Good luck with the job hunt.

sorry to hear about your newfound occupational freedom, but if that means that we're handed these gems more often, i can greedily accept that.

thanks.

IMHO, there are several gigantic problems with Joel Sherman's post...just to name two:

1) He has confused "objectivity" (a journalist's mainstay) with "disinterest" -- they are not synonyms. The radio reporter who said "Oh, the humanity!" as the Hindenburg burned was doing his job properly. So was Al Michaels when he asked his audience, "Do you believe in miracles?" And I don't think either of them were faking it.

2) No matter what profession you choose in life -- entrepeneur, computer programmer, graphic artist, or journalist -- the very moment at which your attitude about that job becomes "it's just a job to me" or "it pays the rent" you become less capable than the guy next to you who actually enjoys his work. He brings up Costas in his post, which is a crime because Costas, despite the fact that he is a consumate professional, truly loves the game of baseball. It's obvious every time you hear him talk about it. People who view their jobs in the way Sherman does never become one of the best at anything.

3) This is precisely why blogs like BB and the more recent player spin, 38 pitches, are going to put people like Joel out of work permanently -- and not a moment too soon I might add.

Thank you for caring about what you're writing about. Thank you for fearing that you might lose that in the midst of a daily grind. Thank you for thinking about "integrity."

I have to say that I disagree with your basic premise though. Me, I think the fact that these are ordinary people makes their on-field accomplishments so much more remarkable. And sports journalists, I think, do the fans a disservice by allowing one aspect to overwelm all others. It leads into assuming the players have no foibles or tics that hinders their performance.

By contrast, with the opening of the media, I think we're seeing the players much more clearly and they feel the need to respond. A-Rod is the perfect example where he's basically having a personal evolution (I think) through the pressure of the team, the fans, and the game. His identity is seemingly changing, bouncing around, with all the nonsense. It's diffcult to watch because the man is having an identity crisis. And that affects his game. The two stories are greatly intertwined IMHO, but the sports writers shy away from questions about his character.

Last year at Camden Yards I had the good fortune of running into Bernie after a game in which I gave him a hard time from a few rows back of home plate. The conversation started with me apologizing for doing so and he seemed genuinely shocked. Then I proceeded to interrogate him on his splits and his approach at the plate. And good ole Bernie gave as good as he got. Seeing that fire, and his humanity, rounded out the public personna much more so than the typical stories about him (quite, aloof, etc).

The same is true of every player. Who they are greatly informs how they play. Me, I want to get inside their heads. Now just because there isn't much there for Damon doesn't change things. I think the best writers manage to do both - personal flavor of the professional player. What I've read of your writing, you do so very nicely. Me, I want more, not less, of THAT.

Also may I remind you that a large segment of the population has to work for a living?

Brings to mind another sports coinage:
Suck it up.

Believe me, some things happen for a good reason; as I've had happen recently and over the past couple of years. Man I have stories to tell, but that's for another space. for now, keep your head up and bless you for the nice insights.

You had to know "Eephus" would have one of those Michael Jordan or Roger Clemens quickie/non retirements.

Hopefully, the Voice (or Village Idiots) sent you away in a shiny, orange Hummer, you know, for being such a warrior.

Keep up the great work. You'll be hired faster than Farnswacker can spell "Fux yeah."

Of 105 comments, I think 3 people agreed with him. Pete... don't quit your day job.

However, Coste could probably be have, straight up, for any of a number of our (non-stud) kids.

Is Coste a decent BUC for us? (Oh Jimmy.. where are you?)

The briefest recap:
1. sitting behind home all game: "Bernie, try hitting from the RIGHT side!!! Hit from the right!!!!".
2. Me, on bike after game. Almost run over Bernie at the crosswalk.
3. Apology, then "why don't you try hitting from the right gainst righties!?"
4. Bernie - "Splits!? Have you seen my splits from last year? They were horrible!"
5. Me: Uhhh. You're great! There's Dimaggio, Mantle, Bernie.
6. Bernie: Timid glance away.
7. Reaches out HIS hand to shake mine.

Coste? Meh. He's a small upgrade on what they have, so it depends on the price.

What about Bean? He's not going to pitch in NY anyways.

15 Bean? I thought the Yankees are keeping him to carry bags no matter what.

That, my friend, is a classic. The fact that it rendered you near speechless affirms it. Best Post of the Day!

Right now I'm thinking that yeah, it's pretty damn shabby the way he'd been handled this year, which might be why Mo and Jorge started piping about their own futures. If they treat a humble guy like Bernie, who's only been the greatest postseason hitter hitter ever, like a sack of old clothes at the close of his career, they're both probably thinking about when they start losing their mojo and such. Cashman had better be planning the biggest cheesecake from Junior's you've ever seen at CF for Bernie Day.

I hate to say this, but from here it doesn't look good on Cash's end. Now that we have an insider in our midst, it would be a good question to ask him; what his take is on that situation.

Which brings us back full circle to Ms. Emma and the way she was treated. I was treated like that at a job I liked, so I have an idea what she's thinking. In that, maybe we have a clearer idea what's going through Bernie's mind? What an interesting set of circumstances...

18 Hi! How have you been?

7 Jim Dean, good point, because I enjoy a good interview or trying to "get in a player's head" as well. Still, I'd argue that -- for me -- even a very good profile of someone, or interesting stories about them, made them more interesting, better-fleshed out characters... but still characters. Like HBO instead of network TV, if you you know what I mean. (Encounters like the one you had with Bernie, an awesome story by the way, are pretty rare).

