Ramirez has the highest OPS among 3B

[MSG T]

Gooney, I agree, except for the part about Grabow. People can't stand him because of that ridiculous contract and the fact that he's sucked for most of his time with the Cubs. it's had very little to do with perceived hustle or attitude like it was for many of the others.

[Magnetic Curses]

the way minority players are treated on the north side is shameful. if you don't smile and tap dance, the crowds hate you.

For the most part, Lee didn't seem to have an issue.

Or Marlon Byrd. Mark Prior, however, did. I think the scapegoats tend to originate from players that aren't open with the media, as the beat writers and columnists are often the ones who start these crusades.

I totally agree. But there does seem to be a recent and growing anti-Latino bent. I think it's a pale reflection of the general mood of the country.

 

For all the fun and games we have making fun of the anti-Latino thing, there are pretty obvious reasons why these guys are targets. I love Ramirez. I love what he's done with the Cubs. But he really doesn't look like much of a tryer, and it has nothing to do with skin color. Milton Bradley was an unproductive surly prick. People freak out about body language and how athletes look. Jay Cutler gets dumped on for his body language. Reed Johnson isn't very good, but somehow he keeps producing and he looks like he tries really hard, and people love that. Todd Hundley didn't produce worth a crap and he looked like he as constantly waking up in strange hallways, which was probably the case. And people hated him. Some people still insist Ryan Dempster sucks because of some blown saves. Nobody can stand John Grabow.

 

On the fringes there are definitely racial overtones to many statements about certain players. But by and large the perception comes from the reality of how the player acts, and that is the case in every city in America. It's hardly a Chicago thing.

 

no, it's not a chicago thing. south siders don't seem to have an issue with not shouting racial slurs at players of color.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

no, it's not a chicago thing. south siders don't seem to have an issue with not shouting racial slurs at players of color.

 

That's because they're too busy hitting on their sisters.

[SouthSideRyan]

Yeah south siders aren't racist.

[imb]

no, it's not a chicago thing. south siders don't seem to have an issue with not shouting racial slurs at players of color.

 

That's because they're too busy hitting on their sisters.

[davearm2]

the way minority players are treated on the north side is shameful. if you don't smile and tap dance, the crowds hate you.

For the most part, Lee didn't seem to have an issue.

Or Marlon Byrd. Mark Prior, however, did. I think the scapegoats tend to originate from players that aren't open with the media, as the beat writers and columnists are often the ones who start these crusades.

I totally agree. But there does seem to be a recent and growing anti-Latino bent. I think it's a pale reflection of the general mood of the country.

 

For all the fun and games we have making fun of the anti-Latino thing, there are pretty obvious reasons why these guys are targets. I love Ramirez. I love what he's done with the Cubs. But he really doesn't look like much of a tryer, and it has nothing to do with skin color. Milton Bradley was an unproductive surly prick. People freak out about body language and how athletes look. Jay Cutler gets dumped on for his body language. Reed Johnson isn't very good, but somehow he keeps producing and he looks like he tries really hard, and people love that. Todd Hundley didn't produce worth a crap and he looked like he as constantly waking up in strange hallways, which was probably the case. And people hated him. Some people still insist Ryan Dempster sucks because of some blown saves. Nobody can stand John Grabow.

 

On the fringes there are definitely racial overtones to many statements about certain players. But by and large the perception comes from the reality of how the player acts, and that is the case in every city in America. It's hardly a Chicago thing.

Amen!

 

The theory that players are being unfairly scrutinized by the media, or booed by fans because of their race is just flat out misguided. Race has almost nothing to do with it.

 

Play hard, produce, and play nice with fans/media/teammates etc., and a guy will be fine.

 

Heck just look at Sammy Sosa -- when he was raking and happy-go-lucky, he was the King of Chicago. When he got surly and combative, people turned on him.

[SouthSideRyan]

When Sosa stopped being one of the best players in baseball, people turned on him. Even when Sosa was becoming a HOFer, there were the goofs out there who said he just hit meaningless HRs.

[Sammy Sofa]

When Sosa stopped being one of the best players in baseball, people turned on him. Even when Sosa was becoming a HOFer, there were the goofs out there who said he just hit meaningless HRs.

 

Yeah, some people were griping about his "attitude" and "selfishness" pretty much every season he was on the Cubs and they sucked (AKA pretty much every season). "Sammy only coming through for Sammy after it was too late" was pretty common meme, especially after the home run race. Not saying it was the dominant mentality, but it wasn't hard to find/hear, either.

[Sammy Sofa]

And really, a good chunk of sports fan are pretty damn racist. Let's not beat around the bush. The "lazy player" tag is pretty glaring in who it's applied to the overwhelming majority of the time.

[Sammy Sofa]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736950-hanley-ramirez-and-the-14-laziest-players-in-baseball

 

Mmmmmmmmm, meatball-y.

 

Though very sporting of them to toss Drew and Dunn in there.

[snoodmonger]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736950-hanley-ramirez-and-the-14-laziest-players-in-baseball

 

Mmmmmmmmm, meatball-y.

 

Though very sporting of them to toss Drew and Dunn in there.

 

 

What a dreadful article. And how did Z get the lazy rap? Crazy? Sure. Lazy? no way.

[Tarver]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

[17 Seconds]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736950-hanley-ramirez-and-the-14-laziest-players-in-baseball

 

Mmmmmmmmm, meatball-y.

 

Though very sporting of them to toss Drew and Dunn in there.

 

I loved his reasoning for putting Dunn in there

A Google search of "Adam Dunn lazy" results in several message board rants from Reds and Nationals fans who felt that Dunn did not put enough effort into his game, and interpretations that this meant he did not care about the team's results.

 

That's some hard hitting anaylisis. A google search of the dude's name.

