing in this is how all Shelley talked to the kid while signing it, that could make or break our perceptions of how it went down.

I imagined it like pistol did that he was trying to joke around and kid the kid and have fun with him and not to beat up on him.  Shelley is 28 years old, most 20 somethings love to kid around but some are complete A-Holes I think that is where it could have been taking the wrong way.

by StLHugo on Sep 17, 2007 2:34 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

His parents have to be collasal douchebags
to call a newspaper up and have him pose for frowny-face photos.

I thought it was funny, I think they are intentionally taking this the wrong way in order to start shit and get in the paper.

Cardinal fan from Washington

by JI on Sep 17, 2007 2:47 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

it wouldn't have been their decision
to send the photographer; that would have been the newspaper editor's call.

the photo pose wouldn't have been the parents' call either; that'd be the photographer's call.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:02 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

This will all be much funnier
in two years, when Shelley is playing for the Sox.

by blove121 on Sep 17, 2007 1:40 PM EDT   0 recs

Shocking headline
"Pro athlete is an asshole"

by tdawg on Sep 17, 2007 2:44 PM EDT   0 recs

This is hilarious
Would I get upset if a player signed my kid's notebook like that?  Not if I sent him to, say,  the Cub's side of the field to get an autograph from one of their mediocre players.  I've read in this blog and others about this kid's feelings and this and that.  C'mon, how much does he need to be cottled here?  Has he denounced his Red Sox fanhood?  Is he having baseball nightmares?  Chances are this kid would be over it had his mom not cried to the press and made a big deal about it.

Whatever. I say congratulations.  Shelley Duncan has officially added fuel to an already volatile rivalry.  Which, by the way, is most certainly GOOD for baseball.  I can't wait to see the Yanks/Sox playoff matchup!!

by tpacardsfan on Sep 17, 2007 3:30 PM EDT   0 recs

Talk about over reacting
man, some people need to lighten up. It was a friggin joke.

And why was a Red Sox fan asking a Yankee player for an autograph anyway? I'm surprised Duncan was nice enough to acknowledge the kid in the first place.

by JShell73 on Sep 17, 2007 3:31 PM EDT   0 recs

Hilarious.
Absolutely hilarious.

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 4:05 PM EDT   0 recs

I'm inclined to believe
this whole blow-up has a lot more to do with the mom's righteous indignation than the kid's actual reaction. Don't let that frown fool you. In all likelihood this kid, like most 10 year old boys, is an absolute demon (I should preface that comment by stating that I used to be a camp counselor for ten-year old boys, one of whom--I shit you not--took an apple out of his lunch and threw it at my face as hard as he could when I wasn't looking...just for fun...I almost drop-kicked the kid into traffic). Anyway, even if the kid was hurt, he'll appreciate the autograph 1000 times more when he's older.

by matty on Sep 17, 2007 4:11 PM EDT   0 recs

when you guys have kids of your own
you might feel differently.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 4:16 PM EDT   0 recs

Question.
...and what if we have kids who have already graduated from Ivy League colleges and STILL find situation hilarious?

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 4:22 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

then it's unfortunate
that you are unable to recognize the difference between writing this 'joke' to a 10 year old and an adult college graduate.  

it happens to me, i'm chuckling.  it happens to a 10 year old, it's a shitty thing to do.  

as i tell my students, "i was just joking" is not an excuse for every crappy thing that you do, regardless of intent.

by sdesserman on Sep 17, 2007 5:37 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Clarification
then it's unfortunate

that you are unable to recognize the difference between writing this 'joke' to a 10 year old and an adult college graduate.  

You must not have understood my statement.  You should reread it.

as i tell my students, "i was just joking" is not an excuse for every crappy thing that you do, regardless of intent.

You're assuming what Duncan did was "crappy".  I'm glad you're using such language in front of your students.  You might be the next person in the paper if that mother has anything to say about it.

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 5:45 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

oh, i understood
it's your inability to understand that playing a prank on a 10 year old is not funny.  it's bullying, it's harassing.  it may have been intended as humor, but it comes off as a mean-spirited attempt to make a kid feel bad.  "insert your team here" sucks is not going to make any 10 year old laugh.

it's not a matter of taste, it's a matter of treating kids with respect.

by sdesserman on Sep 17, 2007 5:52 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Nope.
it's your inability to understand that playing a prank on a 10 year old is not funny.

So the VAST majority of people who have posted on this website today who agree with me that it was a pretty funny gag by Duncan, given the context of the matter, show an "inability to understand that playing a prank on a 10 year old is not funny"?

it may have been intended as humor, but it comes off as a mean-spirited attempt to make a kid feel bad.

