I'm surprised at the type of attention that David Ortiz's comments earlier this week have gotten. Almost all media reports have focused on how his commentts slight Derek Jeter. While I was surprised that he would be willing to openly speak about Jeter, I found far more than just the anti-Jeter comments objecitonable in Ortiz's statement. (OK, in fact I didn't find the anti-Jeter parts objectionable at all. Jeter's an overrated piece of garbage.). Let's look at the comments:
They're talking about Jeter a lot, right? [1] He's done a great job, he's having a great season, but Jeter is not a 40-homer hitter or an RBI guy. It doesn't matter how much you've done for your ballclub, the bottom line is, the guy who hits 40 home runs and knocks in 100, that's the guy you know helped your team win games. [2] Don't get me wrong -- he's a great player, having a great season, but he's got a lot of guys in that lineup. Top to bottom, you've got a guy who can hurt you. Come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be.[3]
I've picked out three points in there to which I object:
- From the accounts I've read, Ortiz was being asked about the MVP race in the AL. Isn't it a cardinal rule of good-guy athletes not to talk about individual statistics, streaks, or especially year-end awards during the season? To me, doing otherwise demonstrates somewhat of a me-first attitude.
- Ortiz asserts that 40 HRs and 100 RBI is more important to winning games than anything else. Apparently Ortiz doesn't value fielding at all. Nor does he value base running, on-base percentage, hitting for average or any other ways in which a player can contribute to his team.
- To me, this was the most galling of all the comments. Here, Ortiz goes out of his way to insult the rest of his teammates on the Red Sox lineup. Sure, the Red Sox have been hit hard by injuries in the past month, but that doesn't mean that the slugger needs to go throw his (current) teammates under the bus like this. Way to go, Big Papi.
I was just as surprised to read what Boston's football hero had to say early this week. Tom Brady:
Last week I spent a lot of energy thinking about [the Deion Branch situation] but at the end of the week, it really wasted a lot of my time. It was a big mental drain and I think it affected the way I played. I don't feel like I brought as much to the table as I normally could.
Surely you jest, Mr. Brady. You were so worried about your teammate's hold out—a hold out which was not at all new news in the week leading up to the game—that it affected your performance on the field? Two possibilities here:
- Brady's telling the truth. In this case, I find it inexplicable that Brady would be so unprofessional as to put fifty teammates' success on the field at risk by not taking proper care of himself (mentally) in the days leading up to a game. That's weak, Tom, real weak.
- Brady's not telling the truth. In this case, this is one of the worst excuses I've ever heard for a mediocre performance by an athlete. Suck it up, Tom, and play better against the mighty Jets this Sunday.
Needless to say, I love this stuff.