[SouthSideRyan]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736950-hanley-ramirez-and-the-14-laziest-players-in-baseball

 

Mmmmmmmmm, meatball-y.

 

Though very sporting of them to toss Drew and Dunn in there.

 

 

What a dreadful article. And how did Z get the lazy rap? Crazy? Sure. Lazy? no way.

 

Bradley too. The one thing I always said about Bradley was that he was too laid back and didn't care.

[abuck1220]

i like how much of the analysis is "he hit ___ homers last year, he's only hit ___ this year. LAZY."

[jersey cubs fan]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

[Soul]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

 

Relevant to whom? I'm not questioning the truth of your comment, just curious.

 

If it weren't for people posting about how horrible it is on nsbb, I wouldn't even know it existed. To me, as far as I can gather, it's just another random site someone put up to post their ramblings. There are thousands of them.

[jersey cubs fan]

When Sosa stopped being one of the best players in baseball, people turned on him. Even when Sosa was becoming a HOFer, there were the goofs out there who said he just hit meaningless HRs.

 

Yeah, some people were griping about his "attitude" and "selfishness" pretty much every season he was on the Cubs and they sucked (AKA pretty much every season). "Sammy only coming through for Sammy after it was too late" was pretty common meme, especially after the home run race. Not saying it was the dominant mentality, but it wasn't hard to find/hear, either.

 

My recollection was that Sammy was kind of all flash and no substance prior to learning how to take a walk and really blowing up in 98. But going back to his pre 98 numbers, he was regularly putting up 4+ WAR seasons.

 

 

As a sidenote, I always remember a friend's dad (Mets fan in NJ) saying he was rooting for McGwire in the homerun race and all his reasoning pretty much worked as code about how it was because McGwire was white.

[javy knows my name]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/736950-hanley-ramirez-and-the-14-laziest-players-in-baseball

 

Mmmmmmmmm, meatball-y.

 

Though very sporting of them to toss Drew and Dunn in there.

 

 

What a dreadful article. And how did Z get the lazy rap? Crazy? Sure. Lazy? no way.

 

Bradley too. The one thing I always said about Bradley was that he was too laid back and didn't care.

 

hahaha! I didn't even get that far. I think I closed it after Zambrano.

[jersey cubs fan]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

 

Relevant to whom? I'm not questioning the truth of your comment, just curious.

 

If it weren't for people posting about how horrible it is on nsbb, I wouldn't even know it existed. To me, as far as I can gather, it's just another random site someone put up to post their ramblings. There are thousands of them.

 

And among those thousands, it might be the biggest "random site" out there. I don't know who its audience is, but deadspin and KSK refer to it regularly.

[SouthSideRyan]

When Sosa stopped being one of the best players in baseball, people turned on him. Even when Sosa was becoming a HOFer, there were the goofs out there who said he just hit meaningless HRs.

 

Yeah, some people were griping about his "attitude" and "selfishness" pretty much every season he was on the Cubs and they sucked (AKA pretty much every season). "Sammy only coming through for Sammy after it was too late" was pretty common meme, especially after the home run race. Not saying it was the dominant mentality, but it wasn't hard to find/hear, either.

 

My recollection was that Sammy was kind of all flash and no substance prior to learning how to take a walk and really blowing up in 98. But going back to his pre 98 numbers, he was regularly putting up 4+ WAR seasons.

 

 

As a sidenote, I always remember a friend's dad (Mets fan in NJ) saying he was rooting for McGwire in the homerun race and all his reasoning pretty much worked as code about how it was because McGwire was white.

 

He was a really good defender back in the day. BR's WAR had 1996 as his 3rd most valuable season(which I don't buy, but it's still interesting)

[Sammy Sofa]

When Sosa stopped being one of the best players in baseball, people turned on him. Even when Sosa was becoming a HOFer, there were the goofs out there who said he just hit meaningless HRs.

 

Yeah, some people were griping about his "attitude" and "selfishness" pretty much every season he was on the Cubs and they sucked (AKA pretty much every season). "Sammy only coming through for Sammy after it was too late" was pretty common meme, especially after the home run race. Not saying it was the dominant mentality, but it wasn't hard to find/hear, either.

 

My recollection was that Sammy was kind of all flash and no substance prior to learning how to take a walk and really blowing up in 98. But going back to his pre 98 numbers, he was regularly putting up 4+ WAR seasons.

 

 

As a sidenote, I always remember a friend's dad (Mets fan in NJ) saying he was rooting for McGwire in the homerun race and all his reasoning pretty much worked as code about how it was because McGwire was white.

 

My grandfather was a lifelong Cubs fan, yet claimed he was rooting for McGwire because he thought Sammy was "a jerk." If I pressed him to explain why Sammy was a jerk he'd just say something like, "well, you know." No, gramps, I DON'T know.

[Sammy Sofa]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

 

Relevant to whom? I'm not questioning the truth of your comment, just curious.

 

If it weren't for people posting about how horrible it is on nsbb, I wouldn't even know it existed. To me, as far as I can gather, it's just another random site someone put up to post their ramblings. There are thousands of them.

 

And among those thousands, it might be the biggest "random site" out there. I don't know who its audience is, but deadspin and KSK refer to it regularly.

 

It's why da Bum still has hope.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

 

It's relevant because it's a SEO content mill for sports. People can't resist linking idiotic sports opinions and having all their friends click on it.

[SouthSideRyan]

Why do people continue to bring up Bleacher Report?

 

Seriously, it has as much credence or value as the comments section of a Yahoo or IMDB article.

 

Didn't it just get a huge cash infusion from venture capitalists? It may suck but it is relevant.

 

It's relevant because it's a SEO content mill for sports. People can't resist linking idiotic sports opinions and having all their friends click on it.

 

It's why da bum still has hope.