A message for Bryan Burwell
by JWO on Feb 15, 2010 10:39 PM EST
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In advance, I apologize to the moderators of the board. Hopefully they will let this polite rant slide...
Normally, I'm content to read these boards and talk strictly about Cardinals baseball. But I find myself repeatedly frustrated by the ramblings of a certain reporter for the P-D. I am referring to everyone's favorite journalist, Mr. Bryan Burwell. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And I respect Mr. Burwell's right to express his thoughts. If the Post Dispatch is willing to keep paying his salary, they must have some positive feedback from their readership. And yet...
We get pieces like this one. "Question Looms Over Tranqility of Cardinals Camp". Really Mr. Burwell? With all of the possible stories about to begin percolating out of Jupiter, what does he choose to write about? Mark McGuire. There are so many things he and his colleagues could be examining. Here are a small handfull:
- Schumaker's continued transition to 2B and new contract
- David Freese as the lead suitor for 3B
- The competitors for the 5th rotation spot
- Lohse's return from a subpar season
- Penny's adapting to a new team, as a longtime Cardinal fan and Oklahoma native
- Young bucks like Craig, Henley, Jay, Mather, and others sparring for that last roster spot
- How is Carpenter feeling
- How is Albert recovering from that elbow surgery
- Will Larue be sporting his awesome porn-stache
- What kind of path to recovery will Ryan be making
- Will Rich Hill make a splash in the majors, minors or both this year
- What version of Ludwick will show up this year
- What has Colby done in the offseason to adjust to his sophomore season
- What is the most probable opening day lineup
- Who might surprise in camp this season
- Who among Hawkesworth, McClellan, Boggs, etc. will be starting
- Heck, we could even talk about the differences between McGuire and McRae's hitting philosophies
But NOOOOOOO. The "tranqility of Cards camp" is going to be interrupted by the arrival of a non-player, who has (for better or worse) apologized for his transgressions. Look, I'm not a McGuire apologist. I think most will acknowledge that his actions were wrong. McGuire acknowledges his actions are wrong. But what absolutely steams me is that the people who keep this story going most are not the fans. They are members of the press corps. Burwell is with his story contributing towards the conditions he promises will emerge.
Maybe there will be a media circus in Jupiter. Maybe ESPN and all the networks will all line up to bother McGuire every morning about why he didn't apologize enough, whether he was entirely honest, whether he was sincere enough, etc. But the fact is this story should now be 100% dead. If reporters like Bernie, Strauss, Gordo, Burwell and others at the P-D could just turn the page, maybe we could get back to the fun aspects of Spring Training.
Bottom Line, I do not want the next 6-8 weeks of ST awesomeness ruined by people that keep throwing that steroid / PED wet-blanket on us. I want to read about my team smoothing out the rough edges on the field and preparing for the season. NOT about the decisions a non-player made ten years ago.
Finally, I would encourage those who care to send Burwell a message to go ahead and do so. His email is bburwell@post-dispatch.com. Maybe you like Bryan's style of reporting. Normally I don't care. But... ENOUGH ALREADY. Lets start looking at baseball, shall we?
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haha...
I hope he can help Ludwig and Shumacher have big years. Its a real shame we couldn’t bring back Edmunds!
by The Ghost of Todd Burns on Feb 16, 2010 12:59 PM EST up reply actions
/ fixed
In advance, I apologize to the moderators of the board. Hopefully they will let this polite rant slide…
Normally, I’m content to read these boards and talk strictly about Cardinals baseball. But I find myself repeatedly frustrated by the ramblings of certain posters. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And I respect my fellow posters’ rights to express their thoughts. If people take the time and energy to post, they must think they have some positive feedback from their readership. And yet…
We get pieces like this one. “A message for Brian Burwell” Really JWO? With all of the possible stories about to begin percolating out of Jupiter, what does he choose to write about? Bryant Birdwell. There are so many things good fanposts could be examining. Here are a small handfull:
- Schumaker’s continued transition to 2B and new contract
- David Freese as the lead suitor for 3B
- The competitors for the 5th rotation spot
- Lohse’s return from a subpar season
- Penny’s adapting to a new team, as a longtime Cardinal fan and Oklahoma native
- Young bucks like Craig, Henley, Jay, Mather, and others sparring for that last roster spot
- How is Carpenter feeling
- How is Albert recovering from that elbow surgery
- Will Larue be sporting his awesome porn-stache
- What kind of path to recovery will Ryan be making
- Will Rich Hill make a splash in the majors, minors or both this year
- What version of Ludwick will show up this year
- What has Colby done in the offseason to adjust to his sophomore season
- What is the most probable opening day lineup
- Who might surprise in camp this season
- Who among Hawkesworth, McClellan, Boggs, etc. will be starting
- Heck, we could even talk about the differences between McGuire and McRae’s hitting philosophies
But NOOOOOOO. Interesting, informative, and valuable fanposts are going to be interrupted by the posting of a rant about a non-player, whose column no one has to read unless they so desire. Look, I’m not a Burtwell apologist. I think most will acknowledge that his columns aren’t great. Burrwill acknowledges his columns receive hate mail. But what absolutely steams me is that the people who keep discussing him most are not his fans. JWO with his fanpost is contributing towards the discussion of a column he claims is not worth discussing.