8 JasonO, my point wasn't that sportswriters deserve pity. I'm just trying to explain how I think a dream job can become, over time, just another paycheck. (Though I should point out that there are some great writers out there who've managed to avoid this). Everyone has to work for a living, sure, but some people enjoy themselves while they do so: it's not always or even often possible, but I hardly think there's anything wrong with making it a goal.

10 Man, if I had a nickel for every time someone compared me to Michael Jordan...!

18 We've been so, worrrrrried about yoo... (eeeeehhhh!)

20 Careful... is that the before or after version?

Allow me to bore the class with my brush with Bernie several years ago.

I met him at a CD signing. I've been to precisely one CD signing in my life. His.
He was at the FYE near Radio City, which happened to be around the corner from my office, and I went against my nature to not attend such events, and lined up to meet Bernie, my lifetime favorite Yankee.

I'm not sure exactly how our conversation began, but I remember telling him that I looked forward to hearing his music. Here's pretty much what followed:

Bernie looked up at me, somewhat surprised, "Aww, you haven't heard it yet?"

Me: "Uh, didn't it (his CD) come out, like, today?"

Bernie: "Oh, right. Man, I keep thinking everybody's heard it."

Here I'm thinking, typical Bernie. Lost in space.

I lamely asked him what he thought about the Yanks chances that year. He shrugged and offered something like, "Depends. We'll see." (lame question, dude).

I immediately changed the subject, and asked him about the endorsement he got from Paul McCartney, which helped Bernie get his record deal.

I also asked him about playing with Bela Fleck and Rueben Blades on the album, and you should have seen his face light up -- proudly but humbly discussing his collaborations with artists he considered out of his league.

That brief discussion confirmed everything I'd perceived and loved about Bernie: his gentle nature, his odd combination of humility and pride. His spaciness. His soulfulness. He was every bit the cool cat I hoped he'd be.

Damn, I miss him already.

perhaps in time bernie will find his way back to the bronx in a different capacity. coaching? broadcasting?

i look forward to bernie's big and well deserved "day" at the stadium.

nobody can play in the bigs forever, i'm just glad that bernie didn't make more of an issue of it or play on elsewhere, showcasing his decline. this was the time, no matter how much we and the team will miss having him around.

(also, was nice to meet you at the BP NYC event last Thursday)

On another matter ...

A friend of mine got two tickets for Monday from another friend who couldn't use them. So I get to go to my first Opening Day game in like 30 years, to see Pavanomas pitch against the guy traded for Victor Zambrano.

If anyone is going to the game Monday, I'll be in sec. 23 / 299 of the Main Box. Very tall brown-haired woman with glasses. :-)

In still other news .... I named one of my roto teams "Kazmir Sweaters"

6 I agree with you Count Zero. I think objectivity and passion are not mutually exclusive. The grind of any occupation is sure to dim the passion at times, but I don't think that it's necessarily a forgone conclusion. I've been blogging at a billion places over the last year, and I try very very hard to keep up on all of them. I love baseball and I love to introduce Japanese players and so forth to an American audience. Staying on top of it is a chore some days, but the thing is, I am a sportswriter who writes predominately for free. Recently, I've seen the fruits of my labor turn into a gig with BP, and some freelance work in other places. I also hope to follow in Alex' footsteps with a book down the road somewhere. I still do it 90% for free and I think my passion and objectivity are intact.

Emma, what on Earth could that new editor's "taste" be? Probably, jellied eel sandwiches with extra low-fat mayonnaise. I can understand if an editor wants to go in a different direction, but when they make it a matter of "taste", it boggles the mind. How is your style of writing not someone's "taste". Perhaps he's looking for something more "Lupica". Oh, wait. That is like jellied eel sandwiches with extra low-fat mayo. The people here are your loyal readers Em, and will follow you wherever you land. Tell that to your editor.

Who's in right? Aaron Ar-guiel? (ack!)

Beware the St. Louis Cardigans. (wheeze!)

If it makes you feel even a little better I've de-linked the VV from my bookmarks.

Nice job above, keep em comming if you can.

28 You don't have glasses in that Shea Stadium picture. Vanity?

22 Great stuff.

just trying to decrease the geek factor :-)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2816598

Meh. Soap operas, phooey...

Sorry about the Voice, but I look forward to reading you here.

And I tend to reduce it all to Dave Roberts' legs, btw.

:)

23 I know, I'm in denial about it too, I think.

It's kind of like he's just on the DL or something.

Like the Yankees are trying to copy the Red Sox of 2004 -- yeah, it's real obvious. lol

//And hell, Johnny Damon is the master//

I got bad news for ya'll. Johnny Damon was an EXTREMELY tiny part of all that - he was hardly a master (LMAO!) but that's the role Boras has taught him to use -- he happened to open his mouth about Idiots at the time the Sox were obviously hot and the papers ran away with it.

He isn't going to do anything for your team because.... it's so painfully obvious he is trying so hard to be something he's not naturally, it's really sad to see for some of his fans -- and he actually believes he had something to do with that chemisty in Boston... he had very little -- he was a quiet guy, did his job, and gave the rote lines to the media after the game... he wasn't goofy, he wasn't OUR clown, we didn't NEED him to be - like you guys do. It's not going to work. He & Giambi can call attention to themselves as "sexy" all they want -- but the bottom line is and always will be -- guys who have to tell everyone about it - aren't.

You'll see.