stlcardinals.com headlines subtle shot at TLR?

by Mr Redbird on Mar 20, 2008 12:53 AM EDT

I just ventured over to stlcardnials.com and saw the following headlines. It seem like either the person who wrote them is a VEB regular, or can see through the TLR bs:

"Cards' Izturis given long leash" - Not "He’s playing very well defensively. So, the errors — I don’t have any problems with. If you’re going to evaluate people on the number of errors in spring training, over time you’re going to make a lot of mistakes. There’s some guys who can’t play, but not him. Hitting, I think he’s getting better." (from Goold)

"Cards' Thompson starts strong as usual" - It's like they're saying how many times does Brad Thompson have to prove himself before we stop giving people like Jason Marquis, Kip Wells, and probably Anthony Reyes and Todd Wellemeyer, maybe even Mark Mulder the nod over him. I am by no means a major proponent for Brad Thompson, but he's been steady and reliable everytime he's toed the rubber.

Am I reading too much into these, or do you guys agree?

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OT: Wainwright gets extension through 2013!

But yeah, I think those are pretty blatent and they SHOULD be. Someone should be holding Larussa accountable for making such questionable personel changes. Not that I think Thompson should start over Reyes, per se. I think Brad is wonderful in long relief and THAT is where we need him.

Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS

by Hardcore Legend on Mar 20, 2008 1:05 AM EDT 0 recs

Eh

I agree on the Izturis one...anyone can see that he's only sticking around because of his $3 million contract. I'm not sure it's only TLR that's keeping him in camp. Just because LaRussa is the one talking to the media about it doesn't mean Mo or other front office forces aren't keeping him in camp and hoping he'll get his ass in gear.

On the other hand, noting that someone is a strong starter isn't necessarily hinting that they should be in the rotation. Those kinds of headlines you will see all the time on MLB sites -- they're just trying to assign some kind of weight. Saying Brad starts well "as usual" is more interesting than just saying he's having a good start. If you read the article, they're really just spinning the whole thing around that Duncan quote that Brad wasn't getting starts because he's a "known quantity."

by mojowo11 on Mar 20, 2008 6:14 AM EDT 0 recs

Nope.

I don't think it's any secret where _I_ personally stand. I choose my words carefully, and I don't think I endorsed the mgr's stance on the shortstop issue. The news, to me, was that despite the difference in how the two players have performed in spring "competition," Izturis is clearly the guy.

I think making Izturis the guy is at least defensible, but my issue -- and what I tried, successfully or unsuccessfully, to convey in the story -- is that it hasn't really been a competition. That's fine. It tends to be unwise to make a decision based on 40 at-bats. But even so, it was presented as a competition and hasn't exactly been as such.

As for Thompson, certainly my opinion about him is no secret -- I've long wanted to see him get 30 starts, and find out what he can do. I don't know how many times I can point out that he's competed for a starting spot for two years without even getting a single spring start.

BUT I don't write the headlines. And in most cases, the people who do are people who don't follow the team too closely. Don't read too much into any headline you see.

In general, never forget that we're all individuals. It's not a "they" writing the stories -- it's me, and at the P-D, it's Joe, Derrick and Commish. It's individuals editing the copy, and writing the headlines.

-M.

Any comments, opinions, or observations I post here are mine and mine alone. They should not be taken as any sort of statement on behalf of my employer.

by MatthewHLeach on Mar 20, 2008 8:21 AM EDT 0 recs

I wasn't sure who wrote the headlines

Based on what I hear from my friends (and notably, my girlfriend) in the journalism business, I didn't think that the people who wrote the articles wrote the headlines. Thanks for the clarification.

Cardinal fan in the heart of Braves country

by Mr Redbird on Mar 20, 2008 12:07 PM EDT up 0 recs

One follow-up, btw...

For what it's worth, I did appreciate the headline on the Izturis story. It conveyed my point, which was not that everything is hunky-dory with Izturis, but rather that they're going to give him every opportunity.

The "as usual" in the Thompson headline, I'm sure, was a play on the device I used in the story, pointing out that Thompson's outing was extremely representative of how he usually pitches.

-M.

Any comments, opinions, or observations I post here are mine and mine alone. They should not be taken as any sort of statement on behalf of my employer.

by MatthewHLeach on Mar 20, 2008 8:26 AM EDT 0 recs

Thanks Matthew.

Just one question ... do you work for the Cardinals, or MLB, or who? Just curious.