You're in the minority on this one and rightfully so.   Again, read the wealth of comments on this site today and you'll see that.

Lighten up.  You're overreacting.

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 6:14 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

The VAST majority agree with you...
So that makes it okay, I guess.

I'm not a particularly sensitive soul, nor do I think my son is particularly "fragile" but if anyone did something like that to him, I'd be livid.  There is a world of difference between pranking a 10 year old and a 28 year old.  

Are his parents overreacting?  Maybe.  But that doesn't mean Duncan wasn't being an ass.  I'm sure he thought it was funny...pro athletes are notorious for not living in the same world as the rest of us.

All that being said, you must find Bonds' mocking of Dan Peltier in front of his son hysterical.

http://deadspin.com/sports/baseball/jeff-pearlman-on-his-subject-barry-bonds-281739.php

by svengali on Sep 17, 2007 7:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

True, but...
But that doesn't mean Duncan wasn't being an ass.

...that doesn't mean he WAS being an ass, either.  

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 8:48 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

stay away
from my kids

by tdawg on Sep 17, 2007 8:47 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Question.
Darn, no autographs for your lil' tykes...

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 8:48 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

even better,
stay away from all kids.

by sdesserman on Sep 17, 2007 10:10 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

my son
is only 8 months, so it's hard for me to imagine that but i wouldn't want to deal with his disappointment from some guy trying to be funny but really is being a jerk. honestly, at first i thought it was sorta funny, but it's the kid's first game and he doesn't need some stranger giving him a hard time, especially a ballplayer. i don't think shelley was using his head.  
Future Redbirds

by erik on Sep 17, 2007 5:43 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

By the time my kid's 10,
I hope s/he isn't a fragile flower. And I hope s/he doesn't ask for autographs from Cubs reserves, either.

by baw on Sep 17, 2007 5:53 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

they're all fragile at 10
partic around adults who they look up to.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 5:59 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Agree.
they're all fragile at 10

partic around adults who they look up to.

You're right.  His mother did the child a disservice by overreacting.

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 6:15 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

wait, so
lboros, are you saying the autograph wouldn't have been so despicable if the kid had a less militant mother? if so, how is that shelley's fault?

by baw on Sep 17, 2007 6:19 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

The context of the event is everything
Geez its just a joke.  And the Ebay comment was dead on.  This just took a Shelley Duncan signature that was worth nothing and now makes it the starter to a college fund.  And if not, the kid has a story to tell, an autograph story like no other.  And I doubt the kid turns to drugs or ends up homeless because of the situation.

Even if it was meant poorly, the kid is going to be find, and the joke's on Duncan...but I doubt he was being mean.  Why would he go through the trouble of signing the kid's paper, on the road in hostile territory where he likely signed many other autographs as well, if he simply wanted to be an asshole to this one kid?  

Unlikely...although it speaks to how bad the Cardinals are if on September 17th we are talking about this instead of an upcoming series.  When does the hot stove start???

Let me get this straight...Rowand over Pujols??? Really, Tony?

by cardzfan24 on Sep 17, 2007 5:35 PM EDT   0 recs

good grief
the only reason this is a story is because its yankees vs red sox. if a dback outfielder did this to a padre fan no one would give two shits about it. besides, when did our society start taking every little thing so seriously? it's obviously a joke. any one how knows the DUNKs know they are pranksters. he said he was joking, yet the mom went all crazy and overreacted.

good freakin grief. lighten up people.

why is this even a topic?

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson And That's A Winner!

by gdm426 on Sep 17, 2007 6:51 PM EDT   0 recs

somebody has to explain something to me
when jose reyes dances in the dugout, this board will get 15 indignant comments about what a classless jerk reyes is.

same thing if zambrano mouths off at a cardinal batter; or if an espn commentator says a disparaging word about the cardinals; or if an announcer from san diego makes a crack about hillbillies in camaros; or if a commenter at Bleed Cubbie Blue says something bad about our team or our fans.

things of that nature make people around here very angry and offend their sensibilities. but nobody gets angry when a player, in a clumsy attempt to be funny, effectively disses a 10-year-old boy to his face? everybody thinks that's funny?

it just seems, you know, inconsistent with the reactions people have around here in other situations.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 10:08 PM EDT   0 recs

He wrote "Red Sox suck"
not "You Suck!"

And I don't really get offended by any of that other stuff.

Basically all this is is the boy's parents being media whores and pimping themselves out a newspaper in order to have some facetime. What type of awful people does it take to get in the position where they are calling up a freakin' newspaper, and having their kid pose for frowny-face pictures.