Maybe we all secretly do want to discuss Bryant’s latest column. Maybe dozens of fanposts and fanshots will appear here every morning about why he didn’t write about this or that, whether he was entirely honest, whether he was sincere enough, etc. But the fact is fanposts like this should now be 100% dead. If posters like JWO could just turn the page, maybe we could get back to the fun aspects of Spring Training.
Bottom Line, I do not want the next 6-8 weeks of ST awesomeness ruined by people that keep posting nonsense. I want to read about my team smoothing out the rough edges on the field and preparing for the season. NOT about the rantings a poster made about a column I don’t intend to read.
Finally, I would encourage all posters to write insightful, intelligent, or even just plain fun Fanposts. Maybe you like JWO’s style of ranting. Normally I don’t care. But… ENOUGH ALREADY. Lets start looking at baseball, shall we?
For the record: No ill-will is intended. I just couldn’t help myself!
"I always thought he was very handsome. I liked his eyes" - My late Grandmother referring to Rogers Hornsby
Wow, I guess I got schooled
Thanks Hoosier. To an extent I agree with you. Maybe I’m just playing right into Burwell’s hands. But it feels like the only way to change the subject is to emphatically tell the writers who cover the Cardinals the most to change the subject.
My not reading Burwell’s column does nothing to stop him. My inciting public condemnation of his work, and making constructive suggestions MIGHT.
But yeah, I was a hothead with this one. He just REALLY rubbed me the wrong way.
One of the main people responsible for the story not dying
is McGwire.
When you apologize but then take the “I did it to get over injuries” and “they didn’t really help my power numbers” b.s. then you aren’t shutting the door. You’re just opening new doors.
When you give the press everything, they have nogthing to go after. In this case, he apologized but with a caveat and, therefore, he’s as much to blame about this not going away as the press.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Will the continued focus change the apology?
I for one don’t think any amount of additional focus will lead to more mumblings from Mark. The media can continue to try and beat this horse or they could do their job and go after Selig and the owners. That story is being missed in the same way the media missed the boat entirely on the whole steroid era. The media should just put this story in the same pile as last year’s A-Rod story of yesterday’s news and move on.
in his current si.com article
dan shaughnessy, who covers the bosox, called big mac a “reclusive cheater”, wondered if he’d even be able to do his job with all the media scrutiny.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
It's called coming clean.
He’s still denying he really did anything wrong (even though he’s admitting to it) by making excuses for why he did and that it really didn’t help him, which we all know it did.
The media isn’t letting him off with it. He’s basically blowing smoke up their backsides and expecting them to just accept it because he game them “something”. Unfortunately, his “apology” and admission was fairly hollow hollow.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Like A-Rod did?
Try and find a place in this interview or article where A-Rod takes responsibility for his actions. I couldn’t find anything better than this
“Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era,” Rodriguez said. “I’m guilty for a lot of things. I’m guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.”
IIRC, the NY chapter of BBWAA celebrated A-Rod’s 2009 post season with an award. Maybe McGwire will be honored after this year.
this is a good point
especially considering big mac’s advice may have been to go the arod route since it worked so well for him.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I don't really buy this opinion.
I don’t think McGwire is to blame for the way that the press has reacted. I think they would have parsed any statement he made and found it unsatisfactory. It’s the nature of the 24-hour news cycle beast.
Additionally, I don’t think there is any reason for an additional drop of ink to spilled over this non-story. All it is an excuse for columnists to react with the outrage of a five-year-old. And, after they have piled on, they all pile on again and demand “answers.” What answer is there left to give? Aren’t the answers obvious? Why did all of those MLB pitchers use steroids? Why did Bonds? Why did A-Rod? They did so that they would be in better physical condition to play baseball, of course. How were they able to do this? Because of the owners, the union, the trainers, the managers, the clean players who were silent, and MLB itself. That’s what so ridiculous about the non-story of another player admitting to using PEDs or testing positive. There are so many questions this raises that aren’t asked. Who knew what when? Yes, McGwire made the individual choice, but a flawed industry allowed this to happen. Yet, no one seems to want to ask tough questions of any of the actors but McGwire. It’s disappointing.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
the baseball world is full of people who have had some pretty lame excuses that flew past the media without difficulty.
e.g., andy pettitte and his “i used hgh once by accident and i’m really sorry about it.”