Much as I agree with many or most VEBers that Izturis shouldn't have been signed and that the Cardinals will regret the signing, if I was running the team I'd give him a long leash too. I understand sunk costs, and if he can't play I certainly wouldn't stubbornly run the guy out there all season, but OTOH I think it's way to early to bail out on him, because we do have so much $$ invested in him. You've got to be damn sure that the guy is finished before you throw away almost $3 million, and you just can't be sure about anything after a few weeks of ST.

by MdRedbirdFreak on Mar 20, 2008 8:37 AM EDT up 0 recs

The way I undstand it

The way I understand it, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, he works for MLB.com which is a separate entity of MLB from all the clubs and such. Sort of like how your company website is run by a separate set of people from those actually doing the work of that company. They are the PR side of the house, but in this case they also are journalists and are free to report and say negative things to a certain extent. The Cards don't run their website but do have some input into what appears on it. I actually like that Matthew isn't a Cards fan by birth because it seems we get a more agnostic take to the articles. Goold gives me the same thing, but what Goold also gives is the ability to be homerish at times as well. I like both ways and because of that they are my two favs right now.

by StLHugo on Mar 20, 2008 8:47 AM EDT up 0 recs

Well put.

That's pretty much it. We're a separate company, and I'm not employed by the team or MLB.

My only quibble: the team truly doesn't have any input on content. What I write is what I choose to write, as assigned by my editors. I can be as positive or as negative as I choose to be, and I can explore, report and write what I choose to.

-M.

Any comments, opinions, or observations I post here are mine and mine alone. They should not be taken as any sort of statement on behalf of my employer.

by MatthewHLeach on Mar 20, 2008 9:28 AM EDT up 0 recs

Team Input

What I meant by team input wasn't in to your stories but into the other things. Promotions they run or things they want to advertise, having the prime seat club link, etc. Things of that nature.

by StLHugo on Mar 20, 2008 10:51 AM EDT up 0 recs

Sounds like a good situation

Seems like you have a lot of freedom of your writing which is good from a journalist and consumer stand point. Any interference with the MLB or team would be (I personally feel) wrong and "un-american" in that they're censoring our media.

I''m a Jenius!

by gibbons on Mar 20, 2008 5:46 PM EDT up 0 recs

I like

Matthew's coverage of the Cards. Very fair and balanced. Positive coverage that doesn't get too homerish and telling it like it is without all the gloom and doom you see on some team sites.

by cardsgirl95 on Mar 20, 2008 9:29 AM EDT up 0 recs

I appreciate you work

and thanks for pointing out Izturis is having a terrible spring. no one else has said that, from what i've read, if they have i've missed it. but you are right matt, this isn't a "competition" like they told us it was back in February. they gave Izturis the "big contract", and come hell or high water, he's the starter. it was a bad move, and i hope the Cards can see that now. but i get the politics behind them saying he's the starter & sticking with him in that role for now. if he keeps this up, like he did today with ANOTHER error & an 0-3 at the place, i just hope he doesn't last in that role past April.

thanks again Matt. i think you are one of the few guys who report on the Cards that don't follow the company line & feed us fans the same spin over & over again.

I'm going to go try to find a puppy and kick it. - Brad Thompson

by gdm426 on Mar 20, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

And what are we to make of this spring training competition/not really a competition

when no less an authority than Joe Sheehan states categorically that spring training stats mean nothing. Except hitters that exceed career norms by .200 pts. or more.......Should we all just quit looking?

She isn't crazy, she's just not impressed.

by jillsinmo on Mar 20, 2008 8:49 AM EDT 0 recs

there seem to be some constants

in sports, in general:
Like a week or so ago, there was the inevitable complaints about which teams got 'screwed' not making the NCAA tournament.
In baseball, there are several constants; among them are a similar complaint fest about who got left off the All-Star team in July.
-- You can count on ESPN to cover the Yankees and RedSox far more than any other six teams combined.
-- And yes, Virginia, spring training is meaningless.

by the Tewk on Mar 25, 2008 12:20 AM EDT up 0 recs

TLR...

Tonys support for one player or lack of support for another is often baffling to me, and more so lately than ever during this current offseason. You can be in his good graces playing poorly or on his badside playing well. It seems to come down to some ingredient or factor only he is aware of that may or may not deserve a sometimes glib reponse in the media, one that might have "personal" implications. Why he thinks Izturis should get the benefit of the doubt in comparison to Ryan is anybody's guess. Obviously in his mind there was no real competition for starting SS. Too bad.

I'll also wager a guess that he does'nt care what anybody else thinks, especially regarding a free agents performance this early into a new contract. A contract which just happens to involve Mo's first signing.

"Son, we'd like to keep you around for the season but we're gonna try to win the pennant." Old Casey

by cardschinmusic on Mar 20, 2008 9:01 AM EDT 0 recs

Don't forget the political

The unwritten law of business is you never contradict or embarrass your boss in public. It wouldn’t be very smart to talk down Mo’s first signing. I’m guessing that management has decided that spring training doesn’t mean anything in Izturis case and they are going to give him some regular season time to play. Maybe Izturis has a history of being a poor ST player. Don’t know. It happens to a lot of players.

by O'Fallon Park on Mar 20, 2008 1:42 PM EDT up 0 recs