As far as as I'm concerned, this is a non-incident, and the boy's parents are causing more harm to their child that Duncan could have possibly inflicted even if he wrote: "You are pathetic douchebag and I hate you, signed Shelly Duncan."

Cardinal fan from Washington

by JI on Sep 17, 2007 10:52 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i understand what he wrote
i'm just observing that various iterations of "cardinals suck," communicated to adult eyes/ears in a distant, non-personal way, get many VEB posters extremely riled up.

that being the case, maybe a parent's not so out of line to get riled up when the comment "red sox suck" is hand-delivered to her red-sox-loving kid directly from a ballplayer.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:01 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

All I'm saying is
don't get rilled up by idiots.

To quote Jeff at Lookout Landing:

"I don't understand this. The kid was at a Sox/Yankees game. He was basically going to have his virgin ears raped for four hours whether he got the hilarious autograph or not."

For his parent to make a story out of this and whore their child out is hypocritical at best. Dude's got way bigger problems.

Cardinal fan from Washington

by JI on Sep 17, 2007 11:06 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i think jeff misses the point
in nearly every form of warfare, kids are considered noncombatants. just because they happen to be in the war zone, it doesn't make them fair game.

duncan took a potshot at a kid and deserved to be called out for it. i wouldn't have run to the press, but i have no problem w/ the parents for having done so.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:13 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I have sympathy for the kid
because his parents seem to have serious problems, as evidenced by this news story. They are obviously not thinking of their child's well being if they are willing to put him in the newspaper-- not only putting him in the newspaper but making him appear to be weak socially.
Cardinal fan from Washington

by JI on Sep 17, 2007 11:26 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Wow
That is a very curious thing to say about a kid...
Spantalones

by spants on Sep 18, 2007 12:19 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Not Once.
Not once have I been even slightly outraged at any of the examples you listed.  The crack from the San Diego announcer WAS pretty funny.  BCB has made some VERY funny jokes at the expense of my fellow Cardinals fans.

It just seems, you know, consistent with the reaction I've had around here in other situations.

by champion on Sep 17, 2007 11:01 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

got any more stories about
that kid you raised and sent to the ivy leagues, champ? you must've been quite a dad.

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:14 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I don't see
how that is an appropriate response.  Seems uncalled for.  Why is this ridiculous story causing so much division in this forum?
Let me get this straight...Rowand over Pujols??? Really, Tony?

by cardzfan24 on Sep 17, 2007 11:49 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i responded that way
because i strongly suspect that champion is doing a little internet role-playing . . . .

by lboros on Sep 17, 2007 11:59 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Wrong.
I strongly suspect you have no clue what you're talking about.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:03 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

maybe yes maybe no
i'll write you off-board

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:15 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Nope.
that kid you raised and sent to the ivy leagues, champ? you must've been quite a dad.

It was a hypothetical question.  You must be quite the parent.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:02 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

i'm not insecure about my parenting
but it was far from clear that you were posing a hypothetical. you seemed to be implying that you were the parent of an ivy-league graduate

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:17 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

and if you're merely posing a hypothetical
what value does it add to the discussion? i mean, i could add all sorts of make-believe characters to the discussion too; would that make my argument any stronger?

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:20 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Equal.
My hypothetical question was to see what the answer would be.  I was curious to find out.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:26 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Response.
If not insecure, perhaps too passive-aggressive about this matter?  Just curious.

I made it clear earlier today that I do not have children of my own.  You replied directly to the post where I stated that.  Your reply in this thread within the past half hour was not acceptable according to your own guidelines.  You attacked me personally and not my ideas.  For that, you should be held accountable by the community.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:23 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

so file a complaint
with the community board. . . . . if you catch me breaking the rules three times, i'll be thrown off my own blog!!

keep at it, champ.

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:25 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Rules.
keep at it, champ.

I'm pointing out your rules which you have clearly disregarded tonight.   Thanks for proving this to be true.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:28 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

and if you run to the community board
to seek redress for the offense you took, then how are you any different from the 10-yr-old bosox fan w/ the hurt feelings?

i'm not going to get into a pointless argument about which rules you think i broke. the relevant point is that this is not a democracy. it's my website.

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:37 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

*sigh*
i'm not going to get into a pointless argument about which rules you think i broke.

...yet you did.  

Have a great evening!

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:48 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

and really --- where's the attack?
since you and i both you you're not a dad, i don't see how it constitutes an attack.

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:29 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Taunts.
since you and i both you you're not a dad, i don't see how it constitutes an attack.