"It doesn't have to be terribly prolific! Just so that it isn't childish and silly." She reflected. "I prefer stories about squalor." J.D.S.
Well, that's fine and dandy
but just because you and me and whomever else is tired of it, doesn’t keep hoards of reporters from flocking around our hitting coach every chance they get.
I said this last year when some people brought up the idea of him being the hitting coach, that he’d bring big and unnecessary distraction to the team that a hitting coach shouldn’t bring. For the most part, people disagreed with me. Well, I’ve yet to see anyone getting over the story and just letting it go.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
That's a completely different argument than your initial post.
You blame McGwire for the story not dying and I say that the media would not have been satisfied no matter what McGwire did. Now, you are saying that you’re sick of the story and that the media would make McGwire a distraction no matter what, a view you have had for a while. So, which is it? Is it the media’s fault or McGwire’s. I read this yesterday on Deadspin and while it’s about Bill Plaschke’s opining on Jacobellis, I think it applies pretty well to the PED coverage as well.
Sportswriters like Plaschke love to bang the high-chair tray over “accountability.” To be “accountable,” in their world, is to engage in a sort of Maoist self-criticism ritual whereby the athlete steps in front of a microphone and affects whatever emotion is deemed appropriate to the hour.
And, even if that athlete affects remorese, contrition, sadness, regret, and everything else that is appropriate, in McGwire’s case, that’s not enough.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
I agree with that.
and, yes, I am tired of the story.
But, when you lay it all out and give everything, then the media really has nothing to pick at. By, apologizing in the way McGwire did (not admitting steriods helped him do anything except stay healthy), all he did was open another can of worms to feed the media.
That is why I say he shares the blame in this as well. He says he came clean, but he didn’t and that is going to stir things up again.
If he’d have just said what he should have said, you’d have the grandstanders in the media and other places (all the ex-ballplayers who see this as a way to get their names mentioned again), but that will soon die out. Unfortunately, that’s not what McGwire did.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Don't blame McGwire;
blame Ari Fleischer.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Why didn't ARod
tell me why he did them, or Pettite, or Giambi, or Manny? McGwires confession was more thorough and remorseful than any admission so far, but everyone else gets a pass.
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
maybe he doesn't think they helped him?
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
i think that's it
and so he won’t say it just to placate the media. maybe he’s in denial on that point, but still, if he really doesn’t think they did…
he did say, when asked about the maris boys believing their father was the true single-season record holder with 61, that they had every right to feel that way (of course mac doesn’t hold that record any longer, so i guess it’s no skin off his back to say that, but it’s at least acknowledging that he understands and is ok with people believing steroids did more for him than just help him stay on the field – he just doesn’t think so, but who knows, in time he might see it differently)
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I am tired off all this shit too
but it’s absolutely ridiculous to think that he would start, or continue to do, steroids if he didn’t think they helped him. I like Mac, and I think it’s bull to hold him to a different standard than ARod, Manny, and the like; but I also think it’s a bit naive to believe that he would continue doing steroids when they didn’t help him.
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
I'm not saying I believe they don't help
we just don’t know his true feelings/denial.
personally, I think they probably help the good be very good and the very good be great, but I really don’t care, because if someone offered me a drug that my bosses wouldn’t test for that would help me pump out tax returns faster and double my salary, I would definitely take it every day of the week, including sunday.
(that may or may not have just been a really long run-on sentence)
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
I think the reason why he gets more attention and less leeway than ARod and Manny
is because McGwire is kind of the epi-center of the whole thing. Sure, it started before Mac, but he’s the one who went out and hit 70 homers. Sosa would get the same treatment but he’s in hiding.
McGwire was the one who did it and it was all center stage like never before.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
A-Rod and 714, 755 & 762
A-Rod has 583 career HR’s. If he stays healthy, A-Rod could start breaking some of the career home run milestones in 2013. He admits to using steroids when he hit a total of 156 HRs. The media should repeat the story about his admission during the chase, but will probably back off in the same fashion as last season and just bask in the glow of A-Rod’s awesome Yankee career.
To your point ....
