Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 466 Editor's Choice: 25
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Speaking of logical fallacies...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...there's the one about the MVP actually being the "Most Valuable Player" in the league.
That being said, I'm going to go out on a limb and back the ESPN guys (its been my experience that if Harold Reynolds is speaking, you should probably listen).
Full disclosure: I am a Red Sox fan.
Here are my reasons:
1. As someone else already said; if you've got the biggest contract in baseball, play on the highest paid team with the biggest expectations (from management and fans alike) and don't consistantly produce, I'm pretty sure its not ESPN's fault.
2. The point that I think was missed by the ESPN staff (I didn't see the broadcast) was that yes, A-Rod does have some stellar stats, but the consistancy and timing of most of his positives have been lacking. Hitting homeruns when your A-level team (NY) is 6 runs ahead is stat padding. Being the only batting threat that never gets "pitched around" when your salary takes up 80% of a team's payroll (TX) is padding. The fact that A-Rod's presence on both of these teams never made them better teams is a good clue to why (now) both teams have soured on him within a few years. Bottom line: the man with the highest paid salary in the history of sports should probably, at some point, "cowboy up" and, I don't know, maybe put the team on his back in clutch situations an single-handedly win a few games!?!?
3. There is a case to be made that the entire league has soured on A-Rod at his current salary level. Look for the Yanks to start renegotiating his contract in the hopes of getting it down to a level that other clubs besides the Red Sox and Cardinals could afford.
4. Building off last weeks column about the Cubs: Doesn't A-Rod strike you as exactly the kind of Messianic player that they love? Look for A-Rod to be a Cub by 2009 (just in time for "the decline")!
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Some issues
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]mjmcmorrow:
I'm not the biggest stat guy in the world; I just go by what's on MLB.com, but isn't it impossible to have a 1.5 average in anything? Doesn't this mean that everytime the bases are loaded, A-Rod gets 1 and a half hits? Isn't that like giving 110%? Also, if he's hitting .803 with bases empty and .950 with runners on, how come MLB.com lists his batting average as .277, tied with Texas' Hank Blalock (not even in the top 100)? Shouldn't his batting average be .876? And how much money does Hank make?
mepex:
That's really just semantics (Plus I was being a bit hyperbolic - the dead giveaway would be "history of sports"). I wasn't comparing lifetime earnings. How could you be expected to make as much lifetime as a guy who's been in the league for 1o or more years (and being 4th after just 10 years is pretty friggin' good)?
Shaq just signed that contract which means he hasn't been paid 1ยข of it yet. Racecar drivers (forget about the "is it a sport" question, see earlier posts about "Le Toure") are completely different animals who are both players AND spokespersons at once, and I don't want to get into the whole salary + endorsements arguement. It still stands that by yearly contract earnings, A-Rod is the highest paid baseball player, ever. And should be hitting better than .277. Period.
Thanks for the back-and-forth guys...
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HA!
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]All the Tour whiners finally got their column...
Happy now?
Yes, this entire comment is dripping with sarcasm and self-satisfaction over the holier-than-thou commenters over the last 2 weeks. Guess its time to re-evaluate your favorite sport now!