Ok, so you knew I wasn't a parent yet you still left a condescending message.  Snark, attacks, taunts, baiting...

but we learn nothing --- and you make yourself look stupid --- when you simply taunt your adversary or call him names.

:)

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:32 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

where does it end, champ?
you're getting nowhere. nobody cares but you. how long will you keep it up?

by lboros on Sep 18, 2007 12:38 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

By
implying that you were a parent, and then later admitting that you weren't, you were actually the first baiter.  You seem to enjoy stirring the pot on this website.  
Spantalones

by spants on Sep 18, 2007 12:42 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Good Evening.
implying that you were a parent, and then later admitting that you weren't, you were actually the first baiter.

My hypothetical question was hardly baiting.  It's  a stretch to even consider it misleading.  

You seem to enjoy stirring the pot on this website.

I do?  That's news to me.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:50 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I think the fact
that you kept pointing out the overreaction of those who didn't share your position is baiting.  What is the point in doing this?  You were harsh in your tone when dealing with those who didn't share your position.  Ending a post with a smiley face or a "cheers" doesn't mean you're posting in good faith.  It would behoove you to play nice and just drop the matter because in not dropping it, you're overreacting just as much over a lot less.
Spantalones

by spants on Sep 18, 2007 1:04 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Good Advice
When you have a difference of opinion with another member of the community: attack the opinion, not the person. a guy isn't an idiot simply because he disagrees with you. if you think flawed logic, faulty premises, and/or factual errors underlie his opinion, point those things out; try to persuade him (and the rest of us) that your view of things makes more sense. the entire community can learn a lot from that type of exchange. but we learn nothing --- and you make yourself look stupid --- when you simply taunt your adversary or call him names. flame wars will not be tolerated.

by champion on Sep 18, 2007 12:09 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Wanted to stay out of this, but...
My first reaction was that it was just a funny joke between Dunc and the kid. I couldn't imagine anyone decent doing something like that without first establishing the rapport to make it understood that it's all in fun. I assumed Duncan's a decent fellow and so he and the kid had a joke that the parents didn't appreciate and things spun out of control.

If Shelley had just scribbled that onto an unsuspecting kid's notebook, then yeah, it was a boorish, mean-spirited act that he ought to be ashamed about having committed.

In any case, like I said this morning, he ought to get in touch with the reporter to arrange for a delivery of an autographed bat with a personalized message and a thoughtful letter to the kid and an apologetic one to his parents. (He could have Papelbon arrange it.)

If things are as I assume them to be, then it's different from a player acting like ass during a game, disrespecting the other team and its fans.

by liam on Sep 18, 2007 12:55 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

WOW, this got out of hand fast
its clear this topic struck a cord with our fearless leader. i guess if you have kids this is a bigger deal. i'll be 30 next month, i'm painfully single with no kids. and i dont ever plan on having kids. but i do have two nephews, age 3&2. and if i take them to a MLB game in a few years and they want to get some players autograph i hope it will be a good experience for them. if they have a interaction like the one this kid had with shelley did over the weekend, i would hope they would take it as the joke it was ment to be, and not get all upset about it.

honestly i just dont see how this is an issues. but then again i'm not a parent of young kids. maybe i'd feel differently if i was, but i'm not. i thought it was funny. i get the joke shelley was trying to pull. and i dont think it was wrong for him to do it on a 10 yr old red sox fan. i'm really shocked this has gotten such a strong response from many here.

i guess thats why i dont look at it like big z taking shots at a Cards player, or bleed cubbie blue taking shots at us, or reyes dancing around like a spaz on the diamond taunting the other team. those are adults taking shots at other adults. where as i see this as an adult playing around with a kid. and there shouldn't be any problems with that. this was susposed to be a harmless prank. and i just dont understand how it's gotten blown up so much and pissed off so many here.

this was a joke people. a harmless, good natured joke.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson And That's A Winner!

by gdm426 on Sep 18, 2007 12:58 AM EDT   0 recs

i appreciate your
thoughtfulness on age/parenting.  i'm pretty sure that my reaction would have been different before kids.  i was out of town a couple of summers ago rooming with a friend who also has a young child.  We were flipping around the channels and stopped for a moment on one of HBO's late night (soft-core porn) documentaries.  he doesn't have cable at home and was astonished to find that this degree of nudity was available on t.v.  he remarked that as he (and his daughter) got older, he got more conservative.  i have certainly found the same to be true of myself as my kids get older.

i guess that it comes down to your last line.  many of us (with kids) don't see the joke as necessarily harmless o