McGwire absolutely admitted to being helped by steroids because they kept him on the field longer and extended his career. He disputes that they made him stronger or more capable of hitting home runs. Consequently, as a player with significant injury history, he would have continued to use them for the reason he claimed.
I personally believe that that is exactly the type of thinking a star athlete would have, as I don’t believe their egos/confidence would allow them to believe that they couldn’t accomplish those things without the enhancements. It doesn’t justify what he did in my mind, but it doesn’t really matter. The fact is that his accomplishments were artificial, so I put little stock in the historical significance of his achievements.
I have to fully agree with bgh on his assessment of the situation, and so I guess I support the basic premise of JWO’s post. The media, and a vocal minority of fans, maintain this obsessive need to identify every last detail of a situation far beyond what is actually news. I don’t need to know why he decided to use them, nor do I believe he owed me an apology of any kind. Knowing that he used them and for how long invalidated his career accomplishments, which is the only thing I had any interest in. Those who are concerned with trying to prevent other people’s children from starting to use steroids might want to know what his reasons were, as they may be used as lessons for when those young athletes experience the same situations and doubts.
I think the majority of readers of the mainstream media have little interest in this story anymore. Consequently, I disagree with JWO’s conclusion of how to deal with this. I’ve personally heard Burwell on the radio revelling in the fact that people send him nastygrams through email, insulting comments on his stories, or derisive callers into his program because it keeps him employed. The best way to get rid of him is to simply stop reading his articles or listening to his show. All other methods mean that he is continuing to sell papers, trigger site hits, or maintain listeners which indicates to his bosses that he is doing his job. I haven’t read one of his articles in years, and his is the one time slot on 101.1 that I don’t listen to. Even if you generally like his stuff, if you don’t like this topic don’t click on it. The lower the number of hits that these editorialists get on their stories, the more their bosses will have to take notice which subject matters are failing to pique significant interest.
on a semi-related note
I have found Strauss’ pieces much more tolerable the last couple weeks or so. i think one reason for this is his stance on Carp Waino being the best 1-2 in the league. An opinion like that is not characteristic of him. It just seems like he’s been doing less propaganda-ish stuff and more reporting. He’s still a douche, but I’m just saying the last couple weeks have been better.
I agree though, of all the storylines surrounding spring training this year, I find the McGwire one to be the least interesting, unless he is a very effective hitting coach, then the story could be about McGwire Finds Redemption As Hitting Coach or something like that.
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
Tyler Henley
He’ll probably start the season in the outfield for Memphis. He had a pretty good year at Springfield last year, but I see him as a 4th outfielder type down the road.
He hit it good. He hit it good.
we sure have a lot of those!
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:54 PM EST up reply actions
without a doubt
I hope that the P-D will be smart enough to fire Burwell. I think any VEBer would do a better job than that guy. His views are completely out of left field and he doesn’t really side with us – he sides with the majority. I have, and always will, be an anti-Burwell kinda guy.
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Unfortunately, ....
his views aren’t out of left field. He has two clear agendas. One, he peddles the Jason Whitlock line that anybody that isn’t african-american is inherently out to get those that are; and two, he plays the pro wrestling villain of the sports media by taking shots at the fans and any local sports figure that has the temerity to be caucasian and idolized.
I watched him personally try to take down Kurt Warner, and I’ve heard him have the audacity to act like he had nothing to do with it now. He’s also spent his entire time here attacking McGwire. He and Brian McKenna have a vested interest in keeping the McGwire story alive, as they have both tried to make their career off of criticizing him. If that story dies, they might have to have an original thought. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?
Honestly, Goold is the only writer of theirs I like.
I used to like Thomas until I realized the parts I liked were basically tipsheet and… uhh that’s it.
Bernie's column actually does have its moments (every once in a while)
and his radio show is actually tolerable (unlike Burwell’s, not sure if he even has one anymore), so I’ll give Bernie an unenthusiastic “pass.” So yeah, I’ll go with Goold and and a begrudged Miklasz, and that’s it.
Unfortunely Burwell still has a show
It follows Mike and Mike. I hate when I have the late shift and the have to drive into work when his show is on. It’s just one rant after another.
When did Thomas start doing tipsheet?
I thought that was Gordon’s domain. Gordon provides absolutely zero information anymore. He gets paid to write entire articles that are nothing more than compilations of vague statements and rumors he read from somebody else.
Burwell has mercifully backed off his boring race-related columns of late. I find those writings to be pedestrian and uninspired.
Overall he is more inflammatory and affrontive than informative or even thought provoking.
An optimist is a man who upon discovering that a rose smells better than a cabbage concludes it will make better soup.
HL Mencken
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